Chorizo, Potato and Mushroom Tacos

It's no secret in our house that my husband loves him some chorizo.  It's also no secret that I'm always on the look out for a quick weeknight meal.  This recipe fit both and sounded delicious, so I decided to give it a try.  Normally when I make tacos, I serve them with cheese and sour cream, but now that we're a (mostly) dairy-free household, I can't do that anymore.  This recipe was so flavorful and filling that I didn't miss the dairy at all!  So next time you have taco night, I highly recommend you trying this recipe!

Chorizo, Potato and Mushroom Tacos

Rick Bayless, Mexican Everyday, as seen on Pink Parsley

12 oz fresh Mexican chorizo, casings removed
1 medium white onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz of your favorite mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
12 oz red skin, yukon gold or russet potato, grated
Salt, to taste
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
12 warm corn tortillas, for sering
3/4 c tomatillo salsa, for serving
1 avocado, sliced, for serving
Margaritas, optional but definitely recommended!

Crumble the chorizo into a large nonstick skillet set over medium heat.  Cook, stirring often to break up any large lumps, until some of the fat starts to render and the sausage looks half-cooked, about 4-5 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium-high, and add the onions, garlic and mushrooms.  Cook, stirring nearly constantly, until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes.

Sprinkle the grated potato over the sausage mixture and continue cooking until the potatoes are soft, about 3 minutes, stirring often.  Reduce the temperature if the potatoes start to brown before they soften.  Taste and season with salt if necessary - some chorizo is highly seasoned.

Scrape mixture into serving bowl and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.  Serve with warm tortillas, tomatillo salsa and sliced avocado.

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Cajun Potluck - June

We have a rotating monthly potluck dinner with our friends and when it's your turn to host, you get to pick the theme. We've been doing this for about three years and it's amazing to think how much everyone's lives have changed during that time - weddings, pregnancies, babies, new homes, new jobs, etc. We decided that we're going to start taking pictures every month so that we can have them as a reminder of all the fun times we always have at potluck. That idea got me thinking that it would be fun to start doing a monthly post with pictures and recipes for all the dishes we bring each month. So this will be the first of many potluck posts, I hope!

This month Candace and Craig chose to do a Cajun theme. They made a magnificent Shrimp Creole for the main course, which I ate (and thoroughly enjoyed) over Hunter's dirty rice. I've never eaten a lot of Cajun/Creole food, so I had no idea what to bring. After giving it some thought, I decided grilled corn on the cob would work just fine. In order to make it fit with our theme, I decided to serve it with a compound butter full of Cajun flavors. Easy-peasy, a lot more fun than plain ole butter, and it really gave the corn a great flavor; however, the butter was far from attractive. Because I made the unfortunate decision to roll into a log shape, there were quite a few comments about it looking phallic or poop-like. I think next time, I'll just put it in a ramekin! Also, grilling the corn with the beer in the foil packets really added a great dimension to the flavor that I highly recommend!

Recipes will either have a link under the picture or the full recipe will be found at the bottom of the page. I hope you enjoy the recipes as much as we did!

{Lora's cajun crab stuffed mushrooms}

These were so good, and boy, did they go fast! I'm not sure everyone even got to try one before the entire platter was devoured!

{Candace's shrimp creole}

{Hunter's dirty rice}

{Robyn's cajun corn pudding}

I've never had a corn pudding with bacon before, and it added such a great smoky flavor that everyone loved. I know at least one person went back for seconds but I'm not saying who!

{my creole compound butter}

See what I mean about it looking dirty?!? Even extra herbs and tabasco sauce couldn't help it at all - may have even made it look worse!

{my corn on the cob}

{Candace's tres leches cake - not cajun but it was Jennie's birthday and it's her favorite}

I'm not a fan of tres leches cake because I find that so many of them are verging on completely mushy and way too sweet! But I loved this one though - it was moist without being soggy!

{bourbon cake}

This was sooo good! The bourbon added a really nice flavor without being overpowering. Plus I thought it was really cute spin on the cajun theme - a bourbon cake for Bourbon Street!

{banana pudding}

{my dessert plate - why choose just 1 when you can have all 3?!}

Shrimp Creole

adapted by Candace from Southern Living

2 (14 1/2-oz) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 c chopped celery (about 2 ribs)

1 T olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

2-3 t hot sauce - depending on how spicy you like it

1-2 t Creole seasoning

1 lb peeled large fresh shrimp

white rice, for serving (I prefer to use long grain rice, but you can easily use Minute Rice to speed things up)

Prepare rice according to package directions; keep warm.

Pulse stewed tomatoes in a food processor 3 or 4 times or until chopped.

Saute green pepper, onion and celery in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet for 8 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Stir in chopped tomatoes, diced tomatoes, hot sauce and Creole seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Stir in shrimp, cover, and simmer 3 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Dirty Rice

recipe from cooks.com

1 lb. sausage

1/2 lb ground beef

3 stalks celery, diced

1 medium onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 c parsley, chopped

3/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp black pepper

4 c cooked white rice

2-3 green onions, chopped

Cook sausage and beef in large skillet until almost browned. Drain all but 1-2 tablespoons drippings. Add celery, pepper, onion, garlic and spices. Cook until meat is browned and veggies are softened, about 5 minutes. Drain any excess grease. Combine veggie mixture with rice and mix well. Stir in parsley and garnish with green onions.

Grilled Corn with Creole Compound Butter

12 ears of corn, husked

1 bottle dark beer (I used Shiner Bock)

1 stick butter, softened

1 garlic clove, grated

1 lime, zested

2 t chili powder

1/2 t celery salt

1/2 t onion powder

5 - 10 dashes Tabasco sauce, depending on how spicy you want it

2 t fresh chives, snipped

To make the butter, in a small bowl, combine butter, garlic, lime zest, chili powder, celery salt, onion powder, Tabasco and chives. Place softened butter mixture into small ramekin and smooth top. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Wrap each ear of corn in foil and add 2 T beer to each foil packet. Wrap it up carefully so the beer doesn't leak out. Grill for 10-15 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before eating. Serve with compound butter.

Candace's Tres Leches Cake

a Candace original!

for the cake

1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist yellow cake mix

1 1/4 c water

1 T vegetable oil

2 t vanilla

4 eggs

1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 c whole milk or evaporated milk

1 c whipping cream

for the frosting

3/4 c whipping cream

1/3 c sugar

1 t vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees for dark or nonstick pans). Grease and flour or spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan.

In a large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.

Bake 29 to 35 minutes or until edges are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes. Poke top of hot cake every 1/2 inch with long-tined fork, wiping fork occasionally to reduce sticking. (Don't hold back on the holes - the more, the better :-)

In a large bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, whole milk and whipping cream. Carefully pour evenly over top of cake. Cover; refrigerate about 1 hour or until mixture is absorbed into cake. Frost with frosting and store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

For the frosting, place the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using whisk attachment, whisk together on medium/high speed until stiff peaks are formed.

Banana Pudding

recipe from the Jell-O box

2 pkg (3.4-oz) Banana Cream flavor instant pudding

2 1/2 c cold milk

1 box mini Nilla Wafers

3 bananas, sliced

1 tub (8-oz) Cool Whip Lite, thawed

Beat pudding mix and milk for 2 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Arrange layer of wafers on bottom and up sides of a 2-quart bowl; top with layers of half each banana, wafers and pudding. Repeat layers; cover with Cool Whip. Refrigerate 3 hours.

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Thai Chicken Soup with "Chimichurri"

I know, I know, chimichurri is Argentinian not Thai. But I made a pork tenderloin with chimichurri last week (which was very good - here's that recipe) and I was still thinking about it when I was planning the menu for this week. Inspiration hit! I decided to make a Thai chicken soup and instead of putting all the herbs and flavors into the soup - where they get diluted and fall into the background - I decided to make a Thai chimichurri-style sauce to spoon on top of the soup. Not only does it look beautiful, the flavors really shine!

To make this recipe more authentic, you could add lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, red curry and replace the basil with Thai basil and the jalapeno with a red Thai chili. It would be really good with shrimp too. I was just using what I had on hand or in my garden. Just keeping it real!

Thai Chicken Soup with "Chimichurri"

for the soup

1 T olive oil or butter

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 8-oz package fresh mushrooms, sliced

1-inch piece of ginger, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 5-oz package of fresh spinach

8 c chicken broth

2 chicken breasts, cooked and thinly sliced or shredded

1 14-oz can coconut milk

salt and pepper, to taste

cooked rice, for serving

for the "chimichurri"

3/4 c fresh herbs - basil, cilantro, mint - minced (total quantity, not 3/4 c each)

2 green onions, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)

1 lime, zest and juice

1 garlic clove, minced

2 t ginger, grated

1 T rice wine vinegar

1/4 c olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for the sauce. Mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large pot over medium heat, add olive oil. Add red bell pepper, mushrooms, ginger and garlic. Saute, stirring often, for a few minutes, or until the mushrooms start to brown slightly. Add the spinach and saute for a minute so that it just starts to wilt. Add the broth, chicken and season with salt and pepper. Let cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Lower the heat and stir in the coconut milk. To serve, place cooked rice in the bottom of a soup bowl, cover with soup and top with a generous spoonful of the chimichurri.

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Ground Beef Stroganoff

I love the flavor of beef stroganoff, but I hate using tenderloin because it's so expensive. You can use a cheaper cut of beef but a lot of the time it isn't tender and/or it takes a long cooking time to make it tender. So for quick and economical weekday cooking, I use ground beef. I made this tonight and everybody (Finley included - and she doesn't usually eat meat or mushrooms!!) cleaned their plates. I call that a winning recipe!

Ground Beef Stroganoff

serves 4

1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey or bison)

4 T butter

1 small white onion, diced

8 oz button mushrooms, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

4 T flour

1 14.5-oz can beef broth

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T worcestershire

1/3 c white wine

1/2 c sour cream (you can use low fat)

salt and pepper to taste

fresh dill, chives, or parsley, for garnish

cooked egg noodles, for serving

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef and drain off fat. Add butter, mushrooms and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-9 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Add garlic and saute another 30 seconds.

Stir flour into mixture. Pour in beef broth and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat and stir in mustard, worcestershire, wine, salt and pepper. Let simmer while the noodles are cooking.

When the noodles are finished cooking, add the sour cream and stir well to incorporate and heat through. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and/or pepper, if needed. Serve over noodles and garnished with dill.

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Individual Beef Wellingtons

This dish is one that I made for Andrew when we were first dating and he loved it so much that I still make it for special occasions, such as Valentine's Day! There are lots of beef wellington recipes out there and most of them are pretty complex so I've tried to simplify it while not sacrificing the flavors.

Individual Beef Wellingtons - serves 4

2 T butter

8-10 cremini mushrooms, finely diced

2 shallots, finely diced

1/2 t dried thyme

2 T white wine

1/5 lb smooth pate (I usually buy a truffle mousse pate)

4 small beef tenderloin filets, seasoned generously with salt and pepper

1 pkg puff pastry dough

1 egg, separated with only the whites reserved

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms, shallots, thyme and wine. Saute until the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are lightly browned and softened. Remove from heat and let cool.

To assemble, lay out each sheet of puff pastry and cut each sheet in half. Place a heaping tablespoon of the mushroom mixture in the center of each piece of puff pastry. Top with 1/4 of the pate and a filet. Fold the pastry around the beef, careful to pinch the seams closed. Cut off any extra pastry dough. (With the extra dough, you can cut out designs to top the wellingtons to make them fancier.) Beat the egg white with a tablespoon of water. Gently brush the egg wash over the tops of the wellingtons. Bake in the preheated oven 15-25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

**Alternatively, you can buy a tenderloin roast (instead of separate filets) and make one large beef wellington, which is more traditional and better if you prefer your meat to be rare to medium-rare. When the filets are baked individually, they're more likely to cook more thoroughly.

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Stuffed Mushrooms

I love trying recipes that have a seemingly odd combinations of flavors and this one fits the bill with raisins, pine nuts, sausage and olives. It is a Tyler Florence recipe and I almost always like what he cooks and this one did not disappoint. I served it as an appetizer on Thanksgiving and there weren't any of them left. Overall, I thought they were really good, pretty hearty and I will definitely make them again. (I didn't get a good picture so I'm using the picture on Food Network's website.)

Here's the link to the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/stuffed-mushrooms-with-sausage-recipe2/index.html

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