Pork Enchiladas with Queso Fresco

I have been on a slow-cooked pork kick lately (say that five times fast!) and tonight I made pork enchiladas for dinner. It's a simple dinner that looks and tastes like it requires lots of hard work, which is always a great thing in my book. Plus, enchiladas are easy leftovers!


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb pork blade
• 1 can of beer 
• 1 can of coca-cola
• 1 cup milk
• 1 pack of corn tortillas (about 10-12 tortillas)
• 3 cups enchilada sauce (3 cups water+ two dried mix, or 2 cans)
• 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco (or full fat ricotta if you can't find queso fresco)
• Cumin/Cayenne/Salt/Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. About 7 hours before you want to be sitting down to eat, start cooking the pork. Prepare the pork blade by finely slicing it (you're basically pre-shredding the pork to save time and a big mess later) into little inch-long strips. Place it in a slow cooker and pour the coca-cola and the beer on top. Add your desired seasonings, then cook over high heat for 6 hours. 
2. When the pork has finished cooking, preheat the oven to 350 F. 
3. Pour the milk into a pie pan or something similarly deep/wide. Dip a tortilla in the milk, then spoon about 2 tablespoons of pork into the middle. Roll it up and place it seam-side down in a large baking dish. Don't worry about making it pretty--these babies will basically melt apart while they bake. 
4. Once you're finished filling the casserole dish, pour the enchilada suace evenly over the enchiladas. Top with the queso fresco and bake for 25-30 minutes until it's all bubbly and melty on top.
5. Serve hot with your favorite Latin sides, such as guacamole with corn, salsa, sour cream, sliced black olives, beans, rice... the list goes on! 

Enjoy!

Creamy Pasta with Bacon, Asparagus, and Mushrooms

One thing you are pretty much guaranteed to find in my fridge at all times of the year is a bundle of asparagus. Asparagus sneaks its way into pretty much everything I make, from pizza to spring rolls, sandwiches to quesadillas, pasta to salads.... I love it. And luckily, so does the BF so I don't get any complaints about having asparagus for the hundredth time this month.

I don't usually buy bacon, but this week it was on sale and all of a sudden I was salivating. I had to have bacon in my life right away.

I had just a few mushrooms, a few stalks of asparagus, and a couple slices of bacon left in my fridge which suddenly added up to be my decadent dinner the other night. This pasta is quick and easy, super-rich and yummy... pretty much the best pasta I've had in a while.


Ingredients:

•  4 mushrooms
• 3 stalks of asparagus
• 2 slices of bacon
• 1 cup pasta (shells or rotini)
• Alfredo sauce (I cheated an used a jar, but you can make it from scratch!)

Directions:

1. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Slice the mushrooms, cute the asparagus stalks into quarters, and chop the bacon into small pieces. Add to the skillet and cook until the bacon is crisp. 
2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a medium pan and drain it. Put the pasta back into the pan for later. Prepare a plate lined with paper towels or napkins for the bacon mix.
3. Once the bacon is fully cooked, use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon and veggies to drain on the prepared plate. Add the desired amount of alfredo sauce to the pasta, and turn onto low heat. Add the bacon mixture, stir until the pasta is heated through. Serve warm!

Enjoy!

Beef Stroganof

WARNING: Man-Friendly Meal.

When I asked the BF if he wanted beef stroganof for dinner a few days ago, he told me he'd never tried it. That made my heart a little bit sad because I feel like beef stroganof is such a classic meal that never needs updating! Plus, for a guy who doesn't eat anything with tomatoes, beef stroganof could be a dream come true.

The best thing about this recipe is that you can eyeball all of the ingredients, so don't worry about exact measurements and just go with what feels (or tastes) good.

This made enough for 6 servings

Ingredients:

•  1 lb. chuck, or stewing beef
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 15 brown mushrooms
• 1 box beef broth
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Salt/Pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter or olive oil spread
• 4 tablespoons flour
• Uncooked pasta (I like shells or rigatoni so the sauce gets scooped into every bite)

Directions:

1. Heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Cut the chuck into 1/2 inch thich strips, and add to the pan. Brown, then set aside on a plate. 
2. While the beef is browning, chop the garlic, onion, and mushrooms. Leave the mushrooms in relatively large chunks. Add the veggies into the pan after you've removed the beef, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 5 minutes, then add 3 cups of beef broth and the cooked beef to the pan. Add the butter and flour, stir to combine, then reduce the heat to medium-low so the mix can simmer.
3. After 10 minutes of simmering, add the sour cream and seasonings. At this point, if the sauce is super wet, add more flour. If it is very thick, add more broth. Like I said, eyeball it!
4. Let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes (or more!) then turn off the heat. Boil the noodles as desired, then add to the sauce and mix. Serve hot!

Enjoy!

Loaded Nachos with a Homemade Cheese Sauce

I love all foods that belong on a pub menu. Nachos. Burgers. Fries. Hot dogs. Pot pies.
The BF is a kindred spirit, so we often have dinners that consist of hot dogs and nachos, or dips and bacon-wrapped jalepenos, or wings and tacos... We obviously go high-class 24/7!

I am not one to maintain a strict diet (unless it consists of pastries and coffee), and these nachos are one of my favorite Ultimate Splurge foods. Take a deep breath, read the ingredients, and go for it! I promise you, these nachos are worth the zillion calories they contain.

Ingredients:

• Tortilla chips (blue corn are the best!)
• 1 jalepeno
• 5 slices of bacon
• 1 can olives
• 4 stalks of asparagus
• 5-6 medium mushrooms
• 1/2 small onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese, separated (sharp cheddar is my favorite)
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil spread
• Salt/Pepper/Miscellaneous Spices (cumin, oregano, parsley, cayenne, etc.)
• Sriracha (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and lay the strips of bacon in it immediately. 
2. While the bacon cooks, start chopping up the jalepenos, olives, asparagus, mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Cook the bacon until crisp and remove from the pan. Pour out the grease but leave just a teeny tiny bit (like a teaspoon coating the pan) in it.Once the bacon has cooled enough to handle, chop into pieces.
3. Add the chopped ingredients to the pan and saute over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until the asparagus is slightly crunchy and the onions are translucent. Take pan off heat when everything is cooked but leave all of the toppings in it, and mix in the bacon pieces.
4. In a separate pan, heat it to medium-high heat. Add the butter until it is bubbling, then add the flour and whisk it together. Once the flour is golden, add the milk and 2 cups of cheese and whisk constantly for 5 minutes or until it has thickened. Season the cheese sauce with salt. pepper, and any other spices you desire. At this point I usually add a few drops of sriracha for extra heat, but you can choose to leave it out. 
5. Prepare a large baking sheet with one layer of chips, then use a spoon to drip 1/3 of the cheese sauce over the chips. Scatter 1/3 of the toppings, then repeat the layering 2 times to have 3 layered nachos. It is important to have the cheese sauce down first so the toppings stick to the bottom layer rather than clump to the layers above! 
6. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the nachos and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling. 

Enjoy! 


PS If you're feeling extra naughty, feel free to serve these with a drizzle of sriracha on top, or with a side of salsa. I'll be honest - salsa is overkill because these nachos are packed with juicy flavor!