Homemade Tacos

Today, I will be sharing how to make homemade, delicious Mexican Tacos.

This is yet again another favorite for me. This is our own version of the famous mexican classic, a delicious Mexican food that is flavorful and spicy that's guaranteed to satisfy your appetite.

The ingredients that we used are pocket-friendly without sacrificing the taste and quality. For example, instead of taco shells that can be bought from the market, we used lumpia wrappers. The lumpia wrappers are cheaper but equally crunchy and good tasting.

What's more is that it's guilt free! You can have big servings of it and you don't need to feel guilty about it. It's low in carbohydrates and high in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Good for our health, our tastebuds and our tummy, too! Hope you'll like it!


INGREDIENTS:
- 1 whole cabbage
- 10 pcs slightly ripened tomatoes
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 180g pack cheddar cheese, grated
- 20 pcs lumpia wrapper
- 1/2 cup cooking oil

For the Taco Meat:
- 1/2 kilo ground pork or beef (I only used pork)
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 medium onion
- 1 tbsp atsuete powder
- 4 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp taco mix
- salt and pepper, to taste

For the Taco Sauce:
- 500 mL water
- 1/2 cup sweet and spicy banana ketchup (UFC)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- pinch of salt, to taste
- chili powder (optional only and adjust according to desired spiciness)


STEPS:
1. Mix well all the ingredients for the taco sauce in a small pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until thickened. Set aside.
2. Slice the cabbage thinly. The thinner, the better [as shown in the picture at the right]. Set aside. Note: I like the cabbage better than the lettuce because of its taste and crunchiness but you may use lettuce.

3. Dice the cucumbers and tomatoes as displayed in the pictures. Set aside.
4. Next, we will saute the taco meat but first, we need to dissolve the atsuete powder in 4 tbsp water, set aside. In a medium skillet, heat the oil then fry the garlic into golden brown. Add the onions and let it caramelize then add the ground pork, atsuete mix, taco seasoning then add salt and pepper to taste. Stir occasionally until well done. Set aside.
5. In this step, we will fry the lumpia wrappers so that they will resemble the commercially available taco shells. I like to prepare the wrappers at the last part, just before serving the tacos, because I want them really crunchy. In a frying pan, heat about 4 tbsp of oil over low heat only because the wrappers cook very quickly. Using your kitchen tongs, hold half of the wrapper upward while letting the other half fry flattened in the pan, until golden brown. Then turn the wrapper so that you will be holding the fried half and curve it at a 45 degree angle and let the other half fry flat into a golden brown. When done, place in a drying rack to drain excess oil. Continue doing this until you are done with the 20 wrappers.
6. Now, all that's left to do is assemble the tacos! Get one taco shell, put 2 spoonfuls of cabbage at the bottom, 1 tbsp each of cucumber and tomatoes, 2 tbsp of taco meat then top with cheese. Serve with sauce on the side.

Tadaaah! And that is our homemade version of the famous tacos. It's quick, easy on the pocket and delicioso!

So I hope you enjoy this and let me know how yours went. Happy eating!

I'd like to hear from you! What do you guys think about my post? Your comments and suggestions are very much welcome and appreciated! Or if you'd like to request a recipe, please let me know. Thanks!


TAGS: Between You and Cherry, Cherry Yutuc, Panlasang Pinoy, Pampanga, Lutong Kapampangan, Budget friendly, Cooking Tips, Pampanga's Best, Recipe, Pampanga Cuisine, Cook from Pampanga, Philippines, Asian Food, Pinoy Food, Mexican Food, Homemade

Egg-Stuffed Meatballs with Cream Sauce

Hi there! So this recipe that I will share is one of my party favorites. I like to serve them at the buffet table for parties or simple family gatherings because they taste great and look so good on the table. And easy to prepare, too!

If you are planning for a party and you're wondering what to serve, I would definitely recommend this recipe. Or if you are just looking for a new dish to try at home, then this is definitely a must try. This is something different from the meatballs that we normally see or eat. Here goes the recipe and I hope you will like it.


INGREDIENTS:
- 12 Hard-boiled chicken eggs, peeled
- 1/2 kl ground pork
- 1/4 kl shrimp, peeled then finely chopped
- 4 pcs sweet ham, finely chopped
- 1 whole raw chicken egg
- 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp powdered milk (I like to use Bear Brand but of course, you may use your preferred brand)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 tbsp cornstarch or flour, whichever is available
- cooking oil (around 1/2 cup, it mostly depends on the type of skillet you are using)

For Cream Sauce:
- 1 pack Nestle All Purpose Cream (250 ml)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup grated quickmelt cheese (or ordinary cheddar cheese will do)
- 3 tbsp flour
- pinch of salt


STEPS:
1. In a large bowl, put in the ground pork, chopped shrimp, ham, carrots, onion, raw egg, powdered milk, salt and pepper.
2. Add in 2 tbsp of cornstarch (or flour). Using your clean hands, mix the ingredients well. If the mixture is still moist, add in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch at a time until the mixture is sticky enough and can hold their shape once we fry them. What I like to do, just to make sure that they will maintain their shape once fried is to scoop 1 tbsp from the mixture, form into a ball and fry it. If this sample goes well, then you can proceed to the next step. You can also taste it to check if you are already satisfied with the salt and pepper. Then put adjustments as necessary.
3. Once the mixture is ready, divide the mixture into 12 equal parts.
4. Get 1 hard-boiled egg and get 1 part from the meat mixture then wrap the meat around the egg so that it would envelope the egg. Set aside then continue doing this until you are done with the twelve.
5. In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium fire. Now, the amount of oil that you will need depends on the type of pan you have. The idea is to have it around 1 centimeter deep. It is also important to make sure that the oil is hot enough before frying the meatballs so they will not Astick and fall apart.
6. Put the meatballs in, do not over crowd. Fry each side until brown then turn until all sides are done and the meat is brown all over. Place in a draining rack or over a paper towel to drain excess oil. Set aside.
7. Put a saucepan over low heat then add the butter. Toss in the flour and cook, stirring until it has mixed well with the butter.
8. Add in the milk, salt and grated cheese then bring to a boil, stirring constantly to avoid getting burnt under. Continue boiling until the cheese melts.
9. Add in the all purpose cream and let it boil again before removing from heat.

Egg-Stuffed Meatballs with Cream Sauce

And that's it. The egg-stuffed meatballs may be served as it is but I like to slice them into halves because they are more appealing when served this way. Just make sure though that you're slicing them with a sharp knife to avoid ruining their beautiful shape. Arrange on the platter and serve with the Cream Sauce.

So I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know how it went. Happy eating!

I'd like to hear from you! What do you guys think about my article? Your comments and suggestions are very much welcome! Or if you'd like to request a recipe, please let me know. Thanks!


TAGS: Between You and Cherry, Cherry Yutuc, Panlasang Pinoy, Pampanga, Lutong Kapampangan, Budget friendly, Cooking Tips, Party Ideas, Pampanga's Best, Recipe, Pampanga Cuisine, Cook from Pampanga, Philippines, Asian Food, Pinoy Food, Eggs, Meatball, Fried, Cream Sauce,