I think about potato tacos and my mouth waters. All I have to envision is Real California Dairy and potatoes meeting in a  taco shell for my mind to go into overdrive. They are a total treat in my house and a serious happy indulgence. It’s like having a celebratory meal on a Tuesday night, or making big sacrifices during lent for a meatless meal! My husband requests them casually all the time hoping I’ll say yes and just start breaking up the cotija and frying the shells in preparation.

FRYING THE SHELLS?

All tacos are created differently, and I find from 30+ years of cooking experience that frying the potato in the shell makes a huge mess out of the cooking oil. Messy cooking oil in turn means little nibs of burnt potato stuck to the shell, and no body truly wants that mess. So, frying the shells with no filling is a great solution, and not to mention you can obtain a crunchier shell, or store them for a day or two until ready to eat more Tacos.

The real secret to this recipe is mashing the potato and mixing in Real California crema into the potato mixture. This makes for the creamiest mashed papa center and then topping the tacos with more crema, and cotija is otherworldly. My favorite! I know if I see the Real California Milk Seal when selecting my dairy I’m buying quality authentic sustainable ingredients for California Dairy Families. I’m a California Latina girl that likes to keep it in my State.

• 

Tacos De Papa

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook time:  25 minutes

Yields: 8 king size Tacos De Papa

Ingredients for Tacos De Papa:

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 tablespoons Real California butter

2 small tomatoes, diced

½ white onion, diced

¼ cup Real California Crema Con Sal + ¼ cup for garnish

Salt and pepper to taste

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup vegetable oil

8 king sized corn tortillas

2 tablespoons Salsa Roja or hot sauce

1 cups lettuce

½ cup pico de gallo

1/2 cup Real California cotija, crumbled

DIRECTIONS:

Peel potatoes, and cut into 1 inch pieces.

Place in a medium pot over medium high heat and cover with hot water. Bring water to a boil and cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Discard water from the pot. Set to the side.

Melt butter in a large frying pan/pot over a medium high heat. Add in tomato and onion to sauté for 5 minutes or until onion goes limp. Turn off flame.

Add in boiled potaotes, then mash with a potato masher until crumbly. Pour in ¼ cup Real California Crema Con Sal and continue mashing until you have a smooth paste.  Season the potatoes with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Set to the side.

Heat corn tortillas over an open flame on both sides for 30 seconds.

       Let’s fry the shells: Pour 1 cup of vegetable oil into a small frying pan and allow it to get hot.

       Place a  tortilla into the hot oil then fold it in half using tongs.

      Once the first side is fried/hard, flip it to the other side and make a gap in between the side by using the tongs to separate the tortilla.

       Place shells on a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Fill each shell center with mashed potato paste.

Drizzle top of tacos with Real California crema, Salsa roja, lettuce, pico de gallo and Real California Cotija.

For more lent recipe inspiration hop on over to the Real California Milk Website!

• 

En Espanol:

Pienso en tacos de papa y se me hace la boca agua. Todo lo que tengo que imaginar es Real California Dairy y papas reunidas en un taco para que mi mente se acelere. Son un placer total en mi casa y una indulgencia feliz seria. ¡Es como tener una comida de celebración un martes por la noche, o hacer grandes sacrificios durante la Cuaresma por una comida sin carne! Mi esposo los solicita casualmente todo el tiempo con la esperanza de que diga que sí y simplemente comience a romper la cotija y freír las conchas en preparación.

¿FREIR LAS CONCHAS?

Todos los tacos se crean de manera diferente y, gracias a mis más de 30 años de experiencia en la cocina, descubrí que freír la papa con cáscara hace que el aceite de cocina se desmorone. El aceite de cocina desordenado a su vez significa pequeñas puntas de papa quemada pegadas a la cáscara, y nadie realmente quiere ese desastre. Por lo tanto, freír las conchas sin relleno es una excelente solución, y sin mencionar que puede obtener una concha más crujiente o guardarlas durante uno o dos días hasta que esté listo para comer más tacos.

El verdadero secreto de esta receta es machacar las papas y mezclarlas con crema Real California en la mezcla de papas. Esto lo convierte en el centro de puré de papa más cremoso y luego cubre los tacos con más crema, y ​​la cotija es de otro mundo. ¡Mi favorito! Sé que si veo el sello de leche Real California al seleccionar mi lechería, estoy comprando ingredientes auténticos y sostenibles de calidad para las familias lecheras de California. Soy una chica latina de California a la que le gusta quedarse en mi estado.

Tacos de papa

Preparación: 15 minutos

Tiempo de cocción: 25 minutos

Rinde: 8 Tacos De Papa tamaño king

Ingredientes para tacos de papa:

4 papas medianas, peladas y cortadas en trozos de 1 pulgada

2 cucharadas de mantequilla Real California

2 tomates pequeños, cortados en cubitos

½ cebolla blanca, picada

¼ taza de Real California Crema Con Sal + ¼ taza para decorar

Sal y pimienta para probar

½ cucharadita de ajo en polvo

1 taza de aceite vegetal

8 tortillas de maíz tamaño king

2 cucharadas de Salsa Roja o salsa picante

1 taza de lechuga

½ taza pico de gallo

1/2 taza de Cotija Real California, desmoronada

DIRECCIONES:

Pele las papas y córtelas en trozos de 1 pulgada.

Coloque en una olla mediana a fuego medio alto y cubra con agua caliente. Hierva el agua y cocine por 15 minutos o hasta que las papas estén tiernas.

Deseche el agua de la olla. Establecer a un lado.

Derrita la mantequilla en una sartén/olla grande a fuego medio alto. Agregue el tomate y la cebolla para saltear durante 5 minutos o hasta que la cebolla se ablande. Apague la llama.

Agregue las papas hervidas, luego triture con un machacador de papas hasta que se desmorone. Vierta ¼ de taza de Real California Crema Con Sal y continúe machacando hasta obtener una pasta suave. Sazone las papas con sal, pimienta y ajo en polvo. Establecer a un lado.

Caliente las tortillas de maíz a fuego abierto por ambos lados durante 30 segundos.

       Freímos las conchas: Vierta 1 taza de aceite vegetal en una sartén pequeña y deje que se caliente.

       Coloque una tortilla en el aceite caliente y luego dóblela por la mitad con unas pinzas.

      Una vez que el primer lado esté frito/duro, dale la vuelta al otro lado y haz un espacio entre los lados usando las pinzas para separar la tortilla.

       Coloque las conchas en un plato forrado con toallas de papel para que se escurran.

Rellene cada centro de la concha con puré de patata.

Rocíe la parte superior de los tacos con crema Real California, salsa roja, lechuga, pico de gallo y Cotija Real California.

• 

• 

We can seriously talk tacos all day long, but is the conversation even valid if we are not talking Vampiro Tacos? Yeah, let’s dive into that dialogue about the cheesy goodness known as Vampiros! If you’ve never had one they are a cross between a quesadilla, taco, tostada, and it’s been on heavy rotation for lent. It starts with the cheese being grilled to a crisp, then a tortilla makes it’s way on top of the cheese…. It’s scraped off the griddle and the melty cheese side sits in the tortilla and the grilled cheese side is used as the base of your taco.

People make all types of toppings to compliment the charred cheese taco from carne asada, al pastor, nopales, and chile mushrooms. You can choose any topping you want, as long as you’re using quality Real California Milk Hispanic- style Cheese in your Vampiro you’ve got the real deal in your hands. Plus I love the fact that when I buy cheese with the Real California Milk seal, I’m buying authentic quality ingredients sustainably sourced from dairy families.

• 

Today I’m making Calabacita Vampiro Tacos, because you can’t go wrong with zucchini, onion, tomato and cheese! Make sure you let the tortilla harden a little bit from the cheese grease for a delicious bite. I guarantee you will be making vampiros till the tortillas run out and way beyond lent. Enjoy!

Calabacita Vampiro Tacos Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large zucchini, diced

½ large onion, sliced

1 large tomato, diced

1 corn on the cob, shaved kernels

A pinch of oregano

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 cups Real California Oaxaca cheese, grated

8 small corn tortillas

Guacamole

Salsa

Real California Queso fresco

• 

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium high flame.

Add in zucchini and onion. Mix to coat in olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add in tomato, corn, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from flame and set to the side.

Heat a comal or griddle over a medium high flame.

Add 1/4 cup of Real California Queso Oaxaca to the griddle and allow it to melt.

Heat a tortilla on the side of the griddle that is not occupied with cheese. Once the cheese is melted place the heated tortilla on top.

Let the cheese continue to cook for a few minutes or until crisp, then flip the tortilla cheese side up.

Allow the tortilla to fry slightly in the grease the cheese leaves behind on the griddle.

Remove the tortilla from the griddle and fill with a few heaping tablespoons of the calabacita mixture.

Top with salsa, guacamole and crumbled Real California queso fresco.

Take a bite out of it like a REAL VAMPIRO!

For more delicious recipe inspiration hop on over to the Real California Milk website. They have an entire section dedicated to the lent season. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Real California Milk. The recipe and thoughts are 100% my own.

Español:

Podemos hablar seriamente de tacos todo el día, pero ¿es válida la conversación si no estamos hablando de Vampiro Tacos? Sí, ¡vamos a sumergirnos en ese diálogo sobre la bondad cursi conocida como Vampiros! Si nunca has tenido uno, son un cruce entre una quesadilla, taco, tostada, y ha estado en rotación pesada para la cuaresma. Comienza con el queso a la parrilla hasta obtener un crujiente, luego una tortilla lo hace sobre el queso…. Se raspa de la plancha y el lado del queso derretido se encuentra en la tortilla y el lado del queso a la parrilla se usa como base de su taco.

La gente hace todo tipo de coberturas para complementar el taco de queso carbonizado de carne asada, al pastor, nopales y hongos de chile. Puede elegir cualquier aderezo que desee, siempre y cuando esté utilizando queso de calidad al estilo hispano Real California Milk en su Vampiro, tiene el verdadero negocio en sus manos. Además, me encanta el hecho de que cuando compro queso con el sello Real California Milk, estoy comprando ingredientes auténticos de calidad que provienen de manera sostenible de familias lecheras.

Hoy estoy haciendo Tacos De Calabacita Vampiro, ¡porque no te puedes equivocar con calabacín, cebolla, tomate y queso! Asegúrese de dejar que la tortilla se endurezca un poco de la grasa del queso para un delicioso bocado. Te garantizo que estarás haciendo vampiros hasta que las tortillas se agoten y mucho más allá de la cuaresma. ¡Disfrutar!

Calabacita Vampiro Tacos Ingredientes:

2 cucharadas de aceite de oliva
2 calabacines grandes, cortados en cubitos
1/2 cebolla grande, en rodajas
1 tomate grande, cortado en cubitos
1 maíz en la mazorca, granos afeitados
Una pizca de orégano
1/2 cucharadita de ajo en polvo
1 cucharadita de sal
1/2 cucharadita de pimienta negra
2 tazas de queso Real California Oaxaca, rallado
8 tortillas pequeñas de maíz
Guacamole
Salsa
Real California Queso fresco

Indicaciones:

Calentar el aceite de oliva en una sartén grande a fuego medio alto.

Agregue el calabacín y la cebolla. Mezclar para cubrir en aceite de oliva. Cocine durante 5 minutos.

Agregue tomate, maíz, orégano, ajo en polvo, sal y pimienta negra. Saltea durante 5 minutos adicionales. Luego retire de la llama y coloque a un lado.

Calentar un comal o plancha sobre una llama media alta.

Agregue 1/4 de taza de Real California Queso Oaxaca a la plancha y deje que se derrita.

Calentar una tortilla en el lado de la plancha que no esté ocupada con queso. Una vez derretido el queso coloca la tortilla caliente encima.

Deje que el queso continúe cocinándose durante unos minutos o hasta que esté crujiente, luego voltee el queso de tortilla hacia arriba.

Deje que la tortilla se fríe ligeramente en la grasa que el queso deja en la plancha.

Retire la tortilla de la plancha y llénela con unas cucharadas colmadas de la mezcla de calabacita.

Cubra con salsa, guacamole y queso fresco Real California desmenuzado.

¡Dale un mordisco como un VAMPIRO REAL!

I’ve been making Fried Bean And Cheese Empanadas for a while now. When I first started sharing my food creations back in 2011 I made a potato corn and cheese version of these empanadas… at the time I was calling them ‘Presley’s Pantry Veggie Gourmet Empanada/Pockets!’ – I know that’s a mouth full. I had decided to share them back then after hosting my extended family over for dinner one night. It was something to document since they had been a huge hit.

(more…)

I remember it like it was yesterday.  I had just crossed the border into Tijuana, Mexico with my Dad (which was a rare occasion, since I hardly ever spent time with him).  He was determined to take me on an adventure and show me all the customs of TJ. From the stories that my Dad shared, TJ was a place with no rules, a grown-up fun house where you could take your shoes off and run through the streets and no one would say anything or look twice.  He also had a big love for the food and was hard set on taking me to his favorite torta shop.  My Dad has always loved a good torta de milanesa and this is one thing I know for sure about him, so I wasn’t surprised when this was the first thing he had on our agenda.

(more…)

Enchiladas Rojas de Queso make me really happy because I know I’m about to bite into the most heavenly dish. I think it’s fair to say enchiladas are my most favorite thing to eat of all time. They hold such a heavy anchor to my childhood, and my grandfather making them for our family. He would make his own enchilada sauce, and my little eyes would watch worried they might be too hot. They never were…. they were perfect.

As I got older I realized enchiladas were a source of comfort for me, wanting them for birthdays or anytime I needed a little extra pop of pizazz in my life. I learned many ways of making them over the years from canned enchilada sauce to various types of fillings and cheeses. Gotta be honest, it’s only been on a very rare occasion I’ve met one I didn’t like, but nothing quite hits like the ones my grandfather used to make.

I have taken his enchiladas rojas de queso recipe and made it more times than I can count, and have the homemade enchilada sauce down. At this point I believe mine taste just like his and am grateful that I still have that little piece of him here on earth… even if only through an enchilada.

Ingredients for Enchiladas Rojas de Queso:

• 1 white onion
• 2.5 oz New Mexico Chile
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2.5 oz California Chile
• 2 Pasilla-Ancho Chiles
• Salt (to taste)
• corn tortilla 
• vegetable oil
• queso fresco 
• 1/4 of red onion, sliced in rings
• cilantro
• crema

Directions:

Enchilada sauce:

1. Let’s make enchilada sauce! Boil onion, New Mexico chile, garlic, California chile, pasilla-ancho chiles, and salt until chiles soften about 35 minutes. 
2. Remove chiles from water and discard stem and (optional seeds). 
3. Place all chile skins, onion, garlic, and 3 cups of boiled chile water to blender. Blend until smooth. 
4. Pour chile sauce mixture through a sieve and into a bowl. Press chile flesh against sieve to squeeze out all the liquid. Discard any seeds and skin collected in sieve. Place to the side until ready to use. 

Enchilada time:

1. Fill a frying pans with 1 cup vegetable oil over a med-high flame.  Allow to get hot.
2. In a seperate frying pan, fill with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over a medium flame and allow it to heat. Pour in 3 to 4 cups of your enchilada sauce. Let the oil and chile combine then lower your flame very low to simmer the chile.
3. Dip your corn tortilla into the frying pan filled with oil, and let it fry on each side for 30 seconds. What you’re looking for is a tortilla that is slightly hard but still bends.
4. Dip the fried tortilla into the enchilada sauce with tongs.
5. Remove the dipped tortilla from pan and place on a clean surface.
6. Fill the center of the tortilla with 2 tablespoons of cheese.
7. Gently roll into a tube shape.
8. Place in a 9×13 baking dish. Then start the frying process all over again until you fill your baking dish with as many enchiladas as you can.
9. Once the baking dish is filled take remaining enchilada sauce from hot pan and spoon over top. 
10. Drizzle crema over the enchiladas, then sprinkle a couple tablespoons of queso fresco and chopped cilantro over the top. Lastly adorn with red onion slices.
11. Enjoy!

Looking for a delicious bowl of lentils? Click here.

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Inmar Intelligence and it’s advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MyMazolaMoment

February is Heart Health Month! Hello February…it’s time to think about our tickers and make some good for the heart adjustments. I’ll kick it off by sharing my Vegan Frijoles De Olla recipe. I use Mazola® Corn Oil in my better for you bean recipe to add a fuller taste to my beans. A clinical study showed Mazola® Corn Oil reduces cholesterol 2x more than extra virgin olive oil. To learn more about this claim, visit MAZOLA.com.

---

A challenge many face when trying to diversify the types of cuisine they cook is finding varied ingredients needed for new types of cuisines, or better-for-you ingredients. Another common barrier that keeps people from healthier cooking is a lack of knowledge. Numerous people, including family members have asked me what they could eat that is lighter option. One of the first tips I give, is letting them know having an all-purpose cooking oil on hand like cholesterol free, Heart Healthy* Mazola® Corn Oil​ makes it simple and easy to prepare lighter meals.

Before becoming a vegetarian, I used to use lard in my beans by adding a few slices of bacon to the frijoles while they boiled. Once I decided to go meatless I found I didn’t have to sacrifice flavor. Simply replacing lard/bacon with Mazola® Corn Oil​ in my Vegan Frijoles De La Olla not only made for a lighter recipe, due to the saturated fat content, it still made a full flavor pot of beans that in my opinion taste even better. The chile de arbol, onion, garlic, and bay leaf work together with the Mazola® Corn Oil​ creating a tasty bean broth that will have you sipping till the last drop.

Ingredients for Vegan Frijoles De La Olla:

• 1 pound dried pinto beans
• 11 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 white onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 chiles de arbol
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 tablespoons Mazola® Corn Oil
• 2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

1. Clean dried beans, by removing any little rocks or cracked beans. Then rinse beans under water rubbing them with your hands to remove any unwanted particles.
2. Place beans in a large pot with 8 cups of water, onion, garlic, chile de arbol, bay leaves, and Mazola® Corn Oil​ over a medium high flame.
3. Once water is boiling, cover pot with lid and lower flame to a simmer. At the two hour mark add in 3 1/2 more cups of water and continue cooking for an hour.
4. Add in salt. Mix to combine.
5. Serve with corn tortillas, cilantro, and (optional) queso fresco.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Very limited and preliminary scientific evidence suggests that eating about 1 tablespoon (16 grams) of Mazola® Corn Oil daily may reduce the risk of heart disease due to the unsaturated fat content in Mazola® Corn Oil. FDA concludes that there is little scientific evidence supporting this claim. To achieve this possible benefit, Mazola® Corn Oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day. One serving of this product contains 14 grams of Mazola® Corn Oil. 

Mazola® Corn Oil​ is cholesterol-free food that contain 14g of total fat per serving. See nutrition information on product label or at Mazola.com for fat and saturated fat content.

Once upon a time when I used to eat meat… I loved picadillo. So much so I made a video singing about it (I recorded this in my bathroom). It was one of the things I missed when I decided to go meatless (never a second of regret). With the evolution of plant based ground meats I am now able to enjoy a hearty bowl of vegan picadillo with all the traditional flavors in tact. I hope you’ll try my recipe… it’s song worthy and ready to be your next meal!

(more…)