Chipotle Potato Tacos *Gluten Free*

It's been a long time since my last post but this little thing called Life has been happening to me.   Since my self-imposed hiatus I've taken the plunge and actually gone gluten-free (yes, ME!). Gluten sensitivity is a beyotch and she takes no prisoners. That's no reason to eat blandly...you can find really delicious things to eat when you know how to season properly!

This is actually an oldie of a recipe - chipotle flavored potato tacos. It's been around for ages and is a great alternative for when you don't have a lot of money to spend on meat. If you use corn tortillas then you have a tasty, gluten-free meal which has all of the flavor and none of the gluten pain (celiacs know what I mean!). Let's get to cookin'!

Chipotle Potato Tacos

Ingredients:

• 5-6 large potatoes (peeled, rinsed and chunked into large pieces)
• 1 stick butter (NO margarine)
• 1/2 small can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce 
• 1/2 c. shredded cheese (cheddar, colby jack, whatever you like) 
• salt & pepper to taste
• corn tortillas
• favorite toppings: chopped onion, extra cheese, salsa, lettuce, etc.)

In a large pot, add chunked potatoes and cover them with water; set over high heat. Let potatoes come to a boil, turn heat to medium and cook for about 15-20 minutes. When potatoes are fork tender, drain water. Add butter (in pieces) and chipotles (chop chiles if whole); add half can adobo sauce, or more if you like the heat! Add salt & pepper to taste. Add shredded cheese and mash everything together with a potato hand masher. Cheese will be nicely melted and have a creamy consistency with some chunks. If you want them smoother, keep mashing. I like my tacos chunky, lol

In flat pan, heat tortillas on both sides; stack tortillas. Take a tortilla & fill generously with potato mixture & fold in half. Heat each side of taco. Serve hot with your choice of garnish. I used fresh cut texas sweet onions, salsa verde and some extra cheese shreds. These are so awesome!! I also like the potatoes served in hard shell tacos...it's a nice contrast in texture. Enjoy!

YUMMMMM!

Coconut Shrimp

Ingredients:

•     1 bag Jumbo shrimp (peeled, deveined and butterflied)
•     1 egg
•     1 cup water
•     1/2 cup flour
•     1 tsp. garlic salt
•     1 tsp. paprika
•     1 tsp. Slap Ya Mama cajun seasoning
•     14oz. bag shredded coconut
•     1 cup panko bread crumbs                                         

In one bowl mix flour, water, egg and dry seasonings together; mixture will be like thin pancake batter.  In a separate bowl mix panko & coconut. Heat oil in shallow pan to about 375 degrees. Dip each piece of shrimp in flour/liquid mix, then dredge in coconut mixture. Fry shrimp for a few minutes each side. Lay on paper towel to drain; serve immediately. Yield: about 22-25 pieces.                                               

Authentic Cuban Mojito

Holy mother of God this is drink is GOOD.  That’s all I can say.  I’m too busy gettin’ my liquor on.

 

Authentic Cuban Mojito

Ingredients:

• 10 fresh mint leaves + a sprig for garnish
• 1 lime (use half for juice + a slice for garnish)
• 2 Tbsp. sugar (more or less to taste)
• 1 c. ice cubes
• 1 oz. white rum
• 1/2 c. club soda

Place 10 mint leaves into a sturdy glass.  Squeeze 1/2 of the lime juice into glass. Use a spoon to crush the mint and lime to release the mint oils.  Add the sugar and crush with spoon again to release the juices; do not strain the mixture.  Fill the glass 3/4 full with ice. Pour rum over  ice and fill the glass with club soda.  Stir, taste, and add more sugar if desired. Garnish with the lime slice & mint sprig.

Spicy Chicken Pepper Nachos

These nachos are absolutely amazing!!! Please take the time to fry your own chips, it’s SO worth the work. The taste is out of this world!

Spicy Chicken Pepper Nachos

Ingredients:

• Pack of 20-24 corn tortillas, quartered
• a small bit of cooking oil
• shredded chicken (I used leftover fried chicken)
• chili powder
• cumin
• cotija cheese
• shredded mexican blend cheese
• 4-5 small, fresh sweet peppers – red, yellow & orange (sliced)
• 2 fresh sliced jalapeños
• sour cream
• guacamole
• fresh cilantro
• your fave hot sauce

  
 Take your stack of tortillas and cut them into quarters.  Heat oil and fry one layer of tortillas at a time; drain after frying. While chips are frying, shred some chicken. I used 2 pieces of leftover fried chicken breast. Use whatever you like! Sprinkle chicken shreds with a little chili powder & some cumin to taste.

On a 9 x 13 cookie sheet, spread a layer of tortilla chips. Cover with shredded chicken, cotija & shredded cheese.  Add another layer of chips, shredded chicken, cotija, shredded cheese, sweet pepper rings and jalapeños.

Bake nachos in preheated 400 degree oven for about 7-8 minutes.
Top with spicy guacamole, sour cream, cilantro & Tapatio hot sauce. 

YUM!!

Chilaquiles

This post is going to be a really short cheat post, lol.

Follow Abuela’s Kitchen how to video for chilaquiles rojo.  I followed her directions to the letter and they turned out AWESOME!

My chilaquiles before adding the sauce:

and after:

:)

Chile Colorado

There’s nothing quite like a spicy bowl of chile colorado as the ultimate comfort food.  The delicious spices and tender beef make for a wonderful supper any day of the week.  The recipe is not as complicated as you may think.  Give it a try today!

Chile Colorado

Ingredients:

•  2 -3 lbs beef steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 New Mexico chiles, seeded & deveined
• 6-7 dried red chili peppers, seeded & deveined
• 3 small tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 small onion, quartered
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 c. water
• 3 tsp. mexican chili powder
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• salt & pepper to taste

Brown beef cubes in olive oil over medium-high heat.  Brown for about 5 minutes until all pieces have good color.  Add a little water to beef, cover and simmer on low heat for an hour.  Don’t let water evaporate!
While beef is cooking, seed & devein the dried chiles. Cover dried pieces with hot water for a few minutes until softened. Drain water off and rinse peppers a few times (this is important! If you use the water the peppers rehydrated in, your recipe will taste bitter). Add rehydrated peppers, 2c. water, tomato, onion & garlic to blender; blend to a smooth puree.
After beef has cooked for an hour, pour in the tomato/pepper puree and dry spices. Bring to a simmer, season with salt and pepper, and cook low and slow for about 25-35 minutes until the beef is tender and falling apart.
Garnish with sour cream, cilantro, avocado, cotija cheese or anything you want!

Kale Superfood Salad

I’ve been on a kale kick recently.  Several different versions of this kale salad were to be found at my local store’s deli.  They were delicious but rather expensive for my taste.  I decided to put together my own mix of these tasty and nutritious veggies, fruits & nuts. It’s so crunchy and satisfying! It’s also a LOT cheaper than $8 a pound.  Hey, this chick is on a budget!

P.S.  It’s a good thing it’s low-cal because I can eat truckloads of this stuff! (**allergy alert - this contains nuts!)

Kale Superfood Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 large bunches of kale, washed, drained and chopped (I included the smaller, tender stems as well)
• 4 small carrots, peeled or chopped
• 1 pint blueberries, washed
• 1 large English cucumber, diced
• large handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 container of cranberry trail mix, about 13 oz. (contains dried cranberries, raisins, pine nuts, slivered almonds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds)
• your favorite low-fat dressing (make sure it’s lowfat because it has quality ingredients and is chemical-free!)
• Pink Himalayan salt & cracked pepper to taste
• 2 gallon-sized ziplock type bags

Wash & dry your veggies thoroughly and chop if needed. Put half of the kale in one bag and half in the other bag. Repeat with veggies & trail mix.  Use your favorite dressing over the salad…just pour right into the bag! My favorite dressing is raspberry walnut dressing. You can also try sesame ginger, balsamic vinegar or anything with a sweet/sour taste to it. Sprinkle salad with salt & pepper; seal bag & shake it to coat everything. Store bags in fridge when not in use.

This recipe makes 2 full gallon ziplock bags of salad. If this is too much, you can certainly halve the recipe.  When I make the full recipe, I only put dressing on the first bag and later add the dressing to the second bag when it’s ready to be eaten. I think the salad is even yummier the next day when the flavors meld.