Home made Steak Tacos

Yadira has come to spend her Spring break with us and she has spoiled me from ever reaching for a pre made taco again!! I'm so sad! These are delicious and I wondered why I didn't just fry up my own tacos!

The pico de gallo is delicious! I'm eating it with everything.

Steak Tacos served with pico de gallo, spanish rice and refried beans!

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb flank steak, trimmed (We had left over steak from the night before)

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 and 1/2 tablespoon chile powder

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 package of corn tortillas

Can you just taste the goodness?

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a well-seasoned ridged grill pan (preferably cast-iron) over moderately high heat until beginning to smoke, then brush with oil.
2. While pan heats, pat steak dry and stir together spices and salt, then rub all over both sides of steak.
3. Grill steak, turning over once, 9 to 11 minutes total for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes.

Because my steak was left over, it is NY Strip and ribeye and I sliced it thin and small to stretch it to feed all of us.
4. Cut steak thinly steak across the grain. Serve with tortillas and toppings. Because my steak was a left over. I made up the seasoning and quickly heated the meat with it for flavor!

MAKING THE TORTILLAS

Prior to frying the corn tortillas. Place a few tortillas on a microwave safe dish and place a damp paper towel over the top. Heat for 20 seconds or so. We just want these soft and pliable so they do not crack when folded.

Once tortilla is heated add a table spoon or two of the meat to the center of the tortilla. You don't want to over stuff with meat because the tortilla should fold over easily, while in the pan.

 You will want to use a fork to keep the top from unfolding. You may place more than one in the frying pan. You want to the oil to sizzle but not reach it's smoking point.

REMOVE from pan and place on paper towel to remove excess oil. Continue frying the remainder of the tortillas until all the meat is used.

The only down side to this is if you are not careful with heating the oil it can leave your house with a fried oil smell. But, it is definitely worth the satisfaction of preparing!

Prime Rib and au jus

Prime rib is a delicacy for our family. In fact, we only get it if we eat out and order it or if we are visiting my family back in New York. I told you, they eat quite well there. Anyway, it is tradition for the Eaton household to have Prime rib New Years Day and maybe another time near the summer or perhaps its around Mother's Day. Ever since my sister married her husband, Dan he has been in charge over the prime rib. So, its been for about 12 years or so. He is a good cook and is known to search out recipes. He enjoys flavorful good food.

PRIME RIB
I would choose the appropriate size for the amount of people you are serving. This was a boneless prime rib.
If I were to serve for my family. I would purchase a 3lb. boneless prime rib
- favorite steak and grill seasoning
- olive oil
-5 cloves of minced garlic
Allow your roast to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes prior to baking.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees
In a bowl mix your seasonings until well combined to make a rub for your meat.
You want to place your rib into roasting pan FAT side up (it is easier if you have a meat thermometer but it is not necessary) If you have a thermometer place in middle of prime rib. Bake at 500 for about 16 minutes
and then reduce your heat down to 325 for approximately 35 minutes or so. It says you will want your thermometer to read 120, but allow your thermometer to reach 130 if you like it less red which will lend it to medium rare
Remove from oven and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes prior to slicing. Mmmmmmmmm

save the juices to make au jus

Au Jus
gather remaining juices from prime rib pan
add 1 thinly sliced shallot
cook for 15 minutes to blend flavors and adjust to taste by adding garlic, olive oil, salt etc.

Orange Beef

Orange Beef

2 Tbls olive oil

1 lb beef flank or round steak, semi frozen

1/4 cup orange peel, slivered

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 Tbls cornstarch

1 1/4 cup cool beef broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup orange marmalade

1/2 tsp crushed dry red pepper flakes

Slice beef thinly on the diagonal. Heat oil over medium heat. Add beef 1/3 at a time, stir fry 3 minutes, until brown. Return all beef to the pan, add orange peel, garlic and ginger. Stir fry one minute.

Mix together cornstarch, beef broth, soy sauce, marmalade and pepper flakes. Add to beef, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute.

Serve over rice.

Beef Broccoli

Beef Broccoli is one of the easiest dishes to make! Just start a pot of rice and dinner is ready in under 20 minutes.

BEEF BROCCOLI (6 to 8 people)

2lbs. fresh broccoli florettes/or frozen

Beef flanks

1/2 soyu sauce
1 1/2 TBL.garlic
1cup brown sugar
1 TBL. spoon ginger
1 cup water

Remove meat from pack and rinse. Place meat in hot pan and begin to brown. Add garlic when meat is nearly done. Just barely pink. Season with salt and pepper or lawry's salt. Remove from pan and place broccoli florettes into pan with 2tbl. water and place lid on pan for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove lid and add beef and garlic and soyu sauce, ginger and brown sugar with 1 cup water. Toss and season until flavors are absorbed. Add a little more water or soyu sauce to make a good broth and add more brown sugar or seasonings as needed. Turn heat up from medium to medium high. Remove when broccoli is still a la dente.
These measurements are all guessamations! I do a lot of my cooking by taste. If the sauce needs more tang I add a bit more soyu or if it isn't sweet enough I add brown sugar. If I need a bit of a different taste I sprinkle in a little more ginger or garlic. If the soyu is too strong then I weaken it with a half a cup of water or a bit less. Don't be afraid to try things out and change things up to the liking of your own family.
I did use a seasoning packet because I wanted to see if it was easier to use a pre made ready packet. YOU know what? It's not. I can do the same exact thing with the seasonings I have at home. But, If you like packet is very much the same. I just added more seasonings to our likening. Serve over steamed rice.

Beef Stroganoff

This is what we always have when we have left over steak! This works well with any cut.

Beef Stroganoff

2 8oz bags of no yolk egg noodles
1 family size can of cream of mushroom
1 small can of cream of mushroom
Fill the large family can 3/4 full of milk
1 small can of mushroom bits
Salt, pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbl. olive oil.

Boil salted water and once water boils add 2 pkgs of egg noodles. While water is boiling prepare steak.
Slice steak into thin strips. Have at least 2 to 3 steaks left over.
Over medium heat lightly toast minced garlic and add meat strips to pan, pour entire can of mushroom bits into pan.
Drain water from noodles and return noodles back to pan. Turn stove on low to med. heat. Add steak and mushrooms to noodles.
Add cream of mushrooms to the top of noodles. Take large cream of mushroom can and fill 3/4 full with milk or heavy cream. Add to noodles. Stir until well blended and heated. If mixture is too thick add additional milk.

Taco Seasonings

Taco Seasonings

No more wondering if you have a pkg of seasonings in the cabinet. Make your own!

1/4 cup instant minced onion

3 Tbls chili powder

2 Tbls cumin

1 tsp salt

2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 Tbls cornstarch

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp oregano

Mix all ingredients together and place in a clean jar with a tight lid. Use 2 Tbls of seasoning mix per pound of meat.

Beef Stroganoff & Green Bean Ceasar

This was our dinner tonight. I didn't have the sour cream and mushrooms to make a traditional stroganoff, so I sliced up a NY strip steak and used what I had. It turned out really good! Of course, I forgot to take the picture until after we ate so the pic is of the leftovers. This made enough for two with leftovers, but not enough for four.

Beef Stroganoff

8 to 12 oz of tender beef steak such as NY strip, sliced thin

1 Tbls olive oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 can crm of mushroom soup

8 oz beef broth

2-4 tbls milk

garlic powder, salt and pepper

8 oz. egg noodles

Heat oil in large skillet, add meat and onions, cook over med-high heat until meat is browned and cooked through. Meanwhile in a small bowl mix the soup and beef broth until smooth. Reduce heat and add broth mixture to the skillet; stir to combine. Add milk to thin to creamy consistency. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Allow to simmer over low heat while you prepare the noodles. This will allow flavors to blend. Do NOT Boil!

Prepare noodles according to pkg instructions. Drain and toss with 1 Tbls butter to prevent sticking. Serve Stroganoff over noodles.

Green Beans Ceasar

1 can french cut green beans, drained

1 Tbls salad oil

1/2 Tbls white vinegar

1/2 Tbls instant dried onions

dash salt

1/2 clove garlic, minced

dash pepper

1 Tbls dry bread crumbs

1 Tbls grated Parmesan cheese (I use fresh)

1/2 Tbls butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 F. Toss beans with salad oil, vinegar, onion, salt, garlic and pepper. Put into ungreased casserole dish. Stir together the bread crumbs, cheese and butter; sprinkle over the beans. Bake uncovered 20-30 minutes or until heated through.

* The vinegar gives these beans a tangy bite. Adults seem to love them, but most kids will wrinkle their noses the first time you serve them so you may want to have some regular beans on the back burner for them. :)

MEATBALL SUBS

These are so simple yet it was soo good!
You can make your own meatballs or buy a bag from Sams Club. (we did)
jar of your favorite speghetti sauce. WE always spruce our sauce up with added seasonings.
Fresh baked hoagie rolls from your favorite grocer and
Mozzerella cheese.

Slice bread only in the middle. Do not slice the ends. So that it forms a pocket. Kind of like a pita pocket. Add meatballs to bread and cover with sauce and sprinkle with mozzerella cheese.

Place on baking sheet and turn oven to broil. Brown rolls and cheese for 7-10 minutes. Be sure not to burn rolls. It browns the cheese and gives the rolls that perfect CRUNCH! Enjoy!
These were definitely better than expected for store bought meatballs and much better than the meatball subs at SUBWAY!

GOULASH

GOULASH
While growing up this has been my family's version of goulash. It is basically any pasta with ground brown beef and sauce.

This is the same variation that is made with Ziti, speghetti, etc.

WE chose to use SHELLS for our dish.

2lbs. pasta shells
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 jar of your favorite speghetti sauce
1 16oz shredded cheddar cheese
1 160z shredded mozzerella cheese


Boil water and cook shells in salted water. Remove from heat and drain.
Pour pasta back into pot.
Brown ground beef and season with salt, pepper, lowereys etc. drain off fat. Add meat to pasta. Add sauce and one package of shredded cheddar. Mix until well blended.
Then pour out into a 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle top with mozzerella cheese. Bake in oven on 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through.

PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS

Philly Cheese Steaks

2 lbs lean roast beef from the deli
1 lb provolone cheese
4 green bell peppers
2 large sweet onions
1 large container of mushrooms
2 pkgs. hoagie rolls

Brown roast beef on electric grill adding a slice of provolone to it. Chop meat slightly.

slice peppers, mushrooms and onions. Saute' each seperately in their pans with a stick to a half of stick butter. Cover until tender.

Assemble your sandwhich. Add A-1 if desired and any or all toppings. Enjoy!!!
This is a great meal to have with a group.

Hamburgers

This is an easy night for us! and well we have this junk food occassionally. I love to make a hamburger and load it with everything I can possibly think of. We have tomatoes, onions, pickles, lettuce, pineapples, cheese, jalapenos, and Bill even fries and egg. By the time you add all of your favorite toppings this burger is fit for a king. We did not have fresh ground sirloin. We used ::eek:: frozen hamburger patties. Pretty easy simple meal. Serve with a salad or vegetable and fruit.

The secret to getting your cheese to melt on a burger is to cover your burger with a lid or pot and it will melt the cheese on top. I saw this done on one of the food network shows.

Pot Roast

I made this crockpot recipe on Monday night because Aden had practice and Kai had to be at practice at 5pm and I chose to work during the morning. I knew our family would be hungry and I would be tired so I started this baby at 4:30 am, in the slow cooker. It was delish!

A friend of mine gave me this recipe. It's very good and oh so easy. It's very tender and juicy and being the meat lover that I am, I truly enjoy this meal. The best part is you get several meals out of this. Sometimes I make empanadas with leftover meat, some veggies and pie dough. Other times I make tacos or burritos. You can make whatever you want and lots of it. 4lbs is plenty 'o meat. Enjoy!

Pot Roast recipe:
4-5 pound boneless roast - trimmed
2 large onions
carrots, celery, and new potatoes (as many as you would like)
salt and pepper
flour
1 lipton onion soup mix
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/3 c. maple syrup
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 cup water
Arrange vegetables in slow cooker. Season roast with salt and pepper and lipton soup mix and rub all over with flour. Place roast on top of veggies. Whisk last 6
ingredients and pour over beef. Cover and cook on LOW 12 hours or HIGH 8 hours.

Hawaiian Style Flankin short RIBS

These babies are as good as they look! Oh my oh my! You will definitely want to try these. They will have people coming back for more!
5 lbs beef flankin ribs
dark kikoman soy sauce
brown sugar
4 gloves garlic
1/2 stem of fresh ginger

Substitutions may be used:: You may use garlic in a jar or ginger spice. It is mo' betta if you use the real kine as opposed to da fake, you kno??
k- nuff pigeon.

I rarely measure and I cook this recipe according to how I like the taste. These are the main ingredients. I like the marinade to be a little on the sweet side so I add extra brown sugar.
There is no need to peel garlic or ginger once these have been grated because it is just for the marinade.

Once the marinade is made place the meat into a deep bowl or pot and pour marinade over the meat. 24 hours in fridge over night.

These are best if cooked over a hot coal grill. Constantly basting and turning.
May broil these ribs. Lay out on a foil lined cookie sheet. Make sure to watch these. Coat with additional marinade and turn and repeat the process again.

These are eye rolling in the back of your head, GOOD!!
Marinating sauce. Add 3 cups soyu sauce and add 3 cups water. 1 cup brown sugar and 4 cloves garlic or 3 TBS. garlic pieces and 3 TBS ginger. Taste marinade. It should be sweet yet tangy. Adjust to taste.

Beef Taco Skillet

Beef Taco Skillet

1 lb. ground beef
1 can (103/4 oz.) Campbell's Tomato Soup

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup water

6 flour tortillas cut into 1" pieces

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Cook beef in 10" skillet until well browned. Pour off fat.

2. Stir in soup, salsa, water and tortillas.

3. Heat to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook 5 minutes.

4. Top with cheese.