Steak Tacos

I've not ever had great success making steak tacos, but this marinade gave the steak such a yummy flavor - we both loved it. The original recipe calls for blending the marinade together and cooking on the grill, but I just put the marinade in a gallon-sized bag, then sliced the steak and pan-fried it. It was simple, easy to clean, and delicious.



Easy Steak Tacos
Source: Spend With Pennies

Ingredients: 
▢1 ½ pounds flank steak
▢8 small corn tortillas or flour tortillas, warmed
▢toppings as desired

(favorite topping: sliced grape tomatoes)

Marinade

▢2 limes juiced
▢1 T frozen orange juice
▢2 tablespoons olive oil
▢2 cloves garlic minced
▢2 tablespoons soy sauce
▢¼ cup cilantro packed
▢1 teaspoon cumin

Directions: 

Place steak in gallon sized bag, add marinade ingredients, and squish together a little bit.  Marinate at least 1 hour or overnight.
Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Cook about 4-5 minutes per side (125 to 130°F for medium-rare).
Rest steak about 5-7 minutes before cutting. Cut steak into 1/2" slices across the grain and then cut into bite sized pieces. 

OR slice raw steak in strips. Heat butter in skillet and add steak. Cook until cripsy, remove from pan. Cook sliced grape tomatoes in same pan. 

Serve in warmed tortillas with desired toppings such as grilled grape tomatoes, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream and cilantro.

Beefy Mexican Rice Soup

Beefy Mexican Rice Soup
Source: Tastes of Lizzy

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons taco seasoning
2 quarts beef stock
2 cups frozen corn
15.5 ounces black beans (rinsed and drained) 1 can
14.5 ounces petite diced tomatoes (drained) 1 can
1 cup tomato puree
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon cilantro
1 cup whole grain rice (I buy a precooked microwave pack of whole grain rice).

Directions:
In a large saucepan brown the ground beef, onion, and minced garlic. Drain.
Add in the taco seasoning and mix together.
Add the beef stock, corn, black beans, diced tomatoes, tomato puree, lime juice, salt, cilantro, and rice.
Bring this to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 25-30 minutes until the rice is done.
Serve with cheese, sour cream, and cilantro if desired.

Mexican Haystacks

I looove this dish. It's got all the flavors that we love, but it's freshened up in a different application. Plus, the addition of the mango on top of the taco meat and rice is so refreshing (don't skip this ingredient - the mango really makes it!) This isn't the prettiest picture because we'd basically eaten all of the food before I remembered that I needed to take a picture so I just added the few remaining things that I had - but we've made this at least 4-5 times and never gotten a picture - so I knew I just needed to take a picture to get it on the blog, because this recipe is a keeper for sure! (We've also made this when guests were over and it was a huge hit.)  

Mexican Haystacks

Source: Adapted from Whole and Free and The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients:

3 cups uncooked rice

1 bunch fresh cilantro

1 lb ground beef
2 TBS taco seasoning (chili powder, onion salt, garlic powder, cumin)

1 onion, chopped
¾ cup water
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

salt & pepper to taste
2 cups salsa

Toppings: diced mango, diced avocado, black beans, corn, shredded cheese, sour cream, cilantro, salsa

Directions:
Start rice in a rice cooker. In a large skillet, brown ground beef and chopped onion. Add taco seasoning, salt, and pepper. When browned, add salsa and cream cheese. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer until cream cheese is melted. Add a tablespoon of water at a time until desired consistency is reached.  In the meantime, chop the cilantro, avocado, and mango and prepare remaining toppings. When the rice is done, stir in almost all of the fresh cilantro, leaving just enough to garnish each dish. 

Plate with rice on bottom, then meat mixture, then any of the desired toppings. 

Southwest Salad with Cilantro Dressing

I love Costa Vida's Sweet Pork Salads, but I'll be honest and say that my favorite part of the salad is the dressing. When I came across the idea to use the cilantro dressing on top of a regular chopped salad - I knew that I needed to try it. This recipe is so much easier to prepare than the sweet pork salad, and it was a nice refreshing meal. I think adding some grilled chicken would be yummy if you wanted to add a little meat to the dish.

Southwest Salad with Cilantro Dressing

Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can sweet corn OR 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 roma tomatoe, diced
1 green onion, chopped
1 avocado, diced
1 head lettuce, chopped (Romaine is better, all we had was iceburg at the time)

Directions:
Finely chop lettuce, bell pepper, tomatoes, green onions. Dice avocado. Drain and rinse corn and black beans. Place lettuce on a plate, add toppings, cover with creamy cilantro-lime dressing. (I just used leftover dressing, but the recipe is below.)

**When I made this, I was about 9 weeks pregnant and chicken seemed like the yuckiest food on the face of the planet. However, now that I'm 15 weeks and like meat again I think that some grilled chicken would be great on this. I also think that crunching up some tortilla chips would be a yummy addition. Also, David doesn't really like the cilantro dressing - so I got some cubed ham and turkey for his salad and topped everything with ranch dressing.  It's pretty flexible. 

Tomatillo/Cilantro Ranch Dressing
Source: Adapted from A Mommy's Life with a Touch of Yellow

Ingredients:
1 packet of buttermilk ranch dressing
1 Cup mayo/Miracle Whip
1 Cup buttermilk (the smallest carton is perfect)
1 bunch of cilantro (after you wash, make sure you pat dry)
2 tomatillos husked
1 jalapeno (take the rib and seeds out)
Garlic powder (just a few shakes)
juice from 1 lime

Directions:
Put the mayo, dressing mix, buttermilk, and garlic in a blender and mix until blended all together. Squeeze lime juice directly into the blender. Cut up tomatillos, jalapeno, cilantro and pat dry. Add to the blender and blend until everything is mixed together and creamy. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This can be stored in the fridge for several months - so don't throw your leftovers away. If it starts to separate - just shake it all back together.

Sweet Pork Salads {Costa Vida Copycat with Dr. Pepper}

When I was in college at Utah State, I had a roommate that worked at Costa Vida. She would bring home extra rice and chips and even more importantly she had a 40% discount (or something) that we used on a fairly regular basis. We loved it. To this day, thinking about digging in to a nice big Sweet Pork Salad from Costa Vida makes my mouth water! Unfortunately, our budget doesn't allow for frequent Costa Vida runs. However, for practically the same price as ONE salad - you can make your own Copycat Costa Vida meal for the whole family.

I absolutely love this meal and love that I can make it at home in my crock pot. To make our dollars stretch I try to do the following things: 

1- Buy the pork roast on sale. You can get a nice 2-3 lb roast for just a couple of bucks if you time it right. Wait for a $1.48 - $1.60/lb sale and then stock up. Pork roasts freeze well and you can use them for many things. Don't pay $3/lb. 

2-After the pork roast is cooked and shredded, but before you add all of your ingredients, pull out a tupperware-full of pork to use for BBQ Pork Sandwiches. (If you have a big family, you should only do this if you buy a big roast - but I still recommend it. It's a great way to get several meals out of one roast.)

3-Have the sweet pork on salads the first night and then use the leftover sweet pork in burritos a couple of nights later. Just add in the rice/beans and maybe a can of diced tomatoes if you need to stretch it. Wrap them up in tortillas and top with half a can of red enchilada sauce and some cheese. So yummy! 

Sweet Pork

Source: Adapted from New Day, New Dish

Ingredients:
2-3 lb. pork roast
1 (12 oz.) cans Dr. Pepper
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 jalapeno - seeded and chopped
2 carrots - shredded or finely chopped
1/4 c. onion, chopped
1 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce

1/2 c. salsa
3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 c. brown sugar

Directions:
Slightly thaw pork roast in microwave. Remove from packaging, rinse under running water, pat dry. Place roast in crock pot with 1/2 cup Dr. Pepper. Cook on high for 4-5 hours. Remove roast from crock pot and place in kitchen aid with paddle attachment. Run kitchen aid on medium speed to shred pork. (You may want to remove the large pieces, dump the small pieces back into the crock pot, and then continue to shred the large pieces to prevent the smaller pieces from becoming too tiny.) 

Place shredded pork back into crock pot and add remaining ingredients. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and cook 2-3 additional hours. 

Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and heat to medium heat. Place tortilla in pan and brown both sides. This only take 15-30 seconds, but it adds so much to your salad! Place rice, beans, meat and lettuce on top of tortilla and top with yummy cilantro ranch dressing. (Recipes below.)

I've tried many sweet pork recipes (you can find them all over the internet) - but this one is my favorite by far! However, I know that sometimes so many ingredients, and all of the chopping/prep work isn't really in the cards. So, this is my other favorite recipe which is much easier: 

Easy Sweet Pork 

Source: Six Sisters Stuff

3 lb. pork roast
16 oz. chunky salsa
1 can Dr. Pepper
2 c. brown sugar

Put pork in slow cooker and fill halfway with water. Cook 4 hours on high. Drain water, cut pork in thirds, mix together sauce and pour on top. Cook 4 more hours on low. Drain liquid and shred pork. Save a little liquid and mix it in with the pork so it is really moist.



Tomatillo/Cilantro Ranch Dressing
Source: Adapted from A Mommy's Life with a Touch of Yellow

Ingredients:
1 packet of buttermilk ranch dressing
1 Cup mayo/Miracle Whip
1 Cup buttermilk (the smallest carton is perfect)
1 bunch of cilantro (after you wash, make sure you pat dry)
2 tomatillos husked
1 jalapeno (take the rib and seeds out)
Garlic powder (just a few shakes)
juice from 1 lime

Directions:
Put the mayo, dressing mix, buttermilk, and garlic in a blender and mix until blended all together. Squeeze lime juice directly into the blender. Cut up tomatillos, jalapeno, cilantro and pat dry. Add to the blender and blend until everything is mixed together and creamy. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This can be stored in the fridge for several months - so don't throw your leftovers away. If it starts to separate - just shake it all back together.

Cilantro Lime Rice

Source: Favorite Family Recipes

(We don't always make this. Most of the time I just use regular white rice - but if I'm feeling fancy or want to go all out, I put this together and feel great about how easy it is. Also, as a side note- I never so anything special to my beans. I just open a can of black beans and a can of pinto beans and heat them up.) 

Ingredients
1 c. uncooked rice (long-grain, white rice)
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

Directions.
In a rice cooker combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Cook until rice is tender. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.