Flautas

I don't eat a lot of meat. But when I do, it's often wrapped in a tortilla. 

Filling 1: Spicy Crockpot Chicken

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts

1/2 c corn (fresh/frozen)

1/2 c chopped bell pepper (fresh/frozen)

2 T tomato paste

1 T cumin

1 t chili powder

1/2 t salt

1/4 t red pepper flakes

Water to cover

Combine all in a crock pot. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or until chicken is tender. Shred chicken.

Filling 2: Honey Lime Black Beans

Ingredients

2 c black beans

1 T honey

Juice of 1 lime

1 t cumin

Hot sauce to taste

Salt to taste

Combine all in a food processor. Taste and adjust seasonings. 

Flautas

Ingredients

Fillings(above)

12 corn tortillas

Toppings: lettuce, salsa, sour cream, avocado, cheese, cilantro

Vegetable oil (enough to fill pan 1-2")

Toothpicks

In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat oil over medium high. Steam tortillas in microwave wrapped in moistened paper towel for 1 minute. Fill each with 2 tablespoons of desired filling and secure with toothpick. With tongs, place Flautas in oil and cook for 2 minutes each, turning evenly to brown. Drain over paper towels. Serve with your favorite toppings. 

Chile Rellenos

Chile Rellenos is a delicious vegetarian meal. I recommend using a mild sauce because the peppers are usually pretty spicy on their own! Surprisingly, these were very light, despite the frying.  If you have them, wear plastic gloves when cleaning the peppers. Otherwise, make sure to wash your hands after handling these fiery things!

 Ingredients:

• 2 large poblano peppers
• 1 c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
• 2 eggs, separated
• salt to taste
• 1 c. Mexican-style tomato sauce
• oil for frying
• 1/2 c. flour

• Roast the peppers under broiler until black. Depending on your oven, this could take a matter of minutes. Using a pair of trusty tongs, snatch your peppers out of the oven and place immediately into some Tupperware, tightly sealing the lid. Prepare your batter.
• To make the batter, whip egg whites to a stiff peak. Beat yolks, and slowly fold them into the whites. Separately in a small bowl whisk together flour and salt.
• Now, return to your peppers. Carefully peel the skin, then cut a small slit into the slide of the pepper. Using a spoon, gently scrape out the seeds and membrane.
• Stuff the peppers with cheese, but leave enough room to be able to secure the slit closed with a toothpick. Dredge the pepper in flour, shake off the excess, then dip into the egg batter.
  
• In a large skillet, heat about an inch of oil until hot. Carefully place peppers into a pan and cook on each side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with your choice of Mexican-style tomato sauce.

Frozen Burritos

As a college student, I am usually short on time and money, so I am constantly seeking new ways to save both. I also like to eat, and eat well, so I have mastered the art of making freezer meals. The concept is basically to make large batches of recipes and freeze individual portions- ready to pull out and reheat whenever I need a quick lunch or dinner. Right now my freezer is stocked with lots of chili, lasagna, and homemade marinara sauce- all in 1-2 serving portions. A lot of recipes freeze well, but try to avoid creamy dishes.

Burritos are SO EASY to assemble and freeze beautifully. There is no need to write out a recipe because you just fill flour tortillas however you like: chicken, beef, shredded pork, pinto beans, black beans, refried beans, cheese, salsa, rice, roasted potatoes. The trick is to not stuff them too much- or you won't be able to roll them up!

Two other reasons to make these instead of buying is that you know exactly what goes in to them. There are no strange additives or preservatives. Plus, they are less expensive!
Mine are vegetarian (the cheapest!). They contain brown rice, black beans (homemade from dry beans in my crock pot), shredded cheese, and salsa. I wrapped mine in aluminum foil, but plastic wrap would be fine too. Freeze, and then whenever you are ready to eat one, defrost in the microwave and crisp up in a 400 degree oven until golden brown. Serve with sour cream, gaucamole, pico de gallo, whatever you have! I wish I had a photo of the finished burrito, but I ate them all!

*I didn't say this above, but all the burrito "fixin's" must be fully cooked.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

We eat a lot of Mexican around here. I don't mean the authentic stuff, but the American-ized version. I guess the main reason we have tacos and the like so often is, besides being awfully yummy, because my little brother (now a good head taller than me) has always been so picky! I can't think of one veggie besides tomato that he will eat, and that is only in ketchup or sauce. Sometimes he'll eat things like these delicious enchilada, but usually it is just the basic ground beef taco with cheese only.

I only made a 9x9 pan with 4 servings, but you could double this recipe to make 8 servings in a 9x13 pan.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Oven time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken
• 1-2 tbsp jalapeño, chopped
• 1 tbsp taco seasoning
  
• 2 oz. cream cheese, softened
  
• 4 tortillas (I think I used 8 inch?)
• 1 can Old El Paso green enchilada sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, your choice!)
  

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9x9 baking dish with nonstick spray. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together cream cheese with taco seasoning and the japs as they used to call them at the McAlister's I worked at in high school. Combine this with the chicken. In your bowl, divide the filling into 4 parts by pushing each part to the side (trust me, this step helps for even enchilada making!).


Zap your tortillas in the microwave for 20 seconds
to make them more pliable, then fill each one up. Lay them seam-side down into your baking dish. When they are all filled and nestled in, pour over your can of enchilada sauce, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

We had ours with chopped tomato and sour cream, with some Mexican mush (FAIL on rice! oops!) and refried beans.