Tag: mexican

Food

Breakfast Burritos

Amanda

For how much I say I don’t like Mexican food… I seem to post a lot of Mexican recipes? Maybe I’ve just been lying to myself, and I actually love Mexican food…

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Anyway, digressions aside… this is the ultimate morning-after-being-overserved breakfast. We made it originally when Tim was in town, constructing a mini-burrito bar in the apartment for everyone to serve themselves from. We combined all of our favorite breakfast foods/burrito fillings and made them into a delicious breakfast burrito! Yum. Charlie and his brother took it one step further, and actually crushed tortilla chips as a first layer to the burrito. So creative!

Smiley eggs!
So happy to have Breakfast Burritos.

Breakfast Burritos

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

  • 4 large flour tortillas
  • 8 eggs
  • 1 bell pepper
  • 1 roma tomato
  • 1/2 cup black beans
  • 2 russet potatoes
  • 1 lb protein (we chose bacon – of course)
  • 1 cup Mexican cheese
  • 1 cup guacamole
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • dried rosemary (or preferred potato seasoning)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place bacon in a single layer on paper.
  3. Add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil into a cast iron skillet. Cut potatoes into 1-1 1/2 inch cubes. Add potatoes to skillet and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary.
  4. Place both taters and bacon into heated oven. Set time for 15 minutes.
  5. After 15 minutes, check and stir taters and check bacon. Continue to check in five minute intervals.
  6. The taters should take about 30 minutes until they’re soft and just starting to crisp. After they soft in the oven, place on stovetop and crisp on medium-high.
  7. The bacon will take about 20 minutes to crisp. After bacon is done, chop into 1 inch pieces.
  8. While bacon and taters are cooking, chop tomato and pepper and place in a bowl.
  9. In a separate skillet – cook eggs as desired. (We chose scrambled!)
  10. After all burrito innards are finished cooking – line a large flour tortilla with cheese (and crumbled chips if desired). Microwave for 30 seconds.
  11. Fill warmed and cheesy burrito as desired. Roll up, and top with guacamole!

*Chef Note: I did make a little “sauce” out of the beans/tomatoes/peppers… but I preferred the fresh ingredients better. If you would like to make the sauce, just mix a portion of the fresh veggies and beans and sauté them for 10-15 minutes until soft.

Food

Taco Tuesday!

Amanda

Okay so this recipe is not for an actual taco. It’s better. Because it is less messy, and literally takes a blink and wink to make. Once again we rely on our trusty Penzey’s stockpile to produce a delicious meal with minimal effort. We really didn’t change much in this recipe except for shaking up the seasoning a bit!

There are all sorts of different textures in this Taco Soup, there are the crunchy chips, the melty cheese, the yummy veggies. Everything! Ugh, mouth watering now.

Taco Soup

  • Servings: 5
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground Turkey
  • 2 15 oz. cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 14.5 oz can Corn Kernels, drained and rinsed
  • 1 14.5 oz can Diced Tomatoes, NOT drained (I prefer unsalted as well)
  • 1 16 oz jar of Salsa (Pick your own heat level)
  • 1 ½-2 tsp Penzey’s Bold Taco Seasoning
  • Salt
  • Tortilla Chips
  • Shredded Cheese (We used the “Mexican” mixture)
  • Sour Cream

Directions:

  1. In a large pot, cook Turkey until well done
  2. Drain fat from pot
  3. Add Black Beans, Corn, Tomatoes (with juice), Salsa, and Taco Seasoning
  4. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently
  5. Add approximately 16 oz of Water (conveniently the size of your Salsa jar)
  6. Add Salt to taste
  7. Cook for 20-30 minutes over medium-low heat
  8. Serve with crumbled Chips, Cheese, and Sour Cream
Food

Chicken Tostadas

Amanda

Confession. And please don’t hate me. But I kind of really dislike Mexican food. I don’t even like salsa… Obviously living out in San Diego, this is a crime. We’re just a short trip to Mexico and we are surrounded by amazing Mexican cuisine. Charlie has been so great about being patient with my “pickiness,” but at the same time, he likes to challenge me, a lot. Therefore, I have come to like some Mexican food. Mainly Tostadas. Tostadas are delicious. Who even knew such a delicious thing existed?

My first introduction to Tostadas came when we were moving out of our first SD apartment. We were trying to avoid buying food at ALL costs, and more importantly trying to use up all of the food we already had. While we were scrounging around the cupboards we came up with: corn tortillas, beans, rice, and tomatoes. Charlie said “Oh! Let’s make tostadas!” At this point I had no idea what they were, and just deferred to Charlie for cooking that night. Well, since then tostadas have become a staple in our household – something I even crave.

What is so great about these is that you can really make them with just about anything in your cupboard. You can use beef/fish/chicken… anything! The only kind of tedious thing is frying the tortillas. But you can always buy pre-crispy tortillas!

Mouth salivating...
Mouth salivating…

These have brought me joy. I am not exaggerating. Real joy. Credit to Whitney for the fantastic photography. Though I did hold a paper bag to serve as a light diffuser. Charlie was so unamused with our photography.

Chicken Tostadas

  • Servings: 8 Tostadas
  • Difficulty: medium
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Ingredients:

  • 3 Chicken Breasts
  • 8 Corn Tortillas
  • 1 Cup Uncooked Rice (Cooked – I think approximately 2 Cups)
  • 14 oz can of Diced Tomatoes
  • ½ Cup Black Beans
  • Bold Taco Seasoning
  • Cheddar/Mexican Cheese
  • Guacamole
  • Canola Oil (About ½ cup depending on pan size)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
  2. Season Chicken Breasts with Bold Taco Seasoning
  3. Once oven is heated, bake Chicken Breasts for 17-20 minutes
  4. While Chicken is cooking, start Rice
  5. While Rice and Chicken are cooking (hey multitasking!) start frying Tortillas
  6. To fry Tortillas… fill a large skillet with enough Canola Oil to completely submerge Tortilla, heat to medium high
  7. Once oil is hot carefully place one Tortilla into oil and, using a spatula, flatten Tortilla against bottom of the pan
  8. When Tortilla begins to crisp – with more structural integrity flip over and repeat on other side
  9. When finished, drip oil off Tortilla into pan and place Tortilla on a plate covered with paper towel
  10. Repeat for all Tortillas
  11. When Rice is done, add Tomatoes and Beans, as well as any desired seasoning (We use Bold Taco)
  12. When Chicken is done – shred (by hand or by Cuisinart… We prefer Cuisinart!)
  13. Set up “stations” and eat while hot!!

Food

Spicy Sweet Potato Burrito

Amanda

Do you know the difference between a Sweet Potato and a Yam? That’s great. California doesn’t. Among other things California does… oddly, they mess up Sweet Potatoes and Yams. I know this because in a hurry for an impromptu belated Thanksgiving Dinner I grabbed a Yam, instead of a Sweet Potato. Thinking it was a “silly old me” moment, I brushed it off. Until I went back to the grocer a few months later and my horrors were confirmed – they have Yams and Sweet Potatoes mixed up. This is consistent with almost all grocers in San Diego, save Target and Trader Joe’s. I feel like I am living in The Truman Show and everyone is laughing while I hold a Yam to the sky and yell “Why, God?! Why!” I even tried talking to the Produce Manager at the grocer and she said “No, Yams are orange on the inside and sweet. Sweet Potatoes, are white on the inside.” I wanted to grab a knife and slice open that tater, cook it in the deli, and make her do a taste test between a Yam and a frozen Sweet Potato fry. But I didn’t, because at that point I thought they might tackle me if I wielded a knife.

Yam Controversy aside, I love Sweet Potatoes. So much. I also love a company called Penzey’s Spices. It originated in C’s hometown, but now there are franchises everywhere. INCLUDING SAN DIEGO. Add that to the list of things I like about SD. Penzey’s sends out a catalog each month, we get two – I’m not sure why, and not only does it include a coupon it also includes lots of fun recipes that include Penzey’s Spices! One of these recipes was for a Sweet Potato Burrito, so I thought I would give it a shot.

Spicy Sweet Potato Burrito

  • Servings: 6 Burritos
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

  • 3 Medium-Large Sweet Potatoes
  • A dash of Salt
  • ¾ tsp Vindaloo Penzey’s Seasoning
  • ¼ tsp Sweet Curry Penzey’s Seasoning
  • Juice of ½ a Lemon
  • 1 ½ cups Sharp White Cheddar Cheese – grated
  • 1 15 oz can of Black Beans – unsalted or reduced salt
  • 1 15 oz can of Corn Kernels – unsalted or reduced salt
  • 6 Whole Wheat Tortillas

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Pierce Sweet Potatoes with a fork and roast until soft. (Around 40-60 Minutes)
  3. Remove Sweet Potatoes from oven and let them cool.
  4. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.
  5. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil.
  6. Combine Spices, Black Beans, Corn Kernels and Salt in a large bowl.
  7. When Sweet Potato has cooled slightly; puree, rice, or smash the insides in a separate bowl.
  8. When Sweet Potato is smooth to your liking, combine with other ingredients.
  9. Add 1 cup of Cheese to the mixture.
  10. Spoon mixture into Tortillas and top with remaining Cheese.
  11. Wrap Burrito tightly and lay fold-side down on baking sheet.
  12. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until heated through.