Air Fryer Pulled Pork Taquitos

Oct 14, 2022

Air Fryer Pulled Pork Taquitos – Candy Coated Culinista

Snack time.

Yield/Serving: 6
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 8 – 10 min.
Difficulty level is: Easy

Ingredients
⦁ left over pulled pork
⦁ sweet bbq sauce
⦁ shredded cheddar cheese
⦁ small flour tortillas
⦁ avocado
⦁ 1 lime, juiced
⦁ salt, to taste
⦁ black pepper to taste
⦁ salsa

Assembly

1. Set out pulled pork and stir in some bbq sauce.
2. Shred cheese and set aside.
3. Lay out six tortilla shells and place some pulled pork.
4. Sprinkle cheese on top followed by a dollop of salsa.
5. Don’t over fill and roll into a cigar and secure with a toothpick.
6. Preheat air fryer to 400°F.
7. Spray with cooking spray and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
8. Meanwhile prepare guacamole, by mashing avocado, adding salt and pepper and lime juice.
9. Remove toothpicks before serving and dollop guacamole on and serve salsa on the side.

Please Enjoy

My thoughts
This was the perfect lunch two days and it was a great was to use leftover pulled pork. These would also make a great little appetizer.

Huevos De Caja

May 31, 2019

Huevos De Caja – Candy Coated Culinista

It’s always funny that you never notice ingredients in the grocery store until you need it…

Yield/Serving: 2
Prep Time: 20 min.
Cook Time: 40 min.
Difficulty level is: Easy

From: Nopalito

Ingredients
Huevos De Caja
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 homemade soft corn tortillas or store-bought
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp white vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup Frijoles Negros Refritos or good quality refried beans, warmed
• ¼ cup salsa cilantro
• ¾ cup grated jack cheese
• Chopped cilantro leaves
Frijoles Negros Refritos
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
• 1 can black beans drained.
• 1 ½ tsp dried organo
Salsa Cilantro
• 4 large tomatillos, husked and rinsed
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 clove garlic
• Salt
• 2 tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped
• 2 tbsp white onion, chopped

Assembly
Huevos De Caja
1. Boil water and season with salt and vinegar.
2. Lower heat to a simmer.
3. Crack egg into a small bowl and ease into water.
4. Cook until the outsides are set and the inside is still runny, 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Remove using a slotted spoon and set aside.
6. In a small pan cazuelas or cast-iron skillet, place tortillas in pan followed by refried beans in a next shaped. Then tip poached eggs into centre and divide the salsa pouring on top.
7. Sprinkle jack cheese and bake in oven until completely melted for about 5 minutes.
8. Serve immediately and garnish with cilantro
Frijoles Negros Refritos
1. In a medium pot over medium-high heat, heat oil until hot.
2. Add onions and stir occasionally until a dark golden bron, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Add in the oregano and let cook for another 1 to 2 minutes and let beans get hot.
4. Smash the bean mixture until slightly chunky.
5. Add a little water if need to reach the desired consistency.
Salsa Cilantro
1. Using a medium saucepan, combine tomatillos, jalapenos, garlic and enough water just to cover and season with salt.
2. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and let cook for 15 minutes, or until tomatillos and jalapenos begin to dull in colour.
3. Transfer mixture discarding the water to a blender and blend until salsa is smooth, but the seeds are still visible.
4. Pour into a bowl and chill.
5. Add in onions and cilantro just before serving.
6. Add additional salt if necessary.

Tips
• The recipe for Frijoles Negros Refritos calls for 1 cup canola oil; which I found to be a huge amount of oil even using the full 6 cups of black beans. I used 2 tbsp of canola oil with one can on black beans.
• I served mine with homestyle Mexican salsa, chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce.
• Purchase green Mexican salsa and add some cilantro if you don’t want to make Salsa Cilantro.
• You can also do step 6 & 7 using a frying pan and serve in a plate.

Please Enjoy

My thoughts
I have walked by the Mexican food section for many years in the same row with the Asian and Indian foods I pick up and yet I never saw them. I will start grabbing the Mexican salsa from now one instead of the Amaericanized salsa brands in the other aisle. This is another massive recipe. This book really serves a crowd and I’m happy I batched down the refried beans as I was only making it for this recipe. I used the leftover refried beans in some shrimp taco’s. I must say I made this recipe purely because the photo caught my eye; even though I didn’t think I liked refried beans and the last poached egg I made didn’t turn out the best. When this was a pleasant surprise with a runny egg served with two types of salsa, refried beans, adobo peppers. I served mine with some shrimp and with Agua de Jamaica and oh so tasty.

Huevos De Caja – Candy Coated Culinista

Garlicky Shrimp & Tequila Lime

Oct 24, 2018

Garlicky Shrimp & Tequila Lime – Candy Coated Culinista

What beats a 5 minute shrimp dinner … nothing.

Yield/Serving: 4
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cook Time: 5 min.
Difficulty level is: Easy

From Now & Again

Ingredients
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound large shrimp, uncooked, peeled and deveined
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 3 tbsp silver (blanco) tequila
• Finely grated zest from 1 lime
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
• Small handful of fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

Assembly
1. Heat olive oil and butter in a cast iron pan for about 1 ½ minutes over medium-high heat.
2. Once butter has melted add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
3. Add shrimp and sprinkle with salt, stirring occasionally until opaque about 1 ½ minutes.
4. Pour tequila in and cook until it evaporates, another 1 minute.
5. Turn off heat, add lime zest and juice, and toss.
6. Add cilantro and serve.

Please Enjoy

My thoughts
This was a unique recipe and in theory I thought I would love this. I loved my vodka shrimp; but the tequila shrimp I found slightly bitter; but maybe that was just me. Otherwise I enjoyed the simplicity of the recipe. I served mine with some rapini and my salsa potatoes.

Cast Iron Jerkish Pork Chops with Pineapple & Tomato Salsa

Jun 5, 2016

Cast Iron Jerk Pork & Pineapple & Tomato Salsa – Candy Coated Culinista

Now I may not like Jerk, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know jerk and this is why this recipe is being called Jerkish pork chops and not Jerk pork chops. I’m not Jamaican; however I have many Jamaican friends and I have tasted many a Jerk dish and if I can tolerate this dish and not complain about the spice then it’s well just not the Caribbean Jerk I am accustomed to and perhaps a Canadianized version.

Yield/Serving: 2
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 20 min.
Difficulty level is: Easy

Slightly altered from Chatelaine

Ingredients
Jerk Pork
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 tsp all spice
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 boneless pork chops
Pineapple & Tomato Salsa
• ½ pineapple, cored & diced
• 1/8 cup red onion, diced
• ½ cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• Pinch of ground cumin

Assembly
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Preheat cast-iron skillet on high heat.
3. Using a food processor blend jalapeno, lime juice, canola oil, all spice, thyme and salt until well combined.
4. Pour into a bowl and coat pork chops and set aside.
5. In a medium size bowl put pineapple, red onion, tomato, lime juice, canola oil, sea salt, and cumin and toss.
6. Sear pork chops on all sides until a golden crust is achieved.
7. Move pork chops to the oven and cook for about 20 minutes.
8. Plate and serve

Please Enjoy

My thoughts
The original recipe called for grilling the pork, but I didn’t want to use my indoor grill, so I opted for my cast iron skillet and sear the pork on all sides and then baked it the rest of the way through. I found the pork moist and succulent with a touch of heat. I really loved the pineapple salsa and I added some tomatoes as I felt salsa need tomatoes to be called salsa. I will make this recipe again for sure as it’s not well just jerkish.

Grilled Lamb Chops with Tomato Salsa

May 17, 2013

Grilled Lamb Chops with Tomato Salsa -Candy Coated Culinista

Friday May 17th is Food Revolution Day. For those of you that don’t know this is Jamie Oliver’s brain child. It is a campaign to get people better connected to their food so they can live longer and healthier lives. Learning essential cooking skills will make people more aware of what they are eating and want to cook for themselves instead of eating pre-packed food, which in turn will help fight the growing obesity rate. To celebrate the day I made one of my favourite dishes from Jamie Oliver.

I altered the recipe a bit as I made this at the last minute. I roasted the baby potatoes and aromatics. Please give the recipe below a try, his picture is mouth-watering.

From Jamie Oliver

For more info go to http://www.foodrevolutionday.com

Yield/Serving: 2

Difficulty level is: Medium

Ingredients
• 4 – 4oz lamb loin chops
• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 12 oz potatoes
• 6 oz French beans
• 4 Scallions
• 1 small bunch of basil
• 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp milk
• White wine vinegar
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Olive oil
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Assembly
1. Half fill the medium saucepan with cold salted water and place on a high heat. Peel the potatoes, cut any larger ones in half and drop into the pan.
2. When the water boils, reduce to a medium heat and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through.
3. Meanwhile lay the lamb chops on a piece of parchment paper, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and finely grate over the zest of the lemon. Squeeze over a little bit of juice and drizzle with a little olive oil.
4. Cover the chops with the parchment paper and bash them with the base of a saucepan until flattened to just under ½ inch thick and seasoning is well stuck.
5. Thinly slice the scallions. Halve the tomatoes, squeeze out and discard the seeds then finely chop with the scallions and basil (stalks and all), mixing as you go.
6. When you’ve got a good salsa consistency, add a splash of vinegar, a lug of extra virgin olive oil and pinch of salt and pepper then chop and mix a few more times before scraping into a small bowl.
7. Make your table look respectable – get the flatware, salt and pepper and drinks laid out nicely. Clean your cutting board and knife.
8. When the potatoes are done, drain them in a colander and leave to steam dry for a couple of minutes. Add the milk to the empty pan, tip the potatoes back in and mash until smooth and creamy.
9. Have a taste and season with salt and pepper, then cover with a lid to keep war. Fill and boil the kettle.
10. Place a grill pan on a high heat. Fill the small saucepan with boiling water, add a pinch of salt and place on high heat.
11. Trim the green beans, and once the water is boiling, drop them into pan. Cook the green beans for about 4 minutes, or until just cooked through but not squeaky.
12. Meanwhile cook the lamb chops on the hot grill pan for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and done to your liking. You may need to do this is batches.
13. When the beans are done, drain the colander and divide between your plates along with the potatoes. Add two hot delicious chops to each plate, drizzle the salsa over the top and serve.

Please Enjoy

Review & Thoughts
Mr. C. and I enjoyed this recipe a lot. He even mentioned it to someone in passing because he liked this recipe so much. This is a great date night dish as it is a little fanciful, but also has a homey feel too.