Herb Flank Steak

My sister in law Maria made this last night. She had purchased it at a place called "Dream Dinners" so she did not have the recipe for it. I was determined to make a recipe for it. I gave it a shot, and was pretty impressed with the outcome. I did not have the time to marinate it as long as I would have liked, but the flavor was still out of this world...

Ingredients
Flank Steak

For the Marinade:
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/3 cup Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 cup Worchestershire Sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Black Pepper

For the Herb Rub:
2 teaspoons dried Basil
1 teaspoons dried Thyme
2 teaspoons dried Rosemary
2 teaspoons dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds, crushed
1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
2 tablespoons Kosher Salt
2 teaspoons Black Pepper
3 tablespoons Olive Oil

Directions
Whisk together your marinade. Place the marinade in a large bag along with the meat. Marinate in the fridge overnight.

Mix all of the herb rub together in a bowl. Once it is all fully mixed, rub it completely over the steak on both sides.

Grill the meat until fully cooked. Cut against the grain in 1/4 slices.

Beef & Bean Chimichanga

You can't even imagine how delicious this is. It is such a quick meal, is so filling, and tastes amazing. How much better can it get? You can top it with whatever you want, but you can see what my favorite is!

Ingredients
1 pound Ground Beef
3/4 cup Onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups Corn
2 cups Taco Sauce (just use your favorite, I recommend the taco bell restaurant sauce that is sold in grocery stores)
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 (16 ounce) can Refried Beans
Flour Tortillas (12 inch)
Cheese, grated

Directions
Start heating up about 2 inches of oil in a pan.

In another pan, brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drain the excess grease, and add the onion, and corn. Cook for about 5 more minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Stir in the taco sauce, and season with chili powder, garlic salt and cumin, stirring until blended. Cook until heated through, then remove from heat, and set aside.

Heat a tortilla in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds so that it will be pliable for folding. Open the can of beans, and spread a layer of beans onto the center of the tortilla. Spoon the beef mixture down the center, and then top with as much shredded cheese as you like. Roll up the tortilla, and place them seam-side down into your hot oil once it reaches 350 degrees. Once it turns golden brown, flip it to the other side. When all sides become golden brown, take it out of the oil and top with your favorite toppings. Suggestions are sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, cheese, etc.

Beef Empanadas

My husband lived in Argentina for 2 years and loved the food there. His favorite thing to eat from there are Beef Empanadas. They are actually really good, we have made them quite a few times! They have a nice crunchy, yet flaky crust. You can really fill them with anything, however, this is his absolute favorite:

Ingredients
For the dough:
2 1/4 cups AP Flour
3/4 teaspoons Salt
1/4 cup Shortening
1/2 cup + 1/8 cups Water

For the filling:
1 pound Ground Beef
3 eggs, hard boiled, chopped
2 Potatoes (medium size), cubed
2/3 cup onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
1 1/4 teaspoons Cumin
1/2 cup Corn

Oil (for frying)

Special Equipment

Dough Press (see here) Also sold at Bed, Bath & Beyond

Directions
In your food processor, put in your flour and salt. Mix together. Then put in your shortening in clumps into the flour mixture. Pulse the food processor until everything fully mixes. It will be coarse crumbs. Through the shoot, pour in your water (a little bit at a time) while it is mixing in your food processor. Once the dough forms into a ball, take it out and knead it by hand for just a minute. Roll it into a ball and flatten it slightly. Cover with saran wrap and put in the fridge for an hour.

While the dough is chilling, start boiling 2 pots of water. Peel your potatoes. Then cube them. You want them in small (and I mean small) cubes. I cut mine to about 1/4 inch cubes. Put them into one of the pots of boiling water. You only need to cook them for maybe 5-10 minutes. Until the are a little soft, but do not fall apart.

While the potatoes are cooking, boil your eggs until cooked. Peel of the shell and dice up your eggs to small pieces.

Dice up your onions. Place them in a large skillet over medium heat. With the onions inside the pan, brown up your ground beef and season with the salt, pepper, and cumin. Once browned, mix in your corn, eggs, and potatoes.

Place your empanadas in the fridge to cool to room temperature.

Take about 1 1/2 inch balls of dough and roll them flat into a circle. You want to roll it almost paper thin. Just about the thinest you can get it without it falling apart. Do this for the remaining dough.

Place your dough flat on the open dough press (I used the second smallest size in the dough press set). Place some filling inside the center of the dough and press it shut the the press. Press very hard and rip off the excess dough. Do this with your remaining dough.

Heat some oil in a pan about 2 inches deep to 365 degress. Fry your empanadas until brown.

You can either eat them plain or dip them in something. I like ranch!

Mongolian Beef

Whenever I go to PF Changs, this is the dish I always get. It is so delicious. The sauce is so tasty and tastes amazing over some nice white rice.

Ingredients
2 pounds Flank Steak
4 teaspoons Vegetable Oil
2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
2 tablespoons Garlic, minced
1 cup Soy Sauce
1 cup Water
1 cup Brown Sugar (packed)
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
Vegetable Oil (for frying)
1/2 cup Cornstarch
3 large Green Onions

Directions
Make the sauce by heating 4 tsp. vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat. Don’t get the oil too hot. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar and tablespoon of cornstarch in the sauce, then raise the heat to medium and boil the sauce until it thickens a little bit. Remove sauce from heat.

Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4 inch slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a 45 degree angle to the top of the steak so you get wider cuts. Dip the steak pieces into cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit about 10 min. so the cornstarch sticks. As the beef sits, heat up 1 c. oil in a wok (or skillet). Heat the oil over medium heat until its hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and saute for just 2 minutes, or until beef just begins to darken on the edges. Stir the meat around a little bit so that it cooks evenly.

After a few minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour most of the oil out of the skillet. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the sauce, cook for 1 minute while stirring and add green onions. Cook for 1 more minute. Now at this point you can either remove the beef with a slotted spoon or tongs and discard the sauce (this is what P.F. Chang's does) OR thicken the sauce with a cornstarch-water mixture to desired thickness and serve it over rice with the beef.

Carne Asada Tacos

These tacos are so delicious. The flavor of the meat is just out of this world. With homemade tacos shells, this meat is perfect with a little lettuce, cheese, guacamole, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. Delicious...

Ingredients
For the meat:
2 pounds Carne Asada (If you can't find carne asada at your store, look for skirt steak. If you can't find skirt steak, get flank steak and ask them to cut the meat about 3/8 inch thickness)
1 Lime, juiced
1 Lemon, juiced
1 Orange, juiced
1 tablespoons Chili Powder
1 tablespoon Oregano Leaves
2 tablespoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Coriander
5 cloves Garlic, coarsley chopped
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1 Jalapenos, sliced thin
1/2 medium Onion, sliced thin
2/3 cup Water

For the tacos:
Corn Tortillas
Lettuce
Lime, wedges
Cheese
Cilantro
Guacamole

Directions
In a bowl, combine the juice of the lime, lemon, and orange. Add the soy sauce and water. Then add the chili powder, oregano, cumin, coriander, and garlic. Whisk all together well. Then add the jalapenos and onion slices. Pour it all into a large ziploc bag and add the carne asada. Massage the marinade into the meat. Stick the bag with the meat in the marinade in the fridge. Marinate overnight.

While the carne asada is grilling, start heating up some oil on the stove top. Once the oil is hot, stick a corn tortilla in it. Once it starts to get pliable in the oil, flip it to the other side of the tortilla. Fold it in half and using the spatula, hold up one of the sides while one side of the taco cooks. Once it is crisp (before browning) flip it to the other side of the taco and cook until crisp. Continue with the remaining tortillas for however many tacos you want.

When the carne asada is finished grilling, cut it into thin strips. Place them inside your homemade taco shells. Squeeze some lime juice over the meat in your shells and top with some lettuce, cheese, guacamole, and cilantro.

Taquitos

Stop buying those frozen store bought taquitos. Once you try these, you will never buy those again. They are so delicious! These are my favorite taquitos ever. I even prefer them over any Mexican restaurant...they are that good! This recipe will make about 30-40 taquitos, so make sure to portion out your extra beef you dont use and freeze it. Then, the next time you want to make them, defrost the cooked meat and you can make them fairly quickly.

Ingredients:
2-3 pound Chuck Roast
1 packet Lipton Beefy Onion Soup (not onion, BEEFY onion)
Liquid Smoke Flavoring
Seasoning Salt (ex Lawry's Salt)
Garlic Salt
Worchestershire Sauce
Corn Tortillas (I prefer White corn)
Oil

Directions:
Lay out a strip of tin foil and place the roast on it. Pour a generous amount of seasoning salt, garlic salt, liquid smoke, and worchestershire sauce all over the top of the roast. Then pour the entire beefy onion packet on the top of the roast. Wrap the meat with the foil. Wrap it in 5 more layers of foil in different directions. Place in a 9x13 dish. Bake at 150 or 170 and cook for 24 hours.

After the meat has cooked for 24 hours, shred it with a fork to make into shredded beef.

Pour about an inch of oil into a pan and heat over medium-high heat. After it is heated, place a corn tortilla in it. After just a moment, flip it and then take it out of the oil. You only want it in the oil enough time to make it pliable. Do this for the however many tortillas you are going to use. Let the tortillas cool a few minutes enough to handle.

Put one tortilla on a baking sheet. Put a small amount of the shredded beef in a row on one of the sides of the tortillas. Roll up the tortilla around the beef tightly. Make sure the open end is underneath the taquito so it doesn't unroll during baking. (if you are nervous about them unrolling, feel free to stick a toothpick in it to hold them in place) Continue doing this for the remaining tortillas.

Bake in the oven at 350 for 30-45 minutes until they start crisping. Serve with guacamole, cheese, and lettuce.

Taco Soup

I love tacos. I love soup. I love taco soup. This has all the best taco flavors in a nice warm bowl. It is easy to make and is just the perfect end to a long day. Delicious!

Ingredients:
For the taco seasoning
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Coriander
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

**If you don't want to buy all these ingredients, feel free to substitute them all for just a packet of taco seasoning!

For the soup
1 pound Ground Beef
1/2 sweet Yellow Onion, diced
3-4 cloves Garlic, minced
1 can Pinto Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup Frozen Corn
2 cans Diced Tomatoes
1 4 oz can Diced Green Chilies
1/2 packet Ranch Salad Dressing Mix

For the toppings
Corn tortilla strips
Sour cream
Cheese, shredded
Green onions, sliced

Directions:
Over medium heat, combine beef, all taco seasonings, minced garlic, and onions. Stir until the beef is fully browned. Add the cans of beans, tomatoes, corn, chilies, and the ranch packet. Stir. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer the soup for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Test taste the soup and salt to taste. Be generous with the salt.

Heat up an inch of oil in a large pan. Cut up your tortillas in strips and fry them until they start to turn golden. Remove them from the oil and sprinkle with salt while they are still hot.

Serve your soup with the tortilla strips, sour cream, cheese, and green onions.