Heather's Bytes

In honor of Father’s Day I’m posting my husband’s favorite homemade treat — Oreo ice cream! If I go too long without making a fresh batch, I’ll start getting puppy eyes from him, so I make sure I have heavy cream and Egg Beaters on my shopping lists.

Truth be told, I like to make my own ice cream anyway because I like to know what’s going into it and by how much. I also like to stick with a pretty simple recipe — just eggs, sugar, cream and milk.

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Even though I know it’s coming every year, our summer temperatures always seem to sneak up on me. This year we were a little more spoiled than usual since our spring lasted past April, going right into the beginning of June (though that’s relative: I consider pretty much anything under 90 degrees to still be “spring” weather).

Yesterday we hit our first substantial three-digit temp of 106 degrees, and despite wanting to cower in a dark, cool corner somewhere, my eyes instead misted over with the anticipation of my favorite summer treat: iced coffee.

Between coordinating my daughters’ daily chores and getting dinner ready in the crockpot (keeping the kitchen bearable, you know), I whipped up a batch of cold-brewed coffee, which I’ve found works the best for iced coffee (no melted ice cubes). However, instead of using my little French press, I opt for a pitcher and half a pound of ground coffee. Just mix the half pound of coffee with about eight cups of cold water, cover, and let it sit on the counter overnight. Strain it into a clean pitcher the next morning and keep it in the fridge. That’s it!

To make the iced coffee, put a few ice cubes in a glass and then fill about 2/3 full with the cold coffee. Top with milk and sugar or whatever other sweetener you want, including flavored syrups or chocolate syrup. I will admit that while I’m a Starbucks fan (not hardcore, but it’s a nice treat), this beats a $4 iced latte any day!

The title of this post is actually misleading – the only part of these taquitos that get made in the crockpot is the shredded beef filling!

Taquitos (also referred to as rolled tacos, though I refuse to call them that) are a favorite of the whole family. A local quickie Mexican restaurant sells them, but I’ve only gotten them a few times because they taste like they’re just heated-up frozen taquitos from a box (and yes, we’ve tried those too!).

Anyway, so I wanted to figure out how to make these myself, and here’s what I’ve come up with. The first time I did it I tried to shred the beef with two forks, which, as you can imagine, took forever. Now I transfer the beef and about 3/4 of the liquid into a food processor, pulse it a few times, and voila, done! I also like my taquitos extra-crispy (see picture above) so I let mine cook just a tad longer in the oil.

I’ve got these in the crockpot right now (Cinco de Mayo!) and the house smells amazing after just a couple of hours.

Recommended equipment:
~ 1.5 to 2 qt crockpot
~ Heavy-bottom pan
~ Splatter screen
~ Cooling/draining rack
~ Tongs

Crockpot Taquitos

~ 1.5 – 2 lbs beef stew meat, or other beef of your choice (other than ground)
~ 1 packet of taco seasoning mix, or homemade taco flavors of your choice
~ 1 4oz can of chopped green chiles
~ 1 cup of water (or beef broth)

Put all ingredients into a small crockpot (I actually use my little guy for this, you don’t need a lot of room and it only goes up about halfway) and gently stir to combine. Set on low and let cook for about 6-8 hours.

Transfer beef and about 3/4 to 1 cup of the liquid into a food processor (you can add more liquid as you need to, especially if it looks dry). Pulse just a few times to get the beef shredded up (or, if you’ve got kids in braces like I do, you can shred it a bit finer, too).

Using warmed up corn tortillas (place about three tortillas and a cup of water in your microwave and microwave for 30 seconds), place about 2-3 tablespoons of shredded meat (I don’t actually measure, just put in what looks right) just off-center on the tortilla and roll up.

Shallow fry (about 350 degrees and no more than 1/2″ of oil) in a heavy-bottom pan on one side for about 30 seconds or until golden brown, and turn over. I use my tongs and a fork to keep the taquito in the oil just long enough that it doesn’t come apart, and after it’s “set” it’ll sit by itself in the oil just fine. I do three taquitos at a time in the pan so it doesn’t get overcrowded.

Remove finished taquitos from the oil onto a rack to drain and immediately sprinkle just a bit of salt on top. Serve warm or at room temperature with sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa, and whatever else you want!

Last summer, when I was writing at Chocolate Bytes, I bit the bullet and made my own batch of chocolate covered bacon. It’s become a staple at county affairs across the US, and after reading yet another article about how much people are looking forward to trying it, I decided to whip up some of my own. Read More