• ch…cha…charro at home

    Are you a refried bean or charro bean person?  Me, I am a charro bean person.  I just love the hint of heat in each bite…and now I can make them at home! It all starts with bacon Yep…you read that right.  These Charro Beans start with bacon.  You can use your favorite bacon but I highly recommend either bacon ends or thick cut bacon.  These beans are going to be cooking for a while and the chunks of bacon will cook down better and in the end add in some great flavor.   I mean just look at that big hunk of bacon in the middle of the beans…

  • restaurant style at home

    Do you have a favorite bean? Are you a big fan of pinto beans?  Navy beans?  Lima beans? Green beans?  Me, I am a HUGE fan of black beans.  Honestly I would eat black beans everyday if given the opportunity, and now I can fix them at home just like my favorite Mexican food place. Wait…Maybe I will eat them everyday now. as good as I have had Being from Texas I have had my fair share of really great Mexican food and especially some great black beans.  Every chance I get I oder them with my enchiladas, tacos or burritos.  I judge a restaurant by how good (or not) their…

  • Sweet, Sticky & Grilled

    The Super Bowl is just a week away, and that means it is time to start thinking about the food.  In our house we will have a dip of some sort, like this Party Dip or this Dill Pickle Dip.  We will also be grilling. Since we do live in Texas, grilling is almost a requirement and these sausages are definitely on the menu. A little sweet & a little heat The Hubby loves a little sweet with his heat and these grilled sausages offer a bit of sweet for sure.  To bring a little sweet with a little heat I start with my Homemade BBQ Sauce.  This sauce is my…

  • No taco packets needed for this!!

    OK so I am the first to admit that I am a fan of the packaged spice mixes.  I mean lets be honest they are so easy and can make an ordinary dish a super star in no time.  Well as much as I am a fan I decided to break out on my own and make my own taco seasoning. Why, you ask? So I was in a hurry one time and grabbed the super spicy taco mix at the store.  Unfortunately I didn’t look at the package when I got home and added it to my ground beef. Well as you can imagine when The Hubby took his first bite…

  • Homemade is so much better

    I could eat some type of Mexican food EVERY meal.   Given how much I love Mexican food I have been working on a staple in my kitchen…enchilada sauce.  Finally I have created one that I LOVE and that is perfect for all my casseroles, soups and of course, enchiladas. Homemade is worth it First off…look at the color.  Isn’t it beautiful?  I love the deep reddish, orange color with the bits of spices and herbs running through it.  It adds a beautiful color to your dishes for sure. Secondly the taste.  This sauce has a little heat from the chili powder, but not too much.  It also has a…

  • it’s a nacho weekend

    I LOVE NACHOS!  There you go, I admit it.  They are one of my favorite items to order and make when I am craving tex-mex. Now a nacho is not just a nacho, there are tons of varieties of nachos you can have but this one is a favorite for sure. meat or NO meat? Now if you were to ask The Hubby he would say meat, and his choice would be seasoned ground beef.  Honey (my mom) would say meat, and her choice would be beef fajita meat.  My nephew is a no meat kinda toddler, and me…well I am up for any of the above. One of my…

  • loving this thai peanut sauce…

    Not too long ago I was strolling the aisles at my local Trader’s Joe and came across a thai peanut salad dressing.  Now I know this doesn’t sound too special but to The Hubby it is was a HIGE find.  You see The Hubby loves peanut butter, he loves thai flavors and he loves sauces so really this was a perfect find for him. Now the Trader’s Joe version is delicious but it does have some things in it that I can’t pronounce so I decided I need to make my own version that The Hubby would love and with ingredients that I know what they are…and then this thai…

  • sweet & spicy…oh so good pineapple!

    It is no secret that we love to grill here in Texas.  I mean c’mon we kinda live on grilled everything in the spring & summer.  We will grill anything that will sit still on the grill (or not fall through the grates)….fruits such as pineapple. The obvious favorites are of course, steak (like this steakhouse steak), chicken, pork anything, veggies…but another big favorite is fruit!  Yes, I said fruit.  There is just something so yummy about fruits that have been charred a little…it really brings out the sweetness of the fruit while intensifying the flavor immensely.   I love grilled peaches for sure but my favorite grilled fruit is pineapple.  It’s so funny, I…

  • all day beans…pinto beans

    I don’t know about you but this weekend is going to be all about finishing up some around the house projects and enjoying the nice weather we are going to be having…nice like in weather in the low 80’s with a nice breeze.  This is one of the many reason I love living in SE Texas in February…now of course ask me how I feel about it in the summer and I might be singing a different song then…but for now I will take this crazy nice weekend and enjoy a nice pot of beans when all the work is done.   So you might be asking why would would…

  • Turkey Time folks!!!

     *** This is one of my most favorite ways to cook turkey…it comes out super juicy with tons of flavor and the gravy is AMAZING!!  I have made a few slight updates to this tried and true recipe. (updated November 2015) With less than a week until Turkey Day, it is finally time to Talk Turkey.  One of the biggest challenges with big Holiday meals is the fact I only have 1 oven, as do so many people, but as you probably know it can make it hard to manage all the dishes at the same time and have everything ready and hot all at once…that is until now.  Roasted turkey…