Mexicali Burgers

Sorry, my mouth was watering too much to snap a photo before I devoured this delicious burger. You will have to let your taste buds picture it for you.

We got a BBQ Cookbook at a garage sales years ago, and this one of our favorite burgers. If you like Mexican and Burgers, this is the perfect marriage.

Mexicali Burgers
Adapted from Favorite Brand Name BBQ and outdoor Grilling

Guacamole (recipe follows)
1 pound ground beef
1/3 cup salsa
1/3 cup crushed tortilla chips
2 tbs. finely chopped onion
3 tbs. finely chopped cilantro (optional)
1 tsp. ground cumin
4 slices cheese
hamburger buns
any other preferred toppings

1. Prepare grill. This tend to drip and fall apart easily, so you can use a drip pan.

2. Prepare guacamole.

3. Combine beef, salsa, tortilla chips, cilantro, onion and cumin in medium bowl.
Mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape mixture into 4 burgers.

4. Grill on covered grill about 8-10 minutes until desired doneness.

5. Place cheese on the burgers during last minute of grilling. Place on buns, top with guacamole and any other desired toppings.

Guacamole

1 ripe avocado
1 tbs. salsa
1 tsp. lime or lemon juice
1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1. Mash avocado, leaving it slightly chunky.
2. Add other ingredients and mix.

Carne Asada Tacos

So, it must be Mexican week around here. I also got the Mexican pack from Bountiful Baskets like La Tisha, and I had no idea what to do with it. Maybe I should have saved my tomatillas for her recipe. Sounds yummy.
Anyway, I went on Allrecipes and did an ingredient search for what I had and the result was these tacos. Here is my version-I made a few tweaks. They were very yummy!

Carne Asada Tacos
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless beef top sirloin (can use pork sirloin), cut into thin bite-size slices
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
crushed red pepper to taste
Few Key limes
4 Fresh Tomatillas
1 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded, and chopped into big chunks
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
About 3/4 can of chicken broth

Flour tortillas
1 Green Onion, chopped
tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado - peeled, pitted and sliced, and chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions
Place sliced meat into a shallow bowl, and season with salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Squeeze the lime juice over the meat, and turn until evenly coated. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes ( I did for about 7-8 hours)
In a blender or food processor, combine tomatillos and jalapenos with enough water that it will puree (not very much water) . Puree for 15 to 20 seconds, or until thick. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Carefully pour in tomatillo mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until mixture coats a spoon. Transfer mixture to a serving dish.
Heat tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high heat. Stir in 1/3 of the beef, and saute for 1 minute. Transfer to serving dish. Repeat with remaining beef.

To serve fill a tortilla with desired amount of meat, spoon over some tomatillo mixture. Top with onions, tomatoes, avocado and cilantro as desired. Squeeze 1/2 of a key lime over your taco when you are ready to eat.

Serve with rice and beans.
Who needs to go to a Mexican Restaurant now? Yum!

Salsa Verde

This weekend I tried out the Mexican basket from Bountiful Baskets and loved the fun foods included. I had a bunch of tomatillos in it (they look like small green tomatoes) and wanted to make a great salsa verde. I looked through several recipes and with lots of tweeking I came up with one that we loved.

Salsa Verde

Ingredients

• 10 tomatillos roasted
  
• 1 large green onion
  
• Large bunch of cilantro leaves
• Juice of one small lime
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 Jalapeno peppers roasted
• 1 Anaheim pepper roasted
• 2 roasted garlic cloves
  
• Salt to taste

Method

1 Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Cut in half and place cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 7-10 minutes to lightly blacken the skin. Slice jalapenos and Anaheim in half and roast as well. Roast garlic in husk.

2 Place tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, peppers, garlic, and sugar in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. Season to taste with salt. Cool in refrigerator.

Serve with chips or as a salsa accompaniment to Mexican dishes.