Mexican Soup

Tony made this Mexican soup, which he adapted from Taste of Home: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/super-fast-mexican-soup/

See notes below for his changes. This was an excellent soup.
 
Prep/Total time: 25 minutes
Serves 4
 
Ingredients
 
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium taco seasoning
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup salsa [red]
1 carton (32 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
 
Directions
 
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink. Stir in taco seasoning.
 
Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Skim fat before serving.
 
Notes:
 
Used 1.5 lbs chicken thighs, lightly salted.
 
Used 1 t chili powder, 1 t Tajin, and 1 t paprika in lieu of the taco seasoning. This was so flavorful!
 
Added minced garlic and some diced celery.
 
Added 1/2 c green salsa and  1 4-oz can diced green chili’s.
 
Added some fresh chopped parsley; and a handful of fresh spinach.
 
Added a couple of small potatoes (about 3/4 lb), diced, microwave until half cooked; then added to the pot.
 
To serve: We added some tortilla chips, crushed, and a dollop of sour cream.
 
Next time:  Will use cilantro instead of parsley. Will add beans and will double the amount of potatoes.
 
Other optional toppings: diced avocado, a fresh squeeze of lime juice, or shredded cheese.

Tres Leches - Mexican Flan

This is one of my favorite (and super easy) desserts to make. It's always a hit at my parties, or when I bring to a friend's house.  This is a Mexican flan that's made with three types of milks.  

Adapted from: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Desserts/MexicanFlan.htm 

                                                                                                  

My notes in [ … ]

Yields: 6 servings [More like 8 - 12 servings]
Prep time: 30 min
Carmel cook time: 10 min
Flan cook time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar
Drop of lemon juice
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
Zest of one orange
2 cups whole or 2% milk [I used half and half]

5 large eggs [I used extra large]
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Heavy-bottom, high-sided saucepan
8 1/2-inch rectangular loaf pan  [I used an 8 x 8 baking dish]
Large high-sided pan (to set the loaf pan in)

Prepare Caramel - Caramelized Sugar:

In the saucepan over low to medium-low heat, combine 1 cup sugar and a drop of lemon juice (the lemon juice keeps the mixture from hardening or crystalizing). Keep it on a low heat and watch that the sugar doesn't burn. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves, about 8 to 10 minutes. Pour quickly into the pan (be very careful not to get any on you) and coat the entire bottom. Set aside. 

 

Prepare Flan:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. or 180 degrees C. Adjust oven rack to center position.

In a blender, combine evaporated milk, condensed milk, orange zest, whole or 2% milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt; process until smooth. Let the flan mixture sit approximately 10 to 15 minutes. After resting, remove any top foam that formed when blending the ingredients and discard. Stir the flan mixture just before pouring in your loaf baking pan.

 

Pour the prepared flan mixture into the loaf pan [you will see a lot of the grated orange zest at the bottom of the blender, so be sure to scrape all that good flavor into the pan]. 

Place the filled loaf pan into an ovenproof roasting or baking pan. If cooking custards in a metal pan, cover the bottom of the pan with a layer of newspaper to ensure an even temperature on the bottom.

Bring the water for the water bath to a light simmer on top of the stove; carefully pour hot water into the baking pan to come half-way up the sides of the loaf pan. For ease of carrying, first place the larger pan (containing the filled loaf pan) on the oven rack, then pour the boiling water into the large baking pan. It is so much easier than moving the pans with water in them.

Bake 60 to 70 minutes (depending on depth of your pan) or until set around the edges but still loose in the center. When the center of custard is just set, it will jiggle a little when shaken, that's when you can remove it from the oven (the flans will continue to set as they cool). If using a digital instant-read thermometer, insert in the centers, it should register 180 degrees F. Begin checking temperature about 10 minutes before recommended times.

Remove from oven and remove the flan pan from the water bath. Place on your counter and let cool approximately 60 minutes.

Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

To Unmold and Serve:

When ready to serve, remove from refrigerator at least 1 hour before unmolding.

Using a thin knife, separate the edge of the flan from the pan to make sure that the flan edges are not sticking to the sides of the pan.

Place a flat bottom plate on top of the pan and flip over. Let sit for about 15 minutes before removing the pan. The caramel will drip over the top and sides of the flan. Any leftover in the pan, just scrape on top of the flan.

My Notes:

Yum!! This is now one of my favorite desserts to make. Very easy to make and so delicious!! I love the hint of the orange zest.

I will prepare the flan mixture before making the caramel, as the flan mixture has to rest for about 10-15 minutes.

I typically bake this for 65 minutes. 

I keep it in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 hours; I don't let it sit for an hour before unmolding. I don't wait for 15 minutes to remove the baking pan. The caramel will be liquidly. I just scrape out the extra caramel on top of the flan.

This is another recipe that I make that calls for cream cheese: 

http://monicacooks.blogspot.com/2008/05/cream-cheese-flan.html

Mexican Street Corn Salad

I made this for a Mexican-themed dinner party at a friends house (November 2023)

Adapted from this recipe in [  ]: 

https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/mexican-street-corn-salad-esquites/

Ingredients
 
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups fresh corn or thawed frozen corn
1/2 cup mayonnaise  [I started with less mayo and added some yogurt]
1/3 cup crumbled Cotija cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon lime juice  [This is about  one half of a medium lime]
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
 
[I added about a tablespoon of minced red onion]
 
Directions
 
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the corn [and garlic – I didn’t want to toss in raw garlic at the end]. Cook and stir for 8 to 10 minutes, until the corn is slightly charred.
 
Transfer the charred corn to a large bowl. Stir in the mayonnaise, cheese, cilantro, green onions, jalapeno, lime juice, garlic cloves, chili powder, salt and pepper [and minced red onion].
 
If desired, top the corn salad with any remaining cilantro and crumbled Cotija cheese. Esquites is usually served warm, not piping hot, so let the dish cool slightly before serving.

My Notes:

This came out very good. you definitely want to serve it right away. 

Mexican Bean Salad (or Salsa)

Mexican Bean Salad (or Salsa)

This is a refreshing salad, perfect for a BBQ.  Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/14169/mexican-bean-salad/

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained

1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 15-oz can corn, drained

1 red onion, chopped

1/8 to 1/4 cup olive oil   

1/8 to 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

1 tablespoon salt

1 clove crushed garlic

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 dash hot pepper sauce

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

In a large bowl, combine beans, bell peppers, corn, and red onion.

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, salt, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and black pepper. Season to taste with hot sauce and chili powder.

Pour olive oil dressing over vegetables; mix well. Chill thoroughly, and serve cold. 

Notes: I added some zest from the lemon and lime; I did not add any sugar. I doubled the recipe for two BBQ's this weekend.

Slow Cooker Carnitas

23 April 2012: Yesterday I made a huge batch of pork carnitas. This is one of my favorite foods. I made it for a party. This is from All Recipes. My notes are below of what I did or did not do.

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
2 bay leaves
2 cups chicken broth

Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, and cinnamon in a bowl. Coat pork with the spice mixture. Place the bay leaves in the bottom of a slow cooker and place the pork on top. Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture.

Cover and cook on Low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 10 hours. Turn the meat after it has cooked for 5 hours. When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, and shred with two forks. Use cooking liquid as needed to moisten the meat.

What I did or did not do:

I tripled the rub and added a teaspoon of paprika. I didn’t use bay leaves or the cinnamon.

I marinated the pork overnight.

I cooked two 5.5 (approx.) pork shoulders (Costco doesn’t package pork shoulders individually), each in its own pan and covered tightly with tinfoil; and cooked for 5 ½ hours at 300 degrees. I could have taken it out at the 5 hour mark. Cook until 170 degrees inside temperature.

I added towards the end, a large onion, sliced thin. Next time I will cook separately in a pan so that the onions don’t cook all the way down (add after shredding the pork and toss to combine). I didn’t really taste the onions when eating.

I added the chicken broth after shredding the pork (remove all fat), as there wasn’t enough juices in the pan (which I drained the fat first).

I served with corn tortillas (healthier than plain white soft tortillas - warm up first or else they’ll fall apart) and fresh-made salsa.

This recipe could use a little kick, therefore, next time I’ll serve with hot fresh-made salsa or will add some hot sauce to the shredded pork.