Street Tacos

The taco.  For me, the best variation of a sandwich ever created.  You have your tortilla stuffed with some form of protein, if you're a carnivore like myself, then topped with various Mexican condiments.  A traditional "Street Taco" though, is modest at best; it normally consists of a corn tortilla, grilled meat, with a garnishing of cilantro y cebolla (shout out to Mrs. Greppi, my Spanish I teacher), that's it that's all.  Since Mexican is always my go to meal, whether homemade or ordered out, I decided to prepare this quick and easy meal for tonight's dinner.  I pan seared chicken thighs and breasts that had marinated in Adobo y Sazon, granulated  Garlic, Lime Juice, and Olive Oil until a nice crust developed on each side, and set them aside while I cut the cilantro and onion.  Once all of the condiments were prepped I diced the chicken into cubes and put it back into the pan in order to create a more uniform crusting while adding Cumin as a finishing touch.  As you will see in the picture, I also used Crema, or Mexican Sour Cream; sour cream is a condiment that I cannot do without, we go through so much in my household so it's only natural that it made a cameo tonight.  The best thing about this dish is it only topped out at 520 calories for 3 tacos!  Enjoy!

 

Dinner time

Recently I was the beneficiary of a bounty of beef!  My girlfriend's mentor moved out of state and she graciously gave us the opportunity to pick from a selection of steaks.  I have to tell you, nothing excites a carnivorous foodie AND a Midwestern girl like prime cut beef!  We chose various cuts such as bacon wrapped Filet Mignon and NY Strip, not all cuts were labeled and not knowing much about the specific steaks I just chose and hoped they would be good. 

Tonight I cooked the first mystery cut and it was exceptional!
I prepared the steak (likened to a rib eye) by sprinkling it lightly w/ Lawry's seasoning salt and a vigorous shaking of Back of the Yards spice mixture from The Spice House.  Next I placed the meat in freezer bags and added a few dashes of French's Worcestershire sauce and refrigerated them for approximately 2 hours.  They were then ready to be grilled; I grilled them on both sides for about 12 minutes each side and that allowed them to cook to "medium".  I accompanied the steak w/ Saffron Rice and a spinach salad w/ cucumber, red onion, feta and a Walnut Raspberry vinaigrette by Ken's (heaven in a bottle, btw)!  See below for pix!

Quick tip: To avoid meat from drying out, let stand before cutting into it.  This allows for the juices to redistribute themselves and settle back into the meat.