On Wednesday nights my father always goes out with his lady friends for fish and chips. That leaves my sister and Dan free to have whatever they want for supper outside of my father's taste restrictions.
Dad doesn't like anything too spicy or out of the ordinary. He has a very limited palate, although it is far beyond it was when we were growing up. Mom was only allowed to use salt and pepper to flavor things for many, many years.
Usually on Wednesday nights Cindy will cook them or us something which is a bit spicier than the things we would normally have. I invited them over here this week for a Taco night!
I had not had tacos in a while and I don't think they had either. I also thought they would enjoy some play time with the kittens, especially Dan. (I had to count to make sure I still had two when they left, lol)
I love Tacos. I usually always my own as I have never really lived anywhere near a Mexican Restaurant. The few occasions I have had to eat Tex Mex in a restaurant have been very rare indeed!
But I do love the flavors so I try hard to replicate them at home, as best as I can!
I was really looking forward to some Taco action last night. I know that Dan the man, doesn't really like to try things too far out of the ordinary either (is this a man thing?) although he doesn't mind spicy things as much as my father does.
I decided to make two kinds of tacos. I made the ordinary beef tacos, the kind of tacos you make with the filling that you use Taco seasoning with. My make my own Taco seasoning. You can find that recipe here, along with all of my other seasoning mixes that I make.
I like making my own mixes because if I make my own, I know exactly what is in them. There are no ingredients that I cannot pronounce or have no idea of what they are.
Everything is as natural as I can make it. I think they taste better, and to be honest I don't like filling my body with unknown ingredients if I can help it. Its one of my quirks. I know we all have them!
I also decided to make Chicken Tinga Tacos. One because I am not fond of ground beef tacos. And two because I like Chicken Tacos best of all.
I thought it would make a tasty change from the normal for my sister as well. So I made smaller recipes of the two so that she and Dan could enjoy some of each if they wanted to.
One thing I love about these Chicken Tinga Tacos is that they use relatively few ingredients. Just a few simple things that most of you will already have in your larder, cupboard and freezer.
Boneless, skinless chicken breast. Check! Red enchilada sauce. Check! Onions and green chilis. Check! Chipotle chili powder. Check! Salt and pepper. Check!
That's it. Simple food put together in a simple and yet incredibly delicious way.
You begin by cooking some onion and a seeded/trimmed/chopped green chili in a tiny bit of light olive oil. You add the chicken breasts as well. I used three small ones.
Once your chicken has browned lightly on both sides (and that doesn't take long), you pour over some red enchilada sauce, add some chipotle chili powder, cover and simmer until the chicken is tender.
That also doesn't take long and the chicken absorbs the flavors of the sauce as it is cooking. It comes out shred-ably, incredibly, tender and juicy. You shred the chicken with two forks, right in the sauce.
I like to enjoy it with a soft tortilla myself. I am not overly fond of the hard ones. I broke a tooth on one once and it made me twice shy!
You can serve this with your favorite taco toppings, any or all that you desire.
I like to spread the tortilla with some guacamole before adding the filling. Then I top the filling with my favorites. Sour cream, salsa, cheese, chopped onion.
I also like to add a squeeze of lime juice and some black olives if I have them! You can also add pickled jalapenos if you want.
These can be made as spicy or not, as you wish them to be. I, personally err on the side of caution. I am not a fan of overly spicy food. Oh, I like it, but my gut doesn't, so I need to be careful.
In any case, these are quick, easy and delicious. The filling is also very easy to double if you want to make extra. It freezes really well.
It also makes an excellent enchilada filling. Simply fill flour tortillas with it and roll them up. Schmear the top with some more enchilada sauce and load on the cheese before baking. DEE-LICIOUS!!
I sure miss my gas powered cooktop. It was great for doing things like searing tortillas. Sigh . . . oh well. These were still excellent, seared tortillas or not!
Chicken Tinga Tacos for Two
Yield: 2-3
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 30 Min
Quick, easy and delicious. Serve with in either hard shell taco shells or soft tortillas along with your favorite taco topping for a real taste treat!
Ingredients
For the chicken filling:
- 1 TBS light olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 3/4 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast meat (about 3 medium pieces)
- fine sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 green chili, trimmed seeded and chopped
- 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
- 3/4 cup red enchilada sauce
To serve:
- warmed taco shells or taco sized wheat tortillas
- guacamole
- Dairy sour cream
- salsa (I like Newman's Own Pineapple salsa)
- chopped red onion
- grated pepper jack cheese
- Sliced black olives
- Lime quarters to squeeze over top
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed skillet. Add the green chili and onion, along with the chicken breasts. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring the onion and chili and turning the chicken now and then, until the chicken is golden brown on both sides. (3 to 4 minutes per side) Pour in the enchilada sauce.
- Cover, and cook over low for 10 to 16 minutes, until the chicken is tender and no pink juices remain.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Using two forks, shred the chicken into bite sized pieces. Mix it in with the sauce and gently heat through.
- Serve as desired in either soft tortillas or hard taco shells. Delicious!
I could hardly wait to share this lovely 8 X 8 snack cake recipe with you today! Especially now with it almost being time for school to start up again. I don't know about your family, but my children were always starving when they got home from school at the end of the day.
I raised five children and I tried always to have something delicious to share with them when they got home from school. It was an opportunity for us to gather around the kitchen table and catch up with what had gone on in their day at school.
I tried always to keep the lines of communication open with my children and this was one very important way I did just that. There is nothing so comforting or homey as breaking bread together around a table.
Not only did this give us a chance to talk with each other, but it also gave them something to look forward to at the end of their school day.
Of course we did that at supper time as well, but that was a bit more formal and a bit later in the day. This after school snack time was much more casual. I would usually have baked cookies or a snack cake for them to enjoy.
With five children, three of them boys with hollow legs, nothing was around long enough to go stale, which was just how I loved it. All I ever wanted to be was a mother and a wife, a homemaker, and keeper of the home.
I spied these lovely fresh local cherries at the farm market when I was there last week with my sister. I adore cherries. I had in mind to make this Cherry, Coconut & Almond Snack Cake!
When I lived in the UK and was living and working down in Kent, we used to have cherry sellers come over from the South of France every year. They would set up stands in the layby's and you could buy 1/2 pound paper bags of freshly picked cherries from them.
They were so delicious. Sweet and ripe and warm from the sun. I always had to buy two bags of them because for sure I would have eaten one bag before we even got back to our cottage.
I think it is fair to say I love adore cherries! In any way shape or form!
Beautiful eaten fresh and out of hand. Fabulous in pies, tarts and turnovers. Splendid in desserts such as Clafloutis or Trifle.
Stupendous in cakes. Especially in this cake I am sharing with you today!
One thing I can tell you is that Cherries and Almonds have a beautiful affinity for each other. That is the basis for the infamously delicious Bakewell Tart. You can find my recipe for that here.
I also love to use that delicious combination of cherries and almonds in things such as my Small-batch Bakewell Blondies, and these fantastic Bakewell Slices.
Bakewell Tart Muffins are another favorite, as are my Bakewell Scones, and Steamed Cherry Bakewell Pudding. And these few recipes are only the tip of the Bakewell iceberg on my blog.
I am well versed in this delicious combination of cherries and almonds and am not afraid to share my obsession with others. This quick and easy cake is a delicious play on that delicious flavor combination!
There are also a few other delicious flavors added in this cake. First you have a fabulous batter, made with a combination of both flour and almond flour/ground almonds. A quantity of coconut is stirred into the batter along with the use of coconut or canola oil.
Flavored with vanilla and coconut extract (the coconut extract is optional) it has a lovely dense texture. The use of buttermilk helps to ensure that is is beautifully moist.
A quantity of halved fresh cherries is sprinkled over the top of the cake. They do sink down a bit, but I fear if you stirred them into the cake they would all sink to the bottom, so sprinkling them on top is the best way to go.
Flaked almonds are sprinkled over the top of the cherries . . .
And then even more coconut is sprinkled on top of the flaked almonds. So you have double coconut and almond here! Lush and nutty.
A final sprinkle of sugar dusts the top and then the cake is baked. The sugar gives a tiny bit of sweet crunch to the top of the cake.
The original recipe comes from a book of mine entitled Snacking Cakes, Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings, by Yossy Arefi. I have it on my kindle.
This is the second recipe I have baked from the book to great success and I think I may just have to buy myself the hard copy. Yes, it is that good of a book. Both recipes I have baked have been deliciously sound.
Just look at how lovely the texture of this cake is. Perfect for cutting into squares for eating.
I dare say this is going to become a fast and firm favorite around here. I gave half of it to my sister when she dropped off some mail for me this afternoon.
I think it is a great snack cake, but it would also make a fabulous dessert served with a dollop of whipped cream spooned on top, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
I am so very pleased with how it turned out. This is a winner and is going into my retinue of tried and true favorites!
I am so pleased with it I am sure it is bound to become a favorite with you as well. I find myself pondering what it would be like if I switched out the flavors a bit with blueberries and lemon. Food for thought there.
In any case, I do hope that you will be inspired enough to make this. You won't be sorry. You can use fresh or frozen cherries. Its a keeper for sure!!!
Cherry, Coconut & Almond Snack Cake
Yield: Makes one 8-inch square cake
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 55 Min
Nutty, sweet, buttery, and delicious with plenty of cherries, coconut and flaked almonds.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (150g) plus 1 ½ tsp granulated sugar
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk, well shaken
- ½ cup (120ml) canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp coconut extract (optional)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (140g) all-purpose plain flour
- ½ cup (55g) almond flour/ground almonds
- ½ cup (40g) plus 1 TBS unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup (140g) halved and pitted cherries, fresh or frozen
- 2 TBS sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 inch square baking pan and line with baking paper leaving an overhang to lift the baked cake out with.
- Whisk ¾ cup (150g) of the sugar and eggs together in a bowl until pale and light. Add the buttermilk, oil, vanilla, coconut extract (if using) and salt. Whisk well to emulsify.
- Sift together the flour and baking powder. Add to the batter along with the almond flour, and the ½ cup (40g) of coconut. Whisk together until everything is well combined. Pour into the prepared baking tin.
- Scatter the halved cherries on top evenly. Sprinkle with the 1 TBS of coconut and the sliced almonds, along with the remaining 1 ½ tsp sugar.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until risen, puffed and golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack before lifting out to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to two days.
One thing I really like is Onion Rings. I think if I had to choose between Fries or Onion Rings I would really have a hard time choosing which one to have. If push really came to shove, Onion Rings would win every time.
They are not so healthy though (as if fries are!). Deep fried food is not really a healthy thing to be eating. Also I tend to not deep fry anything at home if I can help it, due to the smell and mess. I save deep fried food for eating out and the occasional treat!
I recently purchased an air fryer and have determined to learn how to use it properly. I have had a difficult time coming to terms with it. I mostly just cremate food in it. In fact I have been calling it my cremator.
I really want it to pay for itself however, so I am sticking with it. I am happy to say I am getting way better and have had success with the last few things I have tried!
Air frying is so much better for you than deep fat frying. Not only it is quicker to cook foods in an air fryer, but studies have found that people who cook with a an air fryer reduce their calorie consumption by 70 to 80%!
All plusses in my book. I have never been a person that deep fried a lot of food anyways, but it is nice to know that if I want something with a deep fat fried flavor and texture I can achieve that in a much healthier way.
These newer air fryer models are so much better and more efficient than the fryers of the past and most of them these days provide multiple functions, rather than just frying.
Today I decided to do onion rings in them, because, as I said above. I enjoy onion rings, but I don't always enjoy the grease and indigestion they give me from the grease. Having said that however, I also have my favorites when it comes to onion rings.
Typically I have always found onion rings that are made from ground up onions, mixed into a batter and then fried in ring shapes disappointing. I want real onions, with a crispy coating. I like to chew my own food thank you very much!
When I was searching for recipes online as a guide to make my onion rings, I found that most were made with bread crumbs, and some with bread crumbs and cornmeal for extra crunch. I confess, I don't like the cornmeal. For me, that is a bit too much crunch.
I love cornmeal in breads and such, but not so much in breading. Panko bread crumbs seem to give the best results crunch wise, but don't worry if you only have regular dried bread crumbs. They can also be used with success.
If you really want a treat, add a bit of finely grated Parmesan Cheese and some herbs to the bread crumbs. You may want to make them the regular way first however so you know what to expect.
You want to use a sweet onion to make onion rings with. A Vidalia is great if you can get them, or a Spanish onion. You do want a large onion if possible.
Don't be tempted to use red onions. End of.
You will only need 1/2 of a large onion to make this recipe which I have sized perfectly for two people. You will find that it served two very generously.
Cut the onion into 1/2 inch thick slices and then separate them into rings. You won't be able to use the inner most parts, but that's okay, you can save them for something else.
The art of dredging or coating things in an egg/flour/breadcrumb coating is called Pane. It is not my favorite thing to do because it can get rather messy rather quickly.
I find that using three separate forks for each element of the pane works well and doesn't cross contaminate your coatings. You will need one for the flour mixture, one for the egg/buttermilk and one for the breadcrumbs. If you keep them separate with the three forks then there is very little mess.
These are not completely fat free of course. You need a bit of fat for flavor and to crisp them up. A bit of oil is mixed into the bread crumb mixture, which helps to crisp the crumbs beautifully. Use a healthy oil, a canola is good.
You will also need to spritz with some oil cooking spray as well. Some people swear by avocado oil cooking spray. I just used ordinary Pam.
This recipe I am sharing today makes the perfect amount for two people, although you could certainly double the recipe to feed more people if you wish.
Its helpful to know that you can also freeze these when done. Simply pop onto a baking sheet and into the freezer, repacking them into a zip lock freezer bag when frozen.
They will keep for up to two months packed this way and can easily be reheated quickly for a few minutes in the air fryer when you want to serve them.
I was really pleased with how these turned out. Not only were they quick and easy to make, but they were crisp and delicious as well.
I served mine simply with some tomato ketchup for dipping, but some people enjoy them with fry sauce (equal parts of ketchup and mayo) sour cream dip, etc. You know what you like best.
I would make these again and plan on making them sometime when Eileen and Tim come over. I just know they will love them! And it makes me feel good knowing that I can make a snack for them that is a bit healthier than the alternative!
Air Fryer Onion Rings for Two
Yield: 2
Prep time: 12 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 27 Min
Crisp and delicious and oh so simple to make! Sized perfectly for two people. Great on their own as a snack with a dip, or as a side for burgers or dogs.
Ingredients
- 1/2 of a large sweet onion (the sweeter the better)
- 1/3 cup (50g) plain all purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp seasoning salt
- hefty pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 large free range egg
- 1/3 cup (80ml) buttermilk
- 1 cup (110g) panko bread crumbs
- 1 TBS vegetable oil
- 1 TBS cornmeal (optional)
- low fat cooking spray
- additional seasoning salt to finish
Instructions
- You will need three shallow bowls for the breading.
- In bowl one, whisk together the flour, seasoning salt and cayenne pepper
- In bowl two, whisk together the buttermilk and egg.
- In bowl three, whisk together the bread crumbs, oil and cornmeal (if using.)
- Cut your onion into 1/2 inch thick slices. (I peel my onion after I slice it.) Separate into rings. Save the small inner parts for another use.
- Working with one ring at a time, dip first into the buttermilk egg mixture, then into the flour and back into the buttermilk. Toss into the bread crumb mixture, pressing to adhere.
- Spray each with some cooking spray and place into the air fryer basket (s), in a single layer, taking care that they don't touch. (You can put the really small ones inside of the larger ones.)
- Preheat your air fryer to 350*F/180*C. Air fry for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
- Sprinkle with additional seasoning salt and serve immediately.
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