Hola! - Fajitas Night

The buttas have been experimenting more and more with cooking - all due to the courage Mama B has given us!

Some of our meals may be on the fancier side for a single gal cooking for herself or a few friends. So here is a meal that the buttas made on their own with simple, easy ingredients. Everyone loves a simple go to meal!!

Fajitas! We took pictures when we made this but they are lost on someone's camera. Here is what you need:


pkg. McCormick® Fajita Seasoning Mix
2 tbsp. oil, divided
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless beef sirloin, cut into ½-inch strips
1 medium onion, cut into thin strips
1 medium bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup water
8 flour tortillas (6-inch)
Assorted Toppings: Shredded Cheese, Salsa, Sour Cream, Guacamole or Sliced Tomatoes


HEAT 1 tablespoon of oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add meat; cook and stir 3 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove from skillet. In same skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add onion and bell pepper; cook and stir 3 to 5 minutes. Return meat to skillet.


STIR in water and Seasoning Mix. Cook and stir 3 minutes or until heated through.


SPOON into warm tortillas. Serve with toppings, if desired.

Shrimp Tacos

Since we had already made a mexican a dish (enchilada casserole) we thought long and hard about what would be fun to make for our mexican themed Cinco de Mayo meal! Since summer is approaching fast, we decided on shrimp tacos - light and healthy!


Mama butta had this super yummy citrus vinaigrette and we marinated our shrimp before grilling.

Citrus Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
2 tablespoons lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 oranges, zested
1 lime, zested
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil

In a medium bowl, place the orange juice, lime juice, soy sauce, zests and balsamic vinegar. Stir the ingredients together, then slowly whisk in the salad oil. Makes 1 cup.

Wonderful as a salad dressing or marinade for chicken or fish. Don't marinade shrimp too long or they will become tough! (One of the baby buttas took home the leftover marinade - we will have to see her thoughts about using it as a salad dressing)





We also made beans as a side for the meal!

Traditional Brothy Beans

2 cups dried pinto beans
3-4 slices bacon
1 large sweet onion
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
water

Pick through dried beans and discard any stones or other debris. To reduce cooking time, soak overnight if possible.

In a large Dutch oven, saute chopped bacon until almost crispy. Saute onions in the bacon and fat until translucent. Add chopped garlic and cook for about a minute or so. Add soaked beans and cover with approximately 6 cups of fresh, cold water. Bring to boil and gently simmer until beans are soft, adding water or chicken broth if necessary. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Only 1 or 2 more cinco de mayo recipes to come.

It's hard to believe that we are coming up on our 8th week of cooking class - we baby buttas have learned so much and we are so appreciative of our Mama Butta for taking us in and teaching us some skills!! Stay tuned for this week's class: Pimento Cheese Burgers - because every southern gal needs to learn how to make pimento cheese!!

Fiesta Dip!

We made an amazing sauce, dip, dressing - not really sure the best way to label it because can be used for so many things.

The ingredients include: Hidden Valley fiesta ranch mix, sour cream and tiny bit of lemon juice.

There is a recipe on the back of the package for dip but even just the mix and sour cream, it is simply heavenly! For our Cinco de Mayo night we topped our shrimp tacos with it and used it as a dip for chips.

Mama butta also said that she has used it as a veggie dip for a party and that if you add vinegar it would be a great salad dressing.

This simple recipe is great to have up your sleeve!! And very delicious!

Chicken Enchiladas, Vinaigrette, Jalapeno Roast Pork, Mac and Cheese

Here is a list of some of the recipes we learned from Mama Butta!




CHICKEN ENCHILADAS SUIZAS

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 ½ pounds total)
* we used a rotisserie chicken and pulled it into small pieces
1 tbsp butter
1 c chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
8 ounces grated cheddar cheese
1 4-oz. can dice green chile salsa
½ c chopped fresh cilantro
4 tsp ground cumin
2-3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (put in food processor)
salt & freshly ground black pepper
12- 15 7 inch flour tortillas
10 oz. Monterey Jack cheese grated
1 c whipping cream
½ c chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion and bell peppers until just soft, 5-8 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Add chicken, cheddar cheese, green chiles, salsa, cilantro, cumin and chipotle chiles, if desired. Season with salt & pepper to taste and mix well.

Grease 10x15x2 baking pan (or 2 smaller pans.) Place 1 flour tortilla on flat surface and about 1/3 c chicken mixture on 1 edge. Roll up on filling side and place, seam side down, in pan. Repeat process. Sprinkle Monterrey Jack over enchiladas.

Combine cream and chicken broth and pour over enchiladas. Cover pan with foil and back for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.


VINAIGRETTE
1tbsp prepared Dijon-style mustard
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp granulated sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
Minced parsley and/or snipped fresh chives, to taste
½ c olive oil

Measure mustard into a bowl. Whisk in vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and herbs to taste.

Continue to whisk mixtures while slowly dribbling in olive oil until mixture thickens. Adjust seasoning to taste. Cover until ready to use.


JALAPENO ROAST PORK
* we only made half of this recipe but here is the whole thing

1 pork tenderloin (about 6 pounds)
Juice and zest of 2 oranges (about 2/3 cup)
2 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and diced
2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp kosher salt (very salty – we used less than half!!)
2 tbsp cracked black pepper
2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 325.

Rinse the pork and pat dry. Cut the meat into large chucks and make several ½ deep incisions on both sides of the chunks. Mix the juice, jalapenos, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper and oil, either by hand or by pulsing in a food processor or until just mixed. Rub the meat with the mixture, being sure to massage some down into the incisions.

Place the meat in a roasting pan fat side up, cover with foil and roast for 3-4 hours, or until the meat is fork-tender. Cool, remove it from the pan, then shred or slice the pork as desired.


MAC AND CHEESE
Kosher salt
1 lb. elbow macaroni
1 quart milk
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
½ cup all purpose flour
12 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated (4 cups)
* we used swiss instead. Baby buttas are a little cheap!
8 oz. extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp nutmeg
1 ½ c fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

Preheat oven to 375
Cook the macaroni in large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions.

Heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don’t boil. Melt 6 tbsp of butter in large pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot mill and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. (This was a baby butta first experience with making a roux!!!) Off the heat, add the cheeses, 1 tbsp salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3 quart baking dish.

Melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.