Latin America style tacos

I so named these tacos because they are a hodge podge of recipes from friends and family who live south of the US border. We take tacos very seriously in our home. It is a family favorite. I am certain that my children craved beans, rice, lemon, avacado and corn tortillas from birth as they are the mainstay of my pregnant diet.

As you can see from the picture we don't pre-prepare our tacos before sitting down to eat but, our plates serve as mini buffets for preparing our tacos as we like, once we are all seated. Above is our typical "latin american taco plate".

The picture below beginning shows each dish - Clockwise (starting at the noon postion) Black beans (my husbands favorite), flour and corn tortilla, arroz nicaraguense, avocado chileno, pico de gallo mexicano, center(taco meat americano) and radishes or rabanos chilenos. (all recipes are posted here on my blog).

The recipe below all serves 4-6.

Taco meat mexicano

by Caprece Curtis

1 TBS of olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 1/2 lbs of ground beef

1 TBS of chile powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp ground red pepper (commonly called cayenne pepper)

1 can tomato sauce

Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook until onion is softened. Add beef and cook. Add chili powder, salt, cumin and red pepper; cook stirring one min. stir in tomato sauce and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20 min.

serves 4.

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

I am not a woman who loves to cook. I consider it rather a necessary evil. So, when I find a good crock pot recipe I get really excited! This one is scrumplicious! Well, if you like beef stroganoff. I served it with egg noodles and a green salad. The whole family ate it up. I made just a couple of changes to the original recipe. Crock pots aren't ideal for browning things so, I brown my meat in a skillet then put it in the crock pot. I also do the same for onions or garlic when called for in a crock pot recipe. I have found in my experience that this improves the taste of the dish.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours,
Ingredients:
1 package stew beef (or your favorite type, cut into cubes or strips)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup beef broth
1 - 8 ounce container sour cream
salt, pepper and paprika
Preparation:Brown the stew beef then place it in the crock pot. Saute the onion and garlic in the same skillet you browned the meat in then add it to the crock pot. Combine all ingredients, except sour cream, salt, pepper and paprika, in a slow cooker. Cook for several hours. (I usually let it cook for 6 hrs. on medium)
Before serving, add sour cream, salt, pepper and paprika, to taste. If you want it a little thicker, you can mix some flour or cornstarch with water and add it to the mixture to thicken it. Serve over rice or noodles