Category Archives: Mexican

Corn Tortillas

Posted by Annie in Bread and Rolls, Mexican

Corn Tortillas ~ Annie's Cooking Lab

The other day the grocery was out of corn tortillas and on a whim I decided to look online to see what was involved with making them. I expected it to be a complicated process, but it’s super easy and the end result tastes so much better than the store-bought variety. I’m not sure I’ve ever had home-made tortillas before, but I’m definitely a convert.

It would be easy to scale down the recipe for a smaller number of tortillas, but for your first time I would recommend making the recipe as written. It isn’t difficult, but there is a bit of a learning curve to getting the tortillas rolled thin enough and not tearing them while trying to transfer the tortilla off the waxed paper and onto the skillet. I messed up the first two, but after a couple of practice tortillas it was smooth and easy!

Corn Tortillas

Ingredients

  • 2 cups masa harina corn flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1 1/2-2 cups hot water
Directions
  1. Combine the masa harina corn flour and salt. Slowly pour in 1 1/2 cups of hot water and stir to combine. Add additional water as necessary to achieve dough that has a firm consistency but isn’t dry or sticky. Cover the dough and allow to rest for an hour.
  2. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat. Divide the dough into 2-inch balls (I used a medium cookie dough scoop for this) press the dough between two sheets of waxed paper to form a 6 inch disk. You can use a rolling-pin or the bottom of a plate to press the dough. Gently separate the dough from the waxed paper and transfer to the hot skillet. Cook for about 1 minute until the bottom of the tortilla is lightly brown, flip and cook the other side for another 30 seconds.
  3. Transfer the finished tortilla to a plate and cover with a kitchen towel to keep the tortilla warm while you finish cooking the rest of the tortillas. Add your favorite fillings to the finished tortillas and enjoy!
Makes: About 12 tortillas
Source: Bob’s Red Mill

Vegetable Fajitas

Posted by Annie in Main Course, Mexican, Vegetables

My mom and brother both came to town over the weekend to attend my graduation ceremony. I know that families usually go out to eat the night of graduation, but we decided to stay home and cook a delicious meal ourselves and skip the crowds. Vegetable fajitas are one of my favorite dinners and this was the perfect meal to enjoy out in the backyard after graduation!

It was so much fun having my family stay with Boom and I for a few days. My mom and brother each brought a dog along with them, so my little house was bursting at the seams with the extra people and canines, but we had a great time. Many more great recipes from the weekend will be on the way!

Vegetable Fajitas

Ingredients

  • 1 tbl. olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
  • 1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
  • 1 yellow pepper, coarsely chopped
  • 1 15oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 6 flour or corn tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • Guacamole
  • Salsa
  • Sour cream
Directions
  1. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat then add the carrots and saute for a minute. Add the onions and stir until slightly translucent. Stir in the red and yellow peppers, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the black beans to the vegetables and cook until the beans are hot but the vegetables are still crunchy.
  2. To heat the tortillas, wrap them in a paper towel and microwave for one minute. Or, if you like them crispy, you can heat a skillet with a teaspoon of olive oil. Wipe the skillet with the oil to lightly coat it, then cook the tortilla for about 30 seconds on each side to heat it up, then fold in half to give it some shape while you cook the next tortilla.
  3. Serve with cheese, sour cream, guacamole and/or salsa.
Makes: 4-6 servings
Source: Original Recipe

Tortilla Soup

Posted by Annie in Mexican, Soup

Whenever I have a busy week coming up, I always make a big batch of soup on Sunday evening. Soup re-heats really well and that way I have delicious, healthy meals all week without having to put much thought or time into it. One problem I have with a lot of broth based soups is they aren’t very filling, but this Tortilla Soup is full of beans and vegetables so that isn’t an issue here.

The first time I made this recipe I used the original variety of Ro-Tel which turned out too spicy for me, but I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes to spice tolerance. The next time around I used the mild variety and that was the perfect amount of heat for me. Feel free to use the original, or even the hot variety if you’re brave! If your batch turns out spicier than you’d like, try mixing some sour cream or plain Greek yogurt into it, that’ll help cut down the heat.

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 cans (10 oz. each) Ro-Tel
  • 1 can black beans (15 oz.), rinsed and drained
  • 1 can kidney beans (15 oz.), rinsed and drained
  • 1 can corn (15 oz.), drained
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1 packet (1.25 oz.) taco seasoning
  • Tortilla chips
  • Sour cream
  • Shredded cheese
Directions
  1. Add the Ro-Tel, black beans, kidney beans, corn, onion, broth and taco seasoning to a crockpot and stir to combine. Cook over high heat for 5 hours, or low heat for 8 hours.
  2. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream and shredded cheese. Enjoy!
Makes: About 6 servings
Adapted from Miller Musings

Southwestern Salad

Posted by Annie in Mexican, Salad

I eat a lot of salads for dinner, they’re delicious and healthy and they don’t require much effort when I get home from a long day. One of the things I struggle with when I have salads is that they usually aren’t very filling, especially if you’re going vegetarian and not including any sort of meat. This southwestern salad is is a great solution to that, the beans add some protein and they also help you feel like you’ve had a real meal, not just a super-sized side salad. This has so much flavor from the beans, onions, salsa and guacamole that I don’t think a salad dressing is necessary, but feel free to use one if you’d like!

Southwestern Salad

Ingredients

  • baby spinach (or other salad greens of your choice)
  • 1 can black beans
  • 3/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1 tbp. olive oil
  • salsa
  • shredded cheese (optional)
  • guacamole
Directions
  1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, when it’s hot add the onions and cook them over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they start to become soft but still have some texture. Add the beans and cook until they are warm. Add salsa to taste.
  2. Place a layer of spinach on a dinner plate followed by a few spoonfuls of the bean and onion mixture and the guacamole. Add another spinach layer on add with more beans and guacamole. Top with cheese and/or salad dressing if desired.
Makes: 2 large salads

Guacamole

Posted by Annie in Mexican, Sides

Most guacamole recipes I see call for all kinds of spices and extra ingredients, but I think that when it comes to guacamole, the simpler the better. With just a few ingredients, the flavor of the avocado and lime can really shine through. This guac is great with chips and salsa, on fajitas, salads, etc.

A few thoughts about this recipe

  • I prefer to use a sweet onion, but any type will work
  • To store the guacamole, put it in a bowl or plastic container and press a sheet of plastic wrap down tightly against the surface of the guac to prevent air from touching it, this will minimize the amount of browning that will occur. Using this method I can usually keep the guac for up to 2 days.
Guacamole
Ingredients
  • 2 avocados
  • 1 T lime juice
  • 1/3 c chopped onion
  •  1 t coarse salt (to taste)
Directions
  1. Remove the pit and peel from the avocados (the easiest way to do this is to cut the avocado in half and then scrape out the inside). In a bowl, mash the avocado with a fork or pastry cutter until it reaches your desired consistency. I prefer mine fairly chunky, but you can mash it smoother if you’d like.
  2. Add the lime juice, chopped onion, and salt. Stir to combine.