0 Cilantro Sour Cream Dip and Tostadas

We have been having a lot of conversations lately in our house about whether foods are finger foods or fork foods.  My 12 year old is the chief offender of eating with his hands.  In his defense, he is a great eater and his messy eating struggles really have to do with the passion with which he eats his food! (He comes by this passion honestly.)  He wants to get more in a bite than the fork sometimes can capture.  We occasionally joke about sending our family to manners classes or Cotillion… but we are not really serious about this.   We just remind them, when necessary, that "this is a fork food", or "put your other hand in your lap while you are eating to keep it out of the food".  I tell my son that, perhaps he just lives in the wrong country. "In India they eat with their hands as a normal custom.  They scoop the food with Naan and use their hands as their main utensils.  It is culturally appropriate." He nods. "In India."

A favorite meal lately in our house has been Tostadas.  People define them differently, but basically- in our home - they are a flat, open faced taco pile.  I don't know if you make them, but I like that they are a change of pace from soft tacos and burritos and yet a lot easier to fill and eat than hard shell tacos. AND they can be eaten with your hands (forks are optional).

They are so delicious, quick and made-to-order!  We made them with leftover rotisserie chicken and refried beans last week.

We make them by putting the meat or beans on a flat taco shell and top with shredded cheese

and warm on a baking sheet in the oven for a few minutes until it's warm and the cheese is melted.  

Guacamole- [My favorite way to whip up some guac is: 2 ripe avocados, smashed; 2 cloves of minced garlic; the juice of one lime; a sprinkle of coarse salt; and a large spoonful of salsa (whatever is nearby). Stir and eat. YUMMY!]

 

Then we remove it from the oven, place on plates, and top with lettuce, tomato, sour cream and guacamole.  

We typically use tostada shells that you buy in a bag (or a box) at the grocery, though sometimes we bake tortillas for a few minutes to crisp them up and use them when we don't have hard shells.  I have never fried tortillas to make my own tostada shells (because a large motivation for me to make this meal is the EASE of it), but you could.

And to add some excitement to the meal you need to try this dip!

A few weeks ago, at the Social Work department Chili supper that I wrote about, my student Bryan brought this delicious dip to share! He had asked me at class earlier in the week if the students were to bring anything.  I told him that he was free to bring anything if he wanted to, but nothing was required, or expected.  He brought a bowl of this dip and we were glad he did!

It's tangy, creamy and so flavorful.  You can alter the amount of kick it has to your liking.

It's similar to Chuy's Creamy Jalapeño dip, if you have ever had it (just a little thicker).

Cilantro Sour Cream Dip

16 oz. sour cream
1 jalapeno
1 bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
1/2 package of dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
juice of 1 lime

Seed and chop the jalapeños (You can leave in just a bit of the seeds and membrane if you like the dip to be spicier.)
Wash and trim the cilantro of thick or long sections of stem.
Chop garlic cloves
Juice lime
In a food processor or blender, add all of the ingredients.  Pulse till it is a soft and creamy constancy.
Serve with chips, on tacos, as a mexican taco salad dressing.  


Enjoy!

P.S. I asked my son's permission to write about this "eating fork food with hands situation" on my blog. He said,  "well, it's true, so yes, you have my permission". 

Detail: Cilantro Sour Cream Dip and Tostadas

0 Mexican Layer Dip- A Party Food Where The Party Is Optional

Do you love Mexican Layer Dip as much as I do?  Tell me you've had it.  It's one of my favorite party foods to make (and eat). It is always a crowd-pleaser.  You can add or delete anything you like.  I put cilantro, mostly because it's so fresh and pretty, but you can omit it.  I didn't put olives, though some people include them.  I was afraid the non-olive people would be turned off.

 In deciding what to blog about this week,  I was looking through photos of food I have made and kept coming back to the photos of the Mexican Layer Dip.  It's so yummy! It's a shame that it is a party food, since I don't have any parties to cook for this week and instead I have family dinners I need to be cooking every night!    

The more I think about it and the longer I look at these photos, the more I'm tempted to make this for dinner this week – served with chips and warm tortillas. And we can scoop up the dip and make a meal out of it.  

Who says Thursday night family dinner can't be a party, right?   

Mexican Layer Dip

2 cans refried beans

cumin, garlic powder & hot sauce

16 oz. container of sour cream

guacamole (bought or homemade)

1 cup grated cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, colby-jack)

lettuce- shredded

diced tomatoes

cilantro leaves

Warm beans in a skillet on the stove top.  Add 2 tsp. ground cumin, ½ tsp. garlic powder and a couple of dashes of hot sauce.

 Stir together and warm until thoroughly heated. Spread on platter. Smooth until even. 

Spread sour cream on top, leaving an edge to reveal the beans underneath, and then guacamole

Continue to layer with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and cilantro.

Serve immediately (or keep covered in refrigerator until time to serve).  Serve
the day you make it. 

Detail: Mexican Layer Dip- A Party Food Where The Party Is Optional

0 Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas & Red Rice

Dave has been hounding me to post about Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas for some time now. It is one of his very favorite main dishes. The first time we had this was with our friends the Sadlers. They made it for us when we came over for dinner one night when we were newly married.  It is a keeper.  I like it a lot, but I must say that men love this dish the most.  In fact, I once had a friend tell me (after I took a meal to their family when they had a baby) that he would have another child to get to have this meal brought to his house again.  I told him this was extreme, and that a new baby is not a prerequisite for me to make this meal.

That being said, I think it is a good main dish to take to friends who have a new baby (or other meal-bringing occasions).  I usually make a batch of homemade salsa, and some yummy dessert and have a fiesta-on-the-go!

 

The recipe is called Enchiladas… though I think of enchiladas as being corn tortillas and these are flour.  But maybe the “enchilda-ness” is the sauce that covers them. (That’s just an internal conflict I’ve had about this dish.) There are much more sophisticated enchilada recipes out there that you might choose, but this one is simple goodness.

However, you can use this recipe as a foundation and tweak as you like.  You can spice it up, if you like spicy, by adding peppers, hot sauce or spicy Rotel.  You can top with salsa verde, if you love verde.  Sprinkle with cilantro, or squeeze a lime on it, and get gourmet!  You can grill veggies to add inside or even beans. I know, I'm getting wild here!

I used to boil the chicken for the recipe, but a few years ago I started roasting it, thanks to Ina Garten teaching me about the glory of roasted chicken breasts.  It is so easy and so much more flavorful. For this recipe, I baste chicken breasts with olive oil, and sprinkle with kosher salt, ground pepper and ground cumin.  If you are tight on time, you can use a Rotisserie Chicken OR if’s the week after Thanksgiving, and you have a surplus of turkey, you can use it!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

4 chicken breasts

a little olive oil

coarse salt, ground pepper & cumin

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups shredded mexican mixture cheese

1 can Rotel

8 oz. sour cream

tortillas

Pat chicken breasts with paper towel.  Coat lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and cumin.  Bake at 375˚ until fully cooked.  Tear into bite sized pieces.  

Put cream of chicken soup, most of the cheese, Rotel and sour cream into a bowl, microwave for a couple of minutes to warm together.  

Spray glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Asher joined me on the "assembly line"

Assemble enchiladas by smearing on some filling, a sprinkle of chicken and then rolling up.  Place seam side-down in the baking dish.  

Continue until you have used up all of your chicken.  MAKE SURE YOU RESERVE SOME OF THE FILLING FOR THE TOP! (I made the mistake once of using it all up on the inside).  

Pour left over sauce over enchiladas and top with the little reserved cheese. 

Bake at 250˚ for 20-30 minutes until warm and bubbly. 

This Red Rice is my favorite choice for savory rice to serve with Mexican food.  I have tried many of the boxed rices labeled “Mexican Rice” or “Spanish Rice”, but am usually disappointed.  This was in Everyday Food magazine a couple of years ago and has been a favorite ever since.  It only requires a few ingredients and is a tasty addition to a meal.

Red Rice (from Everyday Foods)
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
coarse salt and ground pepper

In medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to brown around edges, 6 minutes.  Add tomato paste and stir to combine.  Add rice, broth (or water), oregano, salt and pepper (to taste). Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover and cook until liquid is absorbed, 15 minutes.  Remove pan from heat and let rice sit, covered, 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and serve. 

"So, Dave, are you happy? Two years later and I finally posted your requested dish?" I asked him today.  He replied with, "YES! However, you might need some different photos, so we should make it again to get some better shots."

Detail: Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas & Red Rice