Taco Bowls

I found a recipe for Taco bowls that sounds delicious and I planned to make them later this week with the left over meat I made for tacos tonight. I mean it is Taco Tuesday, but keith is out of town so I knew we wouldn't eat all the meat tonight with just us 4.... or so I thought.  I have always had the best of intentions of making my own taco seasoning, to make it all healthy and MSG free and all that Jazz, but honestly, taco seasoning seemed easier! Well let me tell you, It's Not much faster and the flavor just doesn't cut it. You want to know why my sudden change of heart??... THIS RECIPE. I think I figured out the secret that is hiding in it, that I never would have thought to put in my taco meat, but man I will NEVER use pre-made taco seasoning again! My boys told me not to ever again to. So I made taco meat with all the intention of having leftovers for Thursdays Taco bowls..... but I better get out some more meat out of the freezer. my boys even want to make taco salad tomorrow. We shall see. I will be making the Taco Bowls on Thursday as planned and I will report back if they are delicious or not, but I will give you the recipe anyways just because the taco meat was delicious!

Taco Bowls

Cilantro Lime Rice:
2 TBSP Butter
1 1/4 cup basmati Rice
2 1/4 cup chicken broth
juice from 1 lime
1/4 cup cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin

Add butter and dry rice to sauce pan. Heat over med heat till melted and rice is a little toasted. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover and Reduce to low Cook 15- 20 Minutes when rice is done. Doesn't this rice sound AWESOME?!?!


Taco Meat:
1 1/2 pound burger meat
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp brown sugar(I think this is the secret ingredient!)
1/4 tsp black pepper
Now I cooked the burger till done and mixed all the spices together and then added it to the meat and mixed well. This is what I used for my taco meat.

Now to finish the Taco  Bowl meat add
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced chilies
1 can chili beans (do not drain)

For taco bowls layer your rice, meat and any toppings you want such as:
Corn Chips
shredded lettuce
cheese
chopped tomatoes
pico de gallo
guacamole
sour cream

Load it up and ENJOY!!!!

Halibut/Fish Supreme

I have been making this recipe since we lived in Alaska. Our good friend Rob would make it and it was fantastic! He kindly gave me the recipe and we make it often and think of Rob and Jen a lot! Though Halibut was a little hard to come by in North Carolina, I learned it works well with Amberjack and other firm white fish. It also does great in the crockpot! I will post the adjustments for that below. But this recipe is delicious and has my mouth watering just thinking about it and I am not much of a fish person!

Halibut/Fish Supreme

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 TBSP flour
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tablespoon diced onions(I like more so I add about half an onion)
1/8 tsp  cayenne pepper( I use a cajun seasoning called "Slap ya Mama" Though I really suggest you NOT slap your mom, she might slap you back! )
2 pounds Halibut steaks ( I used Amberjack or any firm white fish I have on hand)

Preheat oven 425 degrees Lightly grease a baking dish
In a bowl, Mix the cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, flour, lemon juice, onion, and cayenne pepper. place the fish in the dish and cover with the cheese mixture.Bake 10 minutes in oven THEN REDUCE heat to 350 degrees and bake 15 -20 minutes more, till fish is flaky. I like to serve it with potatoes.

~To cook this in a slow cooker, I layers my seasoned  potatoes on the bottom of the slow cooker, then I put the fish on top, topped it with the cheese mixture and I cooked it on high for 3 hours. My topping didn't get golden brown like I like it so I quickly transferred it to a broiler safe pan and broiled it for a few minutes till it was golden on top. This was a great way to fix dinner before a baseball game and come home to a yummy cooked dinner.

*I have not tried this on LOW in the slow cooker, so I don't know if it would work as well for LONG cooking times.

Irish Nachos

It's St. Patrick's Day and like all good (Not So) Irish people, we had to have some Irish food. Ok, since I have never been to Ireland, I am not a pro on this subject, but I have googled and researched and according to my research Potatoes, Corned Beef and Cabbage is Irish.... so let me know if I'm wrong. But I found a recipe that I really wanted to try called Rueben Nachos. However I dislike sauerkraut! Strongly! But I had an idea and changed the recipe. I actually changed it a lot. Here's my version of Irish  nachos.

Irish Nachos

Peel and slice 4 large potatos. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you want (I used a Pampered Chef Rosemary blend) Layer on a baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees till soft and edges are crisp. Scatter chopped corned beef over potatoes. Top with cheese. I used a fiesta blend and mozzarella. Bake till cheese is melted. When done top with ranch dressing. The recipe calls for sauerkraut but as I said before I dislike it, so I made a Zambian Cabbage.  Top the nachos and enjoy! 

For Zambian Cabbage, I heat some oil in a sauce pan, then add chopped onions and chopped tomatoes. Let it stew a little and then add Cabbage that is cut thin. Add just a little bit of water. Cover and let it cook and stir occasionally till its soft. Add salt and pepper to taste.