Tag Archives: salsa

Tortilla Casserole

18 Dec

I work from home quite a lot… and half the time, by the time I get hungry I am too hungry to prepare something to eat.  So I usually have a fridge full of delicious stuff to cook and I end up having a boiled potato or a sandwich for lunch.  I just can’t spend 30-40 minutes cooking something right in the middle of a work day.

I had a bunch of tortillas I had bought to experiment with a few Mexican dishes I learned in Mexico and got tired of seeing them in the fridge, so I searched several recipes and found a few interesting ones, but of course all included some kind of meat.  I had some left-over tofu-chón in my fridge and I decided to mix and match recipes to see what would work.

I liked one in particular because it needed to chill overnight before baking… I thought it was awesome for lunch because I could just pop into the toaster oven at about 11AM, leave it alone and by the time I would get hungry, it would be ready.  My kind of recipe… 

I am not certain if the overnight soak is essential, but I love that this is an easy assembly you can prepare while making another dish the night (or even a few nights) before.  It’ll be ready when you are…

 

TORTILLA CASSEROLE

7 corn tortillas, cut into ½” strips
6-7 slices of marinated tofu, sliced into small pieces – I used this tofu-chón recipe here
1/2 cup mild or medium salsa
1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ a packet of white button mushrooms, sliced (about 2 cups)
4oz sour cream
½ cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup of water, if needed

 

  1. Prepare the tofu… first you need to press the tofu for about 1 hour and marinate in the adobo mixture for about an extra 2-3 hours.  So I recommend you making this tofu ahead and save them in the fridge and have them ready for you when you want to make this recipe. 
  3. Add salsa, mushroom soup and onions to a medium bowl and stir to combine.  If you find it too thick, add the ¼ cup of water in small increments to avoid making it too watery.  Set aside. 
  4. Now mix together the sour cream and yogurt in a separate bowl.  Set aside too.
  5. Spread 1/2 cup of the salsa mixture in bottom of a medium baking dish that can fit into your toaster oven. Place half of the tortilla strips in an even layer over salsa mixture
  7. Followed by half of the tofu, half of the mushrooms, half of the remaining salsa mixture, half of the sour cream/yogurt mixture, and half of the remaining cheese. Repeat process with remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  10. Uncover and transfer baking dish to a 300F degree oven. Bake until casserole is heated through and cheese is melted ad golden brown on top, about 1 hour.

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Cielito Lindo

14 Dec

After my trip to Guadalajara recently, I was in a very Mexican vibe…  I wanted to eat over and over again the flavors of Mexico I had just experienced.

Now during the Holidays, if you want to enjoy a “dip” or appetizer with a Mexican influence, you can prepare a Cielito Lindo.  I’ve heard people called this a 7-layer dip.  But in Puerto Rico we call it a Cielito Lindo… maybe because we’re not tied to a specific amount of layers of ingredients.  And what’s cool about this, you can construct the layers as you prefer, including everything you love or deleting anything you don’t.  I personally do not like refried beans, so I never include them, but if they’re your “thing”, go ahead and add a layer of them.

I made this version in a large ramekin, but you can adjust the quantities to fit the larger plate or tray you want to use.

CIELITO LINDO

4 oz of cream cheese, room temperature
2 tbs of your favorite Mexican salsa
½ cup of shredded cheddar – mixture of white and orange works great
¼ cup of shredded lettuce
¼ cup of tomatoes, chopped finely
1 tbs sour cream
Whole grain corn tortilla chips to accompany

 

This is more an assembly dish than a recipe…

  1. First, spread a layer of the softened cream cheese. 
  3. Then spread the salsa on top of the cream cheese. 
  5. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese on top of salsa.
  7. Place a layer of the lettuce and the tomatoes on top of that.
  9. Sprinkle the rest of the shredded cheese and top with a dollop of sour cream.

Enjoy with your favorite whole-grain corn chips…

 

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Stewed Peas

23 Jun

Beans and peas are an acquired taste to me…  and it’s kind of weird because now that I am vegetarian I’ve had to learn to eat these to integrate some variety into my diet.  I would eat some petit pois as part of a paella or an arroz con pollo in my former non-vegetarian life, but I would never eat peas or beans over rice, for example, something that is sooooooo Latin. 

One of the best surprises is sweet peas.  I really like them now.  They are super sweet and delicious.   So the other day I was looking to repurpose a Mexican Salsa I had made which tasted me too much like a sofrito.  And I found that stewing some sweet peas in it was a great way to reuse the salsa and gave the peas the right amount of sauce to moisten the brown rice.  Add some sweet baked plantains (plátanos maduros) and you’re all set.

 

 

 

STEWED PEAS

1/2 cup Mexican Salsa – try this recipe, because I am not sure how this would turn out if you use Salsa from a jar
3/4 cup frozen sweet peas
1 tbs olive oil
Kosher salt, to re-season if necessary

 

  1. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add the salsa.  Cook until you start seeing the tomatoes and onions start of get soft and translucent.
  2. Add the frozen peas.  No need to thaw them at all.  The heat from the pan will do it for you.
  3. Cook for about 10 minutes until the peas get a really pretty bright green color and the sauce looks cooked.

 

Serve over rice or use as a filling for a pastelón or lasagna…  I also have added some toasted almonds for the added protein and it tasted awesome.  Trust me…

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Corn Tostada Stacks

6 May

With the celebration of 5 de Mayo, I’ve been feeling like I should indulge in some Mexican food.

I bought a stack of white corn tortillas.  This stack is a testament of the size of typical Mexican families, because this will definitely last me for weeks, if not months.  This stack is huge!!!!  I have not counted them, but my guess is it has about 40-50 corn tortillas.  We need to start using them in multiples…

Inspired by a Simply Delicioso show I saw on the Food Network, I decided to create a stack of these tortillas, that when fried, they are magically transformed into Tostadas.

This is what I did…

 

 

CORN TOSTADA STACKS

2 white corn tortillas
1 potato, boiled
1 tbs cream cheese
½ onion, sliced
½ green bell pepper, sliced
1 garlic clove, grated
2-3 tbs Mexican salsa
2 lettuce leaves – I used romaine , washed well and sliced thinly
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tbs canola oil, to fry the tortillas
1 tbs sour cream, to garnish on top

 

  1. In a small skillet, heat the oil at medium high heat.   When the oil is smoking hot, fry one tortilla at a time.  They’ll take about 2-3 minutes on each side, until the tortilla is slightly golden and crispy.  Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt as they come out of the skillet.
  2. While you’re frying these tortillas, mash the boiled potato with the cream cheese and a bit of salt.  If you find the potato too stiff, add a tab bit of olive oil to soften.  Set aside.
  3. After you’ve finished frying the tortillas, sauté the onions and peppers in the same skillet.  Why dirty another pot?  Add some salt and pepper to season and to soften.  Add the grated garlic clove to season.  When the onion/peppers are soft take them away from the heat and set aside.

Now we assemble…

4.  Place one tostada on the bottom of your plate.  Spread the mashed potato mixture, spoon some salsa, spoon the onions and peppers, sprinkle the shredded lettuce and top off with the tostada you have left.

5.  Spoon some extra salsa on top and garnish with some sour cream…  I did not have any on hand when I did this, so that’s why it’s missing from the picture.  But I know it will add something good and delicious to the mix.

 

I am sure you can continue adding layers of goodness to this… how about a layer of corn and bean salsa or some fresh tomatoes, or even some saucy stewed soy protein (so it looks like ground beef)…  the possibilities are endless.

¡Viva México Lindo y Querido!

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