Mexican potluck

A few weeks ago we hosted friends for a Mexican potluck! You might remember it because we've already shared this Mexican Chocolate Pound Cake that we made for dessert. I couldn't let the whole evening go by without some pictures and a mention on the blog so here are all the goods.

The Spread

We had rice and beans alongside beef enchiladas and chicken tortilla soup.

The Bar

Everyone not only chipped into the food but also the bar! Someone brought tequila, another someone brought margarita mixer, and we picked up some various juice sodas to customize your margarita. Lime wedges and a plate of salt completed the margarita bar. 

The Table

Chips and salsa as well as sour cream joined the centerpiece for our munching pleasure throughout dinner. 

Friends, come back! We need more Mexican potlucks in our lives. 

Portobello zucchini tacos

This portobello and zucchini taco filling is a healthy alternative to your typical taco fillings. Since we're subbing out the meat with these veggies this can be your next meatless Monday meal! I loved the flavor of the roasted veggies in the tacos. The roasted veggies give these tacos a different appeal than traditional meat and cheese tacos with taco seasoning. They are light and tasty - perfect meal for the ending of these warm months as everyone tries to savor daylight.

They come together pretty quickly too! While the veggies are roasting you can get everything else together - shredding the cheese and whatever side you want to pair with the taco. We served the tacos with a quinoa-rice blend topped with avocado, sour cream, and salsa to give the tacos their Mexican flair.

Martha Stewart's Portobello and zucchini tacos
   Serves 4

Ingredients
5 portobello mushrooms, stemmed and sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup water
salt and   pepper
4 zucchini, cut into 2-by-1/2-inch sticks
1 red onion, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
8 corn tortillas (4 1/2-inch size) [we subbed whole wheat tortillas]
6 ounces Monterey Jack, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered

Directions
   Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss mushrooms with 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and the water; season with salt and pepper. On another baking sheet, toss zucchini and onion with remaining oregano and olive oil; season with salt and pepper.
   Roast, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are browned and fork-tender, 25 to 30 minutes (zucchini may cook faster than mushrooms).
   Using tongs, hold each tortilla directly over a gas flame, turning, until heated through, about 5 seconds. (Alternatively, wrap tortillas in parchment, then foil, and warm in a 350 degrees oven.)
   To serve, fill each tortilla with mushrooms, vegetable mixture, shredded cheese, and tomatoes.

Corn and black bean quesadillas

Patrick and I love quesadillas but from the looks of the blog and a lack of posts you may not have known we loved quesadillas. The only post I could find in our archives are for charred cauliflower quesadillas (which were amazing). Mushroom quesadillas are usually my go-to when ordering at a Mexican restaurant. 

I imagine the reason we don't have many quesadilla adventures in our kitchen is because nachos are so much easier and are a quick "throw together" weeknight meal for us. Either way these corn and black bean quesadillas were quite the treat and a great use of fresh corn when we had dozens of ears in the kitchen too!

Corn, Black Bean, & Cheddar Quesadillas inspiration from Susan Middleton's The Fresh & Green Table
Serves 4

Ingredients
   For the filling
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
salt to taste
1 1/2 c fresh corn kernels
1/2 tsp Mexican spice blend
1/4 c black beans
   For the quesadillas
1 1/2 c extra sharp cheddar cheese
8 small whole wheat tortillas
2 tsp unsalted butter
4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
   Make the filling - in a medium heavy nonstick skillet heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the onion, pepper, and a little salt. Allow the onion and pepper to caramelize a bit (about 10 minutes) and then add corn. Cook for a few minutes more. Stir in the Mexican blend spice and cook for about 30 seconds then add the black beans.
   Assemble quesadillas - take one tortilla and layer a handful of cheese, scoop of the corn-black bean mixture, another handful of cheese, and a second tortilla for one quesadilla. Make the other 3 quesadillas.
   Cook the quesadillas - in the same skillet you used for the filling, melt a small pat of butter with a drizzle of olive oil and place one quesadilla to brown. After that side has browned, about 3-4 minutes, flip it over and brown the other side. Once the quesadilla has browned on both sides place it in a 250F oven while finishing the other quesadillas.
   Slice into quarters and serve.

We served with sliced avocado, sour cream, and a quinoa rice blend.

Black Bean Empanadas and Spanish Rice

I'm not sure how pie crust fits into our healthy lifestyle, but whether it's a hand pie, tomato pie, chicken pot pie, an actual dessert pie, or these delicious empanadas, I'm not complaining when it does! I suppose Whitney figures that as long as we make it ourselves, at least we know exactly what's in it (butter/flour/salt). These empanadas have a tasty veggie and cheese filling, and aside from tasting great, they're fun to eat! We had a little difficulty figuring out the balance of filling vs. crust when we were wrapping them up, but they turned out just fine.

Offsetting the empanadas are some homemade spanish rice (we made it from a wild rice blend) and a side salad. I think we undercooked the rice a little bit but other than that I found it to be an enjoyable alternative to our typically simple rice preparations. Whitney prepared a helpful printable doc here with the recipes.

Before baking

Hot and ready!

Mexican Night - Baked Black Bean Empanadas & Spanish Rice
adapted from Hip2Save

Empanadas Makes 20 small empanadas
Ingredients
1/4 cup canned sweet corn > substitue 1 squash, diced and sauteed with 1 onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced  
1/2 cup black beans, rinsed
1/4 cup salsa                
1 tsp Mexican seasoning blend
salt & pepper to taste        
1/2 lime, juiced
1/4 cup cilantro > we omitted             
Pie dough
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Optional: Egg white and small packet Sazon Goya seasoning

Directions
   In large bowl, mix corn [squash/onion], jalapenos, black beans, salsa, cumin, lime juice and cilantro. Set aside.
   Unroll pie pastry on floured countertop or cutting board. Use a 4 inch wide cup or round cookie cutter to cut circles from the dough. Roll out scrap pieces of dough for more circles.
Place bean mixture and a pinch of cheese on each circle. Fold over and use a fork to press down and seal edges.
   Optional Step: Mix one egg white and one small packet Sazon Goya found in the Hispanic food aisle. It is a very inexpensive mix of salt, cilantro, garlic, salt, cumin and Annatto (achiote) seeds. I brushed this on before baking to achieve a bright gold color and to add extra flavor.
   Lay each empanada on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake in a 450 degree oven for about 12 minutes, until browned. Serve with remaining corn and black bean salsa.

Spanish Rice
Ingredients
1 - 15  oz can stewed tomatoes  
1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 1/4 cups rice        
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons chili powder        
3/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt        
1 teaspoon cumin

Directions
   In medium saucepan, combine all ingredients (mash tomatoes with potato masher or fork.)
Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 30 minutes or until rice is done.

Dupree can't believe how good these empanadas are!
Nacho doesn't care about Mexican night unless tortilla chips are involved.

Charred Cauliflower Quesadillas

Quesadillas are mucho delicious. With melty cheese sandwiched between two crispy tortillas fried in butter, you can't go wrong. Therefore it was with an open mind that I approached this charred cauliflower quesadilla recipe that Whitney picked out for us from Smitten Kitchen. I have to admit that even for a quesadilla, this was very good. The charred cauliflower added just a bit of flavor reminiscent of grilled chicken without adding any vegetable bitterness to compete with the tasty cheese, and I always enjoy my spicy peppers. I love sour cream with my quesadillas as well, and this recipe spices it up with some lime and cumin.

Browning some cauliflower!

Assembling the quesadillas

Perfectly done!

Served with black rice and a small salad

Charred Cauliflower Quesadillas

Poblanos are very mild hot peppers. You could use fewer or swap them with a small bell pepper for less heat, or swap one or both with a hotter jalapeño or other chile for more heat.

Yield: 6 quesadillas, serves 6

2 small or 1 large fresh poblano chiles
1 small head cauliflower, cored and cut into rough 1-inch chunks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cooking quesadillas
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 cups (about 8 ounces) coarsely grated monterey jack cheese
12 small (7-inch) flour tortillas

Char peppers: Over a gas burner turned to high, hold the poblanos over the flame with tongs and char them until they are black and blistered all over. Alternatively, you could do this under a broiler, turning them frequently for even blistering. Transfer hot chiles to a bowl and cover tightly with foil. Set aside to steam and let their skins loosen while you cook the cauliflower.

Char cauliflower: In a large bowl, toss cauliflower with 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper, until it’s evenly coated. Heat your largest heaviest frying pan over high heat until almost smoking, add cauliflower, and let it cook until each piece has a few black spots but is not mushy, turning and moving it frequently to ensure even cooking. This will take 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer florets to cutting board to rest.

Mix filling: When poblanos are cool enough to handle, peel the charred skin off with your fingertips or a paring knife. Pull out and discard stems and seed clusters, and slice peppers into 1/4-inch wide strips. Add to cauliflower on board and give both a rough chop together, reducing the cauliflower to no bigger than 1/2-inch chunks. Return cauliflower and peppers to the large bowl, add scallions, lime juice and salt to taste. You should have about 2 cups of cauliflower filling.

Assemble and cook quesadillas: Lay out 6 tortillas and spread 1/3 cup cauliflower filling and 1/3 cup shredded cheese to each. Place second 6 tortillas on top as lids. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, coat lightly with olive oil and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook quesadillas until browned underneath, about 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully a flip — a large, thin spatula like my favorite kind helps here — and repeat on the second side. Repeat with remaining quesadillas.

To serve: Cut quesadillas into wedges and serve with your choice of fixings. Two of my favorites are below.

Cumin-Lime Crema

1/2 cup sour cream or Mexican crema
A few gratings fresh lime zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of salt

Combine, adjust seasonings to taste, and serve alongside quesadillas.

No, Nacho. It's quesadilla night. Na-cho night.

Tomatillos!!!

Something new we decided to try from the CSA this year was tomatillos. I didn't know what a tomatillo looked like until we got them in our box, and I was in for a surprise when I was just expecting some tomato variant. Tomatillos have a dry paper-like husk, which is easily removed to reveal an unpleasantly sticky green fruit. However, once rinsed they are easy to chop up for your meal.

Tomatillos are often used in Mexican sauces, which is how we used them in the two meals pictured below. The first is this chicken enchilada recipe that we enjoyed a lot. The second was a meal of Whitney's invention which included quinoa, black beans, sweet potatoes, a fried egg, tomatillo salsa, and sour cream (it was pretty good for a meatless dish!). In both cases we chopped up the tomatillos, briefly boiled them, and then blended them with other good stuff like onions, chiles, and garlic.

The tomatillos add a nice fruity flavor. With their sweet tartness, I would describe them as kind of in between an apple and a tomato. It's always fun to discover new produce we like with our CSA and incorporate it into our meal planning!

Taco Soup

One day Whitney and I went to check out the Penzeys store in Cameron Village in Raleigh. They have an exciting selection of all kinds of spices. We picked out three on our visit: pasta sprinkle, pumpkin pie spice, and the focus of this post, a bold taco seasoning. The store has little recipe cards on a lot of displays to help inspire you, and that's where we found the recipe for this. It was pretty good, and definitely comforting on a cold fall day, but the spiciness was a little intense. I'm not sure whether I would bother to make this again vs. just preparing regular tacos.

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
2 cans (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz.) corn, drained (or kernels from 3-4 ears corn)
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
1-3 teaspoons taco seasoning
1 container (16 oz.) salsa of your preferred heat level

Garnishes:
1 cup tortilla chips, crumbled
1 cup shredded cheddar, jack or mozzarella cheese
½ cup sour cream

In a soup kettle, brown the ground beef or turkey and drain any fat. Turkey won’t really get brown. Add the black beans, corn, tomatoes (with the juice), taco seasoning and salsa. Water may be added to make it a little soupier as desired. Cook over medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes. Serve with garnishes.
Serves 8-10.

Mmm beef and beans and tomatoes and stuff

Taco soup, prior to serving and garnishing

Black Bean & Salmon Tostadas

Salmon certainly needs no introduction. I found a new recipe to try from EatingWell. It's got a Mexican twist to it and I think Patrick and I both really enjoyed this. The recipe does call for canned salmon which I was planning to use fresh (bake it, then flake onto the tostada) but there was no fresh salmon when I went shopping so I'm definitely looking forward to making this again with fresh salmon. Here's the link to the recipe on-line and the recipe is pasted below with my notes. We really tweaked the recipe quite a bit.

Black Bean & Salmon Tostadas Serves 4
Ingredients
8 6-inch corn tortillas -- I used small whole wheat tortillas
Canola oil cooking spray
1 6- to 7-ounce can boneless, skinless wild Alaskan salmon, drained
1 avocado, diced
2 tablespoons minced pickled jalapeños, plus 2 tablespoons pickling juice from the jar, divided
     -- I omitted this completely but feel free to spice yours up!
2 cups coleslaw mix or shredded cabbage -- I was planning to use this but forgot
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro -- Omitted, not a big cilantro fan
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons prepared salsa
2 scallions, chopped
Lime wedges (optional)

Preparation
Position racks in upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 375°F.
Coat tortillas on both sides with cooking spray. Place on 2 baking sheets. Bake, turning once, until light brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Do this if you want the tostadas to be crispy. If you prefer the softer tortilla and would like to wrap up the beans and salmon, skip this step.
Combine salmon, avocado and jalapeños in a bowl. I also added freshly chopped tomato here. Combine cabbage, cilantro and the pickling juice in another bowl. We didn't do this. Process black beans, sour cream, salsa and scallions in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave on High until hot, about 2 minutes.
To assemble tostadas, spread each tortilla with some bean mixture and some salmon mixture and top with the cabbage salad. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.
I served with brown rice!

Tastier than it looks! I promise!

Mexican Potluck

It's another weekly wipeout night! This week everyone wanted to do another potluck so I suggested a themed potluck. We settled on Mexican and it was yummy! Here are all the creations everyone brought!

Top row [l to r]: rice, taco salad lettuce, taco salad hamburger topping, sausage dip, mango salsa, and chips!

Bottom row [l to r]: whole-wheat flour tortilla, tortilla filling, vegetarian champinones rellenos, and avocado fries!

 Whoa I thought we decided on potluck not a feast!

Potluck items will now be discussed in order of appearance on the buffet line.

Mexican Rice: Can't have a Mexican feast without rice. Prepared by Holly.

Burrito filling

Burritos: Yummy burritos. For the filling saute onions, then add a can each of (drained and rinsed) black beans, corn, and diced tomatoes. Warm everything and serve. Prepared by myself.

 


Taco Salad: This left an impression on Patrick the last time he cooked this. You can see the recipe at this taco salad post. He made a few alterations this time including substituting bell peppers for celery. Prepared by Patrick.



Chips & Dips: The chips had two fabulous dip options to choose from. A prepared Mango & Lime dip from Honey Baked Ham. And then the classic yummy sausage dip consisting of cream cheese (2 blocks), rotel dip (1 can), and sausage (Neese's hot). Prepared by Tim & Ryan.

Vegetarian Champinones Rellenos: The experiment of the evening! Straight from the chef: "I used white mushrooms for the caps.
For the stuffing, I think I had: onion, garlic, bell peppers, mushroom stems (from those white mushrooms), gimme lean (vegetarian sausage substitute; for a non-vegetarian option, you can replace with chorizo), chili powder, manchego cheese, panko bread crumbs
I cooked the stuffing in a pan while I simultaneously pre-cooked the mushroom caps. Stuffed the mushrooms, topped with leftover manchego cheese, then returned them to the oven." Prepared by Richard.

Avocado Fries: How to make avocados unhealthy but still delicious! Peel, pit, and slice the avocados. Bread the avocados by dipping in flour, beaten egg with a splash of water, and panko bread crumbs. Fry in canola oil for a few minutes on each side until browned. Keep fried fries warm in a 200F oven until ready to serve. Prepared by myself; inspired by Christine who sent me this fabulous link for the recipe!

Dips, vegetarian champinones rellenos, and avocado fries.

Look at the greens in our feast! Romaine lettuce for the salad and sliced avocados for the fries.

Taco Salad

I've always enjoyed the flavor of taco-seasoned meat, but I've never been much for actual tacos. I dislike messy foods, so whenever I made "tacos", I was just dipping tortilla shells into a bowl of taco meat. For this meal, I decided to try something a little more complex! I found this recipe for taco salad on Eating Well, and adapted it to my tastes and the ingredients I had on hand as follows.


1/2 c prepared salsa
1/4 c reduced-fat sour cream
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef
2 large plum tomatoes, diced
4 tsp taco seasoning
8 c shredded romaine lettuce
1/2 c shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Combine salsa and sour cream in a large bowl.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add beef and cook, stirring often and crumbling with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, celery, and taco seasoning; cook, stirring, until the tomatoes begin to break down, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in 1/4 cup of the salsa mixture.
Add lettuce to the remaining salsa mixture in the bowl; toss to coat.
To serve, divide the lettuce among 4 plates, top with the beef mixture and sprinkle with cheese. For some crisp, include tortilla shells or chips on the side.


The salsa/sour cream mixture tasted great, and I would substitute this any day for my old taco preparation.

Adding celery and tomato. So colorful!

Taco salad! No cheese for me.

Special thanks to Granny for this wonderful centerpiece.

Chilaquiles Casserole

The other evening I made a Chilaquiles Casserole from eatingwell.com. Eating Well is one of my favorite websites to visit. You can access the recipe and website here: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chilaquiles_casserole.html

For your convenience I've pasted it here with my comments.


Chilaquiles Casserole
From EatingWell: June/July 2006

Our version of this enchilada-style chilaquiles casserole is packed with nutritious beans and vegetables. Canned prepared enchilada sauce has great flavor and keeps the prep time quick. It can vary in heat level so find one that suits your taste. If you want to eliminate the heat altogether, try a green enchilada sauce (which is often milder than red) or substitute two 8-ounce cans of plain tomato sauce.

10 servings
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients
* 1 tablespoon canola oil
* 1 medium onion, diced
* 1 medium zucchini, grated
* 1 19-ounce can black beans, rinsed
* 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
* 1 1/2 cups corn, frozen (thawed) or fresh
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 12 corn tortillas, quartered
* 1 19-ounce can mild red or green enchilada sauce
* 1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in zucchini, beans, tomatoes, corn, cumin and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are heated through, about 3 minutes.
3. Scatter half the tortilla pieces in the pan. Top with half the vegetable mixture, half the enchilada sauce and half the cheese. Repeat with one more layer of tortillas, vegetables, sauce and cheese. Cover with foil.
4. Bake the casserole for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the casserole is bubbling around the edges and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes more.

Nutrition
Per serving: 243 calories; 10 g fat (5 g sat, 4 g mono); 23 mg cholesterol; 30 g carbohydrates; 9 g protein; 5 g fiber; 338 mg sodium; 267 mg potassium.


My Notes!
I used canned corn and whole wheat tortillas which was a slight variation from the ingredients. I had trouble finding the right can sizes in the grocery store so actually used to cans of black beans. I didn't have cumin in my seasoning collection and used a chile powder instead. This is a rather large casserole -- serves 10! I imagine it could be easily halved.

Menu Ideas
I served this casserole with yellow rice and a tomato-avocado salsa.

Would I eat/make this again? Yes!