Happy Sunday!
Thanks for stopping by to have dinner with me I really enjoy having friends and family here with me, I love to cook for others much more than myself. It makes cooking more enjoyable, and the food is always better when shared.
After a good weekend with family I returned to my solitary abode with the need to cook dinner based on what was easily at hand. Do you have any of last Sunday's roast left? I hope not, but if you are like me there was still just a little bit left. Tonight you will be a eating perfect last meal for that beef. We are going to make a shredded beef taco with a slightly chunky homemade taco sauce and cilantro lime rice. This is a pretty easy two pot meal for a family dinner or a quick weeknight meal.
The easiest place to start with this meal is to shred the leftover beef into a bowl and place to the side. The first step having been completed, it is time to start on the rice. I don't have a rice cooker so in a pot I put water, lime juice, lime zest, a little butter, diced serrano, and a pinch of salt. This is brought to a boil, rice is added, the heat is brought down to low, the pot covered and left to cook. This should take about 15 minutes but be sure to keep an eye on it so you don't burn the rice. Remove from heat as soon as the rice is almost fully cooked and add the cilantro. You want to add this close to the end, not at the beginning, otherwise you just end up with mushy greens mixed in rice. The taste is still ok but the appearance is not all it could be.
While the rice is cooking it is time to make our red sauce. Start by placing finely diced tomato in a pot with a pinch of salt. This should be cooked until the tomato and its juice start to combine into a slightly chunky sauce. It only took me about 10 minutes over a medium to medium-low heat. After it reduces to a sauce add tomato sauce, bourbon, brown sugar, and your spice mix then simmer for about 20 minutes. Yes, I am still cooking with the bottle of Jack that I purchased for the burger sauce. One bottle goes a long ways unless you begin sampling as you cook : ) The result is about one pint of slightly chunky red sauce with good flavor and mild heat. The heat can always be kicked up a notch or two depending on your taste. Personally, I will add 1\4 tsp ground cayenne pepper to the sauce next time to do just that. Adding a second pepper will also add another layer to the flavor profile that will be so tasty. All of the spices for this dish were intentionally ground, not fresh. The powdered spices can be a one time purchase that lasts quite a while saving the budget for other items and they also thicken the sauce slightly which was needed for this dish. You can of course substitute fresh ingredients if you would like to.
Once the sauce is finished mix this in with the beef you shredded, adjusting the amount of sauce to meet your needs, and begin platting. I topped the meat with the cilantro lime rice, fresh greens and shredded cheese. The result was a tasty meal ready in about 20-30 minutes start to finish.
One thing about a meal like this is that it can be scaled down or increased to meet your needs. Adding another ingredient such as a pot of seasoned black or kidney beans will increase the amount of food easily, or if you need less just store the leftover sauce in the fridge for another meal later in the week. This is a very versatile sauce that can be used for another Mexican meal, enchiladas perhaps, or as the basis for a Mexican styled pasta bake.
Thank you, for having dinner with me tonight. Just for fun, feel free to drop me a comment at the bottom of the page with your beverage of choice for a meal like this. As always, if you are in the area give me call and we can eat together!
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1\4 teaspoon chile de arbol powder
1 pinch salt
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