I had been wanting to try my hand at tomatillo salsa for quite some time, but was unable to procure fresh or canned tomatillos at several local, suburban grocery stores. Last week while perusing the fresh produce, I excitedly spotted the small husked tomatillos alongside the vine-ripened tomatoes and assorted hot peppers. My purchase caused quite a stir at the front end, as it took awhile for several cashiers to come up with the correct produce code. Apparently my local Stop and Shop doesn’t move large volume of tomatillos.

Now that I had the produce in hand, I had to settle on a recipe. After looking over several recipes to get a general idea of standard ingredients and preparations, I settled on this recipe from on allrecipes.com. I was pleased with how quickly the salsa came together. While the tomatillos were cooking, I chopped and measured the rest of the ingredients into the food processor work bowl. Less than a minute after removing the tomatillos from the stove, the salsa was done.

I will definitely be making this again. The salsa had a tart fresh tang, with an aromatic hint of garlic. Just add chips and a frosty margarita and you have a perfect Mexican-inspired snack.

Tomatillo Salsa

1 pound tomatillos, husk and stem removed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 tbsp lime juice (juice of 1/2 lime)

1. Place husked, washed tomatillos in a saucepan. Fill the pan with enough water to cover the tomatillos and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until tomatillos are soft.
3. Transfer tomatillos to the work bowl of a food processor. Reserve cooking water in case additional water is needed to thin the salsa.
4. Add remaining ingredients onion, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, oregano, cumin and salt) and process until smooth. If salsa is too thick, add small amounts of cooking water until desired consistency is reached.

I do not like tomatoes. While I love the taste of tomatoes, I won’t touch anything that resembles a fresh tomato. As you might imagine, this limits my options for fresh salsas. Enter corn salsa. When I tried it at Chipotle, it was love at first bite. It’s crisp, fresh, flavorful and contains no trace of tomato.

Inspired by my love of Chipotle’s corn salsa, I set out to create a reasonable approximation at home. When I first started making the salsa, I used this recipe from About.com as my guide, but now I just eyeball all of the ingredients. This is a non-particular recipe that can be easily adjusted to suit individual preference. I can safely say that I use more jalapeno, cilantro and onion than called for in the original recipe.

You can certainly use frozen corn to make this salsa, but it tastes even better with fresh, native corn stripped from the cob. When I use fresh corn, I boil a few ears as if I were going to serve it and then slice the kernels from the cob. The fresh corn lends a crisp sweetness to the salsa.

I’m growing jalapeno peppers this year, as well as cilantro. The starter pepper plants look good, as long as the squirrels leave the tiny peppers alone! I started the cilantro from seed, and it just sprouted a few days ago. Every few weeks, I plan to sow a new batch of cilantro so I will have a continuous supply. By the time my favorite farm stand is selling their native corn, I hope to have jalapenos and cilantro from my garden to use in this salsa!

Since it’s so easy to put together, this salsa has become a summer staple in my household. It’s delicious as an accompaniment to corn chips, or grilled meats. In face, it complements tequila lime chicken beautifully. However you sever it, this corn salsa is simple, fresh and flavorful.

Corn Salsa

2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed (2-3 medium ears of fresh corn)
1/3 cup chopped red onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (juice of one lime)
1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped jalapeno pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.
3. Can be served cold or at room temperature.

The last time we grilled, I wanted to do something other than the usual BBQ sauce. A Mexican inspired marinade sounded good: tequila, lime, cilantro… something along those lines. A quick search of allrecipes.com produced this recipe for Tequila Lime Chicken.

The original recipe includes instructions for baking the chicken, and for an accompanying Mexi-Ranch dressing. I was only interested in the marinade. Based upon recommendations of reviewers and my personal tastes, I changed a few of the proportions. Since it is Tequila Lime Chicken, I increased the amount of tequila to 1 teaspoon, and will probably add more next time. The recipe produced an ample amount of marinade and would easily work for more than the suggested four chicken breast halves.

The chicken was delicious and tender! It had a tangy, smokey flavor that went very well with the cilantro lime rice I made that night. The leftover chicken was delicious on it’s own and on grilled pizza. This marinade will be added to our regular grilling rotation this summer!

Tequila Lime Chicken

1 cup water
1/3 cup Teriyaki sauce
2 tbsp lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp liquid smoke flavoring
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp tequila
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1. Combine all ingredients, except chicken, in non-reactive bowl. Mix well.
2. Add chicken and turn to coat.
3. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
4. Grill chicken.

I was searching for a Chipotle-inspired rice to serve with tequila lime chicken when found this recipe for Cilantro Lime Rice on allrecipes.com. Sadly, it’s not the same as Chipotle’s rice. It’s still delicious.

This is an easy recipe that uses very few ingredients. The rice has a nice lime flavor, and I love the earthy cilantro. I used more than the two tablespoons of cilantro called for in the original recipe. I don’t know how much I used, as I just sprinkled in extra cilantro until it looked right.

After I made this rice, I found a Chipotle Fan site that provides copy-cat recipes that promise to emulate Chipotle staples. I will be trying their chicken marinade and rice soon.

Cilantro Lime Rice

Yields 6 Servings

1 cup long grain white rice
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
salt to taste

1. Bring rice and chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan over high heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender.
3. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice, cilantro and salt. Fluff with fork and serve.

This was my first foray into slow-cooker meal preparation. Just about everyone I know received one or more when they got married. I didn’t register for one because I couldn’t see the need. I still don’t think that it falls in the “can’t live without it category”, but I can tell that I’m really going to enjoy this “set and forget” form of meal preparation.

While I was chopping vegetables, defrosting chicken and measuring ingredients this morning I thought to myself “What’s the point? I have to do all this prep work when I make dinner on the stove top.” But then I loaded everything in the slow cooker, set the temperature and walked away. It was at that moment that I realized I was really going to like not having to babysit the stove.

I consider myself very fortunate, in that I work from home most days. Since I save time by not commuting, I often have ample time to prepare dinner. Just because I have time to hang out in the kitchen in front of the stove, doesn’t mean that I need to!

I picked up a 5.5 quart Rival Crock Pot at Target using a gift card from Christmas. This is the gift that will keep on giving. My model is very basic, but manual controls make sense because I am home all day. This is only my first recipe, but I think the size is just about right. Even though I only cook dinner for two people, I like to have leftovers.

My friend Carolyn sent me this recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup after she tried it and loved it. I followed her recommendations of adding a can of drained and rinsed black beans, and adding 2 raw chicken breasts to the pot and allowing them to cook in the soup. I shredded the chicken shortly before serving. Since I didn’t have a can of whole peeled tomatoes or enchilada sauce in the house, I made my own substitution. I mixed a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes with some honey, garlic powder, cumin, cilantro and poultry seasoning and use this blend in place of the tomatoes and enchilada sauce. I also used half chicken broth and half vegetable broth so I could try some of my home made stock.

This soup was SO good! I served it with crushed tortilla chips and a sprinkling of Mexican blend cheese. My husband said that it reminded him of Panera’s Chicken Tortilla Soup. It was warm and hearty with a nice kick. The original recipe states that it yields 8 servings, and I think that’s pretty accurate. We’ll probably have this again for dinner and lunch and then freeze the remaining portions.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Yields 8 servings

1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed *
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce *
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 cups frozen corn
1 tbsp chopped cilantro

* can substitute 28 oz. crushed tomatoes (seasoned with chili powder, cumin, garlic powder etc.) for tomatoes and enchilada sauce

1. Place raw chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker.
2. Pour in chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.
3. Stir in corn and cilantro.
4. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.
5. Before serving, remove chicken breasts and shred. Return shredded chicken to pot and allow to heat through before serving.

This was the first Mexican dish that I made that did not involve a pre-mixed packet of taco or fajita seasoning. When I first made this dish, my husband and I were amazed at how easy it was to throw together a warm, tasty Mexican dish. Turkey and bean burritos have become a staple meal in our home. They’re easy enough to make on a weeknight, and work well on their own or with a side of Mexican rice.

Over the years, the turkey and bean burritos have undergone some minor changes. The original recipe is for Turkey, Tomatillo, and Bean Burritos and can be found in Rachel Ray’s 365: No Repeats cookbook. The recipe uses tomatillo salsa as the base, but I initially used whatever regular tomato salsa I had on had. I now use tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and poultry seasoning in place of the salsa. I think it makes the filling more moist, and the flavor more consistent.

If I’m just cooking for Mike and I, I will only assemble and heat two burritos and store the filling in a bowl. I’ve found that pre-assembled burritos get soggy in the fridge. When it’s time for leftovers, I warm the filling in the microwave, and assemble the burritos before popping them in the oven.

And of course, no Mexican meal is complete without a margarita!

Turkey and Bean Burritos
adapted from Rachel Ray’s Turkey, Tomatillo, and Bean Burritos (found in 365: No Repeats)

Yields 4-6 servings

6 10-inch flour tortillas
1 package (1 1/3 pounds) ground turkey breast
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 cup tomato sauce (plain, no-salt added)
1 cup chicken broth
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
shredded cheese of your choice

1. Preheat the oven to 275.
2. Brown turkey in large non-stick skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Once turkey is browned, transfer to bowl. Drain most of the fat, leaving a small amount in the skillet. (Or, drain fat and use olive oil)
3. Add onions, garlic and pepper to skillet. Saute on medium heat for several minutes until onions are translucent and peppers are soft.
4. Add browned turkey to pan and mix in. Season with cumin, chili powder and poultry seasoning.
5. Stir in the black beans, tomato sauce and chicken broth.
6. Increase heat and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes more, or until the mixture is thickened.
7. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
8. Heat tortillas in microwave to make them more pliable.
9. Spoon turkey mixture onto tortillas, top with shredded cheese and roll up.
10. Place rolled tortillas seam-side down on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 10 minutes.

I’ve tried a number of different Mexican rice recipes over the past few years, but none of them were quite right. When I saw this recipe on Dinner & Dessert, I knew I needed to give it a whirl. Since my husband Mike and I were planning a Mexican night with company last weekend, this seemed like the perfect side dish to try out.

This Mexican Rice recipe is a great find! It does take awhile to prepare this dish, but the finished product is certainly worth the effort. It has a great flavor, and was the perfect accompaniment for our black bean and turkey burritos. This recipe makes a lot of rice, but I’ll be following Erin’s recommendations and freezing the leftovers. It will be nice to be able to pull perfectly-flavored rice from the freezer any time I want.

Mexican Rice (source: Cook?s Illustrated September 2004)
found on Dinner & Dessert

2 ripe tomatoes (about 12 ounces), cored and quartered

1 medium onion, preferably white, peeled, trimmed of root end, and quartered

3 medium jalapeno chiles

2 cups long grain white rice

1/3 cup canola oil

4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 4 teaspoons)

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 ? teaspoons table salt

? cup minced fresh cilantro leaves

1 lime, cut into wedges for serving

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Process tomatoes and onion in food processor until smooth and thoroughly pureed, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl if necessary. Transfer mixture to liquid measuring cup; you should have 2 cups (if necessary, spoon off excess so that volume equals 2 cups). Remove ribs and seeds from 2 jalape?os and discard; mince flesh and set aside. Mince remaining jalape?o, including ribs and seeds; set aside.

Place rice in large fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until water runs clear, about 1 1/2 minutes. Shake rice vigorously in strainer to remove all excess water.

Heat oil in heavy-bottomed ovensafe 12-inch straight-sided saut? pan or Dutch oven with tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Drop 3 or 4 grains rice in oil; if grains sizzle, oil is ready. Add rice and fry, stirring frequently, until rice is light golden and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add garlic and seeded minced jalape?os; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in pureed tomatoes and onions, chicken broth, tomato paste, and salt; increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil. Cover pan and transfer to oven; bake until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, 30 to 35 minutes, stirring well after 15 minutes.

Stir in cilantro and reserved minced jalape?o with seeds to taste. Serve immediately, passing lime wedges separately.

My husband and I are big fans of salsa. He’s been known to eat it by the spoonful, and his college roommates like to tease him about a time he ate an entire jar in one sitting. Needless to say, it’s hard to keep enough of it in the house.

This recipe for homemade salsa from Annie’s Eats is delicious and easy to make. With minimal effort, you can create flavorful, restaurant-style salsa at home. Using the food processor simplifies prep work, as you only need to rough chop the vegetables before processing them. I’m also submitting this post to the Tasty Tools: Food Processor blogging event hosted by Joelen’s Culinary Adventures.

My food processor is pretty small, so I had to work on this recipe in two separate batches. I processed the first 8 ingredients, and then removed half of the pureed mixture from the work bowl. Next, I added half of the fresh vegetable and herbs to the food processor, pulsing as instructed. Once the first batch was done, I moved onto the second.

The only jalapenos I could find were on the larger side, so I only used one. Next time, I’ll probably add about 50% more to increase the heat a bit. I opted to drain the diced tomatoes to prevent the salsa from becoming too watery.

The resulting homemade salsa isn’t chunky, but it has noticeable bits of vegetables. It’s is fresh and spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. After serving this to company last night, we have plenty of tasty salsa left over. It’s out mission to finish consuming the batch this week!

My Favorite Salsa
from Annie’s Eats

Yields 4 cups

2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and very coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, halved
juice of one lime
1 (28 0z.) can diced tomatoes (drained or not, depending on how much liquid you want in your salsa)
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
2 large vine-ripened tomatoes
1/2 sweet yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the jalapenos and garlic. Process until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add all other ingredients to the food processor. Pulse in very brief pulses until the vegetables have reached the size you desire (it does not take many pulses so don?t overdo it). Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend.

This is a quick appetizer that’s easy to throw together. It scales well for two people or for a crowd. If you want a more elaborate nacho plate, you could easily added ground beef, onions, peppers etc.

I like to prepare this nacho plate on a rimless cookie sheet because it makes transferring to a serving dish a breeze.

Black Bean Nachos

Tortilla chips
Cooking spray
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Cumin
Salsa
Shredded Mexican-blend cheese or cheddar jack

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray
3. Cover cookie sheet with desired amount of tortilla chips.
4. Layer chips with desired amount of black beans. Sprinkle with cumin.
5. Cover black beans with salsa.
6. Sprinkle cheese over top.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and starting to brown lightly. Serve immediately.

Photo courtesy of www.Pillsbury.com

These bite-sized appetizers are flaky, spicy and easy to make! They always disappeared quickly when I brought them to Superbowl parties. Like the pesto pinwheels, it’s easier to slice these if you chill the rolled dough for at least an hour. The Mexican pinwheels can be make in advance and reheated prior to serving.

I clipped this recipe a few years ago, and it differs slightly from the one found on Pillsbury’s website.

Mexican Confetti Pinwheels

Yields 24 pieces

1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
1/4 cup nacho cheese dip
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onions

1. Unroll dough and separate into 4 rectangles; firmly press perforations to seal.
2. Spread dip on rectangles to within 1/4 inch of edges.
3. Sprinkle with bell pepper and onions.
4. Starting with short side, roll up each rectangle; press to seal.
5. If desired, wrap rolled dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
6. Preheat oven to 375.
7. Using a serrated knife, cut each roll into 6 slices; place on ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Bake 11-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove immediately and serve warm.