Bajio Sweet Rice

Oh man... I LOVE this rice. It is so sweet and delicious and goes well with any Mexican dish. Use it on your mexican salads, burritos or as a side dish, but any way you have it, it is just wonderful! And because it isn't spicy, the kids will love it too. I know mine does!


Here's what you need:

1/2-1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 of a white or yellow onion, chopped (add more or less to your taste)
1/2 bunch cilantro (we actually didn't use any because I don't like cilantro, but if you're going for authentic... haha ;)
1 1/3 cups white rice
3 cups chicken broth
1/4-1/2 cup sugar

NOTE: The amount of sugar it calls for makes this rice very sweet. You can change the amount of sugar if you want, but just remember it is supposed to be sweet. Also, if you let the sugar dissolve in the stock before you mix it in with the rice, the sugar won't sit on the bottom of the pan.

Put a little oil in bottom of pan. Saute chopped onion until translucent. Add the chopped cilantro (no big stems) and saute a minute more.
Add the rice, cooking until it is light brown (being careful not to burn).
Combine the chicken broth and sugar, letting sugar dissolve. Then stir into rice until combined. Bring to a boil.
Cover and let cook on low, med-low until rice is done, about 25-30 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

I actually wish I had added a little bit of onion powder to this to help ground the sweetness, so if you want to try that, let me know how it turns out. :)

Stuffed Peppers

I hadn't ever had a stuffed pepper until just about a year ago. And let me tell you, I fell in love. I don't know what it is about it, but we have these almost every other week. I never liked spicy food growing up, and this definitely has a kick to it, but it has the perfect proportion of tomatoes, cheese, rice and bell pepper in each bite. Mmm...

What you need:

2-6 green bell peppers (depending on how many people you're making these for)
1 lb. pork chorizo
1/2 cup onion, diced
4 cloves garlic
1 can tomatoes
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 - 1 cup cooked white rice (depending on how many peppers you have to stuff- I'll explain later)
1 cup cheese

Cut the tops off the peppers and clean out the insides (remove seeds and white rinds on sides while keeping the pepper whole like a bowl) Boil peppers in water for around 15 minutes and set aside in a casserole dish.

While the peppers are boiling, brown chorizo. If you are using chorizo that has a casing, remove it before cooking it. You want it to be more like ground meat. We've found a very cheap chorizo brand at Walmart that is usually under $1 and doesn't have a casing. It is more like a spicy paste than a sausage. It comes in a plastic wrap with a green, red and white label. (Sorry for not having a picture- you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it though.) All you have to do is cut open one end and squeeze the chorizo out onto the pan. It doesn't "brown" when you cook it, so if you use that kind, don't worry about browning it first.

Add onions and garlic to skillet and cook until onions are soft. Season with a little salt and pepper. Stir in tomatoes, Worc. sauce and rice. Since there's usually only 2 of us, we only use about a 1/2 cup of rice so we don't have too much filling. But if you're making 4 or more peppers, use at least 1 cup of rice (you can add as much as you'd like to make more filling). Remove from heat and mix in cheese.

Stuff peppers and top with extra cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve with a little bit of sour cream and sprinkle a little lime juice on and enjoy!

*An alternate recipe for those with children or who don't like too much spice:
Only use 1/2 - 1/4 of the chorizo (or none at all if you don't want it) and use 1 lb. ground beef. Just brown the beef, drain grease and then start adding the other ingredients as called for above.

This recipe will stuff about 4 medium sized peppers, so if there's only 2 of you, save the extra mixture and use it with some refried beans to make a great burrito.

Delicious!

Fajitas

My grandparents gave us a TON of elk meat a few months ago and we're still not done using it all. Basically we've been substituting any beef for this deliciousness and we've found some pretty creative ways to do it. (Once again, I apologize for my lack of photography skills. It tastes a whole lot better than it looks. Elk meat also looks a little darker than beef steaks would)

We decided to make fajitas with some of the steak we had, and they turned out pretty good! The best part is that this marinade can be used with pretty much any meat. So if you're on a budget and can't afford steaks, chicken will go perfectly with this.

Marinade:
1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup water
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp soy sace
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp liquid smoke flavoring
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

You'll also need a bell pepper and an onion.

To get the most flavor into the meat, slice it up into the size of chunks you'd like BEFORE you marinade them. Let them soak in the marinade at least 3 hours (even better if you let it soak overnight).

Saute the meat in a pan on med-high heat. In a seperate pan, saute slices of bell pepper and onions.

Serve on warm flour tortillas with sour cream and/or any other toppings you'd like. (cheese, tomatoes, avacado, salsa, etc.)

All in all, this is a pretty quick recipe. Just make the marinade the night before and all you have to do is toss the meat and veggies in a hot pan, and a few minutes later you have a delicious dinner.

Happy Eating!

Taco Soup

I'm not the biggest fan of winter... so when it gets cold I love to have soup. This taco soup is so flavorful and not only warms me up when I'm cold, it gets me excited about my favorite season- SUMMER!!

Here's what you need:

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tb olive oil
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 1/4 cups water
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chopped green chiles
2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
crushed tortilla chips
shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 avacado, sliced
sour cream

In a medium pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir in corn, chiles, beans and chicken. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired.
Simmer for 10 minutes.

Pour soup into bowls and top with crushed tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream and avacado slices.

Cafe Rio style Enchiladas

For anyone who hasn't ever tasted the awesomeness that is Cafe Rio's sweet pork, you are truly missing out on a life-altering experience.

The only problem is having to wait in line to get it... I once called a TAKE-OUT order at 5:00 on a Friday night and was told to pick up my burrito at 7:30!! But it was SO worth it that I waited.

I'm not claiming this recipe is exactly the same- but it's pretty darn close:



2 pounds pork
2 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can green chilies
3/4 can green enchilada sauce
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a ziploc bag to marinade. Add 1 can of coke and 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and 1 c. brown sugar. If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours.

Add shredded pork and cheese to taste to tortillas and roll into burritos. Pour any remaining enchilada sauce on top and add cheese. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Just a sidenote, I have decided that using a mild enchilada sauce makes the enchiladas seem too sweet. I suggest using something medium or spicier, depending on your preference for spice. This will make at least 4 decent sized burritos, and are great as leftovers!

Enjoy!