Mexican Recipes

If you love Mexican food as much as I do, today's post should get your attention. Today's offerings include Easy 30-Minute Mexican Enchiladas and Cheesy Enchilada Torte. Enjoy!

MEXICAN QUICHE

This yummy quiche is from FamilyTime, and begins, “This Mexican Quiche takes all the best ingredients of a rich and creamy quiche and adds the essential elements of Mexican cooking: drop in Mexican cheese, diced green chiles and salsa prima.”

Serves: 8; Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 40 minutes

View this online at http://www.familytime.com/recipe/showrecipe.aspx?recipeid=13319

Ingredients

1 (9-in.) unbaked frozen deep-dish pie shell, (4-cup volume)

1 cup 4 cheese Mexican blend

1 large green or red bell pepper, chopped

1 can (4-oz.) ORTEGA® Diced Green Chiles

2 large green onions, sliced

4 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup ORTEGA® Salsa Prima Homestyle Mild

3/4 cup NESTLÉ ® Carnation ® Evaporated Milk

Garnish suggestions: ORTEGA® Salsa Prima-Homestyle Mild, sour cream, sliced green onions, diced tomatoes

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sprinkle cheese, bell pepper, chiles and green onions onto bottom of pie shell. Combine eggs, salsa and evaporated milk in small bowl until blended. Pour into pie shell.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Garnish as desired.

Notes: For a lower calorie version, substitute shredded light cheese and NESTLE® CARNATION® Evaporated Fat Free Milk.

BEEF OR CHICKEN FAJITAS

This yummy fajita recipe is from FamilyTime, and begins, “Fajitas were made popular in the 1970s by Texans and soon fajitas were sizzling on grills and frying pans across the country. Serve with warm black beans topped with shredded Monterey Jack cheese and Nestea.”

Serves: 4; Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 15 minutes

View this online here.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

2 small green or red bell peppers, cut into strips

1 small onion, sliced

3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 pound lean beef sirloin or boneless skinless chicken breast meat, cut into 2-inch strips

1 1/4 teaspoons cumin, ground

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 cup ORTEGA® Thick & Chunky Salsa

4 (6-inch) fajita-size tortillas, warmed

Toppings: sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, guacamole, shredded cheddar cheese and olives.

Directions

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet. Add bell peppers, onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is slightly golden and peppers are tender.

Stir in beef or chicken, cumin and chili powder; cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is no longer pink. Stir in salsa; heat through.

Serve in tortillas; top with desired toppings.

EASY 30-MINUTE MEXICAN ENCHILADAS

This is from Chelsea Kenyon of The Spruce Eats. Chelsea wrote, “This easy Mexican enchiladas recipe takes only 30 minutes to prepare for a filling family meal. They can be prepared simply with just cheese, or be spruced up by adding a little bit of beef or chicken to appeal to the meat eaters in your household.

“Warning: The sauce can make things a bit messy, so wear an apron!

“For step-by-step instructions, we recommend checking out our photo tutorial on how to make Mexican enchiladas.”

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 30 minutes; Yield: 4 servings Mexican enchiladas.

Ingredients

1 cup cooking oil

16 corn tortillas

1 (28-ounce) can enchilada sauce (or 1 recipe homemade red enchilada sauce)

2 cups cheese (such as mozzarella or queso blanco, grated or shredded)

1/2 cup Cotija cheese

Optional: 1 1/2 cups cooked shredded beef, chicken, or pork

Directions

Heat oven to 400 F.

Pour oil into a medium-sized saucepan and heat until it's hot, but not sizzling. You want to warm the tortillas in the oil, not fry them.

Using tongs, dip each tortilla, one at a time, into the hot oil until it is warmed through and pliable. Remove tortilla from oil and drain it briefly on a paper towel.

Pour just enough sauce in the bottom of a 13x9-inch glass baking dish to cover it. Pour the rest of the sauce in a large bowl. Dip a warm tortilla into the sauce and then place it in the bottom of the baking dish.

Place a little less than 1/4 cup of cheese down the center of the tortilla. If you are adding meat, use a little less cheese. Fold half of the tortilla over the cheese, then the other half, so that the tortilla is rolled around the cheese. Turn it over so it is seam-side down and the weight of the cheese will help keep it in place.

Repeat each of those steps for each of the tortillas making two layers of enchiladas in the dish, if necessary. Pour any remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle the Cotija cheese over the enchiladas.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until enchiladas are hot throughout and cheese is melted.

Serve your enchiladas with a spatula, four to a plate.

Authentic vs. Modern Enchiladas

In their simplest form, authentic enchiladas are simply corn tortillas dipped in a chile sauce and eaten with a fork. They might or might not have a filling and are sometimes topped with a sprinkling of grated cheese or a drizzle of cream.

As enchiladas became popular across the Southwestern United States, they evolved into an oven-baked dish as that appliance is used more commonly in North America than South of the Border. Enchiladas are now associated with the casserole classic that we know today.

20-MINUTE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

This was posted in MyRecipes, and is originally from CookingLight. This begins, “Quick tip: While the sauce cooks, shred the chicken. For a spicy kick, top with chopped jalapeños.”

Yield: Serves 6 (serving size: 2 enchiladas and 1 tablespoon sour cream)

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 cup prechopped onion

1 cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (15-ounce) can unsalted tomato sauce

3 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast (about 15 ounces)

1 (15-ounce) can unsalted black beans, rinsed and drained

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Cooking spray

3 ounces preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese (about 3/4 cup)

1 cup chopped tomato

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

6 tablespoons sour cream

Directions

Preheat broiler to high.

Combine first 9 ingredients in a medium saucepan; stir with a whisk. Bring to a boil over high heat; cook 2 minutes or until thickened. Reserve 1 1/2 cups sauce mixture. Add chicken and beans to pan; cook 2 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly heated.

Stack tortillas; wrap stack in damp paper towels and microwave at HIGH for 25 seconds. Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture in center of each tortilla; roll up. Arrange tortillas, seam sides down, in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with reserved sauce and cheese. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned and sauce is bubbly. Top with tomato and cilantro. Serve with sour cream.

Chef's Notes

MyRecipes is working with Let's Move!, the Partnership for a Healthier America, and USDA's MyPlate to give anyone looking for healthier options access to a trove of recipes that will help them create healthy, tasty plates. For more information about creating a healthy plate, visit www.choosemyplate.gov.

QUESADILLAS

Recipe Yield: Yield: 8 servings (2 wedges)

Source: Forbidden Foods Diabetic Cooking

Book Title: Forbidden Foods Diabetic Cooking

View this online at https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipe/quesadillas

Ingredients

1 cup shredded Mexican Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, or brick cheese

1 green onion, minced

1-3 tablespoons canned chopped green chilies (to taste)

4 8-inch flour tortillas

Chunky salsa, for topping or dip

Directions

In a medium bowl, toss together the cheese, green onion, and chilies; set aside.

Spray a medium skillet with nonstick cooking spray and place over medium heat.

When hot, add 1 tortilla and sprinkle it with one-fourth of the cheese mixture.

When the cheese begins to melt, about 1 minute, fold the tortilla in half.

Continue cooking until lightly browned and crisp on both sides, about 1 minute.

Transfer to a cutting board.

Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.

Cut into 4 wedges with a knife or pizza cutter and serve immediately with the salsa.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 134; Fat: 6 g; Fiber: 1 g; Sodium: 211 mg; Cholesterol: 12 mg; Protein: 6 g; Carbohydrates: 14 g; Sugars: 1 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 1 Starch, 1 Fat

CHEESY ENCHILADA TORTE

This comes from FamilyTime, and begins, “The microwave makes it easy and keeps the kitchen cool when you prepare this zesty, Southwestern-style beef dish that's ready in just 25 minutes.”

Serves: 6 servings (about 1 cup each); Prep Time: 5 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 pound Ground Beef

1 jar (16 ounces) Pace® Picante Sauce

2 tablespoons chili powder

8 flour tortilla (8-inch)

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)

sour cream (optional)

Directions

Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until it's well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat.

Stir the picante sauce and chili powder in the skillet.

Layer 4 tortillas in a 2-quart microwave-safe shallow baking dish. Top with half of the meat mixture and half of the soup. Repeat the layers. Top with the cheese. Cover the dish.

Microwave at 70% power for 8 minutes or it's until hot and bubbling. Serve with sour cream, if desired.