Cumin Crusted Pork Tacos

Is anyone else guilty of this…You have a shelf full of cookbooks, and yet you always turn to the internet for recipe ideas?  Yeah, me too.

I decided it was time for that to come to an end this week.  I closed my eyes and pointed to a random cookbook and decided I’d make at least two meals from that cookbook this week.  The winning book?  Cooking Light’s Weeknight Meals cookbook.  Awesome!  Tasty, healthy and quick.  I’m all for that!

This recipe is really great.  I made a few tweaks (we made guac earlier today so we put that on the tacos instead of the avocado/onion/cilantro toppings individually and it worked well).  The pork is super-moist and the toppings compliment each other perfectly.

Christopher is very excited that there are lots of leftovers so he can eat them all week while I”m in class (speaking of class – we finish cakes tomorrow – tune in later this week for a wrap-up on the cakes course).

INGREDIENTS
Pork:
2t. Ground cumin
1t. Granulated garlic
1t. Paprika
1/2t. Salt
1/4t. Black pepper
2 (1-pound) Pork tenderloins, trimmed
1T. Olive oil

Salsa:
2C. Frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1C. Cubed peeled avocado
1/2C. Diced red onion
1/3C. Chopped fresh cilantro
2T. Fresh lime juice
1/2t. Salt
2 (15-ounce) cans Black beans, rinsed and drained

Remaining ingredients:
2C. Sour cream (we use Tofutti soy sour cream)
1T. Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped
Corn tortillas

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425°.

To prepare pork, combine first 5 ingredients.  Rub cumin mixture over pork.

Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pork; cook 4 minutes or until browned on all sides.  Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155°.

Remove pork from oven; let stand 5 minutes.  Cut pork across grain into thin slices.

To prepare salsa, combine corn and next 7 ingredients (through beans).

Combine sour cream and chipotle in a blender; process until smooth.

Wrap tortillas, a few at a time, in a damp paper towel.  Microwave at high 20 seconds.  Place pork onto tortilla, top with salsa and sour cream mixture.

Husband Rating – 4 out of 5 – “These are awesome!”

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Tagliatelle with Fresh Corn Pesto

Usually, when I browse through my monthly Bon Appetit magazine, I pull out multiple recipes I want to try.  This month…not so much…but I did find one that looked very tasty.

It was suggested that this pasta dish be served as an appetizer, but it looked hearty enough for a main dish so we decided it would make a great Sunday dinner.  And, we were right!  It was very very tasty!

Usually in a recipe like this, I admit, I cheat and use frozen corn.  But, there was some great-looking corn at the farmer’s market this weekend so I decided to go with fresh.  It’s totally worth it!  If you have access to fresh corn, use that.  You won’t regret it.

INGREDIENTS
4 Bacon slices, cut lengthwise in half, then crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
4C. Fresh corn kernels (cut from about 6 large ears)
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4t. Kosher salt
3/4t. Freshly ground black pepper
1/2C. Freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
1/3C. Pine nuts, toasted
1/3C. Extra-virgin olive oil
8oz. Tagliatelle
3/4C. Coarsely torn fresh basil leaves, divided

DIRECTIONS
Cook bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown, stirring often.  Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.  Pour off all but 1T. drippings from skillet.

Add corn, garlic, 1 1/4t. salt, and 3/4t. pepper to drippings in skillet.  Sauté over medium-high heat until corn is just tender but not brown, about 4 minutes.  Transfer 1 1/2 cups corn kernels to small bowl and reserve.  Scrape remaining corn mixture into processor.  Add 1/2C. Parmesan and pine nuts.  With machine running, add olive oil through feed tube and blend until pesto is almost smooth.  Set pesto aside.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally.  Drain, reserving 1 1/2C. pasta cooking liquid.  Return pasta to pot.  Add corn pesto, reserved corn kernels, and 1/2C. basil leaves.  Toss pasta mixture over medium heat until warmed through, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls to thin to desired consistency, 2 to 3 minutes.  Season pasta to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer pasta to large shallow bowl.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup basil leaves and reserved bacon.  Serve pasta, passing additional grated Parmesan.

Husband Rating – 4.5 out of 5 – Really tasty!  Could have used more bacon, though.

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Spicy Corn and Black Bean Dip

I knew I wanted to make some kind of corn dip to take to a 4th of July BBQ, but none of the recipes I found were quite right (most called for canned corn – YUCK!) so I decided to just wing it and make something on my own.

This dip is awesome!  A little spicy and full of great flavors!

INGREDIENTS
1 Small Yellow Onion, diced
1T. Olive Oil
2.5C. Frozen Corn
1 can Black Beans
2 Garlic Cloves, pressed
1 Jalapeno, finely diced (you can remove the seeds/ribs if you don’t like it too spicy)
1/4C. Red Pepper, finely diced
1/4C. Green Pepper, finely diced
2T. Green Chiles (from a can is fine)
6oz. Sour Cream (I, of course, used Tofutti brand)
2T. Penzeys Bold Taco Seasoning (or any taco seasoning you prefer)

DIRECTIONS
Add oil to a large skillet and heat on medium/high for 2 min.  Add onion and cook 3-4 minutes.

Add jalapeno, red pepper, green pepper and taco seasoning and continue cooking another 4 minutes.

Add corn and cook until just warm – about 3 minutes.

Next, add the black beans, garlic and green chiles and warm for another 2 minutes.

Move to a bowl and set in fridge for at least 1 hour.  Remove from fridge and add sour cream.  Refrigerate at least 30 more min to let the flavors meld.  Serve with Fritos Scoops or Tostitos with a Hint of Lime.  YUM!

Husband Rating – 4 out of 5 – Could use a few more peppers, but overall very good!

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Crockpot Salsa Chicken Tacos

I have just recently started enjoying salsa.  I’m not sure why I didn’t like it before…the stuff is delicious!

So, to take advantage of my new found love, I decided to do some Googling and figure out how to cook with salsa.  I found a recipe for salsa chicken on Crockpot 365.  I didn’t feel like serving it over rice, and I had tortillas in the house, so I decided to shred the chicken and turn it into soft tacos.  These were delish!  We will absolutely be making them again!

INGREDIENTS
1lb. Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
1C. Salsa
1C. Frozen corn
1 15oz. Can Black Beans, rinsed
8 Tortilla Shells (hard or soft)
Your favorite taco toppings – cheese, sour cream, fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS
Add chicken, salsa, beans and corn to crock pot.  Cover and let cook 6-8 hours on low.

Remove chicken and shred with two forks.  Ladle out some of the liquid from the crock pot and discard.

Return chicken to the crockpot and keep warm while preparing tortilla shells and toppings.  Assemble and devour!

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Husband Rating – 4 out of 5 – “Very tasty!”

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Cajun Catfish and Hush Puppies

I came across this catfish recipe on the Whole Foods website.  It looked great (and subsequently tasted wonderful), but I wasn’t sure what to serve with it.

Leave it up to the wonderful ladies on the cooking board I frequent to inform me that a traditional side for Cajun food is hush puppies – so I used a recipe from Recipezaar.  I’ve never had a hush puppy before, so I’m not sure how they are supposed to taste.  These were quite good, though.  I’m sure I made them too big…as my first batch was still raw in the middle after I pulled them out.  Woops.

I had hoped for a thicker cut of fish, but it wasn’t bad and cooked very quickly!

INGREDIENTS
For the fish:
4 Catfish fillets
3t. Blackened Cajun Spice Seasoning
1T. Olive oil
Lemon wedges (optional)

For the hush puppies:
2 Packages Jiffy corn muffin mix
2 Eggs, beaten
1/4C. sweet onion, chopped fine
Vegetable oil (for frying)

DIRECTIONS
Check the fish for any bones.  Dry on paper towels and dust liberally with the seasoning. Grill or pan sear the fish until it reaches 130 degrees.

Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil to 375 degrees.

Measure out 2 1/4 cups of the corn muffin mix (keep leftover mix for later use).  Combine with eggs and onion, mix well.

Drop batter by tablespoonfuls into hot oil. Turn the puppies in the oil a few times to ensure even browning.

Remove with slotted utensil and drain on paper towels.

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Husband Rating – 3 out of 5 – “These could be better with more practice.”

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Cod with Corn and Cilantro Lime Butter

This recipe is one of our new favorites – I found it on the Pillsbury Bake Off site! It’s light, fresh and makes fabulous fish tacos! Tonight we decided to serve it over white rice.

INGREDIENTS

1T Milk
1 Egg
1/4C All Purpose Flour
1/2C Seasoned Bread Crumbs (Panko is great too!)
4 (6-oz.) Cod fillets (or any firm white fish)
4T Butter or Margarine
2T Olive Oil
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 1/2T Fresh Lime Juice
1/4C Fresh Cilantro, chopped
1 bag Frozen Corn (canned is ok too)

DIRECTIONS
Ready three small bowls. In the first, place flour (seasoned with S&P). In the second, combine milk and egg; beat well. In the third, the bread crumbs. Coat fish with flour; dip in egg mixture. Coat with bread crumbs and set aside.

In large skillet, combine 2 tablespoons of the butter and olive oil. Heat over medium heat until hot. Add cod; cook 6 to 10 minutes (depending on thickness of your fliets) or until golden brown and fish flakes easily with fork, turning once. Remove fish from skillet; cover to keep warm.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter, lime juice, garlic and cilantro to same skillet; stir to scrape up any brown bits from bottom. Add corn; cook 5 to 7 minutes (canned corn takes about 3 mintues) or until thoroughly heated. Serve corn mixture over cod.

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