Menu-Plan May 19, 2008 and Fish Tacos

Better late than never….

 
Monday:
Grilled Chicken
Potato Salad
Garden Salad

Tuesday:
Out to Dinner with Friends
(Big River Grille)

Wednesday:
Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto

Thursday:
Out to Dinner for Anniversary (#9!)
(St. John’s Restaurant)

Friday:
Either Pizza or Burgers

 

And now for your dining pleasure…

Fish Tacos

From Food & Wine Magazine, June 2008

Ingredients:

2 Hass avocados—halved, pitted and peeled

1/4 cup low-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt

1 small jalapeño, seeded and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons minced red onion

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

5 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 small head of napa cabbage, shredded (4 cups)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for brushing

2 pounds thick red snapper fillets with skin, cut crosswise into ten 2-inch-wide strips

Ten or twelve corn tortillas, warmed

2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced

Hot sauce, for serving

Lime wedges, for serving

Directions:

Light a grill. In a medium bowl, mash the avocados, sour cream, jalapeño, red onion, cilantro and 3 tablespoons of the lime juice. Season the guacamole with salt and pepper and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the guacamole.

In a large bowl, toss the cabbage with the 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and the remaining 2 tablespoons of lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Brush the fish with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over moderately high heat until lightly charred and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer the fish to a platter and pull off the skin.

To assemble each taco, spread a dollop of guacamole on a tortilla. Top with a piece of fish, a few tomato slices and a large spoonful of the cabbage slaw. Serve with the hot sauce and lime wedges.

 

Flat-style Enchiladas

I love enchiladas, but I always used to make them with flour tortillas because I hated working with corn tortillas.  No matter what it did, what little trick I tried, I could not get those pesky corn tortillas to roll without tearing.  The solution?  Don’t roll them!  Apparently, those clever people in the South-West worked that out a while ago, and it certain areas, it is typical to find enchiladas served “flat-style.”

 

I made these in a square brownie pan because I didn’t need a huge amount of food, but I’ll guess on the amounts for a normal 9×13 baking dish.  This was one of those recipes that was only loosely based on a real recipe, I and made it up as I went along.

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas Verde

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts 
Juice form 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic

1 can (15 ounce) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
2 cups canned green enchilada sauce or green salsa, divided
18 corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese, such as Mexican-style, Monterey Jack or Cheddar
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Combine oil, lime juice and spices with chicken. Let marinate while oven pre-heats to 350 degrees.

2. Bake chicken until done (I have no idea on time - I actually cooked mine in the toasted oven and it took about 20 minutes.) Remove chicken.

3. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.

4. Dice/shred chicken. Combine with black beans, chiles, and 1/2 cup enchilada sauce.

5. Spread 1/4 cup enchilada sauce in the prepared baking dish. Top with an overlapping layer of 9 tortillas. Top with the chicken and bean mixture, followed by the remaining 9 tortillas. Pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas. Cover with foil.

6. Bake the enchiladas until they begin to bubble on the sides, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil; sprinkle cheese on top. Continue baking until heated through and the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes more.

7. Top with cilantro and serve.

Yield: 8 servings

 

Welcome! (and have some tacos)

Welcome to my new home!  It will take me a little while to get all the kinks out, so please bear with me. 

I have page tabs along the top where you can access my recipe index, contact me, and (coming soon) read about the Red Sox.

And I must wish good luck to the Boston Red Sox as they start the 2008 season.  Today is the first day that pitches and catchers report to spring training.  It is officially baseball season! 

“Leftover” Tacos

Here is an easy recipe for tacos that I make when ever I have left over meat, often from a pork roast.  I never use a recipe, I just toss in spices until it tastes right.  But last night, I actually paid attention to what I added so that I could post a recipe.  I tend to pull the cooked meat apart with my fingers to give it a shredded texture, but it can be chopped.  The amount of “heat” in the recipe can be adjusted with the amount of chili powder and most importantly, the amount of cayenne pepper added.

Ingredients:

3/4 pound (about) cooked pork, shredded

1/4 cup diced onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon chili powder

dash cayenne pepper

1/2 cup chicken stock (or water is okay too)

Directions:

Saute onions in olive oil for 2 minutes or so.  Add pork and spices.  Cook about 5 minutes.  Add stock.  Cook until most of the liquid is evaporated and meat is hot. 

Serve with warm corn tortillas, guacamole, cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo, salsa, and anything else you like on your tacos.