What we ate: dinner series.

Here's to another week of dinner meals! You can find more recipes here and here. This week we ate chicken tacos, coney island hot dogs and philly cheesesteaks! Javi was really only interested in the tacos -- toddlers! -- am I right?! I really thought he would like his first hot dog but he mostly just ate the ketchup (and the chili). 

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Chicken --

You need:

- 3 Chicken Breasts

- 6 Chicken Thighs

- 2 12oz cans of Pickled Jalapeno slices

- Salt to Taste

Pico de Gallo -- (for the best flavor, make it the day before! Store it in the fridge)

You need:

- 3 roma tomatoes (cubed small)

- 1/3 cup red onion (finely chopped)

- ¼ cup fresh cilantro (chopped)

- 1 jalapeno (finely chopped)

- 1 lime (juiced)

- Salt to taste

Grab your crockpot and put the chicken and the jalapeno slices inside. Set it for 8 hours! 

Make tortillas. (Previous recipe)

After the 8 hours, take the chicken out of the crockpot and shred it in another bowl. Add some of the juices from the leftover jalapenos mix to your desired level of spiciness. Taste as you go and add salt if needed. Serve (you can add a cheese of your choice, too. We like monterey jack, cotija and queso fresco)!

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For Chili -- 

You need:

- 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef

- 2 cups water

- ½ cup diced onion

- 1/3 cup ketchup

- 2 tablespoons butter

- 2 cloves garlic (minced)

- 2 tablespoons chili powder

- 1 ½ teaspoons salt

- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

- 1 teaspoon ground cumin

- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt

- 1 pinch cayenne pepper

For hot dogs --

You need:

- 8 all-beef hot dogs

- 8 hot dog buns

- 1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard, or to taste

- 1/4 cup diced onion, or to taste

- Fiesta Blend Cheese

Brown the ground beef in a little bit of olive oil in a pot. Combine ground beef, water, 1/2 cup diced onion, ketchup, butter, garlic, chili powder, salt, black pepper, cumin, celery salt, and cayenne pepper together in a pot. Mix with a potato masher or spatula over medium-high heat until mixture has a finely ground consistency and begins to bubble. It will take about 10 minutes.

Bring beef mixture to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens and reduces, about 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook hot dogs in boiling water until heated through, 5 to 7 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Arrange hot dog buns on a baking sheet. Cook buns in the preheated oven until soft and warm, 2 to 3 minutes.

Place a hot dog in the bun and top with meat sauce and top with cheese. Drizzle yellow mustard and diced onion over the meat sauce. Repeat with remaining hot dogs. Serve!

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You need:

- Sub rolls

- 1 lb. of Rib-eye (shaved thinly)

- 1 white onion (sliced thinly)

- 1 red, 1 orange, 1 yellow bell peppers (sliced thinly)

- 2 garlic cloves

- American cheese

- Extra virgin olive oil for grilling

- Salt and pepper

Heat a griddle of a large saute pan over medium-high hight. When hot, cover the bottom with olive oil. Add onion and bell peppers and cook, stirring until carmelized (6-8 minutes). Add garlic and salt and pepper and cook for another 30 seconds. Push the mixture off to one side of the griddle and add the meat onto the griddle (or pan). Cook continuously flipping the meat over and slightly chopping the meat into smaller pieces. Mix the meat, onions and bell peppers together. Divide into 2 portions and top both with cheese to melt. Fill sub rolls and serve!