Tasty Thursday

Thanksgiving in May! That is turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and green beans!

Eli wanted me to take a picture of his plate too! He already attacked his potatoes.

Tasty Thursday

Since my "Tasty Thursday" posts can technically be about anything food related, I thought I would step away from the recipes and pictures of our meals to support a local hot spot.

Not wanting to cook tonight, Anna and I took the boys to one of our favorite local places to eat out. El Cazador is the local Mexican restaurant in Bedford. For those who are from the area, you will know what I am talking about. One of the main reasons we enjoy eating at El Cazador is the staff. They are so hospitable and genuinely nice individuals. I have never had a bad dinning experience there and I encourage anyone passing through to make a stop there for dinner.

My favorite dish is Enchiladas Verdes, which consists of four enchiladas (bean, cheese, chicken, and beef) covered in a spicy green sauce and topped with cheese and guacamole. I just wanted to give a shot out to local restaurant that we love so much. Plus, Dairy Queen is right next door and I love me some ice cream!

Tasty Thursday

No recipe this week. Just a shot of one of our tasty dinners this week. We had slow roasted pork ribs, green beans, and beans w/ rice topped with fresh cilantro from our herb shelf.

Tasty Thursday

Anna's Taco Soup

I know it seems like we are eating soup all the time around our house. Well, you would not be exactly wrong if you were thinking that. I personally love having soup around each week. It always gives me something warm to eat for lunch. We usually freeze a portion too. It makes for a nice quick dinner when you don't have the time to cook. Here is another one of my favorite soups that Anna cooks. She has provided the recipe below. I hope someone enjoys this tasty dish soon!

Ingredients:
1 (16oz.) drained can pinto beans
1 (16oz.) drained can kidney beans
1 (16oz.) drained can black beans
1 (16oz.) drained can corn
1 (16oz.) can of stewed tomatoes
1 package of dry taco seasoning mix
1 package of dry ranch dressing mix
2 lbs. of cooked and drained ground beef or chicken
1 onion
1 small can of chopped chilies (optional)
1-1/2 cups of water
Grated cheese, green onions
Tortilla chips

Steps:
1.) Brown the meat and onion until no pink remains
2.) Add to a large pot with all the canned items.
3.) Add the water and dry package ingredients.
4.) Stir until well mixed over a medium heat.
5.) Cook until hot (about 15-20 minutes)
6.) Serve in soup bowls topped with chopped onion, grated cheese, and tortilla chips.

Tasty Thursday

Ryan's Chicken Gumbo

This week is not really going to be a recipe because I have never actually measured anything when I have made my gumbo in the past. That is the beauty of it! You can't go wrong if the proportions are a little off.

Ingredients:
Vegetable Oil
Flour
1 large onion
1 large bell pepper
6 cloves of garlic
creole seasoning
black pepper
salt
1 whole chicken
1 container of chicken broth
1 polish sausage

Steps:
1.) Boil chicken in large pot. Once chicken is done, remove from water so that it can cool. Hang on to the broth so that it can be added to the gumbo later.
2.) Once chicken is cool, pick the meat off the bones and discard bones.
3.) Heat oil and flour mixture in large pot to make the roux. I try to leave roux on as long as possible without burning it. It should be darker than peanut butter before you move on.
4.) Add diced onion and bell pepper, along with the minced garlic, creole, salt, and pepper. Heat mixture until vegetables are soft.
5.) Add left over broth from step 1. I usually added a secondary can of broth to make the gumbo go a little further.
6.) Pick chicken off bones and add to gumbo. Cook gumbo as long as you would like. In my experiences, it seems to taste better the longer you let the gumbo cook.
7.) About 15 minutes before you plan to eat, add sausage to gumbo.
8.) Make rice in separate pot.
9.) Serve gumbo on top of a bed of rice. I like to add Texas Pete hot sauce to each bowl to make it a little more spicy.

Tasty Thursday

No recipe this week, but I will share a picture of our supper tonight. Broiled lemon pepper and rosemary tilapia. We also had sides of asparagus and onions, lima beans, and wild rice.

Tasty Thursday

Chicken Tortilla Soup:

This is a recipe that Anna borrowed from our wonderful sister-in-law Emily. Anna makes it pretty regularly and it is one of my favorite soups. If you go light on the tortilla strips and cheese, it is not too bad for you either. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. one whole rotisserie chicken or 4 to 5 chicken breasts
2. Ground Cumin
3. 1 medium onion
4. 1 box of chicken broth (for additional soup)
5. 1 can of corn
6. 1 can of black beans
7. 1 can of diced tomatoes
8. 1 can of green chilies (found in the aisle with the Mexican food, usually on the top shelf)\
9. Optional: cilantro, jalapenos, shredded cheese, tortilla strips (usually found in the salad dressing aisle)

Instructions:

1. Boil the rotisserie chicken until the chicken starts to come off of the bone (usually about 1 1/2 hours). Drain the chicken with a strainer and save the broth. This makes the largest portion of your soup.
2. If you are adding additional broth go ahead and add it.
3. Add about 3 to 4 palm fulls of cumin. Just taste as you go and see how you like it.
4. Pick the chicken off of the bone and place it back in the broth.
5. Chop the onion and add it to the broth.
6. Add the remaining canned ingredients, but rinse the corn and black beans before adding.
7. Return to a boil and then let simmer for about 25 minutes. This give the onion time to get tender.
8. Add any additional toppings.