Korean Style Street Tacos

At least - that's what we call them in our house. There are a few random things you need to make them - but I have SIMPLE substitutes that I promise you already have.

Here is one of the random things: a bamboo steamer - super cheap - like less than $10 at the Asian market. SUBSTITUTE - your MICROWAVE.

Another: our Instapot. SUBSTITUTE - crock pot, oven, grill, Traeger...

These are AWESOME. Lotus Leaf Buns - available at your local Asian market in the freezer section. Our 4 kids aged 7 to 16 love these, They are also cheap - under $3. To steam these in a Bamboo steamer, grab a large sautee pan and fill it with water about 1" up the side of the pan. Set on your stove top on High. Set your steamer on top of that pan. Put down a sheet of parchment paper and lay 3 or 4 buns flat on top of that. Cover and steam for 5-6 minutes. 10 if they are completely frozen. SUBSTITUTE: tortillas.

This is the last random ingredient. GOCHUJANG. It's like a Korean BBQ sauce. You can find this at your local grocery store -it's everywhere - and it's so good. I could dip the sole of my shoe in this and it would be delicious. SUBSTITUTE: your favorite BBQ sauce

This is a picture of my daughters creation. Pork, Gochujang, sour cream, cilantro dressing, salsa, Lotus Leaf Bun.
This is my version: Street Taco sized flour tortillas, melted Mexican blend cheese, refried and black bean mix, pork, Gochujang, sour cream and salsa on one, Mexican blend cheese, refried and black bean mix, pork, Gochujang, guacamole and cilantro dressing on the other.

The cool thing about this is that you can customize this to your own preferences - just like a traditional taco bar.

Korean Street Tacos
3-5 lb pork tenderloin* cooked until it's tender enough to shred with a fork
Lotus Leaf Buns or Street Taco Tortillas
Gochujang
Guacamole or avocado
Black beans
Refried beans
Pico de gallo or salsa
Sour cream
shredded cheese - your choice
Cilantro dressing** - optional

So - I'll tell you exactly what we did - and you can make substitutes as needed.

*Pork Spoon Roast - completely unpackaged. Cook in the Instapot on High for 90 minutes with water half way up the bowl to retain moisture.
Serve on a Lotus Leaf Bun (steamed or microwaved) or a tortilla and have at it with any toppings you want!!!

Great to feed a crowd - and something that will really knock their socks off.

*Our ALL TIME FAVORITE is (local) Harmon's Pork Spoon Roast - THE BEST - for so many things!

**Depending on time - I buy cilantro dressing at the grocery store - or I make my own Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

Chicken Enchilada Chili Soup

Okay folks. This is a copy cat recipe for Café Zupas Chicken Enchilada Chili.

I didn't know if I should title this as a chili or a soup - Café Zupas calls it a chili but I serve it more like a soup...

I often make this soup in my 4.5 quart crock pot because during the week we are in and out and I really want everyone to have a hot meal. However, I LOVE to double the recipe and use my Rachael Ray 8 quart pot.

Chicken Enchilada Chili

2 lbs chicken breast (I use rotisserie chicken)

2 c red enchilada sauce

1 c green enchilada sauce

3 c cream of chicken soup *make your own for the best flavor

1 c heavy cream

2 c chicken stock**

1 10 oz can Rotel

2 c corn (I use frozen - but canned is fine)

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 1/2 c shredded cheese (I use Mexican blend)

3 T chili powder

pinch of paprika

Salt to taste

Add all ingredients to your crock pot or soup pot. Because I use rotisserie chicken (I've also used canned chicken in the past) the soup just needs to come up to temperature and the ingredients need time to marry.

**I use the chicken stock to thin out the chili a bit so it's more of a soup

Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is another dish I've made forever - but it's so simple it doesn't feel like a "recipe" to me. But my family loves it so much - I thought I'd share.

We're back to school and sports around here - which means our week nights are insane. To save money and tummies - I like to have the 6 of us eat ANYTHING but fast food. It's a challenge - but one I feel I've done a good job at.

I made this last night and it was gone in a flash. I think next time I'll double the recipe by stacking the ingredients - if I do I'll give you an update.

Fastest Chicken Cordon Bleu in the West
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 can Cream of chicken soup
S & P
6 slices Swiss Cheese
12 slices deli ham
6 breaded chicken patties*

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine heavy cream and cream of chicken soup, salt and pepper to taste. Microwave mixture for about 60 seconds to make it easier to incorporate.

Drizzle about 1/4 of the cream sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish - spread it around with a spatula. This just helps anything from sticking.

Place the chicken patties in the casserole dish. Top with 2 slices of ham and 1 slice of swiss cheese each. Pour the remaining cream sauce over the entire dish.

Bake for 30 minutes. DELISH!

*I use Foster Farms frozen chicken patties - you don't even have to thaw them!

UPDATE: I made this again - but this time I made it in my crockpot bc crazy week nights... So I doubled the liquid - put half in the bottom of the crockpot, added 8 chicken patties, a package of diced ham and 8 slices of cheese then added the rest of the liquid on top - set on low for 2 - 3 hours - or high for 1 hour. Everyone gets a nice warm dinner when they have time!

Beef Stew

My kids and I did lots of odd jobs, yard work for neighbors etc. on the DL before Father's Day. We saved up enough money to buy him a TRAEGER!!

We ALL LOVE everything we have made on it - basically any kind of protein you can think of. We had a family party the other day and he used the Traeger to make the BEST BRISKET we've ever had. It was such a large piece of meat - that we ended up with leftovers - and you can't let meat that good EVER go to waste. So - I made a beef stew with it.

I didn't grow up eating beef stew, pot roast or anything akin to that. It just so happens that my husband has made pot roast the last 2 times I had the flu - so I was much more than skeptical. BUT this changed my mind completely. It was delicious. Even in August.

BEEF STEW
Ingredients:
5-6 c Beef Broth
1/4 tsp ground cloves
8 fresh sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg frozen pearl onions
1-2 cups of baby carrots, sliced lengthwise or into rounds
1 pkg sliced mushrooms
1 pkg small potatoes
Brisket
1 can beef consumme (I had brisket drippings and gravy I added instead)
1 pkg frozen peas

Add everything EXCEPT the brisket (bc it's already cooked) and the frozen peas.
Cook on Low setting for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Add Brisket and cook for another hour or so.
Add the peas just before serving. *Don't forget to take out the Thyme and Bay leaves*

Serve soup with a dollup of Horseradish Sour Cream (Tyler Florence) recipe below

Horseradish Sour Cream
1 cup sour cream
1 T prepared horseradish
EVOO
S&P
chives to garnish

*Oops! I forgot to add the peas - lots going on every weeknight!!

Raspberry Chipotle Tacos

I made these the other night and they were such a delicious spin on your run of the mill taco's.
Raspberry Chipotle Tacos
3 or 4 chicken breasts
Fischer & Weiser Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce*

Add ingredients to your crockpot. Make sure you use enough sauce to cover the chicken completely. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours. About 30 minutes before you are ready to eat, shred chicken and add shredded chicken back into the sauce.

Serve in a taco sauce or flour tortilla and top with all your favs. I topped mine with sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado and shredded cheddar. Delish.

*I use this sauce all the time. I buy it at Costco. It's the perfect quick appetizer for unexpected guests - just put out a brick of cream cheese and pour the sauce right on top. Serve with tortilla chips. I've used it in several other applications - a definite must buy and try.

White Bean Chicken Chili

This is one of Rachael Ray's Top Ten downloaded recipes of 2009 - it def deserves that title!
This recipe is so simple that my 5 & 2 year old girls made it - by themselves!! I literally got out the ingredients, opened all the cans and they took it from there... They were very proud of themselves - and since we split it with another family - they were extra excited to have so many people taste the fruits of their labor! *Makess approx. 10 dinner sized helpings.

White Bean Chicken Chili
1 32-ounce box chicken stock
3 cans white beans, left undrained
5 cups cooked chicken, rotisserie or boiled (I used canned chicken)
1 16-ounce jar salsa (I used 2 cans of Rotel b/c someone ate all the salsa!)
1 8-ounce block pepper jack cheese, grated
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
Black or white pepper to taste
1/2 cup finely crushed corn chips (if you like your chili thicker)
Sour cream, for garnish

Place all ingredients except the corn chips in a crockpot. Cook on high until the cheese is melted (about 1 - 1 1/2 hours).
Chili may also be cooked on the stovetop over medium-high heat until cheese is melted.
When the chili is ready, add the crushed corn chips, if using, and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken. Garnish with more chips, cheese and/or sour cream and serve.

*To make this 'diet' skip the tortilla chips and use non-fat sour cream.

Crock Pot Chicken & Salsa Delite!

I am planning my weekly menu and just perused the site to see whether or not I've posted my "go to" mexican chicken. I did post it - but under a weird Title here so I am reposting it where it can easily be found...

This recipe is my go to for mexican. I am sure you all have this recipe - but it's so good - it's worth mentioning. I got this recipe from my friend Jen - who made it every single Sunday. She'd put everything in the crock - go to church and when they got home they were ready to eat!

Crock Pot Chicken & Salsa Delite!
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (as many as you need)
Salsa (not fresh - I use Pace)
Sour cream

Add all ingredients in your crock pot. I don't use measurements because I just eyeball it - and I really like sour cream. *Just make sure the chicken is mostly covered in the 'sauce' and you'll be fine.
Cook on low for 5 hours. When it's done, shred the chicken and serve. We use this in everything! Burritos, tacos, on nachos, on taco salad - the possibilities are endless!!

*Make this 'diet' by using non-fat sour cream and reduced fat cheese

Cafe Rio Chicken

I added this picture 10/9/09 after making it again - I should've taken the pic with the final product (salad) but I didn't - just so you could see the basic ingredient and its potential in SO many dishes!!
Cafe Rio is one of my favorite Mexican joints. I have been making Cafe Rio Pork forever - it's one of our favorites - so when I saw this recipe for their chicken - I had to make it.

Saturday, I had a lot of errands to run and knew I would run out of time for dinner. So, I threw everything in the crock pot and went to run errands. When I got home, Sweetness and friends were in the garage brainstorming on one of our current projects. I walked into the house and this whiff of deliciousness filled the garage - lots of yummy noises and questions about what I was cooking... I went in and out of the garage several times (unloading groceries) and by the time I was done unloading, they had all planned a BBQ at our house b/c they couldn't resist! I had their mouths watering...

Everyone gobbled it up (kids included!) The adults had it as a salad and the kids had this as burritos or quesadillas. Yum. Super versitile - so impressive and the crock pot does all the work!I saw this recipe on 365 Days of Crock Pot Recipes.

Café Rio Chicken
5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thawed
8 oz Kraft Zesty Italian dressing
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
3 cloves minced garlic
Mix all ingredients except the chicken in a bowl. Place chicken on bottom of a greased crockpot. Pour mixture in bowl over the top of chicken. Cook on high 5-7 hours. Shred chicken with a fork and reserve juice to pour over chicken when serving.

**As far as crock pot cooking goes, I like the marinade to cover the protein. With this recipe, I doubled the marinade/dressing so that the chicken would be covered. IT WAS GOOOOOD.

***I just remembered - I got this recipe from 365 Days Of Crock Pot Cooking (see our sidebar)