It’s All About A Good Recipe: 2025

Favorite Mexican Restaurant in the Dallas-Ft Worth Area

Texas is blessed with so many good Mexican Restaurants from your hole in the wall restaurants to the really good chain ones. Like you, I definitely have my favorite go to and then those that are not close by but have gone to for years. If you are like me I get the same thing at each Restaurant like when I go to Pappasito's I get fajitas or Chuy's the light plate.

Pappasito's Cantina is one of my favorites especially for their fajitas and chips & hot Sauce! I posted the marinade recipe on here just the other day, here is the link Fajita Marinade .

The thing about Pappasito's is, and I've been going to Pappasito's for at least 25-30 years is that it is always consistent. You leave there feeling like you got your moneys worth! There are several in the Dallas - Ft Worth area then in the Houston area which is where Pappasito's was founded. They also have other restaurants, Pappa's Bro, Pappa Burger, Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, Pappa Bros, Steakhouse, Pappas Seafood House, Pappas Delta Blues Smokehouse and Pappas Little Oyster Bar Oh and the Dot Coffee Shop. I've personally have only been to 4 of their Restaurants because the other ones are in the Houston area but I can only imagine now good they are.

With a History of dating back to 1897 H.D. Pappas moved from Greece to pursue the American Dream. He opened some restaurants then in 1945 his sons joined in opening Pappas Refrigeration to 1967 opening their Restaurant together, Dot Coffee Shop in Houston. Many other Restaurants followed then Pappasitos's opened in 1983 in Richmond and in Hillcroft, Texas.

After that they just kept opening really good Restaurants, they even have some at a coupe of Airports. Pappa's knows how to do a Restaurant right!!

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Herrera's

They bring your food to you piping hot! It's a hole in the wall in Oak Clift but it's worth the trip! The hot sauce is pretty hot for me and it's the only restaurant that I dip my chip in butter first before I eat it, I'll say it does help with the burn! I get their cheese enchiladas that has a chili carne on top, it comes with a taco and a tostada that has guacamole on it then rice and beans. I volunteered at Children's Hospital for 22 years so once and a while I'd get the above and eat the taco and tostada for lunch in my car driving home...kinda messy but. Then for dinner I would eat the enchilada and rice, I don't like beans in general so I omit those. I've gone to Herrera's for 25 plus years.

When you walk in it smells very clean like pine-sol, so that's a forever memory for me and you just expect that pine-sol smell as you are walking in.

Their address is 2853 W Illinois Ave, Dallas TX 75233

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Chuy's is another favorite of mine, they are all over the Texas and several other states. I've been going here for years but the first one was opened in 1982 in Austin, Texas.

I often get the light plate, not sure if it's still on the menu but they generally know what it is. The plate has a taco, guacamole tostada. I also get the Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom Enchiladas, that recipe is on the blog... they are really good. Boom Boom Chicken Enchiladas I found the recipe years ago and it's an good one!

They don't automatically bring out their Jalapeno Ranch Dip but you can request it for free. I do have that recipe on here, Jalapeno Ranch Dip, I've made this many time over the years. I don't even like Ranch dressing but I do like this!!

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Mi Cocina is another favorite and again I get the same thing when I eat here. Honestly I'm not sure if there is any other restaurant that I order Nachos Al Carbon, aka Fajita Nachos from but I do here! The meat is sliced and placed on the chip, it's a grilled piece of Chicken or Beef then it is served with guacamole and Pico de Gallo, its so good!

Mi Cocina opened up in Dallas off Preston in 1991 with 12 tables in the first restaurant which was opened by 4 men. They wanted to develop a new idea in traditional Mexican restaurants. A little more upscale and the emphasis on using the finest, highest quality ingredients.

Mi Cocina has several restaurants in the DFW area and in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Always spot on and great service.

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Mariano's Hacienda Ranch was opened in 1971 by Mariano Martinez. He also happens to be the inventor of the margarita machine. He was in 7-11 one day and saw the slupree machine and there is where is all started.

I am not sure when La Hacienda Ranch opened but years ago and also by Mariano Martinez.

I have been to both restaurants but seem to go to La Hacienda Ranch more but I have some friends who prefer Mariano's, they are both good.

There are 3 La Hacienda Ranch locations in the DFW area and 2 Marian0's.

Great food and atmosphere, I get the fajitas here and they are delicious and come out pipping hot!

Boom Boom Chicken Enchiladas

Have you ever eaten at Chuy's? They have many Restaurants in Texas and some in other States also. I love their Boom Boom Chicken Enchiladas and have made them for years. I also love their Jalapeño Ranch Dip which here is that recipe Jalapeño Ranch Dip I don't even really like Ranch Dressing however I make it ALOT for others. I do enjoy the dip with tortillas chips!

I often double almost everything I make because I love to take people food and often I need enough food for several people.

I use Velvetta Cheese (american cheese) and then it calls for roasted green chilies, tomatillos so I use these two things below, they work well but you can roast your own chilies and use tomatillos.

There are many versions of these, I had already threw my jar and can away or I'd show you what I used but I did use both of these I just didn't get the chile sauce one with roasted garlic.

In the end if I think the sauce needs to be thinner I will add more of the green chile sauce it thin it.

I baked my chicken because I made 6 dozen of these the other day plus I made 6 dozen Cheese and Onion Enchiladas that are also on my blog. I really also like the Cheese and Onion, not only do they taste great but they are pretty easy to make.

I often use the chicken breast of a Rotisserie Chicken, I just happened to need alot of chicken so I baked it.

The sauce before the cheese melts and it thickens

I like to add a little oil in the skillet but you don't have to, I find it easier but you

you do want to heat the tortilla so that it bends easier without breaking.

I baked the Chicken actually the day before then I shredded it as I needed it.

Fill the middle of the Corn Tortilla with some Shredded Chicken then roll it up and place it in a pan.

Place in a pan next to each other then when done pour the sauce and spread the sauce around making sure to cover each enchilada.

Boom Boom Chicken Enchiladas

10 corn tortillas

1 1/4 lb cooked chicken, shredded

1/2 c chicken broth

1/4 c water

1/4 tsp salt and pepper

3/4 c roasted green chilies

2 oz tomatillos

2 tbl cilantro

1-2 green onions

1 serrano or jalapeño pepper (optional)

1/4 c lime juice

1 1/4 lb American Cheese (like Velveeta Cheese)

In a saucepan, add chicken broth, water and spices and place over a medium to high flame. Using a food processor, puree roasted green chilies, tomatillos, cilantro, green onions, serranos and lime juice.

Add to saucepan, stirring in well. Bring mixture to a slow boil. Lower the heat and slowly add American cheese, stirring as needed to remove clumps and make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom. When the cheese is melted and mixed, remove from heat.

To make enchiladas, fill a corn tortilla with shredded chicken then roll up and place in a baking pan. Top with Boom-Boom Sauce.

Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.

Beef or Chicken Fajitas Marinade - Pappasito's Marinade Recipe

For years I have been going to Pappasito's Cantina, their Fajita's to me are the best! You may have another favorite restaurant for fajitas but for over 25 years this is my favorite for Fajita's and I'll have to say I don't get anything else when I am there. Well once I did years ago and I was so disappointment that I didn't get Fajita's that I didn't enjoy it as much.

I have a friend who was a Manager back in the 90's at Pappasito's and she gave me the recipe for the meat marinade. Since then I have seen others have different versions but my friend always said equal parts of Pineapple Juice, Soy Sauce and then double the Water. So that is what I do and have for years.

One Year when my Brother n Law Joe turned 40 yrs old (over 20 yrs ago), my sister bought a large trash can full of chips (you had to return the trash can), it was lined with a bag but I'll never forget that! It also came with their delicious hot sauce. I asked recently if they still do that and the waiter said yes so maybe?

When you go to Pappasito's and you get the Chicken Fajitas it automatically comes with their famous garlic butter. If you just get beef it doesn't come with the butter but you can ask for it, they will bring you out some for free.

Their tortillas are made their right on the spot, you can watch them being made. They are oh so good!

I'll post the Garlic Butter Recipe in a different post but I'll link it here below, once you make the butter it can be stored in your freezer for 6 months to a year. I use plastic wrap to roll up individual servings then place all those in a zip lock bag so you just have to pull out what you need as you need it.

One order of fajitas will honestly feed 3-4 people at Pappasito's. Years ago they had a single order and my friends and I would share like 3-4 of us at times but I guess so many people shared because the portions are so generous they upped the prices an tell how many it can feed. Also because their chips are so good and the tortillas those fill you up too which makes it even easier to share.

I marinate the chicken breast for at least 4 hours but often over night. You don't really want to marinate it much longer because of the soy sauce makes the chicken kinda dark the longer you marinade it, still good but I like to marinade it about 6-12 hour.

I also grill the chicken breast whole then when it's done let it sit for 5-10 minutes so that the juices redistribute before I cut it.

If you are blessed to have an HEB by you the tortillas are from there!

Recipe for Marinade

1 cup of Pineapple Juice

1 cup of Soy Sauce

2 cups of Water

Mix together then pour over raw chicken or beef.

I keep the extra marinade in jar for another time in my refrigerator, keeps for 6 months at least.

Let the meat marinade for at least 2 hours but 4 hours is better then I often marinade it over night. With the soy sauce you probably don't want to marinade it anymore than over night.

Heat up your grill then place the chicken breast or beef on the grill. I like to turn my meat the first 10 minutes back and forth

so that it doesn't stick to the grill. Then after about 10 minutes I let it stay on each sides for another 10 -15 minutes total of 20-30 minutes depending on how high I have the heat. You can feel when the chicken is done because the meat starts to get firm by touch with a pair of tongs. Beef takes less time and so many like their beef cooked differently, cook your beef to your liking.

Cut up some Green Peppers and Onions then sauté in a pan till tender.

I like to heat my tortillas in a skillet then add the meat, peppers, onion and the butter! Guacamole and cheese are of course great on it too. oh and sour cream, I just happen to not like sour cream so I forget about it!

I buy these large bags at HEB, they are for Marinating but great also for other things.

Getting almost done at this point I believe they have 10-15 minutes

Chicken Alfredo - Quick and Easy

I’m reposting this recipe because I’ve made it a few times lately and it’s so easy and good!

I found myself needing to make something quick and I had some rotisserie chicken in my fridge that I bought the day before at Sam’s Club. So I decided I’d make it since I had all the ingredients!

From on this blog in 2011

So I have never been a white sauce kinda girl so Fettuccine Alfredo was not on my food list! I was catering a rehearsal dinner once and they wanted Fettuccine Alfredo! I called my sister Julie because I knew she makes it alot and her family raves about hers! I made some at home (a trial run) and told myself I would not eat any but would ask someone to try it. I love garlic so much that the smell was making me want to try it. To my surprise I liked it! It has a buttery garlicky taste to it! I'll admit that I probalby add more butter than it ask for. . I still don't eat Alfredo anywhere else...still don't like creamy things... but I do love this recipe!

Oh, and on the parmesan cheese it works better with the more powdery kind ... the freshly grated cheese melts and makes a mess and the other seems to help thicken it... but do top it with freshly grated parmeasan cheese!

I also us Lawry’s Garlic Salt in place of regular salt…. Just a few sprinkles… you can always add more but you can’t take it away if you out too much! I use that stuff for sooooo many things!

Oh and I also sometime use Rotisserie Chicken, just the white meat part.

1 1lb fettuccine

2 T butter

2 garlic cloves minced

2 cups whipping cream

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper to taste

2 T parsley

Cooked chicken sliced or chopped ( I grill or saute' in a pan)

Melt butter in sauce pan add garlic cloves when sautéed add cream,

Parmesan cheese and parsley stir and simmered about 15 minutes.

add salt & pepper to taste.

Add cooked chicken then drain noodles and place both chicken And fettuccine in pan and toss well till all is coated.

Add Butter and garlic to a heated pan

Then add heavy Whipping Cream and Parmesan cheese

Stir everything together

Black Pepper and Lawry’s Garlic Salt

It will start to thicken, the recipe says 15 minutes but I find it’s a little bit less time more like 10

Minutes or so….just wait u until it thickens, stirring so that it doesn’t scorch.

Then add the noodles and chicken and stir to coat everything with the sauce

Easy and Delicious!

Bang Bang Chicken Tenders

I had some Yum Yum sauce in my fridge from some grilled bang bang chicken I recently made so I thought what can I make using that? It's actually cold here this week in Texas so I didn't want to grill chicken outside.

Here is the recipe for the grilled version https://itsallaboutagoodrecipe.blogspot.com/2024/11/bang-bang-chicken.html

I also was taking food to some dear friends whose son is in the hospital, he was burned on 80% of his body just a couple of weeks ago. What a journey, if you are like me you have had a loved one in the hospital and the ups and downs can be very hard. I like to take people food in general and have found that food can actually help that support system at the hospital because so often you are just snacking, real food sure helps and food gives you strength.

I saw a recipe for chicken tenders using Yum Yum sauce and decided to make them.

One thing I have learned is to cut my own chicken tenders myself. When you buy precut chicken tenders there is that stringy tendon attached sometimes can be rubbery or tough. Also you will see in the the picture below how many tenders I get out of 2 good size chicken breast. I fed 6 people including myself then had leftovers.

Do you happen to have the App, called Flipp? It is pretty great! What it does is tells you who has what on sale for that week so often I search Chicken Breast and it pulls up who has it on sale. You can type in pretty much anything even for places like Home Depot, Academy or? They actually have the ad on the app of each store, pretty amazing! It has been my go to for a few years now because I don't always have the paper ad in my car.

Tom Thumb often has Chicken Breast for $1.99 lb and occasionally, $1.77 lb. So I will get 10 lbs, the limit and divide into bags and freeze it.

Since I'm talking about Apps, Gas Buddy is also pretty great because it tells you the price of gas at all the stations right around you. I mainly get gas at Costco and Sam's but it comes in handy if I'm not near one or want to see how much gas is at one of those places like Sam's.

With this recipe you make a batter then dip the chicken in that batter and place it in the panko crumbs then the hot oil.

Oh and I left out the egg, I had it sitting right there but they still turned out great.

Bang Bang Chicken Tenders with Yum Yum Sauce

Bang Bang Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

2 chicken breast cut into tenders

1 egg

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/8 cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups Panko breadcrumbs, plain

1 tbsp sriracha

1 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk add 1-2 tbsp of vinegar to regular milk and let it sit a minute it will curdle)

Oil - canola oil or vegetable oil

Directions

In a medium mixing bowl add buttermilk, flour, cornstarch, egg, sriracha, garlic powder, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Whisk to combine add chicken tenders and toss to coat. '

Add Panko to a shallow plate.

Working one piece at a time, remove the chicken from the batter, gently shaking off any excess batter. Dredge the chicken into panko, pressing slightly to adhere. Set on a clean plate. Repeat with the remaining Chicken pieces. Set aside and heat the oil.

To a large skillet, add about an inch of oil. Heat oil over medium-high heat until it reaches about 365 degrees or I often sprinkle some flour in and if it starts bubbling it's ready.

Working in batches, add chicken and cook until browned about 2-3 minutes on each side, if needed add more oil but make sure it is hot again before adding more chicken.

Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb the oil left on chicken.

Toss the chicken in bang bang sauce, recipe below or have the sauce on the side. I was taking someone this meal so I put the sauce in a container for them to use as a dip or put on chicken when they heat it up.

Bang Bang Sauce

2 tbsp Honey

1 1/4 cups Mayonnaise

2 tsp Sriracha

2/3 cup Thai sweet chili sauce

1/2 tsp Black pepper

1 tsp Kosher salt

1 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Garlic powder

1 tbsp Olive oil, extra virgin

Mix everything together and store leftover sauce in the fridge. This will keep in the fridge for a month or longer the only thing that would go bad is the Mayonnaise so I look at the date for an expiration and go by that.

Here is what you need

Panko and Batter

I used 2 chicken breast and cut them into tenders

I was able to get a good amount of tenders

Here we go

dip chicken tender into batter than the panko crumbs

Place in oil, you can see i don't have a ton of oil in here.. maybe about an inch

Again if I wasn't taking this for them to reheat I would have added the yum yum sauce to the chicken

Pretty tasty

Yum Yum sauce I had in my fridge

Chili

Here in Texas it’s pretty cold this week! I realize many of you live in colder areas but it was 21 degrees last night and we have a chance of 12”of snow later this week!

So Chili was on the menu yesterday! My Mom for as long as I can remember used Williams Chili mix so of course that is what I use. I even use it anytime a recipe calls for chili powder because often regular chili powder is kinda bland to me. I just keep a packet of Williams for that to use in recipes.

Once Sam’s Club sold it in the big spice container and I often wish I bought more than 2 of them because they stopped selling it and Amazon wanted way too much for it. I actually just checked and you can get two 18 oz plastic containers for $20.40! I might have to order some before when I looked it was like $22 -$25 for 1.

Chili really only takes about 15 minutes to make. I personally like more tomato sauce in mine so I often add more than the recipe calls for. You can also add water instead of diced tomatoes or Rotel. I often add a little water anyway with the tomatoes…. About 1/2 cup.

You can of course add beans, I just happen to not like beans at all. I also seem to be a doubler so I did double this recipe.

Ingredients

1lb hamburger meat

1 4oz can do tomato sauce (I use 8 oz can)

1/2 cup water

1 can can diced tomatoes, I use one with tomatoes and green chilis

4 Tbsp Williams Chili Mix - 1 packet

1/2 cup water

1 cup kidney or pinto beans if desired

Directions

Brown and crumble 1lb ground beef in a stockpot or deep skillet drain the grease

Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and water then add the Williams Chili mix.

Let simmer for 10-15 minutes

Top with shredded cheese

I have 2 lbs of meat here, normally I wouldn’t buy the tubes of meat BUT H‑E‑B has the best meat and this is ground chuck which I have bought for years! It’s has true beef flavor and it’s my go too! I did add more tomato sauce because I do like mine that way but you can do as much as you’d like or go by the recipe.