Half-Moon Taco Burgers

Ground meat isn't unusual in a taco, but I decided to change things up by making half-moon shaped burgers that would fit neatly inside a tortilla.

I flavored them with peppers and chili powder, melted cheese on top, and served them in warm tortillas with guacamole and pepper.

The result was a really really really tasty burger that looked unique, nestled it its tortilla home.

The meat I used was a combination of beef and chicken from a company called Cluck 'n Moo that provided product for the blog group 37 Cooks that I belong to.

Because the meat includes chicken, it needs to be cooked to a safe temperature - no rare burgers with this stuff.

You can make these less spicy by using mild pepper and mild chile powder, or make it more spicy by using hotter peppers and chile powder. And of course, you can add extra spice with your choice of condiments, like peppers or salsa.

Half-Moon Taco Burgers

1 pound Cluck 'n Moo ground chicken and beef
1 4-ounce can diced Hatch chiles (hot or mild, your choice)
2 teaspoons chili powder (hot or mild, your choice)
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 cup shredded cheese (I used a mix of cheeses, but any good-melting cheese will work)

In a medium bowl, combine the ground meat, chiles, and chili powder.

Divide the meat into four portions. Shape each portion into a half-mood shape that will fit into your tortilla. I used 6-inch tortillas and made the burgers slightly smaller that the tortillas - keep in mind that the tortillas need to wrap the meat.

Heat your grill. Sprinkle the burgers with salt as desired, and cook, flipping as needed, until just about done. Divide the cheese onto the tops of the four burgers, close the grill, and let them cook until the cheese is almost melted.

When the cheese is almost melted, place the tortillas on the grill (on a cooler part of the grill, if possible). Place the burgers on the tortillas and close the grill again. Cook until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are warmed.

Serve with your favorite taco toppings. I used guacamole and pickled jalapenos. Other options are shredded lettuce, salsa, cilantro, crema, or chopped fresh tomatoes.

Shishito Guacamole

There was an avocado sitting on the kitchen counter, glaring at me accusingly. I had plans for it the day before, but plans fell through. I knew that if I didn't use it soon ... like now, it would be ugly inside, and I'd be mad.

For a fleeting moment, I thought about adding the avocado to the mashed potatoes I was planning, but shifted gears when I remembered the shishito peppers I recently received from Frieda's Specialty Produce.

Avocado with shishito peppers sounded like a really good idea. And, it was. They added a nice roasted pepper flavor and just a little bit of heat.

Shishito Guacamole

6-8 shishito peppers
Splash of olive oil
1 avocodo
1 teaspoon finly chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon lime juice
Salt, to taste

Remove the pepper stem and slice the peppers in half, lengthwise. Heat the oil in a skillet and add the peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are browned in spots and beginning to smell fragrant.

Remove the peppers from the pan and chop finely.

Remove the flesh from the avocado and put it in a small bowl along with the peppers, chives, lime juice, and salt. Stir to combine, while chopping and mashing the avocado to your desired smoothness. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lime juice, if desired.

Serve.

Frieda's Specialty Produce occasionally sends me food items for use on my blog. I'm not required to post.

A fresh, healthy, tasty green dip - that isn't guacamole: Fake-amole for St. Patrick's Day!

With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, you'll be seeing a lot of green. Maybe you should add this one to your list. A pretty green dip that tastes fresh, earthy, and rich all at the same time. It looks like it might be guacamole, but it's not.

The funny thing is that it tastes just a little like guacamole - the slightly nutty flavor is similar, and the color is almost perfect. If you wanted to switch it up a bit with chopped cilantro, a bit of lime, and a few chopped jalapenos or some salsa, you might actually convince a few people, even though the texture is a more like hummus.

For St. Patrick's Day, guacamole might not fit the menu - but this is endlessly versatile.

This can be used as a spread (omit the water to keep it thicker) or as a dip (add water as needed to get the consistency you're looking for. It's great with crackers, raw vegetables, as a spread on sandwiches, or with pita or tortilla chips.

Meanwhile, this is loaded with vegetables, herbs and fiber. And it can be made well in advance, since the bright green won't fade or go brown - so you can make it well in advance for parties. Just keep it refrigerated until needed.

The Mazola® Corn Oil in this particular recipe provides the tiny bit of fat needed to help carry the flavor and add richness, and it doesn't add any assertive flavors - the rest of the ingredients really shine. While I like flavorful oils for some applications, sometimes the oil needs to step back a few paces and just be ... well, oil.

While preparing this recipe, I also learned that a recent research study found that corn oil helps lower cholesterol more than extra virgin olive oil. You can learn more about the study at Mazola.com.

Pea and Chickpea Dip, AKA Fake-amole

1 cup frozen peas
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh parsley
A few leaves fresh thyme (optional)
2 tablespoons Mazola Corn Oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1-2 tablespoons water (optional; as needed)

Combine all the ingredients in your food processor or blender. To be honest, I started with my blender, then moved to my food processor, since I wasn't getting quite the smooth result I was looking for - but blenders differ. Yours might do just fine.

Blend until the mixture is as smooth as possible, scraping down the sides of the container as needed. If you start with completely frozen peas, it might take a little longer to blend, but it's fine to use them frozen or thawed. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

If the mixture is too thick for your purposes, add water, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach the consistency you're looking for.

Serve with crackers, chips, or vegetables. Or use as a sandwich spread.

Visit Mazola.com for more information about the benefits of corn oil and for more recipe ideas. This post is sponsored by Mazola.

Keep your Guacamole Green!

I love avocados. And I post about them a lot. As of right now, there are 61 posts on this blog that mention avocados, and 31 posts that mention guacamole.

Yes, I do love guacamole. Plain, fancy, spicy, fruity, limey. Traditional or non-traditional.

But there's a limit to how much I want to eat. I mean I could eat a whole avocado's worth of guacamole all by myself. And maybe that has even happened. Maybe. But most of the time, guacamole is an appetizer, or it's intended as a garnish on tacos.

And that means there's a good chance there will be leftover guacamole. Which never survives well.

I've tried putting plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole, and that helps. But it's not a perfect solution. The guac still gets brown.

In part, it depends on the avocados. I've had some that I swear begin to turn dark while I'm working on them. Make the guacamole more than two seconds before the chips begin dive-bombing, and it's already getting ugly. Other avocados stay green much longer, even with no magic spells or protective charms.

The amount of lime you add to the guacamole also makes a difference. More lime = longer storage. Although I like lime, I want my guacamole to taste more like avocado than lime.

So, when I read a tip on The Kitchn about putting a layer of water on top of the guacamole prior to storage, I had to give it a try. And, the fact that they used a container that's exactly like one I have might have caught my eye, too.

I tried it. Water on top of the guacamole, seal the container, and stick it in the fridge.

After 24 hours, it was still a vibrant green. So far, so good. I let it rest a little longer. After two days, the water had started turning dark, and there was a very small layer of brown on top of the guacamole. It was a much thinner layer than I would have seen if I had stored it normally, but it was still headed to a bad place.

Then, inspiration struck. I poured out the water, scraped off that tiny layer of brown, and added some clean water. THEN I added a splash of lime juice. I didn't measure, but it was just a splash compared to the amount of water.

Back into the fridge it went. 24 hours passed. No change. Another 24 hours. Still good. Three days, and it looked just like it did on the first day. Well, okay, some of the bits of avocado had loosened themselves from the guacamole and were floating in the water, but the guacamole was still green. The water wasn't brown. SUCCESS!

And keep in mind, this was guacamole that had been in the fridge for two days with just the water. It was now five days old and still perfectly edible. Absolutely no signs of going brown.

Woah. It's like a kitchen miracle!

After six days in the refrigerator, that same guacamole is just now starting to show the tiniest bit of brown. And, really, that's eight days, since the first two were with just water and no lime juice. I'm really impressed at how well this works. It's pretty doubtful I'll ever need to store guacamole for six days, but it's nice to know I can make a larger batch (like, two avocados instead of one) and it won't be wasted.

If you're going to do this for a large quantity of guacamole, I'd suggest using a container that's tall rather than wide so you limit the amount of water/guac interaction. Over time, you're probably going to get some water infused into the guacamole. Not a lot, but you might as well limit it by using a tall container. A wide-mouth canning jar, perhaps?

Smooth the top of the guacamole before you add the water, and try to get rid of air bubbles below the surface.

When you add the water, pour it in slowly. You can pour down the side of the container or pour onto a spoon and let it dribble off of that. There's no sense in making a crater in the guacamole by pouring water in too fast and getting the guac mixed with water.

Don't forget to add your splash of lime juice. Since you're going to be pouring off the water, anyway, you could also use lemon juice or fruit fresh - whatever you have on hand.

And then just cover the container and refrigerate.

Easy, right? And no more brown guacamole!

Whole Foods Feasting: Peachy Guacamole

In this guacamole, peaches play role similar to tomatoes - a little sweet and a little tart, and the texture is very similar to that of tomatoes. Give it a try - I think you'll like it.

This pairs well with the salsa from yesterday, with the salsa providing the heat, and the guacamole taming it.

Once again, I prefer to peel the peaches, but you can leave them unpeeled, if you prefer.

Peach Guacamole
Makes 1 cup

1/2 peach
1 avocado
1 tablespoon chives, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons lime juice
Pinch of salt

Peel, pit, and dice the peach and add it to a small bowl.

Remove the flesh from the avocado and add it to the bowl. Add the chives, lime juice, and salt.

Stir to combine, breaking up the avocado as desired. Serve immediately.

Garnish with some extra chives, if desired.

It's easy being green ... guacamole!

I absolutely adore avocados.

Love, love, LOVE.

I love them cubed, sliced, mashed ... even baked into cookies.

But there's one dish that I think is the ultimate use of avocado. Guacamole. It's even fun to say ... guac -a - mole -ee.

Me, some chips, and a vat of guacamole. Sounds perfect. Maybe some beer. With lime in it. Maybe some salsa on the side. It's perfect for a day of hanging out on the couch in front of the TV, right?

Like for a football game, right? Hello, Superbowl snack.

Sometimes my guacamole is nothing more that avocado and salt. Sometimes I add odd things, like kiwi. Sometimes it's classic, and sometimes it's not. This time, it's a fairly simple recipe, with a good hit of lime. One reason for adding lime to guacamole is that the lime keeps the avocados from turning brown quite as fast. But I like to add enough lime so you taste it.

Have you ever had cilantro go weird and sort of brown on you shortly after you chop it? The secret is that you need to use a sharp knife and cut the leaves rather than whacking and bruising them. That's easiest to do you roll the leaves into a tight wad and then slice through them.

Guacamole

1 avocado
1 teaspoon lime juice
Pinch of salt
6 grape tomatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Slice the avocado in half lengthwise around the pit. Remove the pit, then scoop the flesh into a bowl. Add the lime juice and salt and stir to combine breaking up the avocado as you go. I like to leave it a little bit chunky; some people prefer it smooth.

Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lime, if desired. Fold in the tomatoes and cilantro. Serve. Now.

Oh, and if you eat as many avocados as I do, you can plant the seeds. As a houseplant, these are never going to grow any avocados, but they're kind of fun, anyway.

Check out the other avocado posts from my Virtual Potluck friends. Maybe one of these (or two ... or three ... ) will be perfect for your Superbowl party.

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