Posts filed under ‘Mexican’
Pork Chile Verde
By Desiree
Cinco de Mayo is over but for an avid Mexican food lover like me that doesn’t mean any less Mexican flavors will be spicing up my table this week. Get ready for some massive shortcuts to a delicious Chile Verde that is sure to have you asking for seconds. This tender pork makes great tacos, enchiladas or even pork sliders. Although, I tend to just wolf down a big bowl of the stuff with an extra punch of sour cream and cilantro. Whatever delivery method you choose, I guarantee your first bite won’t be your last.
PORK CHILE VERDE
1 2-3 pound pork roast
1 jar salsa Verde
Optional: tortillas, sour cream and cilantro for serving
Place roast in the inner pot of your Aroma Rice Cooker and cover with salsa.
Set to Slow Cook for 5 hours.
Serve with sour cream and cilantro.
Jalapeno Poppers
By Desiree
Jalapeno poppers are one my favorite appetizers. Always cheesy and usually deep fried or wrapped in bacon, it doesn’t get much better than that. And what better holiday to offer up some of these deliciously spicy treats than Cinco de Mayo coming up this weekend? I tried out a batch in my rice cooker thinking the steam would work to soften the raw jalapeno and bring all that melty, creamy cheese together in the filling. As you can see in the photo, my predictions were correct… no crispy coating or topping necessary. These things are good, easy and cheesy… I think I’ve mentioned cheesy enough here, haven’t I? So whether your hitting up a fiesta or keeping things low key at home this weekend, you won’t be disappointed by this uber simple and very tasty appetizer to start off your meal.
JALAPENO POPPERS
7-8 jalapenos
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
Remove stems and slice each jalapeno in half lengthwise. Remove all seeds and any veins.
Combine both cheeses and the bacon until incorporated.
Line your Steam Tray with foil, leaving enough excess to wrap the poppers completely.
Fill each jalapeno half with the cheese mixture and place in your Steam Tray.
Seal foil and set to Steam for 20 minutes.
Remove from cooker, let set for 4-5 minutes and enjoy!
Gosh, I Love Tacos!
Not necessarily the kind you get from a drive-thru, but the real ones you get when you know where to go. Thank goodness I live in California and have the pleasure to taste some of the most amazing tacos imaginable, but sometimes a girl has to count calories while still enjoying yummy food. So, today in the Aroma test kitchen I will focus on this amazing street food and at the same time give homage to the food truck craze that has swept, not just our country, but pretty much the rest of the world as well, and brought tacos to places far far away…
Although we are venturing down the path of probably the most popular street food ever… tacos, we will spruce our dish up with fusion flavors all the while keeping out the waist expanding fat and extra calories. Our enchilada flavored beef gets cozy with an Asian inspired slaw and a Sriracha flavored sour cream drizzle as it gets wrapped in a blue corn flaxseed tortilla (trust me they are the best). We will cook our hunk of beef in a pressure cooker to speed up the process, but you can do this as well in the oven or in the slow cooker, although it will take a good part of the day… for this reason, the pressure cooker is my new favorite kitchen tool and I will explain further.
I have to say I was somewhat skeptic about using a pressure cooker, not because of the “exploding stew” stories, more because it reminds me of the old-fashioned cooking my grandmother used to make and I like to think of myself as a forward thinking cook. Also, I am not big on kitchen gadgets, I get by with the basics and enjoy the hands-on aspect of chopping onions and shredding cheese.
Anyway I have learned to LOVE my pressure cooker! The meals you can prepare are endless and range from basic every night meals your family will cherish, to braised short ribs for a pickier crowd or a special dinner party. There is no other kitchen tool that lets you come home after a long day, pull out an entire frozen chicken from the freezer and still be able to serve your family a perfect flavorful, hot and moist chicken in less time than it takes to finish homework. You heard me right, you can of course stop and pick one already made from your local store, but that would require you to drag your hungry unhappy brood through the endless rush hour lines, only to give them a half dried bird, cooked in who knows what, and then there is still homework…
So if you want to eat healthier, faster and tastier meals, you might have to go dig in your grandparents attic and maybe you will be lucky enough to find an old pressure cooker. More than likely though, you will have to go get your own and do the math. Trust me, it will pay for itself pretty fast in many ways. Grandma knew what she was doing…
STREET TACOS
For the filling:
2-4 lb tri-tip roast or similar, trimmed of excess fat on top
14 oz can of enchilada sauce, medium or hot, depends on how you like your beef
14 oz can of tomato sauce
For the slaw:
½ cabbage or bag of shredded cabbage will do just as well… again, I enjoy the chopping
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
Mix all ingredients together well and let sit for at least 15 minutes
For the sour cream drizzle:
16 oz of sour cream
2 tbsp or more of Sriracha sauce, found at your local grocery store in the Asian food aisle
2 tbsp of rice wine vinegar
Mix all the ingredients together and use it to top off your tacos
Chopped fresh cilantro to garnish
Your favorite tortillas, I use blue corn flaxseed ones because I really like them
Salt and pepper your meat on both sides and brown it also on all sides in the pressure cooker. Pour in the enchilada sauce and tomato sauce. Lift up the meat a bit so the sauces can get underneath the meat as well. Close the lid and cook for 60 minutes.
Now is a good time to set the table, have the kids do their homework, fold the laundry, walk the dog or just forget about everything and kick off your shoes and pour yourself a glass of wine, although I prefer beer with my tacos.
When your beef is cooked, take two forks and shred into the sauce. Take your tortilla and spoon slaw, beef and a dollop of sour cream drizzle on top and if you wish a few pieces of cilantro…mmm. Now tell me that’s not good, even if you are not a taco fanatic like me.
Enjoy!
February 23, 2012 at 2:02 am Aroma Test Kitchen Leave a comment
