Chili Con Queso

Football season is here!  I am not a huge football fan but I do enjoy a good football party.  Here is a great recipe to take to your next party or pot luck!  It is a crowd pleaser!  My husband recently took it to a work lunch!  We got it all ready, put it in the slow-cooker and he plugged it in at work.  So, I didn't get a good picture of it when the cheese had melted.  This picture is from my husband's cell phone so it is not the best quality.

I just noticed I had posted this recipe before with less meat and spice.  I think this version could easliy be used as a main course with chips.  The other one can be found here as a side dish Chili Con Queso (EF, GF).  Also, the version used as a side is gluten-free.  It just uses a gluten-free taco seasoning packet and not the chili packet.  It is very hard to find a chili seasoning packet without gluten.

Chili Con Queso

2 lb ground beef

1 taco seasoning packet

1 chili seasoning packet

2 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed

2 cans tomatoes with green chilies

Brown ground beef in a skillet until no longer pink and crumbly.  Drain.  Place cooked beef in the bottom of a slow-cooker.  Top with taco and chili seasoning, Velveeta and tomatoes.  Cook on high for about 4 hours, stirring every hour, or until cheese is all melted.  For best results, turn your slow-cooker to warm while serving.  Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Smothered Burritos and/or Enchiladas

Who doesn't like their Mexican food smothered in a delicious sauce.  I make various kinds of smothered Mexican goodness!  These meals are some of my favorites to make for a friend in need of a dinner, especially if I know they are a fan of Mexican food.  I give them the following choices:

• Corn or Flour Tortilla
• Shredded Chicken, Shredded Beef, or Ground Beef
• Red Sauce, Green Sauce or Queso (aka Cheese Sauce)

My favorite combinations are as follows:

•  Flour Tortilla, Shredded Beef with Red Sauce, as published in Smothered Shredded Beef Burittos.
• Flour Tortilla, Ground Beef with Queso using my recipe for Taco Meat, as pictured below.
• Corn Tortilla, Shredded Chicken with Green Sauce, as published in Easy Chicken Enchiladas. I recommend only using the green sauce on the corn tortillas.  I think most green sauces make the flour tortillas kind of squishy, probably due to the lower fat content in the sauce. 

Queso Smothered Burritos are ready to deliver to a friend.

In case you are wondering about my calling them burritos or enchiladas...  Burritos use a flour tortilla and enchiladas use a corn tortilla. 

 

Taco Meat

We eat a lot of tacos and or quesadillas.  You can pretty much put any meat in a tortilla or shell and my family will eat it.  So, guess what we do with most of our leftovers...

On this blog, I have shared recipes for Shredded Beef Tacos (EF, DF), Shredded Chicken Tacos (EF, DF, GF), Shrimp Tacos (EF, DF, GF) and even Chili Rubbed Salmon Tacos (EF, DF, GF).  I also admitted to using a taco seasoning packet in Taco Salad (EF, DF).

I often use taco seasoning packets to make regular ground beef tacos at our house.  But I also use my own seasoning mix, if I don't have a packet handy or just because.  I especially like to use my own taco seasoning when I am using the taco meat in a recipe.  I use less salt in my recipe and a lot of times whatever you are adding it to has more than enough sodium.  I even buy the low sodium taco seasoning packets and sometimes that is still too salty for some recipes.

So, here is my recipe for ground beef taco meat.  Try it in this recipe for simple Smothered Burritos!

Taco Meat

1 pound lean ground beef

½ t onion powder

½ t garlic powder

½ t season salt

1 t cumin

1 T chili powder

Add ground beef to a large heated skillet.  Cook until coarsely crumbled.  Drain.  (I like to rinse in a colander under hot water to get it as lean as possible.)   Add remaining seasonings.  Stir frequently to incorporate spices.  Serve in warm flour tortillas with your favorite taco toppings.

Beef Taco Macaroni

I wanted to try something different with ground beef.  When you are feeding a family, you just need some tasty ground beef recipes.  I found this recipe for Cheeseburger Macaroni on Pinterest.  I have renamed my post Beef Taco Macaroni because it more accurately describes the flavor of the dish.  She uses taco seasonings, so I am labeling it as such.  It was a hit with the family, especially my youngest who loves anything taco. 

Beef Taco Macaroni - I made this recipe as originally written.  Click the link for the recipe.

Shrimp Tacos

As you can probably tell, we like tacos . . . all kinds of tacos (Shredded Chicken Tacos, Shredded Beef Tacos, Chili Rubbed Salmon Tacos and  Taco Salad.  We also eat ground beef tacos but use the super simple taco seasoning from Old El Paso (EF, DF, GF).  We generally have some kind of taco about twice a month.  They are just so easy and kid-friendly!  

My husband came up with this delicious recipe after we ate the shrimp tacos at Wahoo's Fish Taco.  According to their menu, Wahoo’s sautés the shrimp in a Polynesian marinade.  While I don’t know how close our recipe is to the original, it tastes very similar.  My husband is the mastermind behind these tacos.  I made the ones pictured below.  I think I did a pretty good job.  The next time he makes them, I will have him double check my measurements for each ingredient.  As with all recipes, try variations to find the combination you like best! 

Shrimp Tacos

2 pounds medium shrimp

1 T olive oil

1-2 t garlic powder

¼ t freshly ground black pepper

Dash of cayenne pepper, or to taste

2 T reduced-sodium soy sauce*

1 T honey

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Add shrimp and sprinkle with dry ingredients.  Sautee about 3 minutes or until pink and slightly curled.  Drain any liquid that cooks out of the shrimp.  Then add soy sauce and honey.  Sautee until shrimp are coated and sauce thickens slightly.

Serve on warmed soft corn tortillas and top with your favorite taco toppings.  We like to top ours with cabbage, avocado, salsa and cheese.  Makes about 12 tacos.

* For those on a gluten-free diet, be sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce.

Taco Salad

I know most of you don't need a recipe for taco salad.  But I was hoping this would be a dinner idea when you are stuck with the age old question:  "What's for dinner?"  I started this blog to share recipes with other food allergy families, but it is quickly becoming a meal log for my family.  When I get stuck on what to cook or need to quickly reference a recipe, I look here. 

What I love about recipes like taco salad is that each person can make theirs to satisfy their own taste.  This makes it an instant crowd pleaser.  To make the shells, I baked mine in the oven in tortilla shell makers like these.  This is easy and healthier than frying them! 

Taco Salad

4 large burrito flour tortillas

1 pound ground beef

1 taco seasoning packet

1-2 cans refried beans

Suggested additional toppings:  salsa, lettuce, tomato, black olives and cheese (for those not allergic).

Preheat oven to 350^o.  Bake the tortillas in the tortilla shell pans for about 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.  Allow to cool a few minutes in the pans.  As they cool, they will become crisper.  Brown the meat in a large skillet.  Drain.  Add taco seasoning and recommended water on the seasoning packet.  Warm the beans in microwave or on the stove top.  Transfer tortilla shells to a plate fill with beans, taco meat and desired toppings.  

Chili-Rubbed Salmon Tacos

This is one of my all time favorite recipes to cook and eat!  My husband and I have been together since our freshman year in college . . . a long time!  We were too poor to eat out much during those early years, but when we did one of our favorite restaurants served an entree with this name.  I am not sure what all is in their version but this one is close enough and we love it!  Also, see my last post about how to remove the skin from salmon.

 

Chili-Rubbed Salmon Tacos

1 pound salmon

½ T olive oil

1 t chili powder

½ t chipotle chili powder

½ t cumin
½ t seasoned salt

½ t garlic powder

¼ t onion powder

1/8 t cayenne pepper, or to taste*

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Mix the spices in a small bowl.  Rub half of the spice mixture on each side of the fish.  Cover with lid and cook 15-20 minutes, turning halfway through cooking.  Break up salmon into large chunks.
 

Serve on warmed soft corn tortillas and top with your favorite taco toppings.  We top ours with red cabbage, avocado, salsa and cheese.  I often substitute broccoli slaw for the cabbage.  Makes about 8 tacos.

* I think a little cayenne pepper should go in almost every recipe, except for baked goods.  It adds just the right amount of kick to really spice up your dish.  I have had to cut back on how much cayenne pepper I use in all of my cooking due to the little mouths at my house.  But I do think think this recipe needs some.

Salmon rubbed with chili seasoning mixture.

Seared salmon ready to be broken up for tacos. 

Shredded Chicken Tacos

As promised, here is the shredded chicken taco recipe. We like this with the corn and black beans but they could just as easily be omitted.  A friend of mine makes hers that way and I thought it was a great way to add some different flavors. 

Shredded Chicken Tacos

2 split chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 T olive oil

1 T chili powder

½ t onion powder

¼ t cayenne pepper

2 t ground cumin

½ t seasoned salt

½ t freshly ground pepper

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained

Heat oil in skillet.  Add chicken and all spices stirring frequently to incorporate spices.  Then add corn and black beans.  Continue cooking and stirring until heated through.  Serve warm on crunchy shells*, corn tortillas* or flour tortillas and top with your favorite taco toppings.  Serves 6

Note:  If you are not using my recipe for shredded chicken, you will want to add ½ t garlic powder to the mixture.

* Those eating gluten-free can use crunchy or soft corn tortillas but be sure to double check the label.

Day 1 Roast, Carrots & Potatoes - Day 2 Shredded Beef Tacos

I love leftovers.  Almost every time I cook, I make enough for two meals so we can have leftovers the next day.  Thankfully, my family is fine with seeing the same meal two days in a row.  Sometimes, as in this recipe, I use the leftovers to make a totally different meal.

Day 1 - Roast, Carrots & Potatoes  

3 pound beef roast

½ c water

1 packet dry onion soup mix

3 baking potatoes

1 pound fresh carrots

½ t freshly ground black pepper

Trim roast and place in slow cooker.  Pour water over roast.  Then sprinkle onion soup over roast.  Peel and cut up carrots into about 2 inch pieces and scatter around roast.  Peel potatoes, cut into quarters and put on top of roast.  Sprinkle with black pepper.  Cook on high for about 6-8 hours or until nice and tender.  Serve roast, potatoes and carrots the first night.  Shred the leftover roast with a fork.  Pour ½ c of the broth over it and refrigerate for the next night.  I also cut up one or two of the potato quarters and mix in with the shredded roast.

  

All ingredients in the slow cooker ready to go.

 Mmmmm . . . dinner is ready!

 

Day 2 - Shredded Beef Tacos

Leftover roast, shredded

2 t oil

½ t onion powder

½ t garlic powder

½ t season salt

1 t cumin

2 t chili powder

¼ t cayenne pepper

On day two, heat oil in a large skillet.  Add shredded roast mixture from the previous day with remaining seasonings.  Stir frequently to incorporate spices and ensure shredded beef is heated evenly.  Serve in warm flour tortillas with your favorite taco toppings.

If by chance, your shredded beef lasts another day, try cooking the prepared taco on a griddle until the tortilla has a nice golden color.  This can make the second day of tacos a little more appealing.

Serves 4 people for 2 meals