Taco Tuesday

If it's Tuesday, then it's time for another Taco Tuesday. Today's offerings include Slow Cooker Birria Beef Tacos and Taco Stuffed Peppers. Enjoy!

CRUNCHY BLACK BEAN TACOS

This comes from The Kitchn’s e-newsletter. If you haven’t signed up for The Kitchn’s e-newsletter yet, I highly recommend that, as well as its sibling site, Apartment Therapy.

This recipe serves 3 to 4, or makes 8 tacos; Prep Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 30 minutes and can be found online by clicking here.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked black beans

1/2 cup minced red onion

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

Pinch of salt

4 to 6 ounces (1 heaping cup) grated Pepper Jack cheese

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

8 corn tortillas

Toppings

Avocado

Hot sauce

Salsa

Sour cream

Directions

In a medium bowl, add beans along with red onion, cilantro, cumin, and paprika. Add a pinch of salt and lightly mash all the ingredients together. Grate the cheese and have it ready as well.

In a large, nonstick or cast-iron skillet, add the 2 tablespoons oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add one corn tortilla at a time and let each get hot in the oil for a few seconds. Then add about 1/4 cup of the bean filling to one half of the tortilla. Top with a sprinkle of grated cheese. Try not to overfill the tacos, or you might have issues flipping them without losing filling.

Using a spatula, carefully fold the other half of the tortilla over to form a shell. Press down lightly on the tortilla so it holds its shape. If some cheese spills out, don’t worry — it will get crispy and delicious.

As the first taco cooks, move it to the side and begin a second one. Depending on the size of your pan, you can cook two or three tacos at once. A griddle will hold even more.

Cook each taco until they are nicely browned and crispy, about 3 minutes per side. When flipping the taco to cook on the other side, use a spatula and flip the taco toward the fold so the filling doesn’t fall out. If your pan is very dry between batches, add another drizzle of oil.

Place the cooked tacos in a warm oven while you finish the rest. If the tacos are very greasy, blot them with a paper towel before moving them to the oven.

Serve tacos with toppings like hot sauce, salsa, avocados, and sour cream.

Recipe Notes:

Corn tortillas are resilient to heat. Don’t worry about burning them; they are very sturdy. Just be sure to cook tortillas on each side long enough to get them really crispy.

SOFT BLACK BEAN TACOS WITH SALSA AND CABBAGE

This comes from Martha Rose Shulman, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Martha wrote, “Canned black beans and lots of cabbage combine in a quick, utterly satisfying one-dish taco dinner. They can be served open-faced or folded over.” Yield: 4 servings; Time: about 20 minutes.

This was featured in “Quick One-Dish Meals, Some Cooking Required” and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola or grape seed oil

1 teaspoon medium-hot chili powder (more to taste)

1 teaspoon ground lightly toasted cumin seeds (more to taste)

2 cans black beans, with liquid

Salt to taste

8 corn tortillas

1 cup fresh or bottled salsa

3 ounces either queso fresco, feta, or sharp cheddar, grated or crumbled

2 cups shredded cabbage

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add the chili powder and ground cumin. Allow the spices to sizzle for about half a minute, until very fragrant, and stir in the black beans and 1/2 cup water. Cook, stirring and mashing the beans with the back of your spoon, for 5 to 10 minutes, until thick and fragrant. Be careful that you don’t let the beans dry out too much. If they do, add a little more water. Remove from the heat.

Heat the tortillas, two or three at a time, in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, or in a microwave. Top with the black beans, salsa, cheese and cabbage. Fold the filled tortillas over if desired and serve. Alternatively, one at a time, place a tortilla on a plate, top with the beans and cheese and heat through for 30 seconds to a minute in a microwave. Then top with salsa and a generous handful of cabbage, and serve.

Tip

Make fresh salsa with 2 or 3 chopped roma tomatoes, 1 or 2 jalapeños or serrano chiles, a little chopped onion or shallot if desired, salt, a squeeze of lime juice, and chopped fresh cilantro.

CHICKEN TACOS WITH CHIPOTLE

This is from David Tanis on The New York Times cooking site. David wrote, "For good tacos, you need fresh, hot tortillas and a zesty filling. Canned chipotle chiles will do the trick with their smoky heat; it's an easy way to get flavor fast. Look for small cans with 'chipotle chiles in adobo' on the label. And Mexican groceries generally have better-quality tortillas than the ones you find in supermarkets; it's worth seeking those out and heating them gently over steam, or by toasting them in a dry cast-iron pan. You can also use this recipe with precooked chicken, which makes this already quite simple recipe as easy as falling out of bed."

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 1 hour

This was featured in "Chicken Tacos Let You Think Fast", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017936-chicken-tacos-with-chipotle.

Ingredients

For the tacos:

4 large bone-in chicken thighs, about 1 1/2 pounds

3 scallions, left whole

1 bay leaf

1 thyme branch

3 black peppercorns

1 allspice berry

2 cloves

Kosher salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 or 3 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped

3 tablespoons adobo sauce, from the can

1/2 cup broth (use broth from simmered chicken)

8 fresh corn tortillas

For garnish:

1 small white onion, finely chopped, soaked in ice water for 10 minutes and drained

Thinly sliced serrano chile

Thinly sliced radishes

Sliced avocado

Crumbled queso fresco or mild feta cheese

Crème fraîche or Mexican crema

Cilantro sprigs

Dried oregano

Lime wedges

Preparation

Put chicken thighs in a saucepan and cover with 3 cups water. Add scallions, bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, allspice, cloves and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Simmer for 30 minutes, then remove chicken and cool. Shred chicken with your fingers, discarding chicken skin and bone. Strain broth and reserve. You should have about 2 cups shredded chicken.

Put olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced yellow onion, season with salt and cook until softened and a bit browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cumin and cook for 1 minute more. Add chopped chipotle chile and adobo sauce and stir to combine. Add shredded chicken, salt lightly and stir to coat. Add chicken broth and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes, until sauce has thickened somewhat. Keep warm.

Heat the tortillas over steam or by your favorite method, keeping them soft and pliable.

Build the tacos quickly: Put a spoonful of the saucy chicken in the center of each tortilla. Top with a teaspoon of chopped white onion, a few slivers of serrano chile, some radish and avocado slices, a teaspoon of queso fresco and a teaspoon of crème fraîche. Add a few cilantro springs and a small pinch of oregano. Serve immediately with lime wedges on the side.

TACO STUFFED PEPPERS

This comes from Lauren Miyahira on Delish, and begins, “Taco 'bout a healthy dinner!”

Total Time: 35 minutes; Prep Time: 15 minutes; Level: Easy; Yield: 6

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 Onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 lb. ground beef

kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp. Chopped cilantro

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

3 bell peppers, halved (seeds removed)

1 c. shredded Cheddar

1 c. Shredded Monterey Jack

1 c. Shredded lettuce

Pico de gallo, for serving

Hot sauce, for serving

Lime wedges, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 375° and spray a large baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Add onion and cook until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain fat.

Add chili powder, ground cumin, and paprika to beef mixture, then season with salt and pepper.

Drizzle bell peppers with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the peppers, cut side up, in the baking dish and spoon meat mixture into each pepper. Top with cheese and bake until the cheese is melted and the peppers are crisp-tender, about 20 minutes.

Top each pepper with lettuce and serve with pico de gallo, hot sauce, and lime wedges.

SLOW COOKER BIRRIA BEEF TACOS

This recipe, from Old El Paso, begins, "Check out this tasty taco twist on a traditional Mexican dish. Birria is a meat stew often served at holidays and celebrations. For this easy take on birria, we’ve turned the traditional rustic stew into Slow Cooker Birria Beef Tacos using our Old El Paso™ Barbacoa Beef Street Taco Kit. Slow-cooking the beef makes it melt-in-your-mouth tender as it takes on the delicious flavors of the broth mixture made of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, garlic, taco kit seasoning and onions. Looking for new taco night inspiration? This Slow Cooker Birria Beef Tacos recipe will make coming home to dinner a delicious treat."

Prep Time: 45 minutes; Total Time: 7 hours 45 minutes; Makes 4 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.oldelpaso.com/recipes/slow-cooker-birria-beef-tacos.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups diced white onions

2 tablespoons finely chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 package Old El Paso™ Barbacoa Beef Street Taco Kit

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 3/4 to 2 1/4 lb boneless beef chuck roast

1 cup Old El Paso™ Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican Blend (4 oz)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Lime wedges

Directions

Spray 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In slow cooker, mix 2 cups of the onions, the chiles, garlic, seasoning mix (from taco kit) and salt. Stir in water.

In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook beef roast in oil 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until browned on both sides. Transfer to mixture in slow cooker; turn to coat. Cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours, until beef is tender.

Transfer beef to cutting board; cool slightly. Shred beef, discarding any pieces of fat. Toss beef with 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Place remaining cooking liquid in small bowl, for dipping.

Fill tortillas (from taco kit) with beef, cheese, remaining 1/4 cup onions and the cilantro. Serve with salsa verde (from taco kit), reserved cooking liquid and lime wedges.

Expert Tips

The flavorful cooking liquid from the birria, or “consommé,” is often served as a dipping sauce. The shredded slow cooker birria beef is also delicious tucked into a cheesy quesadilla or served over rice with some cooking liquid.

If desired, strain cooking liquid before transferring to bowl for dipping.

CHICKEN FAJITAS

This recipe is from the Food Network, and begins, "Marinating chicken, peppers and onions in a highly flavored marinade imparts big Tex-Mex flavors onto these mouthwatering grilled fajitas. Spiced yogurt and avocado sauce served alongside fresh cilantro keeps the fajitas healthy and fresh tasting."

Prep Time: 25 minutes; Inactive Time: 30 minutes; Cook Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes; Yield: 6 servings; Level: Intermediate

To view this online, go to https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/chicken-fajitas-recipe-2040619.

Ingredients

1 cup packed cilantro leaves, plus extra for serving

1/4 cup lime juice, about 2 limes

1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

3 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cloves garlic

1 jalapeno, seeded if desired

1 tablespoon honey

Kosher salt

1 1/2-pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 red onion, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds

2 orange and/or yellow bell peppers, quartered, seeds removed

1 ripe avocado, halved, seeded and peeled

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 cup fat-free Greek Yogurt

12 corn tortillas

Directions

Put the cilantro, lime juice, broth, scallions, garlic, jalapeno, honey, and salt in a blender, puree until smooth. Reserve 2 tablespoons; do not wash out the blender.

Put chicken breasts in a medium bowl and the peppers and onions in another. Divide the remaining cilantro puree evenly between the chicken and the peppers and onions. Toss well to coat the chicken and vegetables and let stand, at room temperature, for 30 minutes.

Add the avocado, 1/2 cup water, and the reserved 2 tablespoons cilantro sauce to the blender. Puree until smooth and season with salt. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a small skillet set over medium heat until hot. Add the cumin and coriander and continue to cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pour the spices over the yogurt and set aside for the flavors to blend. Stir before serving.

Preheat a grill for medium-high/direct heat cooking. Oil the grill grates. Grill the chicken and vegetables, turning, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, about 5 to 8 minutes for the vegetables and 12 to 15 minutes for the chicken. Let chicken rest 5 minutes. Place the tortillas on the grill until just warmed through, about 30 seconds.

To assemble the fajitas: slice the onions and peppers into thin strips and then slice the chicken. Place some peppers, onions, chicken and cilantro in a tortilla topped with the spiced yogurt and the avocado sauce.