Texanista Red Enchilada Sauce

Jessica posted this picture on her blog this morning and I immediately knew what I wanted for dinner. Luckily, she called and I was able to procure the recipe given to her by Aunt-In-Law Lidia, a true Texanista and master of Southwest/ Mexican cuisine.

Red Enchilada Sauce

1/4 cup oil (I used olive)
1/4 cup flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt (I may reduce this next time)
2 Tablespoons red chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
3 cups broth (I made it from my favorite veggie broth ever)

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Whisk in flour and cook until it is browned. Add garlic and saute until tender. Add cumin, pepper, salt, chili powder, and oregano. Slowly add broth while whisking. Bring mixture to a light boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened.

Tonight I was feeling lazy so I mixed up some shredded cheese, sour cream, and shredded zucchini for the filling (kind random, but it was tasty). Then I stuck individual enchiladas in the micro as kids got hungry, but here are the instructions for Lidia's.

Lidia's Enchiladas

Cook and shred fryer chicken. Combine chicken with 1/2 cup of red enchilada sauce. Warm corn tortillas in hot oil in a shallow pan on the stove. Dip tortillas in red sauce. Fill with chicken mixture and roll. Place in casserole dish. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

I haven't tried this rice yet, but I surely will. Tonight I mixed some leftover quinoa with some of the enchilada sauce and it was great.

Mexican Rice

1 T. oil
1/2 green onion, sliced lengthwise (you will remove this before serving)
1/2 green pepper
2 T bouillion
2 C. water
8oz tomato sauce

Heat oil in saute pan. Add onion pepper and rice. Saute until rice is lightly browned. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until rice is tender and water is absorbed.

Chile Verde Pork (For Lindsey)

Here is the Chile Verde Pork Tacos I made at Grandma's house.(Recipe from Amy Pulley)

Chile Verde

3-4 lb pork roast
1 lrg can (28 oz) green chile enchilada sauce
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 or 2 cans of green chiles
1/2 - 1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
chicken boullion to taste (about 2 tsp)

To cook the roast you could just combine everything in a crock pot, add the roast and cook all day, but I prefer to cook the roast first without the other stuff, so that I can drain off all the fat drippings and gunk. I cook my roast in the crock pot on low with about a cup or two of beef broth, with some S&P and garlic powder on the roast, for 6-8 hrs. A couple of hours before eating, combine the rest of the ingredients in a med. sauce pan and simmer, so that the veggies are soft. About an hour before serving, shred the pork, return to crock pot, and add the sauce . Serve on tortillas with beans and rice, sour cream, guacamole, cheese, etc.

Beans and Rice from Sister's Cafe (The beans are way better with the garlic :)

Garlic Black Beans

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)

1/3 c tomato juice (or sauce or diced tomatoes work too)

2 cloves garlic, minced (1 tsp)

1 tsp cumin

2 Tb canola oil

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tb chopped cilantro

Heat oil then add cumin and garlic until garlic begins to pop. Add rest of ingredients and serve warm.

This is the rice I usually serve with it. It makes 6 cups of rice! Halve it.

Cilantro Lime Rice

6 c water

3 c rice

4 cubes chicken bouillon

4 tsp garlic, minced

1 Tb canola oil

2 Tb fresh lime juice

1/2 bunch of cilantro

1/2 onion

1 can green chilies

Blend cilantro, onion, and chilies in food processor. Bring water to boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered for 30 minutes or until rice is cooked.

Shredded Sweet Pork Salad

I use all the recipes on this Sister's cafe post even when I'm not making the Sweet Pork Salad. It includes recipes for the following:

Shredded Sweet Pork (I half the sugar and the Worcestershire)
Cilantro Lime Rice
Garlic Black Beans
Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

Green Enchilada Sauce

I'm loving this new enchilada sauce recipe from Amy. I need it here on my blog though so it's with everything else. I've used it with my new squash enchiladas, Sister's Cafe's Honey Lime Enchiladas, and now with chile verde pork.

2 Tbl oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1 lrg garlic clove, chopped

3 Tbl flour

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 c. chicken broth (I use the concentrated veg. broth. Thanks again Heather!)

1 c. anaheim or poblano chilies, roasted & peeled OR 1c. canned chopped green chilies (I usually use the canned)

1/4 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt (I just use more veg broth, to taste, to add a little more flavor along with the salt - this stuff has been the best substitute for boullion (holy MSG!)

2 tsp chopped jalapenos (optional)

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cover and cook for about 5 minutes to soften the onions, but not browning them. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes while stirring (it will clump up with the onions, but it's okay). Gradually pour in broth, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Add all the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. It should be thick enough to coat a spoon - if it's too thick, add a little water. You can store this in the fridge for a week or so. It congeals when cold, but will return to liquid when reheated.

Squash Enchiladas

Recipe from the Worldwide Ward Cookbook

I am thrilled again to find a winter squash that my family will eat, especially to find one that Dave will race me home from to get the leftovers. My notes in red.

1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 16 oz can white corn (I used frozen)
butternut squash, cooked and drained well (I needed half of a large squash for a 9x9 pan, quartered it, put in a casserole dish with an inch or two of water, covered with plastic wrap with holes punched in it, and microwaved for 10 minutes)
salt and pepper
chili powder
cumin
green enchilada sauce (used 1 recipe of Amy's sauce for a 9x9 pan)
corn tortillas
pepper jack and cheddar cheese

Saute onion and garlic on olive oil. Stir onion mixture into corn and squash, and season to taste with s&p, chili powder, and cumin (I found it frustrating that no measurements were given, but I didn't take note of what I used either). Heat enchilada sauce and dip tortilla in the heated sauce to soften (this did not work for me, I softened them in the microwave wrapped in a wet dish towel). Fill tortillas with squash mixture, sprinkle with cheese, and roll. Place seam side down in a casserole dish. Cover enchiladas with remaining sauce, and sprinkle with extra cheese. Bake at 350 until bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Fish Tacos

After searching long and hard for the Fast and Easy Tilapia Tacos with Pineapple Salsa recipe I came to the conclusion that it doesn't exist. Instead I think I used this recipe as a guide, and modified it for the ingredients and time I had on hand. Dave loved it and that is saying a lot because Dave usually just tolerates fish.

Marinade (this is copied straight from the recipe):

• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
  
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Dice 3 tilapia fillets and marinate while you make the salsa. Wrap in foil and grill, or saute on the stove.

The Food Network recipe has a complicated salsa recipe with ingredients I don't buy. I just made my own pico de gallo with fresh tomatoes, green peppers, red onion, cilantro, salt and pepper and added some pineapple. Last time I made it I may have just mixed pineapple into salsa.

Serve in warm corn or flour tortillas with diced avocado, crema (sour cream with a little lime juice), fish and pineapple salsa.

See fast and easy.

Pineapple-Blackbean Enchiladas

Recipe from Michelle Chudleigh

Perhaps sounds like a strange combination, but these were so good! They even made "the list." Find the recipe here.

Ingredients

2

teaspoons vegetable oil

1

large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

1

medium red bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)

1

can (20 oz) pineapple tidbits in juice, drained, 1/3 cup juice reserved

1

can (15 oz) Progresso™ black beans, drained, rinsed

1

can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso™ chopped green chiles

1

teaspoon salt

1/2

cup chopped fresh cilantro

3

cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (12 oz)

1

can (10 oz) Old El Paso™ mild enchilada sauce

8

whole wheat flour tortillas (8 or 9 inch)

1/2

cup reduced-fat sour cream

8

teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro

Steps

• 1Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper; cook 4 to 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in pineapple, beans, green chiles and salt. Cook and stir until thoroughly heated. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup cilantro and 2 cups of the cheese.
• 2Spoon and spread 1 tablespoon enchilada sauce onto each tortilla. Spoon about 3/4 cup vegetable mixture over sauce on each. Roll up tortillas; place seam side down in baking dish.
• 3In small bowl, mix reserved 1/3 cup pineapple juice and remaining enchilada sauce; pour over entire surface of enchiladas in dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Spray sheet of foil large enough to cover baking dish with cooking spray; place sprayed side down over baking dish and seal tightly.
• 4Bake 35 to 40 minutes, removing foil during last 5 to 10 minutes of baking, until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. Top each baked enchilada with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 1 teaspoon cilantro.

Nie's Mexican Lasagna

This is the first vegetarian meal of 2009 with enough thumbs up from the family to be included in the "12 that my family likes, not merely tolerates" category.

Recipe from Nie's Mexican Lasagna

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
4 scallions, coarsely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
10 ounces fresh baby spinach
Nonstick cooking spray
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 (15.5 ounces) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup prepared salsa (mild or medium)
8 ounces pepper Jack cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a food processor, combine cilantro, scallions, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper with as much spinach as will fit; pulse, adding remaining spinach in batches, until coarsely chopped.
Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Lay 4 tortillas in bottom of dish (they will overlap slightly). Layer with half of beans, salsa, spinach mixture, and cheese; repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with cheese and pressing in gently.
Cover dish with foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes; remove foil, and continue baking until golden, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.