Mexican Meal Plan - Spices and Seasonings Typically Used in Mexican Cooking

Spices and seasonings are often used in cooking to give your dishes their distinct flavor. This couldn't be truer for making ethnic dishes such as Mexican and Italian. Each ethnicity has its own set of spices and seasonings that make their dishes stand out from the others.

Cumin: When you purchase taco seasoning or flavoring in the grocery store, cumin is the spice that gives it that distinctive flavor. However, cumin can also be used in other Mexican dishes such as stews, on grilled meat, lamb and chicken. Some of the most popular dishes cumin is used in are chile con queso, pork casseroles and enchiladas with sauce.

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Cilantro: Cilantro is actually a member of the carrot family and is related to parsley. You may also have heard it called Coriander. Cilantro is most commonly used in salsa, Pico De Gallo, burritos, salads and Mexican sauces.

Mexican Meal Plan - Spices and Seasonings Typically Used in Mexican Cooking

Epazote (say ep-ah-ZOE-tay): Also know as Mexican tea, epazote is strong herb and is known for its medicinal qualities, such as relieving gasiness often associated with eating beans. However, used in large quantities, it is poisonous. Epazote is typically found in bean, corn and fish recipes. Like Cilantro, epazote has its own distinct flavor and is often an acquired taste. If you find you don't like epazote, try substituting Mexican Oregano.

Chile Powder: Chile powder is actually a combination of dried powdered chilies, cumin and oregano. You may find other ingredients in some mixes, but those are the basics. Chile powder is most often used in, you guessed it, chili, but it is also great for stews, meats and poultry.

Chipotle: Chipotle is actually dried, smoked jalapenos. Chipotle is a popular seasoning to use for sauces, salsa and marinades such as Adobo.

Garlic: Garlic is probably the most common seasoning used in Mexican cooking. As a matter of fact you can add garlic to just about any Mexican recipe for added flavor. Fresh garlic and garlic powder are the most common forms of garlic used in recipes.

Onion: Fresh or powdered, you can't go wrong with adding onion to just about Mexican dish. As a matter of fact, onion and garlic are often used in conjunction with one another and adds a really nice touch of flavor.

Mexican Oregano: This herb is bit stronger than its popular relative, Mediterranean Oregano (Oregan) or Greek Oregano. Mexican Oregano is best in enchilada sauces, tortilla soup, chicken dishes, and egg and cheese dishes such as omelets. Mexican Oregano pairs well with other seasonings and spices, such as Chipotle, Chile Powder and garlic.

Other flavors you will find in authentic Mexican cooking are cinnamon, cloves and anise. Cocoa and peanut butter are mixed with other seasonings to make Mole. Mole is a thick sauce usually spread on chicken for a distinct flavor. Cocoa is also widely used in other Mexican dishes as well.

Recada rojo is a mixture of spices and gets its red color from annatto seeds. Cinnamon, cloves, cumin, oregano, garlic and other spices are blended together to make this distinctive Mexican seasoning.

You can also combine any of the above mentioned spices together to create your own Mexican seasoning. Try it on grilled meats, in salsa, and even in quesadillas and fajitas and wow your guests with your own Mexican blend.

Mexican Meal Plan - Spices and Seasonings Typically Used in Mexican Cooking

For The Love Of Italian Food - Pasta And Cauliflower Recipe

Mangia! Mangia! I just can't get enough of the great taste of Italian foods. Italian pasta, pizza, pork, beef and seafood recipes are much a part of my everyday life.

Growing up Italian in Chicago has been a wonderful culinary experience to say the least. The many different restaurants and families from different regions of Italy allowed me to taste some of the most delicious food in the world.

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Food always conjures up great memories. When I cook something I haven't had in a while, it always seems to bring me back to the last time and place I did have it. I think it's the closest thing to a "time machine" we'll ever experience.

For The Love Of Italian Food - Pasta And Cauliflower Recipe

Years ago at every family gathering my Grandmother Theresa made a simple dish of pasta and cauliflower. Oh how we craved for this dish after she was gone. It was filling and delicious and you just could not get enough.

So finally one day I said I was going to try and make it. I just had to have it again. There was just no way was I going to live out the rest of my life without ever eating this dish again. Determined, I tried many times and one day I came as close as I possibly could to recreating her recipe. As we all know Grandmothers did not measure anything, so this was not an easy task.

Here's my version of my Grandmother's recipe. I hope you an your family enjoy it as much as mine does

Grandma Theresa's Pasta and Cauliflower

Ingredients

I hope this recipe makes many memories for your family and friends.

For The Love Of Italian Food - Pasta And Cauliflower Recipe

Easy Meat and Potato Recipe

This is a great all in one meal for everyone. There is no clean up, it is quick and easy, and everyone can pick what they want to put in their own foil pouch.

1lb. Ground Beef
1 can cream of onion soup
4 potatoes peeled and chopped
1c. corn
4t. onion (optional)
1/4c. Italian bread crumbs
2T. Worcestershire sauce
4T. Butter
Salt and Pepper
8 -12"x12" pieces of foil

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ground beef with the Italian bread crumbs and worcestershire sauce. Set out four of your pieces of foil each in a different place. I use non stick foil on the bottom or spray with non stick spray. Divide the potatoes between the four pieces equally, add 1 tablespoon of butter on top of each pile of potatoes, add corn and onion on top, add half of cream soup divided equally among them and divide meat up into fourths and put on top, add remaining cream soup on top of meat. Put a sheet of foil on top and roll all four sides up to make a pouch. Place on a baking sheet, cook for 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. Get the family involved and let them help make their own and then put their initials on top with a marker. Other options are hominy and any type of corn, frozen, canned, or creamed. Get creative and use things your family will like. The great part is once you are done you don't have to wash any pans, you just throw away the foil!

Easy Meat and Potato Recipe

Easy Meat and Potato Recipe

Whole Foods Recipes: Where To Find Healthy, Great Tasting Recipes

Whole foods recipes can be tricky to master. Often you find yourself trying to cook with ingredients that you are unfamiliar with, which means that there is a chance that your family might not like the dish... the new flavors and textures can be very different from what you are used to eating. But, don't worry, because there are many whole foods recipes available online that are both healthy and tasty!

The first thing you need to think about is the nutrition of the food that you are preparing. Many people understand that they need to eat more healthy foods, but they are unsure of the reason why. Healthy foods in their natural form are great sources of fiber, vitamins and minerals.

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You can increase your overall health by eating foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, and healthy fats. These foods contain nutrient-dense calories, which means that they will provide your body with a high amount of nutrition when you eat them in their natural form.

Whole Foods Recipes: Where To Find Healthy, Great Tasting Recipes

When you are looking for whole foods recipes, it is best to find recipes that contain unprocessed ingredients. There are many great recipes including baked goods (using whole wheat flour), bean dishes, vegetable dishes and fruit based desserts. When you are transitioning to a healthier eating plan, you will be surprised to see how many options are available.

There are 2 options to find the best healthy recipes available: through cookbooks or online. There are many cookbooks that contain lots of great recipes, you can buy them online or at the local bookstore. Or, if you want to sample recipes, try doing a Google search or looking at popular recipe websites.

If I am trying to find a specific recipe for ingredients that I have on hand, I will often enter in a search term related to the item that I would like to prepare. For example, I search for the term "asparagus recipes" or "wild rice and vegetable recipes." When you enter in search terms similar to these, you will find lots of results that come up in the search engines.

Be sure to print out the new recipe that you are trying, and make notes about what you did/didn't like. Over time you will find that you have a large collection full of new dishes that you love!

Whole Foods Recipes: Where To Find Healthy, Great Tasting Recipes

Quick Recipes Using Ground Beef

I have always been a red meat eater. I remember when I was pregnant with my first daughter. I ate red meat just about every single day. I'm sure some of it was because of the iron, but I've just always loved red meat.

I love when the stores put multi-packs or family-size packs of ground beef on sale. I'll buy the multi-packs and then divide them into one pound servings and freeze them.

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I'd like to share a few quick recipes using ground beef. This first recipe is a very kid friendly recipe. Kids love tater tots and kids love ground beef:

Quick Recipes Using Ground Beef

2 pounds ground beef
2 pounds frozen tater tots
1 cup shredded cheese
1 can cream of something soup (we like either chicken or broccoli)

Spread the meat into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. Pour the soup over the meat. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the soup and finally spread the tater tots on top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for forty-five minutes. Uncover and bake an additional fifteen minutes.

One of my kids' favorite recipes is sloppy joes. All I do is take ground meat and brown it in a frying pan. I then add bottled BBQ sauce and stir. I allow it to simmer for a bit and then serve on hamburger buns. My girls both love this.

The next recipe I'd like to share is actually made for the crockpot. It's a beef stroganoff recipe that's very quick to make.

Brown two pounds of ground beef. Add in chopped onions and a few cloves of chopped garlic. Drain off the fat. Pour the beef mixture into the crockpot.

Mix together the following:

1 cup beef broth
3 tablespoons tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour over the beef and then cook on low six to eight hours. For the last hour of cooking add in one and a half cups of sour cream mixed with four tablespoons of flour. We use non-fat sour cream.

When ready to eat, cook the noodles of your choice and pour the beef mixture over the noodles.

This last recipe is what I call comfort food. There is just no other way to explain how it tastes:

Brown one pound of ground beef and drain. Make brown rice according to package directions.

In a bowl combine one package of onion soup mix, one can of cream of chicken soup, 1 1/2 cups of cooked rice and ¾ cup of water. Add in the meat and mix well. Pour this into a casserole dish and sprinkle with crushed potato chips or crushed Corn Flakes. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

There are just so many possibilities on using ground beef in cooking.

Quick Recipes Using Ground Beef