May Harvest 2020 Commence with a Taco Bake kind of Night...
Ok! Here we go, it's the end of Summer, It's Fall, It's Harvest Time!
And with Harvest comes, Harvest meals in the field. My love/hate responsibility on our Family Farm.
Day one started off with a hiccup, of course and my prepared Roast I made for Roast beef Sandwiches for the week turned into a mini meal for the crew after being broken down all day. When you're broke down you just go with the flow as the cook. There can't be any complaining on what you HAD planned, because your time and grocery bill does not even come close to a broke down massive piece of equipment like a combine!
So round 2, or day 2 in this case I guess went a teeny bit better. Or at least a teeny bit better in my case. Still having some issues with this heat-wave we are having outside right now, and inside in my case. We live in a very, VERY old farmhouse with no A/C, which equals a boiler room once my oven turns on. So I broke down and put some super classy designer Tinfoil on our windows. AND it worked! Our kitchen is as cool as a cucumber, thank goodness!
Now onto the meal. This meal I've made in the past and have switched back and forth to a few different recipes. My first attempt at this will always be the most memorable. When I first moved in with my husband, I barely knew how to boil water. So lucky for me, at the time, I was working at the local bank with ladies who knew a thing or two about cooking, Thank Goodness! And as we were chatting the one day I asked them what I could make for supper, they rambled off this recipe by memory that I jotted down on the bank branded notepad. Which I still had up until a few years ago, when I transferred all my recipes onto and into my recipe box. I'm honestly kind of sad I threw it away. Oh the nostalgia!
This recipe was similar to below but it included a Miracle Whip blend with the Sour Cream. So as a good little wannabe chef, I went to the grocery store after work and grabbed all my ingredients, went home and made my hunny a meal to be remembered.
As we were eating, and him of course telling me how delicious it was. I said isn't it crazy that there whip cream in this?!? You'd never know!! And he just looked at me... took a bite, and looked at me again...
He dutifully finished his meal and asked me to see the recipe, I proudly whipped it out and showed him with a beaming smile on my face, and he just asked "Where does it say Whip Cream?" And I showed him, there right there and pointed to the Miracle Whip. All he could do was hang his head, and say it's Miracle Whip NOT Whip Cream!
We had a HUGE laugh because in my haste and ignorance at the grocery store I had gotten Miracle Whip and Cool Whip, whip cream mixed up in my mind. But to be honest it's still tasted fine, not good but fine for being my first 'meal' I made on my own!
Of course the next day all the ladies at work were asking me, how was the meal. And they roared when I told them the mix up! So long story short... As small town does they waited the 3 year until my wedding to share with our closest family and friends how far I've come in the kitchen and how patient my husband must have been taste testing all the new and exciting recipes I was attempting to make!
For all those who knew me at that time in my life, they knew that was pretty typical for my kitchen knowledge!
You can only learn from your mistakes and get better as you go!
So tonight we had a mini Mexican Night with Taco Lasagne, Mexican Street Corn Salad and Churros for dessert.
TACO LASAGNA
prep time: 15 minutes cook time: 30 minutes total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup taco seasoning
1/2 cup water, more as needed
1 can green chiles, (optional)
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kernel corn
1 red pepper, chopped
12 flour tortillas, 6-inch
24 ounces salsa
1 cup sour cream
3 cup shredded Mexican Cheese Blend
- Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C) and grease the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until browned and completely cooked through, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. Transfer beef to a bowl and set aside. Discard the remaining grease.
- In the same skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat, add onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add cooked ground beef, taco seasoning, green chiles, and beans. Pour in 1/2 cup of water and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Add 1-2 Tbsp more water if needed. Remove pan from heat.
- Use 3 tacos cut in half and 1 whole taco to line the baking dish (see picture above). Spread 1/3 of the salsa on top and then 1/2 of the meat mixture. Drop 1/2 of the sour cream over the meat and spread out with a spatula. Top with 1 cup of cheese. Repeat layers. Top with 4 tortillas, remaining salsa, and cheese.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.
Serving: Serve the taco lasagna garnished with lettuce, chopped fresh tomatoes, jalapenos, or your favorite taco toppings and with sour cream and guacamole on the side
Storing: Store leftovers covered in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Reheating: Reheat leftovers in the microwave. This dish also tastes great cold.
Freezing: You can freeze the unbaked assembled lasagna in an aluminum baking dish and bake it from frozen. Perfect for busy weeknights!
Mexican Street Corn Salad
prep time: 10 minutes cook time: 10 minutes total time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
4 cups corn approximately 24 oz frozen
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red pepper diced
1 bunch fresh cilantro minced, a few leave for garnish.
1 jalapeno diced
1/2 large red onion diced
2/3 cup cotija cheese shredded/crumbled
Dressing
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice approximately 2 limes
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
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Heat olive oil in a saute pan on medium high and add corn. Cook until slightly charred, approximately 7-10 minutes. Add to large bowl and set aside.
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Add pepper, jalapeno, cilantro, and onion to large bowl with corn and mix well.
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In a small bowl, add all dressing ingredients and mix well until smooth.
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Add dressing to large bowl with corn and mix well. Add 1/2 cotija cheese and mix well.
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Add remaining cheese and some cilantro.
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Serve or cover and store in fridge for up to 8 hrs before serving.
Fair Warning!! We don't do Corn on the Cob in the field due to dirty hands and Dental Implants, so I've been attempting to find an alert native non cob recipe for Mexican Street Corn. I'm starting to think my crew just isn't really into these flavours. I made a casserole last year, and now this salad that both receive lack lustre reviews. Make at your own Risk!!
Easy Mini Churro Recipe
prep time: 10 minutes cook time: 10 minutes total time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
4 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated Crescent Dough Sheet ( Sheet is ideal, I bought the perforated role, it's do-able but not the quickest/easiest/cleanest)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375-degrees
- Open a can of refrigerated crescent dough and shape the dough to fit your cookie sheet.
- Spread butter on the dough with a pastry brush.
- Sprinkle the dough with half of the sugar and cinnamon mixture
- cut the dough into strips. I made my churros mini so I cut the dough in half and then into strips
- Making 24 churros. If you want larger churros, don’t cut the dough in half.
- Twist the churro dough up and spread with remaining butter
- Sprinkle the dough strips with the remaining sugar mixture
- Bake for 8-10 minutes
- Enjoy!
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