[RECIPE] Oaxacan Mexican Tacos

By Brandy Summers


Here's an awesome tacos recipe from Oaxacan, Mexico. Remember to wear gloves when you are working with fresh jalapeno peppers.

2 pounds top sirloin steak, cut into thin strips

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup vegetable oil

18 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1 medium onion, diced

4 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

4 limes, cut into wedges

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Fry the steak strips; stirring constantly until browned on the outside and cooked through, but not too firm (about 5 minutes). Season with salt and pepper. Remove to a plate and keep warm.

Heat the oil in the skillet and quickly fry each tortilla on both sides, until lightly browned and flexible. Set aside and keep warm.

Place the tortillas on a plate and top with the steak strips, onion, jalapeno and cilantro to taste. Squeeze lime juice over. Wrap and serve.

Authentic Mexican Breakfast Tacos

Chorizo is a Mexican sausage that is very delicious in breakfast tacos and burritos.

6 ounces chorizo sausage

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas

6 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 dash hot pepper sauce or to taste

1/2 cup salsa

Directions

Crumble the sausage into a skillet over medium high heat. Cook and stir until evenly brown. Set aside.

Heat one skillet over medium heat, and heat another skillet over high heat. This skillet is for warming the tortillas.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Spray the medium heat skillet with some cooking spray. Pour in the eggs. Cook and stir until almost firm. Add the sausage and continue cooking and stirring until firm.

Meanwhile, warm tortillas for about 45 seconds per side in the other skillet, so they are hot and crispy on the edges, but still pliable.

Sprinkle a little shredded cheese onto each tortilla while it is still hot. Top with some of the scrambled egg and sausage. Add hot pepper sauce and salsa to your liking.

Best Wet Burritos

Wet burritos are prepared with a tomato sauce, thus their name.

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 (4.5 oz) can diced green chili peppers

1 (16 oz.) can refried beans

1 (15 oz.) can chili without beans

1 (10.75 oz.) can condensed tomato soup

1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce

6 (12-inch) flour tortillas, warmed

2 cups lettuce, shredded

1 cup tomatoes, chopped

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

Directions

Crumble ground beef into a skillet over medium high heat. Cook and stir until evenly browned. Add in the onion and cook until tender. Drain the grease from pan and season with garlic, cumin, salt and pepper.

Stir in the green chilies and refried beans until well blended. Turn off the heat and keep warm.

In a saucepan, combine the chili without beans, tomato soup and enchilada sauce. Mix well and cook over medium heat until heated through. Turn off heat and keep warm.

Place a warmed tortilla on a plate and spoon a generous 1/2 cup of the ground beef mixture onto the center.

Top with lettuce and tomato. Roll up tortilla over the filling. Spoon a generous amount of the sauce over the top, and sprinkle with cheese and green onions. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds or until cheese is melted.

[RECIPE] Stuffed Chicken From Oaxaca

By KC Kudra


This delicious recipe is famous in Juarez which is not too far from El Paso. Sauteing the chicken in oil rather than frying them cuts the fat content down a bit and so does using sour cream instead of heavy cream when making the chipotle sauce. Opt for low fat sour cream to make it even healthier.

This tasty Oaxaca recipe contains Asadero cheese, which is also known as Chihuahua or Oaxaca cheese, and is one of the more traditional Mexican foods. This cheese melts well but if you cannot find it, simply switch it for Monterey Jack which melts in the same way and has a similar flavor.

The Asadero is used to stuff the chicken, along with the avocado, and the resulting texture is amazing, as the cheese and avocado flavors penetrate the poultry and give flavor to the whole chicken breast.

The recipe also features chipotle chilies and these smoked, dried jalapenos are available from Latin food stores or the Mexican section of your local grocery store. They come in jars or cans. The following recipe makes enough for six servings.

Use whichever pasta you like, although linguine is especially good. You can add diced, cooked vegetables to the pasta if you like, or tomatoes, garlic and other herbs, to make this meal your own and to add extra nutrients.

What You Need For The Chili Sauce:

    1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
    1/4 cup hot water
    1 tablespoon lime juice
    3/4 cup sour cream
    4 canned chilies in adobo sauce


What You Need For The Chicken:

    1 tablespoon lime juice
    3 oz shredded Asadero cheese
    4 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
    1 avocado, peeled and cut into 6 wedges
    1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
    1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    3 lightly beaten egg whites
    1/8 teaspoon black pepper
    2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    2 tablespoons chopped parsley
    1/4 cup sliced pitted olives
    8 cups hot cooked pasta (about 1 lb uncooked pasta)
    Cooking spray

How To Make It:

Process the bouillon granules, water, and chilies in a blender until you get a smooth mixture. Stir in a tablespoon of the lime juice and sour cream.

Toss the avocado with the remaining lime juice. Cut a slit crosswise through each breast half, to make a pocket. Stuff a couple of tablespoons of cheese and an avocado slice into each one. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken and dredge the breasts in the flour.

Dip each one in egg whites and dip them in the breadcrumbs. Heat the oil in a cooking spray-coated skillet over a moderately high heat. Add the breasts and saute them for six minutes on each side, or until they are cooked through.

Toss the pasta with the parsley and olives. Divide the pasta between six plates and arrange the stuffed breasts on top. Drizzle the chipotle sauce on top and serve this Mexican food recipe immediately.

Tasty Ideas For Tortilla Fillings

By KC Kudra

If you want to make lunch in a rush or you are looking for easy ideas for a buffet, what about grabbing a package or flour tortillas and making some Mexican inspired treats with them?

Tortillas can be filled and served hot or chilled, depending on the meal, how much time you have and what you want to make. If you are catering for a buffet, you might want to make some chilled tortilla pinwheels.

Chilled Filled Tortillas

Cream cheese is a great ingredient to use in tortilla recipes because it is sticky as well as tasty, meaning it can hold the tortilla together. If you are making tortilla pinwheels, you will not want them to fall apart.

Spread some cream cheese over a flour tortilla and add fresh spinach, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, basil, ham, chopped cooked chicken, or bacon. Roll the tortillas up and secure them with a toothpick. Chill them for a couple of hours, then cut them into one inch pieces and serve. The pinwheel effect means you can see the filling in a spiral. These are always popular at buffets and parties.

If you want to make simple tortilla pinwheels, stick with just two ingredients - try cream cheese and pineapple, cream cheese with sliced tomatoes, peanut butter and jelly, chicken and mayonnaise, fresh basil and cream cheese or any other variation you can think of.

It is best to use one sticky ingredient, else the pinwheels might unravel when you remove the toothpicks. Make sure you do remove the toothpicks before serving these, by the way, since most people do not check canapes for toothpicks before putting them in their mouths!

Hot Filled Tortillas

If you want to make a tasty lunch, what about a quesadilla? Fold a flour tortilla around some cheese (shredded, grated or crumbled) and fry it. You can make a half moon-shape tortilla or a wedge-shaped one. Add some ham, chicken, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes or anything else you like.

The great thing about traditional Mexican foods like quesadillas is that you can make one in less than two minutes. It takes about half a minute to assemble and a minute to cook. Once the cheese has melted and the tortilla is hot and golden brown, it is ready to serve.

Tasty Tortilla Stacks

You can also make tortilla stacks. Heat some tortillas in the oven if you want them soft or deep fry them if you want them crispy. Between each tortilla, you can have bacon, refried beans, salad, ground beef with onion, guacamole, salsa, cheese, or anything else.

Put a different ingredient between each layer and serve this for dinner. If you use four or five tortillas you can feed a family. Make sure the different layers complement each other since you serve a dish like this in wedges and eat the different layers together.

Authentic Mexican Recipes' Use of Chiles: Rajas Con Crema For Example

By Carlos Lima


When thinking of authentic Mexican recipes, people typically see pictures in their mind of tacos and chiles. They see things wrapped in tortillas and imagine the burning sensation of hot chiles in their mouth.

As someone who's lived in Mexico for years, I can say that when it comes to the tortilla thing... yes, they are used everywhere. Corn has been around for ages in Mexico, long before it was ever called "Mexico". The indigenous tribes of Aztecs and Mayans believed it to be a gift from the gods themselves, and it has found its way into virtually every corner of the cuisine--even the drinks (Atole, anyone?)

But when it comes to chiles, real Mexican food is seldom as spicy as people think. In fact, spicy Tex-Mex recipes are often hotter than spicy authentic mexican recipes, and this is because Mexicans use chiles primarily to add flavor, not just to "spice" a dish. In the Mexican food you find abroad, in Mexican restaurants across the globe, you'll often find a hodgepodge of ingredients taken from Mexican cuisine, Tex-Mex cuisine, and the local cuisine, mixed together and wrapped up in a tortilla, as though the tortilla makes it "Mexican", and then you'll have the insanely hot chile salsa off in the corner for those who want to burn their mouth to hell.

But inside real Mexico, this is not the case. The chiles in Mexican cuisine are almost always used to actually contribute a flavor to the dish that works well with the rest of the ingredients. The chile is integrated into the dish, not just thrown on top at the end "to add some zest". It's a very different approach, and consequently a very different result.

So it is true that tortillas are everywhere in Mexico; and chilis are used in many different Mexican dishes, but they are used in a much more natural way. To show you, here is one of many delicious authentic Mexican recipes for something a little unique, that you've probably never heard of before, that uses chiles in this different, more "Mexican" way:

Rajas con Crema - An Authentic Mexican Side Dish

This recipe is for Rajas con Crema and it's a Mexican side dish that will inject flavor into any main course. Simply put, rajas con crema are cooked strips of poblano peppers with sour cream added. It is a very "Mexican" side dish and is also popular with Mexican food aficionados and casual eaters new to the cuisine alike, so you're in for a treat here.

Rajas con crema take a bit of time and effort to prepare, so give yourself about 45 minutes to make this dish when you're planning ahead.

EQUIPMENT for cooking this:

    1 medium size pan
    1 sharp knife
    1 cutting board
    1 plastic bag
    1 pair of clean rubber gloves

INGREDIENTS (serves two):

    chiles poblanos (poblano peppers) - 3 large green ones
    sour cream - about 1 cup
    lard (a small block for cooking, for full authenticity) or olive oil - 2 table spoons (healthier)

PREPARATION:

1) Roast the poblano peppers. With the stove on "medium", place the poblano peppers one at a time on the open stove, bare flame (or bare element if using an electric stove) and keep rotating the pepper until the entire outer surface of the pepper is caramelized (roasted and dark brown in color).

Then put each roasted poblano into a plastic bag and wrap it up so that it's air-tight. This is to make the chile sweat, to prepare it for skin removal.

2) Turn the stove to "low", get a medium size pan, add some lard (or two table spoons of olive oil) to it to let it preheat.

Put some rubber gloves on so you don't burn your hands, and then remove the chiles from the plastic bag.

With one hand gripping the body of the pepper and the other holding the stem, rip the stem out of the body by pulling the two in opposite directions. Toss the stem away.

Now the messy part: with the body of the pepper on a cutting board, open the pepper up and "unroll" it so it's no longer conical in shape but, instead, flat on the board, and from the outside, wipe off any of the caramelized burn scabs from when you cooked it on the open flame earlier, and from the inside, wipe away all the seeds. To do this, you can just use your fingers if you're wearing gloves, or you can put your hand inside a plastic bag and rub away at the hot pepper. This will take a bit of time, and it does take some patience.

After cleaning the peppers, slice them up into about six pieces each, length-wise, and add them to the pan to cook. Leave them on the pan and mix them around on there until they're soft.

Then add the sour cream to the pan, mix it around so all the softened peppers are covered, and let it cook for another five minutes.

3)Then remove them from the pan, add to your plate with the rest of your food, and enjoy another one of the most delicious authentic Mexican recipes!

Typical Mexican Food - Cooking With Turkey

By KC Kudra


Turkey has been a staple in authentic Mexican food recipes since Mayan and Aztec times and if you enjoy the flavor of turkey, there are lots of traditional Mexican foods, which include turkey.

Other local produce, which was used centuries ago to make Mexican typical food, includes tomatoes, chocolate, vanilla, chili peppers, fish, and avocado. Duck and turkey were the only kinds of fowl to have been domesticated in Mexico before the Spanish conquistadores arrived in the country and brought chickens with them.

You can substitute chicken for turkey in Mexican chicken recipes, like tacos, enchiladas, fajitas and others or you can make a traditional Mexican turkey recipe.

Steaming and boiling are common ways to prepare Mexican turkey dishes, since a lot of Mexican kitchens do not have ovens. Turkey is usually prepared separately from the sauce and then combined before serving.

Turkey Burgers Mexican Style

What about making Mexican turkey burgers? Simply combine ground turkey with taco seasoning, cumin, a finely chopped onion, and some seasoning and make turkey patties. You can them fry, grill or broil them until they are cooked through and serve them with refried beans, Mexican rice or your favorite side dish.

Homemade salsa or guacamole is very tasty with these Mexican turkey burgers and you can serve lime wedges on the side to squeeze over them. Turkey burgers with Mexican spices are a wonderful example of a Mexican food recipe, which makes a nice change from more common Mexican recipes.

A Delicious and Easy Mexican Turkey Recipe

The following recipe serves six people and makes a warming dinner. It is simple to make and if you have some turkey left over from thanksgiving, you can use the leftovers to make this delicious Mexican dish.

Creamy Turkey and Broccoli Stuffed Tortilla Cups

You will need:

    6 large flour tortillas
    1 clove garlic, minced
    1 cup sliced mushrooms
    1 cup cooked broccoli florets
    2 cups cooked turkey cubes
    1/2 cup sour cream
    2 tablespoons softened butter
    1/2 cup sliced green onions
    1 cup sliced cooked carrots
    10 oz can condensed broccoli cheese soup or cheese soup


How to make it:

Brush six small ovenproof cups with half the butter. Soften the tortillas by warming them in the microwave or in a skillet, and then push each one into a greased ovenproof cup. Put them on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Saute the garlic and mushrooms in the rest of the butter.

Stir in the sour cream and the undiluted soup and mix well. Add the carrots, broccoli, turkey, and spoon half a cup of this mixture into each tortilla shell. Bake them for about twenty minutes or until the filling is piping hot. Remove the filled tortilla shells from the cups and serve.

Tasty Mexican Food Recipe Ideas For Appetizers

By KC Kudra

You can probably name plenty of traditional Mexican foods for entrees and maybe even desserts and drinks but what about Mexican appetizers?

Mexican families love to gather together to enjoy one another's company and, of course, to delight in their favorite Mexican food recipes at the same time. A Mexican dinner table might be heaving with a wide selection of foods for people to help themselves or there might just be a couple of family favorites, which everyone loves.

Types of Mexican Appetizer Recipes

Corn chips and tortilla chips served with homemade salsa is always popular, either as a snack between two meals or as an appetizer at a party.

You can have different kinds of chips and different types of dips too. Guacamole, mild salsa, hummus, a creamy cheese dip, and a chili salsa might be a nice selection to serve with the dipping chips.

Other well loved Mexican appetizers include tamales, empanadas, chimichangas, and ceviche.

Mexican Salad Recipes

Mexican salads are very popular too and you can serve a mixed salad as an appetizer or make an impressive looking Mexican seven layer salad, which is an example of a traditional Mexican food recipe.

A seven layer salad looks great served in a glass bowl, so your guests can see every layer. The layers might include tomatoes, lettuce, corn kernels, fried ground beef, onions, Mexican cheese, olives, avocado, salsa, guacamole, black beans, sour cream, bell pepper, or whatever you like, or whatever you have in your kitchen.

Using contrasting textures and colors is always a good idea. Top your seven layer salad with some grated cheese and a handful of fresh cilantro and you will have a winning dish.

There are many different authentic Mexican food recipes you can consider if you want to serve a Mexican appetizer. If you are serving a rich and filling main course, you might want to consider something light, such as ceviche, a seafood cocktail or thinly cut stuffed tortilla pinwheels.

A Quick and Easy Mexican Appetizer Recipe

The following Mexican appetizer recipe is really easy to make and does not require a lot of ingredients. You can either make your own roasted red bell peppers or use a jar.

The same applies with the guacamole and you can use your favorite brand or make your own. The following recipe is enough for four to six people.

Tortilla Pinwheels with Roasted Bell Pepper and Goat Cheese

You will need:

    4 small, soft flour tortillas
    3 oz goat cheese
    7 oz jar roasted red peppers
    1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    6 oz guacamole
    Fresh basil, to garnish


How to make it:

Drain the roasted peppers and dry them with a towel or paper towels. Chop them coarsely. Spread the cheese over the tortillas and the guacamole over the cheese. Sprinkle the black pepper and the chopped roasted peppers over the top of the cheese and roll the tortillas up, pressing the edges well to seal them.

Cut each rolled up, stuffed tortilla into six slices with a sharp, serrated knife. Secure them with toothpicks and garnish with fresh basil. Serve these delicious Mexican appetizers chilled.

[RECIPE] Famous Mexican Foods - Delicious, Classic Dishes

By KC Kudra


The best selling Mexican junk foods are not the same as the most famous Mexican foods if you are looking at authentic Mexican food recipes. Forget Taco Bell and Tex Mex inventions if you want to know what real Mexicans eat.

Tortillas are a Mexican staple and are eaten daily in Mexico, served alongside a meal. In the south of Mexico, tortillas are often made from maize and in the north, they are usually made from flour.

Recipes for Mexican Tortillas
Tortillas are used in many typical Mexican food recipes. They can be fried to make tacos, broiled to make quesadillas or rolled and baked to make enchiladas. Enchiladas are coated in a chili and tomato sauce, filled with pork, chicken, or vegetables, and then baked. They are usually quite mild, despite the chili content.

Quesadillas are tortillas, which are stuffed with cheese. This is a simple Mexican recipe, which is frequently served with salad or beans. If you prefer your tortillas fried, you can make tacos. Taco fillings include pork, chicken, beef, or vegetables.

Famous Mexican Sauces

The word salsa means sauce, although some Mexican salsas are thick and chunky, rather than thin and sauce-like. Mole sauce is a chili, chocolate and spice based sauce. It can be green or red and is often served over turkey or chicken.

Pipian sauce, which is popular in the Oaxaca region of Mexico, is made from pumpkin seeds. It is green and goes nicely with chicken.

Red Snapper Veracruz Style

Fish and seafood is very popular in the Veracruz region of Mexico and the following Veracruz recipe for red snapper, known locally as Huachinango, combines this tasty fresh fish with a flavorful marinade and other ingredients such as bay leaves, chicken broth, onion, and tomato.

Huachinango is found on many menus in coastal Mexican areas. This recipe makes enough to serve six people.

Traditional Huachinango Recipe

You will need:

    1 whole red snapper (about 3 1/2 lbs), cleaned and de-scaled
    1/4 teaspoon black pepper
    1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
    2 tablespoons water
    Juice from 2 limes
    3 chopped cloves garlic
    2 bay leaves
    1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
    1 sliced onion
    1/2 cup chicken broth
    Vegetable oil, to saute
    3 tablespoons dried parsley
    Salt, to taste
    1 tablespoon capers
    12 whole green olives
    8 pitted green olives, finely chopped
    6 pickled chilies
    1/2 cup homemade tomato puree (tomatoes, water, and olive oil)
    4 plum tomatoes


How to make it:

Score the fleshy part of the fish with a sharp knife and leave the head and tail on. Mix the lime juice, water, garlic, clove, and black pepper together and pour this marinade over the red snapper. Let it marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Pour a tablespoon of the oil into a hot pan and sear the snapper on each side for several minutes. Add the chicken broth, then the onion, bay leaves and oregano. Add the tomato puree and the whole plum tomatoes.

Next, add the chopped olives, capers, and pickled chilies. Add salt to taste and simmer for 15 minutes. Sprinkle the parsley and whole olives over the fish before serving it. You can serve this red snapper recipe with rice and salad.

With a family of six, five guys and my wife you can imagine that great food has always been a way of life in our household and having lots of different easy recipes to choose from is very important. Well when the guy factor kicks in that means only one thing will fill that craving, Mexican food, and the more the better. Not that greasy fast food Tex-Mex stuff but real healthy authentic Mexican food you will love.