Tex-Mex Dinner

The following recipes are SO incredibly yummy and they make a lot of food, so plan on having a dinner party. We made this for the Eisenbrandts and still had leftovers the next night. The pineapple salad is best the first night as it gets REALLY spicy the longer it sits in the jalapeno juices. The mexican snowballs were my personal favorite, but I have a HUGE sweet tooth! Enjoy!

Smoky Beef Tacos
2-3 TBS chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo
1/2 c. ketchup
8 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp. oregano
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 boneless beef chuck roast (about 3 lbs) excess fat trimmed
16 or more corn tortillas lightly toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a heavy pot with lid, stir together chiles, ketchup, 1 cup water, garlic, oregano, 2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cut beef into 4 equal pieces. Add to pot, and turn to coat. Cover, and bring to a boil; transfer pot to oven. Bake, covered, until beef is fork-tender, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Transfer beef to a bowl. Skim off fat from cooking liquid. Shred beef with forks; moisten with cooking liquid as needed (I just returned the shredded beef to the pot with the liquid and it was great). Season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve with tortillas and desired toppings.

Cumin Rice and Beans
coarse salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup long grain white rice
1 can (19 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

In medium saucepan with lid, bring 1 1/2 cups salted water and cumin to boil. Add rice; cover and reduce to simmer. Cook 15 minutes; removed from heat and add beans. Cover and let stand a minute. Fluff rice with fork.

Spicy Pineapple Salad
1 TBS vegetable oil
1 pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 jalapeno chiles, ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced crosswise (I only used 1 and it was spicy enough)
1 tsp red wine vinegar
coarse salt and ground pepper

In a large skillet, heat oil over high. Working in 2 batches, cook pineapple and jalapenos on one side until lightly browned, 4-6 minutes; transfer to a bowl. Add vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.

Toppings
1. Avocado-Red Onion Relish: Combine 2 diced avocados and 1 finely chopped medium red onion with 1 TBS fresh lime juice. Season with salt and pepper (makes 3 cups).
2. Corn and Tomato Salsa: Combine 1 ten ounce bag thawed frozen corn, 1 cup quartered grape tomatoes, 2 tsp vegetable oil, and 2 tsp red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper (makes 3 cups).
3. Cilantro-Lime Crema: Stir together 16 oz reduced-fat sour cream, 1/4 cup fresh lime juice and 1/2 cup chopped cilantro. Season with salt and pepper (makes 2 cups).

Mexican Snowballs
2 pints vanilla ice cream
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cover two large baking dishes with plastic wrap, pulling so surface is taut. Drop 16 scoops of ice cream onto prepared dishes, dipping ice-cream scoop in hot water as you work. Freeze balls until firm, at least 1 hour.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss coconut with cinnamon. Toast, tossing occasionally, 6-10 minutes; let cool.
Working with one ice-cream ball at a time, remove from freezer, and roll in coconut mixture; return to dish in freezer. Freeze until set, at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day. Serve 2 balls each.

Easy & Delicious Sugar Cookies

I was on the internet looking for a yummy, soft sugar cookie recipe and this is what I found. They are awesome and the dough is even better!

3 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cream of tartar (I didn't have any and made the cookies without it and they still turned out fine)
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and almond and mix well. Mix dry ingredients together and then add to creamed mixture and stir well with wooden spoon.
Roll onto powdered sugar, not flour, cut and bake at 350 for 5-9 minutes. Cool and frost/decorate as desired.