Chorizo Taquitos 6 November 2009

Adapted from a Recipezaar recipe.

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb. chorizo
• 1 cup chunky salsa
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• large flour tortillas
• 1 Tbsp. melted butter or margarine

 

Directions

1. Remove chorizo from casings, crumble, and cook in a skillet.
2. Remove from heat and mix in salsa and cheese.
3. Preheat oven to 400F.
4. Roll chorizo mix into tortillas, cut in half and place in baking dish.
5. Brush tortillas with butter (skip this step if you don’t want them crispy).
6. Cook 15-20 minutes.  (Took 18 in my oven)

 

Top with or dip in cheese, sour cream, guacamole, whatever you like.  I just ate them as-is.

Perfect Nachos 16 July 2009

This started out as me trying to imitate the nachos at my favorite local mexican restaurant, and morphed into something I like even better!  The key to this is making sure that everything is spread as evenly as possible over every layer.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. shredded cooked chicken
• taco seasoning (spicy is best)
• 1 lb. white cheese (Chihuahua is best, any melting cheese will do)
• tortilla chips

Directions

1. Cook chicken with taco seasoning, following directions on package.
2. Line large roasting pan with tinfoil, or use disposable pan.
3. Layer ingredients in pan:  chips, cheese, chicken, repeat.
4. Cook at 350° until cheese is melted (usually 8-10 minutes).

Also works incredibly well with half-chicken and half-chorizo.  When I do this, I cook the chorizo up in a pan and then throw the chicken in and let the juices from the chorizo season it instead of using taco seasoning.

Enchilada Lasagna 17 June 2009

Courtesy of the great Alton Brown.

Sauce Ingredients

• 2 dried chipotle chiles, stems and seeds removed, diced
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. toasted cumin seeds, freshly ground
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Filling Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs, cubed
• 1 1/2 cups diced onion
• pinch kosher salt
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 12 (6 inch) corn tortillas (do NOT use flour tortillas)
• 3 cups shredded queso fresco or montery jack cheese
• non-stick cooking spray

Directions

1. Combine sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan over high heat.  Bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until chiles are soft.  Set aside until ready to use.
3. Preheat oven to 350F.
4. Heat vegetable oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Saute chicken until cooked through, about 7-9 minutes.  Set chicken aside.
6. In the same pan, add onions with a generous pinch of salt.  Decrease heat to medium-low, sweat for 4-6 minutes.
7. Add garlic and oregano, cook until onions are soft.
8. Add chicken back to pan, mix, remove from heat.
9. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray, place a half a cup of sauce in the bottom of the pan.
10. Cut 3 of the tortillas in half to cover the layers more evenly.
11. Lay out 3 full and 2 half tortillas over the bottom of the pan, top with half the chicken mixture and 1 cup of cheese.  Repeat.
12. Lay the last tortillas over the top, top with the rest of the cheese and sauce.
13. Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 30 minutes.
14. Remove foil and cook for another 10 minutes.  If you would like more of a crunchy top, place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes before you remove.

I pretty much just copied the recipe as is here, but there are several suggested changes in the comments.  The most common are:  (1) Use more chicken, and use shredded instead, (2) There is too much sauce, don’t use it all and save what you don’t use for later, (3) Let it sit for 10-15 minutes after coming out of the oven for a better consistency.  I used all 3 suggestions, but I’m sure it also depends on personal taste.

This was incredible, just as I would expect of an Alton Brown recipe.

Mexican Chicken Casserole 20 April 2009

Couldn’t make it to the grocery today, so I came up with something from the ingredients I had on hand.  Turned out really well.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup white rice (measured uncooked), prepared according to package directions
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1/4-1/2 cup salsa
• cheese

Directions

1. Boil and shred chicken, then cook with taco seasoning.
2. Mix 1/4 cup cheese and salsa (amount depending on taste) with cooked rice.
3. Preheat oven to 350F.
4. Spread rice mixture in the bottom of a 9×9″ pan.  Top with chicken and more cheese.
5. Cover and cook for 25 minutes.  Uncover and cook another 10 minutes.