Mexican Street Corn Casserole

Mexican Street Corn Casserole

24 ounces frozen corn, thawed (if you use canned corn, please ensure you drain well)
1/4 cup mayonnaise (don't use that Miracle stuff...it's gross)
1/3 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon chili powder (or more if you are like us and like a little more spice to your life)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or more if you are like us)
Salt & Pepper, to taste
4 ounces of cojita cheese (if I can find it in Walmart in the middle of Missouri, I think everyone else can find it, but if you can't, you can use queso fresco or as a last resort, feta, but try to find cojita)
2 Tablespoons of cilantro (if you are one of those people who like, it, I don't like it, so we leave it out)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease a 2-3 quart casserole dish.

In a large bowl, mix together corn, mayonnaise, sour cream and lime juice.  Add chili powder, garlic salt, cayenne and mix well.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in half of the cheese.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, making sure it's heated through and bubbly.  Before serving sprinkle with the remaining cheese and sprinkle with a little more chili powder and if you want to make it pretty and like cilantro you can throw some on there too.

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

This recipe was a Pinterest find from months ago and I finally got around to making it today for lunch.  It was delicious!  We will definitely be making this again.  It didn't take much time at all and I love that I didn't have to double the recipe, it made plenty for the family and we still had leftovers.  The original recipe was posted here.

CHICKEN ENCHILADA PASTA

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 {4 oz.} can diced green chiles

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

2 {10 oz.} cans green chili enchilada sauce

2/3 cups red enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded cheese (use whatever you like, mozzarella or cheddar & jack, whatever makes you happy!)

1 cup sour cream

Penne pasta

Cook chicken, drain, and shred.  Meanwhile boil pasta according to package and chop the veggies. Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet and cook onions for about 3-5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Add cooked chicken, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, & enchilada sauces.  Let sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes.

Add cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and heated through.  Remove pan from heat and toss in the sour cream.  Stir until sour cream is well mixed and heated through (you do not need to put back on heat, the sauce is warm enough that it will heat up the sour cream without curdling and still stay warm enough to serve).

Drain pasta & return to pot.  Pour sauce over pasta and mix well.   

You can garnish it with whatever you want or eat it alone, it's still delicious!

The boys gave it a big thumbs up!

Homemade Corn Tortillas

Homemade Corn tortillas, are amazing and simple to make!  Really, don't be afraid...they are worth the little extra time to make.

All you need is three ingredients...yup..that's it.

Corn Tortillas

2 cups Masa Harina  (I've linked to an explanation and picture of the most commonly used masa harina)

1+ cup warm water

1 tsp salt

Dissolve your salt in your warm water and add to masa harina.  Combine by hand until it forms a ball.  You may need to add a little more water to help the dough to form.  The dough will not be sticky.  Let the masa rest for about 30 minutes.

Get out your tortilla press...oh...you don't have one?  That's okay...simply get some wax or parchment paper and a rolling pin and it works just as well.  

Roll your dough into golf-ball size balls and place in between paper.  Even if you are using a tortilla press, you will want to use some type of paper so it doesn't stick.  Simply place the masa ball in between the paper and press down.  If using a rolling pin, place ball between paper and roll with pin.

Once flattened, peel off paper and place on heated pan.  You might be using a cast-iron griddle pan or skillet, whatever you have will work.

That's it!  So simple and easy!  Enjoy

Crockpot Flank Steak Tacos

This is what we had for dinner tonight and it was FABULOUS!  I found the idea on Pinterest but the recipe was under the name of "carnita beef tacos".  Well this will sound incredibly silly but the name bothered me.  Carnitas are pork and as you can see this is beef...therefore I cannot in good conscious call them Carnita Tacos.  They are now Flank Steak Tacos....doesn't sound as fancy but trust me, when you eat them you won't care about the name!  Now that I have given you a little food lesson, we can continue on to the recipe!

Do not be scared that there is no liquid...your meat will not burn, I promise!

Flank Steak Tacos
2 lbs flank steak (or 4lbs if you have hungry teenage boys like I do)
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (one works fine if you don't want as much heat and if you want more heat, leave the seeds in!)

Spice Rub

2 tsp chili powder (I like to use New Mexico Red Chili but you can use whatever makes you happy)
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt  (sometimes I like using Kosher salt in rubs, just depends on my mood)
1/2 tsp black pepper

*You can really put any combination of spices you like, it's all about the flavors you like!


Directions:
Mix together all spices in a small bowl. Rub the spices all over your flank steak, really you cannot over spice. Then, place your steak at the bottom of your crock pot.
Cover the steak with the chopped onions, bell peppers and jalapeno pepper. Turn heat on LOW and cook for 8 hours.
After 8 hours, remove meat from crock pot and shred with a fork (honestly by this point, you really don't even need to shred it, it will just fall apart).

Serve with corn tortillas (make your own, they are super easy!)

Top with whatever makes you happy...here are a few variations from our home.

 I simply put the meat on the tortilla, squeezed some lime juice then added fresh avocado.

 Neil put meat, then lime juice, mashed his avocado, added green salsa that you can't see, lettuce and red salsa.

 Daniel just ate his with meat and avocado.

 Michael was the same..meat, lime, avocado and eventually his rice ended up in the taco too.

Easy Red Chili Sauce

I've had a lot of people ask me for a red chili sauce, here is a simple one I use for lots of different recipes. I buy most of my stuff online at Mexgrocer.com because I live in an area that doesn't have these chili's readily available! I've linked the chile to that site so you know what I'm talking about! Enjoy!

Red Chili Sauce

For a mild sauce, use more California and less New Mexico chilies: For a spicier sauce, use less California and more New Mexico chilies.

• 1 Bag dried chile ancho/pasilla
  
• ½ Bag dried chile California
• ½ Bag dried red chile New Mexico
  
• 2 medium onions diced
• 6-8 cloves garlic diced
• 1 Tablespoon cumin powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Remove the stems from the chilies (not the seeds) and place in a sauce pan with 2 quarts of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Place the chili and water mixture in a blender and liquefy. Pour through a strainer and push through with a rubber spatula. Put the residue back into the blender with one quart of broth (you can use any kind of broth you like but you might want it to match up with the protein you will be serving the sauce with, so chicken, pork or broth - homemade is always best!). Liquefy and repeat straining again.

Pour the chili into a sauce pan and add onion, garlic and cumin. Simmer over low heat for ½ hour. Chili will become darker. Add salt and pepper to taste.