Mexican

Turkey Tomatillo Lettuce Wraps

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Mexican food isn’t necessarily known for being healthy, and I know my preference for turning Mexican Monday into Pasta Night doesn’t follow many diets, but it is possible to turn Mexican Monday into Healthy Night. Most taco recipes can be turned into taco salads, or in this instance, a lettuce wrap!

I was excited to find this recipe and Mountain Mama’s blog where she partakes in Taco Tuesday. I hope to find more Mexican Monday inspirations from her as I explore her page.

I absolutely loved this recipe – it was fresh, healthy, and crispy. I think it’s genius to take a store bought salsa and add more fresh flavors to it.

If you don’t like using fresh lettuce as your taco shell, you can substitute soft or hard shell tacos.

Turkey Tomatillo Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4 C chicken stock
  • 1/2 large onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 1/3 C fresh cilantro
  • juice of 2 limes
  • 3/4 C tomatillo salsa
  • 1 head romaine lettuce
  • your favorite taco toppings, i.e. tomatoes, fresh onion, cheese, avocado

Steps:

  1. In a large non-stick skillet, heat olive oil in medium-high heat. When hot add ground turkey and season with S+P. Brown turkey, breaking up with a wooden spoon. After 5 minutes stir in chili powder, cumin, and oregano.
  2. In a food processor combine onion, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and salsa. Pulse until smooth. Add to the turkey. Cook another 5 minutes.
  3. Add chicken stock and cook let simmer another 2 minutes.
  4. Tear off lettuce leaves, fill with turkey, and top with your favorite taco toppings.

*This recipe is adapted from Kelley at http://www.mountainmamacooks.com/2014/01/cilantro-lime-turkey-taco-lettuce-wraps/?subscribe=success#blog_subscription-4*

Lettuce Wraps

Mexican Stuffed Shells

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

Mexican Monday is back! And it’s back with a trusty favorite recipe. Stuffed shells. I know, stuffed shells are typically an Italian dish, but I much prefer this Mexican spin to the traditional spinach and ricotta.

I’ve been making these stuffed shells for a couple years now, and was not disapointed to find that previous photographs weren’t exactly blog worthy. I’ve done these with both ground beef and ground turkey. Honestly, the turkey just doesn’t yield that same mouth-watering, need-to-grab-another stuffed shell result. But if you’re trying to cut back on red meat this year you can absolutely substitute turkey or chicken for the beef.

Shells

Meat Filling

Stuffed Shells

Mexican Stuffed Shells

The following recipe is for two casserole dishes worth of stuffed shells, which will feed 6-8 people.

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb ground beef
  • 4 tbsp taco seasoning
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1 box jumbo shells
  • 1 jar (16 oz) salsa
  • 1 jar (8 oz) taco sauce
  • 2 1/2 C shredded Mexican cheese
  • 3 scallions

Steps:

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. You don’t want them to be too soft so you can stuff them. Using a slotted spoon remove shells from water and place on wax paper. (You run the risk of breaking shells by straining like you would normal pasta.)
  2. Brown ground beef. Drain fat. Mix with taco seasoning and 2 C water. Cook until water is reduced. Mix in cream cheese until melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
  3. Divide salsa between two casserole dishes.
  4. Spoon about 1 tbsp of meat mixture into each shell. Place in casserole dishes.
  5. Top shells with taco sauce.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Top with cheese and bake another 10 minutes.
  7. Garnish with scallions. Serve with sour cream, salsa, or any other toppings you’d like.

*This recipe is adapted from Maeghan at http://www.thewaytohisheartblog.com/mexican-stuffed-shells/*

Mexican Stuffed Shells 1 Mexican Stuffed Shells 2 Mexican Stuffed Shells 3

Mexican Risetti

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

For Mexican Monday I am happy and proud to share with you one of my original recipes.

Food Network challenge... acceptedIn January of 2011 Food Network magazine had an Iron Chef type challenge using the secret ingredient Spaghetti. I had an idea, I made it, and I submitted my recipe to Food Network. I didn’t win, or at least I don’t think I won, it’s been over two years and I still haven’t seen the winner announced!

I decided to break up the spaghetti and make a mock risotto. To add even more of a twist I opted to use Mexican flavors instead of Italian. I used a Mexican beer in place of white wine, chorizo as my meat, and Mexican blend cheese instead of Parmesan.

Mexican Risetti Steps

An Original Recipe

Mexican Risetti

Makes 2-3 Servings

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 lb spaghetti, broken
  • 2 links Mexican chorizo, casings removed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 Spanish onion, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, deseeded
  • 3/4 bottle light Mexican beer
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 C chicken broth
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • handful fresh cilantro, chopped (plus more for garnish)
  • 3/4 – 1 C shredded Mexican-blend cheese
  • zest of 1/2 lime

Steps:

  1. In a non-stick skillet over medium heat, brown chorizo in olive oil. When cooked, remove from the pan and set aside on a paper towel lined plate. Leave the drippings in the skillet.
  2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add in the butter. Add garlic once butter is melted. After 30 seconds add in the broken spaghetti. Toast for 2 minutes. Add onion and jalapeno. Saute until onions are translucent.
  3. Deglaze the pan with the beer. Add in oregano. When beer is absorbed, add chicken broth in about four stages, allowing the broth to be absorbed before each addition of liquid.
  4. After pasta is al dente add in diced tomato, cilantro, and the cooked chorizo. Let warm through and melt in the cheese. Garnish with lime zest and cilantro.

Mexican Risetti

Candy Corn Inspired Fajitas

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Disclaimer: There were no candy corns harmed in the making of these fajitas.

I wanted to bring my candy corn theme to Mexican Monday and I felt the best way to do this was with bell peppers and onion and the best way to showcase the candy corn colors was through fajitas. Using this platform, the white, orange, and yellow aren’t hidden within closed tortillas or underneath melted cheese.

Steak Fajitas

Ingredients:

  • 4 tbsp olive oil, divided use
  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo, chopped
  • 1 tsp adobo sauce (from can of chipotle peppers)
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 1/2 tsp cumin, divided use
  • 2 1/2 tsp chili powder, divided use
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 1/2 lb flank steak, sliced on the bias into strips
  • 1/2 large white onion, sliced
  • 1 orange bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

Steps:

  1. Make marinade: combine 2 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, onion powder, garlic, Worcestershire, chipotle pepper and adobo sauce.
  2. Season steak with S+P and toss in the marinade for at least 30 minutes.
  3. Toss onions and bell peppers in 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 1/2 tsp chili powder, S+P. Saute vegetables in 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. When tender remove from skillet and keep warm.
  4. In the same skillet, cook the steak to desired doneness.
  5. Serve with sour cream and cheese.

*This recipe is modified from Rachel at http://www.thestayathomechef.com/2013/05/flank-steak-fajitas.html*

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Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

This taco recipe is probably the most popular taco recipe on foodgawker! After making this dish it’s obvious why – you couldn’t come across a simpler recipe! 3 ingredients, set it and forget it. Except that you can’t forget it because your kitchen will start to smell like a Mexican restaurant. I don’t suggest making this when you’re home all day – it’ll just make you hungry!

Stuart has been raving about last month’s Healthy Chicken Tacos so I served my tacos with the same avocado lime sauce.

The shredded chicken also makes for great nacho meat. For lunch the next day I took Tostido’s Scoops, topped them with chicken and cheese, popped it in the microwave for 25 seconds and dipped in salsa!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

Ingredients:

  • 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 16 oz jarred salsa
  • 1 oz taco seasoning

Steps:

  1. Place chicken in slow cooker. Sprinkle with taco seasoning and cover with salsa. Cook on LOW 6 hours.
  2. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred.
  3. Assemble tacos with desired toppings: sour cream guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese.

*This recipe is adapted from Sarah at http://www.mychocolatetherapy.com/2012/01/crockpot-chicken-tacos.html*

Slow Cooker Tacos Slow Cooker Tacos

Healthy Chicken Tacos

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

Mexican Monday has been in need of a healthy make over. This recipe from Cooking Light is very simple, very quick and full of flavor. The chicken gets its smokey warmth from ancho chili powder and is accompanied by a bright, crunchy slaw.

On a side note, I picked up a package of organic free range chicken breasts for this dinner. They were considerably smaller than the chicken breasts I normally pick up – about half the size! These two breasts yielded 5 tacos. If I used the average antibiotic treated chicken I could have gotten 8 tacos. I am tempted to now pay a little more for organic chicken because the difference in taste was like night and day. I was surprised.

Healthy Chicken Tacos

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb chicken breasts, cut into strips
  • 3/4 tsp ancho chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • zest of 1 lime
  • juice of 2 limes, divided use
  • 1/4 C sour cream
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 2 C packaged cole slaw
  • 1/2 C sliced scallions
  • 1/4 C chopped cilantro
  • 1 tbsp canola oil
  • taco sized flour tortillas

Steps:

  1. Season chicken with chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, S+P. In a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat cook chicken in olive oil until cooked through.
  2. In a blender, puree sour cream, milk, avocado, zest and juice of 1 lime. Mix until smooth.
  3. In a large bowl toss together slaw, scallion, cilantro, juice of 1 lime, and canola oil. Season with salt to taste.
  4. Assemble tacos and enjoy!

*This recipe is adapted from Maureen at http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/ancho-chicken-tacos-50400000111963/*

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Chorizo Mac and Cheese

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

I have another chorizo pasta combination for Mexican Monday. And although it makes quite a few more dishes and requires more ingredients than my previous Chorizo Carbonara, I am addicted to this one.

When I day dream about this dish – yes, I actually do this – I get hungry. The leftovers are even just as delicious as when it first comes out of the oven. And I’m not very big on leftovers, pastas in particular always take on a new rubbery texture, but not these!

There are also so many ways you could change this up and make it your own: use a different meat product, add peppers or chilies for heat, serve alongside guacamole, salsa or sour cream for extra creaminess with each bite. Is it time to eat yet?

Chorizo Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

  • 2 C uncooked macaroni noodles
  • 1 C shredded Mexican cheese
  • 1 C shredded pepper jack cheese
  • 1 tsp of corn starch
  • 1 C milk
  • 2 links Mexican chorizo, casings removed
  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • 1 heaping tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp bread crumbs
  • olive oil, for drizzling

Steps:

  1. Cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  3. In a bowl, combine cheeses and corn starch. Set aside.
  4. Warm milk in a small sauce pan over low heat – do not bring to a boil.
  5. Brown chorizo in a sauce pan – breaking it up like you would ground beef. Add in onion and cook until translucent. Sprinkle in flour and stir. Slowly add in warm milk, stirring after each addition. It will begin to turn into a beautiful pale orange sauce. Melt in cheeses a handful at a time, stirring. Mix in drained cooked pasta.
  6. Pour pasta into a greased casserole dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil. Bake 25 minutes.

*This recipe is adapted from Elise at http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chorizo_mac_and_cheese/*

Chorizo Mac and Cheese 2Come join Mac and Cheese Mania at Nutmeg Nanny and Rachel Cooks sponsored by Door to Door Organics and OXO!

Chorizo Carbonara

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

I didn’t plan my weekly menu over the weekend so therefore didn’t have a grocery list to go shopping either. My freezer was devoid of protein (one chicken breast and a pound of bacon) so we made a quick pit stop at the local Winn-Dixie with the intention of only buying some meat – whatever was BOGO that week. Even though chorizo was not on sale, Stuart wanted it (if you want to save money, leave your husband at home).

Because I didn’t want to rush back to the grocery store, I had to find a chorizo recipe where I had all of the ingredients on hand. I stumbled upon this Chorizo Carbonara. Chorizo Carbonara 1

This recipe might be the simplest Mexican Monday dinner yet! It only takes 4 ingredients and 10 minutes. It’s a pasta dish, so you know I’m one happy girl!

Chorizo Carbonara

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 lb fettuccini pasta
  • 3 links Mexican chorizo, casing removed
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1/2 C heavy cream

Steps

  1. Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.
  2. Brown chorizo in a small, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon. Drain any excess fat.
  3. Whisk together egg yolks and heavy cream.
  4. Drain pasta. Using two forks, toss with cream mixture – make sure to do this quickly so as not to scramble the yolk and coat the pasta. Add in the chorizo.

*This recipe is adapted from Caroline at http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/04/chorizo-carbonara-recipe.html*

Chorizo Carbonara 2

Turkey Enchilada Meatloaf

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

What is more comforting than meatloaf? But what is also more boring than meatloaf? Not much. This meatloaf recipe gets a makeover into a Mexican Monday favorite. The refried beans keep the loaf moist and the pepperjack cheese gives it a slight kick. Top it with enchilada sauce and sour cream instead of ketchup or barbecue sauce and you’re in for a flavor overload.

In a pinch I have substituted taco sauce in place of the enchilada sauce and it gives it just a little bit more heat. I guess in that instance it’d be called Turkey Taco Meatloaf!

Turkey Enchilada Meatloaf

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lb ground turkey
  • 1 C refried beans
  • 1 C shredded pepperjack cheese
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 C breadcrumbs or panko
  • 1/2 tsp each chili powder and cumin
  • 1 C enchilada sauce (or taco sauce!)
  • 1/2 C sour cream
  • 1/2 C honey

Steps

  1. In a large bowl, combine turkey, beans, cheese, breadcrumbs, seasonings, egg, and salt and pepper. Put into a loaf pan, cover, and set in the fridge for at least 10 minutes. You can also prepare this the night before.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce, sour cream, and honey.
  4. Top meatloaf with about 1/2 – 3/4 of the sauce (save the remainder for leftovers or topping your meatloaf slices) before putting in the oven. Bake uncovered one hour.

*This recipe is adapted from Carrian at http://www.ohsweetbasil.com/2013/04/turkey-meatloaf-enchilada-style.html*

Turkey Enchilada Meatloaf 1 Turkey Enchilada Meatloaf 2 Turkey Enchilada Meatloaf 3