Iron Chef Brando

So I am feeling pretty full of myself right now. Recently I have picked up the habit of cooking a bunch of food, for the week, on Sundays. Last week, it was chicken items. This week, it was beef.

I have been having a hankering for these nachos they serve at this restaurant called La Cueva. When I was about 11, I worked there as a bus boy and extra set of hands. Not really sure why I was working, but I managed to buy a stereo system out of it.

One of my duties was to make the tortilla chips. I would have to cut the corn tortillas and deep fry them, in lard. While today I try to eat healthy, and stay away from saturated fats, my hankering has been overwhelming.

So, yes, I bought lard [Manteca], and a deep fry thermometer. Trying to remember back to then, I fried the corn tortillas to crunchy perfection. I am quite impressed that I remembered what to do, and that they came out ok.

Next up, made some homemade basalmic vinaigrette for a salad that includes grape tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, and hearts of romaine.

While I was chopping up the veggies, I started some pasta shells. I then moved on to making a dressing for tuna salad that I would use with the pasta. Paradise Bakery had a tuna pasta salad I worshipped, but unfortunately, they stopped carrying it. So I decided to take a crack on it based on what I thought they had in there.

I used the remaining yellow bell pepper, some celery, a bit of sea salt, and fresh cracked black pepper. It turned out perfect. Yay me!

Next up was some ground beef for soft tacos for lunch at some point this week. I only use the Coleman's 'natural' beef, and managed to luck out with a selection that was 96% lean. Added pepper, onion salt, and a touch of this extremely hot salsa by Sadie's Of New Mexico. Browned that up, and it turned out perfect as well.

I have also been on a cheeseburger kick, so I whipped up some patties for use as well this week.

Finally, it was nacho time. Got my homemade chips, slathered some refried beans on 'em, threw on some sharp cheddar, and garnished with fresh slices of jalapeno.

Threw it in the oven at 300 for about 15 minutes, and out came nacho heaven. I am thrilled they, and everything turned out the way I wanted it to. That is not always the case when I throwdown in the kitchen.

So right now, I feel like a combination of Iron Chef and Fresh Pepper. Not a bad way to kill two hours on a Sunday, and be prepared for food this week.