Cheesy scalloped potatoes.

My dad used to cook a  lot when I was growing up, if he didn't know how to make something he would make up the recipe in his head with his own ingredients and make it his own, this is his version of scalloped potatoes.

I once took it to a family Easter dinner last year it was such a hit that they beg me to bring it every single time, Christmas, thanksgiving, birthdays etc.. it's my signature side. The Secret? Cotija cheese!  now this is not the time to get picky or scared about trying new things, cotija is delicious. When you open it it's kinda stinky not a lot though and not gross stinky just different, however don't judge it just yet.. the flavor is actually that of a salty Parmesan or a feta, you could replace with either of those if your store does not carry cotija but trust me, you will miss out.

Ingredients

10 potatoes
sour cream
1/2 cotija cheese (you can use the other half for my upcoming lasagna post)
shredded jack cheese
salt
pepper


Boil about 10 medium potatoes, you want to boil the potatoes with skin and everything, if you don't it'll be very difficult to slice them, also you want to poke them ever so often with a fork  to make sure they are soft enough to poke yet still a bit hard.

slice them into circles once they cool. The skin will come off and if it doesn't completely then leave it in! the skin actually works with the dish.

butter a pan, it could be a glass pan, a loaf pan, my favorite to use is a cake pan, especially a spring form cake pan because you can take the sides off and it looks like a beautiful potato pie, commence your assembly, do one layer of potatoes...

add sour cream, salt and pepper to taste, the shredded jack cheese as well as shredded cotija cheese.

keep layering, potato slices, sour cream, salt and pepper, jack cheese and cotija cheese, and again.. I did 3 layers I could have fit another layer but I ran out of potatoes. :)
bake in oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes then move to broiler for 2-3 minutes (watch your broiler so it wont burn) you just want the top cheese to brown a bit creating a bit of a crunchy top layer.

 you can make this ahead before you warm rolls in the oven etc.. it needs to cool a bit so the slices wont fall apart.

enjoy! <3
post by Tanya E.

Mashed Potato Tacos.

Looking for something to do with the leftover mashed potatoes from thanksgiving? Want easy, budget friendly food you can whip up for family and friends without slaving over the kitchen? then this is for you!

Every time I have friends or family over I make this dish, it's simple (I am the queen of simplicity when it comes to the kitchen) it's a definite crowd pleaser, and you can make it ahead and not slave over the kitchen which means more time to enjoy with your guests. I dare you to try these! ;)

all you need are mashed potatoes (any way you make them) if you are using leftover mashed potatoes and don't have enough double the size of the batch by incorporating steamed cauliflower, I do it anyway as it is a waist friendly and easy way to hide veggies in this meal :)

You need tortillas, oil, and toppings such as chopped lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese, salsa.. whatever you would add to a regular beef taco.

get your mashed potatoes (these look a different color because I add seasoned salt to them but you can do whatever you want, that easy!)

heat some tortillas (microwave, griddle etc however you like just to make them pliable) and add a spoonful to them fold them and set aside.

make a stack of them as many as you need, or don't need ..the beauty of this is you can refrigerate and make the next day, you can set aside until your guests arrive , you can even freeze them!

As you chop your toppings you can start frying!  love using my cast Iron skillet for this...

As your guests  or dinner time arrives you can lay all the toppings on the table and bring these babies out! your job is done! everyone can build their own tacos!  fun fun fun!!

How easy was that??
Enjoy with some Mexican salsa

post by Tanya E.

Easy Mexican Salsa

There are a lot of options when it comes to salsa there is "pico de gallo" (the salsa most of the U.S considers salsa) which is chopped tomato, cilantro, onion, pepper etc.. there is  jarred or canned and there is authentic Mexican salsa...  Pico de gallo is the chopped stuff  it is not traditionally called salsa.. salsa is something more of a consistency of bbq sauce or sriracha. It is usually tomato based but can be either red tomato or tomatillo (green tomato) based.  I usually make a chile de arbol tomato sauce concoction I will address later but for now I will show you how to make a pico de gallo/salsa hybrid, the one I know how to make like this involves a molcajete (mole-cah-hay-teh)  a sort of a mortar made out of stone where you can ground spices, peppers, grains etc... But for now I will post this easier  version...

I learned how to make this from one of my best friends.. It's always been a hit on parties she brings chips and her salsa.. everyone always asks "what is the secret?" and I finally got her to tell me.. though it's not  a big deal.. what it is ..is that everyone that makes it adds a different flavor to it.. everyone makes it their own.. even if it's the same ingredients and measurements...

anyway  here it is...

4 fresh jalapeno peppers more or less depending on your  tolerance (or serrano peppers)
2 cloves of garlic
half a fresh cilantro (coriander) bunch
1 can of whole tomatoes
salt to taste

in a skillet or pan toast the jalapenos and the garlic until blackened  a bit.

In your blender's "chop" option, chop the jalapeno, garlic cloves and cilantro, chop half a second, chop again, chop half a second..chop again.  (excuse the side way images I have been trying to figure out why it's doing that , the original images are not sideways)

add the can of tomatoes

chop for a couple seconds and stop, chop for another couple seconds and stop again, you want the salsa to be chunky and not too blended.

and here is the final product enjoy with any Mexican dish or simply with chips! the easiest thing to bring to a party! ... also I like adding chopped scallions to mine as well if you like onions you can certainly add them! :)

enjoy!

post by Tanya E.