Tag Archives: mexican food

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.

Advertisement

3 Comments

Filed under Recipes

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

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.

2 Comments

Filed under Restaurants

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under Recipes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

March 19, 2012 · 2:18 pm

Got leftovers? Time to get creative!

If you’ll remember, at the end of my post about the chicken enchiladas (once again, New York, you’re welcome), I promised I had a plan for the leftover enchilada filling. If you’re anything like me, the thought of having to throw out food doesn’t exactly appeal to you. If you’re a lot like me, the idea makes you downright nauseous. In any event, that meal left me with half a pack of corn tortillas and a ton of leftover filling. Sure, I could have just made enchiladas again, but where’s the fun in that?

Instead I decided to cook the filling down with some tomato paste and black beans, creating a sort of chicken chili if you will, which I then layered between corn tortillas for a sort of Mexican lasagna. My mom called it enchilada casserole, so I am too. Honestly, and not to toot my own horn, but you could call it a casserole of crap and it wouldn’t change the fact that this dish was delicious and essentially free based on the fact that I would have otherwise had to throw out everything I used.

Click here for the original filling recipe, to which I added a can of tomato paste and a can of black beans. Then I let it simmer for two hours.

I then took one of my super expensive and classy foil dishes and put down a layer of corn tortillas, which I softened in the microwave for 30 seconds. I tore them so they’d fit, it certainly doesn’t need to be perfect.

I started slopping in my chili mix, I did two layers, so half and then half, but whatever makes your heart sing!

After the 1st layer of chili and before the 2nd layer of tortillas, I threw in some fresh onions and peppers for a little crunch!

Once you’ve made your layers, top with whatever type of cheese you like and then into a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

I like it a little burnt around the edges, but you can always take it out earlier 🙂

Served here with a box of Spanish-style rice and (as always) guacamole -- Click for recipe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The box of rice — not my idea. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but these things called “relationships” they often take compromise, and my man wanted the rice, which I did not care about (I’m more of a double beans, hold the rice, type of gal). But like I said, he wanted the rice, he picked out the box, I followed the directions on the back and you can, too!

Leftovers? What leftovers… What I meant to say was: POP POP.

1 Comment

Filed under Recipes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,