Here are just a few of my favorite Mexican recipes - most of these are low-fat (yay!),
so indulge!
What I've done is made up a menu for one whole meal - you can have a Mexican Night! Included are an appetizer,
soup, salad, main course, and dessert. I'm also throwing in some salsa recipes - you can't have Mexican without salsa...
Appetizer
Chili-Cheese Quesadillas with Salsa Cruda
2 Tbsp part-skim ricotta cheese
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1/2 cup shredded reduced fat Monterey
Jack cheese
2 Tbsp diced mild green chilies
Nonstick cooking spray
Salsa Cruda (recipe follows)
To make 1 quesadilla, spread 2 teaspoons ricotta over tortilla. Sprinkle with heaping tablespoon Monterey Jack
cheese and 2 teaspoons diced chillies. Top with one tortilla. Repeat to make two more quesadillas.
Spray small skillet with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add 1 quesadilla; cook 2 minutes, or until bottom is
golden. Turn over, cook 2 more minutes. Remove from heat; cut into four wedges. Repeat with remaining quesadillas. Serve
warm with Salsa Cruda.
Salsa Cruda
1 cup chopped tomato
2 Tbsp minced onion
2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro (or parsley, if cilantro is
unavailable)
2 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (wash your hands after seeding and chopping!)
1 clove garlic, minced
Combine all in a small bowl...that's it! It's ready!
Soup
Pozole
3 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Nonstick cooking spray
1 large onion
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp dried
oregano leaves, crushed
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) chicken broth, plus water to make 5 cups
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans (15 ounces each) yellow hominy, drained
1 red or green pepper, chopped
1 can (4 ounces) diced mild green chilies
1 can (2 1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro,
coarsely chopped
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut tortillas into 1/4-inch strips. Place strips in single layer on baking sheet. Bake 3 or 4 minutes
or until crisp. Do not let strips brown. Let strips cool.
Coat bottom of large saucepan with cooking spray. Heat over medium; add onion,
garlic, oregano amd cumin; stir to combine. Cover pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden. Add broth and water; cover and
bring to a boil over high heat. Add chicken. Cover; reduce heat to low and simmer 8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.
Remove chicken from broth and let cool slightly; cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
Meanwhile, add hominy, pepper, chilies and olives to broth. Cover
and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 4 minutes, until pepper is crisp-tender. Return chicken to
saucepan. Stir in cilantro. Top with toasted tortilla strips.
Salad
Spinach Salad with Orange-Glazed Shrimp
2 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp grated orange peel
1
tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp honey
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1 ripe large mango or ripe medium papaya
12 cups washed and torn fresh spinach
leaves
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Orange-Chili Glazed Shrimp (recipe follows)
Heat small skillet over medium heat. Add sesame seeds and cook, stirring often for about 4 minutes, or until golden. Pour into small bowl. Add
orange juice, vinegar, garlic, orange peel, oil, honey, and red pepper; stir to combine. Set aside.
Peel mango. Cut fruit away from pit; cut into
cubes or slices. Discard tough stems from spinach leaves. Place leaves in large bowl and toss with the set aside dressing. Top with mango, cheese and
shrimp.
Orange-Chili Glazed Shrimp
1/2 cup orange juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp chili powder
8 ounces raw large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Combine juice, garlic, and chili powder in large skillet. Bring to boil over high heat. Boil 3 minutes or until mixture just coats bottom of pan. Reduce heat to medium. Add
shrimp; cook and stir 2 minutes until shrimp are opaque and juice mixture coats shrimp. Add orange juice or water to keep shrimp moist if necessary.
* hint - This salad is really nice without the shrimp, too!
Main Course
Chili Verde
1/2 to 3/4 pound boneless lean pork
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped or sliced
1 pound fresh tomatillos
1 can (14 1/2 ounces)
chicken broth
1 can (4 ounces) diced mild green chilies
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 cups cooked navy or Great Northern beans, or 1 can (15 ounces) Great Northern beans, rinsed and
drained
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro, chopped
non-fat plain yogourt (optional)
Trim and discard fat from pork. Cut meat into 3/4 to 1-inch cubes. Place pork, onion, garlic and 1/2 cup water into large saucepan. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally,
30 minutes (add more water if necessary). Uncover; boil over medium-high heat until liquid evaporates and meat browns. Add tomatillos and broth. Cover and simmer over medium heat 20 minutes, until
tomatillos are tender. Tear tomatillos apart with two forks. Add chilies and cumin. Cover and simmer over low heat 45 minutes or until meat is tender and tears apart easily (add liquid as necessary to
keep liquid level the same). Add beans; simmer ten minutes to heat through. Stir in cilantro. Serve with yogourt if desired.
Dessert
Fruit Salad with Jalapeno-Citrus Dressing
1/2 small honeydew melon
1 ripe large papaya, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 pint strawberries, stemmed and halved
1 can (8 ounces) pineapple chunks, drained
Jalapeno-Citrus Dressing
(recipe follows)
Scoop seeds from melon. Remove fruit from rind with melon-baller, or cut into 3/4-inch wedges; remove rind and cut fruit into cubes. Place in large bowl. Add papaya, strawberries, pineapple and dressing. Toss gently.
Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to three hours. Garnish with mint leaves, if desired.
Jalapeno-Citrus Dressing
1/3 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp lime juice
3 Tbsp minced fresh mint, basil or cilantro
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced (don't forget to wash your hands after!)
1 Tbsp sugar or honey
Mix all together - you're done!
Salsas
Fruit Salsa
1 small ripe papaya, peeled, seeded and diced
1 firm small banana, diced
2 green onions, minced
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or fresh mint
3 Tbsp lime juice
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
(once again, wash those hands!)
Mix all together and serve warm. This salsa is really nice with seafood, like grilled halibut or snapper...I know, sounds strange!
Cilantro Salsa
2 Tbsp pine nuts
2 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup thinly sliced or minced green onions
1/4 to 1/2 of a jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (wash hands - nag, nag, nag!)
Heat skillet over medium heat; add pine nuts. Cook and stir 6 to 8 minutes, until golden. Combine with remaining ingredients. Especially good with grilled chicken or white fish.
Pineapple Salsa
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 green onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 of a jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (again with the hand-washing!)
1
Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or fresh basil
Combine all in a non-metal bowl. Serve at room temperature. Try it with fish - particularly grilled swordfish!
Quick and Easy Salsa
Sent to me by my friend Heather
Thanks!
1 each red, green, and yellow bell peppers, chopped coarsely
1 purple onion , chopped coarsely
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 large tomato , seeded and chopped coarsely
Toss together with Italian salad dressing , enough to coat all
ingredients. Takes about 10 minutes to make , let marinade in fridge for an hour before serving. This goes well with any meal, but most especially BBQ steak.
A few words about some of the "exotic" ingredients -
Cilantro is also known as "Chinese parsly" or coriander; it does add a nice flavour, but you can substitute with regular parsley if necessary.
Tomatillos are small green tomatoes with brown husks which are removed before using. They can be hard to find, but some places have canned tomatillos, which will do fine, too. Sometimes they're called
"Tomatoes verdes"
Jalapenos and chilies You need to wash your hands after handling fresh ones, 'cause the oils get into your skin, and if you rub your eyes, it hurts! Also, most of the "heat" is in the seeds - if you can take the heat, try leaving them in!
Well, that's about it...experiment and enjoy!
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