Archive for the ‘TEX-MEX, sort of’ Category
Chicken Chimichangas in 30 Minutes
July 22, 2016 Lee
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Chicken Chimichangas in 30 Minutes

Adapted from an internet recipe.
I am a fan of Mexican food, and when I lived in San Diego for 6 years, I never had a Chimichanga, it sounds like a cross between a Enchilada and a Burrito. And this does sound tasty! Not a cheap meal. Just from reading the recipe, I would increase everything to make some "fuller" chimichangas. I will report when I make this. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Tex-Mex
Servings 3 servings

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Baking Pan (9x13 inch)

Ingredients
  

Main Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked chicken, this can be breast, thighs, up to you, shredded or cubed
  • 1 cup salsa, Shortcut
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 2 spring onions, chopped
  • 6 flour tortillas, 8 inch size
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Toppings

  • diced tomatoes
  • sour cream
  • guacamole
  • salsa, Shortcut
  • Cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 200° C (390° F). Get out a 9x13 inch baking pan.
  • Mix the chicken, salsa, cumin, oregano, cheese, and onions. Place about ⅓ cup of the mixture in the center of each tortilla.
  • Fold opposite sides over filling. Roll up from bottom and place seam-side down on a baking sheet or in a baking dish. Brush with melted butter. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
  • Serve with toppings of your choice. A side of beans and rice would be perfect here.

Notes

Chicken is the minimal part here, tortillas will be pricey, to the tune of about 280 Baht for a pack of 10. Two of these items per serving, not including cheese is about $2.75 per serving, if you make the tortillas, bonus, if you make the salsa, bonus, but over all, not an inexpensive meal, this would be a once a month or when relatives and family visits meal. Either way, it does sound really good.
Shortcut: Salsa.
* High Cost $1.51+ per Serving,TEX-MEX, sort of
Oven Baked Fajitas
June 12, 2016 Lee
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Oven Baked Fajitas

Adapted from an internet recipe.
This is a straight forward recipe to bake the chicken with everything else, then serve over rice, pasta, stuff into a flour tortilla, etc. Real possibilities with this recipe.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine Tex-Mex
Servings 4 servings

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Baking Pan (9x13 inch)

Ingredients
  

  • 500 grams chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, cut into strips, (1 lb)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 4-6 plum tomatoes, diced
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • ½ red bell pepper, cut into strips
  • ½ green bell pepper, cut into strips

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 200° C (390° F). Place chicken strips in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish.
  • In a small bowl combine the oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, and salt. Drizzle the mixture over the chicken and stir to coat.
  • Next add the tomatoes, peppers, and onions to the dish and stir to combine.
  • Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Serve over rice, pasta, in flour tortillas, etc.

Notes

500 grams of chicken breast would set you back a whole 41 Baht. Everything else is minor in cost. Well under $1 per serving for 4 servings.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,TEX-MEX, sort of
Baked Cream Cheese Chicken Taquitos
April 18, 2016 Lee
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Baked Cream Cheese Chicken Taquitos

Adapted from an internet recipe.
I know Taquitos as rolled tacos with no filling, this sounds really good, and written as I seen it, but realistically, go with large flour tortillas, fill and roll, and top with a cheese sauce and then bake. But I will try these as written first and will post step by step photos. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Baking Pan (9x13 inch)

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded, can be dark or white meat
  • 125 grams Cream cheese, softened, (4 oz)
  • ⅓ cup salsa, Shortcut
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon spring onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 cup Colby Jack cheese, shredded, or Cheddar cheese
  • 8-10 small flour tortillas

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 220° C (425° F) and grease a baking dish with butter and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, salsa, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, lime juice, and salt. Add in the shredded chicken, Colby jack cheese, spring onions, and cilantro. Stir until combined well.
  • Add about 3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture about 1 inch from the edge of the flour tortilla, roll it up and place it seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with each one and place about 1 inch apart not touching each other. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tortilla is lightly browning around the edges. Serve with sour cream, ranch, or your favorite sauce!

Notes

Well under $1 per serving.
Shortcut: Salsa.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,TEX-MEX, sort of
Pizzadillas
January 7, 2016 Lee
1 Comment

Pizzadillas

Adapted from an internet recipe.
Quesadillas are an easy dish to make, and cheesy, which is always a bonus. Tortillas and filling is all that is needed, and a pan to cook them. This is an adapted version of quesadilla using pizza toppings. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine Tex-Mex
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 8 flour tortillas
  • 250 grams Mozzarella Cheese, shredded, or more as desired, (8 oz)
  • 150 grams Pepperoni, sliced, SEE STEP 1, (5 oz), Shortcut
  • 1 jar pizza sauce, Shortcut

Instructions
 

  • This DOES NOT have not have to be Pepperoni, this can be Italian sausage, chicken sausage, grilled chicken, totally up to you, but you have to cook the meat first.
  • Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat. No oil is needed, fry the pepperoni until crisp. Transfer on a paper towel to drain.
  • Brush each tortilla with a thin layer of pizza sauce, thin so that it does not run off if held up.
  • Lay a tortilla in the hot pan, sauce side up, sprinkle with cheese then add Pepperoni slices or meat of your choice, cover with more cheese, place another tortilla on top, sauce side down, cook for 3-5 minutes, then using a wide spatula, carefully flip and cook for another 3-5 minutes until cheese is nice and gooey and tortillas are crispy on the edges. NOTE: Cheese is what holds the quesadilla together, too little cheese and it will fall apart when flipping or even holding to eat.
  • Remove from pan and slice into quarters, serve with pizza sauce as a dipping sauce.

Notes

Pepperoni I cannot state a price for although it is available here. Pork and chicken sausage is very inexpensive to make yourself, just crumble in a pan and fry until done. If you use store bought sausage, price will be higher. I will say 100 Baht for the meat.
Cheese is the expensive part, Mozerella cheese, Thai made is 140 Baht per block of 250 grams. So using 100 Baht for meat and 280 Baht for cheese, for 4 quesadillas, 380 Baht total, comes to about $2 per person if serving 4 people. Not all that unreasonable when you look at what restaurants are charging.
Shortcut: Pepperoni, Pizza Sauce.
Variant: 1. Feel free to add sliced mushrooms, sliced black olives, or even chopped ham.
* High Cost $1.51+ per Serving,5 Ingredients or Less,TEX-MEX, sort of
Cottage Cheese Chicken Enchiladas
December 18, 2015 Lee
1 Comment

Cottage Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

Adapted from an internet recipe.
These are excellent enchiladas. This is not a low cost meal, but if using all home made ingredients, you save some money. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Tex-Mex
Servings 6 people

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Baking Pan (9x13 inch)

Ingredients
  

  • 3 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, or 6 thighs
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, small, diced
  • 2-3 fresh green chili peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 1 packet taco seasoning mix, Shortcut
  • ½ cup sour cream, Shortcut
  • 2 cups Cottage cheese, Shortcut
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pinch black pepper
  • 12 corn tortillas, 6 inch
  • 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded, or Cheddar cheese
  • 1 can enchilada sauce, Shortcut

Instructions
 

  • Boil the breasts or thighs until cooked, allow to cool then shred, discarding any skin and bones.
  • To make the meat mixture: heat oil in medium skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, onion and green chile peppers and saute until browned, then add taco seasoning and cook according to package directions.
  • To make cheese mixture: in a medium bowl mix sour cream with cottage cheese and season with salt and pepper; stir until well blended.
  • Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan with butter.
  • To assemble: heat tortillas until soft. In each tortilla place a spoonful of meat mixture, a spoonful of cheese mixture and a bit of shredded cheese. Roll tortillas and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Top with any remaining meat and cheese mixture, enchilada sauce, and remaining shredded cheese.
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
  • Serve with beans on the side and additional cheese if desired.

Notes

Boneless and skinless chicken breasts run about 87 Baht/kilo. For this recipe, 3 might set you back about 80 Baht. For the tortillas, I do not have a price on that, what I use was brought here from Phuket so I have no idea about the cost, considering that, I would say the cost per serving is about $1.50 to $2, max. Make the cottage cheese and seasoning packets yourself and save a lot of money as well.
Shortcuts: Taco Seasoning, Cottage Cheese, Enchilada Sauce, Sour Cream.
Variant: 1. Use flour tortillas in place of corn tortillas. 
#1 Go-To Recipes,* High Cost $1.51+ per Serving,CHICKEN & TURKEY,TEX-MEX, sort of