Mexican Monday

Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

This Mexican Monday post is the first Mexican Monday meal I prepared in our new Ohio home. With a little one to care for and a house to turn into a home, I happily let my slow cooker do the work for me.

This creamy, saucy, shredded chicken goes great over top a pile of rice. It’s a hearty meal perfect for when the days and nights start to get a little colder.

This dish provides wonderful leftovers too (and I don’t say that lightly) – remake some rice or even turn it into another Mexican Monday favorite – enchiladas, tacos, or quesadillas. I even scooped it up with some tortilla chips.

The original recipe called for a can of Rotel, but as I’m breastfeeding and trying to avoid too spicy of food I substituted a partial can of diced tomatoes with garlic and onion. Next time I’d even add in a can of corn!

Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (10.75 oz) cream of chicken soup
  • 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes with garlic and onion
  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 red onion, chopped
  • 2 large chicken breasts
  • 1 C sour cream

Steps:

  1. In a slow cooker, combine cream of chicken soup, tomatoes, beans, and onion.
  2. Season chicken with S+P. Add to slow cooker.
  3. Cook on LOW 7 hours.
  4. Shred chicken and return to the slow cooker. Stir in sour cream.
  5. Serve over rice.

*This recipe is adapted from Sarah at http://themagicalslowcooker.com/2014/08/16/slow-cooker-fiesta-chicken-bake/*

Fiesta Chicken

Sweet Potato and Chorizo Hand Pies

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

After a month of quilting posts it’s time for the return of Mexican Monday.

This dinner was the first dinner I made after having my son. My mom was back for two weeks to help out and spend lots of time with her first grandchild, and then we had friends make dinner for us, and I had a couple freezer friendly slow cooker dishes prepared.

It may have been a little ambitious to tackle something this time consuming, but my husband was home and able to help keep our son satisfied. I was able to make the dough and get the sweet potatoes in the oven before needing to feed Wesley. And while he was napping I cooked up the chorizo. Later in the day, after the dough had chilled I started assembling the hand pies. I did have to swap out with Stuart so Wesley could eat – and I am thankful for his help in assembling!

The original recipe suggested using a 5-6″ round cookie cutter and folding the hand pies in half moons. I don’t have a round cookie cutter, so I used a glass – which I do with pierogi. But because there’s more filling in these hand pies than in my pierogi, I wasn’t able to fold them into half moons. So I created full circle hand pies by placing another circle of dough on top of the filling. (Good thing I doubled the recipe!)

Sweet Potato and Chorizo Hand Pies 1

Sweet Potato and Chorizo Hand Pies

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 C flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt, divided use
  • 2 sticks butter, cold and cubed
  • 1/2 C cold water
  • 2 sweet potatoes
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 lb chorizo
  • 1/2 – 3/4 C shredded Mexican blend cheese
  • 1 egg

Steps:

  1. Make the pie crust: In a food processor pulse together the flour and 1 tsp salt. Add in the cubed, cold butter and pulse until it becomes crumbly. Stream in the cold water until the dough comes together around the blade. Remove, wrap in plastic, and chill in fridge at least 2 hours.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  3. Poke holes with a fork in the sweet potatoes. Place in oven and bake 40-50 minutes, until soft. Remove and place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside until cool enough to touch. Peel away the skin and mash potatoes. Stir in the cumin, cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp salt. Set aside.
  4. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown chorizo. Breaking up with a wooden spoon. When cooked through, drain fat and set aside.
  5. Make egg wash by beating the egg with 1 tsp water.
  6. Roll out dough on a clean, floured surface to 1/8″ thickness. Using a cookie cutter or glass cut out circles. Top dough with sweet potato, chorizo, and shredded cheese. Rub egg wash around the edge of the dough and either fold into half moon or top with another circle of dough. Press hand pie closed with a fork. Cut a slit in the top of the hand pie, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle lightly with salt. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  7. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden.

*This recipe is adapted from Kelley at http://www.mountainmamacooks.com/2014/03/sweet-potato-and-chorizo-hand-pies/*

Sweet Potato and Chorizo Hand Pies 2

Hummus Tostadas

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

A couple of weekends ago we went to the Destin Harbor Farmer’s Market. It was a small market with some beautiful selections. I love going to farmer’s markets because my “artistic” camera self comes out. The vibrancy of fresh produce makes me happy and I love taking close ups of the fruits on display.

Destin Harbor Farmer's Market

It was sweat-dripping hot that morning, and one of the venders definitely profited from the weather. Her Swell Pops hit the spot. Stuart got the Vanilla Bean and I enjoyed a Strawberry Balsamic.

Swell Pops

Across the way was The Greek Gourmet selling homemade hummus. Hummus is one of my go-to afternoon snacks, but I’ve never tried making my own. (Yes, I am aware it’s simple to do and it’s on my culinary bucket list.) There were great flavor options and we walked away with two containers! Original, which features a nice kick of garlic, and Spicy Black Bean.

What does all of this have to do with Mexican Monday? I’ll give you a hint. Read the last three words of the above paragraph.

We used this Spicy Black Bean Hummus in place of refried beans in making tostadas. And it worked beautifully. This hummus gets its kick from jalapenos. Because I knew the hummus was spicy I opted for a mellow protein to top our tostadas. I pulled out the crockpot, seasoned chicken with S+P, and dumped in some Rotel and cream cheese. We shredded it and enjoyed our Mexican Monday on Tostada Tuesday (I forget what was happening on Monday that required a postponement of our Mexican dinner.)

I appologize that we don’t have photos of this meal (sometimes hunger wins out), but next time you’re thinking of tostadas, get creative with your toppings! You could even turn them completely Greek and use original hummus with more classic Greek toppings – like olives, feta, and grilled squash.

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

~ lk529 ~ 4 Comments

One of my favorite ways to incorporate salads into our menu is under the influence of Mexican Monday. Typically salads are just plain boring, but with big flavors in Mexican cuisine, no salad is ever boring. And creamy dressings are my favorite. This dressing gets a kick from the chipotle pepper in adobo, but is mellowed out by the sour cream and cilantro.

This salad makes for a great lunch or quick dinner – and can be assembled even more quickly if you have left over cooked chicken or stop at the store and pick up a rotisserie chicken from the deli. With black beans in the salad, you could even omit the chicken if desired for a Meatless Monday too.

For a little crunch in your salad, topped with crushed up tortilla chips or the tortilla strips salad topping from the store (they’re typically next to the packaged croutons).

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

Ingredients for dressing:

  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo*
  • 1/3 C packed fresh cilantro
  • 2/3 C sour cream
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • juice of 1 1/2 limes
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

*for a milder dressing remove seeds from pepper, for a spicier dressing include some of the adobo sauce

Ingredients for salad:

  • 1-2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
  • 1 head of lettuce, chopped
  • grape tomatoes, halved
  • red onion, thinly sliced
  • canned black beans, drained and rinsed
  • canned corn, drained and rinsed
  • avocado, diced
  • red bell pepper, thinly sliced

Steps:

  1. Season chicken with S+P. In a non-stick skillet, cook chicken over medium-high heat in a little bit of olive oil.
  2. Place dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender. Pulse until smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste.
  3. In a large bowl combine salad ingredients with cooked chicken. (Note: I didn’t specify amounts for the salad ingredients, use any or all to create your perfect salad!)
  4. Toss salad with as much dressing as desired.

*This recipe is adapted from David at http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chipotle-chicken-taco-salad-10000001215905/*

Chipotle Taco Salad

Beef and Bean Tostadas

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

I was first introduced to tostadas by really good friends of ours. They invited us over one Mexican Monday and I have to say it was nice to not be the one preparing our weekly tradition. They served tostadas. I’d never had them before, in fact I’d never heard of them! I’m sure I’ve seen them on menus at Mexican restaurants before but they clearly didn’t make a lasting impression.

A tostada is essentially a flat taco. So if you’re looking to mix up your Taco Tuesday this is a great alternative. The ingredients are the same, but the vessel is different. I actually think tostadas are easier to eat than crunchy tacos. My beef with crunchy tacos (see what I did there?) is that after the first bite you’re no longer holding a taco, if you’re lucky you’re still holding something. You now have a taco salad on the plate that was hopefully below you, otherwise you have a taco salad on your floor. But with a tostada, everything is “glued down” with refried beans. The vessel is flat, so when it does break apart, you still have at least half a tostada in your hand and what fell is still mostly in tact. The tostada is my solution to crunchy taco night!

An Original Recipe

Beef and Bean Tostadas

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 – 3/4 C water
  • crunchy yellow corn tostada shells
  • 1 can (16oz) refried beans
  • your favorite taco toppings: shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, tomato, scallion, etc

Steps:

  1. In a small bowl combine seasonings. (Alternately, you can use a 1 oz packet of taco seasoning.)
  2. In a nonstick skillet over medium high heat brown the beef. Drain any fat.
  3. Add the seasoning and water to the meat. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, and cook 5 minutes.
  4. Heat the refried beans.
  5. Assemble tostadas by spreading refried beans on a tostada shell, adding the meat, and any toppings you like!

Beef and Bean Tostadas

Blender Salsa

~ lk529 ~ 7 Comments

For Cinco de Mayo, which conveniently falls on a Monday, I wanted to do something traditional. If you’re a returning reader to Sew You Think You Can Cook you know that almost every Monday I feature a Mexican-inspired recipe for Mexican Mondays. How authentic my recipes are is very debatable, and I don’t pretend that they are. Most of what I make spins from the American version of Mexican cuisine. But for Cinco de Mayo I thought I’d pay tribute to the holiday.

Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day like most Americans believe. (Fun fact: Mexico’s Independence Day is September 16th) Cinco de Mayo is not a national Mexican holiday or even celebrated throughout the country. Oddly enough, the largest Cinco de Mayo celebration occurs in Los Angeles!

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla when the Mexican army defeated the French in 1862. Puebla is considered the melting pot of Mexico – Spanish, French, and the Oriental flavors were given to native Aztec and Mayan foods. While Puebla is known for it’s Mole Poblano I planned to prepare Chiles en Nogada (stuffed chiles in a walnut cream sauce), even it it’s not typically served until the fall when walnuts and pomegranates are in season.

Note I said planned to prepare?

Life got in the way. Weekends were spent out of town and Stuart was on travel (I wasn’t about to spend so much time and effort on a dish just for me). So my Plan B was to create a sweet traditionally found in Puebla – Jamoncillo Pinion.  The [translated] recipe looked simple enough. And then I was placed on bed rest. My mom generously offered to give it a shot. Somewhere along the way we failed at candy making. Whether something was lost in the translation or we were simply too impatient I’m not sure. But the candy never set – even after putting it in the freezer overnight. (Before I get in trouble, I am in no way blaming her! I’d be posting the same story if I were the one standing at the stove.)

So now what? I can’t NOT have a post on Cinco de Mayo!

With Cinco de Mayo being widely popular in the states and salsa being the number one condiment in America, why not a simple salsa?

Spicy Blender Salsa

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes and green chiles
  • 1/4 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, smashed and peeled
  • 1 small jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 1/4 C fresh cilantro
  • juice of 1 lime

Steps:

  1. Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until combined. Taste and adjust any seasonings if needed.

*This recipe is adapted from Kelley at http://www.mountainmamacooks.com/2012/01/quick-and-easy-blender-salsa/*

Spicy Blender Salsa

Stuart has now put a ban on all grocery store salsas and demands this be made every time instead.

Cinco de Mayo Recipe Round Up

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

With it still being my blog’s first year I’ve never been able to do a Recipe Round Up for a holiday before. But thanks to my Mexican Mondays I have plenty of suggestions for your Cinco de Mayo celebration!

Cinco de Mayo

Featured above:

  1. Mexican Stuffed Shells
  2. Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
  3. Three Bean Nachos
  4. Baby Baked Beef Burritos
  5. Chorizo Carbonara
  6. Protein Packed Southwestern Salad
  7. Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
  8. Corn Pepper Salsa Chicken Quesadilla

Other favorites:

  1. Turkey Enchilada Meatloaf
  2. Chorizo Mac and Cheese
  3. Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Salad
  4. Spicy Taco Cheese Soup

And my most popular Mexican Monday recipe: Healthy Chicken Tacos

Healthy Tacos

Chipotle Pulled Pork Tacos

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Hi,

So… I forgot to post on Mexican Monday yesterday…

As a result, you get the more popularly known Taco Tuesday.

Stuart picked out this recipe off of foodgawker to have on one of our Mexican Mondays, but I altered it by taking advantage of my slow cooker and using pork instead as it was on sale and chicken was not.

On this particular Monday we both had a long day at the office (due to the fact that we carpool), so the decision to use the slow cooker was even more clutch! And because we got home late and were very hungry, photos were not taken. I did think enough to snap a photo with the trusty iPhone. Please accept my apologies for the sorry photograph.

Chipotle Pulled Pork Tacos

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb boneless pork roast
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 3 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
  • lime

Steps:

  1. Place pork in slow cooker, fat side up. Trim some of the fat if desired.
  2. Top pork with onions, garlic, tomatoes, and chipotle peppers.
  3. Cook on LOW 4-5 hours.
  4. Shred the pork and return to the sauce and squeeze with the lime. Keep warm until ready to assemble tacos.

Chipotle Pulled Pork Tacos

SRC: Turkey Chorizo Burgers

~ lk529 ~ 26 Comments

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Today is my very first Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day! Each participating blogger is assigned a blog from another participating blogger and secretly searches their site for something to recreate. The accompanying blog post then goes live on reveal day! So while I was immersed in my assigned blog, someone else was picking through mine! I’m so excited to be part of this group, to see what on my blog peaks other’s interests and to stumble upon new blogs and new recipes.

For my first month participating I was assigned Lynsey’s blog Lynsey Lou’s. Lynsey has been married for six years (happy anniversary!) to a man she won over through food. Like me, she enjoys cooking most for her family and friends.  She learned how to cook from her family and enjoys experimenting in the kitchen. I have secretly pinned a few recipes from her blog to try out in the future, including: Pork Tenderloin with Cocoa Crust, Raspberry Cream Cheese Pie, and Grilled Chicken and Spinach Salad with Spicy Pineapple Dressing.

Even though SRC Reveal Day is on a Monday I didn’t want to limit myself to finding only Mexican recipes. But Lynsey had this burger recipe that I just knew I had to recreate! Lynsey and her family absolutely love burgers, and as they’re one of my favorite foods too I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make one. Especially considering I don’t have any burger recipes on my blog yet! Other than my Frisco Melt recreation where I confess to being a terrible burger maker. Here’s to hoping I can do Lynsey’s recipe justice!

Turkey Chorizo Burger

When we were in Birmingham in January we went to Flip Burger Boutique where Stuart inhaled their Chorizo Burger, by which I mean I took two bites of my burger before I could even ask to try his! The Chorizo Burger came with a fried egg on top, so I decided to add that to her recipe. (I even put cheese on mine – and I normally omit cheese on burgers!)

This burger was a huge hit. Stuart was halfway through his burger before I finished assembling mine! We made this recipe after Daylight Savings Time so the sun was still out when we got home – providing for a prefect evening grilling burgers in the almost-spring weather.

Turkey Chorizo Burgers

Ingredients:

  • 1 poblano pepper
  • 1 C mayonnaise
  • 2 cloves garlic, divided use
  • juice of half a lime
  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 3 links Mexican chorizo, casings removed
  • 1 1/2 tsp Creole seasoning
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 4 slices pepper jack cheese
  • Spinach
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 hamburger buns

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Place poblano pepper on a foil lined baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, flipping every five minutes to create an even char. Remove pepper and place in glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit ten minutes. Peel skin and remove the stem and seeds. Roughly chop poblano and place in food processor along with mayo, 1 clove garlic, lime juice, and S+P. Puree.
  3. In a large bowl combine meats, 1 clove minced garlic, and seasonings. Divide into quarters and form into patties.
  4. Grill patties until cooked through to 160 degrees F, about 7 minutes on each side. In the last minutes of cook time top each patty with cheese. Spread buns with a little bit of oil and place on grill, if desired.
  5. Before assembling burgers fry eggs in a little bit of oil.
  6. Assemble burgers by putting chile mayo on each bun, top with spinach, burger, and fried egg.

*This recipe is modified from Lynsey at http://www.lynseylous.com/2012/07/turkey-and-chorizo-burgers-with-green.html*

Turkey Chorizo Burger

To see the other bloggers who participated in the Secret Recipe Club this month click here:

Eating the Bible: The Voice of Wisdom

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Tonight’s story comes from the Book of Numbers.  In it, Balaam’s donkey is given the gift of speech to inform him of an an angel along their path. Three times in the story does the donkey obey the angel and stop, and three times Balaam beats the donkey; it is then that God “opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you that you have struck me on these three occasions?'” (Numbers 22:28) God then opens Balaam’s eyes so that he can also see the angel in the road.

The biggest question out of this story is why could the donkey feel the presence of the angel while the sorcerer could not?

It is a question that, reworded, can be applied to your faith. Do I feel the presence of God? Am I obeying Him? This story shows that it isn’t only the powerful who are aware of the Lord. It is a reminder to keep your heart open to His touch.

In Eating the Bible, Rena made Three-Bean Burritos to accompany this story. Using three types of beans signifies the three attempts the donkey made to make Balsaam aware of the angel. And because burro means donkey in Spanish, she thought that burritos would be a good meal choice. I decided to detour from her recipe and create Thee-Bean Nachos instead. (I had a craving for Moe’s nachos…) So for us this week, Mexican Monday happened on Wednesday!

Three Bean Nachos

Three-Bean Nachos

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 C canned light red kidney beans, drained (liquid reserved)
  • 1/2 C canned pinto beans, drained (liquid reserved)
  • 1/2 C canned black beans, drained and rinsed
  • tortilla chips
  • 1 C shredded cheese
  • toppings: shredded lettuce, diced tomato, diced red onion, sour cream, queso, etc

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. In a nonstick skillet saute onion and garlic over medium-high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Once onion is translucent reduce heat to low and add the beans. Gently mash the beans with some of the reserved liquid until you reach a desired consistency. (I opted to keep it pretty chunky)
  3. Place a layer of nachos on an oven proof dish (i.e.: baking sheet, casserole dish, cast iron skillet) top with bean mixture and shredded cheese. Place in oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve with desired toppings.

Three Bean Nachos 2

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