Tacos!!

One option for taco seasoning: Make-a-Mix Taco Seasoning Mix:
2t instant minced onion
1t salt
1t chili powder
1/2t cornstarch
1/2t crushed dried red pepper
1/2t instant minced garlic
1/4t dried oregano
1/2t ground cumin
Mix into 1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef and 1/2 c water.

Taco shells/tortillas
Browned ground beef with favorite taco seasonings
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Cheese
Green onion
Salsa
Sour Cream (optional)
Guacamole (optional)
Black beans, or Kidney, or Pinto, or Refried
Corn (optional)

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

From Make-A-Mix Cookbook: Super creamy and yummy!! NOT very low fat so I usually substitute one can of chicken and one can of navy/great northern beans for the chicken. That adds a little bit of fiber to the dish so I feel better, but it doesn't make it too beany if I use a white bean. It's really good actually. I also like the can chicken because I like the texture for this dish and it means less cooking! :D Also, I don't recommend softening the tortillas in oil like the recipe says to do. It makes the dish seem really greasy. Warming the tortillas in the microwave or dipping them in hot water does just fine. Enjoy!!!

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chicken cubed or shredded
1 (4oz) can diced roasted green chiles
1 (7oz) can green chile salsa
10 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Vegetable oil for frying*
8 (6inch) flour tortillas (I usually use the largest tortillas I can find, and it fills 8 of them. Try whole wheat for a healthier option.)
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl combine chicken, green chiles, salsa, and 1 cup of cheese. Heat oil in a medium skillet (*I usually skip this part and they taste fine). To soften tortillas, quickly dip them in hot oil with tongs, one at a time. Drain on paper towel.
Put about 1/3 cup filling in center of each tortilla and roll up. Place close together in a shallow casserole dish or baking pan, seam-side down.
In a bowl, combine whipping cream and salt. Pour cream over pan of enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with foil. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until bubbly. Garnish with cilantro and green onions.

Cafe Rio Dressing and Sweet Pork

1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as per recipe)
2 tomatillos (tomato like vegetable with a husk around them)
½ bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeño (Use the seeds too if you like it spicy. You could substitute a few drops of green tobasco for the jalapeno.)

Use a food processor to blend all the ingredients well. Refrigerate.* be warned... this makes a ton of dressing, but it will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
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Café Rio Sweet Pork

3-4 lbs pork roast (can substitute chicken)
-1 cup brown sugar
-3 cups salsa*Mix ingredients in a crock pot and let cook for 10 hours on low.

Cilantro-Lime Rice and Beans

Cilantro-Lime Rice

1 cup uncooked rice
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, lime peel, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice.

Black Beans
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 cup tomato juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

Pupusas

There is really no recipe, so this will have to do...

Harina de Maiz (tortilla mix, cornmeal flour, I prefer MASECA)
**Mix according to directions on package (USE VERY WARM WATER) and add salt to taste. Dough should not be sticky, but should be a little tacky and not dry. You should be able to form a ball in your hand very easily. If you push it down, the dough shouldn't crack. Once made, cover with a damp clean dish cloth and set aside for about ten minutes.

For filling use shredded mozzarella cheese and/or refried beans. It is easier if you mix the cheese and the beans together first before filling the pupusas. I use canned refried black beans from the mexican aisle (Goya is always a good brand) and those taste almost authentic.

Before you start, make sure you heat either a good size frying pan or skillet to medium high heat (really hot, water should sizzle when dropped but not instantly evaporate).

MAKING THE PUPUSAS

I do it like an assembly line so it is easier. You will need a small bowl of vegetable or canola oil, your premade MASECA, and your filling. Take a small handful of the MASECA and form into a ball. Use your thumbs to create a little basket from the ball, this is where you will place your filling. Add about a spoonful of filling (depending on the size of your ball and desired pupusa this may vary, you should have enough filling to create a hearty pupusa, but not so much that you can't seal up your basket). Seal up the filling inside your "basket" and then use a little oil on your hands to form the basket back into a slight ball and then into a fat tortilla. Place on the hot skillet/pan and turn when light brown on one side. Cook so that the pupusa is nice and golden brown all over.

Serve warm with "curtido" (coleslaw) and salsa. Add sour cream if you want. ENJOY!

I learned this by watching, so sorry if the recipe is hard to follow. Good luck and Buen Provecho!

Mandy V.

Curtido (what you put on top of Pupusas)

CURTIDO (SPICY CABBAGE SALAD)

1 med. green cabbage, shredded
1 lg. carrot, shredded
3/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1 c. water
1 tbsp. salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red chili flakes

Mix together vinegar, water, salt, oregano and chili. Put cabbage and carrot in a large bowl. Pour vinegar mixture over cabbage mixture. Toss to completely cover cabbage mixture with vinegar mixture. Cover, chill, preferably overnight to blend flavors. Serve over pupusas or as a side dish.

**I usually just use the coleslaw mix that is pre shredded and it works just fine. Be sure to chill well before serving so the flavor blends. Also, I tend to add a little more oregano to jazz it up a bit.

Mandy V

Salsa Verde (Green Salsa)

Salsa Verde

1 1/2 lb tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 Jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
Salt to taste

1 Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Cut in half and place cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin.

2 Place tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, Jalapeño peppers, sugar in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. Season to taste with salt. Cool in refrigerator.

Mandy V.

Enchiladas Suizas

2 onions diced
8oz green chiles
1 clove garlic
2Tablespn butter
2Tablespn flour
1.5 cup chicken broth
1/4lb monteray jack cheese
2 scallions chopped
12 corn tortillas
1.5 cup shredded chicken
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon cumin
salt to taste

Chop onions and chiles. Mince garlic. Melt butter and saute onions in butter.Stir in flour and chicken broth. Add chiles, garlic, salt and cumin. Simmer for 15mins. Briefly fry torillas in oil. Drain on papertowels. Dip tortillas in sauce. Put a little chicken on eat and top with some cheese. Roll up and place seam down in a casserole dish. Pour remaining sauce over them, pour cream over them and sprinkle with remaining cheese and scallions. Bake at 350 till hot and bubbly

Make Ahead Burritos

Yields: 14-16 burritos

1 lb. cooked beef, pork, or chicken (I have used 2-3 chicken breasts)
1 (16 oz) jar of salsa
1 (16 oz) can of refried beans
taco seasoning mix, optional
16 (8 inch) tortillas
16 oz Monterey jack or cheddar cheese cut into sticks

Shred meat (should have about 3 cups). In large skillet, combine meat, salsa, beans, and seasoning mix. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through. Heat tortillas. For each burrito, place spoonful of meat mixture on tortilla near one edge. Top with a cheese stick. Fold in sides, and roll up starting with the meat/cheese end. Eat what you want and freeze the rest.

To freeze: Wrap frozen burritos individually in foil. (In our house, they tend not to last all that long, so I’ve just thrown them into a gallon size Ziploc bag, and they’ve been eaten prior to getting freezer burned.)

To cook: Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes (if serving right after preparing or taking them from the refrigerator.) They’ll need a lot more time if they’re taken from the freezer (probably about 45 minutes … unless you tried micro-defrost to speed the process … haven’t tried that, but you might.) Also, if you’re in a hurry, they can be microwaved … they won’t end up crispy like the baked ones, they’re still good.
Frying option: If you prefer “chimichangas” instead of burritos, you can fry these. Just cook in oil over medium heat turning often for about 10-15 minutes.

A few additional notes: I thought the taco seasoning made the burritos a little too spicy, so you can tinker with it and cut back on the seasoning or omit it entirely. The beans and salsa are seasoned enough without all of the extra spice.
Also, you can cook the meat anyway you like. My friend, Wendy, who gave me the recipe usually grills the chicken and that gives the meat a nice flavor. The last two times I’ve made these, I have just thrown chicken in the crockpot in the morning with salsa and shredded it right before assembling the burritos. You can also use leftover roast beef or pork. This recipe is super flexible.
Lastly, the recipe called for 8” tortillas. Well, good luck finding that stated on any package. I could have guestimated, but I just ended up using the yummy uncooked Costco tortillas instead. Since the tortillas were bigger, I ended up getting only 14 burritos instead of the 16 the recipe should yield, but seriously, what’s 2 more burritos? J So, I just cooked the Costco tortillas as usual (although I was careful not to let these get too dark) and then assembled the burritos.

Tortilla Soup (like Cafe Rio)

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and sliced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried cumin
1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
Few dashes Worcestershire sauce
3 to 4 cups chicken stock
1 lime
1 cup cooked white rice
Kosher salt
Sour cream, for garnish
Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeno and sweat until soft and translucent. Add spices and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant and aromatic. Add tomatoes, chicken, Worcestershire, and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook 20 minutes.Cut the lime in half, squeeze juice into the pot, and then add the juiced halves as well. (If you have some leftovers and want to reheat the soup for another day, take the limes out--they will get pretty bitter if you heat them up in the microwave.)Add white rice and cook 5 minutes longer to warm rice through. Season, to taste, with salt.Ladle into bowls and garnish with sour cream and cilantro. (Why stop there? Try adding tortilla chips or Fritos, shredded cheese, pico de gallo--whatever you would put in a taco!)Enjoy!