Sweet Potato Jalapeno Popper Tacos

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This recipe came to be from a blissful kitchen mix-up when Jamie accidentally bought ingredients for two separate recipes she planned to cook. The original recipe we wanted to make was for sweet potato and pineapple tacos. We knew all of that starchy sweetness needed salt and spice and the first thing that came to mind were the ingredients in bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers. If all of this is sounding a bit weird to you, we get it. It’s a weird sounding recipe!! Trust us when we tell you that somehow it all works. There is a little bit of everything in this recipe – roasted sweet potatoes and pineapple, charred jalapeños and onions, salty thick cut bacon, and a cilantro lime crema. The flavors all meld together to create these deliciously unique tacos that simultaneously taste sweet and bring the heat. This recipe is perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon watching football and the perfect way to bring in fall flavors.

Sweet Potato Jalapeno Popper Tacos

  • Servings: 8 tacos
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We love the combination of sweet and spicy in this unique taco recipe.

Ingredients For The Tacos

  • 2 large sweet potatoes, chopped into large bite-sized pieces
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced in half and then quartered lengthwise
  • 2 cups pineapple, chopped into large bite-sized pieces
  • 2 tbs vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 6 slices thick cut bacon
  • 4 jalapenos
  • 8 taco sized tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
  • cilantro leaves, for garnish
  • 1 lime, cut into segments, for garnish

Ingredients For the Cilantro Lime Crema

  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 tbs mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup packed cilantro
  • 1 clove garlic
  • juice and zest of 1 lime
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
  • salt, to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Make the cilantro lime crema. Combine all of the crema ingredients (sour cream – paprika) in a small blender. Blend until the cilantro is evenly distributed in the crema and all of the ingredients are well combined. Season the crema with salt and refrigerate until you are ready to use.
  3. Make the tacos. Combine the first seven taco ingredients (sweet potatoes – coriander) in a large bowl. Season well with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
  4. Lay three slices of bacon in the center of each of two large cookie sheets. Divide the sweet potato bowl ingredients around the bacon on each of the two sheets. Spread everything into a single layer and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, flip the bacon and give everything a toss with a spatula so that all of the ingredients are equally browned. The bacon should be crispy and the sweet potatoes cooked through when you remove them from the oven. Leave the oven on for later use.
  5. While the bacon and sweet potatoes are cooking, turn on a gas burner to medium-high heat. Using tongs, roast the jalapeno peppers on all sides so that they are lightly charred. When the jalapenos are cool enough to handle, remove the stem and seeds, outside charred layer, and roughly chop the remaining peppers. Add them to the sweet potato mix and toss well to incorporate. If you do not have a gas range, you can replicate this step using the broiler of your oven after the sweet potatoes have finished cooking.
  6. Remove the bacon from the cookie sheets and onto paper towel to drain some of the fat, if necessary. Roughly chop the bacon from both cookie sheets and add it to the sweet potato mix. Combine the ingredients from each of the sheets onto one and tent with foil to keep warm until ready to serve.
  7. Lay the taco tortillas on the open cookie sheet in a single layer (as best you can). Sprinkle the cheese evenly over each of the tortillas and put in the oven to warm the tortillas and lightly melt the cheese. Remove the tortillas and assemble the tacos.
  8. Lay an even amount of taco filling onto each of the 8 tortillas. Top each taco with the cilantro lime crema and additional cilantro, if desired. Serve with lime wedges for garnish.

Chorizo and Veggie Hash

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One of Calli’s favorite brunch items is a skillet. She will search far and wide to find the perfect combo of crispy potatoes, veggies, meat and cheese. This recipe is inspired by all of our favorite skillet ingredients. We used chorizo and hot sauce in our recipe to give things a southwest twist, but if you are not partial to spicy, swap the chorizo for breakfast sausage and eliminate the hot sauce. The best part of this recipe is that it can be easily adapted to serve as a main meal by adding a few over-easy eggs to the top. However you choose to eat it, we know that it will be the star of your brunch menu.

Chorizo and Veggie Hash

  • Servings: 8
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A delicious breakfast hash that can stand on its own or pair perfectly for a full brunch.

Ingredients

  • 4 potatoes
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 lb. chorizo
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 cup hot sauce (we used Franks)
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Prepare the veggies. Dice the potatoes, peppers and onions into small, bite-sized pieces. This step is the key to making this recipe great but is definitely time consuming. We promise that it is worth the extra effort.
  3. In a cast iron skillet, add the chorizo over medium heat. Use your spatula to break the chorizo into pieces. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the chorizo is fully cooked through. Set aside in a bowl.
  4. Using the fat from the chorizo, add the potatoes, peppers and onions to the cast iron. Add the salt and pepper and toss everything well in the pan so that the veggies get nice and crispy. Cook another 5-7 minutes.
  5. Add the chorizo, hot sauce and cheese into the pan with the vegetables and give everything a quick stir so the ingredients are mixed together. Place the cast iron in the oven for 20 minutes so that the cheese is melted and the veggies are thoroughly cooked through. Serve hot!

Spicy Slaw

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When we are eating tacos or burgers, we love adding a crispy, cold coleslaw as a topping. Coleslaw brings such a nice crunch to these dishes and can be made advance if you are bringing it to an event or serving it for a group. While we love ourselves a traditional, creamy coleslaw, we have decided to mix this recipe up a bit by keeping it dairy free and adding some heat. This particular slaw is seasoned with a blend of Mexican spices and chilis, making it a bit tangy and spicy. We love to use this recipe with fish tacos (recipe coming next week!) or a southwest burger.

Spicy Slaw

  • Servings: 4 side servings
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A spicy Mexican-inspired coleslaw that pairs perfect with burgers, sandwiches and tacos.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp Adobo all purpose seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp chili flakes
  • 1 tbs honey
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cups pre-shredded cabbage mix
  • 1 cup shredded carrots

Directions

  1. Prepare the dressing. Combine the ingredients (apple cider through honey) in a small bowl and whisk until the honey is completely dissolved. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the pre-shredded cabbage mix and carrots and toss with the dressing. Let sit for at least 5 minutes before serving or store in refrigerator overnight.

Honey Sriracha Shrimp

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A lot of times when people think of food bloggers, they imagine that every meal a blogger cooks is a multi-coursed spectacle with fancy ingredients. Our husbands would be the first ones to tell you that that couldn’t be further from the truth. Many days, between balancing our blog and our schedules, our goal is to just to get food on the table. Once we have the general game plan figured out, we try and see where we can make the meal a little more special. One of the rules that we always preach at Tuck & Tate is that sometimes the only difference between a meal and a great meal is the addition of a few ingredients.

We like to make shrimp on a weekly basis. Most of the time we sauté the shrimp and throw it onto a salad or we like toss it with lots of garlic into pasta. These meals certainly get the job done but don’t always feel particularly special. To take things up a notch, we wanted to bring our “A-Game” with this recipe for Honey Sriracha Shrimp. The recipe is just a few, simple ingredients, but damn does it turn out good. This shrimp is great served with cheesy grits for something hearty, tossed with a salad mix for a glammed up lunch, and is also fantastic on its own as an appetizer.

Honey Sriracha Shrimp

  • Servings: 4
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Ingredients

  • 24 shrimp, peeled and deveined and patted dry with a paper towel
  • 1 tbs salted butter
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 cup sriracha
  • 1/4 cup honey, or more to taste if you prefer the shrimp less spicy
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the skillet and add the garlic. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until the garlic starts to get fragrant. Add the sriracha and honey to the pan, stirring to melt the honey and mix it into the other ingredients.
  2. When the sauce starts to bubble, add the shrimp to the pan. Cook the shrimp for 3 minutes per side, making sure that they are soaking up the sauce as they cook. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Spicy Chickpea & Harissa Stew

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We love soups and stews and get giddy when the temperature starts to get cooler and it is acceptable to eat soup most meals of the week. This recipe incorporates all of our favorite Middle Eastern ingredients into one hearty bowl. You can easily make this vegetarian or vegan by eliminating the shrimp and feta cheese without compromising the flavor. For those unfamiliar with harissa, harissa is a Moroccan pasta made with garlic, red pepper and oil. You can find this is most supermarkets or online through Thrive Market and Amazon.

Spicy Chickpea and Harissa Stew
Makes: 4 servings 
Prep Time: 15 minutes     Total Time: 45 minutes 

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, diced
  • 2 cans chickpea, drained 
  • 3 tbs harissa paste
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp salt 
  • 28 oz can of tomato sauce 
  • 28 oz water (reuse the can!)
  • 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined 

Optional Toppings:

  • feta
  • parsley or cilantro
  • pita

Directions 

  1. In a soup pot, turn the heat to medium and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the shallot and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. 
  2. Add the chickpeas, harissa, cumin and salt and saute for 2-3 minutes until the chickpeas are coated with all of the spices. If you like your food extra spicy, you can bump up the harissa from 3 to 4 tablespoons. 
  3. Add the tomato sauce and use the same can to add the water. This will help ensure you get all of the tomato juice out! 
  4. Bring the stew up to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. 
  5. Bring the heat back up to high and add the shrimp. Put the cover on the pot and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until the shrimp are completely cooked through. 
  6. Serve hot in a bowl and top with feta cheese, parsley and a side of your favorite pita! 

Spicy Turkey Burgers

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We love turkey burgers and during these hot summer months, count them as one of our go-to lunch and dinner recipes. One of the problems we have had with turkey burgers in the past is that the meat itself tends to dry out really quickly, particularly on the grill. To combat this we have made a meat blend of ground turkey and chicken sausage. The chicken sausage adds additional fat to the meat mixture which helps retain the juiciness that we crave! We topped these burgers with our Everything Bagel Coleslaw, but you can easily swap and add your favorite toppings.

Spicy Turkey Burgers
Makes: 6 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 1 lb spicy Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
  • 1 can diced green chiles
  • 6 hamburger buns
  • Everything Bagel Coleslaw, prepared from recipe here

Directions:

  1. Combine the turkey, chicken sausage and green chiles in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands or a spoon, mix the meat and chiles together until everything is thoroughly combined. Form the mixture into 6 patties.
  2. With your grill set to high, grill the turkey burgers until the meat is cooked completely through – about 6 minutes per side. Add the hamburger buns to the grill to toast up with about 1-2 minutes remaining on the burgers.
  3. Serve immediately topped with a hearty scoop of coleslaw and add any additional burger toppings of your choice!

Spicy Watermelon Salad

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We love the summertime and the food possibilities when we are in full blown fruit season. There is no better snack than a piece of watermelon or mango topped with a hearty pour of Tajin- a Mexican chili lime spice mix. You can find Tajin at most grocery stores and Trader Joe’s makes a comparable product as well. The heat from the chili powder, lime, and salt makes the fruit taste sweeter and come alive. We used that summer snack as inspiration to make this Spicy Watermelon Salad. It is a sweet and savory fruit salad that makes a great side dish for any summer party or your Memorial Day menu this weekend. 

Spicy Watermelon Salad 
Makes: 4 servings as a side dish 
Prep Time: 15 minutes     Total Time: 15 minutes 

Ingredients For the Salad: 

  • 1 mini watermelon (about 3 lbs before carving)
  • 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced 
  • 1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled 
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped 

Ingredients For the Dressing: 

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp chili powder depending on your crowd 
  • juice and zest of one lime  
  • 1 tbs honey 
  • salt and pepper to taste 

Directions: 

  1. Make the dressing for the salad. Whisk together the olive oil, chili powder, lime zest and juice, and honey in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside. 
  2. Carve the watermelon so that the watermelon is in large, bite-sized pieces. We have a quick tutorial for this on our Instagram highlights, linked here. Put the watermelon and sliced red onion in a large bowl and cover with the dressing. Gently toss to coat. The two ingredients can easily sit in the dressing for a bit to marinate if you need to make this dish in advance. Just drain some of the excess liquid before serving. 
  3. Finish the salad by layering the watermelon with red onion, queso fresco, and cilantro in a serving dish. Season to taste with salt, pepper, or additional lime before serving. 

Spicy Green Tahini Sauce

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We. Love. This. Sauce. We sometimes forget in everyday cooking how transformative a great sauce can be. Most high end restaurants have a saucier solely responsible for a restaurant’s sauces, dressings, and gravies; that is how important they are. We are trying to introduce a few game-changing sauces that will help you transform a basic dinner recipe. Today’s sauce is Spicy Green Tahini Sauce- a rich and creamy sauce made fresh and bright with herbs, lemon juice, and a jalapeno. We love this sauce on chicken kabobs but it also would be an excellent accompaniment to grilled vegetables, skirt steak, or as a dipping sauce on a veggie tray. It comes together in just a few minutes and livens up anything you add it to. 

Spicy Green Tahini Sauce 
Makes: 4 servings 
Total Time: 5 minutes 

Ingredients: 

  • 1/3 cup tahini 
  • juice and zest of 1/2 lemon 
  • 1 clove garlic 
  • 1/2 cup packed parsley or cilantro 
  • 1 jalapeno, stem and seeds removed 
  • 2 tbs olive oil 
  • up to 3 tbs water 
  • salt and pepper to taste 

Directions: 

  1. Put the first six ingredients (tahini – olive oil) in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add as much as 3 tbs of water to the sauce to get it to a pourable consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper to serve. 

Mapo Tofu

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We have been seeing a ton of recipes online lately for Mapo Tofu. We have our go-to favorite place in Denver for getting very good, traditional Sichuan cuisine (Shanghai Kitchen) but had not tried Mapo Tofu until recently. We ordered it, immediately fell in love, and knew we wanted to recreate it at home. This dish is rich, spicy and will warm you up any night for dinner. We prefer to serve this with rice and a green veggie on the side for an easy weeknight dinner.

Mapo Tofu
Makes: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 inches fresh ginger, minced
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1-2 tsp Chinese red pepper depending on your spice preference
  • 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
  • 1 tbs red bean paste
  • 2 tbs black vinegar
  • 1 lb soft tofu, cubed

Instructions:

  1. Heat a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger and ground pork. You do not need to add oil as the fat from the pork will melt and add liquid to the pan. Sauté for 6-8 minutes until the pork is cooked completely through.
  2. Add the Chinese red pepper, peppercorns, red bean paste and black vinegar. Mix thoroughly to combine the ingredients. Add the tofu, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Be sure the tofu is heated throughout.
  3. Serve over rice, hot, and enjoy!

Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup

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One of our favorite local restaurants for Chinese food is Shanghai Kitchen. For the untrained, Shanghai Kitchen is a good, standard Chinese restaurant. However, what most people don’t know is that Shanghai Kitchen actually has two different menus – one being filled with authentic Shanghainese cuisine. Throughout the years we have made friends with the restaurant staff and they have exposed us to new, amazing dishes. One of those dishes is the beef in chili oil. Our obsession with this dish inspired us to figure out how we can make new dishes within that same flavor profile. After experimenting a bit, we have come up with this spicy chicken noodle soup. Full of flavor and heat, this soup will warm you up on any cold night. We recommend making it in big batches as one bowl simply won’t be enough.

Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup
Makes: 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbs vegetable oil
  • 1 small white onion, diced
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
  • 6 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 5 large chicken thighs
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 2 cups chili oil
  • 1 lb noodles (we used shells for this recipe but prefer udon)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • scallions for garnish, optional

Directions:

  1. Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil to the pan along with the onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, or until the vegetables are starting to caramelize. Add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes.
  2. Season the chicken thighs well with salt and pepper on both sides. Add the chicken thighs to the pan, creating room in the pan so that they have direct contact with the bottom of the pan. Cook for 4 minutes per side so that the chicken starts to brown and retains its juices.
  3. Add the chili oil and chicken stock to the pot. Bring the liquids up to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the chicken thighs from the pot. Shred them with a fork or dice them with a knife and return the chicken back to the soup. Cook another 10 minutes covered and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. While the soup is in it’s final 10 minutes of cooking, bring a second pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles of your choice and cook according to package directions. Drain the noodles and add them to the soup. If you aren’t planning to eat the soup in one sitting, add the drained noodles to each serving of soup and top with chicken and broth. This will prevent the noodles from getting soggy if you eat the soup over the course of a few days. Top with chopped scallions before serving, if desired.