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Gary350
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Mexican Food

It has been a while since we made authentic Mexican Enchiladas.

TORTILLA SHELLS
3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup Crisco shorting
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder.
Mix at high speed with electric mixer until Crisco mixes into flour it will look like crumbs.
Add 1 cup boiling water. Mix well let dough rest 15 minutes. Cut dough into 12 pieces, roll pieces into balls to roll out flat into tortilla shells 8" to 10" diameter according to size you want. Dough will roll out thin as cereal box cardboard an get 3 times thicker after they are fried in a hot skillet. Cook until bubbles form an golden browns in spots. Push bubbles flat cook on both side 3 times.
If you don't want to make your own tortillas they are $1.19 per 10 pack at Kroger and $2.99 per 10 pack at Walmart.
I tried to cheat, I rolled the dough out then used a large bowl like a cookie cutter, this does not work well, do it the correct way watch the video. Be sure to use Crisco or lard or your tortilla will brake like potatoes chips, not roll up.

Watch tortilla making video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLTlY9s2l0o


ENCHILADA SAUCE
Mix 3 large tablespoons chili powder, 1 large tablespoon of flour, 1 tablespoon oregano, 1 teaspoon cumin, 10 cloves garlic, 1 medium onion, 1 quart of water, puree in a blender or food processor. Bring to boil stir well until sauce is thick.


MEAT. Cook 1 lbs ground beef or ground pork in skillet with 1 medium onion chopped, 10 garlic cloves. Cook until meat is brown, onions are tender. Stir in about 1/3 cup enchilada sauce, 8 ounces of Philadelphia cream cheese, 1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese.


ENCHILADAS
Lay tortilla shells out on counter top, spoon equal amounts of meat on each one, roll them up tight. Place 5 or 6 in each 9"x12" cake pan. If you only have one 9"x12" cake pan squeeze them all in tight. Pour 1 quart of enchilada sauce over the top of all 12 enchiladas, sprinkle with sharp cheddar cheese. Bake in oven 350 degrees until cheese melts and enchiladas are hot about 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream topping.

CHILI POWDER
I buy Mexican chilies at the Mexican flea market. They come is several spicy hot ranges from, paprika flavor, very mild, mild, medium, hot, hotter, very hot, extremely hot, etc price $2.50 to $3.00 per lb. Now days I buy mild chilies. The Mexican people soak dry chilies in hot water about 1 hour then scrape out seeds & vanes, they use the wet chilies to cook with. I like to set outside under a shade tree with a glass of ice tea, break the chilies open, scrap out seeds & vanes, grind them into chili power in the kitchen bender. The way Mexican people cook is probably easier but I like having dry chili power in the pantry to use anytime I need chili powder. I can not get these seeds to grow. OH well chili peppers are too cheap to be growing them last time I bought $10 worth of chilies. You can buy chilies in some grocery stores in 1 lb bags the ones called California Chilies are good.
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Last edited by Gary350 on Sat Jan 12, 2019 10:41 am, edited 8 times in total.

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Wow, that's looks great!

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Gary350
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Spicy Red Chili Burritos

This morning we put 1 large boneless chicken breast in the crock pot to cook all day. About 3 pm we added 1/2 diced onion and 5 diced garlic. 1 hour later shredded chicken is removed to use in burritos.

RED CHILI SAUCE. Put 1 quart of water in the kitchen blender with 3 tablespoons of red chili powder, 1 or 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon flour to thicken the sauce. Puree in blender then pour into a pot to boil until sauce is thick.

1/2 cup of beans, beans can be whole pinto beans OR refried beans. We had a can of refried beans in pantry so we used 1/2 a can.

1/2 cup cooked rice OR you can use 1/2 cup of corn.

Mix 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup refried beans, 1/3 of the chili sauce, 1/2 package of sharp cheddar cheese OR Queso Quesadilla Cheese, with all the shredded chicken. You can use pulled pork or beef if you like. Mix well then spoon it evenly onto 10 tortilla shells. Roll shells up place them in a large pan. Only pan we have large enough is an 18" pizza pan.

Pour remaining red chili sauce over the burritos, sprinkle with, cheddar OR Queso Quesidalla cheese over the top.

Bake in oven 350 degrees 30 minutes.

Top with shredded lettuce if you have it.

Last time we made this recipe with corn, whole beans & chicken. Time before that we used pulled pork. If you live in Arizona you will always get this topped with lettuce at a restaurant but never seen it with lettuce anywhere else in the USA. I like it with lettuce but we are still afraid to buy grocery store lettuce with so many people getting sick form lettuce.

The 2 of use ate 1 1/2 each we have 7 left over for lunch & dinner another day.
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pepperhead212
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Tonight I made some tacos, with some chicken livers in chipotle sauce - an old recipe from (I think) Diana Kennedy's Recipes From The Regional Cooks of Mexico. It is one of those that I have made countless times, and have also tweaked it, using dried moritas, and some of that salsa negra from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen. The original recipe had just canned chipotles; still good, but not like the tweaked version.

ImageTacos, with chicken livers and chipotle filling. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Leftover mix, after the 4 tacos - many more tacos worth left!
ImageChicken livers in chipotle sauce. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Also made some guac, with the last two avocados I had - something to eat while preparing the rest.

Chicken Livers in Chipotle Sauce

3/4 lb chicken livers; trimmed
3 clove(s) garlic
12 oz tomatoes; grilled
3 tb oil
3 chipotle chiles, canned
1 morita; toasted
1 medium onion; thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt

A. Place tomatoes, garlic, and chiles in blender. Blend until smooth. Cut livers in half, then in half again.

B. Heat oil over high heat in 10" skillet; add onion and cook briefly, and add livers. Cook 3 min., stirring constantly, then add tomato sauce. Cook about 5 min,. stirring almost constantly, until sauce is reduced and very thick. Add salt to taste, and serve, with fresh corn tortillas.

Options: May be made with 10 oz of canned , crushed tomatoes. 1 tb salsa negra may be substituted for the canned chiles.

Pork liver, cut into 1/4" thick slices and cut into bite size pieces, may be substituted for the chicken livers. Cover and cook about 20 min (otherwise they will be tough), then uncover and cook down, as in the recipe.

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Cinco de Mayo!

Not that I need an excuse to cook Mexican. I started with a Mexican style fritata type dish, for breakfast. Two eggs, with some water, and some masa harina, then some leftover black bean chili I had in the fridge, plus some cheese, folded into it.

Then a friend came over, and for lunch, I made some guacamole, something he never turns down, unless it's somewhere else.

Later, I made some black bean chilaquiles, and started the beans in the IP shortly after the guac, and just put it on slow cook for 6 hours. After a few hours, it smelled like some beans and bacon cooking, because of the smoky aroma of the chipotle and the dried, smoked serranos (my addition).

Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican dish made by mixing some sauce, or, in this case, some puréed black beans, cooked with some seasonings, mixed up briefly with tortilla chips, and served immediately, usually with some crema, queso añejo, and maybe some cilantro or epazote. The tortilla chips lose some, but not all, of their crunchiness, which is why it has to be served immediately.

For making it for one or two people, what I do is layer some of the sauce and chips in a bowl, and let it sit for 4-5 min, while getting the other toppings on.

I made some tortilla chips for this, by lightly brushing some tortillas with some oil, then cutting them up, and baking them at 350º for about 8 min. This is better than most super thin tortilla chips in bags, though one organic chip I found in Aldi is good, since it is thick.
ImageHomemade tortilla chips, for chilaquiles. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here's the second layer of chips, before the last black beans are put over it.
ImageLayering chips and black bean purée, for chilaquiles. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The finished dish:
ImageBlack bean chilaquiles, for Cinco de Mayo by pepperhead212, on Flickr

imafan26
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It looks really yummy. I did not think the taco shell recipe would be so simple. I know that Mexican cooking usually uses lard. Lard was also in the older bread recipes.
What kind of moles and salsa do you use for the dishes.?
I usually buy tortillas but not very often. Most of the time I use only a few and end up throwing the rest away. Even in the freezer they start to crack. Making chips is not an option. I don't deep fry anything because it is one of the things that I can easily give up on my diet and it has way to much fat and calories for me to do that.

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Imafan, I did not deep fry those chips. I just took some tortillas, and lightly brushed one side with oil, then cut them up, and baked them on a cookie sheet in the convection oven, for about 8 min, then slid them off, onto the cooling rack.

I don't eat flour tortillas - no flavor, and made with crisco. Originals had lard, which gave some flavor, but commercial ones switched to crisco.

I make all different kinds of Mexican foods. I probably make more out of Rick Bayless's books than all others (the chilaquiles recipe was his), but I started out with Diana Kennedy's books - where I discovered true Mexican, before it was available anywhere in this area. Mexican food is labor intensive, but worth it! One thing that helped a lot, was when I got that Vitamix. Before I had that, many recipes, such as moles, and similar salsas, were ground up in a blender, then pressed through a strainer, to remove the seeds and chile skins - not a fun project! The VM, however, grinds all of this stuff up! Makes those recipes much easier.

Some recipes, in which the flavor of the lard will come through, and be noticeable, it is called for. Tamales are one that comes to mind. But the great majority of Mexican food does not have lard. They may use it in those recipes in some areas of Mexico, but probably because it is cheaper there! Lard is not something I keep on hand, even in the freezer.

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I have baked some other kinds of chips, so that may be an idea I can use. I actually don't like any of the tortillas. However, I did find out that one of the reasons was because I do not toast them first. The directions on the package and in recipes don't explicitly say that the tortillas should be toasted, but I found out that especially the flour ones have that raw taste if I don't.
I don't like tortilla chips very much either which is why, I end up throwing out the broken pieces in the freezer. I did make some burritos once and froze them afterwards, that worked out better, and they were handy meals.

I also found out that Mexican food is really on the bland side. It is the toppings, salsa, or mole's that give it the real flavor.

Actually, I do find lard in the Mexican section of the store that I go to. Lard and even Crisco will get rancid if it is kept a long time.

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I can't imagine what Mexican food you are referring to as "bland". But then, nobody would normally think any food in my house is bland! lol. I can imagine some of those things that I see wrapped up in flour tortillas as bland, but I don't consider them Mexican, even if they are!

I eat most of my corn tortillas soft, either rolled up and dipped in the dish, or as soft tacos. I rarely toast them crisp, as I did for the chilaquiles, or fry them. But, I almost always heat them up over an open flame on my range, about 20 sec or so, until I see some bubbling forming, then flip it, and toast the second side for a little less time. Both sides get a little charring, which adds some flavor, though the main flavor, of course, is what they are served with!

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We cooked 8 Mexican Burritos for dinner using several items from the garden, 2 Green New Mexico peppers diced, 2 Red New Mexico peppers diced, several garlic diced, 1/2 onion diced, 1 medium tomato diced, 2 tablespoons of home made chili powder. 1 can of dark kidney beans for refried beans, 8 oz of cream cheese. 2 chicken breasts cooked. Stir everything together in a hot skillet then spoon it onto tortilla shells & roll them up. Top with what every you like. Wife wanted sour cream & cheddar cheese so we had that. Often burritos are topped with, Green or Red chili sauce or Melted cheese sauce.
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pepperhead212
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I got that pork today, when a friend cleaned some stuff out of his freezer, and I had to make a Mexican dish, since I had been craving it, with all the talk about it! Amazingly, with all these chiles, there was no discernible heat, and not just to me, but the other two, as well.

I served this on some corn tortillas, reheated over an open flame, with some monterey jack cheese, and some leaf lettuce torn up on them, and on the last few, some mizuna, which was more flavorful, but nobody preferred one over the other.

This is sort of a simplified mole type sauce, with the spices, plus the small amount of chocolate. I adjusted the amount of pork to about the amount of sauce - I only had 1 1/2 lbs pork, and had about 1/3 of the adobo paste leftover. But it may be good for even more.

Puerco Con Adobo de Tres Chiles

1 oz Guajillo Chiles
1 oz Cascabel Chiles
1 oz Pasilla Chiles
10 medium cloves garlic
12 whole allspice
15 black peppercorns
3 triangles of a circle of Mexican chocolate
1 tb apple cider vinegar
about 2 1/4 lbs pork, cut into about 3/4" cubes
1 medium onion, peeled, and sliced lengthwise
about 3 tb oil, divided
water, as needed
Salt to taste - I used about 2 tsp in the smaller amount

A. Slit the guajillos and pasillas lengthwise, then cut out the seeds and veins, and flatten the chiles, as much as possible. With the cascabels, pull the seed core out with the stem, then shake the seeds out through the hole.

B. Toast the chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat: press the flattened chiles against the skillet with a metal spatula, until you hear a brief crackle, and see a very small amount of smoke. Flip over, and repeat, then remove to a plate. When finished with the flat ones, put the cascabels - the round chiles - into the pan, and toss around for a minute, to soften them some, then press against the pan once, and remove. Place in a deep container to soak them in hot water for 30 minutes, using something to keep them submerged.

While soaking, put the allspice and peppercorns in the hot pan, off the heat, and toss around for a minute or two, while peeling the garlic. Place this, and the spices in the blender.

C. Drain the chiles, and place in the blender. Put the chocolate on top, and add 1 tsp salt and 1 c water (will probably need more), and the vinegar, and blend, starting low, and working to high speed, adding more water, to keep the sauce circulating. Blend until totally smooth, then (unless using a Vitamix, as this blends everything up totally) pour through a medium mesh strainer, pressing though with a rubber spatula, and scraping it off the bottom of the strainer.

D. Heat 1 tb oil in about a 10" sauté pan, or a wok (my favorite, as it is neater!) over medium high heat, and pour in the sauce from the blender. Cook, scraping constantly with a silicone spatula, for about 7 minutes, or until the spatula leaves a path when pulled through the paste. Remove from the heat, scraping occasionally as it cools.

E. Heat 1 tb oil in a 12" skillet over med-high heat, until it shimmers, and brown the cubes of meat, getting at least one side well browned, about 7 or 8 minutes. Remove to a plate. Rinse out the blender with a small amount of water, then pour this into the skillet, scraping to get up all that frond.

F. I did this in my Instant Pot, but it could be done in a Dutch oven - just simmer longer. Heat up 1 tb oil in the IP on medium sauté mode. Cook until it begins to brown some, then add the meat, the liquid from the skillet, and the adobo. Add enough water to get the sauce slightly liquidy, then cook on manual mode for 15 min., and let the pressure release on its own. (this is when I cleaned everything up, as this is messy!). If using a dutch oven I would suggest simmering for at least 45 minutes here.

G. Remove meat cubes to a bowl, and shred with a couple forks. The liquid had gotten a little watery, so I boiled it down on high sauté mode, then mixed the thickened adobo with the shredded meat, to use in the tacos.

I didn't photograph every step, as I got distracted, plus it would have been far too many!
ImageToasted chiles, for adobo de tres chiles - cascabel, guajillo, and pasilla. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageCooking adobo, after 1 minute. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageAdobo, after 4 minutes of cooking. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageAdobo, finished cooking, after 7 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageAbout 3/4 c of the adobo paste, leftover. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageAbout 3/4 c of the adobo paste, leftover. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImagePork in adobo, for about 2 more tacos tomorrow. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageLast taco (almost forgot to photograph one!) of the pork in adobo, with some mizuna. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

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Gary350
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WOW pepperhead212 that looks good. Photo looks like Shish kabob. I have to cook for the group 2 of us can not eat spicy hot anymore and 2 refuse to eat spicy hot food. I still like it hot but my stomach can't take it next day I will spend most of the day in the bathroom. I have mole sauce it is so spicy fire hot 1/2 teaspoon is a lot of heat for a large amount of food. I never considered Mexican shish kabobs I want to try this. If family comes for dinner I may or may not be able to cook spicy hot for them. Sometimes I divide food into 2 groups, spicy & not spicy.

What happened to your shish kabob picture it is gone?
Last edited by Gary350 on Thu Nov 14, 2019 6:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

pepperhead212
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Gary, As I noted, that sauce had no heat at all - the cascabels were the hottest of those 3, but the almost all of the seeds and veins were removed, thus almost all the heat is gone. Most moles have even milder chiles - anchos and mulatos - and the only way they would be hot is with chile de árbol, or some cayenne added, which only add heat - no flavor, to speak of. In fact, I almost added some Thai peppers (my usual heat source) last night, for heat, but one of my friends can't take much heat any more, so I left them out. They couldn't believe the lack of heat, given all those peppers!

imafan26
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I just picked a bunch of peppers yesterday. My eyes were tearing when I opened up the bag this morning. There are still a lot of peppers left. I just got tired of picking them and some of them were already drying on the bush, so those I will allow to finish drying so I can save them for seeds. The days are shorter now and it is cooler. The peppers and eggplant will slow production and flowering will be almost nil for awhile.

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Wahaka Taco.

This is a very large 12" taco 1 is a whole meal.

Cut meat pork or chicken in bit size pieces mix well in bowl or pan with herbs. Pour in enough 400 degree lard to cover the meat & herbs. Allow to set and cool meat will cook very tender with fresh cut herb flavor in the meat. When meat has cooked about 30 minutes remove the meat allow lard to drain away from meat.
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp cumin
3 garlic cloves diced
1 tsp oregano,
1 tsp cilantro
1 tsp salt
2 large onions sliced
1 jalapeno sliced

Cook 12" flour tortilla over wood fire to give it wood smoke flavor and golden brown color. Fill with meat and filling.
Cheese white
Tomato
Onion
Lettuce
Cilantro
Jalapeno sliced
Hot sauce

There is a confirmed case of Coronavirus in Franklin TN 20 miles from us. Family, friends, relatives, co-workers are all in 2 week prison according to TV special report. Wife said, we need a month supply of food we are not eating in restaurants for a whole month. While at the store I bought what I need for Wahaka Tacos plus $420 of groceries. I have BBQ grill charcoal ready to cook 12" tortilla shells. We cheated and are cooking, meat, onions, garlic & spices in a crock pot it will be ready to eat about 4 or 5 pm. If I can learn to upload pics to flickr there will be pics. I have volunteer lettuce growing in the yard seeds must have blown there on a windy day when I planted seeds in the garden. Volunteer lettuce is growing much better than what I planted in the garden. Next year I will toss seeds in the yard then we should have an amazing crop of lettuce. Mother nature knows how to grow lettuce better than me. LOL

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With what you have put up in the pantry and all the shopping you should be good for more than a couple of weeks.

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Gary350
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Wahaka Tacos are good. We cheated, we cooked meat, onions, garlic, spices, herbs, in crock pot 4 hours. I cooked flour tortillas on BBQ grill. Use a spider spoon to scoop meat & onions onto the shell add other filling, cilantro, lettuce, jalapeno, tomatoes, cheese. White cheese was different an good. We are planning to make this again in a few days with chicken. No ripe garden tomatoes so I used a can of Rotel. I forgot about lettuce I have some in the garden. OH well lettuce next time. I had 4 pencil diameter long slices of jalapeno on my taco it did not seem spicy hot. I am so use to eating spicy stuff nothing seems very hot but my stomach can't deal with it anymore it will be torture tomorrow.
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I grow a lot of hot peppers, but I don't eat a lot of them. Once in a while I will indulge and pay for it shortly afterward.

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It's Cinco de Mayo, so I had to make guacamole! I haven't been shopping much lately, but about 10 days ago I went to Aldi's, because they had avocados for 59¢ each, and I had to get some, along with cilantro, and a few other things (I stocked up on corn tortillas, two packs in the freezer now). I thawed some of last season's tomatoes and peppers, and harvested some chives and garlic chives - I like these better than raw onion, since they keep better, and there is less aftertaste, that raw onion results in.
ImageGuacamole, on Cinco de Mayo. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And, of course, I had to make something using Tequila!

I also had some frozen mole sauce, so I thawed some of that, as well as frozen, cooked turkey, and I made a few tacos with that. And I didn't have any crema, so I used something that I've seen Bayless use in place of sour cream or crema - Greek yogurt. And it was surprisingly good!

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OMG, I 'll be right over


Margarita Cake

Tequilla & Lime

Image

pepperhead212
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This wasn't my supper (that was more of that Thai curry!), but a seasoning I try to always keep in the fridge. Super easy way to add chipotle flavor to dishes.

I made another batch of Salsa Negra - the simplified one from Bayless, which uses canned chipotles, but I add a couple of moritas, to add more of that flavor. The original version is even more intense, and has a bunch of garlic, as well as moritas, fried briefly in oil, and ground to a paste with some piloncillo syrup. I'll be making some of that soon, too, as that's another one I try to keep in the fridge.
https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/salsa-negra/

ImageThe simplified version of salsa negra, by Rick Bayless, just started out to cook down. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageSalsa negra, cooked down 48 min. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImagePint and about 1/3 c of finished salsa negra. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

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Today is National Tequila Day! So I had to make some Mexican food. I was going to grill something, originally, but the humidity was oppressive, so I did not spend much time outside today.

I made some guacamole, as sort of a late breakfast/early lunch, but saved half of it for later.

I made almost the same thing I made a while back - some eggplant and chorizo in chipotle sauce, but I added some cremini, that I had in the fridge. The eggplant I dried some in the microwave, and the cremini and chorizo I cooked in advance, and mixed everything to heat together after the sauce cooked down. The guacamole I ate the rest of while I was fixing everything else, and the margarita I had as dessert - I don't like drinking those kind of things when using knives! :eek:
ImageChipotle sauce, cooking down. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageMixing the cooked eggplant, cremini, and chorizo with the chipotle sauce, just to heat up. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageFinished taco - eggplant, cremini, and chorizo, in chipotle sauce. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

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That salsa negra looks like Mole!

I have the Rick Bayless cookbook. Need to take another look through those recipes again.
Recently added some others to my booklist.

Been making homemade salsa with roasted jalapenos, onions, tomatoes and garlic.
I don't roast the tomatoes, I use fire roasted from the can.

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Webmaster, That salsa negra doesn't have nearly as many ingredients as moles do, but is cooked down quickly, like mole, to intensify the flavors. But that's how it's left, to use as a seasoning paste. In fact, I used a small amount of it in the dish tonight, though I still added more moritas, for that smoky flavor.

Which of Bayless's books do you have? I have 6 or 7 of them, and my favorite of all is Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen , which has that original Salsa Negra in it, as well as many other fantastic recipes.

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I have Mexico: One Plate at a Time

Just saw the mole recipe above the salsa negra. Thanks for sharing!

I've long wanted to make mole.

pepperhead212
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One thing I remember about that book is that all of the dishes with chipotle used canned chipotle, and I usually added a dried morita or meco, to add some more smoke flavor. Here are some of the best recipes I tried from One Plate At A Time (I always add notes in the margins in my CBs!)

Melted Cheese Casserole with Mexican Sausage and Roasted Chiles

Cheese and Mushroom Quesadillas

Griddle Baked Squash Blossom Quesadillas (something I'll have to make soon!)

Spicy Chipotle Pork Tacos with Sun Dried Tomato Salsa

Chipotle Chicken Salad Tacos

Red Pork and Hominy Stew

Rice with Roasted Poblano, Spinach, and Fresh Cheese

Smoky Chipotle Beans with Wilted Spinach and Masa Gnocchi (I used chard)

Chicken in Easy Green Pumpkin Sauce

Quick Fried Shrimp With Sweet Toasty Garlic

I can't even tell you how many I've tried in Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen! I do remember that there are about a dozen Mole recipes in there! And a bunch of salsas, including some good tomatillo salsas, plus his original Salsa Negra, using moritas and garlic, fried in oil, before blending, then cooking down to a paste. That is used in a delicious recipe - Shrimp in Chipotle Sauce - that I have made countless times.

You can sort of tell I'm obsessed with Mexican cooking!

pepperhead212
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The owner of the Mexican grocery/restaurant in town, that I give my extra chiles and red epazote to, gave me some delicious corn tortillas when I was in there Thursday. He told me that they were made with nixtamal, not the masa harina, like the usual ones are made with. Though the usual corn tortillas are delicious, these were even better. I made one simple filling with the squash blossoms I harvested yesterday - just some chopped up onion, green superchiles, and tomatoes, sautéed in some olive oil in that order. And I made another filling with okra and eggplant, with a chipotle sauce, made with some grilled tomatoes, garlic, and onion, blended smooth with the moritas, and cooked in the Instant Pot. Both were delicious, but the new tortillas were definitely the best.
ImageTortillas, made with nixtamal, instead of masa harina. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageTaco filling, with squash blossoms, onion, tomato, and green chiles. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Looking at this photo I can see that at least one piece of squash blossom got into this batch of filling.
ImageOkra, eggplant, and chipotle taco filling by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageTacos made on the old corn tortillas, with queso fresco. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageTacos made with new tortillas, made with nixtamal. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

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Gary350
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webmaster wrote:
Sat Jul 25, 2020 9:16 am
Just saw the mole recipe above the salsa negra. Thanks for sharing!
WHERE is the mole recipe I don't see it?

I have bought mole sauce but it is so HOT 1/2 teaspoon is just nothing but FIRE HOT. 1/2 teaspoon is too small to add flavor to a whole dinner.

pepperhead212
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This is why it's best to make mole yourself! You just don't know what chiles are in anything you buy, and if you can only put a half tsp in a dish, it sounds like some really hot peppers, which moles don't normally have.

Here's one of Bayless's mole recipes. There are more here in Frontera.
https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/chic ... -red-mole/

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Gary350
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I only had enough New Mexico chili peppers & tomatoes to make 1 cup of mole sauce. Wife did not want 1 Jalapeno pepper in the recipe so I left it out. We made 6 Enchiladas 1 cup of sauce was barely enough sauce to pour over top but no sauce inside with meat. More sauce inside will be better. I topped my first Enchilada with lettuce then topped second Enchilada with sour cream and lettuce. I liked it, wife likes original Enchilada sauce better.
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Gary350
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Enchilada Sauce with Tomatoes

1 quart of puree red chilie peppers with no seeds & no stems. You choice how spicy hot peppers are.

1 quart of tomatoes pulp & skins with no seeds or juice.

1 large yellow or brown onion.

9 large cloves of garlic

1 T of oregano

1 tsp cumin

3 T sugar

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 T corn Starch

1 T butter.

8 ounces of Philadelphia cream cheese

Put, red chilies, tomatoes, onion, garlic, in pan of boiling water for 5 minutes. Turn off heat wait 1 hour then pour out the water. Remove seeds and stems from chilies. Remove seeds from tomatoes. Puree everything in blender or food processor. Put all other items in the blender mix well. Cook in large skillet until sauce boils and becomes thicker. Sugar is only to reduce bitter flavor of the chili pepper only add what is required. Salt to taste.

Cook 1 lb of ground meat of your choice with 1 large onion diced & 5 garlic cloves diced. Mix about 1 cup enchilada sauce with meat then mix in 8 ounces of Philadelphia cream cheese. Spoon equal amounts onto 10 tortilla shells all 10" diameter each. Sprinkle with sharp cheddar cheese. Roll into enchilada shapes then place on a cooking tray. Pour enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, top with more cheese.

Bake in oven 350 degrees about 15 minutes until cheese melts.
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Gary350
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Taco Lunch

We bought 1 lb of ground pork & cooked it in the skillet with 1 large onion and 10 garlic cloves, 3 big tablespoons of our home made red chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp salt. It looks like cooked ground beef but its pork chili power makes it red color. After I added 8 oz of Philadelphia cream cheese the white cheese made the red meat sauce pink color.

Put a 10" soft taco shell in cast iron skillet on medium heat, sprinkle on cheese. After cheese melts spoon on the meat. I put on 5 slices of jalapeno peppers then lettuce & home made taco sauce.

I like the big 10" soft shells I load them with all the lettuce they will hold. I call these, lettuce salad tacos. I was hungry so I ate 2 tacos an I am over stuffed. Oh well lettuce is 99% water I won't be over stuffed very long.

Pork flavor taste better than beef when cooked like this. When I lived in AZ Mexican restaurants served beef & chicken because that is what Americans want. Mexican people eat pork & chicken at home.
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Gary350
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Authentic Mexican Breakfast. Some families cook with lots of eggs I think it is a quick, easy, low cost, way to add protein. On the left is refried beans with Pinto beans that were mashed but still have several whole beans in it. Center is Tamale Pie. Right side green Tomatillo sauce. I think the correct way to do the egg is put raw eggs on top then bake in oven to cook egg and melt cheese. I have lots of garden peppers, green & red, to spice it up very good. This turned out very GOOD but a little more food than I normally eat for breakfast. I think best way to do this is cook everything in the evening enough for several breakfasts then keep it in refrigerator until morning. Spoon what I want onto the plate then bake it in oven. I like lettuce, lot of lettuce, when we moved to Arizona 1958 Mexican food restaurants all covered the food with lettuce it looked like a salad but no restaurants do that anymore. Under all that lettuce is your Mexican food dinner. That is how I like to cook at home but if I cover it with lettuce photo makes it look like lettuce salad not Mexican food.
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imafan26
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So, do you use the lettuce like a wrap?

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Gary350
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imafan26 wrote:
Wed Oct 07, 2020 12:50 am
So, do you use the lettuce like a wrap?
I cut lettuce like this. Wife cooked meat with 1 large onion and 12 garlic chopped in food processor. Stir 3 tablespoons chili power into the meat it is ready to eat.
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imafan26
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O.k., so the lettuce goes inside of the tortilla wrap. That makes sense.

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What kind of lettuce is that? Looks like a cabbage.

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Gary350
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Vanisle_BC wrote:
Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:20 pm
What kind of lettuce is that? Looks like a cabbage.
I have been wanting to try Savoy cabbage so I did and it is good. I often use Napa cabbage as ice berg lettuce it is very good. I think I like Napa better than Savoy but who knows how old this Savoy cabbage really is, they often take a week to get from field to grocery store then it could be in store another week before someone takes it home. Savoy is a little tough to chew, how much flavor does 2 week old cabbage loose? Online info several places says, savoy cabbage has much better flavor than other cabbage fresh picked from the garden.

pepperhead212
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I thought that looked like strage iceberg, too! lol I like savoy better in a lot of things, like soups, and it seems to cook better, not getting a raunchy flavor the regular cabbage gets in longer cooked dishes. And napa is great in a lot of things; unfortunately, something is eating mine up this season - I'm only able to grow it, and a lot of things, covered.

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I can never get those Chinese cabbages to head in the garden. But I have thought the grocery store Napas keep longer than the other types.



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