Cilantro Lime Rice

Ingredients

- 1/4 Cup Lime Juice
- Handful of chopped cilantro
- Rice

Instructions

Prepare rice however you like to make it. Add all ingredients and let cook. (I like to use a rice cooker and throw it all in at once)

Chicken, Black Bean and Corn Enchilada Casserole

1-2/3 oz Old Paso Enchilada Sauce Mix
6 oz Canned Tomato Paste
2 T olive oil
2 Onions, chopped
1 Green Pepper, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1-1/2 c uncooked Yellow Cornmeal
15 oz Canned Black Beans, drained and rinsed
15oz Canned Corn, drained
2 c Cooked Chicken Breast, diced
1-1/2 c Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare enchilada sauce according to package directions, using tomato paste and 3 cups of water.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, pepper and garlic. Cook, stirring until translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove 1 cup of onion mixture and place in a large mixing bowl; set aside. Stir 3 cups of water into remaining onion mixture and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, add cornmeal to 2 cups of water in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Gradually add cormeal mixture to boiling water-onion mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until cornmeal is thickend, about 4 to 6 minutes.

Coat 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread cornmeal mixture evenly over bottom of dish.

Spoon beans, corn and chicken into reserved onion mixture; combine thoroughly.

Spread half of enchilada sauce over cornmeal layer. Top with all of bean mixture and then remaining enchilada sauce; sprinkle with cheese. Bake until heated through and cheese is melted, about 45 minutes.

Slice into 8 pieces and serve.

[I RECOMMEND USING ABOUT HALF THE ENCHILADA SAUCE SUGGESTED]

[Thanks to old college friend Sande Golightly Nascimento!]

Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas

1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 large limes)
2 teaspoons to 1 Tablespoon chili powder
2 large cloves of garlic, finely minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts), cooked and shredded
12 corn tortillas
2 cups of Mexican cheese blend, shredded (1 small bag usually is 2 cups)
1 14-oz can of green enchilada sauce (mild or medium, to your taste)
1/2 to 3/4 cup of heavy cream
nonstick cooking spray
1 Tablespoon of chopped cilantro, to garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the cooked and shredded chicken in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, place the honey, lime juice, chili powder and minced garlic or garlic powder. Whisk together thoroughly to combine. Pour this mixture over the chicken and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to marinate while you prepare the tortillas, 30 minutes or up to 1 hour, in the refrigerator.


Heat a large griddle till a drop of water skitters across (about 350 degrees F). Spray the surface with non-stick cooking spray or a oil it with a little bit of canola oil in between each round of tortillas. Heat tortillas about 20 seconds on each side till warm and flexible and some golden brown spots have appeared. Remove the tortillas from the griddle and keep them between a couple of paper towels until ready to use.


Spray the sides and bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish lightly with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl combine the enchilada sauce and the heavy cream. Spread about 1/2 cup of the mixture in the bottom of the oiled baking dish.
Add a large spoonful (about 2 tablespoons) of the chicken mixture to the center of each tortilla in a line. Cover the chicken with a large tablespoon (or big pinch) of cheese, then roll the tortilla up from one side to make a rolled enchilada - it will be more of an over lap on the seam side that rolled tightly. Place the enchilada seam side down in the baking dish starting at one end with the long edge parallel to the longest side of the pan so that you end up with two columns of six enchiladas each.

Repeat with the remaining chicken, cheese and tortillas. You will use about 1 1/2 cups of the cheese for the filling and set the remainder aside for topping the enchiladas in the pan. Add the remaining marinade mixture to the enchilada sauce and cream mixture, if desired. Pour this mixture over the top of all the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.


Bake the enchiladas for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly and starting to brown on top.

Thanks phemomenon.blogspot.com

Mexican Lasagna

• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 package (10oz) fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 8 corn tortillas (6 inch)
• 1 (15.5oz) can pinto beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 cup prepared salsa
• 8 oz Pepper Jack cheese, grated (about 2 cups)

Combine cilantro, spinach, onion, salt & pepper in food processor until coarsely chopped. If you don’t have a food processor, just give it a few extra chops with a knife.

Coat an 8x8 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Lay 4 tortillas on the bottom of pan. They will overlap. Layer with ½ the beans, salsa, some spinach mixture, and cheese. Repeat the layers, starting with tortillas and ending with cheese. Press the layers together.

Cover dish with foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet to avoid spills in your oven. Bake until bubbling, approximately 25 to 30 minutes; remove foil and continue baking until golden, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Delicious with sour cream or quacamole.

Cafe Rio Salad Dressing

• juice of 2-3 limes
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• couple shakes red pepper
  
• couple shakes cumin powder
• couple shakes garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup
• cilantro

1. Blend together. Makes 5 servings.

Cafe Rio Steak or Chicken Marinade

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/8 cup lemon juice
• 1/8 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 clove, crushed
• fresh garlic

1. Marinade meat for at least an hour. It works best with 1/2-inch strips

Beef and Brown Sugar Enchiladas

• 1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 can black refried beans
• 1 can red enchilada sauce, divided
• 1/3 cup brown sugar-- or to taste
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese, divided
• 10-12 flour tortillas

1. Brown ground beef in a large pan. Drain off fat & add refried beans, 1/2 of the enchilada sauce, brown sugar & onion powder. Mix well & bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.
Fill one tortilla with about 1/4 of a cup of filling & 2 Tbsp. cheese. Roll up & place in a 9x13 pan. Repeat process until pan is full. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over prepared enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, sliced olives, diced onions, shredded lettuce, avocado or guacamole.

Fresh Guacamole

• 2 Ripe Avocados
• 1 Small Onion
• 1 Clove Garlic
• 1 Ripe Tomato, chopped
• 2 tsp. Lime Juice
• Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Peel and mash avocados in a medium serving bowl. Stir in onion, garlic, tomato, lime juice, salt and pepper. Season with the remaining lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. Chill for half an hour to blend flavors. Makes 2-3 cups.

Sour Cream Enchiladas

• 2 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked, chopped
• 3 cans cream of chicken soup
• 3 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1 7 oz can green chilies, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 dash thyme
• 1 dash curry powder
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 Tbl onion, chopped
• 1 lb Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 packages flour tortillas

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, mix together soup, sour cream and spices.

2. In large bowl, mix chicken, onions and 3/4 cheese. Add in a small amount of the soup mixture, just enough to make the mixture slightly wet.

3. Grease a 9x13 pan and a 9x9 pan. Spread a small amount of sauce in the bottom of each dish. Fill each tortilla and place in dish. Pour remaining amount of sauce over enchiladas, and then top with remaining 1/4 cheese.

4. Bake for 45 minutes. 12-16 Servings

**Wendi's Tips:

1. Add refried beans to each enchilada (Gub prefers it without the beans so maybe do 1/2 and 1/2)
2. 1/2 a tsp of cayenne pepper is plenty... maybe even only 1/4 tsp.
3. Leave out the 2 tbls chopped onion and stick to just the green onions (they are more mild and don't crunch).

Taco Soup

• 1 lb Hamburger
• 1 sm. chopped onion
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
• 1 8 oz. tomato sauce
• 1 can corn (with juice)
• 1 can Black beans (with juice)
• 1 can Kidney beans (with juice)
• 1 28 oz. stewed tomatoes
• 1-2 T. sugar

1. Brown hamburger and onion, place in a large pot and add taco seasoning, tomato sauce, corn, black beans, kidney beans, stewed tomatoes & sugar.

2. Simmer for 2-4 hrs or cook in a slow cooker on low for 6-8 hrs. Garnish with tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, avocado, and tomatoes.

Cheesy Mexican Rice

• 1 cup of Basmati Rice
• 1 can of chicken broth
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 1 4oz can of diced green chillies
• 1 cup of shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese divided.
• 1 8oz can of corn drained
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook rice in chicken broth- bring to boil for one minute and simmer till done. Mix rice, 1/2 of the cheese, green chillies, corn, seasonings, and sour cream. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

Thanks Kandas!

Tyler Nelson's Mexican Rice

• 2 cups minute rice
• 4 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 6 cups water
• 1 cube chicken bullion
• Salt, pepper, garlic, chili powder to taste

1. Brown rice lightly in the vegetable oil. Add all ingredients and simmer uncovered about 1 hour.

Tortillas

• 2 1/2 c. flour
• 1 c. very hot water
• 1 tsp. Kosher salt
• 1/4 c. shortening

1. In a heavy-duty mixer, combine flour and salt. Add in shortening and mix until well combined (it will resemble coarse bread crumbs). Add hot water. The water hotness is the key to these being easy to make--it needs to be hot enough to melt the shortening, but not SO hot that the dough turns into an ooey-gooey mess. Or a hot mess (literally). I usually get relatively warm water from my tap and then heat it for 45-60 seconds in the microwave.
Anyway, after you add the water, the dough will start to come together. When it is fully combined, remove from mixer and divide into portions.

2. Now...the recipe yield really depends on how many tortillas you want. If you want small tortillas (like for fajitas), then you'll probably get around 10-12. If you want medium tortillas (burritos), then you'll probably get 8 or so. For large tortillas (like for salad wraps), you'll get around 6. Shape portions into round balls.

3. Preheat a non-stick or cast-iron skillet to medium-low heat. If necessary, spray your work surface with non-stick cooking spray; you may not need to because the dough isn't particularly sticky, but it may be and you also don't want to add any more flour to your dough. Press your palm against the surface of the dough ball, trying to maintain as much of a round shape as possible. Place rolling pin in middle of flattened dough ball and roll to desired thickness, shaping in a circle as you go.

4. Place raw tortilla on preheated skillet. Now...be forewarned--the first one may not work out great; it's like the first pancake or the oldest child (TOTALLY kidding, oldest sister and oldest child!) You're going to be watching for bubbles. If you get little blistery bubbles, your skillet is too hot and you need to reduce the heat. You're looking for big, fat, slow-bubbling bubbles. When you start to see them, flip the tortilla over and cook for another 30-45 seconds or so. This is where some personal taste comes in, but in my experience, dark marks on your tortillas (like you see on store-bought ones) usually lead to brittle tortillas when they cool down. Personally, I'm keeping my eye out for a kind of "greasy" look inside; I know that sounds gross, but that's the best way I can think of to describe it. These ones are cooked enough to not taste raw, but they're also very soft when they cool and they hold up to being wrapped, folded, twisted, and turned.If you're cooking these quickly, you can just stack them on top of each other and they'll stay warm. You can also wrap them in damp paper towels and then wrap them in foil and keep them in a warm oven (170) until you're ready to use them.

**option** spread the warm tortilla with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Thank you Best Bites for this recipe.

Becky's Sour Cream Enchiladas

3 cans chopped green chilies
2 lbs grated cheese
1 pint sour cream
½ onion, grated
2 dozen corn tortillas
8 chicken breasts

1. Cook chicken, cool and shred. Mix soup, chilies and sour cream over low heat. Grate cheese and dice onions. Heat tortillas in pan of hot water until soft (one at a time and drain on paper towel. Put in 9x13” pans and pour soup and sour cream mixture over enchiladas

2. Sprinkle a little cheese and onions on top. Put in oven and heat at 450’ for 10-15 minutes or until hot. Makes approximately 24 enchiladas.