A couple of weeks ago I bought two huge pork roasts.  It was during the height of the swine flu scare and all the pork was clearanced because no one was buying it.  At 99 cents a pound there was no need to analyze the budget.

When I get huge amounts of meat like that I like to  slow cook it.  I can’t remember if I posted the pulled pork sandwiches ..I don’t think I did.  In fact…I have a huge number of posts to catch up on.  Anyway, to slow cook a large batch of pork roast, just salt and pepper it generously and toss it in the slow cooker with 1 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of chipotle, and some onion.  I slow cooked mine for a full 24 hours but there was about 20 lbs in there.  I cooked it until it shredded easily.  Then I bag it in portion sized amounts in freezer bags.  Simple dinners.

O.k..on to the Pork Tacos.

These were really quite quick because the pork was all ready cooked.  I warmed it slowly while I was making the salsa.

The key to this salsa is really ripe mangoes.  This recipe is based on the one in Bobby Flay’s Mesa Cookbook.

Black Bean and Mango Salsa

• 2 cups black beans, cooked and rinsed
• 2 very ripe mangoes, peeled and diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon lime zest
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/8 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• a splash of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon agave syrup
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir gently to combine.  Allow flavors to blend for 30 minutes.

For Tacos

• 16 corn tortillas, warmed and kept warm in a moist towel
• 4 cups of shredded, cooked pork
• 1/2 lb aby spinach leaves
• Mango salsa

Place a few spinach leaves on the tortilla.  Top with 1/4 cup of the pork and then a few tablespoons of the salsa.

Serves 8

Images:maryeaudet

Cumin comes in a close second to chipotle on my top ten list of ingredients.  If you are just using cumin in Mexican and Indian main dishes you are really missing out.

Believe it or not cumin is fantabulous with…of all things…vanilla.  And chocolate.  And citrus.

That beautiful golden color is an indication of the flavor because the flavor of cumin is warm, and caressing.  The flavor of cumin is the flavor of a summer day in the country…endlessly long and lazy.

Ground cumin is much more intense that the seed, but getting the seed and grinding your own is the best way to get the most intense flavor.  Here are some ways I like to use cumin:

• Mix with salt and butter and keep in the fridge.  This is fantastic on fresh corn on the cob.
• Add to corn chowder.
• Add to cooked carrots
• Add to mashed potatoes and sprinkle with cheese
• Use as a flavoring in vinaigrette
• Add a pinch to a yellow cake batter
• Add a pinch of cumin and a pinch of chile to a tropical fruit salad
• Add to hot chocolate or fudge frosting

I know, using cumin in such a variety of ways is a stretch for most people but once you start playing with this flavor you will be hooked.  Yeah, it is fantastic in main courses like enchiladas and mac and cheese but….try it in a variety of ways.  It is just that good!

images:maryeaudet (c) 2009

While many of you may not think of cheese flautas as being basic they are a fantastic easier-than-you-think addition to your cooking repertoire.

They go together in minutes, nearly everyone loves them, and the filling variations are endless; cheese, cheese and chile, cheese and chicken, chicken and chile, left over beef, taco..the list is endless and can end up with such interesting variations as brie, chipotle, and pecan…or mushroom and parmesan…

You can have your own Mexican Restaurant at home.

If you aren’t hooked yet, then consider that they can be everything from an appetizer, to a snack…main course to dessert (can you imagine pecan praline flautas with cinnamon ice cream?)  There ya go..now you’re getting it!

Read more

On the Border restaurant in De Soto seems to finally have gotten it together.

I have been in there four or five times in the past couple of years…usually driven by a strong craving for Tex-mex food. Generally, I have been disappointed. Wait…generally I have been disappointed; often I have been really irritated and swore never to return.  Music too loud..bad service..so so food…

Today Marc and I had to go downtown Dallas, and I hate driving down there.  Since Marc can’t drive anymore I have been challenged in many areas, the driving being one.  Anyway, on the way home I thought maybe we we go for lunch..poor guy! He had been working outside when we left home and was in dirty, torn jeans and an old sweatshirt…We must have looked like street people! LOL!  Read more

There used to be a restaurant  called Chi Chi’s that had some awesome Mexican food.  One of the things I liked was the chimichangas…Especially the chicken ones.  Chimichangas are like burritos except they are fried so that the outside is crisp. There is just something about them that is addictive.  Read more

Sopapillas are wonderful, there is just no other way to say it…Hollow squares of fried dough, dusted with sugar, and served with honey to pour in the hollow middle part.  Every bite is sweet, and sticky, messy and incredible.

You have to serve them hot.  And you HAVE to eat all of them at that meal. You can’t save any for later.  Why? Because cold sopapillas are as disgusting as the fresh ones are good. Just. Don’t. Go. There.

Here in Texas they are often served as the dessert at the small Mom and Pop Mexican restaurants.  They are perfect because they are simple, inexpensive, and actually quite filling.  Did I mention delicious? Did I mention my addiction to them?

When you drop them in the fryer be sure not to crowd them and only do about 2 or 3 at a time depending on the size.  As soon as the float to the top start spooning the hot oil over them to make them puff even more.  Turn them once and take them out of the oil when they are golden.

Sopapillas

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups warm water

Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and shortening until it is crumbly. Stir in water and  mix until the dough is smooth.

Cover and let stand for 20 minutes for the gluten to relax.  Meanwhile heat the oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees.

Roll out on floured board 1/8  thick. Cut into large-ish squares. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain.  Dust with confectioner’s sugar or granulated sugar and serve hot with honey to pour in the hollow centers.

Image:Marye Audet

I am getting this in under the wire.  In fact, I am counting on the fact that Cathy is on Pacific time and I am on Central.

It isn’t that I forgot. It really isn’t.  It is just that I sometimes put things off until the very last minute. Like this. Read more

So this was the book that started it all for me……. about, gosh, maybe fifteen years ago (or more) someone mentioned this book and said that she had been having great success getting organized with this method. I was a homeschooling mom with (gasp) three children and I knew that if I was to survive, organization was the key…so I snagged the book and read it…read it again…and began what would be called, to this day, Hell Day at the Audet’s.

Ahh…you laugh..you snicker…but it is true. There is nothing more stressful than Read more

This monthly mingle event is hosted by What’s For Lunch Honey and entitled Earth Food.

There has been alot of talk going on lately about eating food that is grown close to home or at home in your own garden. This is good for the environment in so many ways…less packaging, less transport…supporting local small farmers. It is good for our bodies in many ways, higher nutrition, better, fresher foods…
What are we doing for the environment at my house? We are restoring an old farmhouse and we are using earth friendly methods and materials as we can. We are looking in to solar power panels, rain collection systems and 0 VOC paint. We raise dairy goats and chickens and I keep trying to have a garden and someday it will even work!
We used to be vegan, then vegetarian, then we went back to  eating meat but always have been whole foods oriented.  In the past several months I have felt the pull to be more careful about what we eat, and that has been confirmed many times for me by the various meat recalls!

  Organic meats are expensive so I have found that I am naturally gravitating back toward more vegetable based meals and letting the meat be less of a *star* in the show.  These enchiladas are fantastic.  I created them a long time ago after eating enchiladas at the cafe at our local Wholefoods Market.  Sadly, the cafe no longer exists but the enchiladas live on!

Vegetarian enchiladas

       serves 6

12 tortillas, corn or wholewheat

Filling:

8 oz portabella mushrooms chopped coarsely

3 garlic cloves chopped

1 onion chopped

3 zucchini, julienned

3 carrots, julienned

1  (or more) chile chopped

1-2 bell peppers julienned (a mix is nice here)

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro

1 c grated cheese of choice (you may use soy cheese)

salt and pepper to taste

 a little olive oil for sauteeing

  Basically you can add any vegetable you have, leftover or whatever is prolific in the garden…

  Sautee vegetables in olive oil, starting with the longest cooking and adding as needed so that all vegetables are cooked but still firm. Add chopped cilantro and mix well. Set aside.

Enchilada Sauce

1/2 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 can Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes

1 tsp cumin

1 TBS chili powder

1/2 tsp dried chopped chipotle (Archer Farms does a good one)

salt and pepper to taste

saute onion and garlic until onion is transparent. Add rest of ingredients and simmer 20 minutes. Process in blender or food processor. If sauce is to watery then return to heat to reduce to desired consistancy.

Topping:

1/2 c grated cheese of choice (use soy cheese for a vegan dish)

Heat tortillas, dip in sauce, and then lay on a plate. Put about 2 Tbs of filling in tortilla, sprinkle with some grated cheese, and roll up. Lay in 13 x 9″ pan that has been spread with a little of the enchilada sauce, seam side down. Repeat.

  Drizzle with sauce. Sprinkle with ab0ut 1/2 c cheese. Sprinkle a little chopped cilantro over all. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until warmed through and cheese is melted.

 Serve with a salad,  brown rice, and some cut up, fresh, tropical fruit…

So before I hand over this incredible recipe, tell me, if you were replacing your computer would you go with a laptop or a full size and why?

  I am telling you, blogging at the library is getting old and I dislike not being able to post pictures  because I like to look at pictures on blogs, myself. Plus, I am getting jealous of all Aisa’a yummy pictures sitting there on her posts tempting me to break my diet. :P   Ijust am trying to decide,I am leaning toward a laptop but I have 6 kids remaining at home that are homeschooled and use the computer routinely as well..What I need is for a couple of thousand to be dropped in my lap and get both.

   O.k..these are really good and not hard to make..you can use chicken or turkey instead of the ground beef if you like. The recipe makes 12 enchiladas. According to most theories this will feed 6 people. In our house that will take care of the 2 teenage boys…I usually double or triple the recipe.

  I used to do Once a Month Cooking…I really like the idea altho I do get tired of so many casserole type meals. This recipe is from when I was doing that and therefore freezes very, very well.  If you are freezing then freeze the grated cheese in a small ziploc and attach the ziploc to the casserole dish so you can add the cheese seperately when you cook it. Freeze for up to 3 months.

  These are child friendly..meaning they are no too spicy. If you like more spice add about 1/2 c of salsa verde to the sauce with the chilis.

 1 1/2 lb ground beef  (chicken breast, or turkey )

1 1/4 c chopped onion

1 Tbs chili powder

12 corn tortillas

3 c grated monterey jack cheese

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

            *OR if you are NOT freezing this make a white sauce with 2 c half and half, 1/4 c flour, 2 tsp chicken bullion paste and salt and pepper to taste. I dislike using commercila products because of everything they seem to like to add to it but it does freeze better when you use the commercial product.

  1 1/2 c sour cream

4 oz can diced chilis

  Brown beef.If you are using cooked chicken breast or turkey leftovers then just go ahead to the sauteeing. :). Saute onion. Combine with chili powder, salt and pepper.

  Reserve 1 c cheese (this is what you would put in freezer bag if freezing). Mix remaining cheese in with meat mixture.

  Warm tortillas until flexible.

  lay a tortilla flat and spoon about 2 tbs meat mixture down center.  roll up and place, seam side down, in a 9×13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray or greased with olive oil. Repeat until all the tortillas have been used.

 Combine soup, sour cream and green chilis to make a sauce. Pour over enchiladas.

 Freeze at this point…

 OR

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Sprinkle reserved 1 cup cheese over top and continue baking for 10 more minutes or until heated through.