These are to die for tacos. I’ve made it so many times and each time, it turns out so great. It goes awesome with Virgin Mojito.
Ground beef hardshell tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 3 Tbsp taco seasoning
- 5 Tbsp cold water
- 1/2 cup cheese shredded
- 2 cups lettuce shredded
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 10 taco shells hard
Instructions
- Fully cook the ground beef. Drain extra grease. Add water and taco seasoning then cook for 3 more minutes.
- Dice tomatoes.
- Cut avocado into small cubes.
- Shred lettuce.
- Finely chop cilantro.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place empty taco shells on a cooking sheet and bake for 5 minutes.
- Assemble each taco with meat mixture, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and lettuce. Top it with sour cream and salsa. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Serve immediately.
Golden Baked Мashed Potatoes
If you find yourself with more left over potatoes than you can deal with, this recipe is for you!
Golden Baked Мashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1,2 kg potatoes
- 90 g butter
- 100 ml heavy cream or milk (warm)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes. Chop the potatoes into cubes. Place them in a medium pot. Add salt to the water and cook for 15-20 minutes. When they are fork tender, strain the potatoes.
- Add butter and mash until smooth and creamy.
- Next, pour the warm heavy cream or milk. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Coat a baking dish with butter. Transfer potatoes to the prepared dish. You can make some shapes on the top.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake uncovered for about 15 minutes until the top is golden.
Beef And Feta Pasta Dinner
Pasta and ground beef is nothing new, but when you add feta cheese, onion and fresh dill to it, it takes your pasta to a whole different level. Enjoy this Beef And Feta Pasta Dinner!
Beef And Feta Pasta Dinner
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 1 lb ground beef
- 500 g pasta uncooked
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 200 g feta cheese
Instructions
- Peel and chop the onion.
- Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil. Add onion and sauté until softened and brown, stirring once in a while.
- While the onion is cooking, cook pasta, according to the package directions. Drain pasta and set aside.
- Fully cook the ground beef. Drain grease. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Use your hands or the tines of a fork to crumble the feta cheese.
- Add onion, ground beef and crumbled feta to cooked pasta. Shower on a generous dusting of fresh dill and using two spoons, toss the pasta well.
Turkey Potato Casserole
“Without the potato, the balance of European power might never tilted north”. (Michael Pollan)
Turkey Potato Casserole is very personal, everyone makes theirs differently. I make my Turkey Potato Casserole with shredded potato.
Turkey Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 large onion
- 1 1/2 pound lean ground turkey
- 6 medium russet potatoes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Dice onion as finely as you can.
- Mix together ground turkey with onion, add salt ant pepper to taste.
- Place the turkey mix in an even layer on the bottom of a 9×13 inches baking dish.
- Peel and shred potatoes.
- Spread the shredded potatoes evenly over turkey.
- In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, eggs and water. Add 1/2 tsp of salt.
- Evenly pour the egg mixture over casserole and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Serve it hot with sour cream and cilantro.
Juicy French Style Pork Tenderloin
I lived in France more than 10 years. My husband is French but neither he or his parents have heard of this dish. The French don’t even suspect that this dish is called French style meat, but Russians eat this meat and know that it truly is “French style meat”.
Juicy French Style Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 6 pork tenderloin chops
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1-2 onion
- 200 g cheese shredded
- 5-6 Tbsp mayonnaise
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 380 degrees F. Line medium baking dish with aluminum foil.
- Place each piece of meat between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound with the flat side of meat tenderizer until about 1/4 inch thick. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Lay the meat out on the baking dish. Peel and cut the onion (half-moon). Arrange the onion on top of the pork. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Spread mayonnaise all over the meat.
- Bake for about 40 minutes until golden brown.
Chocolate Yule Log (Bûche de Noël)
Chocolate Yule Log (Bûche de Noël) is the French roll cake very popular during the Holiday season. This is a delicious version of Yule Log you can make at home using very simple ingredients you can find in every store.
Chocolate Yule Log (Bûche de Noël)
Ingredients
Sugar syrup
- 150 g sugar
- 300 ml water
Chocolate ganache
- 200 ml heavy whipping cream ( 35%)
- 200 g dark chocolate (60-70% cacao)
- 15 g unsalted butter
Biscuit
- 4 eggs (at room temperature)
- 120 g sugar
- 120 g all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
Chantilly cream
- 250 ml heavy whipping cream ( 35%) very cold
- 45 g mascarpone cheese
- 1.25 Tbsp sugar
Decoration
- Few meringues, pieces of chocolat
Instructions
Sugar syrup
- In a small pot, bring cold water and sugar to the boil. Keep boiling for a few minutes, stir constantly until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool down. When the syrup is cold, you may add vanilla or the Triple Sec liqueur (optional).
Biscuit
- Preheat oven to 380 degrees F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar until the mixture becomes thick, fluffy, and triples in volume.
- Using a spatula, gently fold in flour and cocoa powder.
- Spread the batter evenly in thin layer into the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in center of biscuit comes out clean.
- Turn upside down onto clean kitchen towel and carefully remove parchment paper. Let cool down.
Chocolate ganache
- Boil the heavy whipping cream. Pour the boiling cream over the dark chocolate. Wait for one minute.
- Then mix it until the mixture is smooth.
- Add butter and mix until this is fully dissolved.
- Let cool the ganache for about 30 minutes in the fridge. Mix and check frequently: the ganache is ready when it’s not anymore liquid and has a spreadable texture.
Chantilly cream
- Beat together very cold heavy cream and cold mascarpone cheese until this is whipped. Keep gradually adding sugar.
Assemblage
- Paint the biscuit with sugar syrup.
- Spread the chantilly cream evenly over the biscuit.
- Roll up firmly.
- Tightly cover with plastic wrap, and keep in the fridge until chocolate ganache is ready.
- Remove the plastic wrap. Spread the ganache over the cake. Using a fork make lines to look like a log. Transfer the cake to a serving platter and let stand in the fridge for a night or at least 3 hours.
- Before serving, dust with cacao cocoa powder and decorate with meringues or pieces of chocolate.
Lemon Rosemary Salmon
Tasty, simple and beautiful looking dish for everyday or special occasions.
Lemon Rosemary Salmon
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets remove bone and skin
- 1 large lemon thinly sliced
- 8 spring fresh rosemary washed
- 8 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Add 4 Tbsp of olive oil to baking dish. Place one slice of lemon and one rosemary spring under each salmon fillet.
- Add salt, pepper and paprika evenly over salmon and place one slice of lemon and one rosemary spring on top of salmon.
- Drizzle 4 Tbsp of olive oil over salmon.
- Bake 25 minutes until salmon is flaky.
- Place salmon on serving platter and enjoy.
Beef Rice Pilaf With Dry Barberry Berries
This is very delicious and flavorful rice. Perfect for special dinner with friends or just for your family. It may seem a little time consuming, but it’s worth it.
Beef Rice Pilaf With Dry Barberry Berries
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice Uncle Ben’s Long Grain White Rice
- 2 lb beef boneless stew beef
- 4 large carrots
- 2 onion
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 head garlic
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 5 Tbsp barberry dry berries
- 1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 Tbsp salt
- 4 cups water hot
Instructions
- Soak and rinse the rice, at least 2-3 times, then drain.
- Cut beef into 1 inch pieces.
- Peel and cut the carrots into thick matchsticks.
- Peel and dice onion.
- Heat the olive oil in an enameled cast iron dutch oven over a medium heat, add beef.
- Cook beef for one hour on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
- When the beef is fully cooked add onion and soften, stirring regularly for about 3 minutes.
- Add carrots, spices, salt, pepper, bay leaf and dry berries. Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Layer the soaked rice over the top of the beef and vegetables. Peel some of the skin off the garlic head and slice the top off, exposing the garlic cloves. Put raw garlic head on top of the rice.
- Carefully pour hot water over wooden spoon to ensure even distribution over rice. Do not stir.
- Cover with lid. When it starts boiling, remove the lid to let the water almost evaporate.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the rice is tender and the rest of the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- Mix the ingredients as you serve the pilaf on a platter. Garnish with garlic head.
Turkey and Cheese Quiche
Turkey and Cheese Quiche, this french recipe originally comes with tuna. Since my kids don’t like tuna, I substituted it with turkey; but if you don’t have either of those, you can make it with chicken. Combination of cheese, eggs and sour cream always turns out tasty.
Turkey and Cheese Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry
- 350 g Natural white turkey breast in water (drain)
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tsp mustard
- 100 ml sour cream
- 200 g cheddar cheese shredded
- Salt and pepper to taste to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Lay the puff pastry out on a baking sheet. Prick all over with fork.
- Pop in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove the pastry from the oven, pressing the center down with a fork, as it will have puffed up a bit.
- Meanwhile, using a fork mix turkey meat with mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper.
- Spread the mustard across center.
- Spoon the turkey mix on top.
- Combine eggs with sour cream and mix together. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour over turkey.
- Sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until quiche is golden brown.
Fried Cabbage With Sausage
Fried cabbage with sausage is so simple but tasty, and the leftovers are tastier than it was the first day. When it comes to sausage, you can’t go wrong with this one. You can use any sausage you like: it can be Italian sausage, Polska kielbasa, smoked sausage, turkey or chicken sausages. Any of them will give a great taste to cabbage. My favorite is Frankfurter sausage.
Fried cabbage with sausage
Ingredients
- 1/2 head cabbage
- 2 carrots large
- 1 onion large
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 5-6 sausages
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 bay leaf optional
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Cut the cabbage into thick slices.
- Dice onion into the small squares, shred the carrots.
- Slice the sausages.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until lightly brown.
- Add shredded carrots and continue cooking for couple more minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add cabbage and stir well.
- In a few minutes add sausage. Bury the sausages under the cabbage, to get the brown color.
- When the sausages are lightly brown, add salt and pepper, bay leaf, and some water (about 100 ml), mix well. Reduce heat to low, cover the skillet with lid and simmer for about 10 minutes. Mix every 2-3 minutes.
- Once cooked, add fresh herbs and serve.