Mexican Recipes

The recipe today is from my new friend, Lisa Gonzales. We ate with them a few Sundays ago. They said they were making nachos and we thought we were having chips with some cheese on them but boy were we in for a pleasant surprise! My family all said they felt like they were at a Mexican restaurant! It was delicious! At first Lisa sent the basic outline of what we had but then I explained to her that I didn't know how to make Spanish rice and I wanted to know how she got her refried beans to taste that way. So she wrote back and shared recipes- except the secret family salsa recipe ( sad for us because that salsa was very good) Thanks for sharing Lisa.

Nachos

Bag of corn chips (or if you have a group like mine several bags)We call these chips Tortilla chips
chicken ( or any other meat such as ground beef flavored with taco season, or shredded beef)
refried beans
Spanish rice
nacho cheese


toppings:
guacamole
sour cream
salsa
sliced olives
diced tomatoes


Spanish rice

Using the same 2 to 1 ratio as white rice, this is the basic measurements I use to feed my family with a little extra for leftovers ( Lisa has 5 children )

2 cups white rice
4 cups water
1 1/2 Tbsp. powdered chicken bullion
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 of a 8 oz can of tomato sauce ( or more if you like the tomato flavor stronger, a full can is good too!)

With about 1 Tbsp. of oil, brown rice to light golden brown, all of the rice does not have to be browned, but the majority of it. Add your water and seasonings and stir well. Cover and bring to a boil and turn heat down to a low simmer until all water had dissolved into rice. Let sit about 5 min before serving.


Refried beans

I like to use both pinto and white northern beans half and half using about 3 cups of beans and twice the amount of water.

Wash and rinse beans and boil until tender about three hours. Usually if I have it on hand I like to use rendered bacon grease for a lot of flavor. If I do not have that I will use lard or any other oil I have on hand. Bacon lard gives the best flavor. Using enough oil to cover the bottom of your frying pan about 1/8 of an inch deep, getting it nice and hot add 2 chopped green onions and let your onion brown. Pull out onion and add your beans with some of the bean juice, very carefully because it does splatter pretty good! Add your salt, a little garlic salt is good too, stir beans letting them cook for about 4 to 5 min. Begin smashing beans adding some more bean juice to get your beans to your desired consistency. I add my salt to taste, sometimes your bacon grease can be salty already so taste as you go before you add more! For nachos these beans are done, for a side dish with a meal add some shredded cheddar cheese and stir into beans and add a little more to the top to melt.

Whenever I make my meats for Nachos I usually slow cook either chicken or beef in the slow cooker all day and season it with what ever I have on hand. For the chicken I like to use a fajita seasoning that has everything already in it. For my beef, I like to throw in a bell pepper, onion, bay leaf, about 3 garlic cloves, salt and about 2 Tbsp of chili powder and enough water to cover a my meat about a quarter of the way. All of this taste just as good with the chicken also. For about 1 1/2 lbs ground beef I brown with diced onion, and then season with about 2Tbls of cumin, 1 Tbsp of chili powder, garlic salt and pepper and squirt half of a lemon into the cooked and seasoned meat.


Guacamole

3 ripe avocados
1 1/2 cups of sour cream
Garlic salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl place your avocado and sour cream together and using a potato masher , mash together and season to taste!

On Sunday I used store bought Tostedo nacho cheese sauce ( medium)

For homemade cheese sauce I will have to make and note the amounts of ingredients and then I can submit that recipe. I have learned to cook like my dad! He never measures. It makes for an interesting meal sometimes. The salsa is a family recipe and I can not give that out, but I love to make it for whoever enjoys it!!


This meal is great for gatherings because everyone can make it to their liking!!