Green Tomato Enchilada Sauce

 

(adapted from a recipe by Our Best Bites)

2-3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, minced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1-2 jalapenos, seeded and membranes removed, if desired
1 1/2 pounds green tomatoes, quartered
1/2 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
juice of 1 lime
4 cups chicken broth
2-3 Tablespoons sugar (to taste)

In large saucepan or stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until softened and fragrant.

Meanwhile, place tomatoes, green peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, salt, pepper, cumin and lime juice in blender or food processor container. Process until smooth. Add a little of the chicken broth if you need it to get things blending.

Pour tomato mixture and chicken broth in pan with onions.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, until it’s as thick as you like it.
I simmered mine for about an hour and ended up with about 5 cups of enchilada sauce.
(Once I knew that the adaptation was a success, I made double batches and netted 10 cups each time. There’s no such thing as too much green enchilada sauce at our house!)
Now give it a taste. If you think it’s too tart, add a little sugar at a time till it tastes just right to you. I didn’t add any sugar to mine. But you might like it slightly sweet.
Return the sauce to the blender and process until completely smooth.
You’re done!

(I got this recipe from a friend who worked with me at the library, Jill.)

Pinto Bean Dip

2 cups raw pinto beans
1 large onion (chopped)
1 to 2 cups grated cheese
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Cook beans and chopped onion in 4 or 6 cups of water until the beans are tender, (approximately 4 hours). When the water has cooked out of beans add flavors and mash with a potato masher. Add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 cup of the cheese - stirring into the bean mixture. You may add a few drops of hot sauce to taste and sprinkle the other cup of cheese on top. Serve with nacho chips. (Taco seasoning can be used instead of the spices.)

One of my favorite recipes from Jil Abegg's "How to Save Big Money Grocery and Household Shopping Savers' Seminar", and Marie Rick's homemaking class.

Chicken Chili with Hominy

Good thing I printed this recipe out long ago, because now I cannot even find it online! What happened to "massrecipes.com"? But since it is one of our favorite soups, I have to document it here!

1 T canola oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium poblano chile, diced (I've used 1 can green chilies)
29 oz canned chicken broth
30 oz canned white navy beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz canned hominy, drained
Salt and ground pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)
Hot sauce (like Tapatio) for serving (optional)
Sour cream for topping (optional)

In a large, 5 qt pot, warm oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken until golden, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; set aside.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, garlic, and chilis; cook, stirring often, until onion softens, 3-4 minutes.

Cut browned chicken into 1/2 inch strips. Add chicken, broth, and beans to pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to an active simmer, and cook until chicken is very tender and chili has thickened, 25-30 minutes.

Reserve 1/2 C hominy to use as garnish (optional); stir remaining hominy into chili. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowl; garnish each serving with reserved hominy, sour cream, and cilantro, and drizzle with hot sauce as desired.

Per serving: 399 calories: 9.8 grams fat; 34.7 grams protein; 41.4 grams carbohydrates; 9.7 grams fiber

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Find the original recipe, pictures and fun commentary here.

Rick Bayless Recipe

Ingredients

• 2-3/4 cups all purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling the tortillas
• 5 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup very warm tap water

InstructionsCombine flour and shortening in a large mixing bowl.  Work the shortening in with your fingers until completely incorporated.  Dissolve the salt in the water and pour about 2/3 cup of it over the dry ingredients.  Immediately work it in with a fork.  The dough will be in large clumps.  If all the dry ingredients haven't been dampened, add the rest of the liquid.  Scoop the dough onto your work surface and knead until smooth.Divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each into a ball.  Set them on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and let rest at least 30 minutes.Heat an ungreased griddle over medium to medium-high heat.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out a portion of the dough into a 7-inch circle.  Flatten a ball of dough, flour it, then roll forward and back across it, rotating a sixth of a turn and roll forward and back again.  Continue until it is a 7 inch circle.  Flour tortilla as needed while rolling.Lay the tortilla on the hot griddle.  After 30-45 seconds, when brown splotches show underneath, flip it over. cook another 30 -45 seconds more, until other side is browned.  Do not overcook or the tortilla will become crisp.  Remove and wrap in a cloth napkin.  Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas and stack them on top of each other.Note, cook time is PER tortilla and is approximate.  Go by the way it looks more than you go by time.

Details

Prep time: 50 minsCook time: 5 minsTotal time: 55 mins    Yield: 12

Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad

I found this salad on Pinterest, and LOVED it!! I've made it several times for the family since finding it two or three months ago! It is my new favorite taco salad. So I have to post this here, so as to NEVER loose it! The recipe supposedly serves four, since not all my family is as crazy for it as my husband and I are, it "feeds" us all. Click on the picture to go to the original post, although I'm cutting and pasting most of her recipe text below:


salad:
2 cups shredded chicken
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can sweet yellow corn (or 1 cup frozen corn, thawed)
2 roma tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, sliced
1 head ice berg lettuce, washed and chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 ripe avocados, diced
1 cup crushed tortilla chips

dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup Greek yogurt
1 tbsp ranch seasoning
1 tbsp taco seasoning

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all salad ingredients together, excluding the tortilla chips.  

In a small bowl stir all dressing ingredients together.  Pour dressing over salad, starting with about half of the dressing.   Toss to combine, then gradually add more dressing until it is dressed to your liking.  Top with tortilla chips.  Enjoy!

Skinny Masitas de Puerco

A Cuban pork recipe I found online. Find the ingredients & instructions here.

Salsa Verde Steak in the Slow Cooker

Found this recipe through pinterest...gotta try it! Find the original here.

INGREDIENTS
2-3 lbs. boneless round steak or another cut of beef
1 small can of salsa verde
1/2 cup chicken broth, beef broth or water
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
flour tortillas
cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS
Put the steak and onions in the crockpot. Combine the salsa, broth and seasonings. Pour over the steak. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 7-8 hours. Shred the meat and serve in the tortillas with the fixings.

Slow Cooker Chili Verde

This recipe is from allrecipes.com. Click here for pictures, nutrition facts, and extras.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cubed
5 (7 ounce) cans green salsa
1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeno peppers
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until fragrant. Add the cubed pork, and cook until browned on the outside. Transfer the pork, onions, and garlic to a slow cooker, and stir in the green salsa, jalapeno peppers, and tomatoes.
Cover, and cook on High for 3 hours. Reduce the setting to Low, and cook for 4 to 5 more hours.


Someone's comments looked useful:

by Donna

If you want this to tase like real chile verde, then follow my additions. Be sure to remove the jalapeno addition if you have kids to feed as it will make it to spicy for them. I did not use green salsa, I used green enchilada sauce (La palma), added two shredded, dried New Mexico chiles, 3 cloves of garlic, a can of roasted green chiles, 1/2 TB salt, 1/2 TB cumin, then I added 2 TB cornstarch during the last 30 minutes to thicken the sauce. Be sure to dissolve the cornstarch in cold water, then add to the hot chile verde. If you follow these additions, you'll have authentic chile verde from a slow cooker!

Crockpot Refried Beans

Found this recipe on Pinterest - find it at RealMomKitchen

• 3 cups of dry pinto beans (rinsed)
• 1 onion*, diced
• 9 cups of water
• 5 tsp salt*
• 1 3/4 tsp pepper*
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/8 tsp ground cumin

1. Put all the ingredients in a crockpot and cook on high for about 8 hours.
2. After they are done, drain all of the liquid out and SAVE THE LIQUID!!
3. Mash beans with a potato masher or whatever you mash with. Add liquid, a bit at a time, to desired consistency, but remember you want them a little runny because they thicken over time. (makes about 6 cups)

*After trying this recipe, I would reduce the salt to 2-3 tsp, and a bit less pepper & onion too. But it was good!

Café Rio Chicken

1 16 oz bottle Italian Dressing

1 T chili powder

1 T cumin

2 t chicken bouillion

3 cloves garlic, minced

5 lbs chicken breast

Cook all together in a crock pot for 4 hours, shred meat and cook an additional hour.

Cilantro Lime Rice

2 T butter

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 2/3 C water

8 t chicken bouillon

½ bunch cilantro, chopped

2 t cumin

2 small cans diced green chilies

1 T lime juice

½ t pepper

3 ½ C rice

Saute onion, garlic, and butter until the onion is soft.  Add rice and water and all the other ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover with lid and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Taco Soup

To one pound browned hamburger & oninos, mix one pkg of taco seasoning mix*.  Add 1 can (16 oz) diced tomatoes, 1 can (16 oz) kidney beans undrained, 1 can (17 oz) corn undrained, 1 can tomato sauce.  (I have to double or triple that for my family.)

Cook on medium heat about 15 minutes to blend flavors.  Serve in bowls, top with cheese.  Eat with tortilla chips.

(Makes great dutch oven camping recipe - use chips instead of spoons!)

*I never buy taco seasoning mix.  I make my own by adding chili powder, cumin, garlic powder or fresh minced garlic, and salt & pepper. 

Jacob's Howlett's Guacamole

It's pretty simple. You take 6-8 avocados and mash them with a fork or potato masher then add about half a bottle of Pace Picante Salsa. Use what ever heat level you like. Then add cubes of sharp cheddar unless you prefer different cheeses. Lastly you need to add some tapatio until it hot enough for you. Good luck. Call if you have any questions. Jake

Note from Susan: This is the BEST guacamole I've EVER had - I don't usually like guac, but I LOVE this. Serve it with some corn chips and you're in heaven! sb

Lime Pork Ribs

Original Recipe*: Chipotle Lime Pork Ribs

recipe adapted from The Hungry Mouse

3 medium-sized limes, juice and zest
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbls. chipotle chili pepper
1 Tbls. kosher salt
1 Tbls. garlic powder
3 pounds pork ribs

Combine all the ingredients except the ribs in a bowl. Whisk to fully combine. 

Place the ribs in a large storage bag and pour the marinade in. Seal the bag and chill for 2 hours for the meat to marinate.

Start an outdoor grill using hardwood charcoal, such as hickory. When coals are white and glowing, arrange for high heat. 

Place ribs onto grill, and cook until cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes depending on thickness of meat. Turn over, and continue cooking until golden on the other side, 5 to 10 minutes more. When finished, place ribs onto a platter, and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Garnish with lime wedges.

* From recipe found on Pinterest: http://joelens.blogspot.com/2011/06/chipotle-lime-pork-ribs.html

I did this with boneless ribs, and put regular chili instead of the chipotle. And since it was too cold outside for the grill, I baked them in the oven. It was a bit hit.

Printable format here.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

1 envelope Taco Seasoning
6 pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 jar Salsa (16 oz)

Dump everything into a crock pot and give it a little stir to blend the seasoning with the salsa. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. When done, the chicken should shred easily when stirred with a fork.

For tacos, serve the chicken with soft flour tortillas, lettuce, shredded cheese and sour cream. This is very versatile and can be used for enchiladas, nachos, tostadas, etc. Any leftover chicken can then be used for tortilla soup (make it the next day or freeze the chicken to use at a later time).

Got this from this page on Pinterest: http://mychocolatetherapy.blogspot.com/2012/01/crockpot-chicken-tacos.html

Printable version here.