As I have mentioned before on this blog I am a huge fan of mexican food.  So whenever I come across a recipe that has a mexican flair to it the recipe immediately goes on my meal list.  Mexican restaurants and few and far between here in Vancouver so I try and slip it in a good mexican recipe as often as possible.

The recipe that I was working from had a good base but I felt there was a few things I could do to make it even just a little bit more to my tastes.  Since I made chicken dishes almost every night I thought I would go ahead and put ground beef instead.  I also had to substitute cheddar for the queso fresco in the sauce and added some taco seasoning to give it that mexican taste.

Mac and cheese is not the same if it doesn’t have a crunchy topping so I sprinkled panko on the top before popping it in the oven.  When it was ready to serve I put a healthy dash of tabasco to give it the kick it was missing and some slices of avocado.

The end result of this dish was lacking in one major area, the lack of sauce after baking.  I typically go for mac and cheese because of the creamy sauce so I was disappointed that it wasn’t creamier.  That is such a quick and easy fix that I will definitely make this dish again but with double the sauce.

This recipe will be added to my list of rotating mexican dishes since the only convenient mexican found here in Vancouver is the stuff I make at home.

Taco Macaroni and Cheese

1 medium onion

1 green pepper

1 fresno pepper

1 pound ground beef

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons butter*

2 tablespoons flour*

1 cup milk*

1 tablespoon taco seasoning*

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese*

8 ounces macaroni pasta

1 avocado for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare pasta according to packaging.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat and add peppers and onions.  Once they begin to soften add ground beef and cook until brown.

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat.  Whisk in flour, salt and pepper and taco seasoning to create a paste.  Whisk in milk and continue to whisk until sauce begins to thicken.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese.

Mix the meat, noodles and sauce together in the dish and sprinkle with cheese and panko and place in the oven to bake until cheese melts.  Garnish with avocado and a dash of tabasco.

* Double these ingredients for a creamier dish

Growing up I loved when we had sloppy joes.  The tang of the sauce and how it made such a mess everywhere is forever a memory of my childhood.  My love of sloppy joes has continued into my adult years.  Although I don’t have them very often whenever I do I feel like a little kid again.

My mom never had them made from scratch it was always made with the packet of manwich seasonings.  My grandma use to make it with the can and give it to us open face which always felt like I was getting two sloppy joes in one.  I always preferred the seasoning because there was just something about it that made it what a sloppy joe was suppose to taste like.

I got the sad news quite a few years ago from my older sister, who equally loved them, that they were no longer selling the packet of manwich sloppy joe seasonings.  It was a very sad day because I knew at that point I was going to have to try all the sloppy joe recipes that I came across in hopes of finding something that came even close.

Last night I made a recipe that I came across on tastespotting and was pleasantly surprised at the end result.  Although it was not like the manwich I loved it was actually very good.  I loved the addition of the carrots and celery because it made me feel like I was eating something just a little bit healthier.

I did make a couple changes in search of getting that tang that I always loved by increasing the vinegar and worcestershire sauce.  The end result was a yummy dinner that brought back great childhood memories.  I would make this recipe again and continue to tweek the recipe in search of the elusive tang I remember.

Sloppy joe mix is also really good in a bowl with melted cheese and eaten with tortilla chips, always a great way to eat up the left overs when you are out of buns.

Sloppy Joes

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large carrot, finely diced

2 celery stalks, finely diced

1 medium onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 pound ground beef

1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoon dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

4 rolls split and toasted

In a pan, heat oil over medium heat and the add carrots, celery, and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for additional minute or so.

Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the ground beef and brown, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Serve on rolls.

Tater Tot casserole is that dish for me.

Tater tot casserole has ingredients that are just meant to be together.  Tater tot casserole at 27 is just as good as it was at 6.  Can you really go wrong with ground beef, onions, tater tots and lots of cheese?

This is a dish that can be put together in 15 minutes and then just popped in the oven until the tater tots get crispy, what could be easier in the middle of the week.

Since enjoying this dish it makes me want to start making the other dishes from childhood like tuna noodle casserole, which I am pretty sure I hated every time my mom made it but I have no idea why I felt that way.  It is fun to relive those childhood memories through food.

Tater Tot Casserole

1 pound ground beef

onion

salt and pepper

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

cheese

tater tots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the ground beef and the onions.  Remove from heat and add the cream of mushroom soup and the salt and pepper.  Put mixture in the bottom of an 8×8 pan.  Sprinkle grated cheese over the top and then put down a layer of tater tots.  Sprinkle the top with salt.  Place pan in the oven and cook until tater tots are crispy.

It is that easy!

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