Cinco de Mayo Dinner

Shrimp tacos

Monday was Cinco de Mayo so I decided to get into the spirit of the day and made Shrimp tacos. This dish is light and refreshing and I will be making it quite a few times this summer as the heat sets in. Along with the tacos I also made the refried bean again which are fast becoming a go to side dish because of how easy they are to make and how delicious they are. Give these a shot some time this summer and enjoy them with a nice cold beer or margarita!

Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos

Refried Beans

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Carnitas

Carnitas

I am a huge Chipotle fan, so last weekend I attempted to make one of their burrito bowls from scratch. I looked up a few Carnitas recipes and worked out a recipe of my own that combined a few spices and decided the best way to cook it would be to use a crock pot. The recipe is very easy to follow and the only thing you really need is time. It takes about 10 minutes to prep then 8-10 hours to cook. You can serve the carnitas with whatever you like. I sauteed some peppers and onions and made lime cilantro rice and refried beans (you can find the recipes below) Enjoy and please leave a comment if you make it and let me know how they turned out. Enjoy!

Carnitas

Lime and Cilantro Rice

Refried Beans

Avocado Fries

avocado fries

A few weeks ago I was at Triumph Brew Pub in Philadelphia and tried the avocado fries they had on the menu. I was surprised at how good they were, crunchy on the outside with a nice smooth and creamy texture on the inside. This past weekend I decided to take a stab at making them myself. The recipe is very easy, hardest part is breading the avocados. They turned out just like I remembered the Triumph ones tasting. Give them a try if you are looking for a healthy alternative to french fries!

Avocado Fries

Cinco De Mayo Dinner

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For Cinco de Mayo I decided to whip up a few Mexican dishes. The guacamole recipe is quite simple and very delicious. Just remember to use a good amount of lime juice to prevent the avocados from turning brown. If you do not feel like chopping all the vegetables you can just mash up the avocados and add fresh salsa. When making the refried beans I used a mix of ancho and chipotle powder but you can used whatever type of chili powder you like most. The center piece of the meal was the chicken enchiladas. While they take a little bit of time to prepare they are well worth it. Depending on the size of your pan this recipe will make 5-8 wraps. you can also serve this dish with yellow rice, my favorite is Goya. You will find the recipes below, Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Refried Beans

Guacamole

Ancho Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cream

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These chicken tacos offer a smokey change from the usual ground beef hard shell tacos. The spice rub for the chicken is smokey with a slight heat and compliments very well with the avocado cream. The fresh coleslaw gives a great crunchy texture to this taco. You can also top it with salsa or your favorite hot sauce. This recipe is quick to make for an easy dinner. Enjoy!

Ancho Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cream

Roasted Pork Tenderloin With Black Bean-Chorizo Ragu

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I realized I have not cooked a pork dish in quite some time. When I was looking through a magazine I saw a picture of a black bean and chorizo ragu and thought it would pair very well with pork tenderloin. I looked up a few recipes and combined them to make up the this recipe.

It is best to marinate the pork for at least 4-6 hours but you can get away with 2 hours. Before putting the pork in the oven you will brown it on all sides in a pan.

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By browning the pork it seals in moisture, shortens the amount of time it will spend in the oven, and preps the pan for cooking the ragu.

While the pork cooks in the oven you will cook the ragu in the pan that your browned the pork in. First you will cook the peppers and onions, until soft.

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Then you will add in the chorizo and cook until finished.

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Finally you will add the beans, chicken broth, and tomato paste and reduce liquid by half.

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Finally you serve the ragu over the pork tenderloin. This recipe is quite simple and looks and tastes great. Follow the link below for the full recipe. Enjoy!

Roasted Pork Tenderloin With Black Bean-Chorizo Ragu

A New Take on Deviled Eggs

Deviled Eggs

Last weekend I made some deviled eggs for Easter. Instead of making classic deviled eggs I decided to put a twist on this traditional Easter dish. For the first set of deviled eggs I spiced them up with some Siracha hot sauce and garnished them with thinly sliced scallions. These eggs with an Asian twist are a good change up from the classic. The Siracha is not overpowering and gives the eggs a subtle heat. For the second set of deviled eggs I added an avocado into the mix. These eggs were a big hit and gave a nice change of color to the egg plate. You can find the recipes for both below. Enjoy!

Siracha Deviled Eggs

Avocado Deviled Eggs

Mexican Style Chicken Mac and Cheese

Mac and Cheese1 mac2

Hello everyone hope you guys are doing well. Today I decided to make macaroni and cheese with a bit of a Mexican flare. The addition of the chicken and peppers turned this from a side dish to a meal in and of itself. The recipe is easy to follow and the dish takes about 45 minutes to make from start to finish. As I was cooking this dish I realized that if you stop after step 4 and leave out the pasta you make an incredible queso dip, in fact I nearly split this recipe into two parts because the cheese sauce tasted so good. Have fun making it and I hope you enjoy it!

Mexican Style Chicken Mac and Cheese