Yes, I Have a Hispanic Heritage...

I have an interesting bloodline.  From my father's side, he's half Irish and half Swedish.  From my mother's side, she's half Hispanic and half Irish.  So, that makes me 1/2 Irish, 1/4 Swedish, and 1/4 Hispanic.  As for the Hispanic portion, from doing some family history work, it appears that half of that was directly from Spain and the other half is from Mexico.

Lately, I have been making a lot of Mexican food.  I don't know.  It just
sounded good!  But it got to the point that my husband started teasing me about being fully Hispanic now because of how much I was cooking it.  My reasons for making so much Mexican food have been three-fold.  First, it's so yummy and it's really easy to replicate good Mexican food at home.  Second, it's easy to keep Mexican ingredients on hand in the pantry.  Third, I was finding recipes that fit the ingredients that I had.  So, voila!  Lots of Mexican food.

So, let me share the latest installment of Mexican recipes!

Now, I'm off to make some Italian food for dinner to prove to my husband that I can make other kinds of food! 

Southwestern Chicken

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup cubed cooked chicken or turkey
1 (8-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chili peppers, drained
2 beaten eggs
2/3 cup skim milk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt or sour cream

Directions:

Spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. 

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together chicken or turkey, corn, and green chili peppers.  Spread mixture in pie plate.

In the same bowl, stir together eggs and milk.  Beat in flour, salt, and pepper.  Pour over chicken mixture.

Bake, uncovered, in a 400 degree F. oven for 25-30 minutes or till top is set and lightly browned.  Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 2-3 minutes more or until cheese melts.

Serve with salsa and yogurt or sour cream.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition information: 333 calories, 22 g protein, 36 g carbohydrate, 11 g fat, 181 mg cholesterol, 1,019 mg sodium, 302 mg potassium.

Source: This recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens New Dieter's Cook Book: Low-Calorie Home Cooking.  ISBN 0-696-01974-4

Notes: This recipe is so great.  It's so easy, so pantry friendly, and so satisfying.  This is a recipe that my Mom and I discovered when I was a teenager.  Yum!  It is shown above without toppings.  Oh, and FYI, it holds its wedge shape better if you let it cool for a few minutes after getting it out of the oven.  All of the other pictures aren't really in a wedge shape because I couldn't wait that long!  I was hungry!

Chile-Colorado Burritos (original recipe)

Ingredients:

1 1/2-2 pounds stew meat or other beef cubed (shredded works too)
1 large can mild enchilada sauce (19 oz)
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 can refried beans (optional)
8 burrito size flour tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Put beef, bouillon, and enchilada sauce into a crock pot and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until meat is very tender.

When beef is done (very tender and flakes off when stirred), taste and add salt to taste, if desired.  Heat up refried beans in the microwave and set your oven to broil on high.

Place 1/2 cup of the meat (drained with a slotted spoon) and a spoonful or two of beans.  Roll into a burrito.  Place in a broil-proof baking dish or jelly roll pan.  Pour the remaining enchilada sauce from the crock pot over the burritos.  Sprinkle with some cheddar cheese.  Broil until cheese is bubbly, about 2-4 minutes.

Source: I found this recipe on Pinterest.  It is from a blog called "Food Pusher," and you can find the original post (with much prettier pictures than mine) here.

Notes: The original author notes that tortilla chips are a fantastic way to make sure none of the sauce goes to waste!  It's a great way to dip into the extra sauce and cheese.

Above: before pouring the remaining sauce/meat mixture on top.

Chile-Colorado Burritos (my version)

Ingredients:

Mexican-Style Shredded Beef (recipe originally found here and posted below for your convenience)
Enchilada sauce (recipe found below. Canned can also be used)
1 can fat-free refried beans
8 burrito-size tortillas
Shredded cheese

Directions:

Make enchilada sauce (recipe below).

Mix leftover shredded beef into the enchilada sauce.

Preheat oven (you can either broil the enchiladas until the cheese is melted, or you can bake at 350 degrees F. until bubbly and the cheese is melted--about 25-30 minutes).

Spread 1-2 tablespoons refried beans onto each tortilla.  Top with about 1/4 cup beef (served with slotted spoon to drain some of the liquid).  Roll into a burrito.

Place in broil-safe baking dish or foil-lined jelly roll pan.  Repeat until all eight burritos have been rolled up.

Top with remaining beef/enchilada sauce mixture.  Top with shredded cheese and broil or bake until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Source: See original recipe above.  Again, this came from a blog called "Food Pusher."

Above: after pouring the remaining sauce/meat mixture on top and before adding the cheese.

Notes: I made the changes I did based on the ingredients I had.  I made a homemade enchilada sauce because I didn't have a can of enchilada sauce, yet I had all of the ingredients to make enchilada sauce from scratch. I used Mexican-Style Shredded Beef because I had a TON leftover from a family gathering.

But let me tell you, holy cannoli these were good!  The enchilada sauce I made tasted almost like a mole, but it added such a smoky richness.  I will be making these enchiladas each and every time I have leftover Mexican-Style Shredded Beef, let me tell you!  Last time, I used the beef to make quesadillas, but never again!  Burritos from here on out!

Above: After broiling.  My broiler is slower than mud, so I got a little too comfortable and accidentally broiled it longer than I would have liked.  I would have liked the cheese to be more melty and less browned, but it still tasted great.

Mexican-Style Shredded Beef

Ingredients:

1 boneless beef chuck shoulder roast (about 3 pounds)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 cup salsa or picante sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

Place roast in slow cooker.  Combine cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt, and red pepper in a small bowl.  Place beef in slow cooker.  Pour spices over beef and top with salsa.

Cover; cook on low 8-10 hours or until meat is tender.

Remove beef from slow cooker.  Trim and discard excess fat from beef.  Shred meat with two forks.

Let cooking liquid stand 5 minutes to allow fat to rise.  Skim off fat.  Blend water and cornstarch until smooth.  Wish into liquid in slow cooker.  Cook, uncovered, 15 minutes on High until thickened.  Return beef to slow cooker.  Cover; cook 15-30 minutes or until hot.  Adjust seasonings.

Serve as a meat filling for tacos, fajitas, enchiladas, quesadillas, or burritos.  Leftover beef may be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 3 monhts.

Source: This recipe came from a cookbook called "Simple 1-2-3 One Dish" ISBN-13: 978-1-4127-2323-7.

 

Above: Oooh, this was tasty.

Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons hot chili powder
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Saute onion until tender.  Stir in garlic, oregano, cumin, and cinnamon; saute for a few minutes.

Stir in flour and chili powder, stirring until evenly coated.  Slowly whisk in chicken broth; reduce until sauce reaches desired consistency.  Stir in chocolate until melted and well blended.

Source: Allrecipes.com recipe submitted by Anna Marie.  Found here.

Notes: I added 3 tablespoons of sugar because I worried that it would be too spicy for my little boys.  It tasted fantastic.  As I mentioned before, it tasted more like a mole than an enchilada sauce, but it worked beautifully for these burritos.  It was really good.