Santa Fe Style Stacked Enchiladas Verdes ~ Vegetarian

Let me just tell you how serious I am about Mexican food, I don't mess around. I won't eat it at most restaurants and I live in the southwest where Mexican food is abundant. Unfortunately, I've been spoiled. I've eaten Mexican food cooked by people who know what they're doing and now I can't go back to the imposter's at most chain restaurants. Good Mexican food consists of just 2 or 3 important factors in my opinion.

1. The sauce. Canned stuff is out of the question and it's NOT hard to make your own.
2. The tortillas. I implore you to stop buying the thin, cardboard tasting stuff from the store. Again, seriously easy to make your own in just minutes.  Masa. Water. Boom, corn tortillas!
3. Good Cheese. Nuff said.

I made these vegetarian and they were filling and delicious. Why, because of for-said reasons. Also, I made these in my pressure cooker for fast, flavorful, and even cooking. Feel free to use a casserole dish if you don't own a pressure cooker. Layer the same, cook in a 400F pre-heated oven for about 40 minutes. ( I cooked mine in 8 minutes)

So here you go, my simple enchiladas verdes recipe. Oh, the Santa Fe style comes in because of the thicker, moist corn tortillas which are stacked and also the smoked Poblano peppers.  Enjoy.

You will need:

3 Poblano Peppers
10 Tomatillo's
1/4 cup white onion, finely minced
1/4 cup cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 tsp salt
2 zucchini, thinly sliced
handful of mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 cup Jack Cheese, shredded
1 cup corn kernels

'Easy Home Made Corn Tortillas' ~  recipe here

Putting it all together:

Place Poblano peppers on a broiler sheet and put in oven, 3 inches from top broiler. Cook for 10-12 minutes, turn with tongs, cook another 8-10 minutes till very charred. Remove from oven, put in a paper or plastic bag, roll closed and let skins steam off, at least10 minutes. Remove from bag, set aside until cool enough to handle. Pinch off stems, smush out seeds, peel off skins {they will peel off very easily!}. Don't worry about getting every last bit.

Husk and wash tomatillos under warm water to remove natural sticky film. Pat dry and place on broiler pan. Preheat broiler and put tomatillos on the middle rack. Cook for 10-12 minutes till browned. Remove, set aside in a bowl. Some recipes I've seen say to remove peels. I seriously don't see how that's possible,  I don't bother. Throw tomatillos, 1 cup roasted poblano, cilantro and salt in a food processor or blender and pulse till smooth. Save the rest of the poblano's for layering into enchiladas.

In the bottom of a glass dish meant for pressure cookers (or casserole dish if baking) Spread a bit of Salsa Verde (tomatillo mixture). Layer tortillas, then zucchini, mushrooms, onion, corn and chopped poblanos. I usually throw all of these veggies into a bowl together, toss then just add by handfuls to the enchiladas to make things easier.  Sprinkle with cheese, drizzle more salsa verde. Again, tortillas, veggies, cheese, salsa. Top with tortillas, salsa and then more cheese.

 Place trivet in bottom of pressure cooker if using, and add 1 cup water.

 Fold a piece of foil long enough to use as a handle to help remove casserole dish when done.

 Cover casserole dish with foil, fold foil handle over top. Lock lid onto pressure cooker. Over high heat bring pressure to 2nd red ring. Lower heat, stabilize at 2nd red ring. Cook 8 minutes.

*If baking, bake at 400F for 40-45 minutes.

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Sweet and Smokey Slow Cooked Garbanzo Beans on Flax Seed Crepes and a Set of Spices and Flavored Salt from Gourmet Nut Give Away!

Nothing beats a slow cooked dish that makes your mouth water from the sweet and smokey flavors wafting through your home all day. And when the flavors have soaked into your slowly cooked chicken and garbanzo beans and you can finally spoon the contents from your slow cooker and place them in a super healthy, simple home made wrap, you are basically giddy with joy. Pure bliss I tell you.

Sure you could throw the onion into the slow cooker and cook it all day with the rest of the stuff, but I have a strange affection for searing my onions until they are beautifully browned.  I could eat them by the spoonful that way.

The fine people from Gourmet Nut sent me a nice goodie box filled with their trail mixes, power snacks  and some pink and smoked sea salts to try. They also sent me some of their different spices/rubs to hang out with. We were more than eager to try out the Coffee Steak Rub on our T-Bones and I massaged my fillet Mignon with the Sweet and Smokey Steak Rub.


Mouth watering, sweet Heaven coming from our grill.



I was quickly addicted to the Sweet and Smokey rub and had to come up with a weekday dish other than steak which we only eat on rare occasion. So when I saw these tacos using smoked paprika over at Family Style Food I immediately knew what I had to do.

Crazy simple and insanely delicious, even picky eaters 2 and 4 loved these!  You can easily make these vegetarian/vegan by omitting the chicken but I knew my little guys would be more willing to eat them with just a bit of chicken in them.

Gourmet Nut is going to give away a Set of their spices and flavored salts to not one but THREE lucky Simply Healthy Family readers!

Please visit Gourmet Nut and tell me which spices or salts are your fav and what you would make with them! This isn't mandatory but I am interested at all of the possibilities with their range of 

salts and spices!

serves    6          Time |   prep  15   cook  8 hours    

ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup chopped white onion

½-1 of a jalapeno pepper, seeds and veins removed, minced

1 1/2 cups dry garbanzo beans 

2 chicken thighs, bone in

4 cups chicken broth, veggie broth or water

1 tablespoon Gourmet Nut Sweet and Smokey steak rub

1 teaspoon salt

Optional Garnishes:

cilantro

avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

1 ripe tomato, sliced

Arugula greens

shredded sharp cheddar cheese

instructions

1. rinse and drain dried garbanzo beans. soak garbanzo beans overnight in plenty of water, this step is important.
2. in the morning drain the garbanzo beans and add to your slow cooker along with broth or water, salt and sweet and smokey spice. add bone in chicken thighs. cook on low setting for 8-10 hours till beans are soft. do not lift lid during this time.
3. make tortillas, recipe below.
4. when beans are done, sauté onion in olive oil over high heat till browned, add jalapeno and cook 2 more minutes.
5. Using a fork, shred the chicken off the bone and stir into beans, discard bones and skin.
6. spoon mixture onto tortillas, top with onion and garnishes.

notes: This is easily converted to a vegetarian meal by omitting the chicken. Also, in a pinch you can use canned garbanzo beans (chick peas)

Recipe adapted from  Wheat Belly Cookbook

MAKES   4 wraps       time   15 minutes

Flax seed Wraps

1/3 cup flax meal (ground flax seeds)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted, plus more for greasing the pan

2 tablespoons water

2 eggs

1. In a small bowl, mix together the flax meal, baking powder, onion powder, paprika and salt. Stir in coconut oil. Beat in the water and eggs until blended.
2. Heat a small, non-stick sauté pan over medium heat. Add a bit of oil to lightly coat the pan. Pour in a small amount of the batter to just thinly coat the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes until small bubbles form on the top and you can easily get a rubber spatula under the wrap. 
3. Carefully, flip the wrap over using a rubber spatula. Cook and additional minute. Remove from heat, repeat. 

notes: I suggest making a big batch of these and refrigerating or freezing them. They will keep in the fridge for several days and can be used in place of tortillas or as a sandwich wrap. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Corn Tortillas

You will never buy the thin cardboardy tortillas at the store again once you see how easy and delicious it is to make your own! We're talking 3 ingredients, including the water!

These make any Latin dish taste so wonderful. Just keep a bag of Masa corn flour in your pantry for any last minute tortilla emergency. ;-)

My mom will show us how to make corn tortillas. She does it pretty fast, I could hardly take the pictures fast enough. Simple I tell you. A tortilla press is on my wish list, but for now I don't mind so much the ragged edges and rolling them out into small circles only takes about 10 seconds.

1. Mix 2 cups of Masa Herina with 1 tsp salt & 1 1/2 -2 cups very warm water.

makes about 15 small tortillas

Start with 1 1/2 cups water and kneed dough for a minute or two, adding a bit more water if to dry.

*Look for Masa Herina that is made only with corn flour and lime in the ingredients.

2. Shape dough into 15 small balls.

Place a piece of saran wrap onto counter and sprinkle with a bit of Masa flour.

Put ball of dough on first layer of saran wrap and cover with second piece.

This makes for easy lifting of tortilla after you roll it out.

Using a rolling pin, roll dough (in between saran wrap) into thin circles.

Using the bottom piece of saran wrap, lift tortilla off of counter and place in a preheated cast iron skillet.

Over medium- high heat cook tortillas 30 seconds on each side.

Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Use for tostados, cheese crisps, quesedillas, enchiladas, tacos, etc.

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The Best Grilled Fish Tacos on Home Made Blue Corn Tortillas with Mango Salsa, Cumin & Garlic Black Beans and a Healthy and Simple Cinco de Mayo Roundup.

I've lived in the Southwest most of my 30 errrr  something years. Mexico has a big influence here in the Valley of the Sun. Mexican food, style, culture and architecture are all prevalent here in the Phoenix area.

One thing I've never really understood is where the celebration of Cinco de Mayo comes from and why we celebrate it here in the States. I have many friends from Mexico or with strong Mexican roots and not a one of them have ever celebrated Cinco de Mayo. "Sure" they say, "We will hang out and have a cervesa but it's not a holiday in our book."  Part of this was said in Spanish so I'm guessing that's what they said. 

Nevertheless, it is a very good excuse to make some really good food (my favorite cuisine!) and sit out on the patio with an ice cold beverage with friends and family. 

Tonight I'm making grilled fish tacos with fresh mango-jalapeno salsa on top of home made sweet blue corn tortillas and a side of cumin and garlic black beans (not from a can) tonight for dinner. Well, my husband is doing the grilling because I've been officially banned from with in 10 feet of the ol' BBQ since the unfortunate fire the other day. See the end result on Instagram if you're there. It's not pretty.

Fine by me. It's in the triple digits out there!

Fish:

2-3 pieces fresh Tilapia fillets 

2 juicy limes

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin (eye it)

1 teaspoon chili powder (eye it)

1 teaspoon garlic powder (eye it)  

Heat your outdoor grill on medium-high. 

In a large zip lock bag place fish and all ingredients. Zip bag closed, toss to coat fish. Let sit on counter for 15 minutes.  

Place fish in a fish grill basket, discard remaining juice and bag. Grill on medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes. Flip the basket over or, using tongs, flip fish. Cook an additional 5-6 minutes until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Remove from heat.

Blue Corn Tortillas:

1 1/2 cups blue corn flour

1 cup spelt flour (can sub w regular, unbleached flour)

1 cup hot water

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon salt

Mix flours and salt. Add water and oil, stir to combine. Let sit aside for 20 minutes to let the ingredients incorporate. Then you will be able to tell if it need more flour or water, a tablespoon at a time. The dough should be thick and not too sticky.  

On a lightly floured surface, take small hand fulls of dough and make into a ball. Using a tortilla press, place a small square of parchment paper on the bottom side and ball of dough on top of paper. Place another small square of parchment paper on top of dough. Press firmly down on tortilla press.  I like to roll out my tortillas even thinner with a rolling pin. The tortilla press helps ensure even, uncracked tortillas.

Place tortillas one at a time onto pre-heated cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. NO OIL! 

Cook for 1 minute on first side and 30-60 seconds on other side. If your tortillas are thick you may need to cook a bit longer. 

Remove from heat and place on a towel covered plate. Place tortillas in a tortilla keeper or keep them covered with another towel until ready to eat. 

Blue cornmeal has 20% more protein and a lower glycemic index than regular cornmeal.

Spelt Flour

Spelt (Triticum Aestivum Spelt) is a shiny, dark rice shaped grain related to wheat. Spelt flour contains less gluten than normal wheat flour but it is not gluten-free. 

Substituting Spelt Flour for All-purpose Flour:Many recipes will tolerate a cup for cup substitute. As with most substitutes the end result will not be the same and you may need to experiment with quantities to get a product you are happy with.

Spelt has a nice flavor, rather sweet, and is worth trying. I've only ever tried whole grain spelt. It is less springy than wheat (less strong gluten). In a yeasted bread, spelt uses less water than wheat,

Mango Salsa

This salsa is a huge favorite of ours. It is best when made the day before and chilled overnight 

or at least 6 hours.

4 ripe mango's
1 large jalapeño
4 small sweet peppers
1/2 red onion, minced
small handful cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Peel mango's and cut flesh away from pit. Dice into small cubes. Place in large bowl.
Carefully cut jalapeño down center and using a knife cut out seeds and white veins taking care not to touch them.
Turn jalapeño over cut side down and mince into small pieces. Throw into bowl with mango.
Add minced onion, cilantro, salt, vinegar and spices. Toss to combine.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours or overnight.

2 cups dry black beans

3-5 cups water depending on your cooking method

1 yellow onion, diced

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons salt

Soak beans overnight.

I typically use my Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker to cook all of my beans, it's my favorite kitchen toy!  I brown my onion over medium-high heat, add soaked and drained beans and 3 cups water. Turn the heat up to high and bring pressure to second ring. Lower heat to low. Cook for 12 minutes (YUP THAT'S it!) and remove from heat letting pressure drop naturally. 

Slow cooker method: Brown onions in pan add beans, 5 cups water and remaining ingredients. Cook on lowest setting for 8 hours.

Mexican Food Roundup

all from Simply Healthy Family

Typically, tamales, tostadas, tacos, nachos and enchiladas all smothered with cheeses and sour cream are served up the Mexican-American way. It's how we ruin a good thing. It kills me a little each time I see canned cheese served in a Mexican/American restaurant.  Gag!  

For a lighter and more authentic Cinco Celebration try one or all

 {lot's and lot's of good, home made food is how it's done in the Latin tradition}

of these simple recipes instead of the usual carb and cheese laden ones. 

Shrimp, Jicama and Negro Frijole Tosatadas

Simple Turkey Pozole

Last but not least, and I hate to pick favorites {unless you ask my teenager} is...............

Puerto Penasco Ceviche

Puerto Penasco Ceviche







Do you celebrate Cinco de Mayo???

If so I'd love to know how or what your traditions are!

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