Taco Chili

Looking for something to warm you up on these unseasonably cook Spring days? Taco chili will surely warm you up. This is a family favorite that my husband introduced me too when we first started dating. I was leary about it because he does like spicier foods than me, but once he said I could add sour cream, I was in heaven.

This is a super easy recipe that we name a dump and run and the slow cooker does all the hard work for us.

The only prep you need to do is browning off the meat and onions. Once you have that done, it's literally dumping in a bunch of cans and then set the slow cooker to do the rest of the work.

Here's the recipe:

1 lb. ground meat
1 lb. ground turkey
half a medium onion, diced
1 can corn, with liquid
1 can chili beans
2 cans beans of your choice (you can drain liquid and rinse beans)
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. ranch seasoning
1 can chilies (optional)
1 cup water (optional)

Toppings:
Fritos Scoops
shredded cheese
sour cream

Brown the meat and onion together. Once done, add to slow cooker, add all other ingredients and stir together. (I hold on the water until the end if it doesn't seem to have enough liquid). Set slow cooker on LOW for 6-8 hours to let the flavors really meld.

Serve in a bowl topped with sour cream and cheese. Scoop it up with some Fritos for extra texture.

ENJOY.

I know everyone makes chili a little different--I would love to know how you enjoy it. How spicy can you handle? Do you have a signature ingredient that goes in yours?

Serrano's

My guy and I are slowly eating our way around the city and its Mexican food establishments. We have tried El Sol de Mexico, La Estacion, The Spot (tex-mex flair) and recently we checked out Serrano's.

I had been to Serrano's once before with my friend Tiffany and we both really enjoyed our meals. I had a watermelon margarita that was amazing - so refreshing and unique. I knew that I wanted to come back again soon.


I told my guy about this place and how it's off the beaten path but the parking lot is always full of cars. We tried to go here on Cinco de Mayo but the parking lot was completely filled and we would have to wait too long to eat. But that didn't mean we weren't planning to never try again.

We finally made it to Serrano's a few weeks later and had a wonderful dinner. They sat us at a high top table in the bar and gave us some chips and salsa to start. I love homemade chips and these were nice and crispy. The salsa had a mild kick, but was very good.

The menu had plenty of options and it was hard to slim it down. I chose the chicken enchiladas. I was very excited that it came with a side of guacamole as it's not often you get it on your plate. The chicken enchiladas were scrumptious - plenty of flavor in the meat AND plenty of meat. This enchilada was huge! The guacamole and sour cream helped calm my palate a bit with the red sauce. It wasn't overly spicy, but you know me and my sensitive buds.

My guy chose the Tilapia tacos and loved them. The fish was seasoned well but it didn't overpower the flavor. We both agreed the rice was a little bland but we really enjoyed ourselves.

I think we would return. They have a nice patio outside to grab a cocktail on a warm night. And being close to the freeway, this would be a nice meeting point for me with my friends that live all over the five-county area.

Moe's Southwest Grill

I had heard of Moe's Southwest Grill from a few friends over the years, but never ventured in. I wasn't sure if it was a sit down and be waited on place or a quick serve and it just never made it to the top of my list.

This past summer, a perk I receive for working at the Waukesha County Fair is enjoying the Main Stage entertainment from the Hospitality Area. This includes a meal, 2 drinks and a raised platform to enjoy the concert from. Sponsors of the Fair are given access this area as a way of saying Thank You for their support of the Fair.

Each night the meal is provided by an area restaurant or food vendor on the grounds. Cousin's, Silver Spur,  and Moe's more have provided us dinners in the Hospitality area. And that was where I found out about Moe's famous Queso!

I took some chicken, some chips and the cheese and made myself a mini set of nachos this past year and fell absolutely in love with the cheese. I then found out from talking to others that love Moe's that it's a quick serve place like a Qdoba or Chipotle and I definitely need to try it.

My mom and I were heading home from babysitting my niece and nephew and were starving, so we hit Moe's on the way back.

The menu has all sorts of unique names for things and I wasn't sure how to order so I asked the guy for a Chicken Quesadilla and he informed me that was the "John Coctostan." I was then able to pick out the exact fresh ingredients I wanted inside the 'dilla. I went with cheese, black beans, chicken, pico de gallo, and cilantro. There was also cucumbers, rice, spicy salsa, corn salsa, jalepenos, bacon, sour cream, guacamole, queso, pinto beans and more.

My mom chose a hard shell chicken taco with cheese, chicken, sour cream and guacamole on it. We splurged for a cup of queso and chips. We weren't aware chips and salsa came with all meals at this point but I told my mom we just had to have queso!

I thought that my quesadilla was excellent (much better than Qdoba's) and my mom really enjoyed her taco. Nice and crunchy and we both agreed the chicken was nicely seasoned but not spicy. We were silly to think that the cup of queso was goign to be going home with us, because even though we were full, when it comes to chips in my family, down the hatch they go. And the queso was delicious. I definitely need to keep that in mind for a party.

I did notice the food wheel on the wall and wanted to read more about it. Take a moment to read about their ingredients the provide their customers daily!

I did think that it was a little pricey for what we got - the quesadilla (we could have split it) one taco, queso and chips and two drinks - it was $20. Not horrible but the drinks were over $2 a piece and yes we could get unlimited refills but I try to limit the amount of processed sugars and such going into my body lately. I think next time knowing how it all works there, we will order and share.

I will definitely be back and am totally in love with the queso sauce - I see there are some copycat recipes online. I'll have to test them out to see. But for $4, you can't pass that up for a quick treat.