Product Review: Frontera Taco Skillet Sauce

 

You may know that we love our tacos around here.

We love them any way we can get them!

Chicken, oh yea,

Beef, yes please!

Fish, oh my!

 

So it was taco night and I had ran out of my homemade taco seasoning (click here for the recipe), so I picked up a quick skillet sauce at the market that is marketed by Chef Rick Bayless.  It had to be good right?

 

Well I'm pleased to say that it was!  So I bought some more...

 

The one I'm sharing with you today is the Texas Original Taco Skillet Sauce with mild red chili and cumin.  It has wonderful flavor that you can smell as soon as you open the pouch.  Just brown up some ground beef and then add the sauce and simmer.  Can't get quicker than that!

 

The flavor is "mild" and brings a great southwest taco flavor to your meat.  Excellent!  He has many other flavors for tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, and more.  Can't wait to try some of the others.  I've already bought the taco sauce for quick chicken tacos.  It is perfect for quick night meal, plus the whole family will love them!

 

See how great the tacos look?  Oh, and I fried my own taco shells.  I love the real deal!

Frontera Taco Skillet Sauce Tacos

1 lb 10% ground sirloin

1 pouch of Frontera Texas Original Taco Skillet Sauce

optional toppings:  shredded cheese, diced onion, diced tomato, shredded cabbage or lettuce

Brown ground sirloin in a skillet over med-high heat for about 8-10 minutes.  Add skillet sauce and simmer for 3-4 minutes to heat through.  Spoon into taco shells and top with your favorite toppings.

Looking for other taco recipes?  Here are a few...

Chicken Verde Tacos

Baked Tacos

 

Tex Mex Soft Tacos

Chicken Cutlets with Almond Butter

 

This dish does double duty...

It's a quick and easy weeknight meal...and...it's elegant enough to serve company.  

What's better than that?  You can whip up a quick dish any night of the week and treat your family to a restaurant style meal.  Or, you can save a load of time when you entertain friends by making this dish and still leave them impressed by your ability to make a wonderful tasting meal.

The key to quickly cooking this dish are the thin slice chicken breasts, often called cutlets.  You can buy them thin sliced in the store or you can make your own by taking a half chicken breast and slicing it through the width of the breast so you have two full thin pieces.  Thin cutlets cook up really quick so you need to watch them and not over cook them or they will dry out and become tough.

The other thing that makes this dish special is the sauce.  It's not made with Almond Butter (a different version of peanut butter) as the name implies, but with BUTTER, and slivered almonds.  It's okay!  You can live a little and use butter to make this wonderful sauce.  Just don't eat this everyday!  The sauce is silky and smooth and is wonderful over the chicken.  This pan sauce makes this dish!

Served beside roasted potatoes and green beans this is a wonderful meal!  Stay tuned for the side dish recipe up next.

Enjoy!

Chicken Cutlets with Almond Butter

serves 4
adapted from Cuisine at Home

Ingredients

2 T flour

4 boneless skinless chicken cutlets (thin sliced breasts)

salt & pepper

1 T canola oil

1/4 c almonds, slivered

1/2 c dry white wine or chicken broth

4 T butter

2 T chives, chopped

Place flour in a pan.  Season cutlets with salt and pepper.  Dredge cutlets in flour, shaking off excess.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat; saute chicken until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side; remove and set aside.

Add almonds to pan and toast, about 3 minutes.  Add wine or chicken broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan; allow to simmer until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.  Off the heat stir in butter until melted and sauce thickens.  Add chives to sauce.  Divide sauce among each serving of chicken. 

Spaghetti with Tomato Basil Sauce

It's been 103, 107, 105 degrees for days and days...

It's too dang hot to cook!  So when you want something a little more substantial than a salad I go for a quick 20 minute meal.

Weeknight dinners don’t get much easier than this. Pasta is a quick go-to meal.  What’s the secret to a speedy pasta sauce? A great jarred version plus a handful of fresh cherry tomatoes.  Check out my red basil.  Isn't it pretty?  Smells great too!

Try this dish for a super quick meal.  You'll be pleasantly surprised!

Spaghetti with Tomato Basil Sauce

Serves 4 to 6

Kosher salt
1 lb. spaghetti
8 oz. cherry tomatoes
1 jar tomato-basil pasta sauce
Finely grated Parmesan cheese for sprinkling
6 oz. fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese, torn into bite-size pieces
Fresh basil leaves for garnish 


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to the package instructions.

Cut most of the cherry tomatoes in half. Reserve a few whole tomatoes for garnish. Pour the pasta sauce and the cut tomatoes into a large skillet over medium-low heat and allow to simmer. Once the pasta is done, drain and add to the skillet. Stir pasta until coated. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Arrange the reserved tomatoes and mozzarella on top. Garnish with basil leaves and serve immediately.  

Thai Chicken and Rice Wraps

Hi there! I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July holiday!

Our holiday was wonderful.  Good times, good friends, and excellent food if I do say so myself!  I'll be sharing some great grilling recipes that we came up with shortly.  They are perfect to make all summer long.

But first I want to share this wonderful dish made mainly of leftovers!  This is the e a s i e s t dish to put together.  You can certainly make this on a busy weeknight, or put it together for a nice lunch or light weekend dinner.  The flavors are right on spot!  The inspiration?  One of our favorite Thai places serves their version of chicken lettuce wraps which we ADORE!  So I knew it was only a matter of time before I recreated them. 

We have been so busy getting ready for our new house, packing, paperwork etc...that I don't have energy to cook a full blown meal right now.  Nor the gumption for that matter.  So quick and easy meals, thrown together literally, are for me. 

Like I said, I made this the easy way...using leftovers of course!  You can use some roasted chicken breasts that have been shredded and leftover cooked rice. I always make extra chicken when I roast breasts cause you can use it in salads, wraps, and this dish!  Same goes for rice.  I always make extras when I make stir fry.   If you don't have leftovers then buy a rotisserie chicken and shred it up and make some rice, or buy some pre-cooked packaged rice.  It's all good.  But really, this is the best recipe for leftovers!

The flavor punch is in the sauce, so make sure to make that and spread it over your lettuce wraps to give it that punch.  A wonderful, quick dinner, you won't be disappointed.  The taste is perfect with all the combination of Asian ingredients.  I served this with a simple side of Sugar Snap peas that I'll be sharing next.  A perfect combination for a quick and easy meal!

Enjoy!

Thai Chicken and Rice Wraps

Serves 2

2 t rice vinegar
1 T plus 1 t Asian chili garlic sauce (such as Sriracha)
1 ½ t grated fresh ginger
3 T sesame oil, divided
1 c shredded cooked chicken
1 clove garlic, minced
½ c cilantro, chopped
4 Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves
1 c hot cooked rice

Combine vinegar, chili sauce, ginger and 1 ½ t sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat remaining oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and garlic and stir until thoroughly heated through, about 4 minutes. Add cilantro and stir to combine.

Place 2 lettuce leaves on each serving plate. Spoon rice onto the lettuce leaves and top with chicken mixture dividing evenly. Serve with the vinegar mixture.

New York Style Sausage and Mushroom Pizza

Pizza has to been one of America's favorite foods.

It's so versatile that every region has their own version, both with the crust and the toppings!  Some examples are NY Style, Chicago Deep Dish, Detroit Sicilian Square and California Style.

Experimenting with different crusts and toppings is a lot of fun to do.   I remember visiting New York and there were two things I had to eat.  Junior's Cheesecake, and NY Style pizza.  We accomplished both!  The cheesecake was outstanding, but the pizza....AWESOME.  Something I will never forget.  The ambiance of the pizza place, and the flavor of the pizza itself.  Memories that are burned in my brain.

So let's re-create a NY Style pizza.  Most important is the crust.  You have to have a nice crust that is both crispy and chewy.  I used my Best Pizza Dough Ever as the crust and it was perfect.  Next, choosing the toppings.  I chose the same topping we had in NY.  Sausage and Mushroom.  Wonderful Italian sausage is cooked and crumbled, and placed alongside the cooked mushrooms on the pizza.  A little sauce, and some fresh mozzarella and the ingredients are set.

The result turned out really good.  The crust isn't exactly like that of NY, but will never be without their water which lends a flavor we can't get here.  But, it is a great variation!

New York Style Sausage and Mushroom Pizza

makes 1 12" pizza

Pizza dough (my Favorite Pizza Dough)
Pizza Sauce (your favorite or here's mine)
1/4 lb. cremini or button mushrooms, sliced 
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 lb. sweet or hot Italian pork sausages, casings removed 
All-purpose flour and cornmeal for dusting
1/2 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced 

Place a large pizza stone on the oven rack, and preheat an oven to 450°F, allowing at least 20 minutes for the oven to preheat fully. 

In a large frying pan, heat 1 Tbs. oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they give off their juices and are browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the sausages to the pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring and breaking them up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the mushrooms. Set aside.

Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a ball.  Reserve one ball for another use.  Roll, pat and stretch the dough into a round about 12 inches in diameter.  Dust a pizza peel or the back of a baking sheet generously with cornmeal.  Transfer the dough to the peel.  Spread with the sauce, leaving a 3/4-inch border uncovered. Top with half of the mozzarella, and the mushroom mixture. 

Slide the pizza off the peel onto the hot stone. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 12 minutes. Using a wide spatula or a rimless baking sheet, remove the baked pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Cut and serve.

Pan Frying 101: Buffalo Chicken

Pan frying is a form of frying, using a minimal amount of oil or butter to cook with.  I'm sure you already use this method in your daily cooking.  Most of us pan fry chicken in various ways.  Using this method you rely  a good pan temperature and a short cooking time to retain the food's moisture. 

It's an easy way to cook beef and pork, chicken, lamb.  It a cousin to the sauteing technique.  This method is better suited to cooking larger pieces of food, usually pieces of meat, but you can also pan fry other foods like potatoes, or vegetable cakes.

You should use a heavy pan and make sure to preheat it before adding oil or fat.  Use one large enough so you don't overcrowd the pan.  this will cause steaming instead of frying.  

Make sure to preheat the oil in the pan to insures that the food starts cooking the second it hits the pan.  This prevents your food from absorbing excess oil.  When the meat is placed into the pan, the oil should sizzle.  If it doesn't sizzle, the pan and oil are not hot enough.  Pan frying takes a little time, so when the 1st side is golden brown, turn to complete the cooking.

That's the simplicity of pan frying.  So let's get cooking!

Buffalo Chicken has all the flavor of your favorite hot wings, but made in to an entree with a chicken breast.  This dish will please the man in your life to no end!  It impresses the ladies too.  Simple to make, yet bold in flavor.  This is the ultimate weeknight meal.  Done in under 30 minutes.  This might be a little hot for the little ones, or anyone not fond of hot wings...but boy oh boy, does this pack a punch and have you wishing for your favorite game and a beer! (or wine!!)  Serve it with a nice Parmesan pilaf, a great foil for the spicy main dish.

Make sure to come back soon.  I'll be posting another quick but unique pan fry dish later this week.  

Hope you enjoy this.


Buffalo Chicken

Serves 4
Time: 20 minutes

1 Tablespoon canola oil
4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1/2 c Buffalo Chicken Sauce
1/4 c crumbled blue cheese

Pound chicken between wax paper or plastic wrap to 1/4 inch in thickness.  Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil and allow to heat.

Add chicken to skillet and cook until browned on each side about 2-3 minutes total.  Pour buffalo sauce evenly over the chicken, turning to coat.  Allow to cook about 8 minutes total, turning once.  During the last 2 minutes of cooking sprinkle blue cheese over each of the chicken breasts.  Cover and allow to cheese to melt, about 1 minute.  Serve immediately.

Apricot Lemon Chicken

I got a new cookbook!

Something I picked up at Home Goods.  I love that store!  As I was walking by browsing all the cool kitchen stuff this book was staring at me...it was.  And then it was calling me, "come over, buy me, buy me!"

I browsed through a couple of pages and I was hooked.  I know, it's not hard to do with me and cookbooks.  I already have a ton of them.  But one more won't hurt, will it?  What really grabbed me was all the pictures.  Don't you just love pictures in cookbook?  I don't want to buy a book if there aren't any pictures.  I like to ooohh, and aaahh over the pictures, and drool over what the finished product looks like.  They say we eat with our eyes, so putting pictures of wonderful food in a book only makes sense, right?  I know!

So "My Recipes America's Favorite Food" enters my life and BAM!  I open the book and land on a page with a killer recipe from Cooking Light.  Fast simple good food is what it's all about.  This chicken dish hits all the notes.  It cooks up in about 20 minutes so dinner's on the table in a flash.  The flavors are spectacular.  The curry powder lends a little heat to the chicken while the apricot and the lemon add sweetness add tang to the dish.  What a great compliment to each other.  

Once again MGG was "Mmmnnning" through the whole meal.  So I promptly told all my co-workers about this dish the next day at work.  Two of them made it and said their families just loved the flavors, and the cooks loved the quick and ease of the preparation.  

If you want to do yourself and your family a favor...make this!  You'll see!

I can't wait to make my next recipe from this book.

Apricot Lemon Chicken

by My Recipes America's Favorite Food - Cooking Light

4 servings - - Time 20 minutes

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Cooking spray

1/3 cup apricot spread (such as Polaner All Fruit)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind 

Preparation

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; rub mixture over chicken.

2. Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Cook chicken 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan, and keep warm.

3. Add apricot spread, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons water to pan, stirring until smooth. Cook over medium heat 1 minute. Spoon sauce over chicken; sprinkle with lemon rind.