Easy Peasy Guacamole.. fit for a Superbowl

What says Superbowl better than chips and salsa? Or in this case, chips and fresh homemade guacamole. 


Guacamole or Guac for short- It's taken me my fair share of attempts and following many different recipes to settle on what I think is the perfect guac. I remember the days when I was first introduced to Mexican food- sadly I think the first burrito I had was at Taco Bell in Canada. There, they shoot guac on your burrito from a gun. Blech.  Anyhow, as the years went on, my taste for mexican food developed and I went on the quest to find the perfect guac recipe. Not the slimy nastiness in a jar. :meh:.

People- I kid you not, once you start making your own guac, you will, GUARANTEED stop buying that ready made stuff. I am serious- it's easier than spelling out guacamole.

Ingredients:
-  2 ripe avocados
-  1 tomato, seeded
-  1/4 red onion (or green onion if you prefer)
-  juice of 1 lime
-  salt and pepper
-  1 jalapeno pepper, finely minced, deseeded.


Cut the avocado in half. There is a huge seed in the middle so watch out for that. Actually I'll stop explaining and let this video do the talking.


Now that you have the pit out, as shown on the video, scoop out the flesh of the avocado by scoring the inside of it and then removing the flesh (light green insides) with a spoon and dumping in a bowl.








Congrats! The hardest part of this creation is over. Next, gently mix in the diced tomato, onion and lime juice. No smashing allowed!!! 

Just gentle mixing so that the chunkiness of the avocado is retained. Add a bit of salt and pepper and you are done. I garnish with cilantro but then I love cilantro and throw it in almost all Indian and Mexican foods. That's certainly optional. Cilantro definitely needs its own blog entry some day.

Do you not want to eat this fresh creation as opposed to the slimy stuff from a jar? I've tried many different versions that includes smashing the avocado, adding sour cream, adding taco seasoning (that was a weird one) but nothing even came close to this.

Give this a try and tell me you could not eat just one spoon. It goes great with tortilla chips, as a condiment in tacos, burritos, take your pick!


Or really, all you need is a spoon.

Quick Weeknight Tostada

You can a few of these and not feel guilty!

Sauteed beans (I had an open can of navy beans but black beans would be great too), red peppers, onions, taco seasoning, with sour cream and chipotle jack cheese, cilantro and a hint of lime on a lovely corn tortilla.

Perfect for a hot summer evening and dinner is ready without any fuss.

Mexican themed Party!

This weekend I hosted a mexican themed lunch party...


Mexican Fries- Russett Potatoes cut as fries, seasoned with olive oil, salt,
 pepper and taco seasoning. Roasted at 400F for 35-40 minutes.

Guacamole

Spinach/mushroom quesedillas

Red pepper and onions quesedilla

 
         cheese quesedillas


 

Mexi-quin-oa with black beans

Sorry for the cheesy title :grin:

I was getting tired of the one quinoa creation - Upma I blogged about earlier.  Since just about any dish can take on a Mexican avatar, I thought why not quinoa.  Around the same time I learnt about this recipe posted on my running forum. So this is a take on B's recipe.

Quinoa with Black Beans


Ingredients:

- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 3/4 cup quinoa, dry roasted
-  1 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp taco seasoning
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 jalapeno chopped or 1 tsp cayenne (depends on how hot you like)
- 1 cup corn, frozen, or can
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup salsa


I know it looks like a really long list of ingredients but a lot of it is seasoning so you could do any combination of the spices and it will still taste excellent.

Method:

I prefer to cook the quinoa separately and then mix to sauteed ingredients.

- Bring broth to a boil, add quinoa and then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- In a separate pan, sautee onion, red pepper, garlic, spices, jalapeno.
- Mix in corn and the quinoa and black beans and cook for 5 minutes till everything is combined well
- Turn off heat and add in the cilantro and lemon juice

Black Bean Burgers

Black Beans is one of those things I always keep in the pantry. I mostly use it in chillis  or the black-bean and corn salad, or a  black bean paste that I use on my Mexi Pizza.


Last night I thought of another use- burgers! It's a super easy recipe that does not compromise on taste. I based it off a recipe I saw on Epicurious.

Black Bean Burgers:


Ingredients:



* 1 15- to 16-ounce can black beans, rinsed, drained
* 1/3 cup chopped red onion
* 1/2 cup dry breadcumbs- make your own or storebought
* 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup bottled chunky salsa
* 1 teaspoon cumin seeds or ground cumin
* Cilantro, chopped fine

Method:

1.  Using fork, mash beans in medium bowl. 

2.  Mix in onion, breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons salsa, cumin and cilantro.  I threw in all the ingredients and mixed with my hands! Easier that way :-)

3.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. I completely skipped the salt because I find the salt is plenty in the canned beans and salsa. 

3. Using moistened hands, shape bean mixture into two 3- to 4-inch-diameter patties.

4. Grease the bottom of a non stick pan with some cooking spray or a bit of canola oil. 

5. Cook the patties for 3 minutes on each side

Serve on a bun with your choice of condiments and oven roasted fries!! In my case it was hot sauce and ranch!!

Spicy Mexi Pizza!!

Coming up with this recipe was a no-brainer. I've seen versions of a Mexican Lasagna made on the Rachel Ray show a gazillion times and I think she likes pizza as much as I do. :P So I decided to make this low-cal version using low-carb tortillas as the pizza base and just a touch of cheese. Or as Rachel would say , "figure friendly".



Ingredients: 

• 1 can black beans
• 2-3 chipotle chillis in adobo sauce - 3 makes it very very spicy, so use less if you don't like spicy
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 tsp garlic
• cilantro
• 1 can corn (you could use fresh if it's in season)
• Tortillas
• your favourite shredded cheese

Directions: 

1. Sautee black beans, chipotle chills, onion and garlic for 5-10 minutes on medium heat.
2. Let it cool for 5 minutes and then puree the whole thing in a food processor or just mash with a potato masher for a chunkier consistency. This is the base for the pizza.
3. Spread a couple of Tbsp of this over the tortilla like you would red sauce on a pizza
4. Top with corn, cilantro and as much or little cheese as you like. I used sharp chedder and lefover mozz. 
5. Bake at 385 F for 12 minutes. 
6. This version is spicy so it goes great with my fresh Wolly Guacamole

Lentil Enchiladas

Aaaaaah Mexican food - what's not to love? refried beans, warm tortillas, sour cream, corn, jack cheese.... you get the picture. Except I use lentils instead of refried beans which I find way too mushy and salty. I experiment with Mexican recipes a lot at home- pasta, soups, pizzas, chilli.

This particular dish is so satisfying especially on a cold evening when soup just doesn't cut it. You want something more "meaty". The origin of this recipe started out by one of my "imaginary" friends (LOL) - from a running forum I hang out on - as Lentil Tacos but I added my own spin on it and converted them into Enchiladas. They go really well with Guacamole recipe I posted earlier.



Lentil Enchiladas

You will need -

- 1 cup uncooked brown lentils
- a jar of your favourite salsa- I like Trader Joes Hot salsa
- 2 stalks celery (optional)
- 1 can corn (optional)
- 1 medium onion chopped fine
- 1 clove garlic
- cilantro
- 1 Tbsp Taco seasoning
- 1 jar Enchilada sauce - I use Trader Joes Enchilada Sauce
- Tortillas
- 1/2 cup shredded Jack/cheddar cheese

Directions -

1. Cook the lentils in a pot or pressure cooker. Cooking them in stock adds more flavour but water will do just fine too.

2. Sautee onions and garlic and taco seasoning for 5 minutes over medium heat. When they are soft, add the cooked lentils and salsa until fully combined. Add as much or as little salsa as you like. Let it simmer till the lentil mixture is a bit thick and not too watery. This makes it easier to stuff into the wrap without it falling apart.

Lentil Mixture

3. Warm the tortillas on a dry pan till soft- no oil needed, just warm them through. Usually takes a couple minutes on each side.

4. Spoon a a couple heaping table spoons of the lentil mixture into the centre of the tortilla. You could add a spoon of canned corn or finely diced celery for some additional flavour.

5. Roll to form a burrito.

6. Place the burritos in a baking dish. Pour some enhiclada sauce at the bottom of the dish and over the top of burritos.

7. Top with Jack cheese or a Mexican blend of cheeses.

8. Bake at 360°F for 20 minutes.



7. Serve with a side of Guacamole or sour cream.

Healthy and Satisfying!!!!!!