Recipes Discovered

Black Bean Chilaquiles Recipe

There is a Mexican restaurants down the street from our apartment that is always crowded and always smells really good. When looking for a Mexican dish to make for dinner, I found this recipe for chilaquiles, which I have never heard of before. After a quick wiki search, I discovered that chilaquiles are typically served at breakfast, topped with eggs. Obviously this recipe is a twist on the traditional, which is simply fried tortillas mixed with salsa and topped with cheese and eggs. That being said, I really enjoyed the dish. The salsa has a great flavor that wasn’t too spicy and it went well with the sweet corn and beans. I wasn’t sure about baking the tortillas just to put them in a casserole, but by baking them, they didn’t too get soggy and they stayed together. The dish had a lot of different flavors going on, but they all come together, and it turned out to be a great dinner.

Huevos Rancheros Recipe

I was in the mood for something unusual for breakfast this morning. I wasn’t sure what it was, but while flipping through a magazine, I saw a picture of Huevos Rancheros that looked really good. Huevos Rancheros is a classic Mexican breakfast. Traditionally, it’s a tortilla topped with a fried egg and a tomato-chili sauce. It can also be served with refried beans, cheese, olives, and chili peppers.

I started by sauteing an onion over medium heat until it was soft. Then I added garlic and a seeded jalapeño. It sautéed for a minute before I added diced tomatoes, chili powder, salt and pepper. I mixed everything together and turned the heat to low. The recipe also called for cilantro, but I didn’t add that.

I heated another skillet coated with cooking spray, and when it was hot, I added the eggs. I seasoned them with salt and pepper, covered them, and let them cook for about 2 minutes. They were over easy at that point, which was perfect for this dish.  >> Read more

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream Recipe

Every since I had my first fish taco at Wahoo’s a few years ago, I have been addicted to them. I don’t know why I like them so much, but there is just something about the flavor of the fish with the Mexican flare that I love. I’ve had a lot of varieties, but when I make them at home, this is my favorite recipe.

For the Chipotle Cream sauce, I mix together yogurt, mayonnaise and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I usually drain the yogurt for a couple hours if I remember. Just put the yogurt in a paper towel and put it over a bowl in the refrigerator. It makes the sauce a little thicker. Chipotle peppers are smoked japepeno peppers and the adobo sauce is just a tomato based sauce with some seasonings. They are hot, but the yogurt really mellows them out, so don’t be afraid to make this. Just be careful when chopping the peppers (don’t touch your eyes).

For the fish, I mix olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper with the fish (I usually use tilapia). I let it marinate about 20 minutes before I grill it over medium heat for a couple minutes on each side, just until it flakes with a fork. Then I cut the fish into large chunks and put it on a serving platter along with shredded cabbage (or somtimes lettuce), corn, lime wedges, and warmed tortillas. Seth liked his tacos with refried beans, so I usually make them as a side dish. For my taco, I top a tortilla with fish, chipotle cream, corn and cabbage and then squeeze lime juice over the whole thing. The taste is pure magic.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

While browsing though an issue of the Publix Greenwise magazine, I saw a recipe for creamy chicken enchiladas. It sounded good and I had all the ingredients on hand, so I made them for dinner tonight.

The recipe looks complicated because there are a lot of steps, but it really is quite simple, especially since I had leftover chicken, so I got to skip the first step. I added some chili powder, cumin, and black pepper to the chicken to give it some flavor. I also used frozen spinach, so I just had to thaw that out and drain it. I shredded the chicken and mixed it with the spinach. For the sauce, I mixed yogurt, milk, green chilis, flour, cumin and salt together and added about a cup of that to the chicken and spinach. I spread a little of the sauce on the bottom of a greased baking dish, and then divided the chicken mixture among the tortillas, rolled them up and placed them seem side down in the dish. I poured the rest of the sauce on top, covered the dish with foil, and placed it in 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. I uncovered them at that point, sprinkled the cheese on top (I like baked cheese), and baked them about another 10 minutes, just until the cheese looked good.

They turned out really well. They had a great spicy but not too hot flavor. The spinach and the chicken went well together and the sauce made them very rich tasting and creamy. I didn’t know Mexican food could taste so good and still be healthy.

Sweet Potato Burrito Recipe

Refried Beans Recipe

After my disaster with the sweet potato pancakes early this week, I was afraid to even try this recipe. But I still had left over sweet potatoes that I needed to do something with. The recipe is easy and straight-forward – basically refried beans topped with mashed sweet potatoes. Since I have my own recipe for refried beans that I love (and I was only making one burrito), I made that recipe and then just added the extra seasonings to the sweet potato.

The refried bean recipe is easy and probably a lot better for your than other refried beans I have had. Sauteed half an onion until it is soft and then add some garlic, chili powder, pinto beans (drained and rinsed), and chicken broth. Heat the beans through and then mash it up. I like thick beans, so I usually cook them a couple minutes after I mash them to get the consistency I like. I also skip the cilantro because I really don’t like the taste, but sometimes I add parsley for color. Add some salt (if needed) and pepper, and it’s done. It’s a really simple and quick recipe, but the beans taste outstanding.

Moving along… I made the refried beans and then heated up leftover mashed sweet potatoes (about a half cup) and mixed in the cumin, soy sauce and mustard. I put the mixture on a tortilla and topped in with about a half cup of the refried beans. I added a little cheddar cheese, folded it up, and baked it for 10 minutes. When I took it out of the oven, I topped it tomatoes. The results were very surprising. It was actually good! Somehow the sweet potato and the refried beans melt together into this sweet and savory filling. The tortilla was a little too crispy for me (I would probably bake it less next time since the filling it already hot), but overall, it was a successful try and very tasty. I may have to give the sweet potato pancakes another try.