Carne Guisada

Tip: Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

2 pounds beef top sirloin steak, cut into 1-inch chunks
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 large white onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons comino (cumin)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 serrano pepper, slightly toasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 1/2 cups beef broth

1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano (regular is fine)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Dredge the cubed meat in flour, coating well.

In a heavy, deep-sided skillet or Dutch oven, add the oil and heat over medium heat. Add the cubed meat and brown thoroughly, stirring often.

 While the meat is browning, in a small saute pan, toast the comino seeds and then add them to the molcajete (mortar and pestal). Use the same pan to toast the serrano pepper.

In a molcajete which already has the comino, add the garlic, and black peppercorns. Grind into a paste. Add 1/2 cup of water and stir, this is to make sure you remove all the paste from the molcajete and set aside.

Once the meat is browned, add the garlic, comino and peppercorn paste and liquid from molcajete to the pot. Add the salt, paprika, oregano, chili powder, onion, tomatoes, cilantro, and serrano to the pot and saute for 3 to 4 minutes.

 

Add beef broth, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 1 1/2 hours, or until the beef is tender and the mixture has cooked down to a thick sauce. Stir every 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Tip:  You can serve this with rice, or beans or make some great tacos! I love breakfast tacos made with some carne guisada, scrambled egg and cheese! Carne Guisada is a Mexican inspired take on beef stew.

Yesterday I had to pick up some things from Dillard's at Barton Creek Mall and found that in their kitchenware department they now sell Molcajetes! They were made of granite and beautiful. Of course they are not made from the original basalt/lava stone. But they are really nice and will surely do the job! 

You can buy Mexican molcajetes online nowadays, but beware! The quality can vary enormously. There is a world of difference between the best quality molcajetes, made usually from dark ‘river rock’ basalt with low sand content, and cheap and cheerful ones made from grey, very porous lava-rock. The problem with the latter, to quote the gourmetsleuth.com website, is that ‘They are softer and easier to carve and thus less expensive. Unfortunately they are terribly sandy and no matter how you may try to cure them they will always be sandy. They are also typically very shallow so they don’t have a very usable capacity. These pieces are fine for decoration or serving only but we don’t recommend using them as a preparation or grinding tool.’ 

Taken from "http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/index.php?one=azt&two=wus&tab=aus&id=21""

Chinese Sausage (Lap Cheong) Fried Rice

      

    Ingredients: 

• 3 Chinese Sausages, sliced diagonally
• 1 Medium Onion, diced
• 1 Carrot, diced small
• 2 Scallions, sliced diagonally
• 2 cloves, garlic, finely minced
• 5 cups, White Rice, cooked
• ¾ teaspoon, Salt
• ¼ teaspoon, Sugar
• 2 teaspoons, Hot Water
• ½ teaspoon, Sesame Oil
• 2 teaspoons, Soy Sauce
• ½ teaspoon, Dark Soy Sauce
• pinch, White Pepper
• 1 teaspoon, Shaoxing Wine (optional)
• 4 tablespoons, Vegetable Oil (divided)
• 3 large Eggs, beaten
• ⅔ cup, Green Peas, cooked
• 1 teaspoon, Shaoxing Wine (optional)

    Directions:

• Prepare a sauce in a small bowl, by adding salt, sugar, hot water, sesame oil, regular soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and ground white pepper. Stir thoroughly and set aside.
• Heat your wok over medium high heat and spread 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil around in the wok.
• Add the beaten eggs to the oil, scrambling them and breaking them up into smaller pieces with your wok spatula just until done. Transfer them to a large bowl and set aside.
• Add 1 tablespoon oil around your wok. Add the sausage, and stir-fry for 20 seconds. Add the onion, scallions, carrots and garlic to wok and stir fry 1-2 minutes until onion is translucent. Remove and add to large bowl. Set aside.
• Add 1 tablespoon oil around wok. Add the rice and using spatula flatten out and break up any clumps. Stir fry the rice to heat it through.
• Once the rice is warmed, pour the sauce you prepared, evenly over the rice. Mix using a scooping motion with your spatula for 1-2 minutes, until the rice is evenly coated with sauce.
• Add all the ingredients you set aside in large bowl to wok. Add green peas, and fold everything into the rice. Stir fry the for another minute.

Mexican Picadillo

Tip: Read directions carefully before preparing.

Ingredients:

1lb lean ground beef

2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2inch cubes

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced fine (1/4 inchor less)

1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced fine (1/4 inch or less)

1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced fine

2 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground coarse ground black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh ground comino (cumin)

1 cup beef stock

1/2 cup cilantro

2 large tomatoes, cored, peeled, and cut into 1/2inch pieces

Directions:

Heat a large skillet and, when hot, add the canola oil. Add the ground beef, crumbling as you put it in the skillet.

When lightly browned, add the onions, red bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic, and all the spices. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, and then add the diced potatoes, and then the cilantro.

Add beef stock, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, put into a bowl and serve over Spanish rice or with hot flour tortillas.

Tip: If you would like to spice it up, add a chopped jalapeno. Picadillo, Mexican style ground beef, is a popular lunch meal particularly in Northern Mexico.  Picadillo is an easy dish to prepare that’s in every home cook’s repertoire.

Bacon and Green Onion Cheese Ball

Tip: Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

(For Cheese Ball)

1/4 cup brown sugar ham, finely chopped

1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped

1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 teaspoon Hidden Valley, Garden Green Onion Mix

(For Rolling Cheese Ball)

1/8 cup real bacon Bits, (I use Oscar Mayer)

1/8 cup green onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup Colby Jack or Mild Cheddar cheese, finely shredded/cut

Directions:

(For Preparing Cheese Ball)

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine green onion, brown sugar Ham, cream cheese and Garden Green Onion Mix. When mixed well, form ball out of the mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours, or overnight.

(For Rolling Cheese Ball)

Before serving, in a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the real bacon bits, green onion, and cheddar cheese, and roll the cheese balls in the mixture.  Enjoy!

 Tip: This cheese ball is great with buttery crackers!

Irish Shepherd's Beef Pie

Tip:  Read directions completely before preparing.

3 cups mashed potatoes

1 pound lean ground beef (93/7)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons Kerrygold Softer Butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons ketchup

2 cups beef broth

2 tablespoons browning and seasoning sauce

1 teaspoon fresh minced thyme

1/4 cup peas

1/4 cup carrots, finely diced

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Crumble the ground beef into a large skillet over medium heat, cook meat until no longer pink.

Add onion, garlic, thyme, peas and carrots and cook another 3 minutes, then set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 

Over medium heat, melt the Kerrygold butter in a skillet.  Stir in the flour and cook and until light brown in color, about 5 minutes.

Let cool off a bit then gradually stir in the broth, ketchup and browning sauce until smooth.  Set over medium heat and simmer until thick.

Stir the sauce into the ground beef and transfer to a casserole dish.

Top with mashed potatoes.

Sprinkle the cheese over the potatoes.

Place dish in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until potatoes are toasted and cheese is melted.  Enjoy!

Tip:  Truly traditional Irish Sheppard's Pie uses ground lamb instead of ground beef.

Best Ever Homemade Guacamole - Avocado Dip

Tip: Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

8 large, Hass avocados

½ lime, fresh squeezed lime juice

¼ cup, Roma tomato, minced

¼ cup, white onion, minced

¼ cup packed, cilantro, minced

3 large cloves, garlic, finely minced

1 teaspoon, sea salt

¼ teaspoon, fresh ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon, ground comino (cumin)

1/2 jalapeno, slice lengthwise, seeds and veins removed, finely minced

(Leave the seeds and veins if you like it hot and add the whole finely minced jalapeno! For even spicier Guacamole use a Serrano pepper.)

Directions:

Mince the tomato, white onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and garlic. Using a large bowl add the onions, tomato, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, salt, black pepper, lime juice, and comino (cumin).

To prepare the avocados, pop off the dried stem from all the avocados and discard the stem. 

Slice the avocados in half. And carefully remove and discard the pit.

Scoop out of shell with a spoon. Place in the bowl with the other ingredients.

Then using a fork mash avocados and mix to desired chunky consistency.

Tip: Serve with your favorite tortilla chips for a dip, or use with your favorite Mexican dish. Great on fajita tacos! I take this dish to all my family gatherings! It disappears!

Puerto Rican Arroz con Gandules (Rice with Pigeon Peas)

Tip: Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups long grain white rice (washed and rinsed well)
3 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons Recaito
1/4 cup chopped pork salt

1/4 cup chopped bacon
2 tablespoons Spanish olives

1 tablespoon capers

1/4 cup chopped onions

1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can green pigeon peas, drained
1 envelope sazon with culantro and achiote
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground comino (cumin)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon

Directions:

Start by heating the oil in a pot at high heat, and when the oil is nice and hot, add the salt pork.

When the salt pork is cooked but not crisp, add the bacon. 

Once browned, add Recaito, (a unique cilantro-based seasoning base that enhances the flavor) onions and garlic, olives, capers, comino (cumin), oregano, black pepper and envelope of sazon. Stir fry all together for about 1 minute.

 

Add pigeon peas, tomato paste, then add the water and bring to boil.

Wash rice under cold running water until water is clear and drain. Add rice to pot, chicken boullion and stir.

 

Once the liquid has began to boil and most of the water has cooked off, lower heat to lowest setting, and stir 1 more time, top with bay leaves, then cover with tight lid.

Let this cook for about 10 minutes on a low heat setting, remove cover and bay leaves, turn rice, and continue to cook at low heat for another 15 minutes until the rice is tender. Enjoy!

Tip:  Do not stir, but turn the rice with a large serving spoon. For a variation, add some cubed ham when adding the sofrito. The best part of this rice is the crust which forms on the bottom, called the pegao!