Best of the Month May 2015

A recap of my most popular posts from last month (May 2015).

I love seeing my blog views increase.  It's great to know I'm not just talking to myself.  I made many changes in March and I believe they are working.  My viewership is up and I'm gaining followers on social media.  Yay!

followers:  1421             followers:  392

likes:  1187                    followers:  76

followers:  42                subscribers:  12

followers:  925 (311 Joybee, What's for Dinner Blog Posts board)

Total blog views: 160,101

Now on to the best of the month:

Last year's most viewed of May:

Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos

Shrimp marinated in tequila and lime juice atop a lightly grilled corn tortilla with toppings of your choice.  210 views and 64 +1s.  Now has 419 views and 80 +1s.

#BestoftheMonth May 2015 | #TequilaLime #ShrimpTacos: last year's #bestofMay via @joybeewhatsfor  [Tweet this]

Now back to this year's best of the month:

How to Make Mexican Chorizo

A tutorial that shows you how to turn ground pork into chorizo with some fairly common spices.  A re-post of the original from 9/16/13.  1584 views and 103 +1s.

#HowtoMake #MexicanChorizo #cincodemayo | #BestoftheMonth May 2015 via @joybeewhatsfor  [Tweet this]

Easy Crescent Rolls

Soft, yeasty, buttery rolls rolled into crescent shapes.  They make great dinner rolls, sandwich rolls, or snacks. 835 views and 30 +1s.

#Easy #CrescentRolls they're #homemade | #BestoftheMonth May 2015 via @joybeewhatsfor  [Tweet this]

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Savory beef and crisp broccoli served over rice.  This is also a re-post of the original from 5/20/13.  817 views and 72 +1s.

#BeefandBroccoli #Stirfry w/ #leftoversteak | #BestoftheMonth May 2015 via @jobeewhatsfor  [Tweet this]

Coconut Rice Pudding

Leftover rice and coconut milk combine to make a creamy, delicious, and vegan breakfast or dessert.  691 views and 37 +1s.  Random coincidene, last May I posted my Leftover Rice Pudding it also made the best of the month (I guess May is just my month to make rice pudding).

#Coconut #RicePudding it's #vegan | #BestoftheMonth May 2015 via @joybeewhatsfor  [Tweet this]

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken

Chicken and chickpeas slow cooked in a flavorful Moroccan spiced broth and served over brown rice.  547 views and 36 +1s.

#SlowCooker #Moroccan #Chicken it's #antiinflammatory | #BestoftheMonth May 2015 via @joybeewhatsfor  [Tweet this]

Check out last year's Best of May (2014):

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy.

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How to Make Mexican Chorizo

A tutorial that shows you how to turn ground pork into chorizo with some fairly common spices.

When I lived in Houston, TX there were a ton of small, family owned Mexican grocery stores.  Chorizo was so easy to find as well as dried chilies, and pre-marinated fajita meat.  Now that I live in Hawaii, Mexican groceries are harder to find but I have Chinatown with new flavors and foods to explore.  While I love experimenting with new food sometimes I like to revisit old comforting food and recipes.  So when I wanted to make a dish that needed chorizo I set out to figure out how to turn ground pork (easily found in Chinatown) into chorizo. I found this recipe and was happy to note I had all the spices I needed.

Turn ground pork into chorizo [Tweet this]

What better recipe to repost for Cinco de Mayo.  I hope this inspires you to try making your own chorizo.

Mexican Chorizo

Ingredients:
(recipe from Honest Cooking:  Authentic Homemade Mexican Chorizo)

1 pound ground pork
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp ground cloves
2 bay leaves, crushed
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp dried minced garlic
1 tsp sea salt (coarse salt)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Place the ground pork in a large bowl while you combine the spices.  You can use 2 Tbsp Ancho chile powder in place of the paprika and cayenne, but I did not have Ancho chile powder.

Sprinkle the spice mix on top of the ground pork and pour in the vinegar.  Then get your hands in there and mix until all the spices are evenly incorporated.  I keep latex gloves in my kitchen for activities like this so I don't make too much of a mess with porky paws (they're also are handy when cutting up hot peppers).

#Kitchentip use gloves to avoid porky paws [Tweet this]

Now you have chorizo.  Refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to meld or wrap and freeze.  I separated half out to freeze and used half in my Black Beans and Rice.

If freezing separate into whatever size portion you like (this is 1/2 pound), wrap in plastic wrap and put in a zipper bag.  Just thaw and use when ready.  I plan to use my frozen 1/2 pound in Taco Salad.

Enjoy.

Repost of origial from 9/16/13 added new cover pic, 'check out' pics/links, click to tweet, minor editing. 

For recipes using chorizo check out:

Chorizo and Black Bean Taco Salad

Black Beans and Rice                -

For more Cinco de Mayo recipes check out:

The Best Queso Dip        -

Great Guacamole        -

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Chicken Burrito Bowls

Black Bean Soup

Chicken Enchiladas

Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos

Linked to:  Empty Your Archive, Saturday Dishes Tex mex, Empty Your Archive, Treasure Box, 2 Cup, Lou Lou Girls, Tickle my Tastebuds

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Chorizo and Black Bean Taco Salad

Taco salad made with black beans, chorizo and spices.

I think that by now it is public knowledge that I love taco salad.  One night I was trying to get my husband to come up with an idea for dinner (for the next night).  I love cooking, but sometimes it's hard to always come up with ideas of what to make.  He actually requested tacos.  We didn't have tortillas or taco shells, but we had tortilla chips so that quickly changed to taco salad.  We didn't have any ground beef in the freezer, so I would need to pick some up at the store, then I remembered I had 1/2 pound of frozen home made chorizo.  I knew that 1/2 pound of meat wasn't going to be enough so I also added black beans.  The black beans were already cooked and stored in the freezer for times like these (canned black beans would work too).  With chorizo and black beans as my base ingredients I made taco salad for dinner and it was delicious.

Chorizo and Black Bean Taco Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 lb chorizo
1 onion, chopped
2 cups black beans
1/2-1 cup salsa
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp garlic powder
Hot sauce to taste, optional
salt and pepper to taste
Tortilla chips
lettuce
toppings of your choice (cheese, cilantro, tomatoes, jalapenos....)

In a large skillet, over medium heat, cook the chorizo.  You can drain off the grease if you want, but I kept it for the flavor.  When chorizo is mostly cooked add the onions (with some salt) and saute until soft and translucent (if you drain off the chorizo grease add a little oil).

Then add the, thawed, black beans and mix until combined (my black beans are unsalted so I added some salt with them). Then add the salsa, paprika, and garlic powder.

Stir to combine and reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste.

Makes 4 servings.  Serve atop tortilla chips with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, carrots, cilantro, jalapenos, and/or your favorite toppings.

Enjoy.

Linked to:  Empty Your Archive, Saturday Dishes Tex Mex

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Black Beans and Rice

A complete one dish dinner with black beans, rice, meat, and vegetables.  All cooked in one pot.

I made this black beans and rice so that I could have a complete and balanced meal in one dish, and it only required one pot for cooking.  With a little prep work this dinner is very simple to prepare and relatively inexpensive for a tasty and complete dinner.  It also made a big pot's worth that I was happy to eat all week.

Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

1/2 pound  Mexican chorizo
1-2 jalapenos, diced
2 red bell peppers, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 bunches of spinach or other dark green leafy, roughly chopped
2 cups (cooked) black beans
1 cup rice
1 14oz can chicken broth
1 14oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 6oz can tomato paste
salt and pepper

In a large pot, cook the chorizo, over medium heat, until thoroughly cooked. Keep the grease, or at least some of it (for flavor).

Add the onion and peppers (and some salt and pepper) sauteing, with the chorizo, until tender (you can remove the jalapeno seeds if you don't want the spiciness, or omit the jalapenos all together).

Add the spinach (I used choy sum, which is always prevalent in Chinatown) and cover the pot so that it will steam and cook down (you shouldn't need to add any extra liquid because the onion and peppers release plenty when cooking).

When spinach is soft and wilted add the beans (I used beans I had cooked earlier, but you could use canned just drain and rinse) and rice.  Then add the chicken broth, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste.

Allow the liquid to boil then reduce the temperature to low, cover, and simmer for about 20-30 minutes until the rice is soft and fluffy (add some water if it's too dry).  I did not drain the diced tomatoes when I cooked this and it ended up a little soupy, so I let it simmer with the top off for a while until it was thicker.

Remove from heat and serve topped with cilantro and cheese if you desire.  It is great with tortilla chips on the side too.

Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy.

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