Beer Margaritas? The BEST Margaritas, trust me

I know what your thinking. I promise I would not lead you astray, especially when there's alcohol involved.

I love margaritas, like they are the pink of alcohol for me. If its pink I want one in every color, and if someone has margaritas then give me 5! I had one of these beer margaritas long ago when I was far from of age to be drinking. Ever since I have been looking for a good recipe, and I finally found it! These are made with beer and tequila-- I recommend corona but any light beer would probably be ok. The picture is a doubled recipe and it went QUICK! They were a huge hit, I was very very pleased.


Sassy Beer Margaritas - Click here for Printable Recipes

Ingredients
1 (12 fluid ounce) can Frozen Limeade Concentrate
8 oz Tequila
12 oz Water
12 oz Light Beer
Ice
1 lime, cut into wedges

Instructions
Pour limeade, tequila, beer, and water into a pitcher. 
Stir until limeade is melted and add ice. Garnish with lime and salt.  

Borracho Beans

I am not a huge fan of borracho beans but a lot of people are especially my boyfriend. I tried my hand at Homesick Texan's recipe. I can not say enough good things about that website. They were delicious, but a little too spicy for me and my family, next time I will probably just use one jalapeno.

Rinse and sort your beans, sometimes there is dirt and/or rocks in there.  Pretend there is a picture there.

Put 1lb of beans in a pot and cover with 7 cups of fresh water, 

add garlic, onion,and salt pork (bacon, ham pieces, or ham hocks).

Bring to a boil, then simmer and stir occasionally.

After an hour they beans should be tender enough 

to eat depending on freshness-check again every 30 minutes

This makes an excellent recipe for plain ol' pinto beans--which I LOVE.

cut bacon into one inch strips and fry

Chop 1 cup of cilantro

Chop 1-2 jalapenos (depending how hot you like it 2 is HOT)

Chop 2 chipotles in adobo sauce. This was my first time cooking 

with chipotles, oh my adobo sauce smells DELICIOUS!

add chipotles, cilantro, jalapenos, and 2 cups 

of tomatoes,or 14 oz can of diced tomatoes to a skillet

Cook on medium for 10 minutes

Add to a blender or food processor and puree. 

If you don't mind chunks then skip this step

Stir puree into beans and let simmer for 20 minutes

this is the beer I used, I could find Modelo which is the beer

I would suggest or any dark mexican beer. 

I thought this was dark and its not oops oh well still good!

Add beer to the pot and let simmer for 10 minutes

Borracho Beans - Click here for printable recipes


Ingredients
1 pound of pinto beans (2 cups)
1/4 tablespoons of minced garlic (3 large cloves)
1 cup diced onion (1/2 of a medium-sized onion)
1-2 ham hocks

6 cups of cooked pinto beans still in its juice. (see above)
4 slices of bacon, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 cups fresh chopped tomatoes or one 14 oz. canned, diced tomatoes with sauce
3 jalapenos, chopped
2 chipotles in adobo, chopped
1 cup of chopped cilantro

1 12 oz. bottle of dark beer, such as Modelo Negro
Salt to taste

Instructions

Rinse and sort your beans 

First soak the beans. You can either cover the beans with one inch of water and soak overnight or bring water to a boil, remove from heat and cover for one hour. 

Drain the beans and cover with seven cups of fresh water. 

Add to the pot the garlic, onion, jalapeno juice and salt pork. 

Bring pot to a boil and then cover and reduce heat to a simmer, stir occasionally. 

After about an hour, beans should be tender enough to eat (depending on the freshness of the beans). If not tender enough, continue cooking, checking on the beans every 15 minutes until desired texture. 

Remove salt pork (ham hocks, leave bacon or ham). 

Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp.

Add tomatoes, jalapenos, chipotles and cilantro to the skillet, and cook on medium for 10 minutes.

Let tomato-bacon mixture cool, add one cup of bean juice (or water) and then puree.

Stir puree into beans and let simmer together for 20 minutes.

Alternatively, if you prefer a chunkier texture, you could skip the puree step and add the tomato-bacon mixture straight to the bean pot.

Add bottle of beer to pot, stir and cook for ten minutes.

Homesick Texan's Fancy King Ranch Chicken

King Ranch Chicken, is my favorite casserole. I got the recipe from Lisa, over at Homesick Texan. Please I beg you go check out her blog. She has the best Tex-Mex recipes, and I love her extra because she is from Houston!

I love the regular condensed soup version of this casserole my friend Lena posted a tutorial for that on her fabulous blog Stella Sola.

Heat 1/4 c of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat

2 teaspoons of lime juice, and 2 teaspoons of ancho chile powder

when the chicken is done (approx. 20 minutes)
shred it with two forks

I got the red bell pepper at the farmers market last week.

dice the bell pepper, onion, and poblano pepper

melt 4 tablespoons of butter and saute vegetables 

the recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne however 

I found it a little too spicy. Next time I will use 1/4 - 1/8.

add to veggies

add chicken broth and let thicken,
then add half and half and rotel. 

Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally

While the mixture is simmering grate your cheese. 

You can use bag cheese but the inconvenient 

truth is fresh grated cheese is much better

Cheddar and Jalapeno Cheddar.

Pepper Jack would also be delicious

Fresh cheese from Proverb's Farm. I also this got at the 

Pearlands Famers Market. 

I must have forgotten to take
pictures of the next steps.

Add the sour cream, 2 teaspoons of
lime juice and 1/4 cup of cilantro. 

Salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350

Heat the tortillas, I do this in the microwave. 

You can also do this in a skillet with oil, but blah!

Spoon half a cup of the sauce into the 11 x 17 baking dish.

Layer half the tortillas on the bottom of the pan.

Layer half the chicken and half the sauce, and 1 1/2 cup of cheese. 

Repeat the layering ending with cheese

Cook uncovered for 30 minutes. 

Serves 6 - 12, garnish with sour cream and cilantro.

Slightly Fancy-Pants King Ranch Chicken Casserole - Click here for printable recipe
 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of chicken, without skin and bones
4 teaspoons of lime juice
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons of butter
1/2 an onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
1 10oz. can of Ro-Tel tomatoes (or you can use a can of regular diced tomatoes and a 4 oz. can of diced green chiles, or if tomatoes are in season, can use two cups of diced fresh tomatoes with 1/4 cup of diced green chiles, such as a jalapeno)
4 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 cup of chicken broth
2 tablespoons of flour
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup of half and half
1/3 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
3 cups of grated pepper jack and cheddar
10 corn tortillas
Salt and pepper to taste.


Instructions
1. Cook the chicken in the olive oil on medium, adding 2 teaspoons of lime juice, 2 teaspoons of ancho chile powder and salt to taste.
2. When chicken is done (after about 20 minutes), shred it with two forks and set aside. Should yield about 3 cups.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium, and add the onions, red bell pepper and poblano pepper. Cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, flour, cumin, cayenne pepper and 2 teaspoons of ancho chile powder, and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the chicken broth and cook on low until mixture is thickened, a few minutes. Stir in the half-and-half and Ro-Tel cover the pot, and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Uncover the pot, and add the sour cream, 2 teaspoons of lime juice and 1/4 cup of cilantro, and add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
8. Heat up the tortillas (you can do this by adding a bit of oil on an iron skillet and then cooking the tortillas for about 30 seconds on each side).
9. Ladle 1/2 cup of the sauce onto the bottom of an 11 x 7 inch baking pan.
10. Layer half the tortillas along the bottom of the pan (on top of the sauce). To make sure entire pan is evenly covered, you can rip some of the tortillas into strips to fill any gaps.
11. Add half the chicken, half the remaining sauce, half the remaining cilantro and 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese.
12. Repeat the layering, leaving the cheese layer on top.
13. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbling. Serves 6-12, depending on how big a portion you distribute. Goes great with sour cream and cilantro on top.

Casa Ole Queso Copy Cat

I have been slacking on the food tutorials lately, I know I know. I have fully made up for it this weekend I did FOUR tutorials. I spent my entire day in the kitchen Sunday, but I enjoy it because I'm a weirdo.

This is my favorite absolute favorite queso dip. I think the reason I love it so much is because I have been going to Casa Ole since I was a little girl. My grandma used to pick me up from school and we would head to Casa Ole--sometimes three times a week. My uncle calls it the sit down Taco Bell, but I love it!

When I was in Kindergarten the school had a fundraiser selling cookbooks compiled of recipes submitted by staff and parents. I lost mine a few years ago when my family moved, but luckily my boyfriends mother gave me an extra copy. She is the best, maybe soon I can get her to guest blog with some of her fabulous Cajun recipes! We went to a Farmers Market in Pearland, I used some of the produce I bought in this recipe. I will have a separate post on the Market, it was so awesome!

Very simple ingredients, celery is included
in the original recipe I didn't add it because
I hate buying a whole thing of celery for one stalk.

Cube the cheese and place in a double boiler. 

This is the first self rigged double boiler
I have attempted that actually worked right. 

I used to think that double boilers weren't necessary,
but i kept burning cheese, and nothing is more
disgusting them burnt cheese, I promise.

it takes a while for all that cheese to melt,
I should have timed it but somewhere around 10 - 15 minutes.

Melt two tablespoons of butter,
saute onion and bell pepper for about 10 minutes

towards the end I added the jalapenos

once the cheese is melted smooth, add the vegetables

yummmmmmmmmmmmm

it has a thinner consistency which I enjoy but you can 

always add less water if you prefer thicker queso

I am obsessed with Tex Mex food, especially salsa and queso

I added the exact measurements, but you can really

just eye it and adjust it to your liking.

My grandmother swears there's sour cream in it, so
you can add that if the mood strikes you

Casa Ole Queso Dip - Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients

2.5 lbs American Cheese, cubed or grated

1 3/4 Water

1 1/2 c. Onion, chopped finely

1/2 c. Bell Pepper, chopped finely

1/2 c. Celery, chopped finely

1/8 c. Jalapenos, diced

(These ingredients are suggestions you can cut this

in half or add more of less of what you want.

In this tutorial I used one medium sized onion,

one whole bell pepper, and 1/8 cup of pickled jalapenos.)

Instructions

Combine cheese and 1 3/4 cups water in 
the top of a double boiler and bring to

 a boil. Stir every 5 minutes. While cheese is melting, 
melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter combine onion, 
celery, bell pepper and jalapeño in saucepan and sauté

 over medium heat until vegetables are
translucent-about 10 minutes. When cheese has

 melted and is smooth, add vegetables 
and mix thoroughly. Simmer 5 minutes.

This recipe is cut in half from the original

ADDICTING Fiesta Layered Dip

I literally can't make enough of this dip. It is devoured as soon as I put it on the table. A constant request from my friends, and strangers. This is definitely one of my favorite things to make, it is so easy but yet extremely delicious and a definite crowd pleaser. This is FAR from low cal but most crowd pleasers are not waistline friendly.

I basically dump one can of bean dip in the pan, because I love bean dip! Refried beans would be a more economical option, but not as flavorful, of course you could always add your own seasonings. Now usually I put this in a nice clear casserole or trifle dish, but this was headed to a crawfish boil and aluminum pans are the best option for anything like that.

Hand grated cheese is always the better choice, but I was in a MAJOR hurry.

So pre-packaged it was! Fiesta Blend, any cheese mix 

will do. If I am serving immediately I will stick this 

in the oven to warm the beans and melt the cheese.

I made this pico myself. It is quite simple.

If you are opposed to making pico or dont have to time you 

can usually find it pre-made by the bagged salads.

layer it like so. I love pico. 

I love the smell of pico onion and cilantro. YUM

Cream Cheese and Sour Cream mixed with taco seasoning.

It is pretty lumpy because I didn't have time to let it soften. 

I always try not to disturb the pico but it never really works out that way. And life really isn't that serious.This layer is the magic maker. This is what makes it so delicious. and the crack I sometimes sprinkle on top but that ingredient is totally optional.

Then right before serving top with guacamole,

I usually use the pre-packaged stuff for convenience,

but I always add lime juice to  keep it from browning.

Depending on my mood I will add more cheese on top  

Fiesta Layer Dip - Click for printable recipe

1-2 Cans of Bean Dip

Pico de Gallo ( Onion, Roma Tomatoes, Cilantro, Lime, Salt)

8 oz of cheese blend (Cheddar, Colby, Monterrey Jack)

8 oz Cream Cheese (softened)

8 oz Sour Cream

1 Packet of Taco Seasoning

Guacamole

In a casserole or trifle dish spread bean dip followed by a generous sprinkling of cheese blend. A handful or so of pico, more or less depends on your taste. In a small bowl mix cream cheese, sour cream, and taco mix. Make this the next layer in the dish. Right before serving add the guacamole, then top with cheese if desired.