Chipotle Battered Fish Tacos

It has been rainy and cold and dreary here for the past few days so I whipped up this delicious summery treat to remind me of sunny days. It is absolutely delicious, from the spicy chipotle echoed in the batter and the dressing to the soft homemade tortillas to the refreshing salsa. 

What You'll Need:

(serves 2)

2 tilapia fillets (or other white fish)

3/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 chipotle bullion cubes
3/4 cup water

2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp olive oil 

mango salsa

avocado slices

chipotle ranch

flour tortillas

What To Do:

Rinse and pat dry the fish fillets. Cut into strips. Prepare batter my mixing together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, salt and chipotle cubes. Slowly mix in water, careful to avoid any lumps. 

Heat butter and oil in skillet over medium heat. Dip fish strips into batter and carefully place in pan, cooking one minute or until brown on each side. Remove from pan and allow the fish to rest on paper towels to drain oil. 

Layer tacos with flour tortillas, fish, mango salsa, avocado slices and chipotle ranch. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from here. 

Pan Seared Chicken with Jalapeno Cream Sauce

There are a couple of things that I always have in the freezer. One of those is boneless skinless chicken breasts. I love how I can buy them in bulk, how versatile they are, and how quickly they defrost. 

However, sometimes chicken can get old. It doesn't sound as appealing as, oh, going out for Torchy's Tacos or Texas Roadhouse. 

Well, this sauce is a game changer. It's spicy and a little sweet and so creamy. And I think it makes the world go round. If you devein the peppers, it's a very mild sauce so leave those in if you like a little kick.

We served it with brown rice and steamed broccoli, but it would be delicious with an avocado salad, quinoa, or potatoes as well! 

What You'll Need:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon flour (any kind will do, I used whole wheat)
• 1/4 cup low-fat or skim milk
• 1 12-ounce can fat-free evaporated milk
• 2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese

What To Do:

Add chopped jalapenos, shallots and garlic to a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped (not pureed). Set aside.

Tenderize chicken breasts if desired and pat completely dry with paper towels. Season on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon canola oil. Once the oil is hot, add chicken breasts (make sure they are completely dry) and cook for about 8-10 minutes per side, until each side is caramelized and golden. If needed, use the remaining canola oil when flipping the chicken.

While the chicken is cooking, heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add butter. Once sizzling, add in the chopped jalapeno mixture, stirring to coat, and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once fragrant (do NOT put your face directly over the jalapenos!), whisk in flour and stir continuously to create a roux. Cook mixture for 1-2 minutes, then add in milks, reducing the heat to medium-low. Continue to stir continuously until mixture begins to thicken (about 6-8 minutes), adding in parmesan cheese and reducing the heat even more. Once the desired thickness has been reached, turn off heat. Stir every so often – it may thicken even more while sitting – and you can add additional milk to thin it out if needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.

Serve chicken over rice, vegetables or pasta and top with jalapeno cream. 

recipe from How Sweet Eats

new favorite recipe source.

Check her out!

Grilled Fish Tacos with Mango Cucumber Salsa and Chipotle Crema

These tacos were fresh, delicious and healthy.

Plus they're very quick to prepare! I spent the majority of prep time dicing produce.

I also didn't use a recipe... hooray! 

But that also may mean my measurements are a leetle bit off.
The salsa is a perfect balance of sweet, spicy and refreshing.

What You'll Need:

Serves 2

for fish:

2 med-large tilapia fillets 

for salsa:

2 mangos, diced 

1 limes 

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro, divided in two

1/2 large jalapeno, diced 

1/2 cucumber, diced

black pepper to taste

for crema:

1 chipotle in adobo sauce

2 tbsp reserved adobo sauce

1/2 cup buttermilk 

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 lime

1 tbsp sugar 

warmed tortillas (I prefer the uncooked flour tortillas that you warm on the stove)

avocado, sliced 

black beans

What To Do:

Dice your mango, onion, 1/4 cup cilantro, cucumber and jalapeno into very small pieces. If you've never diced a mango before, watch this video first! 

In a separate bowl, combine mango, cucumber, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and the juice from one lime. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

In a food processor, combine chipotle, adobo sauce, buttermilk, mayo, sour cream, garlic, remaining cilantro, juice from 1 lime, and sugar. If you'd like a thinner consistency, add more buttermilk and/or less mayo and sour cream. 

Salt and pepper fish fillets. Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side or until they are white and flake with a fork. 

Serve each taco in a warm tortilla with 1/2 fish fillet, scoop of salsa, chipotle cream, and a slice of avocado. Serve with black beans and tortilla chips.

The salsa is also great with tortilla chips, and the chipotle crema is perfect for salads!

I warn you... I'm kind of a wimp but I thought the crema was preeetty spicy. If you're not a big fan of hotness, you might add half a chipotle first!

Beans a la Charra

I'm submerged in Hispanic culture a lot of the time

<3

And let me tell you, it's improved my accent 

on my poorly spoken Spanish

and definitely increased my awareness of and

 cravings for delicious Hispanic foods!

Fajitas

Enchiladas

Botanas 

(only in the Valley- can someone in Austin PLEASE make these?!)

Tamales

Tacos 

Carne Guisada

and the list goes on and on...

But a staple to go with any dish

is a good pot of beans

I used to be satisfied with canned refried beans

but as part of my goal to not used as many processed foods

and because these are just SO much better

I attempted this recipe. 

Besides the bacon/salt pork, the ingredients are super cheap

and the final product is very filling!

What You'll Need:
1 pound of pinto beans (2 cups)
1/4 tablespoons of minced garlic (3 large cloves)
1 cup diced onion (1/2 of a medium-sized onion)
1/4 cup of jalapeno juice (from canned jalapenos)
1/4 pound of salt pork (near the bacon at the grocery store)
Salt to taste

4 slices of bacon, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 cups fresh chopped tomatoes or one 14 oz. canned, diced tomatoes with sauce
3 jalapenos, chopped
2 chipotles in adobo, chopped
1 cup of chopped cilantro 

What To Do:
1. Rinse and sort your beans
2. First soak the beans. You can either cover the beans with one inch of water and soak overnight or bring water to a boil, remove from heat and cover for one hour. (I did the quick soak and they still turned out fine!)
3. Drain the beans and cover with seven cups of fresh water.
4. Add to the pot the garlic, onion, jalapeno juice and salt pork.
5. Bring pot to a boil and then cover and reduce heat to a simmer, stir occasionally.
6. After about an hour, remove the salt pork and begin prepping the other ingredients.
7. Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp.
8. Add tomatoes, jalapenos, chipotles and cilantro to the skillet, and cook on medium for 10 minutes.
9. Let tomato-bacon mixture cool, add one cup of bean juice (or water) and then puree.
10. Stir puree into beans and let simmer together for 20 minutes.
11. Alternatively, if you prefer a chunkier texture, you could skip the puree step and add the tomato-bacon mixture straight to the bean pot. (I definitely prefer the chunkier version 

And that's it! 

Really, the longer you simmer these, the better they are. 

And they make excellent leftovers!

From Homesick Texan

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Perfect for Game Day. 

Or gatherings of friends and family.

Or bridal or baby showers. 

Pretty much, just make up an excuse to make this dip.

There's nothing healthy about it, unless you serve it with celery or something. It tastes like a jalapeno inside out and is pretty much irresistible (as long as you like peppers!).

The best part is that it's super easy to make.

Here's what you do:

Take two 8 oz packages of cream cheese (I used the reduced fat version to make myself feel better)

Add 1 cup of mayo, 1 4oz can of chopped jalapenos (drained), 1 4 oz can of chopped green chilies (drained), and 1 cup of your favorite shredded cheese. I used a Mexican blend but you could use any combination of cheddar, colby jack, mozzarella, or whatever you like.  And maybe add in some Parmesan cheese for good measure.

Then, mix it all up with a spoon or spatula. It will take a little effort to break up the cream cheese. This may be a good time to take out your frustrations.

Just don't scare the small children in the 

church building while you're doing this.

Spread it in a baking dish. Mmmm. 

 In a separate bowl, mix together 1 cup of Panko bread crumbs and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese

Sprinkle the bread crumb topping over the mixture and spray lightly with cooking spray

Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on top and bubbly. 

I would suggest serving with Pita Chips but I could not find any at HEB. So I served it with Kettle Cooked Potato Chips and Frito's. It would also be good with carrot sticks, celery, cherry tomatoes baguette slices. 

Enjoy!

(Yes I realize that hand looks gross. But I served the food to real people because I made this in my real life, and not just for the blog. Kthanks!)

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats