Thanks

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you faithful bloggers. This blog is great and I promise I will post something soon, happy to be a part of it. Keep the recipes coming... I'm always looking for Vegetarian.

Key Lime Tart

Crust:

Pre-made Graham cracker pie crust or:

9-10 graham crackers

2 Tbsp Sugar

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. 

Grind Graham Crackers and sugar in food processor until fine crumbs form, Add butter and mix in. 

Put mixture in a 9" tart pan and press into bottom and up sides .

Place on baking sheet and bake for about 10 min. 

Filling:

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 5-7 limes); of fresh or bottled key lime juice

4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

Slivered zest for garnish, optional

In medium bowl, combine milk and egg yolks and mix with a wire whisk. 

Add lime juice, sugar and salt. Mix until smooth.

Poor mixture into crust (warm or cool is fine), leaving an 1/8 inch at the top.

Bake until filling is set around the edges but still jiggles in the middle when bumped, about 20-25 min.

Cool completely at room temp. and then place in fridge to set for at least 2 hours

Serve, garnished with zest if desired. 

So yummy! We didn't have enough limes to make 3/4 cup lime juice so we did 1/2 cup lime juice and 1/3 cup sugar and it turned out really good. 

I wondered if you did it in the little individual pie crusts ,but I didn't know of you had to do different baking temp and/or time. Does anyone know?

Bajio's Slow-Cooker Chicken

This recipe isn't an authentic Bajio's recipe, but it tasted exactly like something at that restaurant. It was delicious and super easy, so I thought I'd post it.

Ingredients:
-2 cans black beans
-1 can diced tomatoes (no salt added)
-16 oz. mild or medium* salsa verde (it's green sauce for those of you like me who didn't know what that was. *This is quite spicy, so I'd only go with hot if you really love heat in your food.)
- 1 small can green chili peppers
-4 small frozen chicken breasts (I used two large ones)
-3 oz cream cheese
-tortilla shells (optional)

Throw all of ingredients into a slow cooker except for cream cheese. Cook on high for about 5 hours. Drain half of excess liquid and put in cream cheese a half hour before serving.

The chicken falls apart and is perfect for a stew or for a delicious chicken enchalada. This is how we had it, and it was perfect. With a salad on the side, you'll feel just like you're at Bajio's.

Kahlua Roast Pork

This is a recipe that I was supposed to get to Darla a long time ago, but I am only now getting to. (Sorry about that!) Since I was sharing with her anyway I thought I would put it on here :)

Kahlua Roast Pork
-7 to 8 lb. picnic pork roast (or any pork roast with a bone)
-1 to 2 tsp. plain salt (to taste)
-1 (4 oz.) bottle liquid smoke
-6 to 8 cups water
Place roast in crock pot or roasting pan; add water to surround roast. Pour smoke flavoring over roast. Sprinkle salt over roast. Crock pot: Cook on HIGH for 8 to 10 hours. Oven: Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 hours.]

*I have never followed the directions strictly and its always been great. I just use smaller portions of all of the ingredients (an 8 pound pork roast would last Jer and I WAY too long- I always get the smallest one I can find). Serve it over rice and it is wonderful!

Pound Cake

I'm out of my slump. I've started making things again, so I'll hopefully be posting more :)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar

5 eggs

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp almond flavoring

Preheat oven to 325

Combine ingredients in mixing bowl and mix on medium speed for 10 min. 

Pour into greased and floured bundt pan, (batter will be very thick)

Bake for 1 hour. Test with toothpick

I accidentally forgot to put in the Almond Flavoring and it was still pretty good. 

Snickerdoodles

For the topping:
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
For the cookie dough:
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

To make the cookie dough, stir together the first five ingredients.
In a different bowl with a paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add the sugar and continue to mix, then add the eggs, corn syrup, and vanilla, and mix thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Chill dough 1 hour if it's sticky or difficult to handle.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll balls of dough about the size of a walnut then roll them in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Place on an un-greased sheet pan 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake for no longer than 10 minutes (if you like the soft, chewy ones) until puffed up and the surface is slightly cracked. Let cool on the sheet pan a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.

Note: I thought that I had corn syrup when I started, but I didn't so I used HONEY instead and they turned out phenomenally! (Plus healthier, huh?) Can you substitute corn syrup for honey all the time or was I just really lucky?

Authentic Mexican Tacos and Salsa

Ok so here is one for ideas. One thing that is yummy and not so healthy in some ways is mini potato tacos. This is totally hispanic but it is pretty inexpensive.
For the tacos you need:
Corn tortillas (soft ones)
Mashed potoatos (be it instant or real)
Cheese (your prefered kind)
Oil

For the Salsa:
3-4 roma tomatos
2-3 tomatillosFresh Garlic
Japanese Chilies (They come in little dried packets in the hispanic section and they are small and red)
Salt

First take your ingredients for the salsa except for the chilies and the salt and put them in a pot with a little water, cover and simmer on low.

While that is simmering heat up your tacos in a pan. (warm up the pan and cook both sides of the taco so they are soft and warm or hot) You want to heat them up so that they are soft enough to fold into tacos. Put the heated tacos inside a towel to keep them warm. At the same time heat up a pan with oil in it to fry the tacos. When the oil it ready take your tacos and fill them with cheese and potoatos. I know this sounds like a wheird combination but it is really yummy. Fry the tacos and pull out and set them on a paper towel.

For the salsa once the salsa seems pretty cooked and soft put all of the ingreidents into the blender. If you want not very spicy salsa only use one chilie. If you would like a little more spice in your life use a little more but beware they are pretty hot if you get just the right one. Salt to prefered taste and blend in blender. (If you have a plastic top for your blender it would be better to use a plate as the lid so some of the steem can get out....learning from experience if you don't you could have one great explosion:)Note: if you want tomatillo salsa instead use more tomitillos instead of roma tomatos.

Then once finished cooking tacos and Salsa is finished salsa up your tacos and enjoy!!!If you have any questions let me know. I know there are not really exacts on things but this is authentic so you know how those kind of recipies go. I got it from a lady in our branch when I helped her make these and when I asked her for amounts she said whatever I wanted!!! Got to love those kinds of recipies leaves room for the imagination :D I guess!?#@!!