Grilled Carne Asada

Ryan and I love Mexican food. Unfortunately we have not found a GREAT (authentic) Mexican restaurant in our current city, though we have tried. The first time we tried Carne Asada (and were blown away at how good it was), we were in an unlikely location for finding GREAT Mexican food. We were way up in the mountains of Colorado in Glenwood Springs. Sorry, I can't remember the name of the restaurant, one of our hotel staff (who happened to be Hispanic) suggested it to us. And rather than eating our typical favorites, Ryan decided to ask what the waiter recommended and went with it. It was by far the best Mexican meal we have eaten, in the USA. Since then we have tried the same meal at other Mexican restaurants, but have not had anything nearly as good.

I finally decided to try making it myself. After looking through several recipes online I decided to create my own - none of them sounded quite like what we had in Colorado. The result - quite tasty, if I do say so myself. This was the second time I have made it and each time I learn a little something. If you like Mexican, it is definitely worth a try! This meal can easily be made gluten free by serving with corn tortillas instead of flour. Scroll down past the Carne Asada recipe for two bonus condiment recipes:)

Grilled Carne Asada

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb Skirt or Flank Steak (or Venison), sliced thin
• 1/2 Onion
• 1 handful Cilantro
• 2 + cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Orange, juiced
• 1 - 2 Limes, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper, 1/2 tsp chili powder, or 1 jalapeno (depending on preferred heat level)
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil

Directions

1. To ensure thin slicing of meat, put in freezer for an hour or so if fully thawed. Meat tends to be easier to slice thin when slightly frozen.
2. To make marinade, combine onion through Cayenne pepper in a food processor and process until fine. Stir in olive oil.
3. Place thinly sliced meat into marinade, stirring to coat and refrigerate for at least an hour, but up to eight.
4. Preheat grill to high. Oil grill grates to prevent sticking. Meat will not take long to cook, about 2 minutes on each side as it is very thin.
5. Serve with tortillas, refried beans, grilled onions (green or regular), grilled peppers, sour cream and guacamole. Salsa is optional - it doesn't come with the meal in a restaurant, but is always on the table.

Prep Time: 4 h Cook Time: 10 min Ready in: 4 h 10 min

Carne Asada courtesy of Jamie Del Balso.

Fresh Salsa

 6 ripe tomatoes, I like to use Romas because they are a bit less juicy, quartered
1/2 sweet pepper, green pepper or jalapeno
1/2 onion
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 large handful of cilantro
1/2 of lime, juiced
salt to taste

Combine pepper, onion and garlic in food processor and process until it reaches your desired consistency. Remove and place in a bowl. Add quartered tomatoes and cilantro, pulse until tomatoes reach desired consistency. Combine tomatoes with onion mixture add salt and lime juice and voila - Fresh Salsa, without all the chopping by hand. You can do the chopping by hand if you prefer an even chunkier salsa. I do it both ways, depending on my mood.

Guacamole
2 avocados, ripe
2 Tblsp fresh salsa (see above)
1 clove garlic, minced
salt to taste

Mash avocados, add fresh salsa, minced garlic and salt to taste. If you want Guacamole for a crowd, double or triple the above recipe. Note: If you don't have the above ingredients for salsa, at least add some lime juice and  potentially fresh chopped cilantro and fresh chopped ripe tomatoes. Oh and I have been known to make guac in my food processor after making salsa - if I need to make a large quantity.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, It's a Keeper Thursday, These Chicks Cooked, Creative Juice, and Gluten-Free Wednesday.
  

Potluck Quinoa

A couple of weeks ago we were invited to a potluck at a neighbor's house, but there were a few dietary restrictions.  Our host told us not to worry about it, but if we brought something which contained an item from their dietary restrictions and they did not eat it, that would be why.  I had some left-over veggies with spinach dip and watermelon from my son's birthday party, but decided I should bring something else too.  The night before the potluck, I threw some black beans in my crockpot to soak and as an inspiration for a dish to bring.  So, let's see, something that is gluten free, dairy free, meat free and does not contain any sugar...  I didn't have a lot of time to look up recipes, but I glanced through a vegetarian cookbook to see what kind of quinoa recipes it had.  Hmm, not many.  I decided to create a Mexican Quinoa dish and it turned out pretty good.  Another neighbor commented that he liked it and then told me that he normally does not like quinoa.  So, if you ever need to go to a potluck and bring a meat free, dairy free, gluten free, and sugar free dish - try this one out.  Or, make it as a side dish to any mexican meal you have or it could even be a main dish with a side salad.

I'm hoping that most of you reading this have already heard of Quinoa, as it seems to be gaining popularity these days.  But in case you have not, I'll tell you a little bit more about it and why I love it so much!  Quinoa is a truly versatile grain that can easily turn something into a main dish.  It has 14g of protein per 3.5 oz serving (uncooked) and 7g of fiber and is nearly a complete protein in and of itself.  Knowing this little grain was so good for me I tried several times to make dishes with it and did not care for it.  Then, I finally discovered the secret - broth, cook the grain in BROTH!  It has much more flavor this way and then add whatever you want to it or serve another dish over it.  Recently I made a pilaf out of it by adding a cinnamon stick to the broth while the quinoa was cooking and then some nuts and dried fruit when it was finished.  If you have never made quinoa before, it should open up a bit and look kind of like a curlicue and should have a touch of crunch to it, as if it were bursting in your mouth.

Mexican Quinoa

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Quinoa
1 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup dry black beans (soaked overnight and cooked)
1/4 cup canned diced tomatoes in sauce (or fresh)
1/2 tsp cumin
1 clove garlic, crushed
handful of chopped cilantro
sea salt to taste
drizzle of olive oil
splash of red wine vinegar

Preparation:
Bring stock to a boil and add quinoa, cook for 12 - 15 minutes until tender, but retains a bit of crunch.  Stir in frozen corn during the last few minutes of cooking then add remaining ingredients cooked black beans, diced tomatoes, cumin, garlic and cilantro.  Salt the quinoa to taste, add a splash of red wine vinegar then drizzle with olive oil.  Serve warm or cold.

For a printable version of the recipe above, click on the title of the recipe.

Have you used quinoa?  What is your favorite way to prepare it?

Do you have any left-over holiday ham in the freezer?  I hope you didn't throw away the bone.  Next week I'll share some recipe ideas to use up every last bit of your holiday ham - including my Caramelized Onion, Spinach and Ham Breakfast Strata.  If your ham is all gone, then hang on to these recipes for the next time you have ham left-overs or if you happened to buy an extra one for the freezer when they were on sale - get ready for some hamsational meals!

"Gourmet" Meal for mom

One of the wonderful things about being back in Wisconsin is having family nearby. Although it is still an hour+ drive, it is reasonable to plan in advance for a free babysitter (who loves to see her grandchildren). While talking to my mom about coming to watch the kids while I went to an appointment she mentioned something about me preparing her a gourmet meal for lunch. Okay, so that sounds like sufficient payment, right? I told her that we would be having left-over Tortilla Soup and she seemed fine with that. After having the soup she commented on how good it was and asked for the recipe. It's such a simple (and cheap) soup to make I don't think twice about making it. Given that it is a chicken broth soup, this could be great for cold season and a nice change from your typical chicken noodle soup. I think the original recipe came from Cooking Light magazine many years ago. I'm not even sure where the recipe is, I just throw some ingredients together and VOILA! Out comes Tortilla Soup.

Tortilla Soup
half of a whole cut up chicken (or two breasts - with bones in)
small onion, chopped
4+ cloves garlic, minced or sliced
1 cup dried beans (soaked overnight and drained) or 2 cans beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can green chiles (mild or medium)
cilantro
water
splash of vinegar
salt to taste
spice to taste (cayenne pepper, jalepenos, etc.)
condiments:
corn tortillas
avocado
cheese
cilantro
sour cream
chopped jalepenos

I like to make this in the crockpot throughout the day, but you can do it on the stove in less time too. Soak the dry beans (I used navy beans, but any kind can be used) overnight and drain the water in the morning or before cooking. Place chicken (with or without skin on) in crockpot (or stockpot) with dried beans, onion and garlic then cover with water (as much as you want - probably 6-8 cups). If you use white meat only and remove the skin, keep a careful eye on the chicken so that it doesn't dry out. Turn crockpot on high or bring stockpot to a boil. When boiling, remove foam from top of soup and add a splash of vinegar (any kind is fine). The vinegar will help remove the nutrients from the bones of the chicken and add them to your soup! When the chicken looks fully cooked (check with thermometer or cut open to verify fully cooked), remove it from the soup and allow it to cool. Check the doneness of the beans (if using canned beans, do not add them to the soup until the chicken has been fully cooked - otherwise they will get too mushy). When cool enough to handle, remove skin and bones from chicken and shred. When the beans are soft, add tomatoes (feel free to get some with mexican spices/seasonings or do your own spice enhancing), chiles, cilantro stems (chopped or tied with string for removal), cayenne pepper or jalepenos to taste, salt to taste and return chicken to pot. Allow soup to simmer for 20-30 minutes to meld flavors.

While soup is simmering, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 4-6 corn tortillas into strips and lie flat on a baking sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes until crispy. Grate or crumble cheese of your choice. I used queso fresco for this soup, it is a low fat mexican cheese, but we have used colby jack and other cheese in the past. Chop cilantro leaves and avocadoes. Ladle some soup into a bowl and top with your desired condiments - breaking up the tortillas on top (or at the bottom) of the bowl. Dig in and enjoy!