Tacos Dorados

The last couple of days have been a bit crazy that's why I haven't posted anything. The night I made this was to say the very least emotional. Thank God things weren't as bad as they look and we still got back in time to share a meal. So if you made the shredded beef from the previous recipe, making tacos dorados won't take very long. This dish is very easy to make and is part of my comfort foods. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Shredded Beef
• 4 Boiled Potatoes
• 16-20 Thin Corn Tortillas- I use Tortillas for Tacos and Tostadas
• Oil 
• 1/2 Lettuce Head Shredded
• 2 Diced Roma Tomatoes
• 1/4 lbs Fresh Cheese or Mozzarella
• Salt to taste
• Sour Cream or Crema
• Salsa

Directions:

1. Boil potatoes until they are tender. Remove the skin and mash them. Salt to taste
2. Add about 1 cup of shredded beef. Add more if the potatoes were big. Mix well.
3. Add oil to pan, I would say you need about 1/4 of an inch of oil.
4. Make a ball of about 2-3 tbsp of the potato and meat mixture. Add to the tortilla and flatten it on one side. Fold the tortilla in half.
5. Once oil is hot, grab the taco from the edges and let the flatten part sit on the oil for about 20-30 seconds before you lay it on the side.
6. Once one side is a nice golden brown color turn to the other side. make sure you keep an eye on it because if the oil is too hot it will burn rather quickly. And if the oil is still cold when you add them, they won't crisp and all you will have is a soggy mess.
7. Repeat step 4 and 5 until you make all your tortillas. 
8. Now time to put the rest of the ingredient in the taco. First add some shredded lettuce, then some tomato, and cheese on top. If you want to add the sour cream you can. what I do is set it on the the table and let everyone add as little or as much sour cream as they would like. 

You can also just make the tacos dorados and set them up on the table with all the different toppings on the table so everyone can build their own to their liking.  

Flautas

Yesterday we kicked off our Mexican food week with Flautas. Flautas are my husband's favorite food but he is better at rolling them than I do. We usually make them as a team, actually he usually makes them for me. I love making food for him and I really appreciate when he cooks for me. Yesterday I wanted to cook something special for him. So here is the recipe for flatutas which are extremely easy to make.

Ingredients:

• Shredded beef
• 2 package of  Think Corn Tortillas
• Oil
• Sour Cream or Crema

Directions:

1. You first need to make the shredded beef. I buy tamale meat at the local market. If they don't label it like that you can get beef shoulder roast. You can get 2 lbs of meat then put it on a pot. Cover it with water and add 2 garlic cloves. When meat is half way cooked season with salt. Let it boil until the meat is tender enough to break it with a fork. 
2. Once meat is ready take it out of the water and shredded it. You can set aside what you will need for this food and the rest you can set aside for the following meals. 
3. Get the oil hot on a pot. You need about and inch of oil. Once oil is hot you will start rolling the flautas.
4. The key of rolling the flautas is that the tortillas need to be warm and you can't over stuff them. You want a tight roll. Once you roll them grab them with thongs and dip them in the oil and keep holding them in the oil for about 30 seconds so the tortilla keeps rolled.
5. You want the flauta to be a nice golden color. Take it out and put it on a bowl lined with paper towels and start standing them up so all the extra oil is drained. 
6. You can enjoy them with sour cream, crema, guacamole, or salsa. On the picture above I laid them over some shredded iceberg lettuce, Mexican fresh cheese and sour great. 

Shrimp Ceviche

Yesterday was labor day and we went over to my mom's house to have fun with the family and jump in the pool. I wanted to make something that is great as an appetizer and a meal. Yesterday was more as an appetizer since we wanted to also grill. This recipe is very simple and what I like the most is that we cut the cooking time by more than half by starting with frozen cooked shrimp. Is great on  hot summer days.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cucumbers
• 1/2 Medium White Onion
• 4 Roma Tomatoes
• 1 Bag of Frozen Cooked Shrimp
• 6 Small Lemons
• 1/2 Cilantro Bunch
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Dice tomatoes, cucumbers, and onion.
2. Defrost shrimp in water. Don't cook the shrimp again since it will become like rubber.
3. Juice lemons and strain juice before adding.
4. Chop shrimp into small chunks
5. Chop cilantro and add to bowl
6. Mix all ingredients well
7. Season with salt

You can enjoy this recipe with tostadas or chips. The picture below also has avocado on the top and Valentina Salsa.

Chicken Alfredo

Today when we got out of church I was hungry. I asked the kids what they felt like eating. My oldest son said pasta. I know we couldn't afford going to eat at Olive Garden so I decided to cook their favorite meal at that restaurant, Chicken Alfredo. So we stopped at the store to pick up some chicken, fettuccine, and heavy cream. I came home and cranked the music and started working on lunch. Oh did I forget to mention that today was the first time I made Alfredo sauce from scratch? It came out great! The kids loved it and I know that I'll be making my own sauce whenever possible. Hope you try this recipe and enjoy sharing a great meal with your family.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of Heavy Cream
• 1/4 cup Butter
• 1-1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese
• 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
• 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 2 Chicken Breast fillet
• 1 packet of Fettuccine
• Salt and Pepper    to Taste
• 2 tbsp of Butter

Directions:

1. Put water to boil for the pasta. This would be the longest step. Waiting for the pot to boil and waiting for the pasta to cook. Don't forget to salt the water before you add pasta. 
2. Fillet chicken breast thinly
3. In a large pan heat 2 tbsp of butter and add one garlic clove. Then add chicken fillet to pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook the reminder chicken and set it aside.
4. Clean the pan and now add butter and heavy cream. You can either chop the garlic clove and add it or you can add it whole. Once it starts to boil add cheese, pepper, and parsley. Stir and lower the heat. 
5. Place chicken in the Alfredo Sauce.
6. Drain pasta well and then add to sauce. Toss pasta in sauce and enjoy. :)

You can enjoy this with a Caesar salad and some garlic bread.