Slap Together Mexican Casserole

So you’re in a clutch situation.  Guests are coming over and your wife told you ahead of time, but what the hell, a six pack got in the way.  

No, wait a sec….It’s the football bowl season….It wasn’t your significant other who told you, it was your buddy!

“Smiley, don’t forget we’re coming over for beer and eats!”

“Uhhhhhhhh….hell, no, I haven’t forgotten!”

Now what?  You search the frig and pantry in vain.  Gotta be something besides a jar of pickles and a can of sardines in mustard sauce!

Fear not!  I’m here to save your self-respect and make you a culinary hero to everyone except your significant other.  I’m not a miracle worker.

Everybody has onions and garlic, cheddar, canned tomatoes and canned beans. What about the protein?  Use anything.  Ground beef….hey, I always keep some sausage in the freezer.  Hot sausage.  Also, always have corn tortillas and flour tortillas in the frig.

How ‘bout a quick throw-together Mexican Casserole. Add a salad and fry some tortillas, then pop that second six pack hiding in the back of the frig.

 Mexican Casserole.

1 lb. Jimmy Dean Hot sausage (or ground turkey or beef or shredded chicken with red pepper added)

1 large diced onion

Olive Oil

3 diced garlic cloves

1 Can un-drained diced tomatoes

1 Can un-drained pinto beans

2 Heaping Tablespoons (or to taste) chili powder

2 Teaspoons (or to taste) ground cumin

A couple of heavy squirts of Sriracha hot sauce

Salt and white pepper

About 2 cups shredded cheddar

Sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, and crème fraichefor topping. (I like the silky creamy taste better than sour cream!)

Heat the oven to 350ºF and have a casserole dish handy.

Add oil to a large frying pan and cook the onion and garlic until the onion is wilted, but not browned.  Add the sausage and break it up as it cooks.  As soon as the meat is pink, add the tomatoes and beans.  Stir well and add the chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and hot sauce.

After a short while, take a taste and correct the seasonings.

Allow the liquid to reduce to about half.  Toss in about 3/4 Cup of cheddar and stir well.

Put the mixture in the casserole dish, sprinkle on the remainder of the cheddar and pop it in the oven.

When the casserole starts to bubble and the cheese begins to blister, it's ready.

Add the toppings to the individual servings.

Serve with freshly fried and salted tortillas.

See, that wasn’t so hard.  Even easier if you add a shot of Tequila when you pour your reprobate buddies a beer. Look at that! Was that a smile from the wife?

Kudos!!

Mexican Soup – Corn, Chicken, and Chiles

Yes, it's soup, and a thick one.  And yes it does involve Mexican style ingredients, but there are a few American twists.  I don’t grind my own corn with a Molcajete.  I buy the bags of masa, and I used some fresh chile substitutes.   Ya que! (so what)  Olé, Amigo! Put another shot of tequila down your parched throat. Wash it down with an icy Corona.  Now grab a spoon, and if your hunger gnaws like a starving rata, don’t be the last in line!

So what if this soup ain’t ‘xactly comin’ from south of Brownsville.  Damn, it’s good! And good food don’t need no stinkin’ pedigree!

Ok, amigos, let’s git down to it!

The fixins:  (makes about 8 bowls of soup, about 16 cups)

3 green onions, mostly the white parts, sliced in thin rounds

2 smallish red onions, peeled and sliced down the middle (roots intact)

1 large whole jalapeño

1 15 oz jar roasted red bell peppers (or roast 2 of your own!), cut in ½ in strips

1 oz can fire roasted mild green chiles (don’t drain)

12 oz frozen corn kernels, thawed

2 chicken breast halves, each split into thin fillets

6 cups chicken stock (plus a cup or two more for thinning the soup)

3 tablespoons masa, or use fine corn meal

Queso Fresco cheese, crumbled for topping (or another semi-soft mild white cheese)

1 Tablespoon coarse salt, or to taste

Serve with fresh tortilla chips (see below)

In a dry iron skillet (or oven broiler), put the sliced green onions and red onion halves and jalapeño.  Leave them in the pan and turn them until they are charred pretty much all over.  The green onions will char first, so remove them and leave the rest until they are nicely charred.

 

The mixture in the food processor

Put half the thawed corn kernels in a food processor.  Cut the root ends off the red onions and add them to the blender, along with green onions.  Remove the seeds from the charred jalapeño, slice and add it to the blender.  Also add the undrained can of mild, diced green chilies.  Add two cups of chicken stock and blend until smooth.  Put the blended mixture in a large, deep-sided pan.  (Big enough to handle the chicken, more corn, roasted red bell peppers, and at least four more cups of chicken stock!)

Meanwhile, put two cups of chicken stock in a medium sized saucepan.  (When I use commercial chicken stock, I usually add a cube or two of chicken bullion to make it richer.) When the stock boils, put in the chicken filets and cook until tender, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove the chicken filets and use two forks to shred the meat.  Add the stock from the saucepan and the shredded chicken to the soup .  Stir and bring to a boil.  Add the rest of the corn kernels, the sliced red bell peppers, salt, and the final two cups of chicken stock.  Reduce to medium heat and stir.  Cook for another 10 minutes.

Mix the masa into three tablespoons of cold water to make a paste.

Stir the masa paste into the pot of soup and stir until thickened.  If the soup gets too thick, add more chicken stock as needed. Reheat as needed.

Ladle the soup into bowls and dot with bits of Queso Fresco.

To make the fresh tortilla chips:  why would you use Doritos when these are so easy???

1 package corn tortillas, halved and the halves cut into thirds

Heat 2-3 inches of vegetable oil to 350ºF (180ºC)

When the oil is hot, add the cut tortillas in small batches and just cook until the grease barely bubbles.  Take the chips out immediately and put them on a paper towel to drain.

Add salt as desired.

Is your Spanish improving?  Well, down another shot, grab another Corona chaser and get into the spirit of this thing!

Guacamole Olé

Guacamole comes from the Aztec word, ahuaca-mulli, meaning beat an avocado to death and eat it with chips, or drop by the volcano and toast a virgin.  Not sure which. My Aztec is as rusty as my grandpa’s liver.  Actually, in the early centuries (way before there were instruments of instant gratification, like Skype, and sexting), the avocado was hailed as an aphrodisiac, which partially accounts for it’s popularity among the Aztecs, the Spanish conquistadors, and men of all races and ethnicities over the age of fifteen.  It’s a myth, of course, much like finding the ideal mate, keeping all your hair until you’re ninety, or getting a doctor to tell you your cholesterol level is perfect.  Hey, wait a sec!  Avocado has only .7 percent saturated fat and no cholesterol, so eat avocadoes and concentrate on the other two.

Now that we’ve established that an avocado, the main ingredient in guacamole, is one slick, non-cholesterol fruit, what about the rest of its bonafides?   A serving of one ounce has forty-five calories, of which 39 are fat.  Good news.  Calorie-wise, it’s like eating healthy chocolate cake.

Back to Guacamole.  Always remember that there are two parts to a great guacamole, the guacamole itself and the chips.  Neglect the chips and it’s like trying to make a great sandwich with fluffy, white supermarket bread, or a fab pizza with a pre-fab crust.  So, let’s discuss the chips.  There is one way and no other.  You must fry the chips yourself.  If you don’t have a favorite brand of corn tortillas, try out a few brands and find one that’s not too thick and crisps nicely.  If your mate whines that it will take too long, and reaches for a bag of chemically enhanced, made by the ton, pseudo-chips, ignore, him, her, or them. (I already warned you it was tough to find the perfect mate.)

Chips. Cut the corn tortillas into quarters (see photo, or grab your third grade math book) and fry them in a little healthy oil in a frying pan or a deep fat fryer. On medium heat, they get crisp in a hurry.  Scoop the crisp chips onto a nest of paper towels to drain and sprinkle on the salt.  Takes almost no time and makes all the crispy, crunchy, flavorful difference.

Now for the green stuff.

2 or 3 avocadoes (Hass works best, but I like the slick-skinned Florida avocado as well)

3 Tablespoons finely chopped onions

1 clove garlic, chopped fine

2 Tablespoons French dressing

2-3 Tablespoons thinly chopped tomatoes

1 Tablespoon hot sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Note to my European readers:  how to convert American measures to European measures: http://german.about.com/library/blrezepte_conv.htm

           

Put all ingredients in a food processor, or mash and mix by hand.  Turn the food processor on briefly.  I like my guacamole a little chunky, but if you like yours silky smooth, just keep on pressing the button.  Taste, and add more salt, pepper, and hot sauce, if needed.

Serve with your favorite beverages, and of course your perfect mate.  I was only kidding about not being able to find one.  Blush, blush.