Mexican Picadillo

Tip: Read directions carefully before preparing.

Ingredients:

1lb lean ground beef

2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2inch cubes

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced fine (1/4 inchor less)

1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced fine (1/4 inch or less)

1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced fine

2 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground coarse ground black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh ground comino (cumin)

1 cup beef stock

1/2 cup cilantro

2 large tomatoes, cored, peeled, and cut into 1/2inch pieces

Directions:

Heat a large skillet and, when hot, add the canola oil. Add the ground beef, crumbling as you put it in the skillet.

When lightly browned, add the onions, red bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic, and all the spices. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, and then add the diced potatoes, and then the cilantro.

Add beef stock, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, put into a bowl and serve over Spanish rice or with hot flour tortillas.

Tip: If you would like to spice it up, add a chopped jalapeno. Picadillo, Mexican style ground beef, is a popular lunch meal particularly in Northern Mexico.  Picadillo is an easy dish to prepare that’s in every home cook’s repertoire.

Tex-Mex Beef Enchiladas

Tip: Please read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

2 lb ground hamburger meat, 80/20

12 corn tortillas

1/4 cup canola oil (vegetable is fine)

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

4 cups grated cheddar cheese (Monterrey Jack or Colby)

3 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder (see below)

3 cups beef broth

3 large garlic cloves

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds (comino)

1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/4 Mexican oregano (regular oregano is fine)

2 allspice berries

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Heat a small skillet or frying pan over high heat. Once the pan is hot simply add the cumin seeds, no oil, all at once. Shake the pan to keep the cumin seeds moving and cook, shaking pretty much constantly - until they darken slightly and you can smell the earthy aroma of toasted cumin seeds through your kitchen, about 1 minute. As soon as they are toasted, transfer the cumin seeds to a molcajete (or mortar and pestle) so they cool and stop cooking.

To the molecajete (mortar and pestal) add the garlic, peppercorns, allspice, oregano and grind into a paste. Once ground into a paste, Add 1/2 cup beef broth to loosen all the spices from the molcajete and set aside.

To make the enchilada sauce, in a large skillet, over medium heat, lightly brown the hamburger meat, remove with ladle, being sure to drain as much oil as possible back into the skillet when removing, and once all the meat has been removed, set aside.

In the same skillet, make a light roux by adding the flour to the fat in the skillet and stirring with a whisk constantly, cook a few minutes until the flour has browned lightly

Add the chili powder, add the remaining 2 1/2 cups of beef broth, liquid and paste from molcajete and salt, and continue to quickly stir using a whisk and cook until mixture has thickened and smooth. Set aside and keep warm.

 

For the Enchiladas, you will need a 9x13-inch Pyrex dish, set aside on prepping area. Preheat your oven to 375°F degrees.

Chop the onions, grate the cheese, and set aside.

Heat the oil in a second skillet. Have the corn tortillas ready. Pick up a tortilla with tongs and place it into the hot oil for about 15 seconds. This first step is to soften the tortilla.

Remove the tortilla from the oil, letting the excess oil drip back into the skillet.

Set up your area with all the ingredients you will need to prepare the enchiladas.

Place a tortilla in the 9x13-inch Pyrex dish, add about 1 heaping tablespoon of grated cheese, 2 tablespoons of hamburger meat and sprinkle of onions on the center of the tortilla, add 1 tablespoon of enchilada sauce and roll it up.

Place the rolled tortilla flat-side-down as shown below in Pyrex dish.

Repeat the process with the remaining 11 tortillas. The pan should be full.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas.

Sprinkle the enchiladas generously with the remaining meat, grated cheese and onion.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly. Serve at once. Enjoy!

Servings: Makes four servings of three enchiladas each.

Tip:  Garnish with Creama or sour cream, salsa, Pico de Gallo. Ideas for on the side, dishes, serve, chips and hot sauce, Mexican Rice or Refried Beans.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Tip: Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1 cup cabbage, thinly sliced

1/2 cup cilantro, leaves removed from stems

1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped

2 green onions (scallions), chopped

1 large Hass Avocado, cut in 1/2 - 1 inch cubes

1 lime, cut into 8

1 cup tortilla chip strips

4 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless

8 cups water

1 tablespoon chicken bouillon

1 teaspoon salt

1 large clove garlic, finely minced

1/8 teaspoon comino (cumin), fresh ground

Directions:

Chop, slice, cube and shred your vegetables as describe in ingredients (onion, cabbage, scallions, cilantro, avocado, lime and cheese). Set aside.

Cut chicken thighs into approximately a little less than 1/2 inch, chunks.

In a 5 1/2 quart pot, bring 8 cups of water to boil. Add chicken, fresh ground comino (cumin), minced garlic, chicken bouillon, and salt. Let boil for 10 minutes, then lower heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

To plate, in a large soup bowl, ladle 2 cups chicken and broth, make sure the broth is very hot before ladling. Add 1/4 of each into the bowl, cheese, avocado, scallions, cabbage, red onion, and then top with tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Servings: 4

Tip:  What could be better on a cold day then a bowl of fresh, hot homemade soup. A soup that is quick to make, flavorful, and filling!

You can either buy the tortilla chip strips from you favorite grocer. They are usually stocked in the vegetable or salad department. Or you can cut and fry your own using fresh corn tortillas!

Mexican Refried Beans

Tip: Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

(For Preparing Pinto Beans)

1 pound dried pinto beans
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped

1/4 cup bacon drippings

(For Preparing Refried Beans)

3 cups cooked pinto beans

12 oz Hickory Smoked bacon, chopped

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground comino (cumin)

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

Directions:

(For Preparing Beans)
Pick over beans to remove any bad beans, sediment, or small stones, that may be present. Wash the beans and place then in a large bowl and cover with water.  Let the beans soak at least six hours. Pour beans into colander and rinse thoroughly.

In a heavy pot add the beans, and salt. Add enough cold water to cover the beans.

The water should be at least twice as deep as the beans and heat to boiling. Lower heat to medium and cover, then let simmer for 2 hours or until beans are soft, adding additional water when necessary to keep water slightly above the beans during cooking.

Add the bacon drippings, chopped garlic, and chopped onion and cook for 45 more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Set aside.

(For Preparing Refried Beans)

In a large saute pan, over medium high heat, add 12 oz. of bacon and fry.

Remove the bacon and set aside.

Add the onions and saute them for about 3 minutes, then add the comino, pepper, and salt and cook another minute.

Add the 3 cups of beans and let fry, without stirring for about 3 minutes. Stir the beans and let fry another 2 minutes.

Lower heat to medium low and add the one cup of water and stir, then mash the beans with a potato masher.  Simmer and stir another 2 minutes.  Add extra salt, if needed, to taste.  Enjoy!

Tip: Did you know that in English, "re-" before a word means to do something over again, like in reorder or redo, but in Spanish, it means "well" or "very," so "refritos" actually means well fried and not twice fried like the name in English would suggest.

Chile de Arbol Hot Sauce

Tip: Read directions completely before preparing.

6 roma tomatoes
1/2 medium yellow onion

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

1 generous handful of Arbol chilies, about 1 oz

4 Guajillo chilies
4 large garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

2 allspice berries
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds

¼ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano leaves (Regular is fine, but Mexican is preferred.)

½ teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Place tomatoes and onion in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil until tomatoes are soft. Approximately 25 minutes.

Stem the chilies, roll them between your thumb and fingers, pressing gently to loosen the seeds inside. Break in half and shake out as many seeds as possible.

Add oil in a medium sized skillet on medium heat, and fry the arbol and guajllo chilies for 3-5 minutes.  Stir constantly so that chilies are fried well and change colors, but do not burn.  Lower the heat if necessary.

Remove chilies and place on paper towel to drain

Remove cooked tomatoes and onion, let cool to room temperature, reserve the cooking liquid.

 

In a molecajete (mortar and pestal) add the garlic, peppercorns, allspice, cumin, oregano and grind into a paste. Add 1/2 cup reserved liquid to loosen all the spices from the molcajete and add to blender.

Once all other ingredients have reached room temperature, place all ingredients, including seasonings into a blender with 1 cup of reserved cooled cooking liquid and blend well.  Salsa should be smooth with specks of dried chili.  Add additional salt to taste, if needed. Enjoy!

Tip:  This hot sauce recipe is great with beef, chicken or fish tacos, chips, Huevos Rancheros and so much more!

Arroz Verde (Green Rice)

Tip: Read instructions completely before preparing.

Ingredients: 

2 cups long grain rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup finely minced onion
2 clove garlic, minced

3 Anaheim chilies

1/2 cup firmly packed fresh cilantro sprigs (about 1/2 oz.)
1 cup firmly packed fresh stemmed spinach leaves (about 1-1/2 oz.)
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon

Directions:

Roast and peel the chilies. You can use your broiler and broil the chilies for about 6 minutes on each side or until brown and toasted. Let cool and remove the skin, stems and seeds.

In a blender add chilies, cilantro, spinach, and broth and blend until puréed. Add the milk, salt, chicken bouillon and blend a bit more until well combined.

In a 5 1/2 quart heavy-based pot, over medium heat, heat the olive oil and butter. Wait until the butter is melted, then add the rice and sauté, stirring every 30 seconds, until it just begins to brown, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the onion and garlic and cook 1 minute, continuously stirring. Add the contents of the blender, stir well, turn the heat to high, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low. Cover the pan. Cook for 10 minutes. Stir the rice slowly and carefully once, cover, and cook another 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Servings: 8

Tip: There are many versions of Arroz Verde (Green Rice) in Mexico. Many recipes call for Poblano chilies, which add speciness to the rice. You can use poblano if you like. This rice dish goes great with any Mexican dish!