Something Quick: Samye's Taco Salad

Chase's mom Samye came up to visit us in September (was it really that long ago?) and one night she made this for dinner. Chase of course had eaten it many times before, but I hadn't. I was skeptical of 1000 Island dressing on taco fixin's, although it explained why Chase dips his tacos in it. And yet ... IT WAS DELICIOUS.

Then again, you can't really go wrong with Fritos and a mom's cooking.

I had been craving it since then, and I finally broke one day a couple of weeks ago and told Chase we were having it for dinner. He did not protest.

We use a bit less 1000 Island than Samye does, but it's a recipe that's easily made to any taste.

And just easily made.

Happy cooking!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Samye's Taco Salad

Ingredients

1 lb ground meat

½ - 1 cup 1000 Island dressing

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 can black beans, drained

1 can black olives, chopped

1 cup chopped lettuce

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 10-oz bag Fritos

1 packet taco seasoning

Directions

1. Brown the ground meat and season with taco seasoning according to package directions.

2. For the vegetarian version, use

½ packet of taco seasoning mixed into the drained black beans.

3. In a large mixing bowl, toss lettuce, tomato, olives, beans and cheese.

4. Add half of the bag of Fritos to the veggie mix, crunching the chips slightly in your hands as you add them.

5. Toss the veggie mix in the 1000 Island.

6. Stir about two-thirds of the taco meat into the mix.

7. To serve, place a handful of the remaining Fritos on a plate. Top with a heaping scoop of the salad mix and sprinkle with extra taco meat.

8. As always, enjoy!

Salad mix, all mixed.

Ready for eating. It's just that easy.

Now that's some happy cooking! :)

Something New: Beef Lo Mein

Welcome to Thursday!

The second pasta week recipe is completely different from the first. Which, among other things, means it takes a bit more time and work to cook. But it's almost impossible to be easier than the Egg Spaghetti recipe.

I believe this is the second recipe Chase and I ever tried in the wok. We made the Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry first, then this one. I remember being shocked at how much different the Lo Mein recipe tasted than the Beef & Broccoli. For some reason, I was expecting two dishes made in the wok with the same protein to taste very similar. But they were distinctly delicious.

And since then, the wok has proven itself over and over again.

Happy pasta cooking!

ps- This recipe is equally tasty if you make it Pork Lo Mein.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beef Lo Mein

Ingredients

1 lb steak or pork, cut into thin strips (I used top round steak)

8 oz egg noodles

2 Tbsp peanut oil

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp ginger, finely chopped

2 carrots, julienned

½ cup sliced mushrooms

½ can baby corn, sliced

½ tsp salt

1 Tbsp soy sauce

½ cup hot beef or chicken stock (I microwaved it)

1 cup bean sprouts

2 Tbsp chopped green onion

Marinade

1 tsp soy sauce

½ tsp sesame oil

¼ tsp pepper

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine all marinade ingredients. Add beef (or pork) and refrigerate. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes.

2. While the beef marinates, cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

3. Place the wok over medium-high to high heat. Add 1 Tbsp of the oil and heat.

4. Once the oil is steaming, add the beef/pork and stir-fry until cooked through. Remove from the wok and set aside.

5. Add the garlic, ginger and last 1 Tbsp of oil to the wok. Cook until fragrant.

6. Add the carrots and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute.

7. Add the beef, baby corn, soy sauce, salt and stock to the wok. Heat through.

8. Toss in the noodles and the bean sprouts and stir well.

9. Serve topped with green onions.

Carrots soaking up the ginger and garlic.

Stir fry is too fast for photography!

Look at all that woking goodness.

Happy cooking!

Something Simple: Oven Stew

This recipe is so easy, I almost feel silly for posting any pictures of the process.

Now, I will say, while this recipe is easy, it requires that you make a Pot Roast first. The leftovers of that meal are used to make this one. That's exactly the beauty of it. It's is two meals in one!

My mom said that she came up with this recipe years ago. She had made a pot roast for herself and my dad, and because she had used her mom's recipe (which was meant to serve 5-7 people), she had oodles of leftovers. So she turned the leftovers into a stew. This very stew below.

You'll be amazed at how different it is from the original Pot Roast, even though the foundational elements are the same.

Happy cooking!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oven Stew

Ingredients

1 cup leftover pot roast, cut to bite-sized pieces

1 cup leftover potatoes

, cut to bite-sized pieces

½ cup leftover carrots, cut to bite-sized pieces

1 can corn

1 can green beans

1 packet Au Jus mix

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place the roast, potato and carrot pieces into a casserole dish (9x9 or 9x13).

3. Mix in corn and green beans.

4. Prepare Au Jus according to package directions. If you have leftover juice from the pot roast, use it in place of the water called for on the Au Jus packet.

5. Pour prepared Au Jus into the casserole dish.

6. Bake in the oven for an hour. Serve.

Vegetables and meat mixed together in the dish.

Covered with Au Jus.

Baked until bubbly and extra flavorful.

Happy stewing!

Something Savory: Mom's Pot Roast

Oh man, the house smelled so good when this was cooking. I think I found excuses to leave the house just so the smell would be that much more intense when I got back. Even if it was only going as far as the mailbox.

Chase and I had a roast in our freezer for at least a month or two before I finally called my mom for her recipe. I had bought the roast on sale, but never got around to cooking it and eventually forgot about it. Mostly because Chase and I only get in the freezer if there's ice cream in there, and we've been trying to be good about not buying ice cream. Probably because it's winter.

Anyway, I rediscovered the frozen roast and decided that a big ol' pot roast would hit the spot. And it did.

And then two days later I used the leftovers to make an Oven Stew that also hit the spot (and will hit the blogspot later this week).

My mom never put fresh onion into her pot roast, and this time I didn't either, but Chase noted that some thick-sliced mild yellow onions would add a great extra texture to the mix. So that's included in the recipe below, and will likely be part of our roasts in the future.

I'm going to put a caveat on the serving size: A roast should serve about 3 people per pound. However, if you want to be sure to have enough leftovers for the Oven Stew recipe (coming this Thursday), make a roast that's about three-quarters of a pound larger than what you need for the initial serving. Chase and I made a two-pound roast, which gave us enough for 4 servings plus leftovers for the stew.

Happy slow cooking!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mom's Pot Roast

Ingredients

2 lb beef roast

5-6 medium potatoes

1 lb thick baby carrots; or 2 cups carrots, cut into large chunks

1 cup thick-sliced yellow onion or pearl onions (optional)

1 packet dry onion soup mix

1 ½ cups water

Directions

1. Peel and half potatoes, and trim excess fat from roast.

2. Place the potatoes at the bottom of a large crock pot, the carrots and onions on top of the potatoes, and roast on top of the vegetables.

3. Pour the water into the crock pot over the vegetables.

4.

Pour the packed of the onion soup mix directly on top of the beef roast.

5. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours for a two-pound roast (increase to 10-12 for a three- or four-pound roast).

6. Carve the roast, and serve the roast, potatoes and carrots topped with the extra liquid in the pot.

Vegetable layer.

Our two-pound roast.

Topped with oniony goodness.

Slow-roasted and ready for eating.

Happy cooking!