Mexican Meatball Soup

Once and a while, I watch the Today Show in the morning.  It feels like an indulgence to have the TV on while I should be doing things like cleaning or exercising.  I don't know if they do a cooking segment every day but I sometimes get lucky and see something really great being made.

Back in February, Marcela Valladolid was on the show and she made a meatball soup called Beef albondigas.  It looked like something my husband would love so I wrote the recipe down.  I looked at it several times over the next few weeks and decided a few things were missing.

So...here is Marcela's recipe but with my own touch to it.

Mexican Meatball Soup
adapted from Marcela Valladolid's recipe

1/2 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup white onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped
1 cup celery, finely chopped
14 oz can crushed tomato
6 cups of chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon cumin
1-2 serrano chile
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup cilantro, chopped

In a large mixing bowl, mix the ground beef and pork, cilantro, egg, salt and pepper by hand until everything is mixed together.  Using a spoon, measure 1 tablespoon of meat mixture.  Roll into meatballs and set on a plate.

In a large pot, heat vegetable oil on medium heat.  Add onion and tomato past.  Add carrots and celery.  Saute until soft and 3 minutes.  Add chicken brother and crushed tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, add meatballs, bay leaf, peppers and corn.  Simmer for 30 minutes or more.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with warmed tortillas.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Lola Costal Mexican

We don't celebrate Valentine's Day in our house.  Instead we've decided to celebrate Denver Restaurant Week.  We are confident in our love and our favorite thing to do together is try new restaurants and wine. 

Keith and I really love Mexican food.  We make it at least once a week and it's normally our go-to when we decide to go out for dinner.  We've made some changes in our diet recently and we aren't eating like we used to.

Because of this, we're in love Lola. Lo-lo-lo-Lola.

After a heavy meal the week before, we were looking forward to something lighter, fresher and spicy!

Guacamole wasn't on our 5280 menu but we couldn't resist ordering it.  You see, they bring a cart to your table and make it right in front of you.  This was the best and spiciest guac we've ever had and we loved it!

It went really well with the Shrimp Ceviche that we shared.  Loved how light and tasty this dish was.

Melon salsa....so good!

We each ordered a different dish from the menu, ate half and then traded plates.  I highly recommend doing this because then you get to try so much more.  I'd be tempted to smack you around if you and your date ordered the same dish.  Denver Restaurant Week is all about trying new things.  If you're not into that you should stick with Red Lobster.  I'm serious.

While we were waiting for our dessert, we started talking about Tequila.  We both really like it and normally have a bottle of Patron Silver in our pantry at all times.  It keeps good company with the Vodka, Jamison Whiskey and Baileys Irish Creme.

We asked the waiter about a flight and he helped us pick out a few Tequilas.  A couple that have been aged longer than the silver that we are familiar with and the 1921 Tequila Cream.  OH MY GOSH.  LOVE.  We ended up ordering a second shot of the Cream to go with our Spiced Chocolate Flan which was the smartest thing we've done since getting hitched almost 9 years ago.

Worried about parking in the Highlands?  Worry no more!  Lola has FREE valet parking for dinner every night of the week! 

I'm anxious to return to Lola for Brunch.  There are several choices on the menu that look quite wonderful and I think my kids would really love the cinnamon roll.

Lola Denver
1575 Boulder St.
Denver, CO 80211
720-570-8686 
 http://www.loladenver.com/
@loladenver
Lola Denver on facebook

Good Times Breakfast Burritos

Have you heard that Good Times Burgers and Frozen Custard is selling breakfast burritos?

I'd seen something on their sign about it but didn't think too much about it because I usually go to Good Times for chicken.  You thought I was going to say burgers didn't you?  Well...I like those too, but I love their chicken strips with the mustard dipping sauce.

I'm getting ready to start a journey of clean living and fitness so all of a sudden the green chili burritos were calling my name.  And then I got some coupons in the mail.

It was like I was supposed to try these lovely eggy beauties before they were banned from my life forever!

I decided to try the Egg and Cheese, Sausage and Chorizo burritos.   I skipped the bacon because I love bacon and I thought it was probably be great no matter what.

One out of my two children loved the egg and cheese and it was my husbands least favorite.   Keith and I both agreed that the sausage burrito was our favorite and had the perfect amount of spice and green chili.

These burritos are big and for $2 they are a bargain!  They are wet and full of cheese and egg.  I'd almost be tempted to say they are the perfect hand held burrito and I can't stop thinking about them.

Thank goodness they have a drive thru.....so that I can get one on the run.  And then secretly eat it in my car.

 Please don't tell my health coach.

Enchilada Showdown

My daughter has a favorite show.  The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network.  Every Saturday morning, she gets her blanket and her bean bag and begs to watch it.

I'm more than happy to watch it with her!

A few weeks ago, Ree made Simple Enchiladas and Mallory got very excited.  She wanted to make them too so I challenged her to a Enchilada Showdown.

She'd make The Pioneer Woman's Enchiladas and I would make mine.

We waited patiently for the boys to try each one to see which one they liked better.

Here's a hint:  I didn't win, although the boys said they did like mine. 

Here is the recipe for Creamy Chicken Enchiladas....in case you want to try them for yourself.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

1 pound of chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
1 block of cream cheese
1-2 jalapenos, finely chopped
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 28 oz can of green enchilada sauce
2 cups of monterey jack cheese, shredded
10-12 corn tortillas
oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.   Bring the cream cheese to room temperature.  Boil the chicken breast (or use left over chicken from another meal) and shred.  

Mix together cream cheese, jalapenos, milk, garlic powder, cayenne and salt.  Add the chicken.  Stir until combined.

In a small pan, heat some oil and lightly fry the tortillas until soft by not crispy.  Set them aside.

Pour some of the green enchilada sauce into a 9X13 pan.  Lay the tortillas on a work surface.  Place a small amount of chicken mixture in the center of the tortilla and then roll it up.  Place in the pan and continue rolling tortillas until finished. 

Pour the remaining sauce over the rolled up tortillas and then sprinkle the cheese over the op.

Back for 30 minutes.

You can find The Pioneer Woman's recipe here.

Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa

I'm on the look out for more no cook dinners! This one requires cooking but not very much. I love cooking with shrimp because it doesn't take much time at all.

For the Mango Salsa

2 mangoes, peeled and diced
1 jalapeno, stemmed and diced (leave seeds if you want it spicy)
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp cilantro, chopped

For the Taco

1 lb of shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
Dash of Worcestershire
Dash of Tabasco
1 red bell pepper, sliced
8 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterrey jack cheese

Combine all of the ingredients for the mango salsa in a bowl and stir. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours.

Take the shells off of the shrimp and sprinkle salt on top. In a large pan over medium heat, saute the shrimp in 1 tbsp of olive for about 3 minutes, until they are pink. Transfer the shrimp to a plate and add the remaining 2 tbsps of olive oil to the pan. Add the onions, Worcestershire and Tabasco and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble you tacos with shrimp, onion and pepper mixture, cheese and salsa. Or make them into quesadillas.

If you are the low-carb type...this taste great without the tortilla.