Enchiladas

originally found here. Shared here with my adjustments.

1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 tsp. canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. sugar
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese, divided
½ cup minced fresh cilantro
12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
Cooking spray

Directions:
Combine the onion and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the onions and. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar, and cook just until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Mix in the tomato sauce, water, and chopped tomato. Bring the sauce to a simmer, lower the heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through (160˚ F on an instant-read thermometer), about 12-20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside to cool.

Strain the sauce through a large mesh strainer into a medium bowl, pressing down on the onions and tomatoes to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the reserved solids to a large bowl and set aside. Season the sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste. (though in my opinion, you don't really need to add any because there are so many great spices already going on)

Shred the chicken into bite size pieces and add to the bowl with the onion mixture. Add in ¼ cup of the enchilada sauce, 2 oz. of the shredded cheese, and the cilantro. Stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Oil a 9 x 13″ baking dish with cooking spray. Stack the tortillas on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 40-60 seconds, until warm and pliable. Spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of a tortilla. Roll up the tortilla around the filling tightly, and place in the prepared baking dish, seam-side down. Repeat with the remaining filling and tortillas.

Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for 7 minutes or until the tortillas start to brown slightly.

Reduce the oven temperature to 400˚ F. Remove the enchiladas from the oven and pour the sauce oven the top. Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is browned. Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 enchiladas

Serves 6 = (2 enchiladas per serving) 8 pt+

Southwest Eggrolls

1 chicken breast fillet

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons minced red bell peppers

2 tablespoons minced green onions

1/3 cup frozen corn

1/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 dash cayenne pepper

3/4 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

5 7-inch flour tortillas

Preheat barbecue grill (or skillet) to high heat. Rub the chicken breast with some vegetable oil then grill it on the barbecue (or in the skillet) for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until done. Lightly salt and pepper each side of the chicken while it cooks. Set chicken aside until it cools down enough to handle.

Preheat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat. Add the red pepper and onion to the pan and sauté for a couple minutes until tender. Dice the cooked chicken into small cubes and add it to the pan. Add the corn, black beans, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt, and cayenne pepper to the pan.Cook for another 4 minutes.

. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted.

Wrap the tortillas in a moist cloth and microwave on high temperature for 1 1/2 minutes or until hot. Spoon approximately one-fifth of the mixture into the center of a tortilla. Fold in the ends and then roll the tortilla over the mixture. Roll the tortilla very tight, then pierce with a toothpick to hold together.

Repeat with the remaining ingredients until you have five eggrolls. Arrange the eggrolls on a plate, cover the plate with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.

COOKING:

Preheat 4-6 cups of oil to 375 degrees. Deep fry the eggrolls in the hot oil for 12-15 minutes and remove to paper towels or a rack to drain for about 2 minutes.

Slice each eggroll diagonally lengthwise and arrange on a plate around a small bowl of the dipping sauce.

DIPPING SAUCE:

1/4 cup smashed fresh avocados (about half of an avocado)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1 dash dried dill weed
1 dash garlic powder
1 dash pepper
Garnish
2 tablespoons chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped onions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and garnish.

--A HUGE thanks to my sister-in-law Jenny for making these and introducing us to them! They are SUPER tasty!!!

Bajio Sweet Rice

Original recipe found here

BAJIO SWEET RICE

*1/2-1 tablespoon vegetable oil
*1/2 of a white onion, chopped (add more or less to your taste)
*1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
*1 1/3 cups white rice
*3 cups chicken broth
*1/4-1/2 cup white sugar

Directions

Put a little oil in bottom of pan (maybe about 1/2-1 tablespoon).

Saute chopped onion until translucent. Add the chopped cilantro (no big stems) and saute a minute more.

Add the rice, cooking until it is light brown (being careful not to burn).

Combine the chicken broth and sugar, letting sugar dissolve. Then stir into rice until combined. Bring to a boil.

Cover and let cook on low, med-low until rice is done, about 25-30 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

*****NOTES:

I actually wish I had added a little bit of onion powder to this to help ground the sweetness. However, it was REALLY tasty either way. I threw in some chopped red pepper, and we love that.

VERY TASTY...VERY EASY...especially if you are missing good ol' Bajio. :)

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

First off, I have to give credit to where I actually found this recipe. Click here for the original.

A lot of the recipes I found online for the Cafe Rio sweet pork used more expensive cuts of meat than I was willing to buy. :) So I bought a cheap boneless pork roast to make mine with. Because of this, I was afraid to use one of the recipes that had a shorter cook time since I wanted to make sure my roast was really good and tender.

Turns out it wouldn't have mattered anyway because my meat was ready to shred at a shorter time than I thought. But my point is, that's what peaked my interest in this recipe.

(I am going to write this recipe with my own variations)



3 1/2 pounds Boneless pork roast
3 cans Coke (NOT diet) (though I have heard Dr. Pepper works too)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can sliced green chilies
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight. (I marinated overnight for ease in cooking)

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

(I cooked mine for 4 hours on high. Basically started the crockpot first thing in the morning and left it until lunch time.)

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours.

---THIS WAS SOOO YUMMY! Worth the wait! Also, in regards to the coke, chilies, enchilada saic and brown sugar mixture that you blend together, I did that in the morning, so the evening prep was SO MINIMAL.

Served with Bajio Sweet rice and tortillas, and red pepper corn. YUM!

Flank Steak with Corn and Red Pepper Quesadillas

I originally got this recipe from the Good Housekeeping magazine. You can check it out here. We've made a few changes here and there...and we love this on a Spring/Summer night. It makes a great alternative to the normal barbecue!

1 lime
4 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoonbrown sugar
Salt
1 (about 1 1/4 pounds) beef flank steak
3 ears corn, husks and silks removed (or we use a few small frozen ones sometimes)
1 large red pepper, seeded and cut into quarters
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
3/4 cup(s)(3 ounces) shredded reduced-fat (2%) Mexican-style cheese (and yes, the Mexican style DOES make a difference)
2 green onions, thinly sliced (we omit these)
Plain fat-free Greek yogurt or low-fat sour cream (optional)

Prepare outdoor grill for covered direct grilling over medium heat.

From lime, grate 1 teaspoon peel and squeeze 1 teaspoon juice. In small bowl, combine lime peel and juice, chili powder, cumin, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Rub steak with chili powder mixture to season both sides.

Place steak, corn, and pepper on hot grill rack. Cover grill and cook steak and vegetables 12 to 15 minutes or until corn is browned in spots, pepper is lightly charred and tender (turning vegetables occasionally), and steak is medium-rare or desired doneness (turning steak over once).

As vegetables are done, transfer to cutting board. Transfer steak to another cutting board; let stand 10 minutes to allow juices to set for easier slicing.

When vegetables are cool enough to handle, cut kernels from cobs and coarsely chop pepper. Place tortillas on work surface. Evenly divide cheese, green onions, corn, and peppers on half of each tortilla. Fold each tortilla over filling to make 4 quesadillas. Grill quesadillas about 2 minutes or until browned on both sides, carefully turning over once. Return quesadillas to same cutting board; cut each in half.

Thinly slice steak and serve with quesadillas and yogurt if using.


Serves 4

***My kids love these quesadillas. They are full of good stuff and are easy to handle!

Chili Cheese Bean dip

This is a dip I made up on the spot because we were having company and I wanted it for our Mexican food feast! We loved it and decided it would be a permanent recipe in our family.

1 (small) can of chili con carne
1 can of refried beans
1/2 C sour cream
a few dashes of red pepper flakes
4 oz velveeta cheese

Mix beans and chili together in a blender or with a handblender (milkshake kind--I can't think of the exact name right this second)--even a small food chopped would work. You want the beans and chili to be well blended and smooth. (Though, I suppose you don't have to--this was just the look I was going for) Add your sour cream, red pepper flakes and cheese. Heat in the microwave until heated through and the cheese is melted. Serve with tortilla chips.