Easy Tacquitos

Tacquitos are versatile snacks or appetizers that will stand out in almost any occasion. It is crunchy, meaty, and tasty. They are addictive party food that is so easy and quick to do. Try leaving them on the table in a room full of people and they will be gone in no time. They are perfect like chefs recipes for any occasion pool parties, graduation, birthdays, or even cocktails. Both adults and children like to eat tacquitos with an ice cold beverage with or without any dips or condiments. It is after all, complete by itself.

What’s great about this dish is that you can recycle leftover meat especially if you don’t know what to do with it. Simply shred the meat into pieces, wrap it in the tortilla with some peppers, then top it with grated cheese, Afterwards, cook it in the oven, and you have a quick and satisfying snack. However, if you opt for something heavier, pack the tortilla with beans and vegetables for a full and healthy meal. Actually, this recipe for easy tacquitos is made with shredded beef. In case beef is not your kind of meat, you can still make this easy gourmet recipe with almost any kind of meat you prefer, whether chicken, pork, fish, turkey, or duck. There is also make a vegetarian version of this recipe by loading the tortilla wrapper with sweet roasted bell peppers, different kinds of mushrooms, onions, corn, and beans.

Technically, corn tortillas are used in making tacquitos. In case you make this recipe using flour tortillas, then they are called flautas. Waht’s brilliant thing about this appetizer is that it can be assembled and stored in the freezer, so you can make it in advance if you have a party coming up and have little time to prepare an elaborate spread. Tacquitos is best served with salsa or marinara sauce and some guacamole for a Mexican-themed dinner or lunch.

Ingredients

5-10 corn tortillas

1 lb. Shredded beef

1 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

2 tsp garlic

1 jalapeno chopped

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. Boil the beef until it is tender. Shred apart.

2. With a small amount of olive oil mix spices then heat in a pan, lightly baste shredded beef.

3. Heat the tortillas individually for 20 seconds in microwave or if you are using an iron skillet, for a minute or two. You can also toast them in a toaster.

4. Wrap beef and chopped jalapenos in the tortillas. They should make neat little rolls.

5. Sprinkle cheese on the prepared rolls and heat for 2-5 minutes in oven until cheese is melted. Serve these nice taquitos very warm.

Few Tips to Make Better Salad

Summer salads always arrive on the menu when the sun comes out, the temperatures warm-up, and the days lengthen. With all that renewed activity taking place, it's always more encouraging to eat lighter, fresher and faster like what you see on Gourmet Recipes. 

1. Fresh is best

You can't beat fresh ingredients and the extra flavor they bring to a salad. There's nothing worse than limp lettuce or browned or limp leaves being served up. If your ingredients are fresh from the market all the better but that's not always possible. When composing your salad try to get as many fresh ingredients on there as possible as that's where the most nutrition is. At the end of the day you want your salad to be both tasty and a healthy recipe.

2. Get creative with ingredients

Go wild with veges. How about including some freshly cut green beans, grilled zucchini, avocado, grated beetroot, mushrooms, cherry tomatos, different coloured peppers, or shredded cabbage. Or try something a little different like fennel, snow-peas, asparagus, or artichokes. A scattering of cheese like shaved parmesan or crumbled blue cheese gives a scrummy taste boost. Torn mozzarella or crumbled feta are fab too. How about adding some fruit? Cranberries, fresh blueberries, watermelon, sliced pear, orange or manderin segments all work well and provide a good taste balance to the savory ingredients. 

3. Think outside lettuce

If you're looking for greenery there are hundreds of different types to choose from. OK maybe they're not all available at your local market, but if yours is anything like mine, there are at least six different types of lettuce off the top of my head. Some of my favs are cos, buttercrunch, and deer tongue. How about some fresh rocket or baby spinach? Lettuce is super easy to grow at home, even if you only have a wee balcony.

4. Add some protein

Adding protein can turn your salad from a limp accompaniment to a meal in itself. This is especially important if you're feeding gluten-free or celiac diners who will, quite frankly, be starving within the hour if you're only feeding them a few leaves. It also takes quite a lot of energy to chew through lettuce and it's very disappointing if it's only going to temporarily fill the gap.

There is a wide selection of protein sources you can choose from. You can add chicken, beef, lamb, tuna, salmon, shrimp, beans, lentils , tofu, hard-boiled eggs, quinoa, rice, carrots, corn, or almonds. Just pick one or two from the list and scatter them through the salad.

5. Add seeds, nuts and fresh herbs

The secret to a tasty salad is adding little bursts of unexpected flavor. Seeds, nuts and fresh herbs are the perfect addition. Try seeds like sunflower, pumpkin, sesame or poppy seeds or a combination. Add some walnuts, almonds, cashews, macadamia, pecans or pinenuts. Toss in some pomegrante seeds which look superb.

6. Let people dress their own salad

Individual tastes dictate a whole raft of preferences for salad dressings. I personally don't like salads swimming in oil, nor am a fan of creamy dressings or mayonnaise. Not dressing your salad also makes it last longer. Any uneaten salad can be popped in a container in the fridge for lunch the next day or the next night's dinner.

7. Serve it at room temperature

A chilled salad just doesn't cut it! It bites on the palate, hides the natural flavours of the ingredients, and quite frankly shows you're not thinking of the diner. OK maybe the cleanliness brigade might disagree on this (but I'm all for letting my immune system naturally do its thing), but I think removing a pre-prepared salad from the fridge 1-2 hours before consuming is perfect. It takes that freezing chill off.

Heatlhy Cornmeal Rolls

A great meal is never complete without rolls. They make for a great pairing to some of the wonderful soup you have cooked up in your kitchen. They are also wonderful with just about any dish you could think of. People eat roll with salads, roasts, and a whole lot more. You could never go wrong when you have a fresh batch of rolls in your dish. Making these rolls are pretty simple, and even a beginner could make one.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups milk
½ cup shortening
½ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons dry yeast
½ cup warm water
5 to 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 cup corn meal
½ cup melted butter

1. In a saucepan, bring your milk and salt to a simmer on medium heat. Whisk in cornmeal and cook until cornmeal is thick. This would take around 2 minutes and don’t forget to stir constantly.

2. In another bowl, whisk your brown sugar, yeast and water with the use of an electric mixer. Set aside for 10 minutes.

3. With the use of a dough-hook attachment on your electric mixer, mix your cornmeal mixture and 2 eggs on low speed. Add flour slowly until a soft dough is formed and kneed on medium-low speed for 5 minutes.

4. Prepare another bowl by brushing it with olive oil and place dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and wait for dough to double in size – around 3 hours.

5. In a 13 x 18 inch baking sheet, sprinkle cornmeal and roll out dough in the surface and divide into 3-ounce pieces. Roll the pieces of dough into a ball and place on the baking sheet about 1.5 inches apart. Cover your baking sheets with an oiled plastic wrap and set aside for another 30 minutes until dough has risen again.

6. Place your oven to 375F. Brush your rolls with beaten eggs and make parallel slits on top of your rolls. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Transfer on a rack to cool and serve.

Pizza before Work

Every morning people find hard to wake up less alone cook for themselves, they then to look for quick and easy recipes to do. But some just turn to cereals or the just order food outside. Now here is quick and easy recipe and versatile in fact you can put anything you want on it.

Considered a peasant's meal in Italy for centuries we cannot say who invented the very first pizza pie. Food historians agree that pizza like dishes were eaten by many peoples in the Mediterranean including the Greeks and Egyptians. However, modern pizza has been attributed to baker Raffaele Esposito of Naples. In 1889, Esposito who owned a restaurant called the Pizzeria di Pietro baked what he called "pizza" especially for the visit of Italian King Umberto I and Queen Margherita. The first pizzeria in North America was opened in 1905 by Gennaro Lombardi at 53 1/3 Spring Street in New York City. The first "Pizza Hut" a chain of pizza restaurants appeared in the United States during the 1930s. Frozen pizza was invented by Rose Totino.

Ingredients

2 cups biscuit baking mix

1/2 cup skimmed milk

1/2 cup preserved apricots

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

3.5 oz. package breakfast sausage, thinly sliced

1. Pour the contents of the biscuit mix into a large bowl. Add the milk and stir well to form a dough.

2. Make a round pizza-shaped base with this dough. Place the pizza base on a greased pizza pan.

3. Add preserves mixed with lemon juice in a thin layer over the dough. Sprinkle sausage over the top.

4. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes.