carne asada tacos

Derek and I took our kiddos to run errands (together- weird) on Saturday. Whilst on said errands, we got hungry. So we hit up our local taqueria. Dos tacos, por favor. And mmmm, they were yummy. There's just something to be said for authentic Mexican food. Since we were going shopping right after anyway, we decided to buy some stuff to try our hand at our own Carne Asada Tacos. We did a quick recipe search on Allrecipes.com (I have an app for that) and found this one. I pretty much followed it exclusively (well, I halved it - we didn't need 16 tacos), and it turned out fabulously! We only did the marinade for an hour (the smallest time frame allotted), but we stabbed the steak a ton with a fork pre-marinade, and I think that must have helped- cause it was YUM! Pretty easy and pretty spectacular. My kind of recipe.

RECIPE: Carne Asada Tacos

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb flank steak

2 Tbs + 2 tsp white vinegar

1/4 c soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

juice from 1 lime

1/4 c olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground white pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 white onion, chopped

1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro

juice from 1/2 lime

10 white corn tortillas

(opt) avocado, sliced

(opt) jalapeno slices (Mezzetta has tame ones, mmm)

Directions:

1. Lay the flank steak in a large glass baking dish. Stab relentlessly with a fork. In a medium bowl, whisk together the other ingredients (stop at paprika). Then pour the marinade mixture over the steak in the dish. Turn over once to coat both sides. Cover with plastic wrap and marinade (in the fridge) for 1-8 hours.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the white onion, cilantro and lime juice. Set aside to use as a relish for the tacos.

3. Heat a (preferably cast-iron... seriously, there's nothing better) skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the meat from the marinade and put it in the hot pan. Let it brown a bit on one side then flip it over. Then reduce heat a bit and continue to cook through. Remove from heat and cover in tin foil. Set aside.

4. Wash the previously used skillet and then warm it again- on medium-high heat. Warm the tortillas for about a minute on each side. (This can also be done in the microwave but is nowhere near as yummy.)

5. Prepare your tacos- combining meat, onion/cilantro relish, and any other toppings of choice (avocado and jalapenos are yummy options). Serve warm and enjoy!

tom ka gai (coconut lemongrass chicken soup)

I had this soup recently and for my first time at our local Thai restaurant, and I loved it! It was such a pleasant and unexpected combination of flavors, and it was beautiful. Mmm... I thought maybe I could duplicate it {I mean, how hard could it be? I'm cocky.} and decided to give it a try. I had planned on following a recipe but was unable to find some of the ingredients, so I tried another recipe... and again, couldn't find some of the ingredients. So I combined a few ideas and made my own {dangerous when attempting a meal you hardly know}. Luckily, it turned out super duper delicious!! I was so happy with it, and I fully intend to make it again. With that being said, here it is. So I remember.

If you try it as well, let me know how it went! Enjoy.

RECIPE: Tom Ka Gai

Ingredients:

1 deli-roasted (rotisserie) chicken, de-boned, skin removed and shredded {we only used about 3/4 of it... or about 1 1/2 lbs. of chicken}

2 c. water

3 med carrots, peeled and sliced thinly on the diagonal

1 package Shiitake mushrooms {I would probably do regular button mushrooms next time; I didn't love the texture of these}, halved

juice from 2 limes (about 1/4 c.)

1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp dried lemongrass

2 Tbsp fish sauce

1-2 in. fresh ginger-root, grated/minced

2 cans (15 oz.-ish) unsweetened coconut milk

2 stalks green onion, sliced thinly

cilantro (opt)

Directions:

Put the (already-cooked) chicken in a hot pot and let it sizzle for a minute. Add the remaining ingredients (all but the coconut milk, green onions, and cilantro) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until carrots are crisp-tender and all is heated through. Add the coconut milk, stir well. At this point, do NOT boil; just warm. Toss in the green onion pieces. Stir. Heat on low heat until ready to serve. Top with cilantro if desired, and serve warm.

Serves: 8

Calories: 203

mango chutney

This can hardly be called my recipe. I snagged it off the internet by a faster-than-lightning Google search, ran to the store, bought the ingredients, whipped it up - and loved it! I changed a few things {and will post the thus-altered recipe I used}, but really credit goes to Elise via Simply Recipes {go here}. Way to go, Elise! The salsa, which for some reason we continuously called chutney, was fantastic! We served it over grilled salmon and grilled chicken breasts. Mmm... delightful.

This recipe is really versatile, so change it up however you'd like. Add more of this and less of that, whatever. It should still work. We used less jalapeño because we wanted the flavor of the chili but not the heat {this recipe is kid-friendly}. Change that up if you want it to pack more of a punch. Serve over grilled salmon or chicken, or just with your favorite tortilla chips! Relish in the ease of it all... and enjoy!

RECIPE: Mango Chutney

Ingredients:

2 ripe mangoes

1 red onion

3/4 of a jalapeño

1 cucumber

1 big handful of fresh cilantro

2 limes

Directions:

Peel, pit and dice the mangoes. Finely chop the red onion. Remove the ribs and seeds of the jalapeño, then mince it finely. Peel and dice the cucumber. Chop the cilantro. Combine all ingredients in a small-medium bowl, mixing gently. Juice the limes over the mixture. Give it another quick stir, and serve!

*Photo courtesy of simplyrecipes.com