Category: Dinner Recipes

I was in the mood for tacos recently, but I was craving a flavor that was non-traditional.

We make tacos on a weekly basis and I wanted to try a different recipe to spice things up a bit. I immediately thought of Pork Carnitas Tacos with a pineapple/mango salsa.

While this Pork Carnitas Taco recipe requires more ingredients and steps than a regular beef taco recipe, it is a delicious alternative if the family is craving something new to eat!

My husband works his magic on the grill, so if you have a grill master in the family, this is the perfect opportunity for him/her to get outdoors to grill up delicious goodies!

Pork Carnitas Tacos

Marinade for pork tenderloin:

• 3 tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tbsp. cumin
• 1 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. pepper
• 1/2 cup Frank’s Hot Sauce
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• juice from one lemon

Directions:

1. Whisk ingredients together in a mixing bowl until combined well.
2. Cut pork tenderloin into 8 small medallions.
3. Place medallions into a dish.
4. Pour marinade over pork and allow pork to marinate in the refrigerator for 2+ hours.
5. After marinating, fire up the grill to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Place the pork medallions in the center of the grill and cook until temperature reaches at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit (about 1 1/2 hours).
7. Remove pork from grill and shred it using a food processor.

*Optional: Pineapple/Mango Salsa Ingredients:

• 1 fresh pineapple
• 1 fresh mango
• 1 red onion
• 2 jalapenos
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 2 limes
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper

Directions:

1. Finely dice red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno. Set aside.
2. Cut up the pineapple and mango into chunks.
3. While the grill is still hot (about 300 degrees), place the chunks onto the grill and grill for about 3 minutes on each side (enough to get char marks).
4. Take off grill and let cool.
5. Finely dice cooled pineapple and mango.
6. Juice the two limes.
7. Combine all ingredients and stir well.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Spoon the pork onto an Old El Paso Stand ‘n Stuff Taco Shell and top with the pineapple mango salsa!

Sure enough, these Pulled Pork Carnitas Tacos were a great alternative to regular tacos. This is definitely one recipe that we will have again in the future!

Create your own taco bar and let your family choose their favorite toppings!

This past weekend was a big football weekend for our family, and we always love to enjoy our fall game-days with great food.

We wanted something delicious and fast, so we decided to make Tacos with Old El Paso Taco Refried Beans, Taco Boats, and Stand and Stuff Tacos.

My husband and I then went to Wal-Mart and we easily located the Old El Paso section to make our game-day feast a reality.

We thought that we would just make a standard taco bar that had individual bowls of meat, cheese, onions, sour cream, guacamole, and other favorite taco toppings.

However, we wanted to try something a little bit different, so we decided to make a Mexican Layered Dip to make preparing the tacos a snap.

Instead of having individual containers for each topping, we combined them to make a great pre-game dip and a “one-stop-topping-shop” for our taco entrée.

First, we warmed the Old El Paso Traditional refried beans on our stove.

While they warmed, we gathered sour cream, guacamole, a can of diced tomatoes & green chiles, shredded cheese, finely diced onions, green onions, and green olives.

Once the Old El Paso Traditional refried beans were ready, we spread them on the bottom of a baking dish, and then layered the rest of the toppings one by one until we had our Mexican Layered Dip.

Finally, my husband browned 1 pound of ground beef, and added taco flavored seasoning. This allowed for the entire family to put meat, and all of the toppings on tacos in just 2 easy scoops!

We were so glad that we had this idea, because instead of having dozens of dishes to clean from a taco bar, there were only half a dozen dishes!

What’s more is that before and after we made tacos, our family had a great recipe for chips and Mexican Layered Dip.

Mexican Layer Dip Taco Boats

Ingredients:

• 1 can of Old El Paso Traditional Refried Beans
• sour cream
• guacamole
• 1 can diced tomatoes & green chiles
• shredded cheese
• finely diced onions
• chopped green onions
• chopped green olives

Directions:

1. Spread the refried beans on the bottom of a small glass baking dish.
2. Layer the rest of the toppings one by one.
3. Brown 1 pound of ground beef and added taco flavored seasoning.
4. Scoop into Old El Paso Taco Boats or Stand ‘n Stuff Shells.

Of course, this recipe is also great because anyone can tailor it to fit their family’s needs.

For example, you could choose not only beef, but chicken, pork, fish, or any other of your family’s favorite protein.

Additionally, you could leave off or add any ingredient that you wanted to the Mexican Layered Dip recipe to make it fit your game-day needs.

If you prefer hard tacos, you can scoop the Mexican Layer Dip into the Old El Paso Stand ‘n Stuff Shells.

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HogWildThrowdown #CollectiveBias The following content is intended for readers who are 21 or older.

There is nothing I love more on a summer weekend than to cook delicious meals for my family. My husband often helps me by grilling the meat, and I usually take care of the sides. We were all in the mood for some smoky, sweet, and spicy pork baby back ribs recently. I picked up Smithfield Extra Tender Back Ribs from Walmart for my husband to grill.

Even on hot, steamy summer days, it is refreshing to sit in the shade with a cool breeze, cold drink, and smell meat grilling. My husband usually takes care of getting the grill going by building the fire, and then setting the temperature just right. The great thing about grilling ribs outside is that they don’t take very long (compared to other barbecue meats) and clean-up is a snap!

Once the grill temperature was set, my husband put on the ribs, and then he was able to take my children to the neighborhood pool for 2 hours while I checked to make sure the temperature held. All I had to do was check the grill temperature every 20-30 minutes. While the rest of the family was playing in the pool, I also had time to whip up a delicious summer side dish.

The ribs turned out perfectly tender! Below are the ingredients and directions for the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp of Kosher salt
• 1 tbsp of coarse black pepper
• 1 tbsp of garlic powder
• ½ tsp of ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp of cinnamon sugar
• 2 tbsp of mustard
• ½ tsp pepper sauce

Directions:

1. Take the Smithfield® ribs from the package, rinse them in cool water, and split them about half way in the middle so that they would easily fit on the grill.
2. Prepare the easy dry rub with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon sugar.
3. Take the mustard and pepper sauce and stir them together as an adhesive for the dry rub.
4. Use the mustard and pepper sauce mixture to coat the ribs with a cooking brush.
5. Sprinkle the dry rub on the ribs and “pat” the rub into the meat.
6. Wrap the ribs in foil, and let them sit in the fridge overnight.

The next day, the ribs were ready for the grill!

When grilling ribs, a good grill temperature is between 250 and 300 degrees. Cooking time will be a little longer if cooking at 250, and a little shorter if cooking near 300. Also, if you are grilling more than one rack of ribs, the cooking time might also be a little bit longer. The ribs could take as little as 1 ½ hours to cook, but the temperature of the ribs is more important than the cooking time. For pork ribs, ensure that the meat reaches at least 160 degrees.

We paired these delicious tasting ribs with a summer salad recipe using cucumbers, tomatoes, purple onions, and topped it with a sweet dressing!

The weather is starting to warm up over here on the East Coast and the days are getting longer. Spring is one of my favorite seasons. I love the warmer days, the blooming flowers and trees, spending time outdoors with the family, strawberry picking, and creating recipes with strawberries and other fresh ingredients!

One of our goals this spring is to spend more time outdoors and with our girls. My girls love to play outside when they get home from school. I open up the garage and they are able to ride their scooters and bikes around our driveway and sometimes we ride down to the nearby park for an hour of play.

When playtime is over, we come inside and I start dinner. I’ve made it a priority to create more meals for the family this year. I think it’s very important for families to eat together at the dinner table most nights. Earlier this year, my husband and I decided to trade in our busy and on-the-go lifestyle for more time at home and less time grabbing fast food during the week.

There’s something special about gathering around the dinner table each night. My girls love to set the table before dinner. Sometimes they have to clean off their homework or other arts and craft supplies first, but they know that they are to put a place mat down on the table with eating utensils and a napkin. By setting the table for dinner, it helps them to feel like they are involved in the mealtime process. When we do sit down for dinner, we talk, laugh, share stories about our day, ask questions, and enjoy just being together.

Even though we chose to stop eating out at fast food joints and restaurants often, there are still days when I am in a hurry and can’t always prepare a meal from scratch. That’s why I need a meal that’s quick and easy to prepare. This spring, I plan to make a weekly family size dinners, like lasagna. Lasagna is the perfect meal to serve for any hungry family! We like to serve lasagna with a nice spring salad, warm rolls, and iced tea.

This spring, I’ll be making my mother in-laws special strawberry salad. When we travel home during the springtime, my mother-in-law prepares a delicious salad that everyone enjoys! Strawberries are the perfect addition to many springtime recipes, especially fresh salads. There’s something about the sweet flavor of the strawberries mixed with the tart flavor of the dressing that makes this salad so popular.

Strawberry Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of Romaine salad
• 10 strawberries, sliced – I use this Strawberry Slicer
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup croutons

Dressing:

• 1 packet of Italian Dressing
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp. water

Dressing directions: Mix all ingredients together and stir well. Refrigerate leftover contents. 

Directions:

1. In a large salad bowl, combine all salad ingredients and mix well.
2. Pour dressing over salad and mix well.

More strawberry recipes:

• Strawberry Icebox Cake
• Strawberry Mango Smoothie
• Strawberry Lemon Water
• Strawberry and Blueberry Graham Cracker Pudding Cups
• Strawberry Smoothie
• Strawberry Walnut Oatmeal
• Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pops
• Strawberries and Cream Dessert
• Red, White, and Blue Jello Cups

Get creative in the kitchen with creative nuggets! Create art and other fun ideas with chicken nuggets.

I have two little girls that love to get creative in the kitchen.

They also love to eat — a lot. It seems that every time I turn around I hear, “Mom, I want something to eat!,” “Mom, I want a snack!,” or “Mom, I’m thirsty!”

I stay busy during the day taking care of their needs and keep them fed and satisfied throughout the day.

My kids are back-to-school and I’ve been trying my hardest to keep a well stocked kitchen with plenty of easy breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack ideas to keep everyone happy.

I love to grab quick and convenient foods for my girls. I’m a busy mom trying to balance it all and I need a little help!

I wanted to surprise my girls one afternoon after school by making them something special, so I put my creativity to the test.

I laid out a few chicken nuggets on a plate and thought of creative ways to use these nuggets.

Creative Nuggets

I created chicken nugget flowers with our chicken nuggets!

All I did was place the nuggets in a circle, poured BBQ sauce in the middle, then added a mozzarella cheese stick for the stem, and used strawberries as the leaves!

When I presented these chicken nugget flowers to the kids, they were surprised!

What creative nuggets idea do you have? Share below!