Smothered Southwestern Beef Burritos - Spicy!

Ingredients:

For the beef:

• 3.5+ pound chunk of beef (chuck, tip, shoulder, rump - anything that will shred/fall apart)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
• 2 cups of beef stock
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp Mexican chile powder
• 1.5 tbsp cumin
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced

For the gravy:

• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp flour
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 can of plain tomato sauce
• 3.5 tablespoons of special seasoning mix (recipe directly below)

For the "Special Seasoning Mix": 

• 3.5 tbsp of Mexican chili powder
• 2 tsp of cumin
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp of oregano
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chipotle chile powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

For dinner assembly: 

• Flour tortillas
• Iceberg lettuce shreds
• Fresh grated cheddar
• Fresh jalapeno, sliced
• Spanish rice (I used a boxed rice and added canned tomato)
• Refried beans
• Sour cream
• Hot sauce, for added heat

Instructions: 

Beef: PART 1-

1. Rinse the beef, trim off fat, and cut into 1.5 to 2 inch cubes. Place into crockpot. We used Sirloin Tip because that's the only thing the store had that day...if you're not sure what to do, talk to the butcher. 
2. Dice 1 onion, add to the crockpot.
3. Mix together the remaining ingredients (tomato paste, beef stock, garlic, brown sugar, cumin, chile powder, corn starch, oregano, cayenne, ancho chile powder), and pour into crock pot. 
4. Set the crockpot on HIGH for 5 hours. 

For the gravy-

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.
2. Add flour, a little bit at a time, while whisking. Cook the flour/butter until smooth and lightly golden brown. 
3. Continue whisking and slowly add the beef stock, tomato sauce and spice blend. 
4. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. If too thick, add some water. 

Beef: PART 2- 

1. After the beef has cooked for 4 hours, uncover the crockpot, give it a stir and allow the beef to cook the last hour uncovered. 
2. Add the remaining "Special seasoning mix" along with1 tsp salt..... Taste testing is necessary during this step. 
3. Once you're ready to serve dinner, using a slotted spoon, fish out the beef/onion, and roughly shred the beef on a separate dish. Make sure to leave it chunky, you don't want this beef to be a mushy shred-fest in your burrito. 
4. Remove the remaining sauce from the crockpot and set aside. (I used this sauce when packaging up leftover beef (poured it over top). 
5. Once you're done shredding, place the beef/onion mixture back into the crockpot and set it on LOW. Add more of the sauce if needed....you want the beef wet, but not swimming in the sauce. 

Assembly: 

1. Heat the tortilla on a warmed pan/skillet. 
2. Spread refried beans on the tortilla.
3. Add beef and roll it up. 
4. Pour the gravy over the entire burrito and sprinkle with grated cheddar.
5. Serve with Spanish rice (on the side) and a bed of iceberg lettuce shreds (on the side) topped with tomato, cheese and jalapeno. 

Enjoy!

***This is a modified recipe from a few recipes I found online...

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/12/saucy-southwest-shredded-beef/
http://tsgcookin.com/2014/09/enchilada-style-burritos/
http://houseofyumm.com/homemade-refried-beans/

Lemon Risotto (How to prepare in advance)

Creamy, delicious, comfort food!

Risotto is the perfect side when you are craving something tasty AND want to impress! Plus it's not as difficult to prepare as some believe.

We served this lemony risotto with blackened grouper and roasted asparagus...it was outstanding! Impressed our guests, that's for sure. Special thank you to Mariah for providing and preparing the amazing "FRESH" grouper!

I prepared (aka par-cooked) the risotto about 2 hours before dinner was served...this saved me SO MUCH time and work...I didn't have to stand over the pot stirring for 20 minutes while my guests were here. Once we were ready to eat - I finished cooking the risotto and the end result was perfection! *This is what restaurants do!

Lemon Risotto Recipe 
(when you want to make it in advance- up to two hours before serving)

Ingredients:

• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 cup water
• 1.5 cups Arborio rice
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup pre-grated parmesan cheese OR 1 cup of fresh grated parmesan or pecorino (the latter is preferred)
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt & pepper
• EVOO
• 1 medium onion (white or sweet)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup of white wine (cooking)
• Casserole dish for cooling the par-cooked risotto 

Steps:

1. Heat a splash of EVOO over medium-high heat in a round pot.
2. In a separate sauce pan, heat and simmer the stock + water...keep hot/warm. 
3. Saute the diced onion in the olive oil for 3 minutes then add the crushed garlic the last 30 seconds.
4. Add the rice and lemon zest to the onion/garlic, stirring constantly, and cook for 1 minute. 
5. Pour in the white wine and cook until absorbed. 
6. For the next 16 minutes, ladle in the hot chicken stock, one cup at a time, waiting for it to absorb, before adding more (STIRRING CONSTANTLY). Do this with about 3.5 cups of the stock. You will need to reserve around 1-1.5 cups when you finish cooking. 
7. After the 16 minutes, when your 3.5 cups of stock have been absorbed by the rice, immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the rice into a casserole dish - spreading the risotto out evenly to help it cool down and stop cooking. The rice should be undercooked. Once cooled off a bit - cover with plastic wrap and keep on the counter until you're almost ready to plate your dinner.

****When you're ready to finish cooking the risotto**** (right before plating your meal)

1. Heat the reserved stock/water over medium-high heat in the larger pot that the risotto was originally in.
2. Add the risotto back into the large pot with the stock.
3. Stir quickly and constantly until the stock has been absorbed.
4. Add butter, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and stir to combine. 
5. Add salt/pepper to taste.
6. Continue stirring until the rice has fully cooked and is al dente. 

I can't wait to try more risotto recipes!

Bon apetit!

The Famous: Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala

This is probably my favorite thing to make. What started as an experimental dish, now is a staple in our home! The "go-to" meal for dinner parties!

It's a bit of a process, but worth every second of work. And don't get me wrong, I've managed to come home at 5:30 and have the meal ready by 8pm!

I've made this recipe a number of times by now. I have followed several different recipes, and still don't have a SET recipe I will use each and every time. However, for the sake of this blog and sharing with friends, I found one recipe that I think is a great start!

Link: http://www.food.com/recipe/chicken-tikka-masala-25587

 Tips:

• Serve with GARLIC naan
• Over rice is good, but in my opinion QUINOA is the way to go!
• USE garam masala, it's amazing.
• Don't be scared to play around with the spices, if it doesn't taste right, add some curry powder, just not too much. When in doubt, I add garam masala!!!
• I also double the sauce, everytime - love dipping the naan in it! This will change the amount of spices you need- be mindful of this...it's a tasting game!
• If you don't have a grill, broiling the skewered chicken works just as well. Don't skip the skewering part.
• I always add an extra pepper or two...jalapeno, poblano, and/or serrano!
• Double or triple the garlic; it won't hurt!

MARINATION

and the sauce....





Greg's Fajitarritos

Fajita + Burrito = Fajitarrito

Greg, the roommate, has introduced our household to this phenomenon. This is definitely a house fave! FILLING, DELICIOUS, & just so darn awesome! Thank you Greg for making these :)

List of ingredients:

chicken breasts (2 lb)

black beans- 2 cans

yellow rice

honey

salt/pepper

ground red pepper/paprika

peppers (multi colored, 3-4)

large onion

peach or mango salsa

regular salsa (your favorite)

flour tortillas (large burrito size)

toppings (optional, choose to your liking):

shredded cheese

sour cream

jalapenos

hot sauce

Now the steps:

1. wash and trip the chicken breasts

2. Cover with honey, salt, pepper, and ground pepper seasoning; cover and let stand for about 30-60 min

3. Pan sear the breasts on medium high, until the honey and spices have nicely browned onto the chicken

4. Remove chicken and slice (notice the chicken is not fully cooked)

5. Chop the peppers and onions (slice or bite sized)

6. Toss into the same pan and cover with a jar of peach salsa

7. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently

8. Add chicken and mix well

9. You may add more salsa at this point

10. Cover and simmer until chicken is fully cooked

MEANWHILE....

1. Your rice is on the stove with a timer ON

2. Melt some butter and cook two cans of black beans

Now a demonstration of how to assemble the Fajitarrito:

Throw some cheese onto a warm tortilla

 Then beans

 and rice...

 now chicken!

Top off with cheese, sour cream, hot sauce/taco sauce, and whatever else your heart desires!

YUM.