17 Cinco de Mayo Recipes

Turkey Chipotle Posole

Yeah, yeah, I am always late to the game. I always forget I have a bunch of recipes you can make for Cinco de Mayo. But heck, don’t let that stop you from making any of these recipes on any other day either! UPDATE: I can NOT get some of my links to work, so if you want to look at a recipe here without a link, please try the search box in the upper right corner. Sorry ’bout that!

Turkey Chipotle Posole (lead-in photo)

Marcos Pollo Tacos

Marcos Pollos Tacos

Chorizo and Beef Enchiladas with Cheesy Hatch Chile Sauce

Chorizo and Beef Enchiladas in Cheesy Hatch Chile Sauce

Mexican-Style Beef and Cabbage Soup

Mexican-Style Beef with Cabbage Soup

Hatch Chile Fire-Roasted Salsa

Hatch Chile Fire-Roasted Salsa

Chunky Guacamole Grilled Nachos with Chicken

Grilled Nachos with Chicken and Chunky Guacamole plus Grilled Mexican Tortilla Pizza

Chile Relleno Chicken Rollups

Chile Relleno Chicken Rollups

Skillet Huevos Rancheros with Homemade Tortilla Strips

Skillet Huevos Rancheros with Homemade Tortilla Strips

 

Chicken Enchilada Skillet

Chicken Enchilada Skillet

Chicken Chile Verde Posole

Chicken Chile Verde Posole

Authentic Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas with Chile Gravy

Authentic Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas with Chile Gravy

 

Large Batch Taco Mix

DIY Taco Mix (Large Batch)

Carnitas Tacos with Spicy Pickled Red Onions

Creamy Chicken Chili and Beans

Creamy Chicken Chili and Beans

Chicken Fideo Soup

Chicken Fideo Soup (Mexican Chicken Noodle Soup)

Black Bean, Potato, and Chorizo Soup

Black Bean, Potato, and Chorizo Soup

And last but not least!

Charro, or Borracho Beans

Cinco de Mayo Charro, or Burracho Beans

Happy Eating Y’all!

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Turkey Chipotle Posole

Turkey Chipotle Posole

As a lot of you know, I’m a spicy kind of gal, and I like spicy food. This posole, which is a traditional Mexican soup/stew, makes good use of leftover turkey or even chicken. I bought a deli-roasted turkey breast recently for a quick week-night dinner, but with the daughter not eating at home that night we were left with a bunch of leftover cooked turkey breast.

We had a cold snap, and what better thing to make in a cold snap is a nice spicy, warming stew? This ended up making more than I thought it would, but ate the rest for lunches.  Don’t scrimp on the toppings, as the cabbage, lime, and radishes really complete this. And you can always cut way back on the spices/chiles for a milder version.

After opening a few cans and a little chopping, dicing, and processing, this posole comes together in a snap all in one pot. I always freeze any leftover canned goods, clearly labeled, for future use. I can’t imagine ever using an entire can of chipotle peppers in a recipe unless I am feeding an army. And my local grocer only sells 30-ounce cans of hominy, which, after draining the liquid, yields about 2 cups of hominy. Hominy freezes well too.  Even if it’s already warm in your neck of the woods, do try this flavorful posole, if anything to warm your heart. Plus it also gives you good reason to open a bottle of Mexican beer to wash it down! UPDATE: A kind reader reminded me that Cinco de Mayo is coming up. So hey, why not make it for that day?!

Turkey Chipotle Posole

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 to 1 canned chipotle in adobo sauce (or less), diced fine
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons Ancho or Pasilla chile powder (or other or less)
2 cups cooked and shredded turkey or chicken
4 cups homemade or low sodium turkey or chicken broth
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 corn tortilla, processed fine
1 cup hominy, white or yellow is fine
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Ground black pepper and salt or Mrs. Dash, to taste
Shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, and lime wedges, for garnish

Puree, Peppers, and Hominy

Open up all those cans and chop/slice/dice all the veggies.

In a Dutch oven or soup pot, heat one tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the next 6 ingredients (through the chile powder), and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Spicy Veggie Base

Add the remaining ingredients except the garnishes, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes or until ready to eat.

Posole Ready to Simmer and Cover

Ladle into bowls, and garnish with fresh sliced cabbage, sliced radishes, and a lime wedge to squeeze into the stew. (Don’t forget the beer to wash it all down!)

Turkey Chipotle Posole

 

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

 

Cinco de Mayo Charro, or “Borracho” Beans

Charro, or Borracho Beans

I spent a good amount of time the other night cooking almost five pounds of burger and over a pound of ground turkey to make the taco filling for my employer’s Cinco de Mayo Taco Bar Potluck. For some insane reason, I also signed up to make some Charro beans for the potluck portion. The team I’m on pitches in all the taco makings (such as the taco meats I cooked), and since I’m on the organizing team I really didn’t have to do that. But I did. So there I was, all in a sweat after work, with four to five pots and pans cooking a variety of ingredients at the same time.  I posted this recipe over a year ago embedded within my Grilled Tri-Tip Steak recipe, so thought I’d dredge it back up for you so you can take a gander at it and see if this is something you would like to make for your own Cinco de Mayo fest! I tried to clarify my directions from a year ago, so I hope that helps.

This is a tried and true Tex-Mex recipe. These beans are served all over the Austin area, but I’ve found nary a restaurant serving this in my dinky Pacific Northwest town. In a nutshell, they are dried pinto beans cooked for a long time with a spicy tomato-chile mixture, along with bacon or some kind of pork. My version reduces the cooking time greatly by using a pressure cooker. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, increase the cooking time by several hours, adding water as needed. The difference between Charro beans and Borracho beans is that you add a bottle of Mexican beer to the the Charro beans. Borracho means “drunk” in Mexican, lol. Enjoy!

Cinco de Mayo Charro, or “Borracho” Beans

2 cups dried pinto beans, soaked overnight and rinsed
2 cups homemade or low salt chicken broth (or sub all water)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 slices cooked bacon, chopped (or 2 tablespoons bacon bits)
1 can Ro*Tel tomatoes (or diced tomatoes and green chiles)
Black pepper to taste
1 bottle or can of beer (preferably Mexican)
Large handful of cilantro, chopped, and more for garnish

Dried Pinto Beans (Soaked and Rinsed)

After soaking and rinsing the beans overnight, add them to a pressure cooker with the chicken broth and enough water to cover the beans by an inch or so. Cover the pot with its lid tightly with the pressure regulator on top, and heat over medium high heat until the regulator begins to rock. Turn the heat down until regulator is rocking gently, then cook for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the oil, garlic, and bacon to a heated skillet and saute until the onion starts to get translucent. Add the can of Ro*Tel tomatoes and grind a bunch of  black pepper over it, cook for about five minutes longer, then set aside.

After the beans have cooked 25 minutes, take the pot off the heat and let the pressure reduce on its own. Do  not cool it by running under water, as you will have to let the pressure come down naturally or you will have a foaming mess on your hands. This will take about 15 or 20 minutes. When you can open the lid easily, stir in the tomato mixture, and beer (if using). Take a potato masher or the back of a spoon and smoosh some of the beans to help thicken up the broth. Cook  for another half hour or so.

Garnish with additional cilantro,  if you prefer. This makes a mess of beans, but they are so yummy you’ll find they will disappear quickly. Eat them in a taco or burrito, or sop them up with tortilla chips. These taste even better the next day, too.  Olé!

Easy Mexican Rice

Mexican Rice

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I’m spending a quiet day at home, although I have many friends celebrating today with fiestas full of food and drink. I made this rice dish last week when we had chicken tacos one night so thought it would be appropriate to share on this Mexican Holiday that is celebrated throughout the United States. This is very simple to make, and is a great dish to bring to potlucks.

Mexican Rice

1 cup long grain rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 can Rotel tomatoes (diced tomatoes with green chiles), with liquid
1 1/2 cups homemade or low-salt chicken broth
Shredded cheese for garnish

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the rice in the vegetable oil, stirring often, until the rice has toasted to light brown. Add the garlic and cumin and cook for a few more minutes.  Add the canned tomatoes with liquid and the chicken broth and stir. Bring to a low boil, then cover, turn down and simmer for 20-25 minutes.  Take off heat and let rest for five more minutes. Uncover and mix well. Garnish with shredded cheese.  Olé!