These enchiladas are a game day favorite in my house. Make them ahead and pop them in the oven when your guests arrive.
I certainly have been in a burrito kind of mood as of late. Burritos are so versatile and easy to make. Perfect for a quickie lunch or dinner.
I like to keep tortillas on hand for a quick weeknight meal. Burritos are super easy to make and will fill up a hungry family. Serve with a side salad and a side of beans.
Turkey Enchiladas With Avocado Sauce
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Make this easy enchilada dish tonight, with a zesty avocado sauce, to celebrate.
INGREDIENTS
Turkey Enchiladas
3 Tablespoons Butter
2 Cups Diced Cooked Turkey
1/3 Cup Diced Black Olives
1/4 Cup Diced Onions
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
8 Corn Tortillas
3 Tablespoons Oil For Softening Tortillas
1 Cup Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
Avocado Sauce
1 Cup Mashed Avocado
5 Tablespoons Evaporated Milk
2 Tablespoons Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
1 Teaspoon Dry Mustard
1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/8 Teaspoon Garlic Salt
1/8 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
In a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over a low heat. Add turkey and cook for 3 minutes. Add olives, onions, kosher salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Blend well, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. While turkey mixture is simmering, prepare Avocado Sauce, by adding avocado, milk, and lemon juice to a food processor or blender. Pulse a couple of times. Add dry mustard, kosher salt, garlic salt, and pepper. Pulse until creamy and fairly thick. Pour into a bowl and set aside. Return to turkey and stir briskly. Place turkey in a bowl. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a shallow casserole dish. In large-size sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons oil over a medium-high heat. Soften corn tortillas by dipping in hot oil (do both sides). Drain. Place quickly in casserole dish. Add turkey mixture, sprinkle with cheese, and then roll tortilla up. Pour Avocado Sauce over it. Repeat until all corn tortillas are done. Pour remaining sauce over entire enchiladas. Heat in oven for 20 to 25 minutes until enchiladas are nice and warm. Remove from oven and serve 2 per plate. Top with sour cream and additional cheese if desired. Serves 4
© Victoria Hart Glavin
Baked Tilapia Tacos With Avocado Cream
Every once in awhile I get in a Mexican food mood. These tacos are light and won’t make you feel weighed down. Besides fish tacos are delicious!
INGREDIENTS
1 Pound Tilapia Fillets
Vegetable Cooking Spray
1/2 Teaspoon Grated Lime Zest
2 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice
1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
1 Minced Garlic Cloves
1/2 Teaspoon Hot Pepper Sauce
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
12 Hard Taco Shells
1 1/2 Cups Fresh Salsa
2 Cups Lettuce
1 Medium Diced Avocado
1 Cup Sour Cream
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray an 8×11 glass-baking dish with cooking spray. In a small-size bowl mix lime peel, lime juice, garlic, red pepper sauce, pepper, and kosher salt. Put fish in prepared dish in a single layer. Spread sauce over fish. Place in oven, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes until fish is opaque and flakes easily. While fish is baking combine avocado and sour cream in a food processor or blender until smooth. Remove tilapia from oven and pull fish apart until all fillets are shredded. To assemble tacos place a layer of fish, salsa, and lettuce into taco shell. Drizzle with avocado cream. Serves 4 to 6
© Victoria Hart Glavin
Pork Carnitas
Carnitas means little meats. Make sure to serve these bite-size pieces of pork with soft tortillas.
INGREDIENTS
2 Pounds Boneless Pork (Shoulder or Ribs)
12 Ounces Beer
1/2 Cup Orange Juice
1/4 Cup Lime Juice
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
3 Crushed Garlic Cloves
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Water
Small Soft Tortillas (Corn or Flour)
Accompaniments: Sliced avocado, guacamole, cilantro, diced tomatoes, minced jalapeno, shredded cheese or whatever you decide to serve with it.
Cut pork into 2 inch cubes. Keep fat intact. In a large-size pot combine pork, beer, orange juice, lime juice, lemon juice, garlic, and kosher salt. Add water so liquid just covers pork. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours. VERY IMPORTANT: Do not turn or move pork. Leave it alone. Turn heat to medium-high and cook pork for 15 minutes. At this point you should occasionally stir and turn pork. The liquid should be evaporated. Continue to cook pork until brown on all side. Gently turn pieces so they won’t fall apart. Remove from pot and serve in soft tortillas. Top with your favorite accompaniments. Serves 6
© Victoria Hart Glavin
Homemade Churros
This southwestern-style doughnut is more appealing than its traditional relative, since the dough is piped into lengths, which twist into a variety of interesting shapes when deep-fried. Churros go equally well with a cup of hot chocolate or a cup of coffee.
INGREDIENTS
1 Cup Water
7 Tablespoons Diced Butter
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
Finely Grated Rind Of 1 Small Orange
1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 1/8 Cup Unbleached Flour (Sifted)
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon Plus Extra For Dusting
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
Vegetable Oil For Deep Frying
Superfine Sugar For Dusting
Heat the water, butter, brown sugar, orange rind, and kosher salt in a heavy bottom pan over a medium heat until butter has melted. Add the flour, all at once, the cinnamon, and vanilla. Then remove pan from heat and beat rapidly until mixture pulls away from the side of the pan. Let cool slightly, the beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until mixture is thick and smooth. Spoon mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a wide star tip. Heat the oil for deep-frying, in a deep fryer or a deep pan to 350 to 375 degrees or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Pipe 5-inch lengths about 3 inches apart into the oil. Deep-fry for 4 minutes or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Dust churros with superfine sugar and cinnamon and serve either hot from the pan or cooled to room temperature. Serves 4.
Healthy Chili
It’s National Soup Month and besides it’s still cold outside. In keeping with getting over the holiday “food hangover” I created this healthy chili recipe. It’s hearty and delicious. You can use ground beef, steak, chicken, pork or no meat at all.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 Pounds Ground Sirloin
2 Cups Chopped Shallots
1 Cup Chopped Bell Pepper
5 Minced Garlic Cloves
2 (15 or 16 Ounce) Cans Kidney Beans, Pinto Beans, White Beans or
A Combination (rinsed & Drained)
1 Cup Corn Kernels
1 Cup Diced Zucchini
2 (14 1/2 Ounces) Cans Undrained Diced Tomatoes
2 1/2 Cups Tomato Sauce
1 Cup Water
2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon Dried Basil
1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
Shredded Cheddar Cheese For Garnish (Optional)
In a large-size soup pot cook ground beef, shallots, garlic and bell pepper until meat is brown and shallots are tender. Drain off any fat. Stir in beans, corn, zucchini, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, chili powder, kosher salt, pepper, basil, and oregano. Bring to a boil over a high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Ladle into bowls and top each serving with grated cheese. Makes 6 main dish servings.
Mexican Chopped Salad
I had a lot of leftover beef tenderloin that I decided to use in a delicious Mexican Chopped Salad. You can use any type of meat you like (lean ground beef, flank steak, tenderloin, chicken, turkey, pork, etc) or no meat at all. All the work is in the prep, which really isn’t all that much work at all.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 Cup Sliced Pickled Jalapeno Chile Peppers (Drained & Finely Chopped)
1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
1/2 Cup Mexican Crema or Sour Cream
1/4 Cup Snipped Fresh Cilantro
2 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
1 Teaspoon Paprika
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 Tablespoons Milk
1 Cup Black Beans (Rinsed, Drained & Dried)
4 Cups Shredded Romaine Lettuce
1 Cup Beef or Chicken (Or Any Other Meat You Want)
1 Mango (Halved, Seeded, Peeled & Sliced)
1 Avocado (Halved, Seeded, Peeled & Diced)
2/3 Cup Diced Tomatoes or Grape Tomatoes
1 Cup Cooked Corn
1 Cup Sliced Olives
1/2 Cup Chopped Salami (Optional)
1/2 Cup Orange Bell Pepper (Chopped)
1/2 Cup Raisins (Optional)
Crumbled Queso Fresco (Optional)
In a small-size bowl whisk together jalapeno chile peppers, mayonnaise, Mexican crema or sour cream, cilantro, fresh lime juice and paprika. Stir in milk as needed to make dressing the desired consistency, cover and chill. In a large-size bowl toss together lettuce, meat, mango, avocado, tomatoes, bell pepper, corn, black beans, olives, raisins (optional) and queso fresco (optional). Serve with tortilla chips on the side and dressing. Serves 4 to 6.
Super Easy Chicken Fajitas
I’ve really been in a Mexican food mood as of late. Since getting back from Tucson a couple of months ago I have really been yearning for good South of the Border cuisine. Keeping in line with easy weeknight meals here is a quick and easy family dinner.
INGREDIENTS
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Pound Chicken Breast Strips
1 Cup Salsa
3 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
1 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Bell Pepper (Cut into Thin Strips)
1 Medium Onion (Cut into Thin Strips)
10 Flour Tortillas for Fajitas or Soft Tacos
In a medium size skillet add the olive oil and chicken strips. Cook over a medium-high heat for 4 minutes. Add the salsa, lime juice and Worcestershire sauce. Add the peppers and onions. Give a good stir. Cook for 5 minutes until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove from the heat and spoon the filling into tortillas. Add additional salsa as a topping if you like. Roll these babies up and serve. Makes 10 fajitas.
Tip: Feel free to add shredded cheese, sliced mushrooms, tomatoes or anything your heart desires.
