Tender garlic butter and herb steak bites are a great way to make a meal for 2 from 1 ribeye steak. The combination of garlic, rosemary and butter create a fragrant flavor to the steak. This goes great with a garden salad and crusty baked french bread. Make this for dinner or a stay at home date night meal for two. PRINTABLE RECIPE Ingredients 1 lb (454 g) beef ribeye steak 1 tsp salt (I like to use onion salt) 1/4 tsp black pepper 2 cloves garlic 1 sprig of fresh rosemary 2 Tbsp (28.5 g) unsalted butter garnish with cracked black pepper and fresh chopped parsley 2 Tbsp (30 ml) cooking oil (for pan) **See YouTube video for detailed recipe video** Cut steak into bite sized chunks, season with salt and pepper In a preheated pan over a medium high heat, add cooking oil Now add the steak in a single layer to pan and sear for at least 1 to 2 minutes on each side Add the butter, whole garlic and rosemary to the pan Coat and baste the steak bites in the garlic butter for 2 minutes, remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes Garnish with cracked black pepper and fresh chopped parsley then serve

Every year around the holidays someone in my family brings Jiffy corn casserole as a side. I honestly will make this anytime of the year. This casserole pairs well with roasted or baked chicken. You can make this casserole savory or sweet. PRINTABLE RECIPE INGREDIENTS 1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix (see below for substitution) 2 large eggs 15 oz can of corn (drained) 14.75 oz (418 g) can of creamed corn 1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream 1 stick of unsalted butter (113 g) 3/4 cup (177 ml) whole milk 1 cup (75 g) shredded cheddar cheese *2 to 2.3 quart baking dish* **See YouTube video for detailed recipe video** INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / 176 degrees C In a large bowl combine and mix all ingredients well In a buttered or greased 10 x 7 x 3 baking dish, pour in the batter Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F / 176 degrees C for 50 to 55 minutes *cook time may vary* Once the corn casserole has cooked through, remove from oven and allow to set for 15 minutes before serving **Makes at least 8 servings N O T E S : You can substitute the box of Jiffy corn muffin mix with the ingredients below SUBSTITUTE FOR JIFFY MIX 1 cup (155 g) yellow corn meal 2/3 cup (85 g) all-purpose flour 1 Tbsp baking powder 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar 1/2 tsp salt DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the website and allows me to continue to make recipes like this. Thank you for the support!

Ingredients 1 1/2 lbs (680 g) beef chuck roast meat 3 fresh Roma tomatoes (180 g) 1 small onion (100 g) 3 cloves fresh garlic (15 g) 3 Tbsp (45 ml) cooking oil 1/2 tsp (2.5 g) salt 1/2 tsp (1 g) black pepper 1 tsp (3 g) ground cumin 1 Tbsp (10 g) beef bouillon powder 3 Tbsp (30 g) all-purpose flour 3 cups (709 ml) water Prepare the ingredients by cutting beef into 1/2 inch pieces, small dice the tomatoes, finely chop the onions and finely mince the garlic. In a preheated skillet with a lid, add cooking oil and brown the meat over a high heat. Remove the browned meat from the skillet and set aside until needed. Lower the heat to medium and in the same skillet sauté the chopped onions, tomatoes and garlic until the tomatoes have softened and the onions are translucent. Now add browned meat back into the skillet with the sauté and combine well over a medium heat. Add salt, pepper, ground cumin and beef bouillon powder. Then combine. Now sprinkle flour evenly over everything in the skillet, cook and combine well for 1 to 2 minutes or until a golden brown crust forms at the bottom of the pan. Add in water slowly while mixing. A sauce should form. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover with a lid, lower the heat and simmer for at least 1 hour or until the meat is tender. Stir occasionally while it simmers to prevent the bottom from burning. Adjust heat source accordingly. Extra water may be needed during the cooking process if meat needs to cook longer to become tender. Once the meat is tender and the gravy has thickened, turn off the heat. Set for ten minutes and serve. PRINTABLE RECIPE DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the website and allows me to continue to make recipes like this. Thank you for the support!

Making tamales is always a labor of love. There are many steps and it takes hours of time, but bringing the family together is worth it. Some make tamales to share and celebrate the holidays with family and friends. Some sell tamales to support their livelihood. With that said, this recipe can be doubled, tripled and quadrupled should you need to make a large amount. I am more than sure there are hundreds of ways to make tamales and everyone has a family recipe. This is just one way to make them and I tried to simplify it for the beginner cook or those that want to make tamales at home. INGREDIENTS 2 cups beef or chicken broth 4 lbs (1.81 kg) beef chuck roast or pork shoulder roast (meat of your choice) 1 small onion (I used dry minced onion in the crockpot) 3 to 4 cloves garlic 2 tsp salt 1 to 2 dried bay leaf reserve broth and rendered fat from the crockpot (At least 4 cups liquid) 8 dried guajillo chiles (stems and seeds removed) 2 dried Pasilla chiles (stems and seeds removed) 2 dried ancho chiles (stems and seeds removed) 2 cloves garlic 4 cups (475 g) instant corn flour (I used Maseca brand) 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 cup (150 g) lard or shortening salt to taste 2 Tbsp oil (to simmer puree) 45 to 50 corn husks 16 quart steamer pot PRINTABLE RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS *Note: Use the method of your choice to cook beef, pork or chicken until tender. For the recipe you will need at least 2 lbs of cooked meat -In a 4.5 crock pot add beef or , bouillon cube, dried bay leaf, onion, garlic, 2 cup water, cover with lid, set to high and cook for 6 hours or until beef is tender - Once beef is cooked, remove onion, set aside and reserve - Remove beef from crock pot, shred or chop to desired texture - Strain out any liquid from crock pot and reserve CHILE PUREE - remove stems, seeds and rinse the dried chiles - place in a small pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, remove from heat and steep until soft and pliable - Once chiles are soft, remove from boiling liquid and place in to a blender along with 1 2/3 cup of broth or water, 2 cloves of garlic, reserved onion from crock pot and puree well - Strain puree for any bits that did not puree - Reserve 1/3 cup of chile puree to add to masa dough MEAT FILLING - In a preheated skillet add 2 Tbsp oil, strained chili puree, salt to taste and simmer for 3 minutes over a medium heat - Now add chopped beef to simmering chili puree and continue to combine and simmer for another 3 to 5 minutes - Now set aside until ready to assemble tamales MASA PREPARATION - In a large bowl add instant corn flour, baking powder, salt to taste and combine well - Now add lard or shortening, 1/3 cup of chile puree and combine well - Next start by adding 2 cups of warm broth or water and mix well - Now add an additional 1 to 1 1/2 cups of broth or water until masa dough is the texture of play dough and can squeeze through your fingers easily NOTE: Keep extra warm water or broth on the sided just in case masa dough starts to dry out TAMAL ASSEMBLY - Take your softened presoaked corn husk and spread from the center 3 to 4 Tbsp of masa dough on the corn husk leaving a one inch space from the top of the husk - Next add meat filling and enclose the tamal - Now fold the bottom part of the husk up and continue the process COOK TAMALES - In a 16 quart steamer pot add 2 1/4 liters of water to the pot then place the steamer plate in - Place a small heat proof ceramic or stone bowl upside down in the center and start stacking all of your tamales around the bowl *NOTE: the cook time will vary depending how tightly you pack the pot - Now place extra corn husks on top to cover tamales, a cloth and cover with the lid - Bring the water to a boil first, lower the heat to a medium heat and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour and a half or once a tamal comes out easily from the corn husk - Remove all the tamales from the pot and allow to set for at least 20 minutes then serve - This recipe makes at least 30 tamales DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the website and allows me to continue to make post and recipes like this. Thank you for the support!

Beef birria in the slow cooker is an easy option to get your birria quesatacos and consomé fix. This is a popular street food that can be made right at home. DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the website and allows me to continue to make post and recipes like this. Thank you for the support! INGREDIENTS 3 guajillo chiles (18 g) 1 ancho chile (18 g) 1 pasilla chile (12 g) 6 cloves of garlic (24 g) 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (optional) 1 tsp (1 g) Mexican oregano 3 lbs (1.36 kg) beef shanks 1 small onion (100 g) 2 1/2 tsp (12 g) salt 1 tsp (2 g) black pepper 1/8 tsp (.33 g) ground clove 1/8 tsp (.33 g) ground cinnamon 1 Tbsp (3 g) fresh thyme 2 dried bay leaves 5 cups (1.18 L) water Remove the stems and seeds from guajillo, ancho and pasilla chiles. Rinse and wash well to remove any debris. Add the cleaned chiles to a small pot of water, bring to a boil, turn off heat, cover with a lid and steep for 30 minutes or until softened. Remove the chiles from the pot and discard soaking liquid. Add softened chiles, garlic, Mexican oregano, chipotle pepper and 1 cup of water to a blender. Blend until pureed well. Set aside until ready to use. In a preheated large skillet, add 3 Tbsp cooking oil and brown the beef shanks on each side for 2 minutes on a medium heat. Then remove from the pan and place all the browned beef into a 4.5 quart slow cooker. Dice the onion and add to the slow cooker along with chile puree, salt, beef bouillon powder, black pepper, ground cloves, ground cinnamon and fresh thyme. Then combine well. Pour in the remaining 4 cups of the water, add the dried bay leaves and cover with a lid. Cook for 6 to 8 hours on the low setting or cook for 4 to 6 hours on the high setting. Once the cooking time is up, skim out all of the rendered fat, stir the beef birria and shred some of the meat. Serve in a bowl or use for tacos. NOTES: You can salt and season to your preference. You can garnish your bowl with fresh onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. This makes at least 4 to 6 servings. PRINTABLE RECIPE

Having lived in San Diego for two years in my twenties, I got my fair share of rolled tacos. Growing up and living in Texas we call them flautas or taquitos. You can imagine my surprise to find them called another name. Well you can call them what you like and go back and forth on what you think the "authentic name" should be. When I go to my favorite taco shop, I call them rolled tacos. This recipe is my take on Don Pedro's Taco Shop rolled tacos in Chula Vista, California and I hope you like it. INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 to 2 lbs Beef (Chuck Shoulder Roast) Salt & Pepper 2 bay leaves 3 cloves of garlic 1/2 of a small onion 1/4 tsp of Mexican oregano 2 cups beef broth 15 to 20 corn tortillas oil for frying TOPPINGS Guacamole Mexican Crema (or sour cream) Shredded Lettuce Cheddar Cheese Cotija Cheese Salsa

As long as I can remember, every Saturday I would find myself waiting in a long line at my neighborhood carniceria (Mexican meat market). Myself, along with what seemed like hundreds of other families, would wait patiently for Mexican slow cooked beef cheeks or other beef parts from the cows head, fresh corn tortillas, salsa, menudo and guacamole. This was the quintessential Mexican breakfast in my house. Living in Houston, Texas you could probably bet most Mexican families know all too well of the carniceria lines on Saturday and Sunday. Well I still crave my Saturday morning barbacoa tacos and I have come up with a way to avoid those crazy long lines. Here is a slow cooker barbacoa recipe that will satisfy your craving for slow cooked beef cheeks. Click on the video to see how I make it. SLOW COOKER BARBACOA RECIPE Ingredients 2 lbs beef cheek meat (or beef chuck roast) 2 tsp salt (1 1/2 tsp if using fine table salt) 2 to 3 cloves fresh garlic 2 bay leaves 1/2 small onion 5 to 8 drops of liquid smoke (optional) 2 Tbls water (optional - to combine with liquid smoke) 4.5 QT CROCK POT 1) In a 4.5 quart slow cooker add all ingredients 2) Set on LOW for 12 hours or set on HIGH for 8 hours 3) Once the meat is tender, remove in one whole piece to a serving plate 4) Do not shred until ready to serve. This will prevent the meat from drying out. 5) Serve in tacos topped with fresh onion, cilantro, lime and your favorite salsa. 6) Serves at least 10 to 12 corn tortilla tacos. *This will vary depending on the ratio of meat to each taco. DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the website and allows me to continue to make post and recipes like this. Thank you for the support!

For the last several years, on social media, I have seen a taco meme going around. It's the one that has a heart shaped box filled with tacos. Well the other day I had a craving for carne asada tacos and just so happened to finish a box of chocolates the hubby bought. Not by myself of course. You know the saying " Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity". Well I have a new one for you..."Memes are what happens when tacos meet heart shaped boxes". I also came up with a pretty good carne asada marinade in the process. If you want to see how I recreated the Valentine's Day Taco Meme and some great carne asada tacos, click the video to see how I made it. Enjoy! This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Carne Asada Marinade INGREDIENTS 1 to 2 lbs Beef (Skirt Steak, Flank Steak/I used Rib Eye Steak) Juice of 1 orange Juice of 1 lime 1 tbls soy sauce or Maggi sauce 2 tsp Worchestershire sauce 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 onion powder Add salt to taste if needed 1/2 onion sliced fresh cilantro Heart Shaped Box

The art of a beautiful authentic molè sauce takes technique, patience and love. There are various types of molè sauces that come from many regions in Mexico. I grew up in southeast Texas and the one I remember came from the Doña Maria molè jar. I will admit that I do love a good Doña Maria molè sauce, but it does contain the traditional molè ingredient, peanuts. I have a little one with a peanut allergy and I no longer keep peanuts in my home. So naturally I had to come up with a peanut free version of a simple molè sauce. I use Creamy SunButter instead of peanuts, which adds a creamy smooth texture and nutty flavor that goes great with the other ingredients. If you want to see how I make the sauce and my molè enchiladas, click the video. Happy cooking! This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. PEANUT FREE Molè Sauce 10 guajillo chiles 1 small to medium onion 5 cloves garlic 3 Roma tomatoes 2 tomatillos 1/3 cup raisins 1/3 to 1/2 cup SunButter 1 to 2 tablets Mexican Chocolate (Abuelita Or Ibarra brands work well) 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1 whole clove or a pinch of ground clove (optional) 10 crackers (you can use 1/3 cup breadcrumbs or even 2 toasted corn tortillas) Salt to Taste 6 to 7 cups chicken broth or stock (try to use low sodium)

In my grandma's kitchen you will always find a bowl of salsa. It varies from one day to the next, but you better believe the salsa bowl has a permanent place on the table. If you've searched around on the web and looked for a salsa recipe, you'd find thousands maybe even millions. Here is one of them. It's got the right amount of heat and goes virtually with any kind of taco and definitely anything on the menu at my Abuelita's house. If you want to see how I make it click the You Tube icon below and check it out. Happy cooking! Salsa Rojo Recipe 4 chile arbol 2 chile pasilla 2 cloves garlic 1/4 of a medium onion 1 roma tomato salt to taste fresh cilantro (optional)

Enchiladas are one of my favorite dishes to make. I make more of a Tex-Mex style enchilada which consists of 4 main components. That is corn tortillas, meat (beef or chicken), cheese and the sauce. By sauce, I mean "The Red Sauce". Usually most use a seasoning packet, with added water and tomato sauce or even use the stuff out of cans. Well I am not one to use canned or packaged enchilada sauce, but I won't shame those who do. I'm not a food snob and understand the convenience of using premade ingredients. Enchilada red sauce can be tricky especially if you don't know where to start. Well you're in luck! I have a recipe that's a good place to start. If you want to see how I make my enchiladas and red sauce, click the You Tube icon below. Happy cooking! ENCHILADA RED SAUCE RECIPE 1/4 cup all purpose flour 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 Knorr chicken bullion cube 3 tbls chili powder 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp salt (optional) 2 to 2 1/2 cups water

Nothing beats a warm, homemade, from scratch, soft flour tortilla. Was that descriptive enough? I could probably add ten more words and it still would not express my love for a homemade tortilla. I think one of my first memories in the kitchen was tugging at my Abuelita's skirt waiting for the first tortilla. Now my favorite moments are when my son eagerly waits for the first tortilla, as I did when I was a child. It took many years of practice, patience and tortillas shaped like Florida to get the recipe right. I still have tortillas that still don't bubble right or come out oddly shaped. It probably would have been easier to ask my Abuelita Angelica for the recipe. Right? Well the problem with that is she does not have a recipe. It's the old school way of most Mexican Grandma's, well at least in my family. Just a dash of this and a pinch of that, mix it, knead it and there you go! Luckily you don't have to start from square one — on the recipe at least. I have a good one that's a great place to start. I will give a heads up. The recipe is a great one, but the rest is up to you. The kneading, the feel of the dough and the heat of the comal are not in my control, that is yours. To watch how I make them click the You Tube icon button below. I hope you like the recipe and happy cooking! SOFT FLOUR TORTILLA RECIPE 3 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp kosher salt (1/2 tsp if using fine table salt) 1/3 cup of lard or shortening 1 cup hot water (add an extra 1/4 cup of hot water a table spoon at a time in case dough is still dry) PRINTABLE RECIPE DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the website and allows me to continue to make post and recipes like this. Thank you for the support!