Many people think that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s Independence day. It isn’t. In fact, Cinco de Mayo isn’t even celebrated much in Mexico, but instead in Mexican communities in the U.S.  It was first observed in California to celebrate Mexico’s victory in the Battle of Puebla against French occupation forces.

This cheesy taco casserole would make a great side for Cinco de Mayo or even a meal for picky families. Plus, it is easy to make and takes under an hour, including baking time.

Cheesy Beef Taco Casserole: Cinco de Mayo Recipe

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Author: Edward Antrobus

Recipe type: Casserole

Cuisine: Mexican

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
• 1 TBSP If You Can Read, You Can Cook taco seasoning
• 1 can (10¾ ounces) condensed tomato soup
• 1 cup thick and chunky salsa
• ½ cup milk
• 2 flour tortillas or 4 corn tortillas
• 2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In medium skillet over medium high heat, cook beef until browned, stirring to separate meat. Pour off fat.
3. Cut half of tortillas into 1″ strips. Dice remainder into 1″ pieces.
4. In shallow baking dish, add meat, taco seasoning, soup, salsa, milk, tortilla piece (not the strips) and 1½ cups cheese. Mix together until well combined. Top with tortilla strips in a lattice pattern. Cover.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

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Feel free to use your choice of ground meat, or your preferred vegetarian option. A cup of corn can also be added to make this more of a meal.

Other Tex-Mex recipes for Cinco de Mayo you may enjoy

Burritos & Tacos:

• Chicken & Rice Burritos
• Egg & Potato Breakfast Burritos
• Taco Bell Inspired Grilled Stuffed Burrito
• Turkey Tacos
• Tuna Fish Tacos

Dips:

• Seven Layer Dip
• Guacamole

Sides & Seasonings:

• Quick & Easy Re-fried Beans
• Mexican Pasta Salad
• Homemade Taco Seasoning

Other:

• Spanish Omelet
• Broccoli Quesadilla

Cookbooks & Tools

• The If You Can Read, You Can Cook cookbook also has two Tex-Mex inspired dishes not found anywhere else. Buy it today from the e-store or Amazon.
• If you don’t have time to make your own taco seasoning from scratch and don’t want to buy preservative and allergen-riddled packets from the store, consider my all-natural, allergen-free premium taco seasonings available in hot, medium, mild, and sweet cumin.

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• Fifty Cinco de Mayo Recipes {2013 Edition}
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• Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Avocados (Video)

Fda (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The FDA has reversed a previous ruling that three chemicals used as preservatives are unsafe. Based on research provided by Kraft Foods, the FDA has declared safe for human consumption sodium benzoate, sodium propionate, and benzoic acid. At least, that is the story circulating the internet. As usual in situations like these, the full truth is a bit more complex.

Regulation of food additives is done by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) branch of the Food & Drug Administration. In March, the FSIS announced that based on evidence provided by Kraft Foods and Kremin Foods, a biotech firm, it was amending regulations concerning the use of the three benzene derivatives as a anti-microbial agent in meats. According to FSIS:

Sodium benzoate, sodium propionate and benzoic acid, under the conditions proposed in the petitions, are both safe and suitable for use as antimicrobial agents in certain RTE (Ready-to-Eat) meat and poultry products.

– from http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/03/12/55664.htm

Anyone who has looked at a can of soda recently can tell that sodium benzoate was never actually banned from human consumption. While there have been some concerns about a possible link to hyperactivity disorders from sodium benzoate (maybe it was all the sugar, instead?), there have been no definitive links to health disorders.

Instead, the FDA had been concerned that the chemicals were being used to mask damaged and other unsafe cuts of meat.

Green bloggers reaction

That seems to be getting the goat of a lot of writers for sites like Natural News. They claim that masking damaged and inferior cuts of meat is exactly what Kraft wants to be doing. Kraft’s stated reason for petitioning the FDA on the issue was to prevent Listeria outbreaks. Natural News does make a valid point that tainted meat would normally not be usable.

But their claim isn’t actually true. While tainted meat would be unusable if the taint couldn’t be safely destroyed, that isn’t how the FDA defines damaged or inferior. Damaged meat is caused by improper butchering of the animal. If the animal is still bleeding when a cut is made, blood will flow into the flesh, causing it to bruise. THAT is a damaged cut of meat. Meanwhile, inferior meat is a matter of USDA grading.  Utility grade meats are generally used only in ground and processed meat products instead of whole cuts.

With large amounts of preservatives, it is possible to mask the taste and include in products that ordinarily be wasted. But that is against the law. And so, the FDA has prohibited the use of benzoates in meat to keep watch on the practice. What Kraft is claiming is that limited amounts can be used an an anti-microbial agent but aren’t capable of masking damaged or inferior meat.

While I’m generally leery of claims sponsored by a company with a vested interest, this really isn’t an issue of food safety. This is an issue of food quality. Claiming that a certain level of a preservative doesn’t keep consumers from figuring out that a utility grade cut of meat isn’t actually a commercial grade seems pretty straight-forward.

Related articles

• Many ‘safe’ chemical additives in food now getting scrutinized
• Brominated vegetable oil in Gatorade?
• Ethan A. Huff ~ USDA Caves To Food Industry Pressures, Approves Three New Toxic Meat Preservatives
• Sodium Benzoate. It is really harmless?
• Chilling Out on Preservatives
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The best part is that this semi-homemade recipe is cheaper than making bisque from scratch. Made from scratch, tomato bisque would require a pound of tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes can go for as much as $4/lb, while a can of Cambell’s Condensed Soup costs a dollar and a half. If you go with store brand, it’s even cheaper. The Kroger Value brand is just $.69. That’s half the price of even the cheapest tomatoes in the store.

Tomato Soup vs Tomato Bisque

For a long time, I was confused by the difference between a tomato soup and a tomato bisque. It turns out, not much. A bisque is a cream-based soup, while most other soups are water/broth based. However, in my family, we always added milk to our condensed tomato soup, which made it more like a bisque. But a true bisque will use cream instead of milk to make it thicker.

A bisque was originally a cream-based shellfish soup from France. The term “bisque” comes from bis cuites meaning “twice cooked” since the shellfish were first sauteed and then simmered in the broth. So I guess a twice-baked potato would be a bis quites potato. :) The soup was then strained and rice added as a thickening agent. Eventually, the term came to mean any cream-based soup such as tomato or squash.

Since a bisque is a creamy soup, why did I describe this semi-homemade recipe as a chunky bisque? Because I like it that way. When making a tomato bisque from scratch, you would puree the tomatoes into a smooth, creamy consistency. But some people, myself included, prefer chunky foods. Chunky applesauce, chunky peanut butter, chunky mashed potatoes, and chunky soup. Contrary to popular thought, those foods aren’t made chunky by pureeing them less. Instead, they are made by pureeing completely, but setting some pieces aside to be mixed in later.

It is the same way with this semi-homemade tomato bisque. Only the good folks at Campbells have already done the pureeing, you just need to add some tomatoes that you bought separately.

Semi-Homemade Tomato Bisque Recipe

 

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Prep time

1 min

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

11 mins

 

Author: Edward Antrobus

Recipe type: Soup

Cuisine: American

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1 Can condensed tomato soup
• 2 cups cream
• 1 roma tomato
• 1 Tbsp basil, chopped

Instructions

1. Pour condensed soup and cream into small saucepan and heat over low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes until hot.
2. Dice tomato into ½ inch pieces. Stir into soup.
3. Spoon soup into 2 bowls. Sprinkle basil over top

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Other options include frying some bacon to mix in, sprinkling some mild cheddar over the top, or adding rice as is sometimes found in a traditional bisque.

Related articles

• Tomato Soup
• Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower
• Best Stain Removers for Tomato Based Stains
• Brown Rice Vegetable Soup
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• Tomato Biriyani (Taste and Create)

Basket of eggs (Photo credit: wattpublishing)

Eggs are ubiquitous in cooking. Countless recipes call for an egg in some way, shape, or form. However, eggs are perishable and can sometimes go bad on you before  you have a chance to use them. But if you wind up with rotten, unusable eggs, or just plain run out, there are some alternatives out there. Additionally, these egg substitutes are vegan-friendly, so if you don’t eat eggs as a dietary restriction, then these substitutions will work for you.

If you have eggs that have been in the refrigerator for an extended period, it is important to test them for freshness before using them. If the egg stands on it’s end, then it is still okay for baking or using in recipes. If it floats, throw it out and try this egg substitute instead.

Baking Soda Egg Substitute

This egg substitute uses water, vegetable oil, and baking soda.  It has the advantage of being ingredients that are typically on hand in any kitchen. It doesn’t provide much flavor, but will provide the thickening power of a real egg.

1 egg = 2 Tbsp. water + 1 Tbsp. oil + 2 tsp. baking powder.

Baking Soda & Vegetable Oil Egg Substitute

 

Print

Prep time

1 min

Total time

1 min

 

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 2 TBSP water
• 1 TBSP vegetable oil
• 2 tsp baking soda

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly.

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Flax Seed Egg Substitute

Flax seeds are the only plant-based foods with significant amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3′s are essential to brain function but are typically only found in seafood products. Use this flax seed mixture as an egg substitute if you don’t eat seafood regularly (or at all).

1 egg = 1 tbsp ground up flax seeds + 3 tbsp water

Flax Seed Egg Substitute

 

Print

Prep time

1 min

Total time

1 min

 

Author: Edward Antrobus

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 1 TBSP ground flax seed
• 3 TBSP water

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients and mix thoroughly

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Do you have any other homemade egg substitutes  to share?

Related articles

• Instead of an Egg
• Vegan Egg Substitution
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• Using chia seeds as an egg substitute
• The Benefits Of Eggs, Even For Those At Cardiovascular Risk
• Health benefits of eggs revealed

Grater (Photo credit: Konstantin Lazorkin)

G is for Grater.

A grater is an implement used to shred or grate foods such as cheeses or vegetables. It is also known as a shredder in some parts of the United States. Graters are used to quickly cut soft foods into small pieces to make them bite ready or melt more quickly. The grater was invented in the 16th century as a way or re-purposing stale cheeses in the days before hard cheeses were common.

Styles of graters

There are two basic styles of graters. While they come in a variety of shapes and sizes, the reality is that they are really just two, the box grater and the plane.

Box graters

Box graters have two to six sides with different size grating slots for different grating and shredding jobs. Typically, there is a handle at the top. The four sided box grater is the most common. It has a rectangular shape with a plane-style cheese grater and a vegetable slicer on the short sides and two different size shredding holes on the longer sides. For a more detailed explanation of the uses of a box shredder, please see Using all Four Sides off a Box Grater.

Aside from the number of sides,  other variations include handle styles and storage containers. While basic models have a metal handle, some have a plastic or rubber grip and possibly a non-slip base. Another feature that some models employ is a small storage container. If you need half a cup of shredded cheese, then it is handy to be able to grate directly into a container that marks that amount.

Plane graters

The other style of grater is the plane, sometimes called a micro-plane. A plane has a flat (or sometimes curved) face attached to a handle. Unlike a box grater, the plane doesn’t always have holes. Instead, some plane-style cheese graters have sharp nodules on them which grain size pieces are broken off.

Also related is the zester. A zester is similar to a plane-style grater, but is typically used only for the skins of citrus fruits.

Recommendations

I bought this Kitchenaid Gourmet Box Grater last year after my old grater started to rust. It is sturdy and holds up well to usage and the storage container and non-slip base are nice features.

Related articles

• Cooking With The D’Grater
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