Alambre Chicken Tacos

Mom and I  usually schedule our hair appointments together and go out for a late lunch. A tradition that started when she had foot surgery and needed someone to drive her there. The other day we went to El Mariachi a Mexican restaurant in Bossier City, LA. I have told you about the Mushroom Enchiladas there, but this time I wanted to try something new. They had a plate on the menu called Alambre. It was so good! It was served fajita style with the tortillas on the side. I chose chicken but you can get beef too. I loved how smokey they were. The bacon must be responsible for that. I also loved all the veggies. It was so good I had to try making them at home.

It seems from searching around that Alambre translate to "wire". Many say it refers to shishkabobs. Although they have never been served the dish on a wire or shishkabob. It may or may not be cooked that way but it is usually plated off the skewer. Alambre is almost always composed of meat, onions, peppers, bacon, all grilled, on a tortilla, optionally with hot layer of cheese on top.

I have made my version of these tacos three times now. I have served them to Mom, Dad and dear sister. Everyone said they are really good! Believe it or not they are great as a make ahead meal too. The bacon and grilling add great smoke flavor. My guess that is why they reheat well. They are bulked up with onions, peppers and mushrooms; so it really stretches out the protein. It easily makes eight tacos and serves four. I highly recommend trying this for your Cinco de Mayo celebration. They are easy to make and you will crave more when they are gone.

Alambre Chicken Tacos
Serves 4; Makes 8 tacos

Ingredients

1 large (12 oz.) boneless skinless chicken breast
1 tsp. olive oil
Sazon Seasoning, to taste
4 strips center cut bacon, cut into 1-1/2” pieces
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2” pieces
1/2 yellow onion, cut into 1/2” pieces
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
8 small flour tortillas
3/4 cup Monterrey jack cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat grill on high for ten minutes. Meanwhile drizzle chicken breast with olive oil and season with Sazon. Lower grill to medium high and grill chicken 6 to 7 minutes each side. Remove from grill and cover with foil to rest. Place bacon in a skillet over medium high heat, when bacon begins to brown push to one side and add onions and peppers. Saute until they begin to soften and onion starts to get translucent, add mushrooms. Season with a little sazon, salt and pepper; cook until mushrooms begin to brown. Meanwhile slice or dice chicken, add to the pan and stir in bacon. Top with cheese and cover to melt the cheese. To serve place a spoon of filling on each tortilla.

Or as a make ahead meal leave cheese off. Store chicken filling when ready to eat warm a serving of filling for 30 seconds in the microwave on High. Then place filling on two tortilla, top with cheese and place back into the microwave for 30 seconds.

Nutritional Information per serving*: Calories 366, Total Fat 15 g, Saturated Fat 8 g, Monounsaturated Fat 2 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g, Trans Fat 0 g, Cholesterol 56 mg, Sodium 1300 mg**, Potassium 312 mg, Total Carbohydrate 36 g, Dietary Fiber 1 g, Sugars 2 g, Protein 21 g.

*Information from the My Fitness Pal calculator. NI may vary depending on the brand or size of the ingredients used to prepare it.

**Sodium should be less if you make your own Sazon.

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I used homemade Sazon Seasoning. 
Because I can control the sodium that way.

This is the color you are looking for on the bacon. 

When you see the bacon is not quite brown 

push it aside and add the onion and peppers.

See the bacon continues to brown.

I served a little light sour cream and store bought guacamole 

to garnish the tacos. I also served a side salad with 

Creamy Mexican Dressing. The restaurant serves rice and beans.

Linking to:
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Bacon
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Life Is Fantasmic: Saturday Dishes - Cinco de Mayo
Reasons to Skip The Housework: Skip The Housework Link Party
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday

Huevos Rancheros Tortilla Pizza

Surprise! Here's another Tortilla Pizza. I know, you are not surprised are you? I woke up this morning and wanted something simple for breakfast. My first thought was an "Egg Thingy" with re-fried beans and salsa. Well although tasty it looked like a mess. So while thinking how to improve on the idea it came to me that a tortilla pizza would be nice and neat. And it was; very easy to assemble and serve. I think this could easily become a common breakfast around here. Best part almost nothing to clean up. I love all the flavors mixed together in a perfect bite. The yolk and salsa are delicious with the beans and egg. So happy that there are leftover ingredients just waiting for me in the frig. 

Huevos Rancheros Tortilla Pizza
Serve 1

Ingredients

1 small flour tortilla 
olive oil cooking spray
2 Tbsp. low sodium vegetarian re-fried beans
1 tsp. diced pickled jalapenos
2 Tbsp. 2% sharp cheddar cheese
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. salsa (green or red)

Directions

Place a sheet pan upside down on the middle rack of the oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Spray one side of tortilla with olive oil spray. Place tortilla spray side down on a piece of aluminum foil. Spread tortilla with re-fried beans. Top with diced jalapenos, cheddar cheese and egg. Place your tortilla and foil on the sheet pan in the center of the oven and bake for 9 minutes. Remove from the foil, drizzle with salsa of you choice and enjoy!

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Linking to:
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Life Is Fantasmic: Saturday Dishes - Cinco de Mayo

Home-style Beef Spaghetti Squash

This is another quick weeknight meal. Dear sister and I put this together weeks ago and marveled how similar it taste to the spaghetti sauce we grew up on. It has that same slow simmered flavor but it is fast. It tastes as if it has been cooking all day long. It was so good we made it again tonight. I think it is the mushroom pasta sauce and the olives that makes this sauce so similar to the sauce of our childhood. That flavor combo is definitely what makes this a comforting home-style meal for me. But the best part is, this recipe is healthy and on the table in less than 30 minutes. Serving the sauce over spaghetti squash lowers the carbs, if you are counting them. We felt really good about that. It means we can have it more often. I will be keeping this recipe and the ingredients on hand for a future easy comforting meal. I hope you will too. 

Home-style Beef Spaghetti Squash

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced

1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced

24 oz. jar of mushroom pasta sauce                                                   

2.25 oz. can of sliced black olives, undrained

Black pepper, to taste

Red pepper flakes, to taste

2 small spaghetti squash

Kosher salt, to taste

Parmesan cheese, to garnish

Directions

Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add ground beef, breaking it up with a spoon, stirring until brown. Season with black pepper and red pepper flakes. Add onion and bell pepper, continue to cook until onions are translucent and peppers begin to soften. Add pasta sauce, olives and 1/2 cup water; bring to a simmer. Simmer over low heat while preparing the spaghetti squash.

To prepare spaghetti squash: Cut squash in half. Scoop out seeds and discard. Place cut side down in a microwave safe dish, add 1/4 cup of water and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 7 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes (You may have to cook each squash separately). When squash is cool enough to handle, pull the squash into spaghetti like threads. Season with salt and pepper. To serve spoon sauce over spaghetti squash and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

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Linking to:
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday

Pineapple and Ham Pizza

Confession I have a tortilla pizza problem. It's out in the open now, maybe I can get some help. Yes, I keep tortillas, pizza sauce, cheese and turkey pepperoni around most of the time. I make all kinds of tortilla pizzas when I need a quick meal. Well today as I prepared a list to go to the store; I put this little pizza together. I used leftover ham and pineapple pico. It was so pretty and delicious I had to share right away. In the process I guess I outed myself. Oh well, it was totally worth it to introduce you to the quick and delicious technique of making tortilla pizzas. I hope you enjoy the idea but don't develop a problem of your own.

Pineapple and Ham Pizza

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 - 6" flour tortilla

2 Tbsp. pizza sauce

4 Tbsp. Italian cheese blend

1 mini yellow sweet pepper, sliced 

Leftover Baked Ham, sliced or diced
3 Tbsp. Pineapple Pico de Gallo

Directions

Place a sheet pan upside down on the middle rack of the oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place tortillas on a piece of aluminum foil. Spread a tablespoon of pizza sauce on each. Top with 2 tbsp. or more of Italian cheese blend, pepper slices, ham and pineapple pico. Place your tortilla and foil on the sheet pan in the center of the oven and bake for 9 minutes. Remove from the foil and enjoy!

Cherry Garcia Yogurt Pie

This year in a quest to make Easter dinner a little healthier we opted for a Yogurt Pie for dessert instead of the Coconut Baba I made last year. I still wanted to do something special or different. But I could not get the families' cherry version of the pie out of my head. Of course cherries are not in season, so I could not find them in the produce department. It was Mom that suggested using frozen cherries. Then it occurred to me, what about adding chocolate to the cherry yogurt pie? Do you like Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia Frozen Yogurt? I DO! So I went to search the baking and candy aisles for chocolate covered cherries to add to the mix. I found a bag made by Dove. It turned out really good! Everyone enjoyed it. Dear sister liked it a lot but suggested we try using one cherry and one vanilla yogurt next time. Then she recanted saying she did not want to lose any of the cherry flavor. I think I might add a little pure vanilla next time just to see if it adds anything. I am on the fence about whether or not to chop up the chocolate covered cherries next time. They freeze a little on the hard side, so if you encounter one when you are cutting the pie it is difficult to get through. I think with a few tweaks this pie might just keep me out of the ice cream case in the future.

Cherry Garcia Yogurt Pie
Serves 6

Ingredients

2 cartons of light cherry Greek yogurt
1 cup frozen cherries, thawed
6 oz. bag chocolate covered cherries
8 oz. light whipped topping, thawed
1 prepared Oreo cookie pie crust

Directions

Place yogurt in a mixing bowl, fold cherries and chocolate covered cherries (reserve 7 for garnish) into yogurt. Add an equal amount of whipped topping (about 1-1/2 cups or half of the carton) gently fold whipped topping into yogurt and fruit mixture. Pour into pie crust and spread evenly. Place pie in the freezer and freeze solid. When frozen, spread the top with the remaining whipped topping, and garnish with reserved chocolate covered cherries.

Note: I usually remove the pie from the freezer when we sit down to dinner. That way it is thawed just a bit when it is time to serve dessert.

Want more ice cream inspired treats?

Check out this Banana Split Yogurt Pie

Linking to:

Yesterfood: Treasure Box Tuesday

Kneaded Creations: Tuesdays With a Twist
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Love Bake Good Cakes: The Ultimate List of Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt and Milkshakes

Happy Easter!

The Potato Salad is made already. There is also a new version of Yogurt Pie in the freezer, but I will post that later. I am going over to Mom and Dad's to make the Baked Ham and Green Vegetable Medley. I just want to wish you and yours a very Happy Easter! I hope you enjoy a day of fun, food and family. 

God Bless!