Tequila Refried Beans

I love refried beans. My favorite being the ones full of bacon fat or lard. While those beans are incredibly smooth and flavorful, they are certainly not very healthy. Occasionally we do break down and eat them this way or have them at a restaurant prepared the traditional way, but since we eat Mexican food quite often it is just not an option to have weekly. 

In the past, I admit that a lot of times I've taken the easy route and just purchased canned refried beans at the grocery store. They are pretty decent tasting and really no one complained about having them. When I fixed the shrimp tacos, my magazine Cuisine at Home had a recipe for tequila refried beans featured on the same page. Tequila and refried beans? Really? But hey, I was intrigued, the picture looked good and the recipe sounded pretty awesome as well, so I went ahead and gave them a try.

Well, I'm sorry to say it, but I won't be supporting the canned refried bean companies any longer. I have found the most perfect recipe. I even have to go as far as saying that it might be more flavorful then beans prepared with lard. Considering that it is quick and easy to fix (it relies on canned pinto beans), is high in fiber, and much lower in fat then traditional prepared beans I find this recipe a true keeper. Don't let the tequila scare you, all the alcohol cooks out and it just imparts additional flavor, but if you don't cook with alcohol you could certainly use water or additional chicken broth.

The recipe is cooked in about 15 minutes with very little effort. Topping it with some fresh queso fresco and sliced serrano chiles (which you could leave off) and you have a fantastic show stopper of a recipe. If you love Mexican food as much as we do, then serve this at your next fiesta, your guests will appreciate it!

Tequila Refried Beans

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Ingredients:

1/4 cup white onion, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

2 tablespoons tequila or water

2 (15 ounce each) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Salt and black pepper to taste

Crumbled queso fresco

Sliced serrano chile (optional)

Directions:

Saute onion in oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat until softened, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, cumin, and coriander. Saute 1 minute. Deglaze pan with tequila (or water); reduce until evaporated.

Stir in beans and broth. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low. Crush beans with a potato masher and cook until soupy, 5 minutes. Keep adding chicken broth if the bean mixture gets too dry until desired consistency is achieved.

Stir in lime juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Serve with cheese and chile slices.

Adapted from: Cuisine at Home

Mexican Rice

A while ago I received a message from an old friend. He wondered if I had any luck producing a decent Mexican rice recipe so far. Unfortunately, I had to tell him that my efforts, just like his, had only cooked up disaster after disaster. I have tried so many different recipes, but nothing has come close so far. Always up for a challenge I told him that I would go ahead and keep testing and tasting until I found the perfect blend of flavor and spice.

Mexican rice doesn't sound all that hard but it has sure proven to be. Every recipe I was finding was either bland or something else just wasn't right. Many recipes have an abundance of garlic, which overpowered everything else (and I like garlic). Others tasted like a cheap boxed mix. Even some restaurants I have eaten at can't produce a decent tasting rice on their plate. So my work was definitely cut out for me.

After talking to my friend for a bit, we both agreed that yellow rice is best and not the tomato based Spanish type rice. Now, I'm not an expert on Hispanic food, and even despite living in the southwest the rice in restaurants will vary from red to yellow. So forgive me if this is not 100% authentic, but the main goal was flavor in this endeavor.

I started reading through a ton of recipes online and made notes left and right. I finally came across a few that called for Goya seasoning* and I thought I was finally on to something. Starting with a high quality rice and a flavorful broth, I was finally able to achieve a rice that was worthy of being served to family and friends. I'm not completely sure if I want to keep relying on a seasoning mix like Goya and so my search will continue to find a way to achieve the same flavor without it. For the time being though, this makes one tasty rice full of everything I was looking for.

So Steve, this one is for you; while it is not my final work, I still truly hope you enjoy it!

* Goya seasoning is available in the southwest at a lot of grocery stores in the Hispanic food aisle. If you can't find it at your local store, you can easily purchase it here. There are 36 envelopes in the box and you only need 1 envelope per recipe made.

Mexican Rice

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Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice

3 cups chicken broth

1 envelope Sazon Goya seasoning with coriander and annatto

Pinch of saffron

Salt and black pepper to taste

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender and translucent. Add the garlic and saute another 30 seconds.

Add the rice, the Sazon Goya envelope, and saffron, stir until the rice is coated with the oil and toasted. Add the chicken broth and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook until the rice is tender and all of the liquid is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the lid and fluff with a fork. Stir in the fresh lime juice, then gently fold in cilantro. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with additional lime wedges.

Grilled Shrimp Tacos

A few weeks ago I received a preview magazine for Cuisine at home in my mailbox. After looking through it and loving a lot of the recipes, I decided to subscribe to it since I'm always trying to get inspired by new and different things. I received my first issue a few days ago and the poor magazine is now covered in little sticky notes for all the recipes I'm planning on making.

The first one I chose caught my eye immediately as I flipped through the first few pages. I picked the Shrimp Tacos. The picture just screamed "summer time" and they looked incredibly delicious.

There are 3 components to this recipe. The marinated shrimp, a wonderful (and easy) slaw, and an incredibly tasty chipotle sauce. What makes this recipe even better is that the shrimp are grilled, to us that means the oven stays off, which is an added bonus for us here, especially since our temperatures have hit 110 degrees F over the past weekend.

The meal comes together quickly, the shrimp marinates while you prepare the sauce and the slaw. Grilling the shrimp takes no more then a few minutes from start to finish, I would almost go as far as calling this a "fast-food" meal, since dinner can be on the table in 30 minutes flat.

I have always enjoyed a good fish taco and still do, but this is my new favorite seafood taco. The taste is absolutely mouthwatering and amazing, but what makes this even more interesting is that each of the components of the taco aren't calling for a whole lot of ingredients, but once you put this together it's so good.  I didn't make a lot of changes, but went ahead and used double the ingredients in the sauce since it was so tasty.

I served these Tacos with Mexican Rice and Refried Beans. Stay tuned this week for recipes for both of these side dishes. They were just as good, plus you don't want to miss this weeks Ice Cream Flavor, it is out of this world!

So if you are trying to celebrate summer to it's fullest, and you love seafood, then make these tacos, they sure were a hit at our home.

Grilled Shrimp Tacos

~serves 4~

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

For the shrimp tacos:

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 pound (about 24)large shrimp, peeled and deveined

8 (6-inch) flour tortillas

For the chipotle sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

3 teaspoons chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

Salt to taste

For the red slaw:

4 cups shredded red cabbage

1/2 cup scallions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Salt to taste

Directions:

Whisk together 1/2 cup lime juice, 1 tablespoon oil, and chili powder for the shrimp. Add the cleaned shrimp to the marinade and chill until ready to skewer (about 10-15 minutes).

Preheat on side of the grill to medium-high and the other side to medium-low.

In a small bowl whisk together mayonnaise, chipotles, honey, and lime juice for the sauce. Season with salt and chill until ready to serve, or up to 2 days.

Combine cabbage, scallions, cilantro, 1 tablespoon oil, and vinegar for the slaw. Season with salt and chill until ready to serve, or up to 1 hour.

Warp tortillas in foil. Thread shrimp onto metal or soaked bamboo skewers.

Grill foil-wrapped tortillas, covered, over medium-low heat, 3-4 minutes. Flip and grill 3-4 minutes more. Grill shrimp skewers, covered, over medium-high heat, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove tortillas and skewers from the grill.

To serve, divide slaw and shrimp among 8 tortillas; drizzle with sauce.

Adapted from: Cuisine At Home

Southwest Corn Guacamole

Aside from grilling a lot in the warmer month we also like to eat a lot of Mexican food. Restaurants unfortunately are really hit and miss here, so we make most of our Mexican fare at home. By using fresh ingredients and being able to control what goes into each dish, most of the meals are beloved by the whole family.

Guacamole is one of those dishes. I usually make a traditional one that is mainly avocado and tomato along with seasonings and another version that is blended (and fantastic) which was given to me by a Hispanic friend.

When I was flipping through my May 2010 Issue of Food Network Magazine I got excited to see they had a few different guacamole recipes that I had never tasted before and that sounded really good. I had a hard time deciding, but ultimately went with the Southwest Corn version.

The recipe called for broiling some of the vegetables before putting the dish together, but in true fashion my husband decided it would be even better if we grilled them. Boy, was he ever right. Unfortunately the pictures don't do this wonderful guacamole justice. I made the recipe as written, but doubled up on the corn which made the dish even more delicious.

We loved this recipe. The slightly charred vegetables added a wonderful flavor throughout. This recipe makes a big batch, but for us this wasn't a problem since we just ate it with tortilla chips for dinner. Remember, guacamole does not keep well overnight in the refrigerator, so if you are just serving this as a side dish or for a smaller crowd then scale back accordingly.

 

Southwest Corn Guacamole

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Ingredients:

2 ears of corn, grilled and kernels cut off

2 plum tomatoes

1 bunch green onions

3 avocados, diced

2 jalapenos, minced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

Chili powder

Ground coriander

Kosher Salt

Directions:

Oil the corn; sprinkle with chili powder, ground coriander and kosher salt. Grill the corn, the plum tomatoes, and scallions, 5-7 minutes or until slightly charred (you might have to remove the tomatoes before the corn).

Chop the scallions and tomatoes; mash with 3 diced avocados, jalapenos, cilantro, and the lime juice. Add the corn kernels and season with chili powder, coriander and salt. Serve immediately with your favorite tortilla chips.

Adapted from: Food Network Magazine