Fajita Night

A few weeks ago, we had some friends over for dinner. We were going to be busy most of the day leading up to dinner, so I wanted to make something I could easily prepare ahead of time and not have to spend much time cooking once they arrived. One of my go-to meals in situations like this is chicken fajitas. You can marinate the meat ahead of time, so all you have to do is throw it on the grill when your guests arrive. And who doesn't like fajitas?

I have come up with my own fajita marinade that I adapted from one my mom often made when I was growing up. It's so simple, and you can add or subtract different ingredients to suit your tastes.

In a bowl, combine:

• 1 cup olive oil
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
• 2-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• Generous dash of pepper

Place 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a baking dish, zip top bag or other container. Pour marinade over chicken. Flip chicken over and move around to ensure marinade covers all of the meat. Cover dish. Leave chicken in marinade for at least 2 hours or longer, up to overnight.

Grill chicken until cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from grill and slice diagonally. Serve in warm tortillas. We warmed our tortillas on the top rack of the grill. It's easy to warm them on the grill, just don't do it directly over the flame...charred tortillas aren't too tasty! Add the toppings of your choice. We had black beans, cheese, guacamole and some of my homemade salsa. 

I usually cook extra chicken when we make fajitas because the leftovers are great for quesadillas or nachos the following day.

Cinco de Mayo Lunch

Today for lunch I decided to make something with the few things we had on hand. Black beans, cheese, and tortillas made quesadillas an easy choice. I also had some salsa I had made last week. So we had an impromptu Cinco de Mayo lunch party.

I changed up my salsa just a little this time, based on what I had on hand. I used:

• one can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles (original), drained
• one can diced tomatoes, drained
•  1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1/2-1 cup hot diced roasted green chiles
• dash of salt
• dash of cumin
• one garlic clove, pressed

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until you get the consistency you prefer. 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend with your family and friends like we did!

Cha Chi's

Do you have certain restaurants that hold a special place in your heart? These places are usually those that bring about good memories of great food, good times with friends and family, and a special place and time in your life.

For me, one of those places is Cha Chi's in Las Cruces, New Mexico. After graduating from college, I lived and worked in Las Cruces for three years. It is the place where Josh and I began dating, were engaged, and spent our first year of marriage. So, naturally, Las Cruces is a special place for us. One of the things we loved most about Las Cruces is the delicious New Mexican food. There were so many wonderful places to eat fresh, flavorful, spicy dishes. We could have eaten out everyday! Among those restaurants, one of our favorites was Cha Chi's. We would often go there for breakfast burritos on Saturday mornings, and for tacos, burritos, and everything else for lunch and dinner throughout the week.

The two best things about Cha Chi's (in our opinions), are the chips and salsa and the horchata. Their salsa has a rich, spicy, flavor and a deep red hue. I could eat it for days. Literally. It is my favorite salsa ever, and I am quite the salsa snob. If you are unfamiliar with horchata, it is a rice milk infused with flavors such as cinnamon. It can vary from place to place. This cool, sweet beverage is the perfect match for the spicy salsa.

When we were down in El Paso this weekend, Josh and I went up to Las Cruces for an afternoon to see friends. We picked up food to go from Cha Chi's to bring to our friends' house. Usually when I eat at Cha Chi's I order the chicken tacos al pastor. They are corn tortillas filled with flavorful grilled chicken and cilantro. So simple, yet so delicious. It comes with three tacos and beans and rice. It's plenty of food, so Josh and I usually split it (which also makes our meal inexpensive). This time, however, Josh wanted a burrito, so I decided to get one too. I ordered a chicken burrito smothered with red chile and cheese. It was very good, but the chicken tacos al pastor are still my favorite!

If you live near Las Cruces or just happen to be driving through sometime, give Cha Chi's a try. It is delicious, flavorful, and budget friendly!

 

Salsa Verde

The other night I decided to Google "Top Food Blogs." Although I have been at this off and on for awhile and read a few food blogs, there are still so many out there. I was amazed at all the wonderful blogs there are. So many great recipes, beautiful photographs, and varying points of view. Saveur magazine had a great list of their top rated food blogs for 2012 in different categories. 

One of the many blogs I enjoyed discovering on their list was a finalist for "Best Regional Food Blog." It is called Muy Bueno Cookbook. The Spanish name intrigued me, and as I perused the lovely blog I saw that it was a mother and her two daughters, all born and raised in El Paso, Texas. Sold. That was all I needed to hear. And sure enough, as I looked over the recipes, the beautiful photos and authentic border cuisine piqued my interest all the more. I "pinned" many of the recipes to try later. Last night I attempted their salsa verde. It was very easy to make and delicious. Even Josh, who is not ordinarily a fan of tomatillos enjoyed it.

You can find the full recipe on their blog, but I thought I would share a few pictures and tips. I have pictured all of the ingredients except the cilantro, which I forgot about when snapping this shot. But you all know what cilantro looks like, right?

If you are new to Mexican cooking, you may look at this recipe and others and wonder what some of the ingredients are and where you might find them. For instance, serrano peppers look like a jalapeno pepper, just a little smaller. They are also much spicier than jalapenos, so if you prefer your salsa mild, remove all the seeds and/or replace jalapenos for the serranos. You can always adjust the number of peppers in your salsa to change up the level of spice. And remember, the seeds and membrane of peppers are the spiciest part. So leaving or removing them will also effect the level of spice. Tomatillos look like small green tomatoes with a light green husk around them. You can find them in the produce section of most grocery stores by the peppers. I have only ever bought them in Texas and New Mexico, so they may be harder to find in some places.

When cooking with tomatillos, you need to begin by removing the husk, which is very easy. Then give them a good rinse. They tend to be a little sticky.

In this recipe, you will boil the tomatillos. Some salsa verde recipes require roasting them which takes a little longer, so this is a great way to simplify it.

This recipe also says to roast the garlic cloves with their skin on in a dry pan. I had never heard of this method, but it worked well, so I may have to do it again. It was very easy. I heated the pan over medium-high heat. Remove the skin when you are finished.

Then place them along with the cooled tomatillos in a blender with cilantro, onion, jalapeno, serrano and salt and blend.

This was great salsa and a wonderful alternative from the usual tomato salsa (which I still love, but it's nice to mix things up every once in awhile).

I enjoyed mine with a nice frosty Wildflower Wheat Beer from local Marble Brewery. Not a bad way to kick back and relax.

A New Mexico Christmas

Because we live in New Mexico and all of our Christmas guests traveled from out of state, I found it only fitting that we take advantage of our state's incredible culinary traditions for Christmas dinner. So I chose to make red chile enchiladas, tamales, and salad. Before dinner I had my salsa and chips to snack on.

The red chile enchiladas I made are very easy. I bought Bueno Red Chile Sauce which can be found in the freezer section of many grocery stores throughout the southwest. The company is based here in Albuquerque. Check their website to see if their products are available in your area. I used 4 small containers of their mild red chile sauce (normally I go for hot or mix the two, but I didn't think most of my family would enjoy the spiciness as much as I do!). Make sure you place it in your refrigerator to thaw a few days before cooking. Then I followed the recipe on the container to make the sauce for the enchiladas.

After making the sauce, spray a lasagna pan (or 9 x 11 inch baking pan) with cooking spray. Heat chicken broth (or vegetable broth) over medium-low heat. Dip corn tortillas in broth one at a time (just enough to soften them a bit) then place in a single layer in pan. Spoon enchilada sauce over layer, sprinkle with cheese, and repeat until almost to the top of the pan, finishing with cheese. You will use anywhere from 20-30 tortillas depending on the size of your pan. I usually use a small amount of cheese on each layer, and once I get to the top I use a thicker layer of cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes until cheese is completely melted and bubbling. When finished, remove from oven, let sit for a few minutes, then serve with sour cream, avocaodo, cilantro, or covered with an egg over easy.

I make these enchiladas often. They are also a great meal to make ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator or freezer. Then they can be given to a friend in need of a meal or thrown in the oven when you have company. This is a great vegetarian meal option too (just make sure you use vegetable broth rather than chicken broth for softening the tortillas). 

Tamales are a traditional Mexican Christmas dish because when you unwrap the husk it's like opening a gift. Making them yourself is quite labor intensive, so I used a shortcut and took advantage of another Bueno Foods product. Their tamales can be purchased at the grocery store from the freezer section and steamed at home. So simple, and very tasty!

To make up for all the heavy (yet still delicious) food, I served a salad with dinner as well. I set up a salad bar so that each person could make their salad the way they like. I had baby spinach, chopped avocados, diced onion, cherry tomatoes, and a variety of dressings. 

For dessert I made a family favorite, ice cream pie (and perhaps one of the easiest home made pies ever). This dessert is not only delicious, it is so easy to make, and it can be made way ahead of time and left in the freezer.

To make my ice cream pie, you will need the following:

• One store bought Oreo pie crust (you could make your own, but we're aiming for simple here)
• Your favorite ice cream. Which, if your smart will be any flavor of Blue Bell ice cream. It's made in Texas and is the best ice cream you will ever put in your mouth. Seriously. It can be pricey, so I buy it when it's on sale and stock up. I made 2 pies, one with peppermint ice cream (because you've gotta have a little holiday spirit), and the other with coffee ice cream (because my family is a little obsessed with it...for good reason). 
• One jar of hot fudge topping (usually by ice cream toppings in the store). You'll need one jar per pie.

Once you have these yummy ingredients, follow these easy steps:

• Remove ice cream from fridge. Leave on counter for a few minutes to soften. 
• Scoop ice cream into pie crust. Smooth around with a spoon or spatula. I used about 1/2 gallon. 
• Place (covered, the crust should come with a plastic cover) in freezer for a few hours. Or a few days. Just long enough so that the ice cream sets. 
• Pour entire jar of fudge (do not heat it) over pie and spread over ice cream. Place back in freezer until you are ready to serve it.
• Remove from freezer a few minutes before serving to soften a little.
• Enjoy!

Day 2: Sore Muscles, But Good Meal

Day two began with me waking up feeling the pain! My "simple" workout left me very sore, particularly in my thighs and rear end. No bueno. So not only did I wake up feeling like I had aged 30 years over night, but it was also about 20 minutes before I needed to leave for work. I got ready really fast, poured my coffee into a travel mug then realized I had forgotten about packing a lunch. The selection of "pack and go" food is minimal at the Collins' household right now, so I packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat and a yogurt. Not too tasty, but still healthy, so I guess it was alright. Breakfast was my coffee and a banana in the car, not the best start to the day, but alright for not planning ahead of time. It did make me realize how important it is to keep the fridge and pantry well-stocked with lunch items for days I need to take it to work, and good breakfast items to take in the car. More importantly, I need to wake up early so I will have time to eat a better breakfast!

Last night we stayed up really late hanging out with a friend, so between that and teaching elementary students today, I came home very tired. I was also very hungry from my small breakfast and lunch. So I decided (well, my stomach did), that it was time for a healthy snack. I made some of my homemade salsa the other day, so I ate that with some organic blue corn tortilla chips (Archer Farms brand from Target, good, cheap organic chips). The old Chelsea would have brought the entire bag out on the couch and eaten way too much, but the new Chelsea is way smarter. I put some chips on the plate with the salsa and enjoyed a well-portioned snack. I did mess up the nutritional value of it a bit by paring it with a Modela Especial Cerveza. It had been a long day...




I have always loved salsa, and when we lived in New Mexico, I grew to love it even more, especially those that were spicy. I thought salsa would be difficult to make, but after looking over some different recipes and making a few changes, I have come up with my own. Now, I don't always do the exact same amount of everything, so my measurements may need a little tweaking.

Here is the recipe for my salsa:

• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
• 1 serrano pepper (stem and seeds removed)
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers (stem and seeds removed)
• About 5 roasted Hatch green chiles (stems and seeds removed)
• About half a bunch of cilantro leaves
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• Salt and Pepper

Place all ingredients (except salt and pepper) in a blender or food processor (you do not have to chop them ahead of time). Pulse until blended well and fairly smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. This will stay about a week or more in the fridge. This will make a pretty spicy salsa, so if you like it more mild, leave the serrano out. Also, if you do not have fresh Hatch green chiles, you can find them canned in the Latin foods section of most grocery stores.

For dinner, I tried another recipe from my Cooking Light cookbook. It was very easy, good, filling, and inexpensive. I would definitely make it again. We both liked it a lot. It also makes a great vegetarian dish.




Exercise update: I skipped the cardio today (lazy and short on time), but still did the strength and core exercises similar to yesterday. Definitely difficult, but I survived (we'll see how I feel tomorrow).