Cinco de Mayo at home

Happy Cinco de Mayo! If you haven’t noticed already, I really love Mexican food, so I had to celebrate this American-played-up holiday. I say this because I really think that it is a bigger deal here in the United States than it is in Mexico. Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day. It is actually a celebration of the victory over the French in the battle of Puebla. So to celebrate I decided to make some guacamole and homemade baked tortilla chips. I also thought that I would try my hand at recreating one of my favorite Mexican-American restaurants dishes. I think that I came so close that if it wasn’t for their fresh tortillas it would be awhile before I went back.

If you live anywhere near a Costa Vida, you must go. I am completely addicted to their food. It is fresh and absolutely mouth watering. I almost always order their taco salads which they serve in a hot homemade tortilla. They fill it up with romaine lettuce, cilantro lime rice, beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, crispy tortilla strips, cotija cheese and here is the kicker, a delicious tomatillo ranch dressing. I was able to come close to their cilantro lime rice and their tomatillo ranch dressing.

The recipes may look like a lot of work for a single meal, but I actually made them yesterday when I had some time and then reheated them and made a quick yummy dinner tonight. To make the ultimate salad layer romaine lettuce, cilantro-lime rice, pinto beans, fresh corn, tomatoes, cotija cheese, and tomatillo ranch dressing. Serve with tortilla chips.

Quick and Easy Guacamole

2 avocados

2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped

½ white or red onion, chopped

2 Tbs. cilantro

1 jalapeno seeded and finely diced, optional

Juice of 1-2 limes

Salt to taste

Scoop out avocado and mash with a fork. Add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lime juice as needed.

Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips

6 corn tortillas

Cooking spray

Course salt

Chile powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray 2 cooking sheets with cooking spray. Cut tortillas into wedges and arrange in single layer on the baking sheets. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and chile powder. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until crispy. They will crisp up a little more once they cool off. Watch them carefully because they will go from crispy to burned very quickly.

Cilantro Lime Rice

2-3 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 ¼ cups jasmine rice

Zest of ½ a lime

Juice of 2-3 limes plus more for serving

1 cup vegetable or chicken broth

1 ¼ cups water

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the rice and sauté stirring occasionally until translucent and fragrant. Add the lime zest and juice, the broth and the water. Stir and bring up to a simmer. Turn heat to low and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork and add the cilantro, more lime juice and salt to taste.

* if you are making this ahead and want to refrigerate it, spray a large baking pan with cooking spray and spread the hot rice out on it to cool. This will help it cool faster and prevent it from sticking together as it cools. Once cooled it can be transferred to an airtight container and refrigerated.

Tomatillo Ranch Salad Dressing

2-3 tomatillos, husked and rinsed clean and roughly chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic

2 jalapenos, seeded and roughly chopped

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (about ½ a bunch)

1 cup mayo, (I use the reduced fat)

1 cup buttermilk

Juice of 1-2 limes

1 packet Hidden Valley ranch seasoning

Salt to taste

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Flavors develop more as it sits in the refrigerator.

Easy Homemade Pinto Beans

1 pound of pinto beans

Water to cover

1 Tbs. salt

2 bay leaves

Red pepper flakes, optional

Rinse the beans and sort through them to remove any debris that may have been left behind. Place the beans into a crock pot and cover with water 2 inches above the beans. Add the remaining ingredients. Cover and set to high for 6 hours or low for 8-10. The beans should be soft with a creamy texture when cooked all the way through. To make the beans a little thicker, remove 1-2 cups of the beans with some of the cooking liquid and puree in a blender. Pour the mixture back into the rest of the beans. This will thicken them up, especially when they cool down. Taste and add salt if needed.

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Chicken Enchiladas

Like I said before, I love mexican food, as you can tell from all my mexican food posts. Here is one that my family loves. They are cheesey chicken enchiladas. As I may have mentioned before, I am a vegetarian and the rest of my family are meat eaters, so I usually have to make 2 meals or at least variations on the same meal. So this is my chicken version which my husband and kids love. I also have my "mommy's" version that I fill with black beans, corn and pepper jack cheese. Amazingly my kids like my version too, but only when all of the chicken ones are gone.

Chicken Enchiladas

3 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 can chicken broth
1 carrot, cut in half
1 stalk celery, cut in half
1/2 onion, cut into 2 pieces
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs. butter
3 Tbs. flour
4 Tbs. tomato paste
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 chipolte chile, diced
1 tsp adobo sauce (from canned chipolte chile)
1/2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup water
2 1/2 cups shredded mexican cheese, divided
8-12 corn tortillas (makes 12 small or 8 large)
vegetable cooking spray

1. Place the chicken, broth, celery, carrot and onion in a saute pan that has a lid. Add enough water to cover the chicken and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer then turn down the heat so that bubbles are just barely breaking the surface. Poach for about 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. ( you can also poach the chicken when it is frozen just add an extra 5-10 minutes depending on size).

2. When the chicken is cooked through, remove from broth and shred with two forks, or cut the chicken in chunks with a knife. Place shredded chicken in a bowl and set aside while you make the sauce.

3. In a saucepan, heat the oil and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted and heated through. Add the flour and stir to cook the pasty flavor out. Add the chipolte pepper, adobo sauce, tomato past, cumin, and chili powder. Stir to combine and cook stirring about 1 minute. Add the broth and water and whisk to stir out any lumps. Bring the mixture to a simmer to thicken slightly. Turn off heat and set aside.

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap the tortillas in a damp towel and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot and pliable. Add 1/4 cup of the sauce and 1 cup of the cheese to the chicken mixture. Fill each tortilla with about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture and roll up. Place seam side down in a 13 x 9 dish sprayed with cooking spray. Top the enchiladas with the reserved cheese and then cover with sauce.

5. Bake for 20- 25 minutes or until bubbly. Cool slightly before dishing up so that they will come out of the pan without falling apart.

Veggie Filling

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/4 cup frozen white corn, thawed
1 chipolte chili
1 can fire roasted green chilis, drained
1 cup pepper jack cheese
2 Tbs. enchilada sauce

We're in a soup kinda mood

When my husband and I took our honeymoon to Mexico, I came across a gem of a soup. I was instantly addicted. I came home and again began inventing and lo and behold, this soup was born. Yes, it is green, but give it a chance.

This soup is a little different than I'm sure most of you have seen because I have never found another version of it around here. It is Roasted Poblano Soup, yumm. In case you haven't heard of them, poblanos are a large green chile pepper. They are in the middle of the heat scale, not too spicy but with a little kick. The ones from last night were a lot milder than usual which I guess was good because my kids aren't so into the spicy food like my husband and I. I top the soup with a mound of cripsy tortilla strips and cotija (ko-tee-huh) cheese. Cotija cheese is a part-skim milk mexican cheese that you can find in most supermarkets now. It is dry and salty and can be crumbled over almost anything. It has a little resemblance to feta in both texture and taste. Fresh cilantro really adds brightness and I would urge you not to leave it out unless you are really adverse to it. During the summer months, I love to add fresh roasted corn on top for an added crunch. I also like to serve the soup with a pile of sliced limes for those that like a little zip to the soup.

It has been a long, long time since those honeymoon days spent on the beach in Mexico. And the soup had almost slipped my memory. I hadn't made it in a few years because frankly, I had forgotten about it. But, a conversation about our honeymoon brought it back to my memory and I am so glad that I could somewhat recall the way that I made it, (I had forgotten to write the recipe down years ago when I invented it). My kids were a little skeptical about eating something green as most kids are, but when they saw the crispy tortilla stips on top, they were a little less aprehensive. My oldest dove right in, (she is a lot like me in both temperament and image). She then questioned me as to why mine had cilantro and hers did not, I chopped some more and sprinkled it over hers at which point she exclaimed, "I love cilantro!". My other daughter however, began to pick the soup apart, (she is definately more like my husband!). She can't stand to have things mixed or touching. So, after seperating the tortilla stips from the soup, she ventured a little bite and then slowly ate the rest of the soup. My youngest, who is not quite 2 just played in the soup, but by the looks of him, I think that he got some in his mouth. My husband, who does not like anything that grows in the ground let alone anything green, loves this soup also. I am a little worried though, as he discovered my secret last night that the soup contains frozen peas. (Why didn't I throw the bag away before we ate?!) I hope that you enjoy this recipe as we do. It really is delicious, even if it is green.



Roasted Poblano Soup


4-5 poblano peppers
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 (16oz) bag of frozen peas, thawed
1 potato, peeled and cubed
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
crispy tortilla strips or tortilla chips*
Cotija cheese (monterey jack can be substituted)
fresh cilantro


1. Preheat the broiler in your oven. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place the poblano peppers on the cookie sheet and place under the broiler, close to the heat source. Broil, turing once the first side is charred and black. Make sure that the peppers are blackened all over. Remove the peppers from the sheete and place in a glass bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap, let sit for about 5 minutes to cool and allow the skins to loosen. When cool enough to handle, peel away the skins and then remove the stems. Open up and remove the seeds. Roughly chop the peppers.

2. While the peppers are in the bowl cooling, heat the oil in a dutch oven over meduim heat. Add the onion, celery and salt and pepper. Cook to softern about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and the peppers and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add the peas, potato, broth and the water. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the peas are cooked and the potato is softened.

3. Puree the soup in the pot using an immersion blender. Or puree the soup in batches in a blender. ( do not fill the blender more than half full unless you want to be wearing that hot green soup!) If the soup is too thick, add water when blending.

4. Return the soup to the pot and warm through. Slowly stir in the cream, adjusting the amount depending on the spicyness and consistency Taste and add more salt if needed. Dish into bowls and top with tortilla strips, cheese and cilantro. Enjoy!

*to make your own tortilla strips, thinly slice a few corn tortillas. Place them on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Spray the tortilla strips with cooking spray, tossing to coat. Sprinkle with salt and bake at 450 degrees until crispy, about 5-10 minutes. watch them closely as they burn easily.

Veggie Quesadillas

I must say that I am a sucker for mexican food. Ask me what I want to eat on any given day at any given time (including breakfast) and my answer will almost always be mexican food. After spending the summer as an exchange student in Mexico back in my college days, I fell in love with the food and the culture. I am lucky to be able to say that there are several authenitc restaurants in my area where I can get my fix, but I also love the tex-mex food. One of my favorite easy lunch or weeknight meals is to make a big batch of quesadillas and a big pot of pinto or black beans. Being a vegetarian, all things must be stuffed with vegetables and what's better than veggies smotherd in cheese and served in a crispy-soft flour tortilla?! Let me tell you, not much can beat it.

Veggie Quesadillas (for one)

cooking spray

1/2 of a small zucchini, julienned

2 crimini mushrooms, sliced

1 carrot julienned (you can also buy the pre shredded carrots at the supermarket)

Salt and pepper

1 flour tortilla

1/2 cup shredded mexican cheese blend

Heat a skillet over meduim heat. When hot, spray with cooking spray and add the zucchini, mushrooms and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until the carrots are crisp tender and the zucchini and mushrooms are soft. Remove the veggies to another bowl and wipe the skillet clean.

Return to heat and add more cooking spray, add the torilla. Sprinkle cheese on one half reserving a little of it to top the veggies with. Add the veggies and then the reserved cheese and fold over. Cook over meduim-low heat until lightly browned on first side. Spray top half of tortilla with cooking spray and carefull turn over. Lightly brown the second half.

Serve quesadilla with smashed black beans, sour cream and salsa.

I love making big pots of beans, but there are many days where I am out of time or just forget to soak and prepare the beans. I always have a good stock of beans in my pantry and

love that I can throw together a quick side with them that tastes delicious and is healthy.

Smashed Black Beans

(the quick and easy way)

1 tsp oil

1/4 cup diced white onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can black beans, drained of 1/3 of the liquid

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil over medium heat, add the onion and saute for 3-5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and saute for one more minute. pour in the black beans with their liquid, the cumin, chili powder and the salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Using a potatoe masher mash the beans to desired consistance. Allow to come to a simmer and thicken slightlty.