Saturday 6 December 2014

It's Old El Paso Night!!


I was sent a selection of Old El Paso products to try for fun, quick and easy meals. 

Most people think of Old El Paso as Mexican food but in fact is the more American Tex-Mex cuisine.  This is food that has been an influence to the people living in Texas and other US states that border Mexico bringing into play the spices and styles of food south of the border!

We have long been fans of the hard taco shell but I was sent the new soft shell shape taco.  This is like a little boat base and easier to hold onto when filling and eating than the orginal hard taco shell.
The soft shell tacos come in a box with the seasoning and tomato mix and a sour cream base to mix up.  You need to provide the mince, peppers if you want to fry them with the mince and the cheese.
The mince mixture along side small dishes of grated cheese, lettuce, chopped tomato and Old El Paso guacamole are all you need for a fun – FYO (Fill Your Own) Saturday night supper with the family.  Everyone gets to fill their own with the ingredients they like, win-win!
We are also planning on having the Nachos the next time there is a film on TV we want to watch. Warm them in the oven with grated cheese, pop on a few chopped or sliced jalapeno peppers and serve with a bowl of tangy salsa and one of sour cream. Get a few cold beers from the fridge and settle down to enjoy the film!
 
The range is getting quite extensive with Burritos, Enchaladas (Mr R’s favourite), Re-fried beans, two new Rice Mixes and load more for that authentic Tex-Mex experience!
 
We tried one of the new Rice Mixes.  You need to supply chicken breast, pepper, onion and sweet corn and I had some mushrooms to use so added them too.
 
It has step by step instructions and is really easy to follow.  Brown the chicken pieces first, add the onion, pepper and sweet corn (and mushrooms if using).  Add the seasoned rice packet.
After 2 minutes add the creamy sauce, spice mix sachet and 350ml of water.
 
That's all you need to do, let it cook for a further 10 minutes and serve with wedges of Little Gem lettuce and your favourite dressing and you have a great, mid-week, quick and tasty meal.

We had some family for the weekend and after spending the day in St Albans shopping on a really cold and wintery day we wanted something warm for supper but it had to be quick.

I started with Nachos, ready in under 15 minutes.
The kit comes complete with nachos and salsa, only needing some cheddar cheese grated to finish it off.
For our main meal we had Enchiladas. The box suggests using just chicken breast.
I wanted to bulk out the filling and added an orange pepper thinly sliced, two sticks of celery also thinly sliced, a can of kidney beans and a can of white kidney beans.
Everyone loves the Enchiladas. I bought the family size (12 tortillas) and there was only one left for Mr R to take to work on Monday!
I was not paid to try these products and as usual all opinions and photos are my own.

10 comments:

  1. That all looks jolly delicious and those boat shape tacos are a great idea for making filling easier. I always get into a bit of a mess when I try making wrap style food.

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    1. The new shape did make it easier to fill and eat.

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  2. I think you have to look very carefully at products like that, since you have to add so many other ingredients to make a full meal. As long as you understand this, they are good - very convenient if you don't want to spend the time making stuff from scratch.

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  3. They are a quick easy fix for a supper when you are short of time or tired, they usually only need the addition of 2-4 fresh ingredients.

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  4. oh super yummy, my favourite things. I loved those little boat shaped tacos, they are so much easier to eat.

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  5. I think Old El Paso is a cupboard essential - great for lazy supper nights!

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  6. i just love all the products and food too.

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    Replies
    1. We always have some for emergencies in the cupboard!

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  7. I always eat this dish when I visit my kids in USA.. love it.

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    1. So easy to feed a crowd and everyone can help chop!

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