Homemade Mexican Rice

If there's one recipe online that's almost impossible to find, it's Mexican rice! No one can quite seem to get it done like the restaurants do. I've come up with a version that is pretty close, and easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 cup long grain rice
1 14 oz can of reduced sodium chicken broth
1 tsp of each: paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, ground coriander, chile powder, cayenne, cumin, salt and pepper.


Directions:

1) Add rice, chicken broth, spices and 2 cups of water to a small sauce pan. Cook according to rice instructions.  Serve, and enjoy!

Oven Baked Fish Tacos with a Light Lime Cream Sauce

Another Tuesday, another Mexican recipe! My fiance actually requested fish for dinner! It's a rare occasion, so I gladly obliged. He asked for fish tacos. I've made them a few times before using recipes I found online, and they've turned out good, but I was in the mood for something simple and delicious. I swear, sometimes recipes are made into such complicated events when really all you need is found in your fridge/pantry.

I bought tilapia, and used spices that I had on hand to marinate. Same with the sauce. Used a light sour cream, and seasoned with about the same spices. Stefan took one bite and growled out a YUM! I asked on a scale of 1 - 10, how good were they compared to the other fish tacos I've made...he said a '10 compared to all the fish tacos I've had'. That's always a good sign! I served these along with a side of pinto beans and my homemade Mexican rice. I'll post the recipe for that after.

Ingredients:

For the fish:

1 lb tilapia
1 lime
1 Tbsp olive oil
a sprinkling of the following spices: garlic powder, onion powder, ground coriander, chili powder, cayenne powder, paprika

For the sauce:

1/2 cup light sour cream
1 lime
a sprinkling of the same spices from above, to taste

Directions:

1) Sprinkle both sides of talapia with the spices above. Place into zip lock back and squeeze in the juice of 1 lime and the olive oil. Place in the fridge for a couple hours to marinate.

2) Mix together all the spices and lime juice with the sour cream. Adjust spices to taste.

3) Pre-heat oven to 400F. Wrap up the fish filets in aluminum foil to create air tight pouches for them. Place them in the oven and back for 20 minutes, or until the fish is cooked and flaky. Remove the fish from the pouches and lay on paper towels to drain some of the juices.

4) Place the fish on top of favorite tortillas, top with the sauce and whatever other toppings you like. We used cabbage, guacamole and Tapatio. Delish!

Serves: about 2-3
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Chicken and Black Bean Enchilangas

Enchilangas? Chimiladas? I wanted to use some leftover chicken from a rotisserie chicken to make some enchiladas..but I had seen a quick video at Costco on their TV's, which is where we got the rotisserie, about making baked chimichangas. I liked the idea of having that crispy tortilla, but love enchilada sauce, so I decided to make a combination. I don't think it could've turned out any better. My future hubby said it was better than the Mexican taqueria we usually go to on Tuesday nights. That's always nice to hear!

This really did come together pretty quickly and cleanly for a week night meal. I cooked the filling while Stefan was still finishing up with work and getting ready for the gym. Then when we got back from the gym, all I had to do was stuff, roll and bake. I'm not sure I'll make enchiladas without the chimichanga part again.

Since there were beans in the enchilanga's, I didn't bother cooking a side of rice or beans. Just had some chips to dip into guacamole and salsa. By the way, I found the BEST new store bought fresh style salsa: Marcella Valladolid. I got this at Safeway; if you can find it, buy it.  The medium was pretty spicy, which we like. I also used this brand for flour tortillas. They seemed thin, like restaurant style, but puffed and crunched up nicely in the oven.  And when avocados' aren't ripe when you need them, Sabra brand or Wholly Guacamole are always good store bought guacs.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil, plus a little more for brushing
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz shredded chicken breast
1 cup black beans
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp chile powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 cup reduced fat shredded mexican blend cheese
6 taco sized tortillas
Enchilada sauce, I used Hatch brand, which I think is the best canned sauce

Optional toppings:

Guacamole
Sour cream
Salsa

Directions:

1) In a saute pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onions and cook until soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cook about a minute more.

2) Stir in chicken, beans, broth, and tomato sauce. Add seasonings and stir until heated through. Turn off heat and allow mixture to cool a bit. (This is when I covered the lid and we went to the gym. You could always pour mixture into a bowl and set in fridge for a few minutes) Once cool, stir in cheese.

3) Pre-heat oven to 400F. Split the mixture into 6 part onto the tortillas. Fold in the top and bottom parts, then roll in the sides. Place seam side down onto a greased cooking sheet.

4) Lightly brush on olive oil onto the tortillas.

5) Bake Enchilangas for 20-25 mins, until the tortillas have a light brown crustyness to them.

6) Pour some enchilada sauce onto a plate to lightly cover. Place the enchilangas on the plate, then top them with your choice of toppings. Serve and enjoy!

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Serves: 6

Stove Top Pork Tenderloin Chile Verde

I know I already did a chilie verde recipe, but that was in the slow cooker. Last week I had a craving for chilie verde while I was at work, and didn't have the 8 hours needed to put it in the crock pot. So I did things a little differently, but it still turned out just as delicious. This meal fed us while watching game 6 of the World Series, so I needed quick and easy. 

I decided to serve these 'restaurant style,' served on a plate with beans and mexican style rice.(I cooked white rice with chicken broth, and added coriander, cumin, cayenne, chile powder and paprika) On the side with tortillas, sour cream, guacamole.

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin, fat trimmed and cubed into 1 inch chunks.

2 cups verde salsa, I used Herdez brand

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp ground coriander 

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chile powder

2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1) Sprinkle the spices over the cubed pork, covering evenly.

2) Heat up the oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Sautee the pork until all sides are browed, about 5 minutes. 

3) Add the verde salsa, enough to cover the pork, about 2 cups. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn on low to simmer for 1.5 hours.

4) Shed or keep cubed, serve and enjoy!

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 1 hour 40 mins

Serves: 4

Ground Turkey Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini

Boy oh boy was last weekend full of so much fun! And also so much eating... After a good week of clean eating, it all went downhill fast. It all started with Friday..getting off early to watch the Giants play in their first NLDS game (they won, yay!) This whole day and night was spent celebrating. Saturday was a little calmer, but more Giants (they won, yay!) Then Sunday football (Raiders didn't lose, yay! but they didn't even play...) is always full of eating and drinking and watching TV. Then we find out Sunday night that we got tickets to the Giants game on Monday, which was amazing! (Giants lost, boo) but we had such a great day in SF with a lot more of eating and drinking. While we did get to the gym 2 of these 4 days, the amount of food and alcohol we consumed totally outweighed it. But instead of giving up, we turned it around. Starting with an hour at the gym Tuesday night, watching the Giants (They won the NLDS, yay! Onto to the NLCS!), and eating a light and delicious dinner.

Another Tuesday went by where we didn't feel like going to our favorite taqueria. We needed something lighter and healthier, but still delicious and easy to make for a work night.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Olive oil
1/2  yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground turkey breast
4 large zucchini's
1 packet taco seasoning
1 10oz can of enchilada sauce
3/4 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese blend

Optional toppings:

Guacamole
Reduced fat sour cream
Salsa
Hot sauce

Directions:

1) Cut zucchini's in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds and some flesh leaving room for filling. Microwave the zucchini's for 2 mins in the microwave. Pour enough enchilada sauce to lightly cover the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish. Place the zucchini's in the dish.

2) Heat up the oil on medium-high heat. Saute the garlic and onions until they just start to soften. Add in the turkey, breaking it up as it browns. Once browned, follow the instruction on the taco seasoning packet: add 3/4 cup water and seasoning to the pan, bring to a boil then simmer for 4 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of enchilada sauce to the meat mixture.

3) Pre-heat oven to 375. Ladle the turkey mixture into the zucchini's filling up as much as you can. Sprinkle the top with cheese, then pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the zucchini's. Cover with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes.

4) Take out and plate, top with desired toppings and enjoy!


Serves: 8
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

We survived day 2! It's amazing how when you're cutting out processed foods  and sugars they seem to jump out at you at the grocery store! It doesn't help that it's Halloween season and there's candy in every corner of every isle of every store. But day 2 came and went and we're on a roll.

Tuesday are always dedicated to tacos. We usually go to our favorite taqueria and order dinner to-go there. It's cheap and easy and always delicious; but it's easy to go overboard there. Every meal comes with refried beans and rice, which are both superb. They don't offer black beans, and everything is fried and greasy (and wonderful.) Plus, you have to get their home made chips! Not this week though!

I decided on another slow cooker recipe; salsa chicken: 2 ingredients + spices. Nothing easier than that. Pretty similar to my chile verde. You can use this chicken for tacos, enchiladas, salads, burritos, etc. We made taco salad burrito bowls, kind of like a Chipotle burrito bowl and salad mixed into one.

Ingredients:

Chicken:
2 large chicken breasts
2 cups favorite salsa (I used La Victoria)
1 tsp of each: paprika, cumin, coriander, chili powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper.

Salad toppings (optional):
Brown rice (cooked in a rice cooker with chicken broth)
Salad greens ( I used butter lettuce and spinach)
Guacamole
Pico de gallo
corn kernels
black beans, rinsed and drained.

Directions:

1) Place chicken breasts in slow cooker. Sprinkle with the spices. Cover with the salsa. Set on LOW for 4-6 hours. If you're using more chicken breasts, the cook time will have to be adjusted.

2) Once the chicken is done, shred the chicken with 2 forks.

3) Serve and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Pork Chile Verde

First Post! This recipe isn't anything fancy, but boy was it delicious. Letting the pork sit in a rub overnight, throwing it in the Crockpot before work, and coming home to a house smelling amazing. I figured we were in for a treat just by the smell, but the taste was better than I could have imagined. Definitely will be making this again and again and again.

I served these two ways: with crunchy shells and soft tortillas. Whichever your preference (we actually preferred the crunchy.) Toppings were lettuce, cheese, home made guacamole, pico salsa, light sour cream. Also had a side of rice and beans. I saved all the leftover pork to make some nachos for Sunday Football!

Ingredients: 

Rub: 
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Cumin
Cayenne
Chile Powder
Corriander
Salt
Pepper
Dried oregano

 Pork:
2-4 lbs of pork shoulder, fat trimmed. (or tenderloin would work as well)
Jarred Verde Salsa (I used a 24oz jug of Hernandez)

Directions:

1) The night before, mix up the spice mixture. Depending on the size of your pork and your spice preference, I'd say about 1 tsp - 1 Tbsp each. Rub the pork with the mixture and let it sit in refrigerator overnight.

 2) Next morning, throw the pork into the slow cooker. Cover with the verde salsa. Make sure you have some leftover salsa. Set slow cooker on LOW for 8 hours. After the time is up, shred up pork and drain some of the fat and liquid from the pot. Add some more verde salsa. Stir and serve!

 Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 8 hours