Muchos Gracias!

Matet and I have many friends who live on the border with Mexico, and many of them are avid readers of my culinary adventures. So I thought of making a surprise Mexican theme this weekend. It turned out to be a total success. So much so, that I am quite confident I deserve a genuine Mexican sombrero. We had a couple really fun and super spicy Mexican dishes. The kind that makes you run to the kitchen to grab something to drink, or gives you a runny nose, or bring tears to your eyes. It's a good thing we had a huge can of ice cream in the freezer. That certainly helped restore our insides to some balance :)

So this Saturday's dishes were:

Dish # 1 - Orange Salad

Serves 5 Time to Prepare 15 min

1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch white sugar
1 pinch ground white pepper
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
2 heads butter lettuce - rinsed, and torn
1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
5 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the dressing by whisking together the sour cream, mayonnaise, milk, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, white pepper and cayenne pepper. Store in an air-tight container and refrigerate.
Prepare the salad in a large bowl by combining the lettuce, onion, oranges and mushrooms. Add enough dressing to coat and toss. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add croutons if desired.

My experience: For some strange reason, we did not find any mandarins at the supermarket this week, so I used regular oranges instead. It was an easy to make salad, although I think I put a little too much garlic.
Our verdict: The mushrooms and oranges blended well with the lettuce, and the dressing was really tasty.

Dish # 2 - Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 15 min Cooking Time 40 min

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/3 (1 pound) package frozen pepper and onion stir fry mix
2/3 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/3 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chili peppers, drained
1-1/3 (14 ounce) cans vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 (11 ounce) can whole kernel corn
1/4 pound tortilla chips
1/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/3 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the pepper and onion stir fry mix, garlic, and cumin, and cook 5 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Mix in the tomatoes and chile peppers. Pour in the broth, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes.
Mix corn into the soup, and continue cooking 5 minutes. Serve in bowls over equal amounts of tortilla chips. Top with cheese and avocado.

My experience: This was a great soup. I put jalapeno pepper instead of green chili peppers, and added a bit more cumin. So the outcome was super hot. Still, it is a fantastic recipe. I will do it again some time in the future.
Our verdict: Melted tortilla chips, avocado and cheese give this soup a really nice texture and taste. Very good!

Dish # 3 - Zippy Ground Beef Skillet

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 15 min Cooking Time 10 min

1/4 pound uncooked small tube pasta
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons diced onion
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons diced green pepper
1/2 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1-1/2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup reduced fat sour cream

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook the beef, onion and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the tomatoes, jalapenos, honey, chili powder and salt. Reduce heat to low; cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta; add to beef mixture. Add sour cream; cook and stir until heated through (do not boil). Serve with rice or as is.

My experience: Super-delicious! All the ingredients came together very nicely. Wow! I'm speechless! This recipe makes me fall in love with Mexican food.
Our verdict: This is a winner! We will be eating this many times in the future.

Dish # 4 - Orange Banana Shake

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 5 min

1 banana
2 oranges, peeled and seeded
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup vanilla ice cream

In a blender, combine banana, oranges, milk and ice cream. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

My experience: Well, shakes are failure-proof. So there is no way you will go wrong with them. For this particular shake, give some extra time to blend the thin orange skins.
Our verdict: Healthy and tasty. A nice way to finish off the day.

Muchos gracias mi amigos! Adios!