Archive for the ‘: MEXICAN’ Category
Basic Tacos
Simple recipe and you can change the toppings to suit your taste. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 1 packet taco seasoning, Shortcut
- water, as stated on seasoning packet or on Shortcut
- 16 corn tortillas, estimate 3-4 per serving, or as desired
- cooking oil, as needed
- tomatoes, diced
- lettuce, chopped
- cheese, shredded, Cheddar or a cheese blend
Additional Toppings - as desired
- onion, diced
- avocado, diced
- sour cream, Shortcut
Instructions
- Brown the beef in a non stick pan, when browned and no pink is visible, drain fat.
- Stir in the seasoning packet and water stated on packet or on the Shortcut. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the beef is simmering, heat another non stick pan with a little oil, when the oil is hot, add a 1-2 tortilla and cook for about 30 seconds then turn over and cook. Goal for this step is to make the tortillas flexible. Remove to a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Set out the tortillas, beef, tomato, lettuce, and cheese to let everyone make their own tacos.
- For the basic taco, place beef along the center of a tortilla, add lettuce, tomato, and shredded cheese. Fold in half, enjoy. Feel free to use toppings as desired or even additional toppings.
Notes
Fair cost per serving based on where the beef, tortillas, and cheese is sourced from.
Shortcuts: Taco Seasoning, Sour Cream.
Best Chicken Enchiladas
This recipe comes from a friend, and it is delicious! I made this with red sauce as well as green sauce. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Pan (9x13 inch)
Ingredients
- 8 flour tortillas, 7-8 inch size is perfect
- 1 kilo chicken breasts, or thighs, (2 lb)
- 113 grams Cream cheese, room temperature, (4 oz / ½ block)
- â…“ cup sour cream, Shortcut
- 1 can diced green chilies, mild, with juice, (113 g / 4 oz)
- 2 cans red enchilada sauce, mild, (283 g / 10 oz cans), Shortcut
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 2½ cups Mexican cheese blend, divided
Instructions
- If the chicken is already cooked, go ahead and shred that. If the chicken is not cooked, add chicken to a pot, cover by 1-2 inches of water and sprinkle in ¾¾ teaspoon of salt. Bring the pot to a boil and cook the chicken for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through. There, you just cooked chicken and made a basic broth. If you have time, allow the chicken to cool in the water to room temperature, this will give you juicy chicken. Remove and shred the chicken, pour the liquid through cheese cloth and reserve that for use in another recipe.
- Preheat your oven to 200° C (400° F) and get out a 9x13 baking dish.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, chilies, enchilada sauce, ¼ teaspoon salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Beat until combined. Remove ⅓ of sauce to a smaller bowl and set that aside.
- To the large bowl, add the chicken and 2 cups of the cheese, and fold into the sauce until combined.
- Lay out a tortilla, add â…› of the filling down the center of the tortilla.
- Fold one side over the middle.
- Roll the tortilla tightly in the same direction as the first fold. Place tortilla seam side down in the baking pan.
- Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Pour the reserved enchilada sauce over the top of the tortillas.
- Sprinkle with remaining cheese (or more as desired).
- This step is optional, but the family really likes cheese so I added sliced Pepper Jack to half the pan, and the other half with Colby slices, worked perfect!
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted on top.
- Serve with toppings of your choice, and enjoy. I doubled the recipe, made one pan with red sauce, and one with green sauce, both were well liked and either one is highly recommended.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcuts: Sour Cream, Enchilada Sauce.
Variants: 1. Use green enchilada sauce in place of red sauce. 2. Add sliced cheese to the top before baking, I used Pepper Jack and Colby.
Quick Quesadillas
I say quick for these as I use a microwave and only a few ingredients. These are excellent for a quick meal. This is basically a make with what you have on hand or want to use. A full quesadilla uses 2 tortillas, a half quesadilla use 1 tortilla that is folded. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Microwave
Ingredients
- 2 flour or corn tortillas, 8-10 inch size
- cooked chicken, chopped
- Cheddar cheese, shredded
- Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- sour cream, for serving, as desired, Shortcut
Instructions
- This will make 1 full quesadilla. Place both tortillas on a microwave safe plate, microwave for 15 seconds. Remove the top tortilla, sprinkle some Cheddar or Mozzarella on the tortilla on the plate.
- Spread some chopped chicken on the Cheddar. I had some diced red bell pepper on hand so I added some of that as well.
- Sprinkle some Cheddar, then some Mozzarella over the chicken.
- Place the other tortilla on top and press down just a little to even everything out. Place back in the microwave for 1 to 1½ minutes.
- Cut in half or quarters, top with sour cream, serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Sour Cream.
Variants: 1. Use cheeses of your choice. 2. Add refried beans. 3. Add chopped green chilies. 4. Use no meat or add cooked chopped meats of your choice.
Mexican Green Rice (Arroz Verde) (Rice Cooker)
As a fan of seasoned rice, this is really good, I made this on 8 Sep 2018 and was well liked by the family as well. This uses a simple cook and warm rice cooker.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ small onion, finely diced
- 1 cup dry Jasmine rice, or any long grain white rice
- 1½ cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced, stems are no problem as well
Instructions
- Add the butter to your rice cooker and place on Cook. When the butter is melted, add the onion and cook until the onion is softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the rice, stock, salt, and cilantro, and stir together. Place the lid on the cooker and allow to cook until it switches to Warm setting. Leave on Warm for 10-15 minutes.
- Fluff with rice paddle, serve as a side dish and enjoy.
Notes
Variant: 1. Add a diced poblano chili which will add to the green color of the rice, and the chili and cilantro can be optionally puréed, provided by H. Stave, United States.
Jalapenos en Escabeche (Pickled Jalapenos)
Spanish for pickled jalapenos. Heavy on the garlic, these sound really good. This is a fridge version, no need for canning these. On my to make list for sure.
Ingredients
- 6½ cups fresh jalapenos, sliced
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ cup garlic, chopped
- ½ cup onion, diced
- 1 cup carrots, sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Sterilize two quart jars, you won't be canning these but you need them clean.
- Slice off the stem and pointy ends of the peppers, slice peppers into rings and place in a large mixing bowl.
- In a sauce pan, add the water, sugar, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, and vinegar and bring brine to a boil.
- While the brine is heating, toss the carrot, garlic, onion, and olive oil with the jalapenos, then place mixture into 2 quart jars.
- Once the brine is boiling, remove the bay leaves and place one into each jar. Pour the hot brine into the quart jars.
- Leave jars on the counter, with no lids to cool to room temperature, then add the lids and place in the fridge for at least 1 week, 2 weeks is better to allow the flavors to really blend.
Notes
Low cost.
Variants: 1. Leave the peppers whole after cutting off the stem and pointy end, can make two rows in a quart jar. 2. Leave whole with stem and pointy end intact but cut two slits on opposite sides to prevent bursting.
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
Mexican Churros
These sound wonderful, and appears to be very easy and straightforward. On my to cook list.
Equipment
- Deep Fryer
- Deep Frying Thermometer
- Pastry Bag (with ¾ inch round or star tip)
Ingredients
- cooking oil, as needed for deep frying
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup butter, (1 stick / ½ block)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Heat about 2-3 inches of cooking oil in a large pot to 180 - 190 C (350 - 375 F).
- While the oil is heating, use a large saucepan and add the water, butter, vanilla, and salt. When the butter has completely melted bring to a simmer then remove from heat and turn off the burner.
- Stir in the flour into the butter mixture, add the eggs one at a time and mix well to fully incorporate the eggs into the batter. The batter will be thick, like peanut butter.
- When the oil is hot, spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large star or round tip. The star tip will give nice edges that crisp up but it not required.
- Pipe some batter directly into the hot oil to make a long piece almost as wide as the pot, then cut the batter from the tip with a pair of shears. Do this 3-4 times but do not over crowd the pot.
- The batter will puff up as it cooks, cook for just 2-4 minutes, turning once, until golden brown on both sides. Remove to paper towels to drain. Repeat for the rest of the batter.
- Allow all the churros to cool until you can handle them. Place the sugar and cinnamon in a large zip lock bag and add a few churros to the bag, zip the bag and gently shake to coat them with the sugar mixture.
- Serve as is or with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, or caramel sauce. Enjoy.
Bacon Fat Flour Tortillas
These sound really good, thicker than store bought, and a hell of a lot cheaper as well 🙂 On my to cook list.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons bacon fat, see Step 1
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus 1 1/2 teaspoon
- 1¼ cups milk, divided
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for work surface
Instructions
- For the bacon fat, you can either fry up some bacon or if you keep bacon fat in the fridge, use that when it is softened up.
- Add to a small sauce pan, the oil, ¾ cup of milk, and the bacon fat, heat on medium low to just bring the mixture to a simmer, do not let it boil. Once at a simmer, remove from heat.
- In a mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, and baking powder and whisk together. Make a well in the center and pour in the heated milk mixture and the remaining ½ cup of milk, and using your hands, mix until a rough dough forms.
- Lightly flour your work surface and turn out dough onto that. Knead dough for about 4 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest on the counter for 1 hour.
- When 1 hour has passed, unwrap the dough and cut into 16 even pieces and form each into a ball about 1½ inches diameter. Cover with a kitchen towel.
- Take one ball and on your floured work surface, roll it out to a 6 inch round. Place that under the towel and repeat the steps for the remaining balls.
- Once all the tortillas are rolled out, heat a cast iron pan on medium low to medium heat, add a tortilla and cook for about 2 minutes, you want some brown spots to form on the bottom and air bubbles form on the surface, poke the large bubbles with a fork. Flip and cook another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove and stack under the towel, repeat for remaining tortillas.
- Fill with your favorite taco fillings and enjoy.
Garlic, Potato & Leek Hash
With eggs! Cannot forget the eggs with any hash. There is two ways described on how to prepare the eggs, one is separately and then placed on the hash, or my preferred method, right on top of the hash in the pan. I made this on 1 Mar 2018, and it is very good, the leeks give an excellent flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo potatoes, diced, skin on or off up to you, (2 lb)
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 leeks
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- pinch salt
- 4-5 eggs, chicken or duck
Instructions
- Add the diced potatoes to a medium size pot, add water to cover by an inch and stir in the vinegar. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium, cook until just fork tender, about 10 minutes, don't over cook them. when just fork tender, remove from heat and drain. Set aside. (I use a French fry cutter first, then slice the fries into cubes.)
- Clean the leaks by cutting off the root ends and the the dark green leafy part. Rinse, then thinly slice into rings, add the slices to a bowl of cold water and stir and agitate the water to remove any sand or dirt between the various layers. Remove the slices and drain any water from them. If there is a lot of grit in the water after you removed the slices, pour that out and repeat the process just to be sure the leeks are cleaned well.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan, a cast iron pan would be ideal but I used my good marble pan for this. When hot, over medium heat, add the sliced leeks and cook until just soft, about 5-6 minutes or so.
- Add the diced potatoes, garlic, paprika, and salt, and cook until the potatoes are golden brown.
For Eggs Cooked Seperately
- When the potatoes are golden brown, place the hash on plates to serve. Same pan, crack in your eggs and cooked to your desired likeness. Place an egg on each plate of hash, serve.
For Eggs Cooked on the Hash
- Lower heat to low. Use a large spoon and make 4 to 5 indentations in the potatoes. Crack an egg into a small bowl, gently pour the egg into an indention in the hash, repeat for the rest of the eggs. The reason I state use a bowl, if you crack an egg directly into the hash but a yolk breaks, the egg will just disappear into the hash, still very good, not visually appealing.
- Once the eggs are on the hash, season them with salt and pepper to your liking, and cover the pan with a lid. Check the eggs every minute or so to get perfect sunny side up eggs.
- Serve by scooping out a portion of hash with the egg already on top.
Notes
Low cost.
TaquerÃa-Style Pickled Jalapeños & Carrots
These sound wonderful for tacos or burritos. I am currently waiting on some jalapeno peppers to grow.
Ingredients
- 8-10 jalapeno peppers, cut into ¼ inch slices
- 2-3 carrots, peeled, cut into ¼ inch slices
- 1 onion, quartered, cut into thin slices
- 4-6 cloves garlic, lightly chopped
- splash olive oil
- 1½ cups white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon oregano, Mexican type if you have that
- 8-10 black peppercorns, cracked
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Heat a splash of olive oil in a large non stick pan, then add the onion and garlic, saute for a few minutes, then add the peppers, carrots, oregano, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Saute for just a few minutes.
- Add the vinegar, water, and sea salt. Bring to boil the reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally or until the peppers turn to an army green color.
- Fill each jar with the pepper and carrot mixture, top up the jar with the brine. Cool to room temperature, cover and store in the fridge. Can be used after a few hours but wait for a day or two for the flavor to develop.
Flour Tortillas
Sounds pretty straight forward, I must give this a try as store bought are expensive! I cannot judge the quantity of tortillas that this makes until I try this, supposedly it is 12.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup oil, or real lard
- â…” cup warm water
Instructions
- Combine ingredients to form a dough. Cover dough with plastic wrap or foil and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
- Divide into 12 portions and roll each into a ball. Press into a thin flat circle using a tortilla press or roll out with a rolling pin until approximately 1/8 inch thick. (This step does not sound right and will verify when I make these.)
- Lightly brush a heated heavy cast iron pan with oil and wipe off any excess oil, then cook tortillas until crisp on both sides, turning once. Stack between paper napkins or towels and keep warm until all are done.
- Stuff with your favorite fillings and serve right away or wrap tightly with wax or parchment paper between layers and freeze for up to 6 months.
