Southwestern Pulled Brisket Tacos

Oh sweet brisket. How I love thee...

I was slightly hesitant to make this since it was relatively close to St. Patrick's Day and I was afraid people would be so packed to the gills with corned beef that the prospect of brisket would not be received well. That fear dissipated as soon as this puppy started cooking.

I had found this recipe ages ago via Smitten Kitchen (a website that I LOVE for recipes BTW), but since I was living alone up until recently it seemed silly to cook a whole brisket just for me. If I could go back in time, I would have totally made it. It was that good.

There are only 2 downfalls of this. The first is that brisket can be freaking expensive! Damn I had no idea. And second I wanted to eat it before it was done because it smelled so good!

Now the brisket doesn't need to be made into tacos. The initial recipe suggested it could also be made into sandwiches or whatever. I just personally really liked the idea of it in a taco and it tastes awesome. I'm also not usually a fan of slaw, but it was also quite yummy as part of the taco. Everyone agreed. It is, however, quite messy. You have been warned!  Anyway, on with the recipes!

Here's what you'll need for the brisket.

First things first, a warning about this initial first couple steps. This stuff is going to smoke like whoa so make sure fans are on and/or windows are open. Second I left the fat on the brisket because it was super easy to take off later.

So first you brown the meat and then cook the garlic and onions with the spices (cumin, coriander, and chili powder). Then into the crockpot it all goes!!

Then all the rest of it goes into the crockpot. The initial recipe called for using a can of whole tomatoes and crushing the tomatoes between your fingers. I just kind of dumped them in because, well, I was lazy.

Add the cover and set that puppy to low and sit back and relax for 8-10 hours! I went for 10 and it was perfect. I mean PERFECT! It pulled apart soooo easily it was amazing!

I took the meat out, shredded it, took the bay leaves out of the pot, and then dumped the shredded meat right back into the crockpot. When, not if, I do this again I will probably use an immersion blender and mix up all the goodness that's in the crockpot a little. It was a smidge chunky which didn't work as well when serving it.

Once you are ready to serve, add some of that lovely, tasty meat to some warmed soft taco shells, top with some slaw and dig in!

Southwestern Pulled Brisket
Source: Adapted from The Food Network via Smitten Kitchen


3 lbs beef brisket
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juices
1 chipotle chiles en adobo (they come in a can), chopped
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup molasses

1. Season the beef generously with salt and pepper, to taste.
2. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add the oil and heat just it starts to smoke.
4. Add the meat to the skillet and cook around 10 minutes until browned on both sides by turning once (5 minutes per side).
5. Move the meat to the slow cooker.
6. Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to the drippings in the skillet.
7.  Return skillet to heat and stir for about one minute until fragrant.
8. Add vinegar and boil until most of the vinegar is gone while scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Beware of vinegar fumes in the steam!!
9. Add the water and stir to combine.
10. Pour mixture into the crockpot over the brisket.
11. Add tomatoes (with the juices), chipotles, bay leaves, and molasses to the crockpot.
12. Cover crockpot, set to LOW, and cook brisket for 8 to 10 hours until brisket pulls apart easily.
13. Remove brisket from crockpot and remove the layer of fat.
14. Remove bay leaves from crockpot.
15. Using immersion blender, thin the mixture in the crockpot to your desired thickness.
16. Shred the brisket using two forks and return the meat to the liquid mixture in the crockpot.
17. Make tacos using soft shell tacos with the meat.

Guacamole Salsa

I only have to hear the word "guacamole" and my mouth starts to water. I think I've professed my love for avocados previously, so I immediately gravitated towards this recipe off Pinterest. When I got to the recipe on Frosted Bake Shop, however, I was thrown. Because when I took a look at the ingredients....

THERE IS ONLY ONE AVOCADO?!? Say whaaaat? Yes my picture has 3 because I was too shocked to believe there was only one avocado. I still only put on in just for continuity, but if I did it again I would add more of the avocado. This recipe should have been called Green Salsa. I've also never used tomatillos before so I was skeptical, but I decided to forge ahead.

First things first, I needed to get those tomatillos de-husked. I assumed the husk was more like an onion, but those puppies stuck to the tomatillos like it was their job! Which I guess they are....I digress...The junk came off easier when I rubbed them under water.

Once that step is done, the tomatillos get quartered and and thrown into the food processor. Then add all the other ingredients and blend the heck out of it. And that's it! I must say, this was a pretty easy recipe because there weren't a lot of steps. Plus it didn't taste half bad! We ate it with tortilla chips. It was definitely more like salsa than guac. I also used it the next day on a turkey sandwich, which was yummy! Enjoy!!

Guacamole Salsa
Source: Frosted Bake Shop


1 pound tomatillos

1 jalapeno pepper

1/3 bunch cilantro

1 thick slice of onion

1 garlic clove

1 avocado

1 tsp salt

1.  Remove the husks from the tomatillos.

2. Quarter the tomatillos.

3. Place quartered tomatillos in a food processor or blender. 

4. Add jalapeno pepper, cilantro, onion, garlic, avocado, and salt to food processor or blender. 

5. Blend until smooth.

Tres Leches Cake

Ok ok, so I made a plan to post more, but I failed miserably with that. I have, however, been doing new recipes and doing nifty projects. Now it's just time to post them! Alright, back to the fun stuff...

I am a sucker for cake. It just makes me happy. I can't help it! When I checked out this recipe for Tres Leches Cake courtesy of The Pioneer Woman, I was a bit concerned. There was a LOT of liquid being poured onto that cake! But I decided to give it a shot....And here we go!

Here's what you'll need. Look at all that liquid!!

First you add all the dry ingredients together. Then you need to separate a whole boat load of eggs. Oh yes, this recipe is SUPER HEALTHY! That's why it tastes so good :) Check out the nifty egg separating doohickey I found in the kitchen. It made my life so much easier and was awesome! I must buy one...But I digress.

 

 Throw those yolks in the mixer with the sugar and get mixing!

 Then add the milk and vanilla and mix some more! But this time only a little bit.

 Once it is combined, add the yolk-y yummy mixture (don't eat it though. you know, salmonilla and all that jazz) to the dry ingredients. Mix just to combine. 

Now quickly clean the mixer and the bowl and get to whipping up the egg whites to some nice peaks. I always find it nuts that egg whites can turn into such fluffiness!! Thank you to Alton Brown from Good Eats for letting me know why that happens! I love that guy...But again I digress....Beat the eggs to soft peaks then add the sugar and beat some more till the peaks are stiff.

Fold the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture but just until combined! Then add it to the baking dish.

 Bake that baby for 35-45 minutes. Once it's done, take it out and allow it to cool. Then poke a bunch of holes in it with a fork. Like a lot of holes.I had a bit of an issue finding a plate to put this cake on so we had to cut it a bit first (quality control and all) and I put it on the best plate I could find. Ideally you want a plate that the cake can sit in and has a rim of some sort.

 Next is the odd part (at least it was for me). Combine the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream together. I warned you this wasn't the healthiest of cakes! Once it's all together, pour all but 1 cup of the milky concoction onto the cake. Yes, you read that right. Pour the it all over the cake including the edges. I freaked out a little when I did this at first because the milk sort of sat there initially, but if you waited it all got sucked up by the cake! Craziness....

Give the cake 20-30 minutes to suck up all the goodness. Then it's frosting time! Well, whipped cream time. Add the heavy cream and the sugar to the mixing bowl and whip it up good.

 Once the frosting seems to the consistency of your liking, ice the cake and voila! You're done.

I have to say I was a bit skeptical about this cake, but it was delicious! Be forewarned that the bottom of the cake in the middle can get extra mushy if you have plate that isn't entirely flat under the whole cake, but we ate it regardless. Enjoy!!

Tres Leches Cake
Source: The Pioneer Woman

1 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
5 eggs, divided
1 cup sugar, divided
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened, condensed milk
1/4 cup heavy cream






Frosting:
1 pint heavy cream
3 tbsp sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray a 9 x 13 inch pan.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Separate eggs and beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until just combined.
4. Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites form stiff peaks. 
5. Gently fold egg white mixture into the batter until just combined. Pour into prepared pan.
6. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool.
7. Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher. When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture onto the cake.
8. Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes.
9. For frosting whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick. Spread over the surface of the cake.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Each year so many of us tell ourselves that we are going to get healthy as part of our new years resolution. For me, this means more than just losing weight. It means getting physically healthy enough to finally actually run the NYC Marathon that I have been registered for and been unable to run for the last 2 years due to injuries. Although these goals clearly involve exercise (I'm still working on that), they also involve eating a tad better and watching those portions and added calories that can sneak up throughout the day!

This year, I'm doing my new years resolution alongside my parents who also are hoping to lose some weight this year. We may all be prompted by the fact that my brother is getting married later this year and I am totally ok with admitting that! ha. I'm trying to keep us all on track with weekly weigh ins and measurements and we all are eating meals together to minimize the junk. So when I initially saw this recipe on Closet Cooking, I thought it would be a great addition to one of our meals!

The recipe is super simple and requires minimal time or ingredients. Here's what you need:

And when I say it's simple, I really mean it. You just throw the asparagus (cut up into smaller pieces) and chopped onions into the chicken broth. Then simmer it for 7-10 minutes until the asparagus is tender and then puree the heck out of it. I used an immersion blender to minimize messiness.

Then you add the yogurt and miso. Stir it up and you're good to go! I thought it was a little thin at first, but it ended up being the perfect consistency. We added a little parmigiano-reggiano grated on top, but it probably didn't need it. Enjoy!

Cream of Asparagus Soup
Adapted from Closet Cooking

1 bunch of asparagus, washed and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 small onions, chopped
2 cans of chicken broth (approximately 4 cups)
1/4 cup miso
1/4 cup plain yogurt

1. Place chicken broth, asparagus, and onion a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce to a simmer for 7-10 minutes until the asparagus is tender.
3. Remove from heat and puree the mixture.
4. Stir in yogurt and miso.
5. Serve and garnish with parmigiano-reggiano if desired.

Serves 4-6

Chicken Tacos

I don't make/have tacos very often. Not because I don't like it, but rather I often debate if the mess is worth it. When I came across this recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen (a food blog that I LOVE), it just looked so healthy and fresh that I couldn't resist! I mean look at the ingredients! The original recipe called for chicken thighs, but I'm not a fan of dark meat so I opted for chicken breasts.

 I was a smidge confused at first since I don't often boil chicken, but I decided to forge ahead! It was quite easy since you throw all the ingredients in a large pot and simmer the hell out of it!

The original recipe calls for you to allow the chicken to cool and then to shred it. Allow me though, dear readers, to give you an AMAZING hint when it comes to shredding chicken. If you happen to be in possession of a Kitchen Aid mixer (or something comparable I'm sure) then throw the chicken into the bowl (even still hot) and using the normal mixer attachment turn that puppy on. Within seconds you will have perfectly shredded chicken and no burned fingers! Behold....

Seriously, this took like 15 seconds. A-w-e-s-o-m-e.

In the end, I also made the salsa fresca recommended by Smitten Kitchen, some rice and beans, and had some cheese and avocado as additional toppings.

The result was a super fresh and light meal that tasted yummy and a definite crowd pleaser! I forgot to take a picture BEFORE I started eating the taco I put together (sorry), but that just goes to show how good it was! ha. Enjoy!

Chicken Tacos
Adapted from The New York Times via Smitten Kitchen

1.5 pounds chicken breasts
1 large white onion, peeled and quartered
5 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and add water until chicken is covered.
2. Bring mixture to a boil using high heat and skim foam that may emerge off the surface.
3. Partially cover and lower heat so that the water simmers steadily for about 30 minutes or until the meat is very tender.
4. Remove chicken from liquid.
5. Shred chicken with mixer while hot or with your fingers once the chicken has cooled enough to handle.
6. Adjust seasoning as necessary.
7.Serve with salsa, shredded cheese, avocados or guacamole, and taco shells.

Serves 6 to 8

Oohhh Crack Bread!

Yesterday my family celebrated Christmas early because my sister is a nurse and usually cannot get Christmas off. Instead we celebrate together before Christmas which works out pretty well for us with the exception of having to purchase presents earlier. I decided to make Crack Bread as part of our celebration during the day. We had it after dinner since we ate super early and figured we all would be hungry at some point.

I think my family is starting to worry about me making so many items that I call "crack." C'est la vie!

The bread is apparently actually called Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pull Bread. The first three words are music to my taste buds...It's quite tasty and as you can tell see from the ingredients, not the healthiest either. But it's the holidays!

I found the recipe originally on Plain Chicken and it is pretty easy to make. The most difficult part is the cutting of the bread. Here's what you'll need:

You can find the original recipe here. The first step is to cut up the bread, but not all the way through to the bottom of the loaf in a checkerboard like pattern.Next you put little pieces of cheese in each of the little spaces like so. Make sure it's nice and thin so that it melts correctly. I made the cuts a bit too thick.

 

Then you add the bacon bits using the same method and pushing them down into the bread. 

Then you mixed the ranch mix and the butter and pour it over the entire loaf. Next cover it in tin foil and bake it for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Then uncover the loaf and cook for another 10-15 minutes. How yummy does this look?

I was going to take a picture of us eating it, but once it was out on the plate I didn't stand a chance! So enjoy!

On a different note, I'm making a resolution for next year. My plan is to make a new item from Pinterest each week, be that a recipe, craft, or just a random trick or tip. Hopefully I will be able to keep it up! For those few of you who might read this, let me know if you have any suggestions!