Mission Tortillas has the easy beef soft taco recipe I posted below. They also have a ton of other great recipes for Mexican night, and some recipes that would work great for football game day. Yum!

Beef Soft Tacos

Recipe Ingredients:

• 6 Mission® 8 inch Medium Flour Tortillas
• 1 1/4 pound Lean Ground Beef
• 1 Taco Seasoning Mix
• 1/2 cup Water
• 3/4 cup Packaged Iceberg Lettuce shredded
• 3/4 cup Pico De Gallo prepared
• 3/4 cup Shredded Pepperjack Cheese

Recipe Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 250°F.
2. Heat a non-stick, medium size sauté pan over medium-high heat; on the stove top. Place raw ground beef into pan and brown (approximately 5 minutes); then drain. Place drained cooked beef back into the non-stick sauté pan, add taco seasoning and water. Continue to cook until water is gone and beef is thoroughly mixed with seasoning. Reserve warm.
3. While beef is cooking place Mission® tortillas in microwave to warm (30 seconds).
4. Fill each tortilla with approximately ¼ cup of reserved taco meat, top with 1 tablespoon of lettuce, 1 tablespoon of pico de gallo and 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese.
5. For smaller families reduce the ingredient amounts in half to serve only 6 tacos.

Image and recipe courtesy of Mission Tortillas

Post from: Blisstree

Easy Beef Soft Tacos

Today I have some fun beef facts and trivia tidbits. Save these bits of beef trivia to dazzle dad at the grill, and have fun quizzing the family to see what they know about beef.

Fun Facts about Beef~ “Beef Trivia,” from Beef From Pasture to Plate

• How beef came to America: Christopher Columbus brought cattle with him to the Western Hemisphere on his second voyage to the New World in 1493, but Hernando Cortez was the first to bring cattle to North America in 1519.

• First hamburger: The hamburger made its international debut at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. Café owner Fletcher “Old Dave” Davis of Athens, Texas, described his early burger as a classic, greasy burger served on just-out-of-the-oven slices of bread and garnished with mayonnaise, sliced onion and cucumber pickles. The people of Athens were reportedly so pleased with Fletcher’s sandwich that they raised a pile of money and sent him to the World’s Fair.

• Beefiest day of the year: More beef is consumed on Memorial Day than any other day of the year. The Fourth of July and Labor Day typically tie for the second most popular beef-eating days.

• Most popular beef cut: Ground beef. Between 40 and 45 percent of all beef sold today is in ground form. This includes fast food hamburgers, ground beef from the grocery store and processed meats such as sausage, hot dogs and lunch meat.

• Beefy nutrients: Beef is the number one source of protein, vitamin B12 and Zinc. Beef is also the number three source of iron behind fortified cereal and grains.

From “Beef Flavor Preferences Study,” Beef Retail

• Favorite flavors with beef: The top five most-liked flavors consumers enjoy with beef are onion (58 percent), followed by garlic (52 percent), herbs (33 percent), Worcestershire sauce (26 percent) and lemon/citrus juice (19 percent).

One last piece of beef trivia from the Guinness Book of World Records

• Largest hamburger on record: The largest commercially available hamburger is 164.8 lbs. and is available for $399 on the menu at Mallie’s Sports Grill & Bar in Southgate, Michigan, as of August 29, 2008.

Wow! That’s one big burger!

Images via Stockman and Dakota

Post from: Blisstree

Fun Beef Facts and Trivia

From the people that make Lipton and Bertolli products:

COUNTRY-STYLE POT ROAST

8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 2 hours 40 minutes
Cost per recipe: $10.00
Cost per serving: $1.25
– 3- to 3-1/2- lb. boneless beef pot roast (rump, chuck or round)
– 1 envelope Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Soup Mix
– 2-1/2 cups water
– 4 medium all-purpose potatoes (about 2 lbs.), cut into 1-inch pieces
– 4 carrots, sliced
– 2 to 4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1. Brown roast in Dutch oven or 6-quart saucepot over medium-
high heat. Add Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Soup Mix
blended with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce heat to low and simmer covered, turning roast
occasionally, 2 hours.
2. Add vegetables and cook an additional 30 minutes or until
vegetables and roast are tender; remove roast and
vegetables.
3. For gravy, blend remaining 1/2 cup water with flour; stir
into Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat
to low and simmer uncovered, stirring constantly, until
thickened, about 5 minutes.

SLOW COOKER METHOD:
1. Add vegetables, then roast in slow cooker.
2. Add Soup Mix blended with 2 cups water. Cook covered on LOW
8 to 10 hours or HIGH 4 to 6 hours or until roast is tender.
3. Remove roast and vegetables to serving platter.
4. Blend remaining 1/2 cup water with flour and stir into
juices in slow cooker. Cook covered on HIGH 15 minutes or
until thickened.

(photo credit: stock xchng)

Post from: Blisstree

Recession Proof Recipes: Country Pot Roast

Servings: Makes 36 appetizers
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 (12-ounce) package refrigerated OR frozen fully-cooked ground beef crumbles
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack pepper cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons apple juice
• 1 1/4 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 (15-ounce) packages refrigerated prepared pie crusts (3 crusts)
• 1 large egg beaten wtih 1 teaspoon water

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. If using frozen beef crumbles, defrost according to package directions. Combine beef, cheese, cranberries, juice, cumin and garlic powder in bowl.

Cut each pie crust into 12 wedges (36 total). Place 1 level tablespoon beef mixture on wide end of each wedge. Beginning at wide end, roll up wedges; curve ends to form crescents.

Place crescents 1-inch apart on greased baking sheets; brush tops lightly with egg wash. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Tip: One pound of fresh ground beef can be substituted. Cook in skillet over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is not pink; drain well.

Tip: To make crescents ahead: Cook as directed. Wrap tightly and freeze up to 2 weeks. To reheat, place on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake in 350ºF oven 12 to 13 minutes or until heated.

Recipe and Image courtesy of Texas Beef Council

Post from: Blisstree

Mexican-Style Beef Crescents

Today, September 22, is the first day of fall, time to start thinking about hearty, soothing dishes for the colder months. This beef recipe, courtesy of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is a good and tasty way to encorporate grain into your diet without sacificing taste.

MOROCCAN-STYLE BEEF KABOBS WITH SPICED BULGUR

1 lb. boneless beef top sirloin steak or beef tenderloin steaks, cut 1 inch thick pieces

Marinade:
1/4 cup molasses
3 tablespoons orange juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Spiced Bulgur:
1/2 cup uncooked quick-cooking bulgur
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Whisk marinade ingredients in large bowl until smooth. Add beef; toss to coat. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes to 2 hours.

2. Meanwhile prepare Spiced Bulgur. Combine bulgur, water, raisins, orange juice, pumpkin pie spice, cumin, garlic and salt in small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until bulgur is tender and water is absorbed. Fluff with fork; stir in parsley. Keep warm.

3. Soak eight 6-inch bamboo skewers in water 10 minutes; drain. Remove beef from marinade; discard marinade. Thread beef pieces onto skewers, leaving small space between pieces.

4. Place kabobs on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, uncovered, 6 to 8 minutes (over medium heat on preheated gas grill, covered, 7 to 9 minutes) for medium rare (145ºF) to medium (160ºF) doneness, turning occasionally.

5. Serve kabobs with Spiced Bulgur.

Makes 4 servings.

Cook’s Tip: If pumpkin pie spice is not available, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg and dash ground cloves maybe be substituted for 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. Combine seasonings in small bowl.

Nutrition information per serving, using top sirloin: 303 calories; 5 g fat (2 g saturated fat; 2 g monounsaturated fat); 49 mg cholesterol; 212 mg sodium; 34 g carbohydrate

^{(photo and recipe courtesy of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association)}

Post from: Blisstree

Moroccan-Style Beef with Bulgur