The Ranch Kitchen's Sure Champ's Southwestern Taco Bowl

During December my daughter Bethany and I tried a few new recipes and added our own flair to them.  She had recently come across a recipe and it reminded her of her days in Aggieland when she loved these from their favorite taco restaurant.  

We recreated this recipe giving it our own additions dubbing it Sure Champ's Southwestern Taco Bowl for my Sure champ post for January of 2016.  We added our own special changes on two separate evenings to this fun dish. 

This rice, bean, corn with onion all in one pot meal was made in large batches so that we wouldn't have to cook the next night.  Around Christmas with our school and family events, it was nice to have a hearty meal that was easy to make and quick to reheat in the microwave.  

The second time we made this recipe we substituted the black beans for pinto beans and exchanged the whole kernel corn for creamed corn since that is all our pantry had.  It was just as good, but Bethany preferred the pop of the whole kernel corn and the black beans.  

We added sliced black olives the second time and really loved that addition. My husband and I love extra spicy dishes, so we even added Tabasco Sauce to the top of our taco bowls. We also added sour cream and fresh cut cilantro to Sure Champ's Southwestern Taco Bowl for extra flavor as a garnish or topping.

 

I told Bethany that this would be a fun dish to serve with a variety of toppings for a party or feeding a large crowd.  Condiments like your fresh shredded cheese, sour cream, cilantro, diced black olives, and even jalapenos would be great additions to the top of this delicious dish.  

This dish would be an excellent recipe to make for my friends on the show road this winter and especially for those of you who will be in Denver or Fort Worth in January.  I am even imaginging it for tailgating at Texas A&M next fall.  I can just see it all now in my large roaster hauling it in to the barns instead of my tradition Chicken Spaghetti for a Crowd.  All my toppings would be set off to the side with southwestern decorative dishes, a big basket of my favorite Pappacita's chips from home and some of my Nolana's Family Hot Sauce. 

Click here for the recipe for Sure Champ's Southwestern Taco Bowl

We hope you'll give this recipe a try and let us know how you made your own additions to it as well.  Remember you can share your own recipes on my site under the Share a Recipe tab. The Ranch Kitchen is also on Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram, so follow us there as well! 

It was fun cooking and planning out meals with my daughter this past holiday while she was in from college.  She has a good eye for recipes and is creatively detailed when this momma sometimes needs an extra push to get dinner on the table.  

She starts a new internship this week.  We pray and wish the very best for her as she completes her masters this spring.  I'm one proud momma in more ways than one.  I have three good reasons and sweet husband that helps makes life a good one. I hope each of my daughters find their way in this big old world in a profession they love and a man like mine who loves both me and most of the time my cooking adventures!

Alise  and Bethany - The Ranch Kitchen  

Black Bean Salsa Two Ways



One of my new favorite ways to eat black beans are in a homemade salsa.  They are light, healthy, and full of flavor.  Usually, I have most everything that's needed in my pantry and throwing a salsa like this together is no big deal. 

For camping a few weeks back, I wanted recipes that could be easily packed and brought out with sandwiches and meals at night that didn't keep me in the kitchen.  When we camp it's all about being out on the lake helping my husband run his trot lines for catfish or enjoying water sports with our girls.  I've found that recipes like these last a few days and are good with tortilla chips or as an easy side vegetable dish along fried catfish.

They say that great minds think alike, and when we invited our dear friends the Parker's over for Saturday night's fish fry, she in turn as any good southern gal does, brought a side dish to help out.  Funny thing is that she brought her own black bean salsa.  So, we left mine in the refrigerator for a later meal and devoured hers!  It was delicious as anything is that Cindy makes. 

For our Sure Champ 'Recipes from the Ranch' post this month, I chose to share both our recipes for readers.  Cindy's is more traditional with the possible addition of avocado, while mine adds black olives.  I've also added fresh bell pepppers, chili's and even fresh tomatoes to difference variations on this easy recipe.  An additional squeeze or two of lime juice takes this salsa over the top and cilantro gives it the freshest of taste. 

The Ranch Kitchen's Black Bean Salsa

You'll notice in this recipe the different colors of  the black beans.  This was from the two different brands of black beans I bought.  Both tasted good, but the blackest beans were the best tasting I thought.  Make sure you rinse and drain the beans well, as they have a thick black liquid that come with them in the can.  You'll want you black beans only (not the residue) in this dip so that the flavor shines through and doesn't discolor your salsa. 

Cindy's Black Bean and Roasted Corn Salsa 

We hope you'll try these black bean salsa recipes soon.  They will keep for up to four days refrigerated and are great to take to share.

Remember, no one said cooking had to be hard!

Alise  - The Ranch Kitchen





Tomatillo Salsa

The Ranch Kitchen's Tomatillo Salsa

Our garden is exploding....well not literally...but the good rains we have received and Scott accidentally leaving the sprinkler on all night have resulted in a bumper crop.  Our neighbors and friends are reaping the benefits of our generosity! 

Each year Scott and I garden, however it seems Scott seems to garden more than I do lately.   It seems therapeutic to him after a long day at work.  For myself on the other hand, have gradually become the 'picker', cooker, and put-her-upper wife of all things related to the garden.  If I don't know how to put it up - I google.   Google, as we all know is a wonderful thing....whatever I think or want to ask I google...and wala...it comes up!  Just the other night we had the beginnings of too much cabbage.  Did you know you can freeze cabbage?  Well you can.  You quarter it, blanch it (submerge in a hot water bath) and then allow it to cool.  All the impurities, bugs (ugh- microscopic) and germs are cooked out and you are safe to freeze.  That is my next job....freezing cabbage after my day job is done!

This year we planted tomatillos for the first time.  I was a way impatient for them to produce.  We picked a few well before their time the size of large grapes.  Don't pick them at grape size.  You want them a little larger than a ping pong ball.  The husk makes the tomatillos seem larger than they actually are.  Push the husk in to see how large the tomatillos are.

So finally last night Scott picked some tomatillos.  I googled and devised my own recipe along with things I had in my kitchen.  I hate running to town to the store, even though it is just 6 miles away.  Living in the country means you have a stocked pantry.  My family and friends think I have a problem with the grocery store.  I admit they may be right, but last night I had most items, and what I didn't have my sweet mom picked up on her way in from town...you get resourceful like that.

What resulted from my tomatillos was something I will definitely make for years to come.  It was SOOOOO much better than the bottled variety at our local grocery store.  It was that GOOD!  I know it had to be all the fresh tomatillos and cilantro.  But I think the lime juice threw it over the top.  I can't wait to try my own limes I am growing in containers on my back porch.  I bought Persian Limes in honor of my dad this year, and a few are almost ready to pick. 

For friends who live close by, if you need some tomatillos just 'holler at me' as we say in the south.  I'll get you some!  For those of you further north, you could possibly find them online or in specialty or international food stores.  One of my favorite things to do when we travel to a new city for cow shows or travel is shop in food stores that specialize in hard to find foods and spices.  Next time you find such a store, check it out - you'll be hooked.  Make sure you buy some tomatillos!

So I hope you'll make my rendition of tomatillo salsa.  For those of you that are trying to lose a few pounds, this recipe is definitely in the zero calorie range.  If you are salt conscious, try sea salt of salt substitutes. 

With that said, I'm hitting the refrigerator now to cook up a recipe with what I have left....enjoy! Click here or in the links below for a printable recipe for my Tomatillo Salsa.

Tomatillo Salsa

6 - 8 tomatillos, husk removed and tops core removed
1 or 2 jalapenos, stems and seeds removed, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, quartered
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro - 1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/2 tsp. of sugar
1 lime, juiced
Salt to taste

Core tomatillos and bring to a boil for 4 minutes in a pot of water.   In a food processor or blender place jalapenos, yellow onion quartered, cilantro, sugar, lime juice and a few sprinkles of salt.  Drain tomatillos and allow to cool with cold water.  Drain and add tomatillos to the blender or food processor.  Pulse to the desired consistency you chose.  I like my sauce chopped finely.  Taste the salsa and add salt and adjust the seasonings.  Serve cold. Refrigerate any left overs...if there are any...it's that good. 

I served this with tortilla chips, but think it would be a great addition to the top of chicken enchilada's or with a bit of sour cream added to the mixture. 

Alise @ The Ranch Kitchen

Nolana's Family Hot Sauce

In Texas we LOVE our hot sauce!  My girls ate hot sauce along with their baby food!  Before I felt my oldest daughter could eat the tortilla chips without choking, she would dip a saltine cracker in the hot sauce from our favorite Mexican food restaurants.  

My girls love to eat Mexican food so much, that to tease them when they asked to go out, we'd say, "Yes, we are eating at Nolana's Family Restaurant tonight!"  Of course it took them a while to figure it out....but once they did the name stuck and of course we eat at Nolana's Family restaurant a lot!  Nolana's is of course my family kitchen.  

In an attempt to make my own family recipe that did not have to be cooked, but was fresh, easy, and most importantly tasty, I came up with this simple recipe.  

Here is my attempt at hot sauce or salsa, as some might call it!  My girls love it, as does my husband.  Their friends attack it when they come over!

This hot sauce or salsa keeps well in the refrigerator for up to one week.


Nolana's Family Hot Sauce

2 can's of canned tomatoes with green chili's (not Rotel Tomatoes)
1 small sweet onion, quartered (1015's in Texas)
1 jalapeno, seeded
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cumin (optional)
2 tsp. sugar (optional)
1 bunch cilantro with stems removed\
1 half of a green pepper (optional)
1 half of a sweet banana pepper (optional)
1 lime, juiced (I cut in half and use a fork to get the juices out - works like a charm)

In a medium to large food processor put tomatoes, onions, jalapeno, additional peppers, and spices (garlic salt, pepper, cumin, & sugar.  Pulse for ten second or to desired consistency.  Add to this cilantro mixture and pulse quickly for 2 seconds.  

Cook's Note: This will keep for up to one week in the refrigerator. You can also use other onions like tradtional white and yellow cooking onions, but I think the sweet onions like Texas A&M's 1015's make the hot sauce taste better.

In hopes that your family enjoys it as much as mine does! 

Enjoy along with your favorite tortilla chips, with your Mexican food, on the side of eggs or some fresh cooked peas of any kind! 

Alise Nolan