mexican pizza party!

I grew up in such a small town that we had NO fast food restaurants, except a walk-up Dairy Queen. Plus my mom didn't really believe in eating out. So I was pretty much deprived of fast food until my older sister turned 16 and got her driver's license. She would occasionally take me to the next town and treat me to Taco Bell. We both loved the Enchirito with that famous Taco Bell sauce and an order of cinnamon crispas made with flour tortillas for dessert.

Now I completely understand my mom's preference to cook dinner instead of going out. This recipe was inspired by Taco Bell's Mexican pizza. It's easy to adapt the recipe to serve from 2 to 10 people. Or it makes a great appetizer. I made mine vegetarian and my husband loved his with the delicious seasoned ground beef. I printed a similar recipe years ago from www.traderjoesrecipes.net that I used as a rough idea. I just checked that websight so I could link you to it but it no longer exists.

Mexican Pizza
click HERE to print recipe only
makes 2 pizzas

ingredients

4 flour tortillas
2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup refried beans
1/2 cup salsa
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 green onions, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
sliced black olives
sour cream & cilantro, optional

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Brush tortillas lightly with oil and heat them on each side in a skillet over medium heat until barely browned. Watch closely so they don't burn.

3. Cook ground beef in a skillet with onion until browned. Add garlic and cook for another minute or two. Drain grease, if needed. Season meat with chili powder, cumin, black pepper and salt.

4. To assemble pizzas, place 2 tortilla on a cookie sheet, divide the beans between the 2 tortillas and spread to the edges. Divide the meat and sprinkle it over the beans on each pizza. Cover each with 2nd tortilla.  Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

5. Spread quarter cup of salsa over each pizza. Top with cheese. Return to oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and toasty.

6. Top with tomatoes, green onions and olives. Slice & serve.

creamy chicken enchiladas party!

Mexican food is my very favorite. I love it ALL, authentic or Americanized. This recipe isn't authentic Mexican but for a small town Midwestern girl who's favorite treat growing up was going to the big city & eating at Taco Bell, anything made with tortillas equals Mexican food. These enchiladas are mild and delicious, creamy, cheesy comfort food with Mexican flavors and flair. They come together quickly if you have roasted chicken in the freezer like THIS recipe. 

At a Mexican restaurant I almost always order a ground beef taco & a cheese enchilada with rice and beans. YUM! But I could also make a meal out of chips & salsa. I want to eat Mexican food everyday! This is one of my favorite at-home Mexican meals!

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

adapted from www.allrecipes.com

ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
14.5 ounce can or 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2  4 oz. cans of chopped green chiles or you can use 1 cup of fresh roasted Anaheim peppers
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
 12 (8 inch) corn tortillas
1/4  cup vegetable or canola oil for frying
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, or more
1 cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese, or more
2 cups roasted or cooked chicken, shredded
1/2 pint heavy cream

directions

1. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion for a few minutes until soft. Stir in the flour. Add the broth, chiles, garlic, salt, and cumin. Simmer about 15 minutes to blend flavors. Remove from heat & stir in the cream. Set aside.

 2. In a small heavy skillet, heat the oil on medium heat & lightly fry tortillas one at a time, only for 5-10 seconds per side. I only add half the oil, fry 6 tortillas then add the other half of the oil & fry the rest. That way the first ones are overly oily with no oil at the end. You just want them to soften. If they crisp you won't be able to roll the enchiladas. Place tortillas on a paper towel lined plate as you fry each one.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) 

4.  Combine the cheeses and keep 1/2 cup aside for topping. 

5. Assemble enchiladas one at a time by dipping a tortilla in the green chili sauce (both sides). Place 2 heaping tablespoons chicken and 2 tablespoons cheese down the center of each; roll and place seam side down in a shallow dish. I prefer to use a large cookie sheet because I don't like my enchiladas to touch each other. If you put them in a 9x13 pan they seem to squish together and make more of a casserole where you can't really separate 1 enchilada from another.

6. After all the rolled tortillas are on the pan, spoon the additional green chili sauce over them. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese mixture.

7. Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Garnish with chopped green onions, black olives, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole and salsa.

salsa party!

PRINT RECIPE ONLY

If you know me very well you know that MEXICAN food is my very favorite! I love everything about it & I could eat it everyday. Sadly, I’m the only one in my family that feels that way. They like it but they don’t LOVE it or crave it on a daily basis like I do. And, I adore Mexican restaurants. I know they are Americanized & not always authentic but what’s not to love? Seriously, where else can you get free chips & salsa?!

This recipe will rival your local Mexican restaurant’s. Don’t be alarmed by the canned tomatoes. I almost guarantee that your local Mexican dive uses canned tomatoes, which are cooked, for their salsa (not to be confused with pico de gallo, which is made with fresh, uncooked tomatoes). My neighbor told me about the tomatoes shown below & I used them for the first time today. They gave the salsa a hint of sweetness, which I liked. I usually just use regular old canned tomatoes. You can also buy them with a bit of lime juice & cilantro or green chilies. Use whatever canned tomatoes you prefer.

It is easy to adjust the spice & heat in salsa. If you don’t like cilantro or cumin, leave it out. If you like it hotter, add more jalapeños, leave in some of the seeds or add a can of Rotel. To add another layer of flavor add a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. If you have fresh tomatoes feel free to substitute.


Remember that when you are cutting fresh jalapenos, you need to handle them with plastic gloves. I just grab a sandwich bag like this. They will burn your skin if you don't & it hurts for a day, trust me!


Salsa

ingredients

2 14.5 oz. cans whole tomatoes, drained
2-3 jalapeno peppers, seeded & deveined (I used 2 & they were on the large side)
2 cloves garlic, feel free to substitute garlic powder or garlic from a jar
1 handful of cilantro leaves (the stems can be bitter)
½ of a large white or yellow onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 squeeze of fresh lime juice

directions

I have a small food processor & I like my tomatoes to be a bit chunkier than the rest of the ingredients so I process the tomatoes separately. Puree tomatoes then pour into a glass mixing bowl. Puree remaining ingredients together. I like the jalapenos, onions, garlic & cilantro to be smoother than the tomatoes. Then stir the smoothly pureed pepper/onion mixture into the pureed tomatoes. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Salsa will get thicker and more flavorful if refrigerated overnight. Makes 4 cups of salsa.

If you don't have a food processor you can use a blender.

Tips for restaurant-type salsa: They usually puree the ingredients quite a bit smoother than mine is. They don't usually add cumin or cilantro but I love them both so I add it to mine. And I think they use canned jalapenos instead of fresh.