May 21, 2020 | Beef, Main Course, Recipes
As many of you know I absolutely love Mexican food and am always on the lookout for restaurants that serve authentic Mexican cuisine. That’s not easy to find where I live in Hawaii. Although a few places have popped up that meet our family’s expectations most of the time I end up making our favorite Mexican dishes at home.
A family favorite is Carne Asada, typical for a family of carnivores I guess. In restaurants it’s sometimes used as the filling for burritos and enchiladas, or a topping for nachos; and it mostly appears on the mean as steak.
Since it’s a favorite of ours I always make it and use it to fill tacos, burritos, and my all time favorites Chimichangas and Flautas which are really just fried versions of burritos and taquitos.
I use flank or skirt steak to make my Carne Asada, and in a pinch flap meat works well too. Those cuts of meat aren’t the most tender but marinating it overnight makes it not only tender but tasty as well. I usually make a big batch of Carne Asada and freeze some to use later. I pan fry the meat and freeze half. It heats up really well.
You can also grill the Flank Steak instead of pan frying it, but to grill it don’t cut up the meat before marination. Marinate the whole slab, grill it, then cut it up to fill your tacos, burritos, or whatever.
So here’s the recipe!
Carne Asada
Marinade Ingredients:
2 Tbs. Soy Sauce
3 Tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
2 Tbs. Minced Garlic
1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro roughly chopped
2 Tsp. Chili Powder
1 Tsp. Ground Cumin
1 Tsp. Ground Oregano
2 Lbs. Flank or Skirt Steak – cut into 1/2″ strips or if you are grilling don’t cut it up marinate the whole slab
Directions:
Mix all the ingredients except the meat in a bowl.
Place meat in a large ziplock bag and pour marinade over it.
Close bag and knead the meat to distribute the marinade evenly.
Refrigerate overnight.
When you’re ready to cook it heat 1 Tbs. Olive Oil in skillet.
Place the meat into hot oil and pan fry to desired doneness.
Discard the marinade.
When meat is cooked use it to make nachos or fill your tortillas, taco shells or bowls, depending on what you are making.
Serve with garnishes such as pico de gallo, sour cream, shredded cheese, guacamole, fresh diced tomatos, lettuce, salsa, etc.
Mar 22, 2019 | Main Course, Recipes
As I’ve said so many times the secret to well seasoned meat dishes start with the meat rub or seasoning. The same holds true for one of my favorite types of cuisine, Mexican or Tex-Mex.
Whether you’re making fajitas, steaks, or taco and burrito filling if you’re filling that tortilla with any type of meat you’re going to need a meat rub. That’s where my Tex-Mex Meat Rub comes in handy.
I usually make a large batch, large meaning enough to fill a pint sized Mason Jar, to season chicken, beef, and even seafood for any kind to Tex-Mex dish I want to make. That way I don’t have to make the mix every time I feel like having flautas or nachos or whatever. I always have enough to rub on my meats; assuming I don’t forget to replenish the jar!
This Tex-Mex Meat Rub is super easy to whip up and makes your meat filling taste incredible! I use just enough pepper in it to give the meat a little kick, but you can adjust the “hotness” according to your preference just by increasing or decreasing the amount of pepper powder you use. Once you’re done just store the rub in a sealed jar and place it in a cool dry place, like your pantry. The Tex-Mex Meat Rub should keep about 3 months, if you can manage not to use it all the first week!
To use the rub you’ll need 1 Tbs. of Tex-Mex Meat per pound of meat. Make a paste with it by adding it to 1 Tbs. Olive Oil and 1/2 Tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar. This is enough to season 3 large chicken breasts.
Rub the paste all over your meat then place the meat in a covered dish or ziplock bag in the fridge. Let the meat marinate in the rub for at least an hour but no more than 24 hours. Overnight works great!
Depending on the dish you are trying to create you can either slice the meat into strips for fajitas or leave it whole and shred after cooking. Then cook the meat the way you want, fry, grill, bake, or in an Instant Pot!
Use the seasoned meat for nachos, fajitas, burritos, tacos, or whatever you like.
Instructions
Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl
Transfer to jar with a tight lid
Tighten the lid and store in a cool dry place
Mar 7, 2019 | Beef, Main Course, Recipes
I’ve recently jumped on to the Instant Pot bandwagon and my life has never been the same! Instant Pots are basically crockpots on steroids, at least that’s how I’d describe them. The can do just about everything a crockpot can do only they do it faster! Because Instant Pot uses pressure to cook food instead of constant slow heat like a crockpot meals can be made not only faster but better tasting because they get tender but don’t get mushy like veggies do when cooked in a crockpot. That’s why making this Instant Pot Shredded Beef is the perfect way to make fillings for tacos, chimichangas, burritos, and more.
Today I’m going to share with you my recipe for Instant Pot Shredded Beef Flautas. Actually it’s basic shredded beef with Mexican spices which I’m using to fill flour tortillas which I then deep fry. That’s what a Flauta is a rolled and fried four tortilla, some folks call them taquitos, but what ever you call them they’re yummy just the same.
You can use this Instant Pot Shredded Beef to fill just about anything you need to fill with shredded beef; like burritos, chimichangas, enchaladas, empanadas, and more.
I’ve always used skirt or flank steaks to make shredded beef, they turn out pretty tender making them pretty easy to shred. But once I started making this Instant Pot Shredded Beef the shredding is even easier, the meat literally just falls apart!
I’m sure you’ll love this recipe so make plenty. I usually freeze extras so that I can use them later for burritos, chimichangas or whatever. If you’re going to freeze it be sure you use freeze safe containers and label them. Because it’s shredded the beef will last in the freezer for about a month so be sure you use it soon!
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Instant Pot Shredded Beef Flautas
Ingredients:
2-3 Lbs. Flank or skirt Steak
2 Tbs Lawry’s Carne Asada Seasoning
1 Tbs Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Black Pepper
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1 Cup Water
1 Package Fajita size Flour Tortilla
1 Package Shredded Monteray Jack/Cheddar Cheese blend
1 Bunch Fresh Cilantro chopped
Oil for frying
Toppings of your choice – Salsa, Pico de Gallo, Cheese, Sour Cream, Guacamoli
Directions:
Combine spices in a small bowl then add olive oil, stir very well
Rub oil mixture to both sides of steak
Let sit in fridge for at least 1 hour
Place trivet in Instant Pot
Pour 1 cup water into pot
Place steak on to trivet
Set on Manual and adjust time to 30 minutes
Secure lid and make sure valve is in sealing position
When pot beeps allow to depressurize naturally it takes about 30 minutes
Once pot is completely depressurized remove lid carefully and take out steak
Place steak onto chopping board and shred using 2 forks
Place shredded beef in a bowl ready to fill your tortillas
Fill flour tortillas with 2 tbs shredded beef, about 1 tbs shredded cheese, 1 tsp chopped cilantro
Roll up and fry in hot oil
Drain on paper towels and serve with desired garnishes
Instant Pot Shredded Beef Flautas
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Instant Pot Shredded Beef Flautas
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Instructions
Combine spices in a small bowl then add olive oil, stir very well
Rub oil mixture to both sides of steak
Let sit in fridge for at least 1 hour
Place trivet in Instant Pot
Pour 1 cup water into pot
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Set on Manual and adjust time to 30 minutes
Secure lid and make sure valve is in sealing position
When pot beeps allow to depressurize naturally it takes about 30 minutes
Once pot is completely depressurized remove lid carefully and take out steak
Place steak onto chopping board and shred using 2 forks
Place shredded beef in a bowl ready to fill your tortillas
Fill flour tortillas with 2 tbs shredded beef, about 1 tbs shredded cheese, 1 tsp chopped cilantro
Roll up and fry in hot oil
Drain on paper towels and serve with desired garnishes
Jan 21, 2019 | Corner, Main Course, Poutlry, Recipes
Last week I used my big bottle of Lawry’s Carne Asada Seasoning to make a delicious chicken casserole that my family loved. Well I need more than casseroles to use up all that 
seasoning I picked up at Costco so this week I’m sharing my Chicken Chimichanga.
Chimichangas are my all time favorite Mexican dishes. I love the crunchy fried burrito filled with tasty meat then topped with cheese, salsa, and sour cream. I mean seriously what’s not to love? I usually make it with shredded beef, but I still had a big bag of chicken thighs so I figured why not make chicken chimichangas. I’m so glad I did! Everyone loved them, including my 4 year old grandson who’s always a very picky eater!
These chicken chimichangas were a delicious way to use up more of that bottle of Carne Asada Seasoning!
I serve this with refried beans and Mexican rice for a filling meal. I try to make enough for leftovers because everyone loves them, but that’s not always easy. They’re eaten up in one meal! My son even comes over to take a bunch of chicken chimichangas home for his family’s dinner!
You can top or garnish it with anything you want like shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa, hot or mild. We love the hot!
Instructions
Mix seasoning, vinegar, garlic powder, and olive oil together and place in a ziplock bag.
Add chicken thighs to marinade and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.
Add about 2 tbs. oil into a frying pan and fry chicken until cooked or grill chicken until cooked.
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Divide shredded chicken into 10 equal parts, do the same with the cilantro
Place 1 portion of chicken and cilantro into the middle of a tortilla, sprinkle with about a tbs of shredded cheese.
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Heat 1 - 1 1/2" of oil in frying pan.
Fry each burrito until all sides are golden brown.
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Serve and garnish which your choice of toppings.
Jan 14, 2019 | Corner, Main Course, Poutlry, Recipes
I’m not even going to try to lie about how this dish came to be! I made this Cheesy Mexican Chicken Casserole because a while back during a Costco shopping trip I sample a dip that was made with Lawry’s Carne Asada Seasoning. Of course I had to buy the large industrial sized bottle of this seasoning! I seemed like a good idea at the time!
Then the bottle of seasoning sat in my kitchen cabinet along with a shelf full of other spices for months. It seemed to taunt me every time I opened the cupboard to grab a bottle of spice. It said “use me I dare you!” So I just had to find a way, other than the dip, to use this tasty seasoning. That’s how I came up with this Cheesy Mexican Chicken Casserole! (Well having my fridge go on the blink with a big bag of Costco chicken thighs and shredded cheddar made me super creative!)
But seriously I whipped up a tray of this Chicken Casserole and my family absolutely loved it! There was barely any left overs. In fact they were practically fighting over the 2 left over pieces the next day!
And best of all it’s super easy to make! It literally is dumped into a baking dish and baked for about an hour and it’s done! I served it with some Mexican rice, trust me it really was a big hit! They can’t wait til I make it again! At this rate I’m going to have to go back to Costco for another bottle of that seasoning.
So here it is, my awesome Cheesy Mexican Chicken Casserole!
Cheesy Mexican Chicken Casserole
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Cheesy Mexican Chicken Casserole
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Instructions
Place chicken thighs in a large shallow baking dish
Sprinkle Carne Asada Seasoning over chicken and let sit covered with plastic wrap in refrigerator for about an hour
Mix cream cheese, salsa, whipping cream, and sour cream together in a bowl and pour over chicken. Make sure you cover all the pieces.
Spread shredded cheddar over all.
Bake in 350 degree oven for about 1 hour or until chicken is fully cooked and cheese is completely melted.
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