Tasty Tuesday

I am having severe blogger's block.  Lately nothing has been jumping out at me saying BLOG ME.  

I thought that doing Tasty Tuesday would be my one excuse for at least one post a week.  But, in true fashion, I start the meal a little early, doing what I can so I can work on other things until Jeremy gets home, and then I loose my focus and forget to take pictures and finish the plate.  So, I'll do the post, but without pictures.  

In the last few months I have fallen in love with cilantro.  I almost always have it on hand nowadays and can find all sorts of dishes to add it to.  Last night I made Tacos del Carne with Cilantro Lime Creme and Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice.  I made the rice first and I think with a little tweaking it could have been great!  My sister-in-law used to be a manager at Chipotle in Manhattan so we were VERY familiar with their burritos and rice.  (Oh, how I miss the corn salsa...)  The recipe, and I don't remember where I got it from, maybe Pintrest, called for long grain or basmati rice.  Well, I don't usually buy either of those, so I used regular minute rice.  I used about a cup and a half of rice and water.  Once it was cooked, I added a splash of canola oil and about 3 tbls of chopped up cilantro and slightly less than a half cup of lime juice.  It was WAY too much lime juice, but overall pretty good.  

Next I made the Cilantro Lime Creme for the tacos.  Here is the original recipe.  I found that making half of the creme was plenty for the two of us.  I have also modified the tacos part of the recipe in several different ways, using what I have or eliminating what I don't have.  I made the creme with a half cup of sour cream (I use reduced fat), 1/8 cup mayo, 1/8 cup milk (I use 1%), 3 tbls lime juice and chopped up cilantro, however much you love.  Mix it all up and pop it in the fridge.  I taste-test this on a tortilla chip.  If it tastes good on a chip, it'll be good on a taco!

Finally, the tacos.  I have used several different things for this - leftover steak, leftover roast, and last night I used round steak (or minute steak).  I sliced it up into strips and threw it in a pan with a touch of oil. I used a bit of steak seasoning and then I add some salsa and pureed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  We love spicy food.  I cook that until the steak is done.  

To assemble, I warm up a flour tortilla, add some rice, then the creme, and the steak.  I top it with a little sharp cheddar cheese and maybe some shredded lettuce.  Oh.  My.  It's SO good.  The Hubby loves these!!