Carne Asada Tacos

When you have an entire freezer of beef you quickly find lots of ways to use it.  Don't get me wrong I love a wonderful piece of beef but I like to mix things up a bit.  I have to admit I have never made carne asada at home....but there is nothing better than ordering it in a restaurant.  I think for me it is the smell of the grilled beef with all of those wonderful spices.

 

I decided that carne asada was definitely a at home meal that I wanted to try.  So when I found this great marinade over at www.cookingclassy.com it was going to be on the dinner menu for sure.  The best part was other than fresh citrus I had everything that I needed already in my kitchen.

 

The marinade comes together super quick and the smell was amazing.  I gave mine about 5 hours in the fridge before my husband tossed it on the grill.

 

Carne Asada Tacos

 

 

1 1/2 - 2 lbs flank or skirt steak

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (juice of about 2 - 3 limes)

1/4 cup fresh orange juice (from about 1 navel orange)

3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp honey

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground paprika

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

 

For Serving Tacos

 

Corn tortillas

Shredded Monterey Jack

Pico de Gallo

Sliced avocados

Chopped cabbage or lettuce, optional

Lime wedges, for juicing

Hot sauce, optional

 

In a mixing bowl, stir together olive oil, lime juice, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, red onion, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, cumin, paprika and season mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Place flank steak in a baking dish and pour marinade over steak. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate in refrigerator 2 - 5 hours, rotating once halfway through marinating.

 

Brush a grill lightly with oil and heat grill to medium-high heat. Remove steak from refrigerator. Lift steak and allow excess marinade and bits to run off, season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to grill. Cook about 5 minutes per side, or until desired doneness (could be more or less depending on how thick your steak is and if you like it medium rare or more well done).

 

Transfer to a plate or clean baking dish, cover with foil and allow to rest 5 minutes. Cut into thin strips and serve over warm tortilla shells along with desired toppings. Serve immediately.

 

Happy Thursday!  Enjoy your favorite meal at home tonight!

 

 

Chicken and Dumplings

First off I feel like I need to apologize for my lack of posts this month.  For the last 3 weeks we have had at least one family member sick.  One had pneumonia....another with bronchitis....I celebrated a birthday.....I had my weekend away with my sister.  Yikes!  So after lots of antibiotics both boys are back to school and I am back to my laptop! 

I always remember my mom making a big pot of chicken and dumplings in the winter.  The smell was amazing and I always thought this time the dumplings will be better....but nope...still the same...and I couldn't eat them.  See....I am one of those "texture" people.  The dumpling..... no matter how delish always seemed slimy to me and I couldn't stand the feel in my mouth. 

After 23 years of marriage this has caused a bit of a problem for me since chicken and dumplings is a favorite of the hubby.  Over the years he has been treated occasionally when my mom has made a big pot to share with him.  So I guess maybe it was the guilt of not making it for him....but I went on the search for a version that would make him happy as well as a version that wouldn't send my taste buds screaming. 

I found something over at www.heythattastesgood.com that I thought I could work with and I am so glad that I did.  This was amazing!  It had the flavor of all day cooking... when really start to finish it was less than an hour.  And the best part....the dumplings.....were not slimy!  They bake in the broth mixture so the bottoms are dumpling like but the tops are crispy and browned.....really best of both worlds.

I did go the easy way though......I didn't make biscuit dough from scratch....I used Bisqick.  My family doesn't mind them that way and it was quick and easy.  But feel free to use any biscuit recipe you prefer.  I suppose a tube of refrigerated biscuits would work as well.

Chicken and Dumplings

 

3 lb chicken (I used thighs, boneless and skinless)

salt and pepper

4 T butter

1 large or 1 1/2 medium diced onions

1/2 c  flour

3 c chicken stock

2 c mushrooms, quartered

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 t dried thyme

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

1 batch biscuit dough (your fave-I used Bisquick)

 

 

1.  Cut the chicken into pieces of whatever size you'd like in your dinner. I cut mine into 1" pieces, but you can use bigger or smaller pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

 

 2.  Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the chicken, then cook for 3-5 minutes without stirring, then toss and cook until browned on all sides. Remove the meat from the pan.

 

3.  Add the onions. Cook until slightly softened, then sprinkle with the flour and cook for a minute,

 

4.  Whisk in the stock. Bring to a boil, then add meat back to the pan with the vegetables, thyme, salt and pepper. 

 

 5.  Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, while you mix up the biscuit dough.

 

6.  Preheat the oven to 400.

 

7.  Pour the chicken and gravy into an oven safe casserole dish, then plop the dough on top in meatball sized balls.

 

8.  Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown, and serve hot.

 

 

Happy Tuesday!  Enjoy!