Cowboy Quesadillas

I'm putting together some of our favorite recipes.  I haven't put this on here yet...
1/2 c white rice, cooked
1/3 c black beans
1 c diced, cooked chicken (or shredded)
1/3 c frozen corn (no need to thaw)
2/3 c tomatoes, diced
3 Tbs. sliced green onions
1 1/2 c shredded cheese
1/4 c BBQ sauce
6 small tortillas

Dipping sauce:
Equal parts Ranch and BBQ sauce

Directions:
Combine rice-cheese.  Add BBQ sauce and stir.
Place about 1/3 c mixture on half a tortilla and fold to close.
Heat skillet to med.  When hot, spray or use a little oil/butter.  Cook for 2-4 min. on each side.

Bonnie Shaffer's Salsa

1 qt whole tomatoes, cut up
1 green pepper, chopped fine
1 onion, chopped fine
1 whole green chili pepper, chopped
1/2 jalapeno (I can't find the tilde), chopped fine
1 T salt
1 T fresh garlic, chopped
1 T vinegar

Mix together and cook 20 minutes. If canning, process 30 minutes. Yield: 2-3 pints

Cabbage Tacos and Fresh Salsa

My friend, Tiffany Litster put this recipe in an old ward cookbook.  I forgot about it for a while, but made it today with some variations.


Meat:
Cook a 2-3 pound roast (I used a nice sirloin-something-or-other roast that I should have saved for Sunday dinner, but you could use a cheaper roast) in the Crock Pot with a small can of green enchilada sauce and 1/2 t. garlic salt all day (first 2 hours on high, the rest of the time on low).  When it's ready to shred, a couple hours before dinner, shred the meat in all the juice, then let it keep on cooking.


Fresh Salsa:
This is a variation of a canned salsa in the BHG book. I don't really measure.

3-4 tomatoes, diced
a little jalapeno (as desired)
a little bell pepper
a little onion
some cilantro (1 T chopped up?)
1 small clove of garlic
1/4? t salt
some pepper
sprinkle with white wine vinegar
Kind of smash it up a bit with a spoon

Extra Toppings:
Chopped cabbage
Sour cream
Hot sauce
Cheese
Avocado
Cilantro
Black beans


Serve on 6" white corn tortillas.  The meat probably makes around 3 dozen 6" tacos; you'll want to double or triple the salsa if you're going to eat that many!


(I'm considering adding a little brown sugar to the meat to sweeten it up a bit.  The garlic salt in the meat was also an addition this time.)

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos and Black Beans

Okay, so my picture doesn't look that amazing. But we think these are pretty darn good. I got both recipes from Our Best Bites, one of my favorite sites these days :) Usually I'm not a corn tortilla fan, but I DID like these!
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/04/baked-creamy-chicken-taquitos/
and beans:
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/07/quick-and-easy-black-beans/

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

I have been trying for YEARS to make enchiladas like you get at restaurants and have FINALLY found a good recipe.  It was actually in a recipe book that I don't like and don't use very much.  Everything that I'd made out of it was made out of a can in the past, so I kind of just put the book away, but with a name like Campbell's Quick and Easy Recipes, you'd sure like to use it for quick and easy sometimes, wouldn't you?

10 oz cooked chicken chunks (I used some frozen chunks I had)
1 1/2 C shredded cheddar
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chiles
1/4 C chopped onion
1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce
8 6" corn tortillas
Shredded lettuce
Sour cream
Diced tomatoes

Combine chicken, 1 C cheese, chiles, and onion.

In the bottom of a 3-quart oblong baking dish, spread 1/2 can of the enchilada sauce.

Fill each tortilla with 1/3 C of the chicken mixture.  Roll up and place seam-side down in baking dish.

Pour the rest of the sauce on top.  Put the extra cheese on top.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until hot.  Top with lettuce, sour cream, and tomatoes.






I didn't really measure my chicken, so I we actually made a lot more than it said it would make, and I froze some.  I added extra cheese, using both cheddar and mozarella.  The kids actually liked these!

Cabbage Tacos

Heat tortillas on both sides on a griddle.  Put cheese down the center and let it melt.  Remove from the griddle and top with meat, 1/2 sliced cabbage, and salsa. 

Salsa:
12 Roma tomatoes
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1/4 yellow onion
cilantro
1 t. garlic salt

Put tomatoes, peppers, onion, and cilantro in a food processor, salsa maker, or dice by hand.  Drain excess liquid from salsa, transfer to a bowl and add garlic salt.

Meat:
Cook a 2/3 lb. roast in the crock pot with a can of green enchilada sauce on low overnight.  Shred the meat in the morning and let it continue to cook on low all day.

Adapted from a recipe shared by Tiffany Litster, but she puts the cabbage in the salsa.  I thought I'd leave it out so we could also eat our left-over salsa with chips.
----

Meat:
Cook a 2/3 lb. roast in the crock pot with a can of green enchilada sauce on low overnight.  Shred the meat in the morning and let it continue to cook on low all day.  (Also works just to cook it all day on low then shred it with forks, can also use mild red enchilada sauce.)

Salsa:
12 Roma tomatoes
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1/4 yellow onion
cilantro
1 t. garlic salt

1/2 chopped cabbage

Put tomatoes, peppers, onion, and cilantro in a food processor, salsa maker, or dice by hand.  Add cabbage. Drain excess liquid from salsa, transfer to a bowl and add garlic salt.

To Serve:

Heat tortillas on both sides on a griddle.  Put cheese down the center and let it melt.  Remove from the griddle and top with meat and salsa. (We didn't use the cheese this last time and they were really awesome.)

Fish Tacos

Breaded Fish Fillets
Coleslaw (I try and make a KFC clone, can't find the recipe on-line tonight)
Tomatoes
Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

I had some tilapia I needed to do something with.  Our Best Bites recommended a Breading:

1 lb white fish such as cod, halibut, or tilapia
1 Tbs canola oil
1-2 eggs
6 Tbs flour
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 C panko bread crumbs
1/2 C unseasoned breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush canola oil on a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.

Crack egg(s) into a shallow dish and beat lightly (start with one egg and crack another if you run out). In a separate shallow dish combine flour, seasoned salt, pepper, and paprika. In one more shallow dish combine panko and bread crumbs.

Cut fish into sticks about 3-4 inches long and 1/2-1 inch tall.

Working with a few pieces of fish at at time, dredge first in flour and then shake off excess. Then dip each piece in the beaten egg, and finally the bread crumb mixture. Make sure all sides are well coated with bread crumbs and then place fish on the baking sheet.

When all pieces are on baking sheet, place in oven and cook for about 10 minutes. Cool for a few minutes and then serve with tartar sauce for dipping.

I, of course, cheat a little and just do fish fillets (who wants to cut up all that fish anyway?).  I also didn't have regular bread crumbs, just the Panko ones.  My tilapia fillets turned out great!


Our Best Bites also has a recipe for Cilantro-Lime Vinagrette:


1/4 c. fresh lime juice (about 2-3 juicy limes)
1/4 c. white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
4-5 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. Kosher or sea salt
2 tsp. sugar
1 c. canola oil
1/2 c. roughly chopped cilantro, stems removed

In the jar of your blender, combine lime juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, and sugar. Blend until ingredients are completely combined. With the blender running, add the oil in a steady stream. Add cilantro and blend until the cilantro has broken down but still maintains some of its texture. Serve with greens, on any type of Mexican salad, or use as a marinade.

FYI:  They also have a tartar sauce that is REALLY yummy:

Tartar Sauce
1/2 C mayonaise
2 Tbs sour cream
1/4 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 Tbs finely minced onion
1 T minced dill pickle
1 pinch seasoned salt
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Tartar Sauce: Mix all tartar sauce ingredients and stir well to combine. Chill for at least one hour before serving. (The longer the better, make ahead if you can!)

Mexican Bean Dip

This is my favorite 7-layer bean dip (sorry, the picture doesn't have the tomatoes).  If I make this with tamales or tacos or whatever, this gets eaten, not the other food. So, I've just turned this appetizer/side dish into a main dish at our house.  I got the recipe from someone in Evan's mom's ward when we got married.


Layer 1:
2 10 1/2 oz cans jalapeno bean dip

Layer 2:
Mash together:
3 medium-ripe avocados
3 T lemon juice
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Layer 3:
Combine:
8 oz sour cream
1/2 C mayo
1 1/4 oz package taco seasoning

Layer 4:
1 large bunch green onions

Layer 5:
3 medium tomatoes chopped

Layer 6:
2- 3 1/2 oz chopped, drained olives

Layer 7:
8 oz sharp shredded cheese

I use regular refried beans because I almost always have them on hand.  I leave off the onions.