Showing posts with label Tex Mex. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tex Mex. Show all posts
I knew my sister was going to be working late today. I know what it is like to slog all day at a job and then have to come home and cook a meal for people. I decided I was going to put together a casserole and bring it over to them so that she could just bang it into the oven.
I had bookmarked a casserole I had seen over on Smart School House for Tortilla Chip Enchiladas. Lazy enchiladas with tortilla chips. No faffing about. I liked that idea.
I've got a lot of work on at the moment as well, albeit from home.
My father usually eats supper at my sister's place every night. He's not one for spicy food, so the menu usually has to be pretty tame.
Now that the lockdown restrictions have eased a tiny bit he has been meeting his lady friends for Fish & Chips on Wednesday nights. I knew that with just Cindy and Dan being there I could pull out the stops a tiny bit.
What I really liked about the basic recipe was that it was pretty much a store cupboard recipe. It used things I almost always have in my larder and refrigerator. You could also either use beef or chicken in it.
I happened to have some cooked pot roast in the refrigerator, which I knew would be perfect for this. Simply shredded it would work well with everything else.
I also had a bag of plain lightly salted tortilla chips which were put to good use. Red enchilada sauce. Tomato Salsa, cheese . . .
The only thing I didn't have basically was the canned green chilies. They are not readily available locally in my small town, although you can get them a bit further afield. I could get fresh jalapeno chilies however.
You want the skins to really blister. Once they were done, I folded them up in the tinfoil I was roasting them on and let them sweat for about 5 minutes.
After that it was simply a matter of using a knife to slip the skins off and scrape out the seeds. I did extra so I could have them in the freezer.
Just roll the up tightly like a cigar (skinned and seeded) and wrap tightly in some plastic cling film, like a little sausage. Pop into a zip lock baggie and then whenever I need a few green chilies I have them. Just slice off coins with a sharp knife and chop.
When you are a single person, living alone, you have to plan ahead. It just made sense for me to do this. I used to do it in the UK because you couldn't get tinned green chilies at all there. With a little bit of effort, I now have some ready and at my beck and call.
The casserole itself was really very easy to make. Just shred the beef and mix it together with some ground cumin, the enchilada sauce, the salsa, green chilies and cheese. Oh, and the broken tortillas.
Don't break up the tortilla chips too much. You want them to be smaller than in the bag, but you don't want them to be ground. I also broke my rule of thumb and used already grated cheese today.
I figured in a casserole such as this, it wouldn't matter all that much. I used a Tex Mex blend which contained cheddar and spicy jack cheeses. Perfect.
One thing about using ground spices such as cumin. If you toast them first in a hot skillet you can really bring out the flavors, enhancing them nicely. About 30 seconds or so in a really hot skillet does the trick.
It really doesn't take very long at all to stir everything together. Then it is merely a matter of scraping it into your buttered dish, tipping it with more cheese, covering it and baking it. Easy peasy.
I also did a very tiny one for myself to enjoy. The instructions and amounts I have given here are for that smaller one, which makes 2 servings, or one if you are extra hungry.
I wasn't. Extra hungry that is. I will enjoy the other half tomorrow.
One thing which I did differently was to uncover the casserole near to the end of the bake time, sprinkle a few more tortilla chips on top for some crunch and a bit more cheese.
I don't know of any casserole on earth that doesn't become better for having had something crisp and crunchy sprinkled on top. Its almost a rule of thumb for me, to sprinkle a bit of crunch on top. I haven't had any complaints yet.
Cut into squares it went down a real treat. I added a dollop of sour cream on top and some chopped spring onions. Oh, and a thin slice of the roasted green chili.
Doesn't that look tasty? Doesn't that look appealing? Truth be told, in looking at those photos I may not be able to wait until tomorrow to eat the other half! I am such a glutton!
I hope Cindy and Dan enjoyed their as much as I did mine. All you need on the side is perhaps a salad, maybe some guacamole. If you are really hungry, some Mexican rice.
This was really, really good. Loved also that it was quick and easy to make. If you love Tex Mex flavors and are looking for a simple, easy and quick supper, that is also delicious, you need look no further. This fits the bill on all counts!
Cooked Beef? Chicken? Pork even . . . its a great way to use up any of those! I promise! Failing that just use ground beef, chicken or turkey and fry it first. 👍👍
Tortilla Chip Enchiladas
Yield: 2
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 55 Min
You can make these tasty store cupboard enchiladas with either leftover shredded chicken or beef. They are quite simply delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (150 grams) shredded cooked beef or chicken
- 1 1/2 cups (40 grams) broken tortilla chips
- 1 1/2 cups (350 grams) grated Tex-mex cheese blend
- 14 ounces (395 grams) red enchilada sauce
- 2 TBS chopped roasted green chilies
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 cup (60 gams) medium tomato salsa
You will also need:
- 3 TBS crushed chips
- 1 TBS grated cheese
- 1 spring onion, chopped
- sour cream to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. butter a 7 by 4 inch casserole dish and set aside.
- Shred your beef or chicken in a bowl. Add the green chilies, salsa and cumin and mix thoroughly. Add the broken tortilla chips and enchilada sauce. Stir in 1/2 of the cheese, mixing everything gently together. Pour into the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining cheese, making sure you cover the tortilla mixture completely.
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Uncover and top with the remaining crushed chips and cheese. Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes until the cheese on top has melted.
- Divide in half and serve topped with a dollop of sour cream and some chopped spring onion.
One of the things I love to make when we have leftover roasted or rotisserie chicken is Nachos. They are easy to make, and very easily adapted to your individual tastes.
They also make for a very quick week night supper, or if you are feeling particularly indulgent, something to munch on whilst watching a game or a film on the telly at the weekend! Teenagers also love them, so they are great for teen get-togethers and parties.
Not that any of us are doing a lot of partying at the moment with the virus, but one can always live in hope!
Nachos was not something I had ever made until my sister introduced me to them back in the 1990's. We did eat a lot of Tex Mex food in my home. Enchiladas and Tacos were a real favourite.
But I had just not heard of or tried Nachos. We went en masse to visit my sister with my mother one weekend when my sister was living in London, Ontario and I was living in Meaford, Ontario. When I think back on it now, that was really a lot of Nachos to make in order to feed all of us!
But that is one of the great things about nachos! You can amp them up or down according to how many people you have at the table! There would have been 14 of us including my mother.
Another good thing is that they are really quick and easy to make! Cheesy, crisp tortilla chips, layered with flavourful chicken, black beans and a variety of toppings!
You just can't go wrong! They are real people pleasers!
My mother was such a great person. She never got too ruffled by things. I am sure that Nachos were not high on her list of things she wanted to eat, or had ever contemplated eating.
She was not a person that really enjoyed spicy food. Irregardless she never batted an eye, and she went along with us, appearing to enjoy them every bit as much as we did!
Anyways, that weekend was my first introduction to Nachos! I have been making them ever since. They were always really popular with my family.
Todd, he doesn't enjoy them so much, but then again, he doesn't like eating really hard food. He likes his food softer and I guess at the age of 82 he has earned the right. NO matter, more nachos for me!
Actually, I will usually make ours separately. I will use Tortilla chips for mine and frozen french fries for his. Everybody's a happy camper!!!
I used leftover chicken for mine this time, from our roast dinner the other day. You can also use shredded rotisserie chicken, which works perfectly well.
I like to toss the chicken together with some seasonings to give it extra flavour. I use mild chili powder that I bring over here from North America. I find the British Chili powder far too spicy and hot.
Funny story. I had not lived here very long and Todd's Aunt Doris was up from Devon visiting us. She was the age then that Todd is now. I wanted to make my special chili potatoes for us as a side dish for our supper.
I added a full tablespoon of what I though was regular chili powder. One biteful and our heads almost blew off! Kapow! I had never tasted anything so hot in my life. Totally inedible.
The chili powder here in the UK is completely unadulterated by anything else. It is pure ground dried red chilis and it is hot, hot, hot! In North America what we buy as chili powder has been mixed with other things such as ground oregano, cumin, coriander, garlic, salt and cloves!
I was totally surprised at the heat of the chili powder here! A mistake I never made ever again! If you are worried about your chicken being too dry, you can also add a quantity of prepared tomato salsa.
You don't need a lot, just a couple of dollops will do it. You don't want it to be soggy so that it makes your chips soggy. Unless you particularly like soggy chips! We I don't!
You will want to use the thicker, restaurant style of tortilla chips. They are thicker than the regular ones and will hold up better beneath the weight of the toppings!
I have used a mix of Monterery Jack and Cheddar cheese here, but feel free to use only Monterey Jack, or a four cheese Mexican blend. You can ever use Pepper Jack if you think you can handle the heat!
I like to use lots of different toppings when it comes to my nachos. Sliced olives (both black and green), diced bell peppers (red, yellow and green), chopped green chilies and chopped red onions. I also used some black beans.
Feel free to adapt those toppings to whatever your family loves and enjoys. You can add pickled jalapenos, or roasted green chilies. Some people even like sliced raw green chilies. I am afraid I can't stand the additional heat!
If you don't like chicken, or have a vegetarian in the house, you can use shredded jack fruit in much the same way. It has a texture very similar to that of meat.
If you don't want to use chicken, you can use browned ground beef, or even browned ground turkey. Just add the spices as I have suggested as per the recipe and amounts. For two people I would never go larger than 2 cups, and to be honest 2 cups is very generous.
These are double layered. You get a first layer of chips and chicken and cheese and then a second layer of the same, finally topping them with your preferred toppings.
I served these hot with our favourite cold tomato salsa and some sour cream. I also splashed some green Tabasco over the top of mine.
Green Tabasco doesn't have quite as much heat as the red Tabsco sauce has. I quite like it actually. Its really good on eggs of any kind.
Sheet Pan Chicken Nachos make for a lush and deliciously perfect mid-week supper! Quick and easy to make an economical, they always go down a real treat!
Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Nachos for Two
Yield: 2
prep time: 10 Mincook time: 10 Mintotal time: 20 Min
Nothing could be easier or more delicious. These fabulously tasty nachos are the perfect way to use up leftover roast chicken, and if you line your pan with some aluminium foil there is minimal clean up afterwards!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (45g) of well drained black beans
- 1/4 cup (45g) of sliced olives (I use a mix of green and black)
- 1/2 small jalapeno pepper, trimmed and finely chopped
- 1/2 small red onion, trimmed and finely chopped
- 4 TBS finely chopped coloured bell peppers (use a mix)
- 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated Monterery Jack cheese
- 2 cups chopped or shredded leftover roast, or rotisserie chicken
- 2 tsp mild chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 bag of restaurant style tortilla chips (8 ounces or 225g)
To serve (all optional):
- Tomato salsa
- Dairy sour cream
- guacamole
- Chopped green onions and tomatoes
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 225*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminium foil. Spray lightly with some low fat cooking spray.
- Prepare your chicken by either cubing or shredding. Toss in together in a bowl along with the chili powder, garlic powder and onion powder. (You can also add some tomato salsa if you wish.)
- Build your nachos by layering the ingredients on the baking sheet as follows: Half of the tortilla chips (spread out in an even layer), 1/2 of the chicken, 1/2 of the cheese, the black beans, the remaining tortilla chips, the remaining chicken, the remaining cheese, then the olives, jalapeno, peppers and chopped onions.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes until the cheese has melted and everything is heated through. The edges should just be starting to brown.
- Divide between two plates and serve hot with your desired garnishes.
These Crispy Two Potato Tacos are one of my favourite things to eat. I adore Mexican flavours, and I adore potatoes, both the sweet and the white.
Combining the two, potatoes and Tex Mex flavours, is like a marriage made in Heaven! I just don't think you can get much better!
They are so very easy to make as well. They can be somewhat time consuming as you have to bake your white and sweet potatoes first, in order to make the filling.
But really that's not hard work. It just involves washing them, pricking them and then baking them. Easy peasy lemon squeasy!
If you don't want to heat up your oven, by all means bake them in the microwave. A large baking potato will take between 7 and 10 minutes depending on how large your potato is.
DO prick them also. They will explode if you don't. Trust me on this. The last thing you want to be doing is cleaning exploded potato off of the insides of your microwave oven. That stuff can get into every single nook and cranny and be very difficult to clean up. Blah!
Rub them with a bit of olive oil, and then season them with some salt and black pepper. I like to season them generously. But then again, I do most things generously.
Place them in the microwave in a microwave proof dish. Cook them on the full power setting for five minutes and then flip them over. (Use tongs or an oven mitt! They will be HOT!!)
Cook for a further 3 minutes or so at which time your potato should yield slightly to a light pressure. You can do more than one potato at a time, but bear in mind you will need to increase your cook times by approximately a further 5 minutes all told.
Sweet Potatoes will not take as long to bake. I would check them after three minutes before flipping (if doing one) and then continue as above, again cutting the bake time down by half.
While your potatoes are baking you can be softening your onions for the filling
Once you have the potatoes baked, skinned and coarsely mashed, this goes really quickly. Just stir in the other ingredients to combine.
Cooking the tacos is really easy also. Once you have the filling all prepared, simply divide the filling between each taco shell. (I like soft taco sized tortillas). Brush the outsides of your tortillas first with a bit of olive oil.
Just spread the filling onto one half of each tortilla, sprinkle with cheese and then fold the other half of the tortilla over top to cover. You can press them down lightly if you want, but don't use a lot of pressure or the filling will seep out.
All that is left now is to grill them until they are toasty golden brown in a heated skillet. You will need a largish skillet if you are going to cook any more than one or two at once.
Just pop them into a heated skillet and pan grill them on both sides until toasty and heated through. It is such a simple thing. I keep them warm in a low oven until I have them all done. (150*C/300*F)
On this particular day I serve them with Green salsa and sour cream, which was really really tasty. You can serve them with whatever you enjoy most with your tacos however.
I have to say we also love them splashed with some Green Tabasco Sauce. That stuff is so yummy. It has a bit of a bite but not as much as the red Tabasco. I love it on scrambled eggs and on anything really. Its really quite moreish.
I just adore these. They are crisp on the outsides, soft, cheesy and spicy on the insides and whatever topping or accompaniment you choose to enjoy with them just makes what's already delicious even tastier. Guacamole is very good.
Be prepared to fall in love. These incredibly tasty but simple tacos are incredibly tasty. You may never go back to a meat taco again! Just saying!
Two Potato Tacos
Yield: 4
prep time: 5 Mcook time: 1 H & 30 Mtotal time: 1 H & 35 M
These tacos are fabulously tasty, with both white and sweet potatoes, and plenty of zip! Serve hot with your favourite taco accompaniments for a real taste treat!
Ingredients:
For the Filling:
- 1 large Sweet Potato
- 2 baking potatoes
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 TBS butter
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp oregano flakes
- 1 tsp coriander flakes
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp chipotle chilies in adobe sauce
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese grated, I use strong (60g)
- 1/2 cup of jack cheese grated (65g)
To Finish and Serve:
- Olive oil
- 8 corn and wheat tortillas (six inch size)
- Your choice of taco garnishes (chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce, salsa, sour cream, olives, chopped onion, etc.)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Wash the potatoes well and prick with a fork. Place on a baking tray. Cut the top off of the head of garlic. Put it onto a square of foil. Drizzle with the olive oil and wrap the foil up over it, twisting it closed. Place onto the baking tray with the potatoes. Put the tray into the oven and roast until the potatoes are fork tender. Check the garlic after about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove if it is done. It should take approximately 1 hour to bake the potatoes. Remove from the oven and let cool until you can handle them.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender. Scoop the flesh from the sweet and baking potatoes into a bowl. Add the cooked onion, cumin, oregano, coriander, smoked paprika, chipotle chilies and balsamic vinegar. Mash coarsely to combine well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the cheeses.
- Lay out the tortillas. Divide the filling amongst them spreading it out onto one half only of each. Fold the other half over to cover and form a taco. Brush both sides with olive oil. Wipe the skillet clean and then reheat over medium heat. Cook two tacos at a time until golden brown on each side and the filling is heated through and the cheese has melted. Keep warm while you cook the remaining tacos.
- Serve hot with your choice of taco garnishes. Enjoy!
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The last time I made this Taco Stuffed Shells was back in 2001 when my oldest and youngest sons had come over here to the UK to visit me. They gobbled it up. It uses large pasta shells instead of the traditional Taco Shells.
As a family we had always been very keen on Mexican flavours. This was one of my boys favourite meals. It came from my Big Blue Binder, which was a binder filled with recipes which I had collected through the years. It is filled with recipes collected from family, friends, newspapers and magazines and has been travelling around with me wherever I go.
It is stuffed to overflowing now as it is filled with my collections of a good 45 years or more.
And I still collect . . . what can I say. I am a foodie through and through!
For this recipe you create a delicious spicy meat sauce, with taco seasoning, enchilada sauce, salsa, onion, jalapeno peppers and lean ground beef . . .
I stir in a bit of sour cream and some cheese as well which gives it a touch of creaminess. I stuff this mixture into cooked large pasta shells. I love the large pasta shells. They are great stuffed and baked with just about everything!
Some of the sauce went into the bottom of the baking dish . . . then I placed the stuffed shells on top . . .
Spooning the remainder of the sauce over top of the stuffed shells and scattering grated cheese over it all.
Finally I add a layer of crushed tortilla chips to add a bit of crunch. You have to add a bit of crunch when you are talking tacos!
You cover it and bake it in the oven for about 20 minutes, then uncover it and bake it for a while longer, just until everything is bubbling away and the cheese has melted.
These are fabulous served with your favourite taco toppings!
Whatever you enjoy on a taco, you can enjoy on top of these! Today it was sour cream, shredded lettuce, chopped spring onions, grated cheese (I know more cheese!), chopped tomatoes and sliced black olives!
These are really delicious. You could serve a salad on the side, but because of the salad like toppings we didn't bother. Children really love these, but then again, so do adults!
Taco Stuffed Shells
Yield: 4
All the flavours of your favourite tacos, stuffed into pasta shells and baked. Spicy, cheesy, meaty. What more could you ask for?
Ingredients:
- 170g jumbo pasta shells
- 340g lean ground beef (12 ounces)
- 1 small onion, peeled and minced
- 140g taco sauce (5 ounces)
- 115g salsa (1/2 cup)
- 1/2 envelope of taco seasoning mix
- 3 TBS sour cream
- 1 green jalapeno chili, trimmed, deseeded and minced
- 200g shredded jack or cheddar cheese blend (2 cups)
- 1 small bag of tortilla chips crushed
- Your favourite Taco toppings to serve
Instructions:
- Cook your pasta shells according to the package directions in lightly salted boiling water. Drain well, rinse with cold water and drain again.
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.
- While they are cooking add the ground beef to a skillet along with the onion and green chili. Dry scramble until cooked through and starting to brown. Remove from the heat.
- Whisk the taco seasoning, enchilada sauce and salsa together in a bowl. Stir 3/4 cup of this mixture into the ground beef, along with half the cheese.
- Butter an 8 by 12 inch baking dish. Spread half of the enchilada sauce/salsa mixture into the bottom of the dish. Stuff the shells with the meat mixture and place them into the baking dish. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce mixture over top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle the crushed tortilla chips over all.
- Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Serve hot with your favourite taco toppings.
I had to laugh at Todd. When he was done all that was sitting on his plate was the empty pasta shells. He said they were too chew. I beg to differ . . . but hey ho. We each have our likes and dislikes. His just happens to be pasta.
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