Panza Llena Corazon Contento

A cooking blog

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Enchiladas Montadas

This is a type of Enchilada which I believe originates from New Mexico. I grew up with my Mom making only these Enchiladas that I almost thought she invented them until I saw them in a restaurant in Las Cruces, NM.  They are made up of the same ingredients as a regular enchilada but are stacked instead of rolled and topped with a fried egg. It can be a little time consuming making each enchilada one by one but well worth it! You can try it with Las Palmas canned enchilada sauce or try the recipe below if you have more time.  I have enjoyed both!

Ingredients:

Corn tortillas

oil

Enchilada sauce

Cheese (Monterey, sharp, & or queso fresco)

Onions, Chopped

Black Olives, Sliced

Beef or Chicken, Shredded (optional)

eggs

Avocado, Sour cream, Cilantro (optional garnishes)

Enchilada Sauce:

6 dried ancho chiles, or roasted & peeled poblano

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

1/4 cup oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp ground cumin

3 cups beef broth

For the sauce puree all ingredients in a blender and heat in a saucepan over medium heat.  Heat oil in a saucepan and using a spatula fry each tortilla softly, transfer it into the sauce, then onto a plate, sprinkle with cheese, onions, and olives.  If you choose to add meat you can add that on the top layer as well.  Repeat at least once and top with a fried egg.  Yummy!

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Tostadas

A Tostada in english translates to the word 'toasted' but is usually referring to a fried tortilla.  It can be eaten by itself or topped with as many options as a taco.  You can buy ready-made tostadas at the market that taste much like a tortilla chip or you can also fry some of your own using corn tortillas.  If you have some tortillas that are losing their freshness sometimes frying them for tostadas is a good idea, much like the idea for croutons.  The recipe below is for Crab & Shrimp tostadas.  It is very quick and simple to make.   

Tostadas de Jaiva y Camarones

Ingredients: 

2 lb Crab (pre cooked or imitation)

1 lb Shrimp (pre cooked)

4-5 Radishes, finely chopped

2 Tomato, chopped

2 Cucumbers, semi finely chopped

Jalapeños, chopped

4 Avocados, chopped

Cilantro, finely chopped

Mayo

Lime

Salt & Pepper

Tostadas

Hot Sauce

The how to:

Shred your crab into a large mixing bowl. Chop your ingredients one at a time adding to the crab.  Add 1-2 tbsp of Mayo, lime juice, salt & pepper to taste.  Mix well and chill for 30 minutes in refrigerator.  Serve desired amount on tostadas and top with your salsa.  Enjoy!

[christinaerives]

Mmmmmmm

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Tortillas

Tortillas are a  staple to any Hispanic plate.  From tacos, enchiladas, flautas, burritos, to tostadas, and much more. And Homemade tortillas are so appetizing even just by themselves.  The key in my humble opinion is the manteca (Lard), so don't you go substituting that tasty fat...Its a real simple recipe and so easy to make, I made some last weekend for my Ofrenda on Dia de los Muertos in a jiffy, so don't hesitate to make your own! Below are recipes for both Corn & Flour tortillas.

Flour Tortillas

2 Cups Flour

1 tsp Salt

1/3 Cup Lard

1/2 Cup Cold Water

Mix Flour & Salt.  Cut Lard into flour Mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Add water and mix until dough begins to form.  Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead extra flour into dough until it becomes less sticky.  

Wrap Dough in Plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for about 1 hour.  Divide into 8 pieces and use a tortilla press or roll each out on a lightly floured surface to about 7 inches in diameter. keep remaining dough in plastic or covered in a damp towel to prevent from drying out.  

Heat a Comal or griddle. Cook tortillas until lightly golden brown,  flipping over each side.  Keep cooked tortillas wrapped in a damp tea towel to stay warm. 

Corn Tortillas

2 cups Maseca Corn Masa Mix

1 tsp Salt

1 1/4 cup Hot Water

1 tsp Lard

Mix the Masa Harina & Salt in one bowl. in another bowl mix boiling water and lard until lard melts.  Using a fork stir water mixture into flour until dough forms.  When the dough is cool enough to touch (about a few minutes) Mix the dough with your hands adding an extra teaspoon of hot water at a time until dough forms well.  Knead until right consistency. Divide dough to into golf ball size pieces and keep remaining dough in plastic or covered in a damp towel to prevent from drying out.  Roll out pieces with tortilla press, rolling pins, or form tortillas with your hands.

Heat a Comal or griddle. Cook tortillas until lightly golden brown,  flipping over each side.  Keep cooked tortillas wrapped in a damp tea towel to stay warm. 

*the second image above is from twolazygourmets so you can guess how easy tortillas are to make

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Bolillos y Tortas

Bolillos are a a type a bread similar to the baguette.  In some places it is also referred to as birote or pan blanco. It is the most common ingredient for tortas, a sandwich traditionally made in Mexico. Tortas can be served hot or cold with the main ingredient of either jamon, adobo meat, carne asada, carnitas, pollo, huevos, or milanesa.  There is also the torta ahogada, the ‘drowned’ torta, which is drenched in a tasty red sauce yummmm.  The recipe below is for a torta de pollo which is a favorite usual of mine.  This was the first time i actually made the bread from scratch though which i enjoyed very much and now my place gets to smell of fresh warm bread :)

Bolillos

3 3/4 cups Flour

1 Package Active Dry yeast

1 TBSP Sugar

3/4 tsp Salt

1 1/2 cups Warm Water

Cornmeal

1 Egg White

1 TBSP Milk or Water

The how to:

In a large bowl combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the yeast, sugar, and salt.  Beat with an electric mixer for about 30 seconds on low to medium speed.  Beat on high for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon stir in remaining flour.

Turn dough on to floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.  Shape into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until doubled in size.

Punch dough down. turn onto a lightly floured surface.  Divide into 12 portions.  Shape each portion into a 3 to 6 inch long loaf.  Pull and twist slightly.

Lightly grease baking sheets and sprinkle with cornmeal.  Transfer dough to baking sheets and cut 1/4 inch down the center of each roll.

In a small bowl combine egg white and milk.  Brush some of the egg white over the tops of the portions.  Cover and let rise until double in size about 30 -45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake rolls for 15 minutes.  Brush again with egg white mixture.  Bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown. 

Torta de Pollo

Bollilo Bread

Refried Beans

Queso Fresco

Shredded Chicken

Tomato (sliced)

jalapeño (sliced)

Avocado (sliced or mashed)

Lettuce

Onion (sliced)

Chipotle Mayonaise

Salt & Pepper

Slice the rolls lengthwise. Spread each roll with the chipotle mayonnaise.  Put a layer of beans on the bottom of each roll and top with cheese, chicken, lettuce, tomato, jalapeños, onion, and avocado.   serve warm or cold.

Enjoy!

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Desayuno (Breakfast)

I wanted to try something a little different with my chorizo for breakfast this morning so I decided to mix it with mashed potatoes and fry them into little potato balls.  The trick to keeping the balls in good shape is to use cold mashed potatoes firm from the chilling.  This Breakfast Sandwich is a favorite go to of mine as well, very quick & easy to make, and  they hit the spot quite well in the morning. 

Chorizo Potato Balls & a Breakfast Sandwich

Ingredients:

Chorizo

Potatoes

Butter

Salt

Bread Crumbs

Chorizo Potato Balls:

Skin Potatoes and chop into equal sized chunks.  Place in a pot of water and bring to boil. Once soft and tender drain and add salt & butter if desired and mash to a smooth consistency.  

Cook desired amount of chorizo and add to mashed potatoes. Put mixture in fridge too cool.

Roll into balls and cover in bread crumbs.  In a saucepan of hot oil fry a few at a time. drain on paper towels.

Ingredients:

Bread

Avocado

Eggs

Cheese

Hot sauce

For Breakfast Sandwich:

Toast bread and spread avocado over it. Fry an egg and add salt & pepper if desired. Top with cheese and hot sauce.

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Huaraches are long oval pieces of masa cakes topped with a variety of delicious ingredients that get their name huarache meaning sandal because of their shape.  It is a very popular street food and they are usually pretty long, the recipe below is for 4 inch long pieces(which is nice & easy to flip) but if you're looking to serve some extra hungry guests just double the masa for a huarache size that better fits :) 

Huaraches con Pollo

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup Masa Harina

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Chicken Broth

2 TBSP Vegetable Oil

Refried Beans

Red or Green Enchilada Sauce

Chicken, Shredded

Queso Fresco

Cabbage

Avocado

Tomatoes

Sour Cream

Jalapeños & or Hot Sauce for spice

The how to:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

For the dough combine Masa Harina, Baking Powder, and Salt in a bowl.  In a saucepan heat broth until warm, add a TBSP of oil, then stir into Masa Harina mixture until dough clings together.  Add extra broth if needed.  Divide dough into 9 portions, on a lightly floured surface roll dough out into thin ovals about 4 inches long.  As you work keep a damp cloth over dough so it does not dry out.

In a large skillet with frying oil over medium heat add 2 to 3 huaraches.  Fry huaraches turning once until crispy and lightly browned.  Drain on paper towels.

Arrange Huaraches onto a baking sheet.  Spread a thin layer of beans on each, followed by sauce, cheese, and chicken.  Bake for 5 minutes.

Top with cabbage, tomatoes, avocado, crema, jalapeños, and hot sauce.

Enjoy!

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Hello there good friends! Bienvenidos!  This a New blog I'm starting to record and share about all the food I enjoy making.  I'd like to start of with a classic...  

The Chile Relleno

  A chile relleno means a stuffed chile…mmmmmm yum.  Typically a chile relleno is made from either a steamed Poblano or Anaheim chile, filled with queso fresco, and fried in a delicious egg batter.  There might be some talk over which chile makes for a more authentic Recipe but I find both to be very satisfying.  Sometimes you’ll find a chile relleno stuffed with a little something extra like beef and topped with a traditional red or green sauce.  The recipe below is one I’ve tried with great success…

  For the Salsa:

4 Roma Tomatoes, cored & Halved

½ White Onion, chopped into ½ inch slices

2 medium Garlic Cloves, Peeled & Smashed

1 Serrano Chile, Stemmed

1 tsp Lime Juice

1 tsp Salt

For The Chile Rellenos:

4 Poblano or Anaheim Chiles

Queso Fresco or Monterrey Cheese

3 eggs

1 Tbsp Flour

1 Cup Oil

The How to:

Char the chiles either in an oven or on a grill until toasty on all sides.  Once they are blackened place them in a plastic bag or wrapped in a clean towel to steam.  Once they are warm enough to handle peel off all the skin and slit them down the middle about 3 inches and carefully remove the seeds.  Stuff the peppers with enough cheese and beef (Optional) so that they still close at the seam.

Separate the egg yolks from the whites.  Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until the whites fluff up and form stiff peaks, add in the yolks and flour.  (Note, if you are making a lot of chile rellenos its best to do only 1 or 2 eggs at a time as the batter settles fast and wont work as well)

Add oil to a frying pan over medium heat, dip stuffed peppers in batter and fry until golden brown on both sides.

For the Sauce (I usually prepare the sauce as the chiles are cooling down) Place the tomatoes (Skin Side up), Onions, garlic, and chile on baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees until the tomato skins start to blacken & blister.  Transfer to a blender and add lime juice & Salt. Blend to a smooth Puree.  Transfer to a saucepan and keep warm over low heat.