Crunch Wrap Supreme

Happy Valentine's Day! Nothing says I love you like Taco Bell and when I go to Taco Bell, my go-to choice is the crunch wrap supreme....they are just so freakin good. My wife came across a homemade version, so we decided to take a crack at making them and they are awesome! You can also lighten this recipe up a little bit by substituting ground chicken, using light sour cream, and switching to a whole grain wrap. Also in this post I am giving you a recipe for a taco seasoning that works well for a 1 lbs portion of ground meat. I'm not going to lie, I rarely make my own, I find it more convenient buying just a packet at a time and I don't see much of a flavor difference between homemade taco seasoning and store bought ready to go. I would assume that making your a large batch of your own taco season is more cost effective per ounce, but I haven't done the math on this yet....would be interested to see that though if somebody has it! Really simple recipe though that we tend to use as a weeknight Mexican night. Give it a try and let me know what you think in the comments below!

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Taco Seasoning

Prep time: 10m | Total time: 10min | Yield: 1 batch

Ingredients

2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp hot smoked paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Cooking Directions

1. Put all the ingredients in a small container and shake to combine. Use immediately with 1 lbs of ground meet with 2/3 cup liquid or store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

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Crunch Wrap Supreme

Prep time: 10m | Cook time: 20min | Total time: 30min | Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 Tbsp canola oil, divided
1 lbs ground beef
1 serving taco seasoning below (or store bought)
2/3 cup water
4 large tortilla wraps
1/2 cup nacho cheese sauce
4 tostada
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar jack cheese
2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
1 tomato, diced

Cooking Directions

1. In a large saute pan heat remaining 1 Tbsp of canolo oil in a large saute pan. Add ground beef and cook until beef has browned, making sure that you crumble the beef as you cook. Drain off excess fat. Add in the prepared taco seasoning with 2/3 cup water. Simmer until sauce has thickened.
2. Wrap 4 of the tortillas in a paper towel and microwave for 20 seconds until they are pliable. With the remaining tortilla use a 4" cookie cutter to create 4 small tortilla circles. If you don't have the cookie cutter, just cut out 4 circles roughly 4" in diameter.
3. Working one at a time, put taco meat in the center of each tortilla. Top with nacho cheese sauce and a tostada shell. Lightly press down on the tostada shell so that the compact the meat. Spread an even amount of sour cream on top of the tostada and top with shredded cheese, lettuce and diced tomato. Place one of the small tortilla circles you cut out on top.
4. Fold the edge up so that it overlaps the tortilla cirle. Continue working around the tortilla, folding up the edge as tight as possible. Repeat this process with remaining crunch wraps.
5. Heat the remaining tablespoon of canola oil in a large saute pan. Working in batchs, place crunch wrap seam-side down and cook until golden brown, about 2 min (Watch the temperature of your pan, the tortillas burn really quickly). Flip and cook the other side until golden brown, another 1-2 min. Repeat with remaining crunch wraps. Serve immediately

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Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs w/ Homemade Marinara

Hey Everybody! I know it has been a very long time since I have posted. But, man, I tell you what....it just seems like by the time I get home from work, having dinner, and spending time with the family, the last thing I feel like doing is sitting in front of the computer writing a blog post. I don't think people truly appreciate the amount of time it takes to create content and manage a food blog! But, the good news is I haven't really stopped creating content for the blog, because I haven't stopped cooking at all...the managing the blog has been the achilles heel for sure. "But, Eric, there is always nap time during the weekend where you can sit and blog!" True...there is....but I love playing video games haha. I do miss you all very much and am going to make a better effort to get posts done on a weekly basis. 

So, since I didn't have a horse in the super bowl race this past weekend, actually it was quite the opposite since I dislike New England and Philadelphia. I decided that I could drown my sorrows in delicious food and my wife recommended meatballs...so here we are. Delicious mozzarella stuffed meatballs made with a 50/50 blend of ground beef and Italian Sausage that were then slow cooked in a delicious homemade marinara sauce. We ended up making meatball hoagies, but you can use them however you like. Give them a try and let me know what you think below in the comment section!

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Prep time: 20m | Cook time: 15min | Total time: 35min | Yield: 16 meatballs

Ingredients

1 small onion, grated (6 oz)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/3 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1 large egg
2 Tbsp Ketchup
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
8 oz ground beef
8 oz Italian bulk sausage
2 oz mozzarella cheese, cut in 16 (1/2 inch) cubes

Cooking Directions

1. Position an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the onion, 1/2 cup parsley, 2/3 cup Parmesan, bread crumbs, egg, ketchup, garlic, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the beef and Italian sausage. Using your hands, combine all ingredients gently but thoroughly. Shape the meat mixture into 16 (1 1/2-inch-diameter, roughly 2 oz) meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet. Make a hole in the center of each meatball and place a cube of mozzarella inside. Reform the meatball so that the mozzarella is completely covered with the meat mixture. Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165F.
3. Use meatballs however you like! In my case, I put in the crockpot with some homemade marinara (Recipe below) and made meatball hoagies.

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Homemade Marinara

Prep time: 25m | Cook time: 30min | Total time: 55min | Yield: 5 cups

Ingredients

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
Generous pinch red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
3 Tbsp tomato paste
2 (28 oz) cans san marzano whole peeled tomatoes
1 large sprig basil
Kosher salt, to taste
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Cooking Directions

1. In a large pot, combine oil and garlic and heat over moderately low heat until garlic begins to very gently sizzle. Add red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until garlic just begins to turn a light golden color, about 3 minutes. Add oregano and continue to cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
2. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, until paste has softened and blended with the oil, about 3 minutes.
3. Stir in canned tomatoes and their juices, increase heat to medium-high, bring to a gentle simmer, then lower heat to maintain. Using an immersion blender, blend tomatoes until sauce is smooth. (Alternatively, blend tomatoes in a standard blender before adding to pot)
4. Add basil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced slightly and tastes rich, about 30 minutes. Season with salt.
5. Discard basil. Stir in butter, if using, until melted. Use sauce right away, or allow to cool to room temperature, transfer to sealed containers and refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

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Cooking your meats to the perfect temperature is crucial not only from a food safety stand point, but from flavor and tenderness stand point as well. Make sure you cook your pork, like in this recipe to 135F. The best way to accurately monitor the internal temperature of your meats is by using a Thermapen MK4. They are the most durable, accurate, fast, and reliable thermometer on the market. These are a kitchen MUST HAVE! Go buy yourself a Thermapen MK4 today!

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Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

Time will pass and seasons will come and go, so to will football season inevitably end for every fan base...some sooner than others. Unfortunately for the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans, the season has ended at the hands of a New England Patriots butt whoopin'. As hard as it is to admit, the better team clearly won....with that said...LETS GO PENS!!

Whenever I watch big games, like the Steelers/Patriots AFC Championship game, I always make a point to make something absolutely delicious. So that whatever the outcome of the game, at least I still win because I had something delicious...well that's my silver lining logic. So, in true fashion, I made this delicious Bacon Cheeseburger soup! What really makes this soup fantastic is layering the bacon flavor through the entire cooking process. This flavor layering can be achieved in lots of recipes, especially when using a fat (i.e. butter, oil, bacon fat, etc). In this example, I rendered fat from both the ground beef and bacon. I then saved that rendered fat and used it through the entire recipe. I used the golden delicious fat to saute the mirepoix, as well as, the base for the roux. Layering or building flavor, especially in soup, is definitely a great way to elevate any dish. With that said, lets check out this delicious recipe!

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Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

Prep time: 45m | Cook time: 30min | Total time: 1hr 15min | Yield: 8 servings (2 1/4 quart)

Ingredients

1/2 lbs ground beef
4 slices bacon, 1" chop
3/4 cup onion, chopped
3/4 cup carrots, shredded
3/4 cup celery, diced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
1-3/4 pounds peeled potatoes, cubed (about 4 cups)
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 package (16-ounce) Velvetta cheese, cubed
1-1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp worchestershire sauce
1/4 cup sour cream

Cooking Directions

1. In a dutch oven over medium heat, cook and crumble beef until no longer pink; drain and set aside. In the dutch oven, add chopped bacon and cook until crispy and bacon fat is rendered. Place mesh sieve over a bowl and drain bacon, separating the bacon bits from fat. Set both the fat and cooked bacon aside. In same dutch oven, add 1 tablespoon bacon fat over medium heat. Saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley until tender, about 10 minutes. Add potatoes, beef and chicken stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, 10-12 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of bacon fat until shimmering. Add flour; cook and stir until bubbly, 3-5 minutes. Add roux to the soup; bring to a boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cheese, milk, salt, pepper, and worchestershire sauce; cook until cheese melts. Remove from heat; blend in sour cream.
3. To service, top soup with shredded cheddar cheese, cooked bacon bits, and sliced scallions.

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Of course when throwing a Super Bowl Party (or should I say Soup-er Bowl Party...ba doom ching!) you may want to keep food out to snack on during the game. It is crucial that hot foods at above 135F and cold foods don't exceed 41F. Always check these temperatures every 2 hours to maintain proper food safety protocol. The best way to monitor food temperatures? Thermapen of course! I use mine pretty much every time I cook. It's incredibly accurate, easy to ready, fast, and most importantly durable. 

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