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TIPS AND TRICKS

Welcome to our page where we're excited to share recipes and creative ways to use our Seasoning Blends. For instance, did you know our Taco Seasoning isn't only for tacos? It can be used in a multitude of delicious dishes. From time to time, we'll also share some of our own creations that don't include our Seasoning Blends - we simply love to cook and can't wait to share our culinary adventures with you. We'd also love to hear from you! Feel free to send us your own recipes and ideas using our blends (please keep in mind that they might be shared on this website). So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the flavorful journey!

SOUTHWEST SOUP

This is a recipe that I got many years ago from a friend. She told us that she ran out of time and had 30 minutes to be somewhere with dinner. She made this for us and we were all crazy about it!

We use our Taco Seasoning Blend (better taste) and it has become one of our regular go-to dinners, especially in the winter when it is cold. We have served this to nearly everyone we know at some point and they ALWAYS ask for the recipe, and are shocked when they see how quickly (10 minutes work) you can have  a wonderful dinner served!

I know a lot of cooks look down on canned vegetables, but this must be what they are for, because the results are incredible.

You will need:

  • 1 pound of ground beef (chicken is also delicious)
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 can of black beans (drained but not rinsed)
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 can of corn
  • 1 can of tomatoes & green chilies (ROTEL)
  • 2-1/2 Tablespoons of Tehachapi, LLC Taco Seasoning Blend
  • 1-1/2 Tablespoons (dry) ranch dressing mix
  • 2 cups hot water
  • Corn chips
  • Toppings: grated cheese, sour cream, avocado (or guacamole)

Toss the chopped onion into a Dutch oven with a very small amount of oil and cook 3-4 minutes over medium/high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, draining any excess grease, and return to the pot.

Add the black beans, diced tomatoes, corn and ROTEL and stir to blend. Add the water, Taco Seasoning, ranch dressing mix and stir to mix. Reduce heat to medium and let come to a light boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for at least 20 minutes (or until you are ready to serve).

Serving: Put a moderate handful of corn chips into each bowl and ladle soup over the chips (about a cup per serving).

Top with grated cheese, sour cream and avocado and serve.

This is a crowd pleaser so don’t be surprised at the line for seconds! Your only problem will be that it makes about 6 servings and you may need more!

SAVORY PUFF PASTRIES

Cute, tasty little appetizers. Holidays involve a lot of parties, and provides an excuse to show off some of our seasoning blends in slightly different ways.

So many ideas, that I have trouble deciding exactly what to do, particularly when it comes to appetizers!

Also, it is always nice to have something ready for last minute guests or invitations.

I made Fajitas, but I cut the chicken, peppers and onions VERY small and added Tehachapi, LLC Fajita Seasoning Blend. After the filling was cooked I set it aside to cool.

I then made Creole Shrimp, again cutting everything very small and added Tehachapi, LLC Creole Seasoning Blend . If you prefer them a little SPICIER, try our Creole Extra Seasoning Blend, and set it aside to cool.

I made puff pastry shells (bite sized) in a mini muffin tin and filled them with the Fajita filling. I prepared the next pan with the puff pastry and added Creole Shrimp filling.

I baked them for 14-15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Ready to serve your guests, or pop over to a friend’s for a holiday party!

You can prepare the filling mixtures in advance (they will keep in the fridge for up to a week). Also, if you have thawed puff pastry in the fridge, you can whip up a plate of cocktail snacks in minutes!

NOTE: I tried these at Thanksgiving using a pie crust type pastry. They were delicious, however, the crispier texture of the puff pastry stays better and the proportion of filling to pastry is better with the smaller puff pastry shells.

TUSCAN SCALLOPS WITH PASTA

Boy, did we have a winner this week!

We had friends over for dinner and we were serving Scallops (have I mentioned that they are my favorite food)!

We did not know until they arrived that one of them had never had scallops before; I was a little concerned, especially since I made it up as I went; I was trying to think of something that was good basic flavors without hiding the luscious scallops.

Plus, I want as much prep done in advance when having guests; I like to relax and enjoy cocktails and conversation without being busy in the kitchen the whole time!

 

I cooked some penne pasta and added just a touch of olive oil and some Tuscan Seasoning and set it aside to warm later.

I then made a very simple white sauce (flour, butter, scallions, a small amount of chicken broth, and Tuscan Seasoning) and set that aside to add cream later.

I was able to kick back and enjoy my guests until about 10 minutes before serving dinner!

I gently warmed the white sauce and stirred in some heavy cream. I zapped the pasta in the microwave for about 1 minute to reheat.

The scallops were seasoned with Tuscan Seasoning and seared in a skillet for about 3 minutes per side.

I plated the pasta, added some seared scallops to each dish and ladled white sauce over each serving. I garnished with scallions and a light sprinkle of parmesan cheese. We served it with roasted asparagus.

It was beautiful and delicious; and we have a new Scallop lover in town!

Even beginning from scratch, this meal could be ready in 30 minutes; we will definitely be making this one again.

LEFTOVER NIGHT LOADED QUICHE

First of all, I made pie crust using “Cooks Illustrated Fool Proof Pie Crust”. The recipe calls for a small amount of Vodka. It is soft and easy to roll quickly so that you don’t overwork it and get tough crust. It is flaky and delicious!

Then we treated the fillings like leftover night!

FILLINGS:

  • Leftover ham, cut into cubes
  • 4 slices of thick cut peppered bacon, cooked and chopped
  • ½ Large white onion, chopped and sautéed in the bacon grease
  • 8 oz leftover mushrooms, sautéed in bacon grease
  • Spinach
  • Leftover Brussels sprouts, chopped up (NOTE: my all time favorite omelet includes Brussels sprouts and cheddar).
  • ¼ cup “Young Guns diced Hatch Valley Green Chile”
  • 1 cup finely grated Jarlsburg cheese
  • 1 pound fresh spinach, sweated

CUSTARD:

Not all of the fillings were leftovers, but we did tidy the fridge!

After prebaking the crust for 15 minutes, we added all of our fillings (We used a DEEP dish) and then poured the custard mixture over the fillings and baked at 375 degrees for about 40-45 minutes.

It was delicious! An upgrade to omelets with leftovers tossed in.

Suggestion: though everything did fit into the deep dish pie pans, it may be easier in a parchment lined spring form pan.

STEAK TACOS

 

Using Tehachapi, LLC Taco Seasoning Blend.

Spicy Wings

I dry the wings with paper towels to prevent the excess water from rinsing the seasoning from the wings; and I then season them liberally (toss them in a zipper top bag) with Tehachapi, LLC Hot Wing Seasoning Blend. I put them in a covered Dutch oven at 250 degrees for between 2 and 3 hours which makes them moist and tender. I remove them from the Dutch oven and place them on a rack in a sheet pan to let the excess moisture dry. Ten or fifteen minutes before dinner or snack time, I put them under the broiler (or on the grill) to crisp up the skins. I like to serve them with Ranch or Blue Cheese dipping sauce on the side.  Wonderful!

FAJITA CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

 

This is now my favorite winter soup! I was suffering with a cold one winter and could not taste very well and wanted to enjoy my chicken noodle soup. I added two teaspoons of Tehachapi, LLC Fajita Seasoning Blend and then I could taste it! Yummy.

CHICKEN AND ANDOUILLE GUMBO

We learned to love Paul Prudhomme back in the 1980s and this is one of our favorites.

We are making this one with our CAJUN SEASONING BLEND.

First, we cut up a whole chicken and saved the backbone and wing pieces to roast in preparation for our stock (roast at 350 degrees for about ½ hour).

Chop 1 cup each of onions, bell peppers, and celery and set aside.

Then add the roasted chicken bones and bits and any vegetable ends to a stock pot of COLD water; add a teaspoon of the Cajun Seasoning and ½ teaspoon of salt then bring to a boil then reduce temperature and gently simmer over medium heat for 3-4 hours. *NOTE: you may need to replenish the water periodically to keep about a quart of liquid in the pot.

When stock has finished cooking, strain, cool and refrigerate until needed.

Combine about 1-¼ cups flour with a generous amount of Cajun Seasoning in a zip top bag and coat the chicken. Set aside for about 30 minutes. Save the flour mix.

We then fried the chicken pieces in about 1-1/2 inches of vegetable oil (we did this in a deep cast iron skillet outside) until the crust is brown on both sides and the meat is cooked. *NOTE: If the chicken browns too quickly, don’t worry; remove it from the oil and put it in the oven at low temperature to make sure it is cooked through.

Let cool, then remove chicken from the bones and cut into ½ inch chunks.

Slice or chop ½ pound of Andouille sausage (Paul Prudhomme cuts his into ¼ inch cubes; my husband likes 1/8 inch slices).

Remove the oil with as many bits of the browned particles from the pan while scraping the pan and save ½ cup of the oil.

ALL OF THE ABOVE STEPS CAN (and probably should) BE DONE IN ADVANCE (a few hours or a day or two).

You are now ready to make your Gumbo!

Pull out your large Dutch oven and get your prepared stock boiling.

In a large skillet add ½ cup of the reserved oil to the pan and heat over high heat.

Gradually add approximately ½ cup of the reserved flour mixture, whisking constantly until the roux stops getting darker.

Remove from heat and immediately add the vegetable mixture, stirring constantly until the vegetables are soft (about 5 minutes) scraping the pan while mixing.

Then begin adding the roux/vegetable mix back to the boiling stock a bit at a time, stirring between each addition of roux/vegetable mix.

Return stock mixture to a boil (scraping the pan often) and add 1 Tablespoon of Cajun Seasoning, then reduce heat to a simmer.

Add the Andouille sausage to the pot and let simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring frequently towards the end of the cooking time.

Add the cut up chicken chunks to warm for a few minutes. Lightly toast some dipping bread for the juice, and you are ready to serve over rice! YUM, YUM, YUM!

LAMB CHOPS

 

Simply added Tehachapi, LLC Southwest Seasoning Blend to make beautiful and tasty Lamb Chops for dinner.

BARBECUED CHICKEN

 

Add a generous amount of Tehachapi, LLC Barbecue Rib Rub Seasoning Blend to up your grilling game.

AHI TUNA AND SEA SCALLOPS TACOS

 

Start off the New Year with a delicious but LIGHT meal.

If your resolution includes dieting or eating healthy; keep in mind that it is better have whatever you want to eat, just keep your portions small. It is much more satisfying to have a small portion of something wonderful, than to have a large portion of something mediocre.

My sister and brother-in-law sent us Fresh Scallops for Christmas (my personal favorite and very welcome out here in the desert)! So we gave Scallop Tacos, alongside some Tuna Tacos a try for New Year’s Day.

We seasoned the scallops and tuna with our Fish Taco Seasoning Blend and seared them in a skillet. We then sliced them into thin slivers. *NOTE: the most tragic event in cooking history is overcooked scallops! This is a pet peeve of mine; I would rather they be raw (delicious) than overdone rubber balls!

We made a simple slaw with a mix of red and green cabbage, lime juice, cilantro and just a touch of mayo for binding.

My husband made a sauce of mayonnaise, lime, hot green chilies, and garlic. The sauce was out of this world!

We lightly fried some flour tortillas and added a small amount of slaw, the sliced seared scallops or tuna, topped with a little of the sauce and a sprinkle of cilantro. We also tried them with lightly fried corn tortillas, also excellent!

Tehachapi LLC style Surf and Turf

 

A wonderful new blend is available! Try our newest addition High Desert Coffee Rub on your steak.

It is also amazing on Salmon filets.

ADOVADA (New Mexican Pork Stew) filled Sopapillas

 

When traveling across county by car, we stopped for lunch at a diner in Gallup, New Mexico. Wow, they had “Carne Adovada stuffed Sopapillas” on the menu; obviously we needed to try this. Yummy!

Though we had had Adovada before; we had forgotten how much we loved it. Obviously, this was a seasoning we needed to have in our repertoire. It took us five different blends to find the perfect taste that we were looking for.

We had friends coming to visit, so decided to test it out on them (lucky guinea pigs).

I cut about 2 pounds of pork loin into 1” cubes. Seasoned the pork liberally with our Tehachapi, LLC Adovada Seasoning Blend and covered with JUST enough water to cover the meat. I mixed it up and popped it into a low (250 degree) oven, covered in a Dutch oven for 2 hours. I then uncovered, stirred it about and popped it back into the oven, un-covered for another 1-1/2 hours.

I decided to go all out and give Sopapillas a try (never made them before). They were super easy and tasty.

When the meat was finished cooking, I mixed about 1-1/2 cups of cooked rice into the meat and juice mixture (the meat was falling apart tender). I stuffed the sopapillas with the mixture, and a little grated cheese and warmed them in the oven for about 20 minutes at about 350 degrees to get them nice and hot, and served with a little shredded lettuce and tiny diced tomato on the side for freshness.

They were a big hit!

This is one of those wonderful “make ahead” dishes. The Adovada can be made a day or two in advance, then just warm and serve.

If you are going to make sopapillas, they really need to be made just before serving. However, the Adovada is delicious served as the classic stew (add the vegetables you like), on soft corn tortillas or as an appetizer on club crackers.

Get cooking and Enjoy yourself?

 

 

Poke Bowl

Here's a fantastic suggestion for a refreshing summer meal - a Poke (pronounced po-keh) Bowl. You can customize it to your liking. Here's a simple version I made. I started by pre-cooking the rice with green cardamom. Once the rice cooled down, I stirred in a bit of Rice Vinegar. The Ahi Tuna was seasoned with ponzu, rolled in sesame seeds, and briefly seared. (You could also use fresh raw tuna). I briefly boiled the asparagus and then plunged it into ice water to cool. I also sliced some cucumber and red onion. To serve it, just put the rice in a bowl and creatively place the toppings over it. I drizzled a bit of Tabasco Sweet and Spicy Chili Sauce over the Tuna. The result is a tasty, light summer meal.