Easy Enchiladas

Enchiladas are a great idea when you're short on time or have leftover ingredients to use. This works great with leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken. You can also use leftover turkey. Feel free to sub cubed roasted sweet potatoes for the chicken to make the dish vegetarian. To keep this as simple as possible, I used pre-made enchilada sauce. 

Pin It Now!

Easy Chicken Quesadillas

I had some leftover rotisserie chicken at home and wanted to make something with the leftovers since I'm never a fan of reheated rotisserie. I often go from my green chile and chicken enchiladas but wanted to try something new. I found this recipe and had everything on hand already. This is a very easy recipe and leftovers can be reheated in a toaster over the next day for an equally great meal. Serve with your favorite condiments, such as guacamole, salsa and sour cream.

Pin It Now!

Texas Caviar

I've been slacking off and not cooking or baking that much this past month. Luckily I have very inspiring family members who also love to cook. This recipe was first tried by my mom and came highly recommended. If you enjoy fresh Tex-Mex flavors, you will love this dish. I can eat it by the spoonful, but when I'm around other people I serve it with tortilla chips, pita chips, or pita wedges. This is extremely easy to make and the flavor won't let you down.

Pin It Now!

Seven Layer Dip

I absolutely love 7 layer dip, but I had never tried making it at home. It's actually pretty easy to make and has been a hit every time it is served. The dip needs to be made the same day you serve it, but since it's easy to make it shouldn't be a problem. Technically, the dip does last overnight, but the guacamole will brown in some places and the tomatoes and salsa will release some water. I'd eat the leftovers myself but wouldn't serve them to guests.

Pin It Now!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Lately, I've been making my own taco seasoning. You can surprisingly find it in Swiss grocery stores (even in a small town), but making it is really simple, and doesn't contain mystery ingredients. I came across this recipe when I was going to make tacos one Sunday and realized I forgot to get taco seasoning. There aren't many shops open here on Sundays, so good ol' Google came to the rescue (again). Luckily I had all the spices except for the onion powder on hand, and even without that this recipe was perfect.

This seasoning tastes just like the packets you buy in the grocery store, but you know exactly what goes into it. Use it the same way you would the usual seasoning packets. I use one batch of this mix per 3 pounds of meat. If you like spicier food, add more chili flakes or some cayenne pepper to the mix.

Pin It Now!

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken

I hope everyone is preparing for a fun 4th of July tomorrow. If you still need some food inspiration, here's a really easy main course idea. Where I am, it's raining, so I love that this is not an actual grill recipe. But if you're lucky enough to be enjoying real summer weather, you could grill the marinated meat as well. This recipe requires mostly simple pantry ingredients and can be made with chicken thighs or breast.

I made this with chicken breast as that is what I had on hand and was amazed that the meat didn't dry out under the broiler. In fact, it was some of the juiciest chicken I've had in a while, so I'm now a big fan of this cooking method. If you have leftovers the next day, this makes an amazing, delicious, mouth-watering chicken quesadilla.

Pin It Now!

Black Bean Burritos with Pickled Onions

My sister was on the hunt for vegetarian recipes and luckily stumbled across this one. It's a bit messy to prepare, but this is a delicious, hearty alternative to meat burritos. I loved the pickled onions and never realized how easily they could be made. With the toppings you can really pick and choose which Tex-Mex toppings you like the most. My sister and I both love guacamole, so much so that we can polish off a bowl of guacamole in minutes. We grew up with guacamole as kids. It was a favorite then and it's still a favorite now. That being said, a giant bowl of guacamole is what we considered a side when we made this. Along with sour cream, lime, and some extra cilantro.

You could probably make the pickled onions and bean mixture ahead of time, just make sure to warm them up a little before preparing the burritos. The burritos go from perfectly golden brown to borderline charred quickly, so keep a colse eye on them during the frying process.

Pin It Now!

Green Chile and Chicken Enchiladas

Last time I visited my parents, my mom made this recipe and I was shocked at how quickly this meal comes together. This is a great dish to make when you don't have much time or energy for cooking. It takes longer to bake than it does to prepare the enchiladas. I sometimes like to add a little extra cheese on top of the enchiladas since I am slightly obsessed with cheese.

What is also great is that you can play around with the types of peppers you use in the dish. Last time my mom made this she was out of poblano peppers, so she added some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and a jalapeno. If you prefer your food spicy, I suggest adding a jalapeno to the recipe anyway. I usually make this with a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, but you can also use up leftover roast chicken.

Pin It Now!

Simple Chili con Carne

While I was visiting my sister this autumn, we made a giant batch of this chili. This is my sister's go-to recipe for chili and it was definitely a keeper. The ingredients are simple, the spicy factor can be turned way up or way down, and you really can't mess it up. Unfortunately my camera was on its last leg when I was making this chili, so half of the pictures are out of focus. Luckily my main chili picture is clear, otherwise this would be a pretty sad looking post.

I made a batch of cheese biscuits to serve along with this chili and they complemented each other perfectly. As with all Tex-Mex style food, you can top these with cheese, sour cream, cilantro, or anything you'd put on a plate of nachos (I am sure that comment has offended any true Tex-Mex cooks out there). I usually love adding a dollop of sour cream or a sprinkle of cheese to counteract the red pepper flakes in my chilis since I tend to use a generous amount.

Pin It Now!

Three Bean and Beef Chili

Chili season is slowly making its appearance. The mountains are getting their first signs of winter, and leaves are falling everywhere. I decided to make a pot of chili one cold evening and was instantly brought back to my childhood when we used to order chili in a bread bowl at our local ski area. This recipe makes a generous serving of healthy chili. I love the adobo sauce flavor that comes through, but if you're not a fan or you'd rather have a mild flavor, you can scale back the amount of chipotle chilis and adobo sauce you use. The ingredients for this recipe are simple. I couldn't find black beans or pinto beans when I made this, so I just added extra kidney beans and cannellini beans.

As with all chilis, this freezes really well and can be served with biscuits, bread bowls, rice, or you can just eat it plain. If you're trying to keep it healthy, use a lean ground beef, like 90% lean. In Switzerland I don't have the option to see how much fat is in my ground beef, so I'm sure mine was more of an 80% lean beef. If you have never cooked with chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, don't worry about the extra chilis you will have left over. They freeze really well and once you get hooked on the flavor, you will find many other was to use them up. The picture below if proof of just how cold it was in my town. There are actually really big mountains behind those clouds.

Pin It Now!

Guacamole

 
I realize that most people have their own interpretation of guacamole, and that everyone consideres different ingredients as essential or not necessary. I thought I'd share my version of guacamole that my mom has been using for years. A trick that I learned from a friend last year is to add a little bit of cumin to guacamole, and I have been making it that way ever since. This version of guacamole a little chunky since I use tomatoes, and it tastes great. I can eat it by the bowlful and am even guilty of licking out the leftovers from bowls.

What I love about this is that you can use all sorts of dipping devices, not just tortilla chips, and make a healthy appetizer. I usually serve this with cut up carrots and cucumbers if I want to snack on something nutritious. If you want to prepare guacamole ahead of time, save the pit from one of the avocados and add it to the finished product. If you threw the pit away, you can cover it with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic lays directly on the guacamole. Serves this as an appetizer, or as an accompaniment to a main dish, like tacos or quesedillas.

Pin It Now!

Southwestern Corn Salad

I got a little bit excited when I saw sweet corn in the grocery store. Yes, I get excited about a lot of different foods, but there's something extra exciting about seasonal produce. I tend to go a little overboard at farmer's markets and produce stands. How am I supposed to resist perfectly ripened produce? I think part of it is genetic (at least that's my excuse) since my dad has been known to buy a dozen avocados when it's just him and my mom at home. I'm not complaining though since my produce overloads generally lead to many kitchen experiments. This one, luckily, was a success.

I've been wanting to try out a chipotle-lime vinaigrette for a few weeks now. I researched a bunch of recipes and found one that seemed like it would be the best (with a few little tweaks of course). And what would go better with a chipotle-lime dressing than a grilled corn salad? Ok there's probably a lot of other great options, but this is what I came up with. It's the perfect side dish for any summer barbecue. You could even add some grilled chicken to the salad make it a light summer dinner.

For the salad I just combine a lot of my favorite Southwestern ingredients. You could omit or add anything you want to this salad and it would still be great since it's the vinaigrette that really makes it amazing. It has chipotle peppers in it, but the sugar takes away that really spicy flavor and leaves you with all the delicious chipotle and lime flavors. If you're planning on throwing some steak or burgers on the grill anytime soon, don't forget to make this salad as well.

Pin It Now!

Chunky Chicken Chili

Believe it or not, this week has still been chili weather in Los Angeles. It's blustery and cool and does not at all feel the way springtime should time in Southern California. So on that note, I went to town on what was one really time consuming but insanely tasty chili. I don't think I've ever spent so much time chopping up meat for a chili since I'm usually lazy and go for the ground/mince meat option. But this is seriously amazing.

My warning to you is that is is spicy! The spiciness does lose it's punch after a few days, but on day one, it's fiery. Not in the horrible "I taste nothing because it's so spicy" kind of hot, but the really flavorful yet spicy kind of hot. If you're not a fan of spicy, there are definitely ways to change this and still keep that same flavors. If you're not into spicy foods, only use 1 chipotle chile and skip the jalapeno. Also keep in mind that adding sour cream or grated cheese on top will help reduce the spicy factor.

Don't disregard this recipe if you're worries about the heat. If you've never had a chili with chipotles in adobo sauce before, you're missing out. They add a semi smoky flavor that is lacking in the pre-packaged chili flavoring powders. It will take a while to make this, but it's really worth it. And maybe if you're lucky your butcher can chop up the chicken for you.

Pin It Now!

Fish Tacos/ Burritos

I've had a request to post some quick and easy meals for the employed population of the world that's busy working and doesn't have hours to search for recipes and try them out. Here's one that happened on accident today after running errands and realizing that I was starving at 4 pm. I opened my fridge and was relieved to see I had an avocado left. Pretty sure I could live off of avocados and cilantro if I didn't love all food so much. Anyway, I had more or less everything I needed to make some fish tacos, except taco shells. But I made do with a normal wheat wrap and it tasted just as good as my usual tacos (possibly due to my being really hungry). This recipe is so quick and easy and anything you have in your fridge or pantry that sounds like it goes well with Mexican/Tex-Mex food can be thrown in. I had half a can of kidney beans left that I added to the mix, but seriously, whatever you want works. Mainly I'm giving you the fish, guacamole, and 1 minute salsa recipes and the rest you can make up. Don't use all of these elements if you don't want to, I just love overloading my tacos and burritos. If you don't like spicy foods, scale back on the chili usage or use mild chilies or peppers.
Pin It Now!