Tag Archives: guacamole

May 18, 2012 · 12:33 pm

Margarita Thursday!

To honor my mother’s birthday, May 17th, I knew only one thing: our evening meal had to go well with margaritas. Whenever I was home, especially in the last few years, my mother and I would celebrate the most mundane of days by putting the word “Margarita” in front of them. If Monday was particularly boring, we’d turn it into “Margarita Monday,” you see the distinction?

And thanks to my new boyfriend, Pinterest, I found the perfect dinner for this, what we’ll deem “Margarita Thursday”: crunchy tacos made with corn tortillas. I decided to serve this with the regular guacamole as well as a spicy mango salsa I found (also on Pinterest).

I marinated the chicken in spicy chipotle salsa for one hour.

Filled with chicken, black beans, avocado and cheese.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought a rotisserie chicken, I know it’s sort of cheating, but Rachel Ray does it so ppbblllttt… I used half of it here for this dish (stay tuned for what happens with the other half). I added a spicy chipotle along with some adobo sauce and some salsa to the chicken.

To cook the tacos, I filled the skillet with olive oil, and carefully assembled them in this order: chicken, black beans, avocado slices, then cheese (easy to make veggie, just leave out the chicken!) Then I carefully pressed them with a spatula so they keep their shape. They cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden brown and crunchy.

The two dips start the same: garlic, onion, cilantro, jalapeño

Avocado and tomatoes go in one, mango in the other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since these two dips start the same, save yourself some time and chop the garlic, onions, cilantro and jalapeños only once. Then you add mango to one and avocados and tomatoes to the other. The mango salsa gets the juice of one lime and the guacamole gets the juice of one lemon and voila! Two different, yet equally delicious dips for your tacos.

Damn those look gooood!

Margaritas made from scratch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made a slight variation of your classic margarita:  I mixed 1 cup water with 1/2 cup sugar to which I added the juice of 8 limes and 1 lemon. I skipped the orange liqueur because I didn’t have any, nor did I have the will to purchase any. Instead, I added the juice of one orange, silver tequila, ice and guess what? They were delicious. POP POP.

Cheers to you, Jeanie! This one’s for you.

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April 24, 2012 · 10:26 am

Baby Bo’s Cantina & American Reunion

Last weekend, I wanted to take my man out on a dinner and a movie date. We decided to eat dinner ahead of time and then meet a couple of friends for the movie, which in this case was American Reunion. Say what you will about the dick and fart humor of the American Pie series; any culmination installment, a la Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, is enjoyable to those who have seen all the originals.

This movie brought that glorious feeling of closure to the lives of those we watched at inappropriately young ages. It was also an opportunity to see so many once-proud actors clearly in need of work, which brought me great amusement. Did I laugh out loud? Yes. Would I “recommend” it? Maybe. Was it “good”? Meh… let’s not get carried away.

Beforehand, we went to Baby Bo’s Cantina in Murray Hill, which was a cozy, festive little joint with a few tables and a bar. We sat at the bar.

Chips and Guacamole

We began our meal with fresh guacamole and salsa, typical but tasty.

We also ordered two frozen margaritas with salt, just like my mama taught me.

Chicken enchiladas with chipotle sauce.

I had been craving chicken enchiladas for quite some time, a thirst I am always hesitant to quench outside the Southwest. But on this day, I was feeling adventurous, so I went for it. I asked for the spicier of the two sauces, which I was told would be the chipotle. Honestly it wasn’t spicy at all, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

Chicken Chimichangas

My date has recently developed an affinity for chimichangas, which were described on this menu as “deep fried burritos.” He loves them and he said these were particularly delicious.

Both dishes were served with dirty rice and refried pinto beans. The rice was meh, but rice is almost always meh for me. The beans, however, were the star of the meal. Not sure how they were prepared, but I am sure they all ended up in my belly. Yu-HUM.

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April 5, 2012 · 11:11 am

Ginger-Infused Black Bean Soup

I was eager to make a soup last weekend both because I hadn’t done it before and also because I wanted to have soup around for the week. Since we had all the necessary elements for quesadillas in the house, I decided a spicy black bean soup would be a nice accompaniment.

I began by sautéing 3 jalapeños with garlic and onions.

Then I added one can of black beans and some ginger.

Don’t care much for ginger? Leave it out! We had some leftover from another dish and I didn’t want to waste it so I threw it in. It adds a different flavor and additional spice, but it’s definitely not necessary.

Next I added 3 cups of vegetable broth, but you can use whatever kind you like.

Then I let it simmer covered for an hour and half, then uncovered for one hour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can let it simmer covered for the full 2 1/2-3 hours if you prefer a thiner soup. We wanted a thick, hearty black bean soup so we let it reduce down uncovered, but that’s up to you!

Get butter down in a hot skillet, then add cheese and chicken (or veggies).

Let it brown to your preferred level of crunch, then cut into quarters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a completely ‘leftover’ quesadilla. We had leftover buffalo chicken from a dish earlier in the week and leftover cheese from the Enchilada Casserole. It made for a spicy and delicious quesadilla!

Brush the chips with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and into a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes or until crisp.

We didn’t have any tortilla chips left but we did have a few leftover corn tortillas, so we continued with the frugal theme of this supper and made our own! Super easy.

Served here with a tasty IPA and guacamole of course! (Click for recipe)

The soup turned out spicy and gingery. My housemate dubbed it “ginger-infused black bean soup,” which I was able to enjoy all week long! Mission accomplished.

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March 13, 2012 · 12:30 pm

A Taste of Home

This is the longest I’ve spent away from Austin at one time in more than two years, which means one thing: I’ve spent far too long away from good Tex-Mex. In a swift move to quench this thirst, I decided I would make chicken enchiladas with a queso sauce, two things I’ve never done before. I’ve made Texas style queso, Velveeta-and-Rotel-style, but that was a little too heavy for a topping on this dish, so I attempted to make a lighter cheese sauce to top off my enchiladas, which began like this:

You can make this with any type of meat or no meat at all!

You can do this is a regular pot if you have one big enough.

First, I threw two boneless, skinless chicken breasts into a skillet with butter and oil for about six minutes on each side (finish off in a 350 degree oven if necessary). Then, I sautéed chopped green and red peppers, onions, jalapeños, corn and garlic for about 10 minutes before added a can of crushed tomatoes and a can of chipotle peppers. Bring this up to a boil, then let it simmer on low for 20 minutes to give the flavor time to develop.

Not too full or they'll break!

It's a lot of food, but they keep well!

This next part can be a little tricky and a lot frustrating. To make it easier on yourself, take the corn tortillas, put them in a wet paper towel and microwave them for 30 seconds. This will help them from breaking in two while you roll up your enchiladas. After you’ve carefully rolled all of your enchiladas, sprinkle some shredded cheese over the top. Then into a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Takes about 15 minutes.

Mmm.. Cheesy Goodness.

With the enchiladas baking away, it was time to make the sauce.  First, I sautéed onions and peppers before adding milk and butter. Then I slowly added cheese until it thickened. Once thick, add tomatoes and season to taste. Then pour generously over the top of the enchiladas.

Click here for the bean and guacamole recipes.

I served them with refried black beans and we enjoyed them with a cerveza. I don’t even have to click my heels together to know that there’s no place like home.

As for the rest of the enchilada filling? Tupperware that noise up and stay tuned, cause I’ve got a plan for the leftovers 🙂

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January 24, 2012 · 2:50 pm

Healthy Tex Mex!

No, this isn’t a list of oxymorons, this is the response to my latest very specific craving. I was dying for something in the Mexican category that wasn’t overly fried or cheesed. I had chicken, I had beans, I had avocados.

My mission was clear.

     

Click for refried black beans recipe!

Spice rub includes: cayenne, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper

First I got the beans going, which takes some time, but I think it’s worth it. Then I rubbed my boneless, skinless chicken breast with lime juice and coated it in the spice rub pictured above.

Make sure that skillet's hot with butter and oil! You only need a minute or two on each side.

Then into the oven on a bed of limes at 350 for 30 minutes (can cover chicken with limes too!)

While the chicken’s in the oven, I threw together some guacamole and a quick pico of tomatoes, onion and red bell pepper. I figured everything was spicy enough to do without fresh jalapeños on top.

Presentation makes regular food feel fancy!

Hiding food under food... very very sneaky.

There you have it! Lime chili chicken on a bed of refried beans with guacamole and pico de gallo!

Finished off here a little bit of sharp cheese and some tortilla strips!

I recommend enjoying with a Modelo Especial, but that's up to you :-

Mission accomplished. POP POP.

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