The Freshman Cook: June 2011

I am calling the menu this week “The All American Menu”. My family and I have lived in several different states in the last 29 years, so I picked a few of our favorite foods that bring back wonderful memories for us. They all have a summertime feel about them, so I thought they would be appropriate for this 4th of July week.      I started off with what really isn’t an appetizer. When we lived in Cedar City, Utah we would go to pow wows held by the Paiute Indian Tribe. They would serve these wonderful fry breads filled with hamburger or beans, and loaded down with lettuce, tomato, and cheese.  They are called Navajo Tacos, and they are indescribably delicious! The only place you could get one was at a pow wow. And we went to every one!! I made a similar mini version of this delicious specialty to serve as an appetizer for our 4th of July party. I hope you like it!!

 Navajo Tacos

(adapted from whatscookingamerica.net)

Fry Bread

1 cup Flour

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Powdered Milk

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 cup Water

Vegetable Oil for Frying

Filling

1 pound Hamburger

1/2 medium Onion, chopped

1 cup Shredded Cheese

1/2 cup Chopped Tomato

1/2 cup Chopped Lettuce

Avocado Chunks

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1/4 cup of Enchilada Sauce 

1/4 cup of Tomato Sauce

(Mix the 2 sauces together)

Brown the hamburger and the diced onion in a pan.

Start heating the oil for frying the bread.

It needs to get to 350 degrees. You can also use a

deep fryer for this. While the oil is heating and the 

hamburger is browning, we can make the dough.

Place the flour, salt, powdered milk, baking powder

and water into a bowl.

Start mixing everything up with a fork. Don’t knead the 

mix, but flour your hands, and continue to mix in all the flour.

the dough will be wet on the inside, but floured on the outside.

It should look like this.

Check your hamburger

and…

keep an eye on the temperature of the oil.

Break the dough into 8 different pieces. Pull and shape 

each piece into a flat disk of about 3″ diameter. Put the 

disc down in oil, and let it fry for about 3 minutes on each side.

When they are done, pull them out so they can drain

on paper towels.

To build your taco, start with refried beans.

Add the enchilada/tomato sauce.

Add hamburger and onion mix.

 Top it off with lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese,

avocado chunk, and sour cream.

Enjoy!!

Here is another delicious way that the fry bread is served.

It is sometimes topped with a drizzle of honey and a

sprinkling of powdered sugar. It makes a great dessert!!

If you are planning on serving this appetizer for a party, like I am,

here is a little helpful tip: Once the fry bread is fried, you can

immediately put it in the oven at 200 degrees for about an hour. 

They also refrigerate just fine,and they can be fried ahead

of time and reheated in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Thanks for joining me today! 

Tomorrow we will be making our salad,

shrimp ceviche!

I hope to see you then!

    

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