Okay guys, I know its been forever since I’ve updated my food blog but several things have happened so I’ll start from the beginning. We moved to the Mobile area of Alabama for 6 months. We’re currently living in an apartment with a very very small kitchen and by small I mean I’ve seen kitchens on boats that are bigger than this. For the first month or so I decided to put the foodblog on hiatus. I mean who would want to see pictures here? So I sighed and grumbled and decided to put a hold on posting until I got back.

Get in your delorean, hit 88mph’s and flash forward to today. We’re well into month two, I had an epiphany and I decided: If I can cook in this kitchen, anyone can cook anywhere. I thought this might be a good way to prove that it doesn’t require a big fancy kitchen with cool tools and fancy ingredients to eat well. When I moved here the only cooking tools I brought with me was my Le Creuset and my Microplane. Because pssh, I cant’ live without those and they fit snugly into the car that we shipped here. I didn’t bring my cookbooks or anything else. I figured I’d pick up a couple cooking magazines and I’d have internet access. Not to mention I had my tried and true recipes on the external hard drive that we brought. I picked up a copy of EAT Magazine (that I LOVE btw) and found this recipe. It was fast, easy and relatively healthy. What could be better? How it tasted of course. It was FABULOUS!!

*Oh and a note, I apoligize ahead of time for the craptastic lighting in these shots. There is no natural light in here and its all flourescents. Bear with me until February, I promise it’ll go back to normal as soon as we get home.*

First put a pot with about a tablespoon or two of olive oil on the heat at medium.

Next, chop about a half an onion. You could easily add more but a whole onion is just too much in most dishes for me. Unless this is your idea of a good time. So if you usually use a whole onion when you make tacos or sloppy joes, use a whole one.

Add it to the pan and give it a swirl to get it coated. Then sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. If I learned anything from my BFF Ina it was “If you season at every step it tastes well seasoned. Season at the end and it just tastes salty.” I love her and did you see this weekends episode? I want to make lunch for Mel Brooks!!!

Now slice an 8oz package of mushrooms. You could be super lazy and get them prechopped. But whatever can help me keep from getting arms like these, I’m all for it.

Add them to the pan with the onions and give a good toss. Now like Forrest Gump would say you gots to season…uh-gain.

Now dig out your meat. At home I’d have used ground turkey. But honestly this is beef country. I’m not altogether confident that the turkey gets replenished nearly as often as the beef does so I get beef instead. Not to mention, look at how perfect and red it is. It was gorgeous and calling my name.

Now break it up and add it to the pan.

Once it browns up a bit add some garlic. I’ve been using the jarred kind down here because honestly, I want to spend as little effort in this kitchen as possible.

Some things never change. R U KOOKING BEEF? WANT!!!

Once its all browned drain off the fat. I contemplated leaving it cuz it had all the yummy mushroom juices but thoughts of this made me think better of it.

Now add a can of diced tomaotes. I found these fire roasted ones and thought they’d be fantastico in a taco dish. They were. If you can’t find the fire roasted kind, regular should be just fine.

Dump. I swear this is the easiest recipe ever.

Stir it up and add the spices. 2 tbsp chili powder and 2 tsp cumin.

Stir it up and let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until everything is a nice brick red and the liquid has thickened slightly. While I wait I get the chips ready.

Now we taste. You could stop here and put it on chips right now if it tastes perfect to you. Hmmm, not spicy enough for me so I add some hot sauce.

Could use a little color too. How about some parsley.

Ah perfecto, now spoon it over the chips.

Add some cheese and serve that baby up.

For real, this is so easy and filling. I got about halfway thru mine and had to give up. Throw in the towel. I tried shoveling more into my mouth but I could barely chew I’d eaten so much. This would also probably be good served family style in front of the TV and everybody could grab chips while they watch. Yum! Enjoy guys!

Related:

• Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
• Pasta e Fagioli
• Smothered Beef Tips
• Chilaquiles
• Chicken Margherita