Mexican Food

We are not celebrating cinco de mayo this year for a couple of reasons, but we did make Mexican food this weekend.  I grew up in a Hispanic community and I loved visiting friends homes that had a very rich culture.  Food was a big part of that culture.  I really enjoy recreating some of those flavors and scents in my kitchen.  But I also love to experiment with my own take on the traditional flavors and dishes of Mexico.


So, this past weekend, I grabbed the kids and headed for my own kitchen to play around.  We made up a recipe for shrimp tacos and tried a Rachel Ray recipe for a jicama slaw.  But one thing we always make sure to have on the menu with Mexican food is my cumin rice.  Cumin rice is so nutty, so flavorful and very easy to make.  Cumin rice is a staple on our plate. For a few simple ingredients, you get a wonderful side dish that we just love. 

I already have to report a mistake.  I would not recommend making this dish with brown rice.  You can use brown, but the longer cooking time of the brown rice causes the dish to loose some of it's nutty flavor.  I am a big fan of brown rice, but when I make this dish, I use white rice.      

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a medium saucepan over medium heat. 

Add your chopped onion,

salt,

pepper,

and stir to combine. 

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to caramelize.  This is going to give you lots of good flavor.    

When the onion is browning nicely, add the rice.  Stir the rice into the onion and oil mixture so each grain of rice is coated in oil.

Next in goes a tablespoon of cumin.  Stir the cumin into the rice to combine.  Let the rice and cumin cook for a bit so they get slightly toasted. 

Finally add chicken stock. 

Stir everything in the pan. 

Put a lid on the pan and turn the heat up to high.

When the liquid comes to a boil, turn the heat down to a low simmer.  Cook the rice, covered, until the rice is to your liking.  We like wet sticky rice so we add a touch more liquid than the box recommends.  If you like fluffy rice, follow the box instructions to make fluffy rice. 

The aroma is amazing.  The taste is not overpowering, but so satisfying.  The onion melts away and turns into pure flavor. 

My son was so impatient to eat once the food hit the table. 

We made shrimp tacos, corn and avocado salade, cumin rice, and a jicama slaw.  It was such a yummy dinner.

Here is the centerpiece we put together for fun.  I love it. The vase is a painted buttermilk container that my son painted.  

To dress up our shrimp tacos we had a pepper salsa, lime wedges, green and red onions, and some crema to drizzle on the spicy shrimp.  

Cumin Rice

Ingedients:

1 1/4 Cups White Rice
3/4 Cups Diced Onion
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
2 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil, onion, salt and pepper. Cook the onion until caramelized slightly, stirring often.

2. Add the rice to the saucepan and stir well to coat the rice. Add cumin and cook for five minutes stirring often to toast the cumin and rice.

3. Add chicken stock to the pan and turn the heat to high. Cover the pan and wait for the liquid to come to a boil. When the liquid is boiling, turn the heat down so the liquid is simmering. Cook the rice, covered, for the suggested time on the rice package. Fluff with a fork or stir with a spoon and serve. Makes 5 1/2 cup servings.


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Mexico for Lunch

My kids are hard workers. They play sports, do well in school and help out around the house. By the time the weekend comes, we are all ready for a little fun and a little relaxation. This weekend we invited the kids' friends over for a Mexican inspired lunch and lots of laughs.



I decided to make a favorite of ours, which also happens to be a pretty kid friendly meal.  I made a platter of quesadillas stuffed with peppers, cilantro and cheese.  To go with the quesadillas, I served tortilla chips along with a few toppings so the kids could make their own nachos.  It was a fun meal and all the kids had a great time.



I found this nifty little wire holder.  I added a few half pint canning jars of guacamole, salsa, sour cream, and nacho cheese so the kids could scoop out a few condiments for their tortilla chips.  They loved it and it was so handy.

For fun, I made a tres leches cake.  It was a bit sweet and rich after this meal, but the kids did not care.  They mostly all loved it. Next time I would probably go for a different dessert though.  

Now onto the main attraction.  These are our absolute favorite quesadillas.  They are meatless, but yet still filling and so satisfying.  They are an easy fix for any night of the week and the board of ingredients are simple items that you can find in any grocery store.  I just happened to find these little mini bell peppers in the store.  They were so cute I had to get them. 

To start, we need to cook our bell peppers.  I am going to show you how I cut down peppers.  I start by cutting off the top of the paper. 

The bottom comes off next. 

Then stand the pepper up on the widest end. 

Then cut one side, or one third of the pepper off leaving the ribs and seeds in the pepper.

Then turn the pepper and cut another third off. 

Then cut the last third off.  Your pepper is ready to slice and you can toss the entire middle of the pepper. 

Viola!

Now you can slice the peppers up and get them ready to cook.

I add all the sliced peppers to a bowl and give them a tiny pinch of salt and a generous pinch of black pepper.  Then toss the peppers and seasoning altogether.

In a non stick pan over medium heat add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan and let the pan heat up a bit.

When the pan is heated, add the peppers to the pan. 

Cook them, stirring occasionally until they are slightly charred and softened like this.

Now it's time to assemble the quesadillas.  Start with a few tortillas, the cooked peppers, fresh cilantro and freshly grated cheese.  I am using Colby-Jack cheese.  

Add about 3/4 of a cup of cheese to the tortilla.

Add a few cilantro leaves.  You could also finely chop the cilantro and sprinkle it all over the cheese if you wanted to.  We like the whole leaves.

The trick to the peppers is to make sure you spread them around so you get pepper in every bite.  So yummy.

Top is all off with another tortilla.

Then they go into a dry non stick pan over medium heat.  Keep an eye on them.  They burn so quickly.  I usually make a whole stack of quesadillas and then cook them so I can keep a close eye on them.  Cook the quesadilla on both sides.

When the tortilla is toasted on both sides and the cheese is melted, then remove it from the pan.  I always put the quesadillas right on a cutting board.

Cut it into quarters.

Look at that oozing cheese.

You can see the peppers and cilantro peaking out along the cut lines.  I can't wait to eat this.

Pepper and Cilantro Quesadillas

Ingredients:

3 Bell Peppers, Cut into thin strips
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Fresh Cilantro Leaves
1 Pound Freshly Shredded Cheese
10 Medium Size Tortillas

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, add peppers, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. Toss the peppers and seasoning until the seasoning is well distributed. In a medium non stick skillet over medium heat add a drizzle of olive oil and peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally until peppers are slightly charred.

2. Lay out 5 tortillas. Divide cheese between the 5 tortillas. Add peppers and cilantro leaves on top of the cheese. Cover with a second tortilla.

3. Cook the quesadillas one at a time in a dry non stick skillet over medium heat. Keep a close eye on the tortillas so they do not burn. Cook on both sides.

4. Put the quesadilla on a cutting board and cut into quarters.

5. Serve immediately with your favorite condiments like low fat sour cream, nacho cheese, salsa, guacamole, or pico de gallo. Enjoy! Makes 5 medium sized quesadillas.

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