One of my fondest memories as a kid was watching my mom make tacos. She made her own taco shells in a pan of hot oil with some tongs, making sure each corn tortilla was perfectly shaped before starting on the next. The completed shells were placed on paper towels and stashed in the oven to keep them warm.

It wasn’t until a period of time in junior high and high school that I became aware of the pre-made boxed shells from the grocery store. Though they served their purpose I was never crazy about them, and haven’t bought any since. …read more

Fall season is slowly approaching so I’m sure you are taking advantage of grilling outside as much as you can before it finally hits the weather and time to cover the grill again. But just because it’s cold, raining, or snowing outside doesn’t mean you can’t have that “grilled” taste that you want in your meat. You know, there’s that thing in your oven called “Broil”. Not only does it cook the meat real fast, it also gives that slight grilled burn texture and taste. Not as much as when you’re grilling outside of course but just a touch which …read more

Last night I tried a recipe that I found in the July 7th Woman’s Day magazine for Curried Beef Pies.

Also known as samosas, the little pies looked simple enough to make and yummy to boot, which is always good when kids will be eating it too!
It suggested serving the pies with warm chutney but I wasn’t able to find any, so we had it with a side of couscous instead. I also adjusted some amounts to tailor it to the likes and dislikes of my family, and it turned out great!
I’ll definitely try harder to find some chutney …read more

I’m taking advantage of the warm weather and grilling season by utilizing the grill as much as I can. Kinda like with this chuck of beef roast. Instead of cooking it in the crock-pot, I’ve decided to marinate it and grill it instead. Fall is approaching, believe it or not so grill it is while it’s still good outside.
INGREDIENTS :
beef chuck roast
2 cups of Lawry’s Baja Chipotle Marinade
2 simple ingredients, YES.

I’ve posted a few beef grilling recipes the last couple days courtesy of Stockman and Dakota. Check out these beef recipes for your Father’s Day grill out next weekend, Grilled Teriyaki Beef Kabobs and Grilled Beef Fajitas.
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 …read more

Though I’m a Paula Deen fan I don’t make many of her recipes very often because I think we’d be having some health issues if we ate like that more than once a month or so!

One of her meals that my family and I really enjoy, though, is her Wayne’s Beef Macaroni & Cheese.
I felt like making something easy last night and even though I didn’t have a bell pepper on hand it still turned out great. I like to add four cups of the crushed tomato, otherwise it gets a bit dry in the oven, and I scale back …read more

Yes, I am aware that it’s a Spanish dish. But believe it or not, Paella has long been part of the Philippine menu. If I’m not mistaken, only Filipino cooking has the Spanish influence among all Asian cuisine. Surprised? You’re not alone. My Kiwi officemates were actually amazed to find out I was of Spanish descent when they asked about my lengthy maiden name.
I’m featuring the Paella today because my sister’s friend was kind enough to cook this for my mom’s birthday lunch.

Flickr Image: avlxyz

(I have the photo, Tom, the previous editor of Noodles and Rice, had the recipe.)
I miss …read more

I realized recently that I start a lot of my recipes here with “this is one of my favorite meals to make,” but it’s true! I love cooking and baking in general, but I love it even more when it’s something I enjoy putting together.
This is another one of those favorite meals: Korean-style short ribs. One of the reasons I like it so much is because the majority of it’s done in the crockpot, so a lot of the hard work is done for me and the house smells wonderful all day — how can you beat that? I like …read more

Stuffed shells are one of my most favorite meals to make. They’re simple, you can use pretty much anything on hand, and everyone loves them!
I’ve been making this particular recipe for about eight years now. You can use all beef or all turkey, but having tried both I prefer the combination. You can also use homemade pasta sauce, which works really well, but if you don’t have it on hand the jarred kind can be tasty too.
The recipe below makes about 30 shells – or two casserole dishes worth. My family of five gets through about a pan and a …read more