Queso Fresco Quesadillas

Living in AZ, we eat a lot of Mexican food. I bet at least 3 meals a week are Mexican inspired. I bought some yummy tortillas at Ranch Market here in Mesa, so I decided to make some quesadillas. These are different. Usually I make them with cheddar cheese and green chilies and refried beans if I have them. Tonight I decided to try something a bit lighter. With Queso Fresco cheese and fresh chives and cilantro, this is a fresh change to the normal quesadilla.

Queso Fresco Quesadillas

2 flour tortillas
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco cheese
1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 roma tomato, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp chopped cilantro
salsa and sour cream for serving

Preheat a cast iron skillet to Medium heat. Place 1 tortilla on skillet. Sprinkle crumbled queso fresco all about tortilla. Then sprinkle with chives and place tomato slices on top. Season with salt and pepper. Dont be shy with the S&P, queso fresco needs a lot of flavor. Place remaining tortilla on top and cook until cheese is melted. Flip and cook another 3-4 minutes, or until both sides are crisp and the cheese is all melted. Cut into wedges and serve with sour cream and fresh salsa.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

The other day I was hanging out with my friend Elisabeth and she had chicken tortilla soup in her crockpot. I got the craving for it right away and made it the very next day. The recipe she had was from our friend Kristen. I didn't have everything that hers called for, so I kind of winged it and it turned out just the way I like it. This is so versatile. You could put beans in it or anything you have on hand really.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

3 chicken breasts
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1(10 ounce) can enchilada sauce (I used a green sauce and it was so good)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chili peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cans of chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn

tortilla strips, sliced avocado, green onions, shredded cheese for serving.

Put everything into the crock pot and cook on low for 6 hrs. Remove chicken breasts and let cool. Shred them with a fork and return them to the crock pot and simmer another hour or as long as you need to until dinner. Put the tortilla crisps, avocado, green onions into a bowl and pour the soup over it. Top with cheese.

Chalupa and taco seasoning

Before I got married, my sisters gave me a really nice bridal shower. In the invitation was a card to bring a recipe for the bride. So, this is the recipe that my Mother in Law, Pat wrote out for me. It was Carl's favorite meal that his mom made when he was growing up. Ive had it a couple times when Pat made it, but I had no idea how EASY this is. And its so tasty! Pretty much anything served over Fritos chips would be yummy, but this is a really great, hearty, satisfying meal. You could probably sub beef or chicken in this and it would turn out really good. Pat's recipe calls for taco seasoning and since I didnt have any in the pantry that day, I got a recipe for it off of allrecipes.com and made my own! It was tasty and could easily be used in place of the taco seasoning envelopes you buy in the spice aisle in your store. Also, this recipe says to cook in a pan on the stove, but I threw everything into the crockpot and it came out wonderfully.

Chalupa (Pat Cunningham)

2-3lb boneless pork loin roast
1 lb pinto beans (soak overnight or bring to a boil, cover and turn off heat and let set 1 hr, drain and rinse beans)
2 packets of taco seasoning (or your could easily make your own)
1 can diced green chiles
salt to taste
1 bag of Fritos chips
grated cheddar cheese
sliced green onions
sour cream

In a large pot, add roast and beans. Cover with water and add taco seasoning mix and green chiles. Cook all day, take the meat out and let it cool, then shred it and return it to the pot. Simmer with top off to thicken it a bit. Serve over Fritos chips and garnish with cheese, green onions and sour cream.


Taco Seasoning (from allrecipes.com)

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

Mexican Pizza

Here is another great recipe from Allrecipes.com. I always find good ones on that site. This Mexican Pizza is a nice change from the same old tacos and tostadas we usually have for Mexican night. It is a lot like the Mexican Pizza at Taco Bell. The only thing I changed was that I used green chili enchilada sauce for the red sauce, since it was all I had on hand. I also didnt think that pizza sauce sounded very good on this. Also, I added taco seasoning to the ground beef, instead of just seasoning it with salt and pepper.

Mexican Pizza (from Allrecipes.)

• 8 (6 inch) Mission® Fajita Flour Tortillas, cooked into crispy tortillas
• 1 cup refried beans, prepared
• 1 pound ground beef, chuck, raw (with taco seasoning)
  
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 4 tablespoons pizza sauce, prepared (I used green chile sauce)
  
• 1 cup Mexican Cheese Blend, grated, prepared
• 1/2 cup Roma tomato, fresh, small chop
• 4 teaspoons cilantro, fresh, rough chopped

1. To make the Mission® Crispy Tortillas: Place all 8 tortillas directly on the oven rack of a 350 degrees F oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve on your work surface.
2. Heat the 1 cup of refried beans for 1 minute in the microwave to get hot and reserve for the recipe build.
3. Season the ground beef with salt and pepper and saute for 8 minutes in a non-stick pan, drain and reserve hot for the recipe build.
4. To build 1 Mexican Pizza: Place 1 crisp Mission® tortilla on work surface.
5. Evenly spread tortilla with 1/4 cup hot refried beans.
6. Evenly top refried beans with 1/4 (approximately 4 ounces) of the cooked ground beef.
7. Top ground beef with second crisp tortilla and evenly spread 1 heaping tablespoon of pizza sauce over the tortilla.
8. Evenly top the pizza sauce with 1/4 cup grated Mexican cheese blend and 2 tablespoons chopped tomatoes.
9. Repeat steps 1 through 5 for remaining 3 servings.
10. Place all 4 pizzas, at one time, in 350 degrees F oven on a cookie pan/flat pan, and bake for 2 minutes to melt the cheese. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro evenly over the top of each pizza. Serve each pizza whole.

Ortega Taco Casserole

Another recipe I spotted in a blog I read, Milk & Honey. Anyways, this is a pretty classic taco casserole. It came off the back of the Ortega Taco Shell box. Its been awhile since I tried a recipe off the box like this. It was actually very good. We ended up having company when I served this and I was happy when everyone kept telling me it was really good. I added green bell peppers to the onions when I was browning the meat and instead of green chilies, I added sliced black olives. Then I served it with fresh tomatoes and green onions and sour cream. We had a nice big green salad with this too. It was good and there were no leftovers. A nice change from regular tacos.

Ortega Taco Casserole (original recipe)

1 pound ground beef
1 cup (1 small) chopped onion (I also added 1 cup diced bell pepper)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cup water

1 cup Taco Sauce

1 4 oz can sliced black olives
1 package Taco Seasoning Mix

1 package (12) Ortega® Taco Shells or (12) Ortega® White Corn Taco Shells, broken, divided
2 cups Mild Cheddar Cheese, divided

Chopped tomatoes (optional)

Sliced green onions (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 375º F.

1. Cook beef, onion (and bellpeppers) and garlic in a large saucepan until beef is browned.


2. Stir in water, taco sauce, chilies, 1/4 cup olives and seasoning mix.


3. Let this simmer over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes.


4. Lay out half of the broken shells on the bottom of a greased 12 x 8-inch baking dish.


5. Cover with half of the meat sauce. Sprinkle with 1 cup cheese, then repeat with remaining taco shells, meat sauce and cheese to create layers of the different ingredients.


6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.


7. Top the casserole with tomatoes and green onions and sour cream.

Delicious Taco Salad

This is one of my favorite summer time recipes. Ive loved this salad since I first learned to make it over 10 yrs ago. Any French or Catalina dressing will work, but Dorothy Lynch is the best. If you don't like French or Catalina dressing, then you can omit it and use salsa instead.

Original recipe from Beth Werner.

1 lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1 head of lettuce, chopped
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
2 tomatoes, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 can sliced olives, drained
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 of a large bag of tortilla chips, crushed
3/4 cup Dorothy Lynch Home Style Dressing
sour cream and salsa for serving

Cook the ground beef until browned, then drain off fat. Add taco seasoning and 3/4 cup water and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes. While the meat is cooling, combine lettuce, beans, cheese, tomatoes, avocado and olives in a large bowl. Crush 1/2 bag of tortilla chips and add to the salad mixture. Add dressing, meat and cheese and toss until everything is well combined. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some salsa on the side.

Black Bean Confetti Salad

In another blog that I read, Smitten Kitchen, there was a post about 30 ways to be a great guest and it had pics of 30 salads or things to bring to a party. This one jumped out at me. It reminds me of a salad that my Aunt Viola brought to a recent family party. We decided that we are grilling all weekend and I thought this salad would be perfect with the Grilled Tequila Lime Shrimp we are also having. It is light and fresh and healthy and full of flavor. I love it. This salad can be a dip for chips or just a great dish on its own. I halved the recipe, but kept the original amount of dressing, since I always like extra dressing. I didnt have ground cayenne so I added 2 tsp Franks Red Hot sauce. I added grilled corn and 2 Tbsp of orange juice to give it some sweetness. I also used 2 limes instead of 1. I felt like it was almost perfect, but needed something else sweet. Maybe next time I will add a diced up mango. I also think it would be divine with some avocado. This is so versatile! I will definitely make this one again and again.

Adapted from this recipe

Black Bean Confetti Salad

2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and well-rinsed
4 bell peppers, a mix of colors, chopped into a small dice
1/2 super-large or 1 medium white onion, chopped into a small dice
1/2 cup cooked grilled corn from the cob, cooled.
Juice of 2 limes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (I used 2 tsp Franks Red Hot sauce, but we like some heat)
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Mix beans, bell peppers and white onion and corn in a large bowl. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk remaining ingredients into a vinaigrette. Ideally, you’ll have a 1/2 cup of dressing. Pour it over the bean mixture, toss it well and adjust seasonings to taste. Serve by itself as a salad, or as a dip with chips, or even as a topping on a green salad.

Southwestern Grilled Chicken Salad

Last night at dinner Carl and I were talking about how much we love grilled food. So we decided to make it a point to use the grill more, now that its hot. Might as well keep the heat outside, instead of in my kitchen. So after making that delicious shrimp the other day, we were craving something like that again. I decided to go for a salad with grilled chicken and other ingredients I had on hand, including the left over cob of corn that was grilled along with the shrimp the other night. I just love grilled corn, shaved off the cob and added to salads. For the chicken, I marinated it in tequila, olive oil, lime, garlic and salt and pepper and a dash of hot sauce. This would have been awesome with some jicama and crushed tortilla chips, but we didnt have jicama and we are trying to count calories right now for swim suit season. YAY.

1 lb grilled chicken, cut up.
2-3 romaine hearts, chopped
1 cup corn (fresh off the cob is best)
1 cup black beans, rinsed
1 avacado, diced
1 sm can black olives
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tomato, diced
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
sour cream and salsa or whatever dressing you like.

Toss everything together. Serve with salsa, or ranch dressing.

Migas Arizona Style

I had never even heard of Migas until the other day when I was reading Homesick Texan. She had the most beautiful recipe for a Tex-Mex breakfast I have ever seen. Growing up and living in Arizona, I have always loved Mexican food and foods from the Southwest. I was suprised that Migas are such a staple for breakfast in Texas since Ive never heard of it. I had most of the ingredients on hand so I decided to try out my own version and see how it went. I have to say it was absolutly delicious!!! It was kind of like Juevos Rancheros with suprises of crispy fried corn tortilla in every bite! So good! You have to try this one out. I just love this pic below with Charlie watching me cook. I get him all set up in his highchair like that so I can cook and keep an eye on him at the same time:)


Migas AZ Style

4 eggs
2 Tbsp whole milk
2 corn tortillas, cut into 1 inch thick strips
2 Tbsp peanut oil
3 green onions with stems, chopped
2 Tbsp canned chopped green chilis
1/4-1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper
salsa and sour cream to taste
hot flour tortillas for serving

Whisk the eggs with the milk and salt and pepper and set aside. In a skillet, heat peanut oil until hot, then fry tortillas for a couple minutes turning once. Add onions to the pan and let cook for a minute. Add eggs and let cook until set on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Stir the eggs gently, breaking up the tortillas a bit. When the eggs are almost done, add the green chilis and top with cheese. Let it melt and stir it, then top with a bit more cheese. Serve it with cilantro, salsa and sour cream to taste.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

I know that it isnt really hot soup weather. But when is it here in Phoenix? I still crave soup on 100 degree days. This is a recipe I found on AllRecipes.com
It is sooo easy. It takes 5 minutes to prepare. The biggest effort is chopping the onion.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

Shrimp Ceviche

Tonight we had Carl's sister Audrey and her husband LaRue over for dinner. Carl requested that we have ceviche. I had made a great ceviche last year, but could not find the recipe anywhere. So I posted on The Nest that I was looking for a recipe and Nest Colleen, who writes a Dinner Q&A posted this recipe. I followed it almost to a tee, except I only used 1/2 the bunch of cilantro and I added about 1 tsp of Cholula hotsauce to give it a kick. Also, I used a yellow onion instead of a red one, because that was all I had on hand. Also, I didnt do the olive oil, just because I forgot all about it until later. It was still great! I served it with home made tostada shells. We had it for our main course and it was perfect. Light and healthy. Next time I will double the recipe because we had no leftovers. Ceviche is even better the next day! We will definately be having this one in the future! Everyone loved it!

Mike & Jan Thompson's Shrimp Ceviche

1 pound medium shrimp
3 limes, juiced
3 lemons, juiced
1 orange, juiced
1/2 cup seeded tomatoes cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/2 cup red onion cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 bunch cilantro, stemmed and chopped
1 Serrano chili, roughly chopped
1 large Hass avocado, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
large cucumber peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 ripe mango peeled and diced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Tortilla chips

In a large pot of boiling water, add the shrimp and simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a bowl of ice water to chill.

Drain the shrimp, cut into 3/4-inch pieces and transfer to a bowl. Add the lime, lemon and orange juice, stir to combine and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Stir the tomato,onion, cilantro, salt and chili into shrimp mixture and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Prior to serving, stir in the avocado, cucumber and mango. Drizzle the olive oil over the mixture, stir gently and serve with tortilla chips.

Tasty Lentil Tacos

I decided to enter my first food blog cooking challenge. Its called Recipe Remix and its all about cooking outside of the box. Basically, there are 5 different main dishes that are normal everyday foods in the US. I picked Tacos and set out to find a taco recipe that was different than anything I had ever tried. I found this recipe for Tasty Lentil Tacos from Allrecipes and I knew I needed to try these. I followed the recipe exactly, except we made them into tostadas since I already had tostada shells on hand and no taco shells. Also, the lentils needed to cook 20 minutes longer to get soft enough to mash so I needed to add more chicken broth to keep them cooking right. All in all, this turned out very good. It is definately not a subsitute for meat. Its just different. We really enjoyed these and they are a nice, light version of tacos. I will definatly make these in the future for some of my family members that I know LOVE lentils.

1 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup salsa
12 taco shells
1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup chopped fresh tomato
1 1/2 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
6 tablespoons fat free sour cream

In a large nonstick skillet, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the lentils, chili powder, cumin and oregano; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Uncover; cook for 6-8 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Mash lentils slightly.

Stir in salsa. Spoon about 1/4 cup lentil mixture into each taco shell. Top with lettuce, tomato, cheese and sour cream.