Baked Burritos with Sour Cream-Poblano Sauce

Tags

beef, black beans, burrito, Mexican, poblano, sour cream

I’m thinking I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a big fan of Mexican food. Yet, whenever I think that, I seem to contradict myself because then I crave Mexican food. But not restaurant Mexican food… can’t stand that stuff! But good ol’ homemade Mexican Tex-Mex, or whatever this is considered… love it! Or anything with taco seasoning! Hehe. Horrible logic, I know.

These burritos, though, are amazing. I made them a couple weeks ago before the move, and now I’m making them again! What can I say, I got a craving! You can change out the meat to any ground meat of your choosing, and they’re quick to cook up. Also, they reheat awesomely and apparently, you can freeze them once they’re baked, all of which makes them a great make-ahead option. If you’re a burrito-fan, these are a must try for you!One Year Ago: Cheddar-Herb Biscuits and Orecchiette with Spicy Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Baked Burritos with Sour Cream-Poblano Sauce

Burritos:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 pound ground beef
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
¼ cup beef broth
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon oregano
1½ teaspoon chili powder
⅛ teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Kosher salt
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
4 to 6 burrito tortillas
Cooking spray

Sour Cream-Poblano Sauce:
2 poblano peppers
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
⅔ cup chicken broth at room temperature
½ cup sour cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the burritos: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat; add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the onions and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned; drain any excess fat.  Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 30 to 60 seconds; add the beans, broth, cumin, oregano, chili powder, cayenne, and brown sugar. Stir to combine and salt to taste. Reduce heat and simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Place 2 tablespoons of the cheese in a line in the middles of each tortilla and spoon about ¼ of the beef mixture over the top of the cheese. Fold the left and right sides of the tortilla in, and then roll the tortilla up, from the end closest to you, to the top. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet and lightly spray the tops of the burritos with cooking spray.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until tortillas are golden brown and crispy.

To make the sour-cream poblano sauce: To prepare chiles with a gas stove, turn one of the burners to high. Using tongs, char the poblanos on all sides until black. To prepare the chiles with an oven, preheat the broiler. Place the poblanos on a foil lined baking sheet and broil until black, using tongs to turn the chiles to blacken all sides. Transfer the blackened poblanos to a resealable plastic bag and seal the bag; set it aside for 15 minutes. Remove chiles and peel them; discard the seeds and membranes to lessen the heat, if desired, then dice them; set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for an additional minute, stirring constantly, to cook off the taste of flour. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and the poblanos; continue to simmer, whisking frequently, until thickened. Stir in the sour cream and warm through; season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the sauce over the baked burritos.

Source: Slightly adapted from Smells Like Home

Spicy Poblano Burgers with Chipotle Cream

Tags

beef, burger, chile, chipotle, poblano, sandwich, sour cream

I know, it’s been forever since I last posted… and I’d like to say I have legitimate excuses, but they would only be excuses! I have been keeping busy, though. My husband and I are moving in a couple of weeks so we’ve been getting things set up for that, and I’ve been working on setting things up for my own pet sitting business. Cross your fingers for me, please! My other big distraction has been due to my nerdy side. Diablo III came out, and I just had to try it! Yay for video games. Hehe 🙂

So, onto the burgers. I’ve been coming across a lot of burger recipes on the blogs I follow, and with summer coming and the weather warming up, they’ve all sounded really good. I have quite a few burger recipes I’m hoping to try this summer! These were the first ones I tried, and they were fantastic! I’m not usually a fan of spicy things, but I read that poblano chiles were relatively mild and they sounded too good to pass up. Besides, I love to try new things! The burgers were incredibly moist and delicious, and the chipotle cream was the perfect topping. Even on its own, the cream was wonderful and I’m hoping to find other uses for it since I loved it so much! But all in all, these burgers are awesome, and you should definitely add them to your summer menu!One Year Ago: Portobello Fettuccine

Spicy Poblano Burgers with Chipotle Cream
Yield: 4 burgers

2 poblano chiles
1 tablespoon milk
1 (1 oz) slice white bread, crusts removed and torn into ½-inch pieces
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 pound ground beef
½ cup light sour cream
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, seeds removed and finely chopped
2 teaspoons adobo sauce
4 hamburger buns, toasted
lettuce, tomato or other toppings

To prepare chiles with a gas stove, turn one of the burners to high. Using tongs, char the poblanos on all sides until black. To prepare the chiles with an oven, preheat the broiler. Place the poblanos on a foil lined baking sheet and broil until black, using tongs to turn the chiles to blacken all sides. Transfer the blackened poblanos to a resealable plastic bag and seal the bag; set it aside for 15 minutes. Remove chiles and peel them; discard the seeds and membranes to lessen the heat, if desired, then finely chop them; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the milk and bread, using a fork to mash them together into a thick paste. Add the chiles, 1½ tablespoons cilantro, cumin, coriander, paprika, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper; mix to combine. Add the ground beef, and use your hands to gently combine the mixture, making sure to not overwork it. Divide into four equal portions, and shape each into a ½-inch thick patty. Using your thumb, make an indent in the middle of the burger (this helps keep the burgers flat instead of doming in the middle). Let patties sit at room temp for about 15 minutes before placing them on the grill.

Whiles the burgers rest, preheat your grill to medium-high heat (about 400 to 450 degrees F). Oil the grates lightly.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl stir together the remaining 1½ tablespoons cilantro, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, sour cream, lime juice, chipotle chile, and adobo sauce; set aside.

Place the burgers on the grill and cook for about 3 minutes. Flip the burgers and cook for about 3 more minutes, or until cooked to desired level of doneness. Serve on toasted hamburger buns with the chipotle cream, lettuce, tomato, or your favorite burger toppings.

Source: Tracey’s Culinary Adventures, via Cooking Light

Guinness Beef Stew

Tags

beef, carrot, mushroom, potato, slow cooker, stew

This winter has had some very weird weather… it’s been getting up to 70 degrees during the day. That’s just wrong! A few weeks ago, the mornings were consistently in the low 20’s, but it would still warm up a bit during the day. At least then it still felt like winter. Now it just feels like spring, but it’s January! It’s definitely making it tough to make the soups and stews I want. They sound so good, and there are all these different recipes I want to try, but I don’t want to eat hot soup when it’s hot out! Guess I just need to suck it up, like I did when I made this stew, and pretend it feels like winter.

As soon as I saw the recipe on Blissfully Delicious, I knew I had to try it. And I even had some Guinness sitting in my frig, waiting to be used in a recipe. Personally, it’s too heavy of a beer to just drink so I only use it in baking or cooking. It’s perfect in this stew, though! I’ve only used wine in stew before, so beer was a nice change. It made a delicious broth, full of flavor. As with any stew, you can add vegetables of your choice, so I changed up the vegetables in the recipe to add my personal touch. 🙂 And of course, slow cooker recipes are always awesome and great to have in your repertoire!Guinness Beef Stew

4 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch chunks
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups onion, chopped (about 2 small onions)
4 cups beef or chicken broth
1 (11.2-ounce) bottle Guinness Draught (1½ cups)
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 pound mushrooms, quartered
2 pounds gold or red potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Season the beef with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook half of the beef until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker and repeat with an additional 2 teaspoons oil and the remaining half of beef, adding to the slow cooker once browned.

Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the skillet. Add the onions and ¼ teaspoon salt to the skillet and cook until the onions are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, beer, sugar, thyme, chocolate, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, using a spoon to scrape up any browned bits; make sure chocolate is fully melted. Transfer to the slow cooker.

Add the carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours, or cook on high for 6 to 7 hours, or until meat is tender. Remove and discard the bay leaves, stir in the parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve while still hot.

Source: Adapted from Blissfully Delicious

Creamy Taco Mac

Tags

beef, cream cheese, pasta, sour cream, tomato

Cheese and meat and pasta. Nothing is more comforting and delicious! When I saw this dish, I knew it was something I was going to have to try. It’s almost reminiscent of hamburger helper, but sooooo much better! And yes, I am almost ashamed to admit that I’m a fan of hamburger helper. It was a great food to help me get through college along with easy mac! 🙂

This pasta dish is so easy to make, and such simple ingredients! I usually have all the ingredients on hand, so it works out perfectly for me as a quick weeknight meal. Or just whenever I feel like a creamy, comforting dinner. And who would have thought to add cream cheese to pasta and meat! I love cream cheese so much, so it’s like this dish was made for me! Hehe. It has become a regular dish I now make, and I highly recommend trying it for yourself!Creamy Taco Mac

1 pound ground beef
1 pound small dried pasta (such as macaroni or shells)
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced or diced tomatoes
4 tablespoons mild taco seasoning
3 ounces cream cheese
½ cup sour cream
Freshly ground pepper and salt
Cheddar cheese (optional)

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta per directions. Reserve one cup of pasta water.

Over medium heat, brown ground beef until browned and no longer pink. Add taco seasoning and diced tomatoes; simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Add cream cheese and sour cream and mix until melted and fully incorporated. Add the cooked pasta and reserved pasta water and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately and top off with cheddar cheese, if desired.

Source: Adapted from Delish

Italian Meatloaf

Tags

basil, beef, Parmesan, tomato

Meatloaf is a pretty generic food, one that most people tend to dislike. I’m not sure why, because I’ve always been a fan of it, but maybe I’m part of the minority in that sense! To me, meatloaf is another comfort food. It’s perfect served up with some macaroni and cheese or fettuccine, and it’s time in the oven helps to heat my apartment! It’s always fun to find a twist on a classic, though, and this is an amazing twist! I found the recipe on a leaflet on a bottle of sun-dried tomatoes. It sounded super tasty, so I decided to take the recipe and run with it, and basically create my own Italian meatloaf. If you like sneaking vegetables into food, now is your chance! Finely chopped onions and carrots, and maybe even celery, would go great in here. Sun-dried tomatoes add a nice kick in every bite, and adding cheese and wine always makes Italian food taste better! 🙂 Italian Meatloaf

2 pounds ground beef
1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
¾ cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
⅓ cup ketchup
¾ cup red wine
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
3 cloves garlic
¼ cup dried basil
¼ cup dried oregano

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, using your hands to mix it thoroughly. Shape into a loaf and place in a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan. Cook for 70 minutes or until cooked through.

Source: Adapted from Recipe Source