Category Archives: Mexican

Guacamole Hummus

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If it has avocado, I love it.

What is it about this ugly on the outside, green and slimy on the inside fruit that is so amazing? How about I eat another one and then tell you?

I love guacamole and no matter how many times I hear avocados are the “healthy fat,” it still doesn’t make it okay to eat a whole bowl. Unless, it’s my entire meal, of course!

I stumbled on this recipe and knew it would be delicious and potentially healthier because of the addition of garbanzo beans (a.k.a. chickpeas). I love hummus and I love guacamole.

Combine the two? Sounds good to me!

You know what goes perfectly with Guacamole Hummus? Homemade Hint of Lime Tortilla Chips. Recipe coming soon!

INGREDIENTS

1 ripe avocado, roughly chopped
1 (15.5 oz) can, chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained
1 C fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
3 Tbls olive oil
1 tsp lime juice
1-3 Tbls water
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS

  1. In food processor, combine avocado, chickpeas, cilantro and garlic. Process until finely chopped.
  2. With food processor running, slowly add olive oil and lime juice.
  3. Add water 1 Tbls at a time until very smooth.
  4. Add salt and pepper.

NOTES

Serves 8

Calories: 150

Adapted from Everyday Food Magazine.

I ended up adding about 3 Tbls of water. It seemed to make the consistency the smoothest. It definitely did not water down the flavor.

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Ground Beef Gorditas

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Another Project Pastry Queen assignment! This week, Amanda picked Ground Beef Gorditas or “Little Fat Ones.”

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I love cooking with these other bloggers because it keeps me from cooking the same things in my kitchen. I rarely cook beef and I never fry anything so this tested me in a few ways. Plus, I was cooking this for friends. Talk about pressure!

Since I never fry anything, it makes me very nervous. I burn myself enough without hot, sputtering grease flying around. Geez!

You’re supposed to split open the gorditas and fill them with the toppings. Mine didn’t puff up as much as I think they were supposed to so we just put them on the plate and loaded them up with the toppings.

If you don’t want to go the trouble of making the gorditas, you can put it on a tortilla. The filling is the best homemade taco filling I’ve ever tasted and it was so quick. I doubt I’ll ever buy the packaged kind again.

Next week, we’re cooking Southern Comfort Apple Pie.

INGREDIENTS

For the dough:
4 cups corn masa mix, or 12 ounces fresh masa dough
1 teaspoon salt, if necessary
1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Safflower oil, for frying (I used vegetable oil)

For the beef filling:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 Tbls finely chopped yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbls Tabassco or hot pepper sauce
1 8 oz can plain tomato sauce

For serving:
½ head iceberg lettuce, shredded
½ C chopped tomatoes
1 C queso fresco, crumbled
sliced black olives
½ C sour cream
salsa

DIRECTIONS

For the Dough:

  1. If using masa mix, mix in large bowl according to the directions. Beat the masa, butter and salt in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment until it forms a ball. If using fresh dough, add the butter and mix until a ball is formed.
  2. Separate the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll until roughly 4″ across and 1/2″ thick.
  3. Grease a large skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. Cook the gorditas until lightly browned on each side, about 5 to 10 minutes on each side.
  4. Fill a large skillet with enough oil to come about 1/2 inch up the sides. Heat on medium heat until hot enough that the oil bubbles when a small ball of dough is dropped in.
  5. Using a spatula, lower the gorditas into the hot oil.
  6. Fry the gorditas for about 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown and crisp.
  7. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

For the Beef Filling:

  1. Saute the beef and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the meat is brown, 8-10 min.
  2. Drain off the fat.
  3. Add the garlic, salt, cumin, pepper, hot pepper sauce, and tomato sauce. Cook for 5 minutes.

Assembly:

  1. Split gorditas in half and set them on individual plates.
  2. Spoon the beef mixture over the bottom halves. Sprinkle with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and anything else your heart desires.
  3. Lean the top half of the gordita at an angle on top of the beef mixture and serve.

NOTES
Serves 4 (2 gorditas each)

from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather

Mexican Corn Chowder

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Mexican-Corn-Chowder

A little more Mexican for you!

Andy and I have a new favorite roadside stand. They have a large variety of fruits and vegetables. The owner showed us what had been picked that morning so we’d have the freshest vegetables and she even showed us the fields with what they were going to have ready to harvest in the fall. We’ll definitely be visiting them again.

We ended up buying some late summer sweet corn before it’s gone until next year. I’ve had my fill of corn on the cob this summer but I wanted something that was going to showcase the corn. After an amazing bowl of corn chowder I had at a restaurant in Seattle, I had to make my own.

This recipe has been family-in-law and even 20 month old approved! It was a hit at a family birthday gathering the other day.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons butter
2 T plus 1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp cumin
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups canned chicken stock
2 cups 1% or 2% milk
2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced
1 can green chiles
2 C shredded chicken (optional)
6 ears corn (approximately 6 C)
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ C chopped cilantro (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 450.

Cut the corn kernels off the cob and toss with 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp salt. Spread corn on baking sheet and roast for 15 min or until golden. (Roasting the corn is optional.)

While corn is roasting, start making the soup.

Heat the butter and 1 T olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, salt, chili powder, cumin, and thyme and cook until onions are translucent.

Stir flour into vegetables until fully combined. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Add the cream and potatoes. Bring to a boil for about 7 minutes, gently stirring.

Carefully, ladle about half of the potatoes and some broth into blender. Liquefy potatoes and add back to soup pot. (The more potatoes you blend, the thicker the chowder.)

Stir in corn, green chilies and chicken (optional). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Simmer for 10 min. Garnish soup with chopped cilantro.

NOTES

10 servings

Adapted from Tyler Florence’s Corn Chowder

This chowder isn’t spicy and could definitely be kicked up depending on who’s eating it. I would try garnishing the chowder with jalapeños and/or increasing the chili powder.

Cilantro Chicken with Chipotle and Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

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My first Tex-Mex post! I eat and cook a lot of Tex-Mex. Andy thinks I’m half Mexican. Cilantro, jalapenos, and limes are a staple in my kitchen.  I CAN”T GET ENOUGH!!!

A few years ago, I took a cooking class as part of a conference from Jane Butel. She’s a cook from New Mexico and she has some great Southwestern recipes. Since I have three of her cookbooks, I’ve tried lots of them! Her recipes are simple and have few ingredients.

Ya know those green chilies in a can? She show you how to make your own, and wow; they’re delicious. I’ll save that for another post.

Both of these recipes are adapted from her cookbook, Real Women Eat Chilies.

Cilantro_Chicken_with_Chipotle_Mashed_Potatoes

This dish is quite easy; however, it does take a tad bit of planning. The garlic needs to roast, chicken needs to marinate, and the potatoes need to boil. The chicken can be start marinating in the morning and the garlic can be roasted at any time. You may even want to roast up a few batches to have on hand. They will keep in the fridge (remove the skins) for about a week.

CILANTRO CHICKEN

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp salt

2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 C coarsely chopped cilantro

1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced

1 lime, halved

1. Rinse the chicken breast and pat dry. Combine garlic, oil, mustard, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, and juice from 1/2 lime.

2. Generously coat chicken breasts, place in shallow glass dish, cover and marinate for at least 30 min.

3. Preheat the grill pan on medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until thoroughly cooked.

4. Slice remaining 1/2 lime and use as garnish.

Notes:

Serves 4

Adapted from Jane Butel’s Real Women Eat Chilies

Please, please use real garlic and not the jar stuff.

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CHIPOTLE AND ROASTED GARLIC MASHED POTATOES

INGREDIENTS

1/2 unpeeled head garlic, top 1/4 sliced off

2 tsp olive oil

2 lbs golden potatoes

1 Tbls unsalted butter

1/2 C buttermilk

2 canned chipotle peppers, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 cob of corn, shucked, washed, and stripped (this is my fav corn stripper)

DIRECTIONS

1. Place garlic on large piece of foil. Cover with oil and wrap tightly. Bake in the over at 400 degrees for 20 – 30 minutes or until soft. When done, squeeze garlic cloves out onto the foil. Discard the rest.

2. Place potatoes in pot and cover with water. Cover, bring to a boil and cook until tender.

3. In small pot, warm buttermilk and butter.

4. Drain potatoes then add garlic. Mash potatoes and garlic. Slowly add warm buttermilk and butter to potatoes until fluffy.

5. Add salt and pepper. Fold in chipotle peppers.

6. After mashed potatoes are on the plate, sprinkle corn over top.

Notes:

Serves 4

Adapted from Jane Butel’s Real Women Eat Chilies

If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use any other kind of milk.

No, you don’t have to cook corn on the cob. Raw corn is delicious and sooo sweet.