Stacked Tomatillo Enchiladas

My favorite recipes are ones that end up feeling almost like formulas (for every one person you'd like to serve use 1 part this and 2 parts that) rather than the usual recipes we're all used to. This enchilada recipe is one of those easily adapted formulas that works with any type of protein from chicken to pork to a vegetarian substitute, just about any flavor/type of beans, any flavor of salsa, and a couple different kinds of cheese. It's an excellent way to use up leftover meat or even take advantage of the convenience of a ready-to-go rotisserie chicken. The "formula" below is for my favorite version - an imitation of the green enchiladas they used to serve at Barbacoa on Queen Anne (I miss their cocktails too, and the Mexican Hot Chocolate Flan).

Stacked Tomatillo Enchiladas
serves 2

6 small* corn tortillas
1 to 2 cups grated jack cheese (depending on how cheesy you like it!)
2 cups Tomatillo Salsa
2 cups Easy Pinto Beans
2 cups shredded chicken
garnish with sour cream and cilantro

• Start with hot ingredients. Heat the salsa in a small pot and grill your chicken just before assembling (or heat up your leftovers), etc...
• To heat up the tortillas, brush a sheet pan with oil and lay out the tortillas on it. Rub the tortillas in the oil, then flip so that both sides are coated. Heat them under a broiler until they are soft - just a minute or two on each side.
• Build the enchiladas in 2 wide, shallow, oven-proof bowls or (if you're like me and you don't own anything like that) in any small oven-proof container that can go under the broiler. I've made boats out of aluminum foil in a pinch.
• Start with a generous cup of beans in the bottom of each bowl, then top with a tortilla.
• Sprinkle 1/2 a cup of chicken on top, drizzle with salsa, and top with cheese and another tortilla.
• Do one more layer of chicken, salsa, cheese and tortilla. Then top the whole pile with a little more salsa and cheese.
• Place under the broiler on high for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese has started to brown. Don't walk away - the last minutes under a broiler the cheese changes quickly.
• Serve with sour cream and salsa. Watch out for the hot plate!

* I like more layers so I trim regular corn tortillas when I can't find the really small ones. If you're feeling like these are going to be too big, just do one layer!

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

This is the 3rd or 4th time I've tried to make my own Tomatillo Salsa, but it's my first success. I use this salsa in Stacked Chicken Enchiladas, Green Chile Pork Tacos, and just for eating with chips so it seemed worthy of its own post. Thanks to a great blog that I just discovered, Mexican Foodie, for giving me the initial recipe that I varied a little.
I updated this post when I made a huge batch to give away. Scroll down to the bottom for those instructions.


Tomatillo Salsa
makes 2 to 3 cups, depending on how juicy the tomatillos are

1 pound fresh tomatillos
1 jalapeno
1 serrano chile
1/2 a red onion
2 T oil (not olive)
2 garlic cloves
1 cup cilantro
salt
1 to 2 limes

• Heat a heavy-bottomed (preferably cast iron) pan to medium-high. Place the jalapeno and serrano chile in the dry pan and roast until they have are mostly black. You'll have to turn them a few times over 5 to 10 minutes.

• Remove the chiles and place the tomatillos, husks removed, in the same pan. Blacken top and bottom and, if possible, a little of the sides. Set them aside with the chiles.

• Roughly chop the onion and and it to the pan. It will cook quickly because the pan is so hot from the roasting. After about a minute add the oil, stir well, and remove from the heat.

• Remove the seeds from the chiles and put them in a food processor with the garlic, cilantro, juice of 1 lime, tomatillos, and onions. Add salt to taste and blend well.

• Adjust the seasonings, adding more lime, salt, and maybe even another chile. 

For a big batch, all the ingredients are the same, but I had to simplify the process or I would have been turning tomatillos in the pot all day.

• Pre-heat the oven to 425.
• Spread the tomatillos, onions, garlic, and serranos onto sheet pans that you've covered in foil (or else cleanup is a nightmare). Keep the different items as separate as you can because they roast at different speeds.
• Roast in the oven until the edges of everything are blackened and at least a couple of the tomatillos have split. I pulled out the garlic first, then the onions, then serranos, and last the tomatillos.
• Blend in batches according to the directions above. Combine all the batches together in a big bowl and check the seasonings.
• Tomatillos, especially with lime added, are acidic enough to preserve just like you would do jam.

Green Chile Pork Tacos with Homemade Sour Cream

My favorite thing to make in my slow cooker is a spicy, tomatoey pork taco filling. I used to say it was the only thing worth making in a slow cooker, but now I know about a few other things. Lately, I've been trying to make my own tomatillo salsa for Stacked Tomatillo Enchiladas (success finally!), but since I still can't quite get that right I keep ending up with tupperwares full of decent, but not fantastic tomatillo salsa. What to do, what to do... Last week I adjusted my old, favorite taco recipe to be green instead of red and we were shocked to discover that we like it better. Shocked! How could our most loved dinner be changed and improved? Our world is rocked over here.
Oh, and, we served it with homemade sour cream. Maybe that's why these were some of the best tacos I've ever made...


Green Chile Pork Tacos
serves 4 to 6

1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
3 pounds boneless pork (just about anything will work, but you might need to trim off fat depending on which cut you use)
2 cups chicken stock (depending on your slow cooker)
2 T cumin
2 T oregano
2 cups tomatillo salsa (store-bought or try this recipe)
1 bunch cilantro
1 to 2 T pickled jalapenos, minced (they're spicy)
1 7 oz can green chiles, or equivalent fresh chiles roasted and diced
2 limes
avocado
corn tortillas
sour cream

• Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and brown it on all sides - you're not cooking it now, just creating flavor. Put the meat in the slow cooker and put the lid on.
• In the same pan, saute the onion until the edges start to brown, scraping up any good bits the pork left behind. Then add the garlic and saute just until it starts to brown.
• Sprinkle the onions and garlic with the cumin. Have your stock ready. Toast the cumin until it starts to stick, then, quick, dump in your stock.
• Add the rest of the ingredients BUT reserve 1 lime and some cilantro for the end. Bring this all to a bubble (I never put anything cold in my slow cooker) scraping the bottom to get all the toasted goodness off.
  
• Pour this over the meat in the cooker and give it a bit of a stir so that the meat is coated. Scrape down the inside of the cooker so that no sauce is splashed above the line of sauce/meat (this helps with clean-up and prevents burned edges).
• Cook on High for 6 to 8 hours. I check mine after 6 hours to see if it's too soupy. If it is, I cook it the last 2 hours with the lid off. Slow cooker vary a lot so you might need to stop after 6 hours or add a little more stock and keep going. The meat should me falling apart.
• Add the juice of the second lime, break up the meat a little, and stir it in with the sauce. Serve it however you like tacos or with rice and beans. 

Turkey & Green Chile Chili

If it seems like the only thing I eat is soup, that's actually pretty close to the truth. It's so warm and comforting and it packs well for lunch the next day. If it seems like at least half of what I cook falls into the tangy/acidic category, this is also pretty accurate. Put it all together into something that is hearty, limey, packable, easy, made in my slow cooker, and is an excuse to let myself eat Fritos and you have one of my favorite meals.


Turkey, White Bean, and Green Chile Chili
serves 4 to 6

1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1.25 lbs ground turkey (because that's the only size they sell in the store near my house!)
3 T ground cumin
3 T oregano
1 T chili powder
1 t mustard powder
smidge of cayenne
4 cups chicken stock
5 cups cooked white beans*
1 T pickled jalapenos, minced
14 oz diced green chiles (2 cans)
7oz  green salsa (1 can)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 lime
sour cream
grated cheese
Fritos

• In a large frying pan, in a few tablespoons of oil, saute the onion until the edges start to brown. Add the garlic and saute it until it starts to brown.
• Add the ground turkey and break it up into bite-sized pieces as you stir.
• When most of the pink is gone from the turkey, sprinkle the cumin over everything and saute until the cumin is toasty or until the pan is getting dry. Add the stock and warm it up (this makes your slow cooker work more efficiently).
• Add all of this to the slow cooker along with the rest of the spices, green chiles, salsa, pickled jalapeno, half of the cilantro, the lime juice, and the beans.
• Set the slow cooker on high and leave it for 6 to 8 hours. If you're not using a slow cooker, do all of the above steps in a large soup pot and let it simmer for and hour at least.
• Serve topped with the rest of the cilantro, sour cream, grated cheese, and Fritos.

*I'm trying not to used things in cans (when reasonable) so I cooked the beans from dried. It's so easy. Just rinse 2 cups of dried white beans, cover with 8 to 10 cups water, and simmer for about an hour. Rinse off the cooking liquid before using them. You can also add some spices and watered down stock to give them more flavor.

Chilaquiles Soup

This recipe came together so quickly last night and it was so good that I'm rushing to get it on the blog so that you can make it for dinner tonight. Chilaquiles traditionally are tortillas chips simmered in sauce and then topped with different things (chicken, scrambled eggs, etc...). It's not much of a stretch to turn them into a soup and I find them easier to eat this way. I found this recipe in the '97 Joy of Cooking, they credit Rick Bayless for giving them the recipe, then I adjusted it to my tastes, and now I'm passing it on to you. Psst... pass it on. 

Chilaquiles Soup
serves 3 to 4
instructables version (lots more pictures)

1 or 2 fresh jalapenos
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 28oz can whole tomatoes, drained
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 chicken breasts
1 T cumin
1 T oregano
2 to 4 medium handfuls of thick/authentic style tortilla chips
1/2 cup cilantro
sour cream
grated jack or cheddar cheese

• In a dry, thick-bottomed pot or pan (cast iron is great) roast the jalapeno and garlic over medium-high heat. It takes about 15 minutes and it seems strange, but you just leave them in the bottom of the pan, turning them as each side turns dark brown/black.
• In a bit of oil, in a small soup pot, saute the onion until it is soft and starting to turn brown.
  
• Peel the garlic and take the stem out of the jalapenos. Puree them in a food processor or blender. Add the drained can of tomatoes and blend again.
• Transfer this to the soup pot of onions and heat for about 5 minutes.
• Add the stock, raw chicken breasts, cumin, and oregano and simmer for 20 minutes. Don't taste it until it has simmered for a bit because it's the simmering that kills any bacteria that might be in the chicken.
• Remove the chicken and cut it into cubes. Add this back to the pot along with the cilantro and tortilla chips. Simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes - just until the chips are soft.
• Serve topped with sour cream and cheese. Muy Sabroso!

P.S. I've tagged this as vegetarian because it would be so easy to leave out the chicken (maybe add beans?).

Pozole - Mexican Pork & Hominy Stew

I first had Pozole when I was living in New York on the edge of Spanish Harlem. A friend took me to a tiny Mexican restaurant that served the soup every Friday. It was a steaming bowl of broth, slow-cooked pork, and hominy served with onion, cilantro, lime, avocado, radishes, and hot sauce on the side (imagine Mexican Pho). It was instantly my favorite soup. Later, when I was turning all the foods I loved into soups for work, I developed a recipe that didn't have everything on the side so that it would be easier to serve. I've often said that this is the best recipe I've ever developed myself (maybe the best-tasting dish I know how to make), but I was never sure if I should really call it Pozole. The first time I ordered Pozole in Mexico I was sure I needed to come up with a different name for mine because it was, again, had a delicious clear broth with all the fixins on the side - not so much like the thick, red stew I make. But then, wait, I ordered it somewhere else on another visit and what came to the table might have come from my own kitchen! I made John try it to confirm I wasn't giving in to wishful thinking. I discovered that I make Pozole Rojo. Hurray!

Pozole Rojo
serves 8, so I freeze it (without the avocados) or make it when friends are coming over
printable version

2 pounds boneless pork (use whatever cut is on sale)
1 onion (yellow or white, not sweet), rough chop
4 cloves of garlic, rough chop
2 T cumin
smidge of cinnamon
2 cans (15 0oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (4 oz) diced green chilies
1 T dried oregano
1 t dried sage (or a couple fresh leaves)
1 bay leaf
1 dried ancho chili*
3  limes
1 bunch (about 2 cups) cilantro
1 can (29 oz) hominy
8 to 10 cups chicken stock (or pork stock if you have it, but who does?)
Avocado for on top

I make this in my slow cooker so that I can have it on a weekday, but you can make it on the stove top if you're going to be home for a few hours to stir.

• Heat a little oil in a large saute pan (or the bottom of your soup pot) to nice and hot, but not smoking. 
• Sprinkle one side of the pork with salt & pepper and put this side down in the pan. Sprinkle the other side now. 
• Sear the meat for about 5 minutes per side (until it's all nicely browned, but don't worry about cooking it through) and then transfer it to the slow cooker.
• In that same pan, saute the onions and garlic (you're going to puree later, so don't waste time with careful chopping) until the edges are starting to brown.
• Sprinkle the onions and garlic with the cumin and cinnamon. Have the cans of tomatoes open and ready while you toast the spices until you're worried they're sticking. 
• Dump in the tomatoes, green chilies and the rest of the spices. Stir well to get all the good bits off the pan. Remove the seeds and stem from the ancho and tear it into pieces before adding it to the rest. Anchos are not very spicy, so you may want to sprinkle in some cayenne here if you want a spicier soup.
  
• Put all of this in the slow cooker along with 8 cups of the stock, cilantro (reserve a little for garnish later), and the juice of two and a half limes. Cook on high for 4 hours (about 2 hours on the stove top - until the meat is falling apart).
• Remove the meat and the bay leaf. Blend what's left in the cooker until it is smooth (using an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender).
• Break the pork up into bite-sized pieces. Add it back into the soup along with the hominy. Add more stock until it is the consistency you like. Cover and cook on high for another 2 hours. My slow cooker is small so I actually have to switch to the stove top at this step, stirring more frequently.
• Serve the soup with chopped cilantro, a wedge of lime, and cubes of avocado.
  

* I don't make many recipes with "specialty ingredients," but Pozole is one of them. It just isn't the same without the ancho chili (dried poblano). They're in many of the grocery stores in Seattle, or online. If you really can't find them, try substituting (maybe roasted peppers and jalapenos?) and let me know how it goes.

Turkey & Green Chili Chili

I was supposed to take a pretty picture of this chili so that I could put it with the post, but when I got home from work at 8:30 on a rainy evening my house was so full of the smells of spices and limes and chilies that I completely forgot about taking pictures. Chili and the Slow Cooker are best friends. All the spices that give Chili its flavor can be gritty and harsh if they aren't cooked for a while, but I pretty much refuse to make most things that have to be tended over a long period of time (I've never roasted a turkey or made a pot roast in the oven or baked a loaf of yeasty bread). Except for rare special occasions, I run out of patience at about an hour. This Chili requires about 20 minutes of working time. It's also a perfect September recipe because it has a Summery feel, but it's warm and comforting (for weather that can't make up its mind). On top of that, it freezes well for leftovers.

Turkey & Green Chili Chili
(Printable Version)
serves 4 to 6

1 onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
20 oz. ground turkey (I never have just a pound because of the stupid way it comes packaged around here)
2 T cumin
4 T chili powder (I use one low in salt from a natural foods market)
1 T dried oregano
1 t garlic powder
cayenne to taste (start with a pinch)
14 oz (2 cans) Herdez Salsa Verde, or your favorite brand
8 oz (2 cans) diced green chilies
4 cups chicken stock
4 to 6 cups cooked beans (white or pinto) depending on how thick you like your chili
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
juice of 2 to 4 limes (I like 4, but it's pretty limey)
sour cream for garnish

• Saute the onions and garlic for a couple of minutes and then add the cumin, chili powder, and cayenne. Saute until the spices are toasty or until they start to stick to the pan.
• Add the turkey and cook until it's no longer showing pink (it doesn't matter if it's cook all the way through).
• Add the oregano, garlic powder, salsa, green chilies, and stock to the pan and bring to a simmer. You can skip this step and just put it all right in the slow cooker if you want. I find that mine works a little better if the ingredients are warm when they go in.
• Transfer this to the slow cooker and add the beans. Cook on high for 4 hours. 2 hours will do (in most slow cookers) if you're in a hurry or if you're doing this on the stove top.
• Add the cilantro (reserving some for garnish if you want) and the lime juice. Cook for another 2 hours.
• Top with sour cream and cilantro and serve with corn bread or toast.
  

Cilantro or Basil Pesto

This is a special post for my friends who came over for tacos the other night. I don't have a good photo of it, but I made a cilantro pesto for the tacos and I can't believe we ate it all (as usual there was way too much of everything else). It was a nice night for trying something not traditional because we made our own tortillas and Tres Leches cake, and tried to do an authentic Al Pastor pork for the filling. It was all muy sabroso!


Cilantro or Basil Pesto

3 - 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 bunches of cilantro or basil, stems removed (probably about 4 cups, loosely packed)
2 limes or 1 lemon
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup cheese (parmesan with basil, half parm and half cojito with cilantro)
Salt & Pepper to taste, as usual

• Grind the garlic and S & P in a food processor.
• Add the cilantro/basil and the lime/lemon and grind again.
• Add the cheese and 1/4 cup of the oil and mix it all again. Add more oil (drizzle in while it's grinding if possible) until it is the consistency you like.

I heart My Slow Cooker

There are a lot of new-fangled slow cookers out there (removable inserts for easy cleaning, multiple heat settings, timers to change from low to medium to high), there are also a lot cookbooks with slow cooker recipes that range from vegetable soup (vegetables in slow cooker = mush) to chocolate cake (why?), but I love my $1.00 thrift store special! I think that there are two things that work well in a slow cooker and both are different ways of doing meat. The recipe below is my favorite. Change the cans to 2 of green salsa and you have chili verde, change the seasonings to something Italian (and the cans to just tomatoes) and you have a great main dish to serve with pasta or polenta.

Slow Cooker Pork Taco Filling
3 to 4 pounds pork
1 can of El Pato tomato sauce
1 can of Herdez Salsa Ranchero
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 T ground cumin
1 T oregano
1 T chili powder
tiniest smidge of cinnamon

• Trim the fat from whatever boneless pork is on sale (but don't go crazy, fat=flavor). If you're doing meat in the oven, the fat renders and drips into the pan, but if you're doing meat in the slow cooker all the fat stays in the cooker.
  
• Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and brown it on all sides - you're not cooking it now, just creating flavor (because brown also = flavor). Put the meat in the slow cooker and put the lid on.
• In the same pan, saute the onion until the edges start to brown, scraping up any good bits the pork left behind. Then add the garlic and saute just until it starts to brown.
• Sprinkle the onions and garlic with the cumin, oregano, cinnamon, and chili powder. Have your cans open and ready so you can toast this mixture until the pan is dry and things are sticking. Then, quick, dump in your cans and bring to a bubble (I never add anything cold to my cooker) scraping the bottom to get all the toasted goodness off.
  
• Pour this over the meat in the cooker and give it a bit of a stir so that the meat is coated. Scrape down the inside of the cooker so that no sauce is splashed above the line of sauce/meat (this helps with clean-up and prevents burned edges).
• Cook on High for 6 to 8 hours.
• Serve this in any way that you like tacos. We usually toast some corn tortillas and top with cilantro, sour cream, and a squeeze of lime. It's also great with beans and rice, or as a sandwich.
  

Camarones Feast

I can't help it. Now that I've started, I just want to get in the habit. This was one of the best meals we've had lately. We were getting ready to go to Mexico and tried to recreate a fabulous meal we'd had there the year before. It made a lot of dishes to wash, but all of the elements were very simple - Shrimp (sauteed with lime, garlic, and cilantro), rice, Easy Pinto Beans, avocado salad, and a farmer's market squash that John rubbed with Blacken Seasoning and roasted in the oven.

Easy Pinto Beans

Easy Pinto Beans

4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 30 ounce can of Pinto beans with the liquid (I like Sun Vista brand)
1 15 ounce can of tomatoes with the liquid
2 T pickled jalapenos, diced (watch out, these bring the heat!)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime

Saute the garlic in a little oil in a largish frying pan until the garlic has started to brown. You can easily use a smallish sauce pan, but the liquid cooks down quicker in a frying pan and I'm always running late with this.
Add the pinto beans, tomatoes, and pickled jalapenos. Simmer, stirring once in a while so the beans don't stick, until they are the consistency you like. For us, it takes about half an hour. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro and simmer about 5 more minutes.
It's a great side dish for the feast shown above, but these also make a perfect filling for enchiladas or tacos (cooked a little longer so they aren't too runny).