Creamy Beef Enchiladas March 23, 2011

These enchiladas are quick and very easy to make. Impress your family and friends with your newly found culinary talents. This dish doesn’t require a lot of skills but it tastes wonderful and delicious, which is one of the reasons I love it. Even my husband who is not a Mexican food lover, gives this dish two thumbs up. C’mon let’s try it.

 

Creamy Beef Enchiladas

What you’ll need:
1lb. low-fat ground beef
4oz. Chive and Onion Cream Cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
5 flour tortillas 8″ in size
1/2 cup red enchilada sauce, mild or medium
1/2 cup shredded Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese

How it’s done:
Pre-heat oven at 350°F
On a saucepan at medium-high heat cook beef until no longer pink. Drain excess fat and return to pot.
Add the cream cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper to the beef and mix until well combined.
Lay the tortillas on a flat surface and place 1/2 cup of the beef mixture alongside the center of each tortilla.
Fold one side of the tortilla towards the center and over the filling, then fold the other side over the first fold.
Place enchiladas seam side down on a greased 9×13 baking dish.
Pour enchilada sauce evenly over tortillas and sprinkle with the cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes and serve hot next to mexican rice, refried beans, a crisp salad or just on their own.
Enjoy!

Yummy Pot Stickers March 11, 2011

The other day I found myself with some wonton wrappers left over. Actually it was way more over than half the packet. Normally they tend to go bad rather quickly so I started thinking what could I do to use them. Thanks to TGIF and their appetizer menu I remembered they have these pot stickers. I knew theirs was made with pork which was an ingredient I didn’t have at my house at the time. As usual for me, I love improvising in the kitchen and this time was no exception.  I looked online for inspiration, grabbed some ingredients I had lying around and voila, this is what I came up with. Hope you can all enjoy them as much as my husband and I did.

Beef Pot Stickers

What you’ll need:

48 wonton wrappers
1lb. ground beef
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil – per batch (Pam spray works fine)
1/2 cup water or chicken broth – per batch

How it’s done:

Cut each wonton wrapper into a circle and place on a plate, cover them with a damp paper towel to keep them from drying.

Mix ground beef with soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, ginger and onion powder until well combined.
Making one at a time, place 1/2 tablespoon beef mixture into center of each wonton wrapper.

Dampen your finger tip with water and go all around the edge of the wonton wrapper. Fold wrapper in half and press to seal.

Make four plead folds around the edge of the wonton wrapper and press to hold. Press them on to a flat surface and make sure they can stand on themselves.

Keep repeating these steps until you are done with all the wrappers. Remember to keep them covered with a damp paper towel until you are done.

Heat a large dip skillet on medium high until hot.
Once hot pour the vegetable oil and spread evenly all around the bottom of skillet.
Place around 15 pot stickers standing up on bottom of skillet without touching each other.
Fry bottoms for 2 minutes undisturbed.

Pour 1/2 cup of water slowly into bottom of skillet and quickly cover skillet.
Cook for 8 minutes, then remove lid and cook for an extra 2 minutes tilting them on one side.
Remove from skillet unto a hot plate and keep in a warm oven until you are done cooking all the pot stickers.
Enjoy.

2011 Delicious Venture Update March 10, 2011

I am sad to say that I had abandoned writing on my blog. Trying to do too many things at a time and not committing to a single one in particular. Well, that is not entirely true. My recipe book is on hold but I have been working on rising up my catering company City Owl Catering. With hard work I am proud to say that the company is finally running with all the legal paperwork and licenses up to date.

On the road to doing what I love I have learned that it is harder than what I thought. I am not giving up my dream. This last month I got a deal of writing a cooking column on a free monthly local publication called Mujer de Exito. It is set to launch next week and I can’t wait for it. Slowly but surely success will come, those who make it are the ones who never give up. I live by the saying “Men do not fail, they just give up trying“.

I will be back blogging more recipes and updating on my business successes! I have many friends who keep asking me to finish my book and I can’t let them down. I thank all of you for your support and let’s enjoy this sweet ride together. 🙂

The Book Dream July 20, 2010

Last night I had a peculiar dream. I dreamt about my cook book. What I gathered from the dream was that I should stop procrastinating and finish the book as soon as I can. I don’t feel like I have been procrastinating too much but I have not been working on it everyday as planned.

From tomorrow on I am gonna work harder at making 1 recipe a day and take a picture of it to post it as I have been doing. I feel if I put my all, that it will get done somehow. I really don’t know how it will happen but I must believe that it is going to happen.

I am so excited and it makes me so happy to think of the day in which I can actually see the finished product and when it will actually be helping people out there. 🙂

Sweet Bear Attack July 2, 2010

I have always been attracted to these when I walk by a bakery and amazingly have never bought one. My attraction to them made me want to make them myself and I came up with a quick and easy recipe to replicate them. My sister came over and tried them and could not eat only one. So it seems my new recipe passed the audience test and will be included in my book as well. Take a look at my Cheese Bear Claws.

Cheese Bear Claws

July 1, 2010

Today I got back into my cooking game. For my daily recipe I decided to make the chicken tortilla soup and it turned out great. My cousin gave it two thumbs up even though it wasn’t too spicy, something she loves. This is a traditional but super quick version of the rich and creamy Tortilla Soup we mainly find at Mexican restaurants. The main difference is that for the price of one bowl you can serve a family of four.

Creamy, rich and delicious!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Life is like a Crumbcake May 24, 2010

Life seems fragile, like it’s falling apart and might even look ugly, but if we stop and pay attention to the little things we’ll discover it can be delicious, rich and warm.

 

This is what I decided to do with my life. My journey into a joyful warm life is just starting. My passion for cooking has driven me away from the corporate world and into the adventure of my lifetime. Come follow my journey as I venture into the catering world. For the past two weeks I’ve been working on organizing my company and bringing it to life. Today it all begins and I am getting ready for my delicious venture as a business owner.