Low Cal Tostadas - Pantry Staples

I have been watching recipes on Pinterest for new or improved recipes.  I have noticed a lot that are called Mexican Pizza's or Mediterranean Taco's or something similar.  I came up with something from my pantry.
I always have corn and flour tortillas in my fridge as well as salsa's or my own Pico.  In my freezer I have chicken breasts, chicken thighs, drumsticks, and whole chickens.  I also have cooked chicken, sometimes grilled, baked or boiled, cut up into pieces ready for certain recipes.  In food storage I have my home canned salsa, green chilie's, black beans, as well as frozen chilie's from my garden. so this is my version of Low Cal Tostada's

2-4 corn tortillias
olive or canola oil
black beans, warmed and drained of most liquid, mashed
1 c. cooked chicken, cubed
1/3 med. onion, chopped finely
1 t. cumin, more if desired
tomato, cut in pieces
1/2 half avocado, sliced

 Place tortillas on a foil lined baking sheet and brush with olive or canola oil.  Bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes to turn crisp, a shorter time will make them tough.  Put black beans into a pan and heat thoroughly, drain leaving a small amount of the liquid to mash.  In a skillet place a small amount of oil and saute the onion until transparent, add the chicken, the green chilie's, and cumin and warm through.  Place the beans on top of the shell then the chicken, avocado, and tomatoes.  Additonal toppings if desired.



other possible ingredients: (this would add calories and no longer be dairy free)
sweet corn
cheese
sour cream
olives

Cheese Enchiladas (Gourmet Guy)

Cheese and Onion Enchiladas

Gourmet Guy here. The key to this recipe is the sauce! We've made enchiladas at home with canned sauce before and they are never anything like what you get in a good Mexican restaurant. These are different and it is all about the sauce!

Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons lard, bacon drippings or olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano, crumbled
2 tablespoons flour
¼ cup pure red chile powder (not cayenne)
2 cups chicken stock or water
salt to taste (3/4 teaspoon)

Instructions:
Heat fat in skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté briefly, then stir in cumin and oregano. Sprinkle in flour and cook for a minute or two. Stir in chili powder and immediately add the stock or water, stirring to break up any lumps. Continue stirring until the sauce nearly comes to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about two minutes so flavors blend. Season well with salt. Remove from heat.

To assemble the enchiladas, coat the bottom of a 9 X 9 baking dish with the sauce. Working one at a time, spread about a teaspoon of sauce on each of six corn tortillas. Microwave each tortilla about 10 seconds to soften, place a generous amount of grated cheese in center of warmed tortilla, add chopped onion to taste (I like lots of onion), and roll enchilada. Place seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat for the remaining enchiladas. Pour remaining sauce evenly over the enchiladas, top with grated cheese and sprinkle a few more onions on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Serve with Spanish rice and beans. Top with guacamole and sour cream if desired.
 

Sweet Pork

We love to eat at places like Costa Vida, or Cafe Rio and are always looking for recipes that can compare to some of our favorites to make on our own.

In December our family gathered together to watch a bowl game together. We all brought finger foods and Natalie found this new recipe to try. We made mini nachos with the meat, they were so good!

SWEET PORK

2 pounds pork (we use boneless pork rib meat)
3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness but any will work)
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!

New "Bountiful Basket" Challege--Mexican

Another week of Bountiful Baskets, this time it was full of "Mexican" goodies. The tortillas which I forgot to take pictures of are so wonderful, they come in three sizes. Then there are these chile's and tomatillos that made me excited to start cooking.

First I began by pulling the husks off of the tomatillos, the inside is quite sticky once the husks are removed. Tomatillos are not apart of the tomato family even though you may hear that often.

After removing the husks I cut them up to place them into my food processor to make a delicious green sauce.
While I am working on the tomatillos I have the Anaheim chile's under a broiler in the oven.
The chile's will turn black and the skin starts to blister.
Remove them and place them in a plastic bag for a few minutes to let the skin soften and become easy to peel. While the Anaheim's sit cut the Jalapenos and remove the seeds, I ALWAYS USE GLOVES TO DO THIS. After removing the skin from the Anaheim Chile's cut them the Jalapenos and the Tomatillos into chunks and place in the food processor.
Process until they become an even texture.

Place into a bowl and serve with chips or use as a sauce for enchiladas.

While all of this is going on I also saute' a yellow onion to a slight brown color.

I always have cooked, cubed, chicken in my freezer for quick use. So I place the chicken some grated Cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese and the onions on the fabulous tortillas and roll.

I cheated by using some canned green sauce to the bottom of the pan and place the enchiladas on top to keep them from sticking. Top with the fresh green sauce more of the grated cheese and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
Top with sour cream and avocado's and more of the green sauce as needed.

Yum.