Homemade Enchilada Sauce

 

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 tablespoons flour (whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and gluten-free flour blends all work!)

• 2 tablespoon ground chili powder (scale back if you’re sensitive to spice or using particularly spicy chili powder)

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

• ¼ teaspoon salt, to taste

• Pinch of cinnamon (optional but recommended)

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 2 cups broth (vegetable or beef)

• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. This sauce comes together quickly once you get started, so measure the dry ingredients (the flour, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt and optional cinnamon) into a small bowl and place it near the stove. Place the tomato paste and broth near the stove as well.

2. In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, warm the oil until it’s hot enough that a light sprinkle of the flour/spice mixture sizzles on contact. This might take a couple of minutes, so be patient and don’t step away from the stove!

3. Once it’s ready, pour in the flour and spice mixture. While whisking constantly, cook until fragrant and slightly deepened in color, about 1 minute. Whisk the tomato paste into the mixture, then slowly pour in the broth while whisking constantly to remove any lumps.

4. Raise heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, whisking often, for about 5 to 7 minutes, until the sauce has thickened a bit and a spoon encounters some resistance as you stir it. (The sauce will thicken some more as it cools.)

5. Remove from heat, then whisk in the vinegar and season to taste with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Add more salt, if necessary (I usually add another pinch or two). Go forth and make enchiladas! Makes enough sauce for a 9x13 pan of enchiladas

Lime Rice

LIME RICE

Georgia

I use this one with Noah and Whitney’s Café Rio Burritos. I make the rice to go in the burritos, instead of just plain rice. I cheat and sauté and then throw everything in the rice maker. This makes more than you will need for one pan, so I freeze the other half, and use it the next time I make them.

 

In saucepan sauté:
1 Tbsp. Butter
½ yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

In large pot, bring following to boil:

3 1/3 c. water

4 tsp. chicken bouillon
¼ c. bunch cilantro, chopped (I skip this, cause I really don’t like cilantro)
1 tsp. cumin
1 small can diced green chilies
½ Tbsp. lime juice
¼ tsp. salt

Add sautéed onion and garlic to boiling water, then add 1 ½ c. long grain rice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Cafe Rio Burritos

CAFÉ RIO BURRITOS

Noah 

(This recipe is a pain because there is a lot of steps, but Noah loves it—so I always try to make a pan for that night and freeze another pan for later.)

2 ½ lbs. pork, chicken, or beef

1 pkg large tortillas

2 (15 oz.) can mild enchilada sauce (at Café Rio they use the green stuff—we’ve always used red though)

½ c. brown sugar

1/3 lbs. shredded Monterey jack cheese (or just whatever cheese you’ve got)

2 cans black beans

1 ½ c. rice

1 bunch cilantro, chopped (optional)

Meat Portion

Cube 2 ½ lbs. or pork and place in crock pot with 1/3 c. water. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Remove, drain and shred pork into a large mixing bowl.

** Or, we really like to use chicken (just boiled and then shredded) and beef will work too.**

In a separate bowl mix ½ to ¾ of the enchilada sauce with ½ c. brown sugar. We like the sauce pretty sweet so we add a bit more sugar (to taste, if you will). Pour sauce over meat and mix well.

Other Fillers

Cook rice as you normally would. We use jasmine rice. For extra flavor you can add chicken bouillon cubes to the water, or cook the rice in chicken broth.

Drain and heat 2 cans black beans on the stove top or in the microwave (when I use only one I always end up with too much meant and rice and not enough beans.) Season beans with salt, pepper, garlic, etc. (I’ve even added bacon and a little of the enchilada sauce to the beans.)

Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan. Pour ½ c. of sauce into the pan (again we like all the sauce to be sweetened, so I add some brown sugar here too, a bit less than I add to the meat sauce though—but it’s not what the real recipe calls for). Fill each tortilla with cheese, rice, cilantro, beans, then meat. Roll and place in pan. Top burritos with remaining sauce and cheese. Heat through (approx. 20 minutes.)

Garnish burritos with lettuce, tomatoes, avocados or guacamole, salsa, and sour cream.

Chile Verde

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lbs of pork trimmed of fat and cut into bite size chunks
• salt and pepper
• flour
• 3 T. oil
• 3 yellow onions diced
• 2 green bell peppers
• 2-3 jalapenos diced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 1/2 lbs. tomatillos (roasted, then blended)
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 1 T. oregano
• 2 t. cumin
• 2 t. coriander
• 2 Anaheim or Poblano chiles (roasted, peeled, diced)
• 1 bunch cilantro (washed and chopped)
• 2 bay leaves

Directions:

• Wash, cut in half, stem and seed chiles.  Wash and cut in half tomatillos.  Place cut side down on greased baking sheet and broil till puffy and brown.  Wrap chiles in aluminum foil to steam for several minutes then peel and dice.  When cool, puree tomatillos in blender and set aside. 
• Season pork with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.  Heat oil 2 T. oil in large saucepan or dutch oven till the oil just begins to smoke.  Brown pork in batches on all sides till golden brown. Take pork out and set aside.  
• Add 1 T. of oil to pan and add onions, peppers, and jalapenos.  Cook till tender, scraping up browned bits from pork while stirring.
• Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
• Add tomatillo puree and chicken stock.
• Add spices, roasted chiles, and cilantro.
• Simmer for 3-4 hours.

This dish is a labor of love for it takes awhile to prepare.  I think I spend about 1 1/2 hours getting it prepared for simmering.  But we like it, so on occasion I make it.  We like to eat it with warmed corn tortillas and shredded jack cheese.

Bean Tostadas with Avocado Salad

BEAN TOSTADAS WITH AVOCADO SALAD

Ralphie

 

Ingredients

·         Tostadas

·         3 to 4 corn tortillas

·         ½ tablespoon olive oil

·         1 cup cooked black beans

·         ¼ cup bean liquid or water

·         1/2 cup salsa

 

·         Salad

·         2 cups lightly packed shredded lettuce

·         1 avocado, cubed

·         1 ounce cojita cheese, crumbled

·         1 tablespoon lime juice

·         1 tablespoon olive oil

·         2 teaspoons honey

·         ¼ teaspoon salt

·         ¼ teaspoon black pepper

·         Cilantro, lime wedges, to garnish

 

Instructions

1.      Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush tortillas with olive oil. Place on a baking tray; bake until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.

2.      In a skillet, heat the black beans, liquid and salsa until boiling. Reduce heat to low; simmer, stirring occasionally, until the majority of juice has been absorbed, 5 to 6 minutes.

3.      For the salad, combine lettuce, cubed avocado and crumbled cheese in a bowl. Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. Pour over salad, then toss until coated.

4.      Top the tortillas with a layer of black beans, then salad. Serve with extra cheese or lime wedges as desired.

Salsa

SALSA

Tonie

 

5 small jalapenos, roasted, peeled and diced

          Roast on baking sheet at 350 for 25-30 minutes

1 gallon of tomatoes, peeled and diced/not too small

6 cups of white onions, diced (about 4 onions)

1 1/3 cups of white vinegar

1 Tbsp. sugar

3 Tbsp. salt

1 ½ Tbsp. of garlic salt

 

·        Mix in a large pan or dutch oven

·        Bring to a boil

·        Reduce heat and simmer when covered for 1 ½-2 hours

·        Stir it-fill pint jars

·        Process for 20 minutes in water bath

 

Makes 5-6 pints

Lime Rice

LIME RICE

Georgia

 

I use this one with Noah and Whitney’s Café Rio Burritos. I make the rice to go in the burritos, instead of just plain rice. I cheat and sauté and then throw everything in the rice maker.

 

In saucepan sauté:

1 Tbsp. butter

½ yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

 

In large pot, bring following to boil:

3 1/3 c. water

4 tsp. chicken bouillon

¼ bunch cilantro, chopped

1 tsp. cumin

1 small can diced green chilies

½ Tbsp. lime juice

¼ tsp. salt

 

Add sautéed onion and garlic to boiling water, then add 1 ½ c. long grain rice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

BAKED CREAMY CHICKEN TAQUITOS
Whit

 

(italics are our changes)

 

Recipe by OurBestBites.com

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese (Neufchatel is okay)                          1/2 t onion powder
1/4 C green salsa (we’ve done red)                                               1/4 t granulated garlic
1T fresh lime juice                                                                           3 T chopped cilantro
1/2 t cumin                                                                                        2 T sliced green onions
1 t chili powder                                                                                (can skip this)

2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack cheese (or whatever you have)

small corn tortillas
kosher salt (regular salt works too)
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.