Mexican Recipes - Double-Post Monday

Besides being Meatless Monday, it's also Double-Post Monday. Today's double post deals with Mexican recipes, and includes Chorizo Taquitos and Mexican-Style Stuffed Bell Peppers. Enjoy!

EASY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

This is from Eating Well. It begins, "These easy Mexican enchiladas are filled with flavorful, shredded slow-cooked shredded chicken. Placed on a bed of fresh lettuce, this delicious recipe is sure to be the hit of any dinner occasion."

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Additional Time: 4 hours; Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes; Makes 4 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/262838/easy-chicken-enchiladas/.

Ingredients

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (10.5 ounce) can reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup mild salsa (lower sodium such as Newman's Own)

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

4 cups packaged baby lettuce mix

8 (6 inch) corn tortillas, warmed (see Tip)

1/2 cup shredded Mexican-style four-cheese blend

Directions

Place chicken breasts in a 1-1/2 quart slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine soup, salsa, chiles, chili powder and cumin; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

Remove chicken and place in a medium, shallow bowl. Using two forks, shred meat. Add half of the sauce from the slow cooker to the shredded chicken, tossing to coat.

Line a serving platter with the lettuce. Place about 1/3 cup of chicken mixture and about a teaspoon of the shredded cheese down the center of each tortilla and roll up. Arrange enchiladas on the prepared serving platter. Spoon remaining sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Tips

Tip: To warm tortillas, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap tortillas tightly in foil. Bake about 10 minutes or until heated through.

CHORIZO TAQUITOS

This is from Bryan Washington in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this recipe, Bryan wrote, "Chorizo taquitos are quick, filling and endlessly customizable. While a taquito’s more traditional iterations involve frying the filled and rolled tortilla until crisp, this recipe is styled after a fast-casual version from the Whataburger restaurant chain. It’s made with flour tortillas (rather than corn tortillas) and skips the frying process. The chorizo filling is cooked with aromatics and seasonings, then mixed with scrambled eggs, ladled across tortillas with cheese, rolled and garnished with salsa. The dish retains its Mexican origins while adapting to the flavor profiles and preferences of its many locales. The taquito is as straightforward or complex as you’d like it to be — which is another joy of this delicious dish."

Time: 30 minutes; Yield: 4 to 6 taquitos

This yumminess was featured in "These Taquitos Are an All-Night Breakfast of Champions," and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024249-chorizo-taquitos.

Note:First off, while you're checking this out at the The New York Times cooking site, sign up for their newsletter, if you haven't done so already. If you enjoy it as much as I do, it's well worth signing up for.

Secondly, read the article that this recipe is featured in ("These Taquitos Are an All-Night Breakfast of Champions"). Really nice article, good reading (to go with the good eating). Very nice, Bryan!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeño, diced

1/2 pound raw chorizo (casings removed, if necessary)

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 large eggs, beaten

4 to 6 (6-inch) flour tortillas

1/2 to 1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese

Salsa roja or salsa verde (optional), for serving

Preparation

Heat a medium skillet over medium. Add oil, then stir in onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in jalapeño and cook until softened, about 2 minutes more.

Crumble chorizo into the pan; sprinkle with chili powder, cumin and black pepper and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up chorizo into small chunks, until chorizo is cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add eggs, pouring them gradually into the pan in a circular motion. Stir into chorizo mixture and cook until eggs are just set. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting to keep chorizo mixture warm while you heat the tortillas.

Heat a separate pan (or a comal, if you have one) over medium. Add tortillas to the pan one by one, heating them through. (Flip each tortilla when it begins to puff up on each side, then remove when warmed.)

Fill a tortilla with chorizo filling, then add cheese to taste and roll the taquito until it’s shut. Repeat until you’ve used the remaining filling and tortillas. Serve with salsa, if you like.

SHEET-PAN CHICKEN FAJITAS WITH THE WORKS

This is from WW (formerly Weight Watchers), and begins, "Sheet-pan dinners are popular for a reason: They cook everything in one place and keep cleanup minimal. The pans can be surprisingly versatile too—here, we use one like a fajita skillet. The key to getting that signature sear on the seasoned veggies and meat? Heating the empty pan in the oven until it’s screaming-hot. This ensures the ingredients start sizzling the second they hit the surface."

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 40 minutes; Serves: 4; Difficulty: Easy; 9 points

View this online here.

Ingredients

4 sprays cooking spray

1 pound uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced

1 large onions, yellow, sliced

2 medium red bell peppers, sliced

1 large poblano chile, sliced

2 Tbsp canola oil

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp paprika, smoked

8 tortillas (6-inch), low carb, high fiber tortilla wraps

1 cup pico de gallo

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream

1 avocado, medium, thinly sliced (optional)

1 medium jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced (optional)

1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)

Directions

Place a large sheet pan in the oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, onion, bell peppers, and chile. Drizzle with the oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and paprika and toss to coat.

Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven and coat with cooking spray. Spread the chicken and vegetables into an even layer on the pan. Roast until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Meanwhile, wrap the tortillas in foil. Place the tortillas in the oven to warm during the last 5 minutes of roasting.

Divide the chicken and vegetables among the tortillas. Serve with the pico de gallo, cilantro, sour cream, avocado, jalapeño, and lime wedges (if using).

Serving size: 2 filled tortillas

MEXICAN-STYLE STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

This also comes from the November 2014 issue of Heart Insight Magazine. This one begins, “In this Latin twist on stuffed bell peppers, black beans replace the traditional rice and salsa stands in for the standard tomato sauce.” Serves 4; 1 stuffed bell pepper per serving.

To view this online, go to http://heartinsight.heart.org/November-2014/Mexican-Style-Stuffed-Bell-Peppers/.

Ingredients

4 large red or green bell peppers, or a combination, stems, seeds, and ribs discarded, tops chopped and reserved

Cooking spray

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 medium garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces 95% fat-free ground beef

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup salsa (lowest sodium available)

1 cup canned no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided use

1/4 cup low-fat shredded 4-cheese Mexican blend

1/4 cup fat-free sour cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a microwave oven, place the bell peppers with the cut side up on a paper towel. Microwave on 100% power (high) for 4–5 minutes, or until tender-crisp. Transfer with the cut side up to a 9-inch square baking dish or shallow casserole dish.

Meanwhile, lightly spray a large skillet with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. Cook the chopped bell pepper tops, onion, and garlic for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the beef. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to turn and break up the beef. Discard any drippings.

Sprinkle the beef mixture with the chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in the salsa. Remove from the heat.

Gently stir in the beans and cup cilantro. Spoon the beef mixture into the peppers. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Remove from the oven. Sprinkle the Mexican blend cheese over the beef mixture. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Top the peppers with the sour cream. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro.

CHEESE ENCHILADAS WITH CHILI GRAVY

This is from Robb Walsh, and adapted by Sam Sifton, in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, "Here is a recipe adapted from one that the great Tex-Mex scholar and restaurateur Robb Walsh serves at his El Real Tex-Mex restaurant in Houston. You can find similar ones served all over South Texas, often served with rice and refried beans. I think it’s an excellent side dish for a cookout of grilled chicken or pork, but you could also slide a few fried eggs over the top and call it breakfast, or don't and use vegetable stock or water, and call it a vegetarian supper. Make sure to leave some bare tortilla peeking out on each side of the gravy and cheese so it grows crackly and awesome."

Yield: 4 to 6 servings; Time: 1 hour

This was featured in "Enchiladas Are the Saucy, Cheesy Addition to Your Dinner Table", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018154-cheese-enchiladas-with-chili-gravy.

Ingredients

For the chili gravy:

1/4 cup neutral oil, like canola, or use lard or chicken or beef fat

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste

1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, ideally Mexican oregano

2 tablespoons chile powder

2 cups chicken broth, ideally homemade or low-sodium if store-bought

For the enchiladas:

1/2 cup neutral oil, like canola

12 yellow corn tortillas

3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, or a mixture of 1-1/2 cups Cheddar cheese and 1 1/2 cups American cheese, like Velveeta

1 medium-size white onion, peeled and chopped

Preparation

Prepare the chili gravy: In a medium sauté pan set over medium-high heat, heat oil or fat until it begins to shimmer. Whisk in flour and stir continuously until it turns into a light brown roux, roughly the color of coffee ice cream, about 10 minutes.

Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, oregano and chile powder and whisk to combine, then continue whisking for another minute or so, until roux becomes fragrant.

Add chicken broth, slowly, 1/2 cup at a time, whisking until sauce begins to thicken. Turn heat to low and let sauce simmer an additional 15 minutes or so. Add broth as needed to adjust the thickness of the gravy. Keep warm.

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Prepare the tortillas: In a medium sauté pan set over medium-high heat, heat oil until it begins to shimmer. Using tongs or a wide spatula, place a tortilla in the hot fat; it should start to bubble immediately. Heat tortilla for about 10 to 15 seconds a side, until soft and lightly browned. Remove tortilla and set on a rack set over a baking pan, or just on a baking pan if you don’t have a rack. Repeat with remaining tortillas, working quickly.

Using a ladle, put about 1/2 cup chili gravy in the bottom of an 8-by-13-inch baking pan and spread it out a little. Roll a few tablespoons of cheese into each tortilla, then place it seam-side down in the pan, nestling each one against the last. Ladle chili gravy over the top of the rolled tortillas and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Transfer to oven and bake until sauce bubbles and cheese is melted, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle chopped onions over top and serve immediately.

CHICKEN RANCH ENCHILADAS

This comes from "Smith's Wife" on the AllRecipes site. She wrote, "I got this recipe from my cousin and now this is my favorite dish. The ranch dressing mix adds nice flavor."

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 45 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour; Makes 6 servings; Yield: 1 9X13 inch dish

To view this online, go to https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/169293/chicken-ranch-enchiladas/.

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 (16 ounce) container sour cream

1 (4.5 ounce) can chopped green chilies

1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix

10 (8 inch) flour tortillas

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

Directions

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the chicken and cook until no longer pink in the center, about 7 minutes. Whisk together the condensed cream of chicken soup, sour cream, chiles, and ranch dressing in a bowl; spread a thin layer of the mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons of sauce into each tortilla; divide the chicken among the tortillas and sprinkle with 3/4 of the cheese. Roll the tortillas into cylinders and place seam-side-down into the baking dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and cover the dish with aluminum foil.

Bake in the preheated oven until hot, about 35 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Return to the oven and cook a few more minutes until the cheese melts.