Bean & Corn Salsa

Tired of the same ol' salsas & dips?  Well, kick it up a little with this bean & corn salsa of mine.  It's so easy to make in addition to being colorful & delicious!

Pair it up with a favorite grilled meat or Mexican inspired dish - or just serve it alongside tortilla chips.  Use your imagination, and try it with a variety of dishes to add a whole new flavor element to it.  Take my Pork Carnitas for instance, I never serve them without this bean salsa!

Bean & Corn Salsa(scroll to bottom for printable recipe card courtesy of Life Around Home)

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Ingredients:

• 1 (15.5oz) can black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 (15.5oz) can black eye peas, rinsed & drained (can sub 2 cans of black beans & omit the black eyes)
• 1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1 medium red onion, minced
• 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded & chopped small (leave in the seeds if you like it spicy)
• 1 cup Italian salad dressing
• 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

Instructions:
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients.  Cover & refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

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Southwestern Egg Rolls

Don't you just love those recipes that you tell your family that you're making for dinner, and every single one of their eyes light up?  These Southwestern Egg Rolls are that dish for us.  Every single member of my family goes crazy for these - even my picky 2 year old.  

They are packed full of hearty ingredients, and then baked off for a wonderfully crispy crust.  I always serve these with my Cilantro Cream Sauce because the 2 flavors are just destined for each other.  You can eat them by themselves, or with ranch too - but I'm tell you.  If you don't serve them with the cilantro cream sauce, you're really missing out!
You simply saute all the ingredients in a large pan for your eggroll stuffing pleasure.

I love how colorful the mixture is after the fresh spinach has been added.  Don't you?

Then you simply roll the ingredients up in a taco sized flour tortilla, give it a nice brushing of olive oil, and bake it them off in the oven until crispy.

I just love this dish, and I really think ya'll will too.  
Make sure you head over to get the recipe for my cilantro cream sauce so you can puree you up a batch real quick to serve along side this dish to make it even more delicious.

Southwestern Egg Rolls

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Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts - diced
• 1 medium-large onion, minced
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 (14.5)oz can black beans, rinsed & drained
• 2.5 cups fresh baby spinach
• 2 jalapenos, seeded & minced
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
• salt & pepper to taste
• 10 taco sized flour tortillas

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. 
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium.  Add in the chicken, season with salt & pepper to taste, & saute for 5 minutes.  Stir in the diced onions & cook until the chicken is cooked through.  Stir in the spices, jalapeno, black beans, corn, & baby spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted. Remove from the heat, and stir in the pepper jack cheese.  Spoon about 1/4 cup of filling into the center of each taco sized flour tortilla, and roll up like a burrito.  Brush each side with a good coating of olive oil, and place in a baking dish.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through, until crispy.
Serve with Cilantro Cream Sauce, if desired.



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Cilantro Cream Sauce

I have been wanting to share this recipe with ya'll for a long time now, and I'm super excited to be doing it today.  This is my number 1 favorite condiment - and it's one that you just can't go and buy in the grocery store.  I love it on so many things - from dipping my chips in to pouring on any Mexican inspired dish.  

It's seriously fantastic, and I always have it in my fridge.  It lasts about 1-2 weeks - depending on how fresh the ingredients are that you add, and it just gets better the more that it sits.  
All you do is mix all your ingredients in a food processor or blender, and puree until smooth.  How do you like that for ease of preparation?!

Once it's all combined & smooth - then transfer it to a jar with a seal, or a similar container.  Store it in the fridge.  Try it on any kind of food with even the slightest Mexican flavors to it, or just dunk your chips in it.

Cilantro Cream Sauce

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Ingredients:

• 1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 (7oz) can tomatillo sauce
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2-4 jalapenos, seeded (or leave the seeds in for extra heat)
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• the juice of half a lime

Instructions:
Combine all the ingredients together in a food processor or blender.  Puree until smooth.  Transfer to a jar with a tight fitting seal, and refrigerate for up to 1-2 weeks.  



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{Not Your Typical} Walking Tacos

Once August & September hits - it begins camping season for us.  The temperatures are beginning to get much milder, and the weather is usually perfect.  Sometimes we head out to an actual destination, while other times - we just pop up a tent in the backyard.  Backyard campouts are fun too!  
One of my favorite things about the camping is the food. S'mores, hot dogs, anything cooked in a cast iron skillet - I love it all.  Another one of my favorites are Walking Tacos. But I make mine a little different than the typical recipe.  I don't use taco seasoning, and instead I use fresh ingredients - and the flavor that you end up with because of it is unbeatable.  When Life Around Home asked me to send over a lightened up camping recipe, I just knew that my walking tacos were the ticket.  

They are super fun to make, and to eat.  The kids just go crazy over them! Oh heck, who am I kidding - I go crazy over these too!!
And, you certainly don't have to wait for a campout to enjoy these.  Make them up any time.  They'd even be a really fun lunch option for when you or your kids brown bag it.

{Not Your Typical} Walking Tacos

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Scroll down for the printable recipe card, courtesy of Life Around Home

Ingredients:

• 6-8 - 1oz snack packs of baked cheese flavored tortilla chips (like baked doritos)
• 3/4 pound pound ground sirloin (ground turkey or chicken can also be used)
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1 jalapeno, seeds removed & minced (optional)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• salt & pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup black bean & corn salsa
• optional toppings of your choice, such as shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, cilantro, chopped tomatoes, etc

Instructions:

For the prep before camping trip:

In a skillet, start browning the ground meat.  Stir in the onions, jalapeno (if using), garlic powder, chili powder, salt & pepper. Cook until the meat is cooked through and the onions are translucent.  Drain any grease that has come off the meat.  Stir in the black bean & corn salsa.  Allow to cool, and then transfer to a plastic container or wrap the mixture in a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil.  Chill in a cooler until ready to eat at the camp site.

For the camp site:

Warm the meat mixture in a cast iron skillet, or if using a tinfoil packet - warm over the campfire.  (The mixture can also be served cold, but is better warmed) Evenly distribute the mixture in between the snack size tortilla chip packs, crimp the edges, and give each pack a good shake.  Top with any toppings you desire & eat straight from the bag.  

***Remember, you can make these ANY TIME - not just for camping!!***

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Pork Tacos

Being able to eat twice from the same meal is something that I strive to do, but I don't really like to eat the exact same thing when I do that.  There has to be some sort of twist on it so the leftovers don't taste like....well, leftovers.  
Earlier this month, I made my Sweet Chipotle Pork Roast, and had a good bit of the roast leftover.  About this same time, I was browsing through my Secret Recipe Club assignment, Jaida over at Sweet Beginnings, and I fell in love with her Taco Tuesdays.  As I was looking through all the taco recipes, the Pork Tenderloin Tacos jumped out at me - even more so since I had a good bit of leftover pork roast in the refrigerator.  

So, instead of buying a whole new roast, I just cut the roast from the other night's dinner up in cubes, seasoned it just as the recipe stated, and cooked it on medium in the skillet for about 6-8 minutes.  Let me tell you, it was fantastic!!  

I served it with my leftover pico de gallo that I had made the day before - and reveled in my new meal that consisted more of leftovers than anything else.  And, it didn't even taste like leftovers!!

Pork Tacos

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Ingredients:

• 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• About 4 cups leftover diced pork (or use fresh if you have no leftovers, just increase the cooking time)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp chili powder
• salt & pepper to taste
• corn or flour tortillas (depending on your preference)
• cilantro, lime, & shredded cheese to garnish (optional)

Instructions:
Heat the olive oil in a skillet, and saute the onions until translucent.  Add the diced pork and sprinkle with the seasonings; stir well to coat.  Cook for 6-8 minutes on medium heat until thoroughly warmed.  Serve with pico de gallo, salsa,or tangy slaw (recipe to follow).
For the tangy slaw combine 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, juice from a lime, 1 tsp sugar, 1 bag coleslaw shreds, 2 small green onions, & 1/4 cup fresh cilantro.  

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Pico de Gallo Salsa

It's summer time, and that means that there is a ton of beautiful fresh produce in season.  I have so many recipes that I pull out this time of year, but I think my very favorite is homemade pico de gallo.  I grow tomatoes, jalapenos, & cilantro every year - so it just seems like the perfect thing to make to use it up too.  And, we sure do eat it up.
Pico de Gallo is not hard to make at all, and it really 'makes' a variety of Mexican dishes.  Like my steak tacos.  And, my pork tacos.  Plus - there's always just scooping it up with a tortilla chip for an awesome snack.
It's quite simple actually too.  Start off with your tomatoes - dice them up into petite bits and let them sit in a strainer basket (or colander) over a large bowl. This allows some of the excess juices off the tomatoes.  

Oh, and don't make the mistake of throwing away the tomato juice that drains off.  That's good stuff there - and I'm all about not wasting anything.  It's great to use in a marinade, in a juice or smoothie, or even as extra moisture in a recipe.  I actually use it in my pork tacos (recipe coming tomorrow) to help keep the pork moist while simmering.

While you have your tomatoes draining, dice up your onion, jalapeno, & cilantro.  

That's leftover chopped pork in the picture for pork tacos.  But don't put pork into your Pico de Gallo.  Please.

Once the tomatoes are done being 'juiced', mix it all up in a large bowl.  Then, squeeze the juice of one lime on top and give it another stir.  And, I have to add in that if you don't have one of these nifty lemon/lime juicers, you're missing out.  I am in love with mine, and it gets way more juice out than my hands - and it's just a fraction of the price of a traditional juicer.

Let it sit in the fridge, covered, for a good 30 minutes before serving for the flavors to marry a little.  
Fantastic stuff there, I tell ya.  And pretty too.

Store it in the fridge in an airtight container - and if you see you haven't used it all in about 48 hours (as if that's even possible) - just throw it into your food processor or blender, and make it into a restaurant style salsa, and can it. When my garden is really overflowing, I do this first thing and make several batches to can to enjoy in the winter.  Yummers.

Pico de Gallo Salsa

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(printable button at bottom of post)
Ingredients:

• 4 medium to large vine ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 2-4 jalapenos, minced (use accordingly to how hot you want it)
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped (about 1.5 cups, or suit to your taste)
• 1 lime, juiced

Instructions:
Place the diced tomatoes into a strainer, or colander, over a large bowl.  Let 'drain' for about 30 minutes.  Reserve the juice for another use, if desired.  In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, & cilantro.  Squeeze the juice of 1 lime on top, and stir.  Cover, and let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes for flavors to marry.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 48-72 hours.  You can also put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender for more of a 'restaurant style' salsa, and it's great for canning purposes this way too.







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Cinco de Mayo Recipe Ideas

Here's a little collection of recipes to get you started on planning a Cinco de Mayo menu!
Beverages
Horchatta

Cherry Limeade

Appetizers
Queso Fundido con Chorizo

Tamale Cups

Main Dishes
Spicy Pop Pulled Pork Sandwiches w/ Jalapeno-Cilantro Slaw

Bacon Guacamole Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Taco Skillet

Authentic Tamales (with your crockpot's help)

Queso Bacon Burgers with Avocado Salsa

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

Simple Chicken Burritos

Authentic Steak Tacos

Chiles Rellenos

Side Dishes
Deviled Avocado

Avocado Onion Salad

Desserts
Homemade Creamsicles

Old Fashioned Coconut Custard Pie

I hope that these recipes have given you a little bit of inspiration!  




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