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GameDay Burrito Bowl Bar

GameDay Burrito Bowls

This post is sponsored by Kettle Brand Chips, thoughts and opinions are my own.

As Billy and I were driving up to Northern California to spend some time with his family for our nephews birthday, I kept getting flashbacks to my time in College Marching Band at Fresno State as we drove through.

If you’re a new reader, Hi, Hello, I’m Esteban and I used to be a band geek.

(Queue MTV: True Life opening credits)

Marching Band was everything to me when I was in High School. I’d spend a lot of my time practicing my instrument, trying to be the best musician I could possible be. Band taught me a lot about being responsibility and discipline, as I went on to lead the 150 member band as a Drum Major my senior year.

GameDay Burrito Bowl Bar

GameDay Burrito Bowl Bar

I had decided I wanted to stick with music, so when I was accepted into the Music program at Fresno State, I was thrilled. I remember how nervous I was when I showed up to my first day of band camp. It was a 300+ piece band, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep up, but I did! We began prepping for our first football game which would be in two weeks and we’d be playing a Michael Jackson tribute which I was so excited for.

That night we marched to the beat of the drums from campus to the stadium for our first football game of the season. We lined up next to the field, and the drums began to count us off to march onto the field. The crowd suddenly got quiet and then roared as the horns announced our entrance onto the field. It was a huge adrenaline rush, and it wasn’t like anything I had experienced before. I was excited, nervous, and a little worried I was going to forget the the music or the drill, but that feeling quickly faded away. College football games, and College Marching Band were so much, and they will always be one of my favorite things about my College experience.

GameDay Burrito Bowl Bar

GameDay Burrito Bowl Bar

Whenever the Super Bowl comes around, I find myself watching past performances and they always take me back to those moments on the field. Today, I’m partnering with Kettle Brand Chips to show you how to prep a burrito bowl bar perfect for the Super Bowl coming up!  If you like to entertain, you probably already know it takes a lot of work to prep and set up for a gathering. Most of the time, if you’re doing all of the cooking by yourself, you end up missing out on the conversation because you spend a lot of time serving others and making sure everyone is well taken care of.  

This burrito bowl bar takes care of all of that for you. All you have to worry about is setting up all of the options, and let your guests serve themselves, giving them the freedom to build their bowls as they wish. These set ups are great because you can get super creative with your topping options.  For these burrito bowls, I’m including all of the classic fixings like beans, roasted corn, a very fragrant lime cilantro rice and I’m also including Kettle Brand’s new Spicy Queso flavor for the extra crunch.

What are some of your favorite burrito fixings?

Let me know in the comment section below!

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Rompope French Toast, Horchata French Toast & Ponche Navideño

Rompope French Toast, Horchata French Toast & Ponche Navideño

This post is sponsored by Cardenas Markets, thoughts and opinions are my own.

New Year’s is just days away, and it feels like we were just ringing in 2017. As my siblings and I have gotten older, we’ve all started our own traditions and New Year’s Eve has become a day for me to relax, and reflect on all of my successes and losses in the past year.

This year I’m planning on doing the same, and kick starting the year with one of my favorite breakfasts; french toast. Occasionally, when Billy and I both have the day off he’ll make breakfast for the both of us and I always ask for french toast. It’s so easy to make, and you can dress it up in so many ways, and infuse it with just about anything!

I’ve partnered with Cardenas Markets, to share 3 recipes with you to help you prep for a festive New Years breakfast! I’ve been visiting Cardenas for years, but now that I live just down the street from one of their locations, I’m a regular shopper now! Everyone is always so friendly there, they have a lot of specialty items you can’t find at other super markets, and their selections grow even more during the Holidays. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve featured their delicious conchas on my feed (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), they really are my one stop shop for everything I make on the blog.

Rompope French Toast, Horchata French Toast & Ponche Navideño

Rompope French Toast, Horchata French Toast & Ponche Navideño

Today we’re going to be adding horchata and rompope to our french toast for a kiss of flavor and we’re also going to be making ponche navideño. I know what you’re thinking..ponche navideño, after Christmas? SI! In my family, ponche shows up on Thanksgiving and we have it up till el dia de los reyes magos! For those who are new to ponche, it is a tea infused with fruits and spices that we have in Mexico during the Holidays. Everyone has their own version, and the one we’re making today is a small-batch version with notes of tamarind, hibiscus and cinnamon! It’s sweet, it’s tart and you get to add your favorite fruits..and if you’re old enough, a shot of tequila!

I hope this new year brings you lots of love, laughter, good food and great memories.

Have a happy New Year!

Rompope French Toast, Horchata French Toast & Ponche Navideño

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Chilorio

Chilorio #MexicanRecipes #TacoRecipe #TacoTuesday #MexicanFood #MexicanRecipes

I cannot wait for Coco to finally be in theaters next week. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack all week in anticipation and its brought back so many memories. The more I watch the trailer and listen to the music, the more I think about mi abuelita Victoria who passed away two years ago. 

I wasn’t a big fan of rancheras or norteñas growing up but mi grandma loved them, it was all she would play in her old silver grabadora back when cassettes were still a thing. It even rubbed off on mi papá who also always had Pedro InfanteLos Cadetes de Linares, and Los Alegres de Terán on rotation. 

This morning I was listening to Las Jilguerillas, one of mi abuelita’s favorite groups, and it reminded me of the times when I’d be visiting her and I’d  wake up in a daze to “El Bato Gacho” or “El Novillo Despuntado” blasting in the living room at 6 in the morning as she’d start to sweep around the house and prep breakfast for my grandpa who’d be arriving shortly from the potrero with a jug filled with fresh warm milk from his ganado.

Her taste in music is something I will always remember her by.

Chilorio #MexicanRecipes #TacoRecipe #TacoTuesday #MexicanFood #MexicanRecipes

Chilorio #MexicanRecipes #TacoRecipe #TacoTuesday #MexicanFood #MexicanRecipes

Chilorio comes to us from the northern state of Sinaloa and it is essentially really juicy shredded pork in a citrus ancho sauce. The recipe I used for these tacos comes from Pati Jinich’s cookbook: Pati’s Mexican Table: The Secrets of Real Mexican Home Cooking, which is a really good book to have in your arsenal. She has you covered with everything from basics like salsas and tortillas to  dishes like pozole, pambazos and tinga.

My mom would occasionally make chilorio for us, often serving it over a bed of white rice and I really enjoyed how versatile the meat is because we ended up having it on top of nachos, as tacos and over rice. It is a good dish to make ahead and have throughout the week and with Thanksgiving next week you’re definitely going to need something delicious to save you from having leftovers for the rest of the weekend.

I’ve got a few more fun things to share with you before Thanksgiving, so until then..nos vemos pronto!

Chilorio #MexicanRecipes #TacoRecipe #TacoTuesday #MexicanFood #MexicanRecipes

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Tostadas de Chile Verde con Pollo

Tostadas de Chile Verde con Pollo

I haven’t shared the news on the blog yet, but Chicano Eats won the 2017 Saveur Blog Award for “Best New Voice” People’s Choice! Thank you for taking the time to show your support for me and my work, I really appreciate each and everyone of you! Also, Congratulations to Kathryn, who was also nominated in the same category and received the Editors’ choice award! You can see a complete list of the rest of the winners here.

Over the weekend, I asked my Instagram followers wether they wanted a taco recipe or a tostada recipe and surprisingly, everyone chose tostadas! Tostadas are often overlooked and underrated, but they make for a quick dinner and always pair really well with a wet (or moist?) filling because they’re dry and crunchy. I really wanted to use this recipe for pollo verde that Billy made for these tacos a few weeks ago, so I tweaked the recipe a little bit, and the end result was so good. The sauce is a little spicy, a little smokey, and a little tart and comes together in about an hour aka perfect for a weeknight dinner.

I’m currently prepping for the blogs’ first birthday, so I have to keep it a little short today.  I can’t wait to share the recipe I have in store for the celebration, so until then, have a great week! Nos vemos pronto.

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