Mexican Cobb Salad

There are some nights when I just don’t feel like cooking (a lot of them actually), and last night was one. On such nights when leftovers are not left over, I tend to turn to salads. During the winter months a salad seems so cold, unless it is kicked up with some spice and a bit of zing. Enter the Mexican Cobb Salad, a zippy take on a traditional favorite. You really don’t need a recipe to put this together, just envision all of the things that you like about Mexican food, plus what suits you in a salad, and layer it in rows across the top of the bed of lettuce (or lettuces) of your choice.

Mexican Cobb Salad

½ pound ground chuck
1/2 packet of taco seasoning
1 head Romaine Lettuce, torn

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup corn
1 avocado, cubed
1 tomato, cubed
1 hard-boiled egg, sliced

¼ cup chopped cilantro

Pinch of cumin

In a 9-inch saute pan over medium heat, cook ground chuck, crumbling as you do, until done; drain. Put meat back into pan and add half a packet of taco seasoning (or use your own, as I did), and half a cup of water and simmer until the liquid has absorbed; set aside.

Assemble your salad with a bed of chopped romaine lettuce on the bottom, and then each topping, in whatever order you see fit, laid out in rows: egg, tomato, cheese, avocado, taco meat, corn.  Sprinkle the hardboiled eggs with cumin (chili powder or cayenne), and the corn with the cilantro.

Drizzle with your favorite dressing or salsa. I used a cilantro ranch dressing, made from my own mixture (recipe coming soon), but you can use plain ranch, or blend a half of an avocado into your ranch dressing for an avocado ranch. Season it with cumin, cilantro, lime juice, avocado, cayenne pepper, whatever you see fit and in any amount that suits you. It is very forgiving.

Makes 2 main dish salads.

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 This post is linked to:

Five Star Frou-Frou,

Simple and Sweet Fridays

Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Fridays Flash Blog

Chile Burritos

Yesterday I gave you the recipe for the dessert that I tried when my son was here organizing my pantry.  Today I’m going to reveal the delicious, soul satisfyingly good entrée.  I based this on a number of recipes that I’ve seen on the web, but added a lot more spices to give it a rich, smoky, slightly spicy taste.  I served these with a side of Mexican rice, and they were very well received by everyone who tried them (including my dad who ate BOTH of the servings that I sent him all at once – he thought they were really good!).

Chile Burritos

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 to 2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1” x 1” cubes

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 19 ounce can mild (red) enchilada sauce

¼ teaspoon adobo seasoning

¼ teaspoon chipotle powder

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon chili con carne seasoning

2 teaspoons beef stock seasoning (I use L.B. Jamison)

Sally and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1/2 can refried beans

5-7 burrito size flour tortillas

1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Sear meat on all sides and then place in Crockpot.  In oil that remains in the skillet, sauté onions until translucent.  Stir in garlic and sauté an additional minute.  Place onions and garlic on top of beef in Crockpot.  Top beef mixture with enchilada sauce and seasonings.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until meat is very tender. (NOTE:  At this point I put the beef in the refrigerator overnight, assembling the burritos the next morning.)

When beef is done (tender and flakes easily), taste and add more salt, if desired. Drain meat in a colander and save all juices.  Warm refried beans in microwave, and set your oven to “Broil.”   On a flat surface (I used a wooden cutting board) lay out a tortilla.  Place ½ cup of the meat mixture on a tortilla, and top with 2 tablespoons of the warm refried beans. Roll into a burrito and place seam side down in a baking pan. Continue this process until all of the meat has been used.  Pour the sauce over the burritos to cover, sprinkle with the cheese, and broil until cheese is bubbly, about 2-4 minutes.

Yield:  5-7 burritos

This post is linked to:

Wow Us Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Food on Friday

Mexican Plate

It was with enormous pleasure that I finally cracked the seal on my 3D Clue game for game night, pairing the playing fun with a pitcher of margaritas, and a tasty, family favorite snack of Mexican Plate.

This was one of the first recipes I acquired when I started living on my own, and it has never failed to please.  My son liked it so much that he requested it year after year on his birthday.  I think the fact that I craved Mexican food the entire time I carried him may have something to do with this, but any excuse to make it is always fine with me.

It makes a beautiful presentation and, if you use round Tostitos tortilla chips, can place them around the side of the pie plate, overlapping as you go, and your dish will look like a giant sunflower.  I used my red, fluted edge ceramic pie plate, so served them on the side.

Mexican Plate

1 package taco seasoning (use your favorite brand)

1 can refried beans (again, your choice)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 lb. ground chuck

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

Taco sauce

½ - 1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

4 scallions, diced

Black olives, thinly sliced

Avocado Dip (fresh or frozen, thawed)

Sour cream

Chopped tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Combine taco seasoning, refried beans, and onion in a medium bowl and mix well.  Spread over the bottom and around the sides of an ovenproof plate or pie pan.  In large skillet, brown ground beef; season with salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder.  Remove mixture to large plate covered with 2-3 paper towels and allow draining.  

Spread drained, seasoned beef mixture evenly over beans, covering bottom of dish.  Spoon taco sauce sparingly over meat.  Top this layer with shredded cheddar.  Top with scallions and thinly sliced black olives (using more or less to your taste).  Bake for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and mixture is hot.  Remove from oven and mound avocado dip in the center, topping it with a dollop of sour cream.  Garnish with tomatoes and serve with chips.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Agua de Papaya

Agua fresca (Spanish for fresh water) is a popular beverage in Mexico.  A blend of puréed fruit, sugar, and water, there is nothing quite like it for quenching a thirst on a hot day.  A rather large Caribbean red papaya that had been lurking in my fridge was calling my name, so I used it, but you can substitute almost any type of melon or other soft fruit using the same proportions.

Agua de Papaya

3 cups Melissa’s Caribbean red papaya, seeded, peeled, coarsely chopped

3 cups water, divided

¼ - 1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup lime juice

Peel, seed, and coarsely chop the papaya and measure out 3 ample cups.  Purée cubed papaya and 1 cup of the water in a food processor until very smooth.  Strain mixture into a large pitcher; discard pulp.  Stir in remaining water (or you can use seltzer or club soda), sugar, and lime juice.  Pour the agua fresca over ice cubes into tall glasses.  For a bit of whimsy add a sugar cane swizzle stix to each glass.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Seasonal Sunday

Guacamole in a Flash

We tend to be victims of our parents’ tastes, raised by their views, and subjected to their likings.  Take for example, the avocado.  Avocados provide nearly 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium (60% more potassium per ounce than bananas), Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid. They contain just 5 grams of fat per serving, NO cholesterol and NO sodium, and yet because my mother doesn’t like them, I never had the pleasure of their buttery taste and creamy texture until introduced to them by a college friend who shared her scoop of spicy guacamole with me.  Did my life begin that day, well, no, but my love for avocados certainly did!  I now use them in everything (and if you don’t believe me, have a look here), but guacamole is still my favorite.  I tend to crave it more often than I have the ingredients on hand, that is, until Melissa’s Produce came up with this brilliant Guacamole Kit.  Everything you need to make guac in about 5 minutes is contained in this cute little kit!  It’s quick, delicious, healthy, and so convenient when you have guests unexpectedly stop by, you’re painting the bathroom, and totally unprepared to serve food and drink, ahem.  You can order them online here, or follow the produce man at your local market and badger him to get them in stock.  Bring on the margaritas!

 

 If you’re the nut for guacamole that I am, here is a great book with recipes for all sorts of delicious varieties with various levels of heat. Olé!

This post is linked to: Seasonal Sunday

TABLESCAPE THURSDAY - Dining Alfresco

I love the "Outdoor Living Ideas" theme of today's Tablescape Thursday.  There is nothing I enjoy more, when the weather turns nice, than to have a libation, snack, or meal in the great outdoors.  These days, alas, our great outdoors is still loaded with debris, courtesy of the Good Friday tornado.  Debris that encompasses about 85% of our property, beneath which the grass continues to grow and, at last check, is roughly 18"  high.  So while I do still sit in my favorite spot on the back porch and have my morning coffee while listening to the sound of chain saws buzzing like killer bees and roofers hammering away like woodpeckers, I long to have things back in order and enjoy dining alfresco anew.

To maintain my sanity positive outlook, I've been paging through some wonderful books of Mexican Courtyards, Gardens, and Cocinas, longing for the day when our patio can be as festive.  I'm going to share these pages with you, and I dare you not to come away feeling festive, inspired, awestruck, and craving chips, salsa and a margarita!

Are you suitably inspired?

All photos in this post came from the following books, all of which are available on Amazon.  Any or all of these would make excellent additions to your cooking library as dining, as we all know, is so much more than food.