Posts Tagged ‘tacos’

So I had quite the fiasco or what I like to call “Emily’s Epic Failures” on Monday night when I was attempting to make some red velvet cakesters.  They were coming out super flat and no matter how many eggs I added they were little pancakes.  My husband walked in the kitchen as I’m starting to panic and says “huh, they kind of look like tacos”.  Have I mentioned my husband is a genius?  I looked at him and said “dude, thats awesome” – yes unfortunately we talk like this.  So I finished up making the red velvet cakesters/tacos for my coworkers to eat and starting planning these little suckers.  My poor coworkers get all of my epic failures as long as they are still edible.  I’m sure they look in the kitchen after I send out my dorky e-mail letting them know of  said failed recipe that is in the kitchen and think “this girl has a food blog?  Sccaaarrry!!”

These are super easy and perfect for a Cinco de Mayo treat.  You can get super creative and stuff them full of great stuff.  I went with the normal taco ingredients of lettuce and tomatos because I was a little afraid they were not going to look like tacos and I wanted it to be super obvious.  They turned out so freaking cute!!

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Makes about 50 tacos

1 box cake mix (I used a spice cake so that the “tortilla” looked a little more brown.)

Follow the box directions but use less water.  For instance – my box called for 3 eggs, 1/3 cup oil, and 1 1/3 cup water.  I only used 1 cup of water.  You want the batter to be runny and not too thick or you won’t get that flat tortilla look.

Pour the batter in 4″ rounds on a cookie sheet.  Bake for about 7 min.  I kept them in for about 7.5 minutes.  Yes I’m serious….  If they cook too long the “tortilla” will crack in half, too short and the “tortilla” is too sticky.  You might have to play with the time on the first batch to get it just right.

Icing:

1 block of cream cheese or 8oz

1 pound of powdered sugar (half a standard bag)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

using a mixer combine the cream cheese, vanilla, and the powdered sugar.  Whip like crazy until it is combined and creamy.

Toppings:

I used coconut as the lettuce and chopped up hot tamales for the tomatoes.

Recipe Card

You know those recipes that get passed around from family member to family member or all around the office?  Well, this is one of those recipes.  A co-worker of mine gave this to me a few years ago and I’ve since passed it on to a few more people at work.  It’s just that good.  Plus, the recipe can be adapted to feed as many people as you want and is a big hit on summer holidays. 

Some of Craig’s family came to town recently and we had everyone over to our apartment for some good eats.  We based our whole meal around Cuban flavors with this as the star dish.  The trick to pulled pork is the lower oven temperature and long four-hour cook time.  So, yeah, you pretty much have to plan this one ahead of time.  It’s not exactly a throw together on a random Tuesday night kinda dish.  But believe me, it’s worth the wait!   

Pulled Pork Tacos
Adapted from Real Simple, June 2006

2 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 cup apricot jam/jelly
2 jalapeños, seeded and sliced
1 red onion, chopped
corn tortillas, warmed
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1-2 limes, cut into wedges

Heat oven to 300 degrees.  Place two large sheets of aluminum foil on top of one another on  a work surface.  Place the pork in the center of the foil and season all sides with salt, pepper, and cumin.  Spoon and spread jam onto each side of the pork.  Scatter the sliced jalapenos and onion onto and around pork.  Fold the four layers of the foil in towards the center and crimp to form a packet.  Place packet in a large baking dish and roast pork until fork tender, about 4 hours.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Unwrap the pork, reserving the juices, and shred into a serving dish.  Pour the remaining juices, jalapenos, and onion over the pork and toss to combine. 

To make the tacos, spoon shredded pork onto corn tortillas.  Garnish tacos with a squeeze of lime and cilantro.  Serves around 10 (20 small tacos).