La Comida Mexicana

King Taco

So, it's nothing fancy, but I had heard great things about King Taco, and being the big Mexican food fan I am, I wanted to try it!  My husband and I are beginning a Sunday Lunch Club with some other couples from our church (which is located right in the center of tons of great restaurants!).  Many of us work on Sunday afternoons so don't have much time, and each couple includes at least one grad student, so we like to eat cheap!  So you won't see us at five star restaurants, but who eats at those all the time anyway?
I would classify King Taco as "fast food," even though there is no drive-through.  It's somewhere in between Taco Bell and Chipotle, in my opinion.  Our food was ready incredibly fast and the prices were decent.  The taste left a little to be desired.  I had a friend who couldn't handle how spicy it was - and I like spicy, but agreed it was a bit overdone.  Except for it being cheap, fast, and convenient, I doubt I would choose to go again.

Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

This is my go-to mashed potato recipe.  It came from my mother-in-law, but I tweaked it a little.  My husband and I made dinner together every year for our dating anniversaries.  This was part of our meal our 1st year!  We were having a caesar salad, so I decided to add some of the parmesan cheese to our potatoes and chicken dish, too.  These were a big hit for Thanksgiving and are a prefect compliment to almost any meal!

Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered

4-5 garlic cloves (I use 6 - I like garlic!)

5 c. water

Salt and pepper to taste

Freshly grated parmesan cheese to taste (I think I used about 1/4-1//2 c.)

1.  Place the potatoes, garlic, and water in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil.

2.  Reduce heat.  Cover and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, until tender.

3.  Drain water, reserving 2/3 cup of the starchy cooking liquid.

4.  Add the reserved water back into the potatoes and mash until the desired consistency is reached.

5.  Season with salt, pepper, and cheese.

Serving note: I'm not a gravy fan, so I can't tell you how well they go with gravy, however, most people ate it with gravy on Thanksgiving, so it must have been fine!  I normally drown my potatoes in butter, but I actually think the parmesan eliminates the need for that fattening friend!  (Also, I only put it in the crockpot to keep it warm during our Thanksgiving dinner - you do not actually cook it in a slow cooker.)

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins!

So I mentioned in the cranberry sauce post that I made extra (tweaked with a little cinnamon) and put it in muffins last year.  Well, I had lots of extra sauce this year, so I tried to use some up in muffins :)

Use any basic muffin mix/recipe (see below).  Generally, you fill the muffin tins 2/3 full, so for this, I just filled them 1/3 full, put a little cranberry sauce in the middle of each (about 1 cup total, between 12 muffins), and then topped with the remaining muffin mix.  I then created my own granola topping for the muffins (see below).  You could simply mix the cranberry sauce into the muffin mix, but I wanted the gooey surprise in the center!  I also considered making it in the same way, but in a round cake pan - like a coffee cake (if someone tries it that way, let me know how it goes!).  I drizzled some melted butter with cinnamon and brown sugar mixed in overtop the muffins before serving (I like the more moist texture).  My husband loves these muffins - we hope you do too :)

Basic Muffin Mix
Source: Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book
Makes 12 medium muffins

2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c. shortening
1 egg
1 c. milk

1.  Mix first four ingredients together in medium bowl.
2.  Add in remaining ingredients and mix until a smooth batter is formed.
3.  Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full.  (See above for different instructions for this recipe.)
4.  Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown, approximately 20 minutes.

Granola Topping
Could also be baked on its own and eaten atop yogurt, or however you might enjoy it!  
Note: I honestly just used several things I had laying around in my pantry, so feel free to add/remove/change anything based on what you already have.  The muffins in my picture look a little bare, so I am doubling the amount of topping I made for this recipe.
2/3 c. oats
2/3 c. cornflakes, crushed (I used honey-flavored, organic, gluten free cornflakes)
2 tbsp chopped candied almonds
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp honey (I used organic amber honey)
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp cranberry juice
2 tbsp fruity yogurt (I used Yoplait Light, strawberry-flavored)

*Just place atop muffins in pan before baking for a crispier topping, or halfway through for a sweeter taste.

Best-Ever Biscuits!

I am not always the biggest fan of biscuits.  They tend to be somewhat crunchy; I prefer softer breads.  I found this recipe recently (from http://monstermama-monstermama.blogspot.com, but she got it from another blog...) and thought it seemed pretty easy so I gave it a try:

7-Up Biscuits
Makes 9

2 c. Bisquick
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. 7-Up
1/4 c. melted butter

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2.  Cut sour cream into the Bisquick mix, then add 7-Up.  Mix until well blended and forms a soft dough.
3.  Pat out dough (on parchment or Bisquick-sprinkled surface) to form a square.  Cut into 9 even squares.
4.  Pour melted butter into a 9" square baking pan.  Place individual biscuits on top of melted butter.
5.  Bake 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

How did it turn out?  Fabulous!  My husband immediately wanted to make sure I saved the recipe and would be making them again soon.  I actually made a batch the next morning for Sunday school.  The best part is that they have butter baked in, so you don't really need to add anymore!  They would be great with a jam, or just plain next to your Thanksgiving dinner!  Enjoy :)

(pictures to come)

Cranberry Classic

So, in deciding what to write for my first food post, I figured I should do my favorite Thanksgiving recipe, since it's almost that time!  I got married last summer and moved across country, so I had to do Thanksgiving dinner solo.  We had a friend over - he made the turkey (as you might have read, I don't do anything with bones) and I made everything else.  The hit of the night was my cranberry sauce.  I grew up with what we called "the real kind" aka the canned kind, but wanted to make my own.  I found this recipe in The Easy-to-Use Beginner's First Cookbook and will be making it every year from now on!  (In fact, my husband and his friend have even requested it throughout the year!)  It's super easy and is sure to be the talk of Turkey Day.  Here it goes:

Cranberry Sauce
Serves 6
(Cal: 178; Sug: 46.8g; Fat: 0g; Sod: 5mg)

1 orange
8oz cranberries
1 1/4 cups sugar

1.  Pare the rind thinly from the orange.  Remove any pith.  Squeeze the juice.
2.  Place the orange juice and rind into a medium saucepan.  Add the cranberries, sugar, and 2/3 cup water.
3.  Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
4.  Remove the rind and allow to cool before serving.

I made a second batch of this (with less orange, and 2 cinnamon sticks added while cooking) after the holiday weekend, and used it in muffins.  I mixed up a basic muffin mix from scratch and filled the cups 1/3 full, then placed some of the cranberry mixture, another layer of batter, and topped with some homemade cinnamon granola.  Delish!

Let me know how much your family loves this recipe this Thanksgiving!!