Tag Archives: tex mex paleo

No Tortilla Soup

Posted on by

No tortilla soup

I know summer may not be the best time to share a soup recipe (especially here in Texas 😦 ), but this one is worth the heat! It has all the delicious flavors of tortilla soup without the tortillas.

Makes about 6 servings

Ingredients:
3 small chicken breasts, or 1 1.5 large chicken breasts
1 large onion, chopped
1 green zucchini, diced
1 yellow summer squash, diced
1 14.5 oz can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
48 oz no salt or low sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp EVOO, divided
1 tbsp and 1/4 tsp salt, divided
1 tbsp Mexican oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions:
1. In a large stock pot, add 1 tbsp EVOO and onions and cook for 3-4 minutes on medium-high heat until onions become translucent and soft.
2. Add in zucchini, squash, tomatoes, chicken broth, 1 tbsp salt and Mexican oregano and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Season chicken breasts with 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper and add to skillet.
4. Scoop out about 1/4 cup of the broth from the soup and pour it into the skillet to keep the chicken moist. Cook chicken for 12-15 minutes, turning chicken at the halfway point, until chicken is cooked all the way through.
5. Remove chicken to a plate or cutting board and use two forks to shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
6. Add chicken to the soup pot.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Advertisement

Fajita Taco Salad Bowls

Fajita taco salad

Sometimes I really, really miss taco bowls from this big Tex-Mex fast food chain. Yeah, you know which place I’m talking about. They are loaded with beans, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese, guacamole, fajitas and all inside a fried corn? shell. They used to seem like such a “healthy” choice when compared to other fast food joints, but more than half of the stuff in that bowl now makes me sick. I was really craving one of these bowls so I decided to make my own. I promise you this salad is the most satisfying salad you’ll ever eat. It’s so simple to make and is sooo good.

Fajita Taco Salad Bowls
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients for fajitas:
1 pound beef skirt steak
2 tsp salt
2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp EVOO

Fajitas

Ingredients for salad:
2 cups of frozen (or fresh) strips of red and green bell pepper and onion
4 cups of romaine lettuce, chopped
2 large avocados, mashed in a bowl with juice of a small lime (guacamole)
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp EVOO
Chopped jalapeno (optional)
Spicy salsa (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat and add EVOO.
2. Season meat on both sides with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder.
3. Place the meat on the skillet and cook each side for about 5 minutes until desired doneness. (5 minutes on each side comes out medium well)
4. Remove the meat to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing into thin strips.
5. In the same skillet, add 1 tblsp of EVOO, bell peppers and onions and sauté for 4 minutes on medium-high heat.
6. Compose each salad in a bowl with lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, cilantro, fajitas and a hefty scoop of guacamole.

Enjoy!!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Slow Cooked Pork Carnitas Lettuce Wrap Tacos

Lettuce wrap pork carnitas tacos
Whoa, that title is certainly a mouthful! Couldn’t think of an easier way to describe these simple, but delicious tacos. I love throwing food in the slow cooker in the morning and coming home to a delicious meal. I don’t mind cooking dinner every night, but it can be hard with my work schedule and my husband’s busy school schedule. During the week, I only get to spend a couple of hours a day, at most, with my husband and usually weekends are spent running errands and more school work for him, so if I can spend less time in the kitchen, I try. In less than three months, our lives will be much easier when he finally receives that master of architecture degree! Woohoo!

Now, onto these carnitas. I usually make carnitas with pork shoulder, but pork loin roast was on sale so I decided to try it and it came out just as great. My husband loves crispy carnitas so after they’ve been slow cooked, he likes to toss them in a little EVOO in a pan to get them extra crispy. They are delicious right out of the slow cooker though, so choose which one you prefer.

Slow cooked pork carnitas

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless pork loin roast
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
Leaves of romaine lettuce
Cilantro
Tomato
Avocado Slices

Directions:
1. In a slow cooker, place a tblsp of EVOO and half of the onions and garlic.
2. Season the pork with salt and pepper and place in the slow cooker. Add the remaining onions and garlic on top of the pork, along with another tblsp of EVOO.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Roughly shred the pork with a knife and fork and mix it with all the onions, garlic and juice from the bottom of the cooker.
4. For crispy carnitas, throw some of the shredded pork into a pan with a tblsp of EVOO and toss around on medium to high heat for about 5 minutes until most of the carnitas get crispy. You don’t want to overcook them or they’ll become dry.
5. Place leaves of lettuce on a plate and add a generous amount of carnitas on each leaf and top with cilantro, tomato and avocado slices.

Try these tacos with your favorite salsa or my paleo avocado cilantro crema, it’s divine!

PRINTABLE RECIPE