March Munchies: Mexican

Showing posts with label Mexican. Show all posts

Barbacoa Salad

Leftover barbacoa is delicious on a salad! Like a taco salad only with a different flavor. Love it!

Barbacoa-style Shredded Beef

Start with a chuck roast. Anywhere between 2-4 lbs is fine. I usually go for bigger because I like leftovers to make more meals. Cut it in half and trim most of the visible fat. Place in slow cooker or instant pot.

In food processor or vitamix, puree the following:

1/2 Onion
1/4 cup Lime Juice

1/4 cup Tomato Paste
4 cloves Garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Cloves or Allspice

Pour the puree over the roast in the slow cooker. Pour about a cup of Beef Broth on top, and drop a few Bay Leaves.

Cook on low for 7 hours. When it's done, shred it with two forks and put it back into the amazing sauce in the slow cooker that was created during cooking. Keep on low for another couple of hours to really soak up the flavor of the sauce.

Here is my husband's version of the barbacoa salad, all neatly organized. I just throw mine in the bowl. Ha.

Chicken Fajita

Meals like this remind me that I don't have to have a tortilla to enjoy Mexican food. It's delicious and satisfying, and best of all low-carb! Plus if the rest of your family insists on the traditional meal, they can use the same filling in a tortilla, so you can avoid the carbs for yourself without having to make two different meals. Score!

Chicken Fajita

Cooked Chicken - I just boil some chicken breast until done, then shred or chop. You can also use leftover chicken if you happen to have cooked extra.

Tomatoes or salsa
Cheese, optional
Sour Cream, optional

Veggies of choice:
Onion, sliced or chopped
Bell Pepper, sliced or chopped

You can also use zucchini or squash if you like. Anything goes!

Mix cooked chicken with fajita seasoning of your choice, or just some garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder.

Saute veggies in butter or olive oil until done, about 15 minutes.

Top shredded chicken with sauteed veggies, chopped tomatoes or salsa, and cheese if desired. Serve!

Layered Mexican Dip

This is our favorite GAMEDAY food!

Mexican Taco Layer Dip

1lb ground beef
Taco seasoning (use a packet or make up your own with cumin, chili powder, etc.)

Beans, optional - Black Beans, Refried Beans, whatever beans you like, or skip them

2 cups Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt or a combination
Taco seasoning (one packet's worth)

Tomatoes, diced and/or Salsa
Lettuce, shredded
Cheese, shredded (cheddar, monterey jack, colby/jack mix, whatever you like)

Green Onions, optional

Brown ground beef. Drain, add 1/4-1/2 cup of water and the taco seasoning. Stir well and let thicken. If using black beans, you can mix them in.

Mix taco seasoning with sour cream or yogurt. Spread into the bottom of a 13x9 inch casserole.

If using refried beans, you can add them here.

Layer on the ground beef, and then the tomatoes, lettuce, cheese and green onion. Add olives if you like. Anything goes!

Refrigerate if not eating right away. Serve with chips, or on a salad.

Crispy Tostada

This is based off of one of my favorite low-carb recipes, taco pizza. I swapped the flax meal for chia seeds and added a little water to the dough. Then I flattened it more and baked it a little bit longer, so it's crispy. Delicious!

Crispy Low Carb Tostada

1 Tbsp Coconut Flour
1 Tbsp Chia Seeds
1 Tbsp Water
1 Egg
1 cup Colby/Jack, Cheddar or Monterrey Jack Cheese, shredded
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Chili Powder
Taco toppings

Preheat oven to 350*. If you use a pizza stone, preheat it in the oven as well.

Mix all ingredients well and press onto parchment paper into a circle about 1/8 inch thick.

Bake for 20 minutes. If you didn't use the pizza stone method, bake about 10 minutes, then flip crust and bake another 10 minutes on the other side, or until crispy and done on both sides.

Top with desired taco toppings and serve! I used seasoned ground beef, shredded cheese, lettuce, salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

Cooking Dry Beans in Slow Cooker

My 2013 "resolution" (though I hate to call it that) is to be more conscious of spending. Food is easily our biggest expense, since we get a lot of fresh food and organics. One of the big ways I save on our grocery bill is by cooking dry beans instead of buying cans. I tried it on the stove several times (and several ways) and hated it, but then I discovered using the crock pot is EASY and I can make up a bunch ahead and freeze it. Then when it's time to cook, I just pull a package from the freezer, the same as if I were grabbing a can from the pantry. Remember that unless you add salt to your beans (I don't) you'll need to adjust the seasoning in your recipes.

Add dry beans to slow cooker - mine is a 6-quart and I cook 2lbs at a time.

Fill with water until about an inch from the top. Let sit overnight (or all day). Drain and rinse, then pour back into the slow cooker and fill with water again. You can cook them on low overnight (or all day), or set it high for a while and then to low if you want them to go a little faster.

Drain and rinse, then portion them out and freeze or use right away.

Enchiladas (Chicken or Beef)

Enchiladas (Chicken or Beef, Dry or Wet)

Meat:
* Chopped Cooked Chicken or Turkey - about 2-3 breasts worth, or
* Shredded Beef - try a chuck roast cooked in the crock pot, then shredded

10-12 10" flour tortillas

2 1/2 C grated cheese (cheddar, colby jack, whatever you like)

Sauce:

1 C chopped onion

1 tsp minced garlic

2 T butter/margarine

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce (reg size, not small)

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

Saute onions and garlic in butter. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, cumin, salt,
oregano and basil. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 min.
Remove from heat.

For Dry/Crunchier Enchiladas (pictured):

Mix meat with sauce. Divide among tortillas, add cheese, roll and place
seam-side down in greased 9x13 pan. Brush top with olive oil or spray
with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 15-20 min.

For Wet/Softer Enchiladas:
Dip tortilla in sauce to coat and soften. Place some chicken and cheese on tortilla, roll up, and place in a greased 9x13 pan, seam side down. Repeat with all tortillas until the pan is full. You can turn them sideways if they fit better. Pour remaining sauce over all, cover with foil and bake at 350* for 20-30 min. Remove foil, top with cheese, and bake additional 5 minutes until melted.

Bulk Cooking:
If you like to "feed your freezer" you can make the sauce in a large batch
with the "lunch lady" cans of tomatoes and sauce. If you use those, multiply
the rest of the ingredients by 8 and you'll have eight times as much sauce
to freeze.

Cheesy Bean Dip

Protein is always a challenge for me to get into my son, but he loves refried beans. He won't eat my homemade beans but likes Old El Paso's beans. I get the vegetarian kind so there's no lard. I'm now able to mix in cream cheese and chickpeas and he has no idea! I'm a happy mama, even if he is eating chips too. Balance, right?

Sneaky Bean Dip

1 can Refried Beans (or homemade, of course)

1/2 cup Chickpeas, rinsed and drained

4 oz Cream Cheese

1/2 cup Shredded Cheese (any kind, I use colby jack)

Puree all ingredients except the shredded cheese in food processor or blender. (Love my vitamix for this!) Transfer mixture to a saucepan and heat on medium-low. Add cheese and stir until melted and heated through. Serve with chips or just a spoon.

Tamale Pie

This recipe has been adapted from one my mom made when I was growing up. The original recipe has no diced tomatoes and uses kidney beans. The only beans my husband will eat are black beans, so we changed that and added the tomatoes.

For my picky kids, I blend some of the filling and make them their own mini tamale pie. They like the crust so blending the tomato/veggie/bean filling works pretty well.

Tamale Pie

Filling:

2 Tbsp Butter

1/2 Onion, chopped

1/2 Green Pepper, chopped

1 14oz can Tomato Sauce

1 14 oz can Diced Tomatoes, drained

1 tsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Oregano

1/2 tsp Cumin

1 can Black Beans, rinsed (or equivalent if you cook your own)

Melt butter in a large-ish skillet (I use a 10" cast iron skillet) and cook onion and green pepper for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Set aside.

Crust:

1 cup Cornmeal

2 tsp Sugar, or use Agave or a few drops of Liquid Stevia
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 Egg, beaten
1/3 cup Milk or Buttermilk
2 Tbsp Butter, melted or softened to room temp
1 10 oz pkg Corn, thawed

Don't skip thawing frozen corn because it will make your crust soggy. I dump it into a colander and rinse under hot water until thawed.

Mix crust ingredients together and press into a greased 9" pie plate. Pour in the filling and bake at 350* for 20 minutes.