Dinners Made Fresh and Easy with Frontera and Wholesome Pantry
Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ShopRiteFamilyMeals #RootedInFrontera #WholesomePantry #CollectiveBias
Who says it has to be Tuesday to eat tacos? In our household, we’re game for Taco Night any night of the week, and it’s safe to say, this happens more often than not. This dinner theme is highly anticipated amongst all three of my boys – and believe me, it’s no easy feat when everyone agrees! I especially love using Frontera taco skillet sauces (available at ShopRite grocery stores) to amp up plain ground beef and chicken – it makes your tacos so flavorful and cooks in 10 minutes!
Busy schedules sometimes keep us from having a proper meal at the table – and the Husb usually isn’t able to join us for dinner on weeknights due to work – so we try to make up for this on weekends by having fun family meals all together. We incorporate our kids into all aspects of the cooking process – prep, cutting, stirring, assembling, and serving. Taco Night was especially fun this time for the kids because their grandparents are visiting from out of state and we got to share our own family tradition with them!
The Husb and I lived in Chicago for over six years after we were first married. It was there that we discovered and fell in love with celebrity chef and restaurateur Rick Bayless's restaurants serving Mexican cuisine. I still dream about the grill-roasted pork in Oaxacan black mole that I inhaled at one of his famed restaurants in the city (hint: it has Frontera and Grill in the name, maybe you’ve heard of it?). I crave the Chicken Tinga Tacos at Xoco, that smoky chipotle-tomato sauce beckoning my taste buds.
Even though we no longer live in Chicago, I get so excited that I can shop Frontera Foods products at ShopRite grocery stores around New Jersey – bringing the gourmet Mexican flavors of Rick Bayless right to my own home! I also try to always seek fresh, better-for-you ingredients to give my family, like those from the Wholesome Pantry brand available at ShopRite. It’s free from artificial flavors, colors and preservatives you can’t pronounce… basically, food that you can feel good about feeding your family.
The next time you’re looking for a quick, yummy meal that gathers your family to the table, try a taco bar with all the fixins. It’s so easy to customize the toppings (basically everything but the kitchen sink works) – a guaranteed din din win-win for any family!
Here’s my easy-peasy menu from our Taco Night:
Wholesome Pantry Split Chicken Breasts, marinated with Frontera Chicken Taco Skillet Sauce*, roasted, and shredded
Frijoles Negros (Wholesome Pantry canned black beans simmered in a sofrito sauce – recipe below because THIS is my kids’ fave!)
Frontera Original Guacamole Mix (just add avocados!)
Wholesome Pantry Spring Mix Salad tossed with roasted bell peppers, red onions, and a homemade lime-honey vinaigrette
Elotes (Mexican street corn with queso fresco)
*A little tip: When I’m short on time, I like to sometimes use the Frontera taco skillet sauce as a meat marinade. You can do this overnight or if you have a few minutes during the day – just toss your protein in a big bag with the sauce, forget about it while it marinates in the fridge, and then pop it in the oven to cook.
Easy Frijoles Negros Recipe:
1 can Wholesome Pantry black beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ large onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
½ cup dry white wine
Bring 1 tablespoon oil and beans to a boil. Lower heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, make the sofrito. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic cloves and sauté for about 5 minutes until soft. Add bay leaf, cumin, oregano, black pepper and salt, and cook for 2 minutes more.
Add the sofrito to beans. Stir in sherry vinegar and wine, and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook, covered, for 1 hour, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened and cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste.
(See here for more Frontera & Wholesome Pantry from ShopRite recipe inspiration!)
You can find Frontera and Wholesome Pantry products in your local ShopRite grocery store, be sure to grab yours and let me know if your little dragons love tacos ;)