Taco Tuesday’s are better my way

January 29, 2014

It’s so early in the morning that I have nothing witty to say besides what kind of person asks me to meet at 8am when they know I work from home. Don’t they know I have better things to do, like snuggle my husband dog and make a breakfast smoothie? Jeez, the nerve of some people in the corporate world….

Close up of my masterpiece

Close up of my masterpiece

Tortilla Soup

  • 32 oz. package of Swanson’s tortilla soup broth. Usually I would make my own Mexican flavored broth using tomatoes, jalapeños, onions, cumin, etc. But yesterday I tried this. It’s the shit. Such an easy shortcut.
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 large green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 poblano pepper, roasted, peeled and diced. If you don’t know how to roast peppers check out this tutorial, it works with any type of pepper. Also, don’t be a little b*tch and put slice the top off and use a chopstick. Peppers have stems, just use them—you aren’t going to melt your tongs.
  • 1 can cream style corn, no salt added. This sounds like a fatty ingredient, but it’s a soup that serves over 4 people, and the corn is actually low in fat. Get organic if you can.
  • 1 can of peeled and diced tomatoes. Get creative. If you see something that looks cool, get it.
  • 5 corn tortillas
  • 1 tbs. coconut oil

 

the genius/timesaving broth

the genius/timesaving broth

In a soup pot, sauté onions and bell peppers in a little bit of coconut oil until soft. Add in broth, tomatoes and corn and bring to a boil. Once it’s boiling, ad in corn tortillas, shredding them as you go. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Use a vitamix or immersion blender (or I guess just a regular blender for you plebeians), and blend until there are just a few small chunks. If you want it completely smooth, then go for it. Transfer back into the pot and add in the poblanos. I typically don’t like to blend in the poblanos in a reddish colored soup because they are so dark and turn the soup a sick ass color. Garnish with a lime wedge and avocado. Or try and make a little avocado cup with a baked scoop—but you’re basically setting yourself up for failure.

 

aerial view. cue the drooling

aerial view. cue the drooling

Blackened Red Snapper Tacos

  • You’ll need half a filet per person, so do the math and get however much you need. Have your fish guy take the skin off for you. Or, if you’re like me and got an awkward blank stare from the fish guy when asked to remove the skin for me, just do it at home with a sharp knife. I’m 99% sure the fish peeps at HEB hate me. I don’t blame them. I ask to smell the fish, when it was brought in, from where, and if it’s really wild caught. In general, don’t buy fish that isn’t wild caught. And DON’T buy fish from Asia. Whewsh, that was a lot of explaining. Just buy the f’ng fish. Any mild whitefish works by the way. EXCEPT TILAPIA. NEVER BUY TILAPIA. #judging
  • Corn tortillas. For the pic I double bagged my tacos, but don’t do this in real life. The tortillas I buy only have 110 cals for 3, so lighten it up.
  • A cup of Dole Asian blends, pick out the snow peas.
  • ¼ cup cotija cheese crumbled
  • Any type of light vinaigrette
  • Blackening spice

Coat a pan with a little bit of pam, and heat up to medium high heat. While it’s heating, season the fish on both sides w/ blackening spice, or any spice that has lots of garlic and pepper. Once it’s hot, add the snapper, and cook for about 4-5 minutes. Check after 4 minutes, if the fish wants to be flipped, it will let you. If there’s any resistance, then just wait. Cook for 3ish minutes on the other side, until the fish is cooked through and flaky. Combine the cheese, Asian mix and dressing to make a slaw. Build your taco and enjoy. You can cook the shrimp the same way, coated in the same spice!

dole Asian blends. saves time chopping lettuces

dole Asian blends. saves time chopping lettuces

Quinoa à la Megan

January 28, 2014

A few weeks ago, one of my besties came over for “just a glass of wine.” I have learned, in the past year living in West Texas, that “just a glass” means “just a bottle.” Per person. Well, since we always snack when we drink (boozing justifies eating), she brought over a snack. It was a hodge podge of ingredients that she had in the fridge, but it was tastyyyy. She made a cous-cous with tomatoes, lemon juice and thyme. We actually didn’t eat it that night, but it was refreshing and delightful the next afternoon. I’ve adapted it here to be a little healthier (quinoa vs cous-cous). It cures a hangover and works great as a lunch dish!

photo

Yum. Also delish with any other grain or substitute

  • Quinoa (however much you want). At HEB in Midland, they actually sell frozen cooked quinoa, which has no added ingredients, so I bought that in order to save a pan
  • 1 package of cherub tomatoes, roasted. (cut them in half, drizzle a little olive oil, s&p, and roast on 225 degrees for 3.5 hours). Do this in advance, obviously
  • 5-6 sprigs of thyme, remove leaves from stem and chop roughly
  • 1.5 tbs olive oil
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced

Literally, just combine all the ingredients. You cannot mess this up. Add any veggies or herbs you have that you need to use up.

I still cannot recall where we ate dinner last night…prob Whataburger.

peace.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Corn/Poblano “Succotash” and Stuffed Peppers

January 13, 2014

Finished Product

  • 1.5-2 Lb. Pork Tenderloin
  • Half a bag frozen corn kernels (if this were summer, I’d say corn on the cob, but not in season)
  • 2 roasted poblano peppers, diced
  • Bag of mini sweet peppers (pictured below)
  • Goat cheese

photo 1 Sweet Peppers

Pork tender: You can always buy those pork tenderloins that are already seasoned, but be careful—some of them have some sketchy shit added, so you really are better off just seasoning a plain one yourself. I think most meat is perfect with just some garlic salt and pepper, but if you like different seasonings/rubs, go for it. It’s your funeral. Heat your oven to 425. While it is heating, sear your pork on all sides in a pan that can be transferred to the oven. Once it has been seared, transfer to the oven. After 10 minutes, check the temperature… USDA says pork should be cooked to 145, but I take it out at 135 (sometimes lower if I feel fat and want to attempt food poisoning for a nice 5lb loss). Let it sit for 10 minutes. Cut into the center…if it’s too pink for you, then stick it back in the oven.

 

For the “succotash”: Roast and peel/chop 2 poblano peppers. To do this, roast them over an open flame and then let them sweat in a ziplock for about 2 minutes. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium low heat and add a tsp. of coconut oil. If you do a higher heat, then just use olive oil. Add the corn and get some good color on it for about 3 mins, then add the poblanos. My poblanos were super hot, so I added in a squeeze of lime and some cotija cheese at the end.

photo 3

 

For the peppers: Toss the peppers in a little bit of olive oil and salt peppers. Get a pan scorching hot (where it almost smokes) and add in the peppers. We are looking to get that dark color on them, and bring out the flavor. Cook for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a separate plate to cool. While they are cooling, check your fridge and see if you have any herbs. Pretty much anything works—I used chives. Chop up whatever herb you have, and mix it with the goat cheese. If you have a piping bag, use that to stuff the peppers. If you are a kitchen cheapass, and refuse to pay 3$ for a piping bag, the just use a small spoon. Pipe the cheese into the peppers and serve. If you manage to F this up, then you are hopeless, and probably can’t read. No offense or anything.

photo 4