Beef Empanadas... When I entertain I like to have a wide variety of foods available to snack on.  It keeps things from getting boring and it keeps the palate active.   So, when I plan a party of a gathering where little bites will be served I always make something with a Tex-Mex flair.  These empanadas are the perfect party food because they are easy to eat, they are filling, they look pretty on a platter, and they taste fantastic!      The...

Cranberry Chipotle Glazed Ham... **UPDATE**  The winner of the Microplane was #43 (as chosen by Random.org).  Congratulations to Amanda from The Two Boos Who Eat! We have ham today, but first … how about a giveaway? Because it is the Holidays, and because I appreciate all my readers more than I can express, I am giving away one of my FAVORITE kitchen tools! A Classic Series Microplane!  This handy tool is great for zesting, grating, and finely...

Tex-Mex Macaroni and Cheese... Make no mistake, I adore macaroni and cheese. I have posted a recipe here before and it is sublime. It is one of my favorite things to eat, and I love to tinker with my original recipe and see what new variations I can come up with.   This new recipe combines macaroni and cheese with another of my culinary loves,  Tex-Mex food.  Trust me, this recipe really, really works!  How do I know this?  Well, aside from my...

Tex-Mex Potato Cheese Soup... I’ve established that I used to be in a potato rut.  No longer, I am happy to report, and this recipe proves it. Potato soup is something I love to eat but never really make.   The last recipe I tried made a large pot of what can best be described as wall paper paste.  So, when I was looking at some extra potatoes that I needed to use, I decided to make some potato soup that would actually be creamy, velvety,...

Baked Sopes with Skirt Steak and Black Beans... Living so close to the Mexican border you would think you would get more authentic Mexican food, but we really don’t.  We get a lot of really yummy Tex-Mex, the fusion of Mexican flavors with Southwestern ingredients and traditional cowboy cooking methods.    There are times, however, when I crave the food of Mexico.  In particular the fried corn cakes called sopes.  The traditional method for making these...

Spicy Red Bean Soup...  Sometimes you just need a good bowl of soup.  The funny thing about soup is that despite how easy most soups are to make at home we, as a society, so often turn to the cans of soup that line grocery store shelves.  Yes, they are easy to prepare, but for all their ease of use they lack any real flavor.     So, a few weeks ago, I found myself contemplating easy, filling soups that would put some roses back in...

Queso Blanco... There are certain foods that I crave and am completely unable to resist.    One of those foods is queso blanco.  This creamy cheese dip is finding its way on to the menus of  Tex-Mex restaurants next to the traditional orange chili con queso.  It is made with a variety of white cheeses and spices depending on where you buy it.      Of course, I decided to try making my own queso blanco, but most of the recipes...

Baked Fish Tacos with Chipotle Dressing... I love warm weather food!  There is nothing like it, and when the temperature breaks the 95F mark I pull out my favorite Summer recipes. One such recipe is fish tacos.   Cool and crisp lettuce, creamy avocado, and crunchy fish wrapped in a corn tortilla is perfect for a light afternoon lunch, or a dinner on the patio with a cold beer.   There is just one problem with this dish, and that is deep frying the fish.   Of...

Soft Taco Stack... I’ll admit it.  I do not use my new slow-cooker enough.  I really don’t.   That is why I am going to try and make a habit of participating in Thoughtless Thursdays over at Pots and Plots.   For this edition of Thoughtless Thursday I made a Soft Taco Stack.  It is all the components of tacos, just arranged differently and cooked more slowly.  What you end up with is something like a Tex-Mex lasagna. ...

FoodBuzz: 24, 24, 24 – Eating Local – ... Howdy y’all!  Welcome to Texas! One evening, while feeling particularly full of myself, I submitted a proposal for Foodbuzz’s montlhy 24, 24, 24 event.  For those of you reading who do not know what 24, 24, 24 is I’ll give you the short version.  24 bloggers have 24 food events over 24 hours.  Fun, right? I decided on the following menu: Fried Gulf Coast Shrimp Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Jalapenos Smoked...

Chipotle Gouda Cornbread... Do you impulse buy?   I do.   My impulse buys are most often food related.  Last week I discovered a really great local cheese shop, Scardello Artisan Cheese, in Dallas and I could not help but go in and shop.  I got some terribly expensive, and very tasty, sea salt caramels, some disappointing dark chocolate, and two superb cheeses.  One was a sharp cheddar made in Texas, and the other was a raw milk Gouda, also...

Beef Enchiladas... My husband, despite coming from Chicago originally, likes Tex-Mex food a lot.  He does not, however, like cheese and onion enchiladas.   It is the cheese that he objects to, not the enchiladas themselves, so because I love him I make him beef enchiladas when I make cheese and onion  for myself.    Beef enchiladas are simple, but I wondered what the internet would have to say about it.  When I did some research I...

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup... If you follow me on Twitter (twitter.com/bakingblog) then you know that I have been under the weather lately.  When I am sick I turn to soup for comfort.  There is nothing like a bowl of hot soup to put the roses back in your cheeks.    Of course, when you are sick you do not really feel like spending time stirring, mixing, or watching a pot of veggies get soft.  Enter my slow cooker.  It was a gift at Christmas,...

Pomegranate Glazed Skirt Steak... First, I want to announce the winner of the stackable cooling racks from Friday.  It was Jenn from breadplusbutter.blogspot.com - comment #16 as selected from Random.org!  Yay!!  Thank you all for entering, and I am planning more giveaways in the future, so stay tuned! Pomegranate juice is the big thing right now.  From cupcakes and frosting to salad dressing, pomegranate juice is everywhere.  I am a fan of the...

Jalapeno Popper Dip...   I was reading Closet Cooking today, a wonderful blog by the way and a must read, and he had a recipe for Jalapeno Popper Dip posted which set my mouth to full water.  It is at this point where I must tell you that I love dips, warm dips especially, and I knew that I would be making that dip to go with dinner.   I did make some changes to the dip, not that it really needed them, because we do our jalapeno poppers...

Mango Avocado Salsa... Something fun to start today … Dan Lepard at The Guardian listed my White Chocolate Lime Cookies as one of the Highlights from the Blogs This Week!!  See the mention here, and thank you to Dan Lepard!! When I have steak tacos, and I am feeling summery, I make mango avocado salsa to go on top.  I love the cool greens and bright yellow of this salsa.  It puts me in the mood to relax, and the refreshing taste keeps...