Fresh and Simple Mini Taco Cups

The other day I was going to tell you about these fun little taco cups, but I got distracted by this Lime Cheesecake. I'm sure you can completely understand that feeling!

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Mexican Lasagna

A few weeks ago one of my favourite fellow bloggers posted a recipe for her Momma's Lasagna, and it looked soooo good. In fact, it looked a lot like the lasagna my own momma used to make... and just like that, I was craving lasagna and resolved to make it for dinner that very night.

When I got home from work, I realised that I didn't have any pasta and I had no intention of going out just to buy some. What I did have was a stash of tortillas in the freezer, and chipotle lime sour cream leftover over from our seared steak fajitas... and so our dinner plans changed. OK, they didn't exactly change, they just altered. Instead of pasta we used tortillas, instead of herbs we used spices, instead of mushrooms we had sweetcorn and beans and instead of a topping of finely grated Parmesan we had chipotle lime sour cream. We had ourselves a Mexican Lasagna, folks!

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Seared Steak Fajitas and Chipotle Lime Dip

Mr E and I have had a bit of Mexican misunderstanding. I posted a while back about Turkey Tacos, but Mr E said they weren't technically Tacos. I tried to explain that for the sake of a catchy title it was acceptable (and, well, I did at least bake the shells), but he said it was false advertising- Mr OCD E would like me to admit that, unless it's in a corn shell, a taco it is not.

Fun stealer.

So, in a bid not to upset him again, I have very carefully called these Fajitas... but whatever the heck you call them, they're perfect. I love using our own taco seasoning (do I have to change the name of that too?!) because it means you have complete control over the level of spice, and I love the way it browns as your sear the steak to give an extra depth of flavour.

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Smoky Chipotle Chilli

Apparently it's officially Autumn (or Fall, if you're of a North American persuasion), and this makes me quite happy. Don't get me wrong, I love Summer... but we don't get much of one, and I'm tired of keeping up appearances by wearing Summer appropriate clothing (while secretly freezing) and eating 'light Summer food' when all I really want to do is wear comfy boots and pretty scarves, turn the central heating on and eat cosy food.

Chilli is one such cosy dish that I can't wait to make in Autumn. The turning of the leaves makes me think of bonfires, and I love to capture that smoky smell in the Chilli itself. Perfect to warm you up on a crisp fresh day.

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Beef Stroganoff

OK, another 'fallback' recipe for you. I've already told you about my fallback dessert (Nutella Mousse Shots), but I thought I should share another with you. What's your fallback 'entertaining' dish? The one that you know you can rely on when you have people coming for dinner, not a lot of time to prepare, and your mind is empty of inspiration (never mind the countless cookbooks you might have on your shelves that you could turn to)?

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Slow Cooked Shredded Beef with Cherry BBQ Sauce

I'm in love with my slow cooker (and no, that's not a nickname for Mr Ellwood). I'm in love with my actual slow cooker.

Every time I use it I start to think my six year old self was right all along, and that fairies and such like really do exist! How else do you explain putting a few simple ingredients and a hunk of meat in the pot in the morning, and then coming home after work to a house that smells divine, meat so moist and tender it flakes apart and tastes like happiness on a fork?

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Hoisin Tart

As much as the title of this post might sound like an insult, it's not. It's an Ellwood favourite for a quick, simple, tasty, and budget friendly dinner. Winner all round!

One of my favourite things about this dish is that it's good for using up leftovers. I quite often have a few stray spring onions left in the salad drawer from another recipe that didn't call for a whole bunch. As for the meat, you really can use up whatever you've got! We had some slow cooked beef to hand that was shredded up, but we have used chicken, turkey, pork and lamb before and all worked beautifully!

A word to the wise- make sure when preparing this you only let people help if they are actually going to be helpful! Mr E thought he was oh so cute with his "One bit of cheese for me and.... one bit of cheese for me". After getting his hand slapped he really wasn't much more help because he likes a looooot of cheese (see photo evidence below). Please do not feel the need to overload it as much as we have!

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