Category: mexican

Yellow Chile Poppers With Bacon And Cream Cheese

The Wild Gems1 Comment

Little story behind these. I worked at the bank awhile back (this was maybe almost ten years ago) and we had a pot luck. A guy I worked with at the time, Pablo, brought these in and I thought they were the most delicious thing ever!

Everyone uses jalapeños to make poppers but these were with yellow chilies. They also weren’t fancy like how most wrap the bacon around the pepper. They were simple!

I brought some home to share with my husband and he loved them as well. After we analyzed them we were like, “these are actually really easy to make!” And now we make them all the time for gatherings or cook outs.

Thank you Pablo!

Enjoy!

Servings: 16-20 peppers

Note: you will need a grill and someone who knows how to work the grill.

What You Need:

8 to 10 yellow chiles (each Chile makes two poppers)

8oz of cream cheese

2 cups of shredded cheddar or mixed cheese

1 pack of bacon cooked and cut or broke into 1 inch pieces give or take

Bacon tip: instead of frying, save yourself some time and bake at 400 for 15 to 20 mins and a pan sheet lined with foil. So much better, trust me.

Steps:

1. Cut all the peppers in half removing all seeds. Smooth on cream cheese onto each pepper, add cheese on peppers, then lay a pieces of bacon on each pepper.

2. Grill the peppers on low medium heat for about 15 minutes. When the cheese is melted and the bottoms begin to char they are complete.

These are so good and easy! Enjoy!

Quick Adobo Chicken/Shrimp With 2 Ingredients

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What You Need:

Adobo seasoning

1 can of chipotle’s in adobo sauce (1 can per pound)

1 lb of chopped chicken or shrimp cooked (this would be great for shredded chicken as well)

( a recipe for chopped chicken click here )

Steps:

1. When cooking your chicken or shrimp gently season with the adobo seasoning. set aside. Pour your sauce in the same skillet and gently stir to warm up. Add in your chicken or shrimp and enjoy with a side of rice and beans!

Rice recipe click here

Bean recipe click here

Enjoy!

That’s it! FYI this is a little on the spicy side

Chicken Poblano

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What You Need:

4 poblano peppers

1 cup of heavy cream

1/4 cup of sour cream

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Salt and pepper for taste

1/4 of an onion chopped

1/2 tablespoon of garlic

1/2 cup of corn

1 lb of cooked chopped chicken recipe (link below)

https://thewildgems.com/perfect-chopped-chicken-on-the-skillet-never-overcook-again/

Steps:

1. On a sheet pan, lay out some foil and place your peppers on it. Set your oven on broil and broil the peppers until they are roasted on both sides. (They are ready when they have a charred look)

2. Once the peppers are done in the broiler place them in a large ziplock bag immediately. Close the bag and allow to steam for 10 mins.

3. While the peppers are steaming cook your chicken and set aside. (The recipe above cooks your chicken in 6 minutes)

4. The peppers should be done now. Peel the skin and remove the seeds. Cut in strips. If some strips are really longer just cut the strip in half.

5. Now we are ready for the sauce. In the same skillet you used the chicken, sauté the onions and garlic with a little bit of butter or oil. Once onions are soft add the heavy cream and sour cream. Mix well. Then mix in the cheese until all combined. Add the poblano strips and corn and allow to simmer for 5 to 8 mins. Seasoning with salt and pepper.

4. Once the sauce is warm and bubbly add in your chicken and serve immediately with a side of rice. The rice mixed with the sauce is so delish.

Note: if you want more sauce just add extra heavy cream, sour cream, and cheese. Simple! And if you don’t want chicken chunks I would suggest shredding the chicken.

Rice recipe (click here)

Enjoy!

Basic Rice Recipe

The Wild Gems3 Comments

Servings: 6 to 8 people

What You Need:

1 1/2 cup of long grain rice (un-rinsed)

2 1/2 cups of water

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon seasoning or salt

1 tablespoon of unsalted butter

1/4 cup of frozen corn (optional)

2 tablespoons of canola or vegetable oil

Steps:

1. In a medium pot or skillet oil your pan and sauté rice on a medium heat until all the rice is brown and toasted. (Doing this adds flavor to the rice)

2. Add the water, bring the pot to a low, and the butter and seasoning and cover rice with a lid. Set the timer for 15 mins. Checking the rice at least 2 times to give it a mix or fluff. Once the water is fully absorbed remove from the stove, keep lid slightly on, and allow to steam cook for 10 mins.

Note: If you’re going to add corn add it 5 minutes before the timer goes off.

3. Fluff with fork and enjoy. Add additional butter or seasoning if necessary.

Note: if you want to make more rice, you always just double the water to the rice.

This is the seasoning I use for the rice.

Homemade MILD Red Sauce For Enchiladas, Chilaquiles, Or Pozole

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Makes 2 1/2 cups of sauce

Note: Use this recipe as a guide as well. Feel free to use different peppers or try different seasonings. This is a mild sauce but it’s delicious! If you want to increase the spice add more of the Chile de arbol peppers.

What You Need:

6 Chili Colorado Entero

4 Chile de arbol

1/4 of a yellow onion

4 garlic cloves peeled

2 teaspoons of chicken seasoning

2 tablespoons of canola or vegetable oil

Steps:

1. In a medium pot, add your peppers, onion, and garlic. Cover with water and bring to a low boil. Cover partially with lid and allow to simmer until peppers are completely soft. (About 15 mins)

2. Once veggies are soft, add to a blender with about 1-2 cups of water from which the chiles were boiling.

3. Once completely blended, strain the sauce through a strainer. Discarding the paste.

4. Rinse the pot you used for boiling the peppers and place on stove at a medium low heat. Add the oil, then the sauce, then the seasoning. Allow to simmer for about ten minutes.

That’s it! Seems intimidating, but it’s really not.

Enjoy!

Add more of these for more spice. Be mindful though!
You can boil the garlic with the skin on, just don’t forget to remove it when it’s all down boiling.
Simmering.
A beautiful red. There are other peppers out there though that you can use that will provide a darker red.
Doesn’t have to be a fancy strainer. This is what I used.
Yummy red sauce after simmering on the stove. (The sauce is not done once blended. It needs to be cooked on the stove.)

Tio’s Shrimp Cocktail

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Servings 10 to 12

What You Need:

4 lbs of shrimp peeled and deveined

2 cucumbers chopped

1 Serrano pepper finely chopped

3 large tomatoes chopped

2 celery sticks (1 chopped)

6-7 limes juiced

1 qt of calamato juice or half of a 2qt bottle

1/2 white onion finely chopped

1/4 of white onion un-chopped

1 teaspoon of pepper

3-4 teaspoons of salt

1 tablespoon of cilantro chopped

Steps:

1. In a pot of water add the shrimp, 1 celery stick, 1/4 of an onion and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Reserve a cup of the shrimp water.

2. Add your chopped pepper, onion, tomato, cucumber, cilantro, and celery (the veggies) in a large bowl.

3. Add the lime juice, Clamato, shrimp juice, salt and pepper and mix well. Add additional salt, pepper, and lime juice if needed or until desired taste.

Enjoy!

Serve with tostadas or Tortillas chips. Add in ketchup or hot sauce.

Add 1 celery stick and 1/4 of an onion. Bring to a boil and boil only for 1 minute. Even when you see the shrimp begin to turn pink, wait till the water is boiling and boil for 1 minute. Then set aside to cool.
Allow the shrimp to cool before adding to the veggies.
Reserve some the shrimp water from boiling. You will add this to the shrimp cocktail. About 1 cup.
How small to chop the onion and pepper
How small to chop the tomato.
This is all the cilantro we used. Chopped up makes about 1 tablespoon.
This is the hot sauce we prefer with it.
Yum! Soooo good!

Quick Method Frijoles (Pinto Beans)

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What you need:

1 lb of pinto beans

2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of chopped fresh cilantro

Steps:

1. Rinse beans in cold water and discard any broken pieces.

2. In a large pot add your beans and cover with water. At least 2 inches above the beans.

3. Bring the pot of water with beans to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.

4. Once the two minutes are complete, cover beans with a lid immediately, remove from stove, and allow to sit for 1 hour uninterrupted.

5. After the 1 hour, drain the beans. Refill pot with water covering the beans completely.

6. Bring pot of beans to boil and then lower to a 1 or 2 on stove and allow to simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (Mix often and add 1/4 cup water at a time if necessary. You want to make sure it’s constantly at a soft, low simmer.)

7. Add the salt 30 minutes before beans are done and add the fresh cilantro. Mix well.

*you can add bacon to the beans, or onion, peppers, etc, all optional*

Mash or serve as is with eggs, tacos, enchiladas, carnitas, anything!

Enjoy!

Try Bean And Cheese Tacos

Place corn tortillas on some foil, add a little bit of olive oil to each tortilla and rub it all over, turn over the tortillas and place your beans and cheese, fold over, and bake at 350. 10 minutes on each side.

White Enchilada Sauce With Green Chiles

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It’s all in the sauce. This enchilada sauce is so delish. There’s a bonus to this recipe as well. It can also make a great cheese dip for tortilla chips.

Typically I’ll use left over chicken or rotisserie chicken and mix in corn to use as the enchilada filling. If I don’t have chicken I’ll use white beans mixed with corn or spinach as the filling.

Once the sauce is complete, take about a cup of the sauce and mix it with your chicken filling or bean filling until all combined.

Roll your enchiladas in corn tortillas and pour the entire sauce over the enchiladas. Top with jack cheese and fresh chopped cilantro.

Enjoy!

Pan suggestion: a glass 9×13

Servings for: 10-12 enchiladas

What You Need:

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1/4 chopped sweet onion

1 tablespoon of jarred minced garlic

8 oz block of monterey jack cheese shredded

1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

8 oz of cream cheese

3/4 cup whole milk

1 cup of heavy cream

(2) 4oz cans of green chilies

1 teaspoon of paprika

Salt and pepper for taste

2 tablespoons of fresh chopped cilantro

Steps:

1. Begin with a medium sauce pan on a low heat (between a 2 and 4) and melt the butter. Add in your onion and garlic and sauté until onions are soft.

2. Add your heavy cream, milk, and cream cheese. Mix until cream cheese is completely melted.

3. Next add the parmesan cheese and add 3/4 cup of the jack shredded cheese. Once melted in, add both cans of green chiles.

4. Season with a couple of dashes of salt and pepper. Add the paprika and 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro. Mix continuously on low for 5 to 7 mins.

5. Reserve a cup of the sauce and mix with your enchilada filling.

6. Once your enchiladas are rolled up and placed in your 9×13 pan, pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Top the enchiladas with the remaining Monterey Jack cheese and chopped cilantro.

7. Bake your enchiladas at 350 for 25 mins.

Hope you enjoy the sauce!

Easy Homemade Salsa and Chips

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Salsa made at home along with homemade tortilla chips just taste better! It’s all so easy and doesn’t take a lot of time at all!

HOMEMADE SALSA

What You Need:

3 decent sized Roma tomatoes

2-3 Serrano peppers (1 for a mild flavor. And make sure it’s Serrano. Jalapeño will give a different flavor.)

5-8 garlic cloves (not jarred minced garlic)

1/4 of a large white onion

Salt for seasoning

A generous handful of fresh cilantro

Steps:

1. In a small medium pot bring the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and peppers to a boil. Simmer until very soft. The skins will begin to peel.

2. Once the veggies are soft place them in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add about 1/4 cup of the water the veggies were boiling in.

3. Sprinkle with salt and add handful of fresh cilantro. Mix with a blender. Taste and add more salt or cilantro if needed. A squeeze of lime can be added, that’s optional.

HOMEMADE TORTILLA CHIPS

What you need:

Vegetable oil

Sea salt

Corn tortillas

Steps:

1. Stack 7 Corn tortilla on top of each other. Cut the stacked tortillas vertically and then horizontally. Giving you 28 corn tortilla triangles.

2. Heat your skillet to a medium heat with 1/2 inch of vegetable oil.

3. Once oil is heated (it will begin to sizzle and bubble a little) begin adding the tortillas into the oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides. (Use to tongs to flip)

4. Place finished tortilla chips on a plate with paper towels to soak the excess oil. Sprinkle with sea salt right away. Allow to cool.

Enjoy!

Arroz Con Leche – ‘Mexican Rice Pudding‘

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What You Need:

7 cups of water

1 cup of white rice

1 teaspoon of cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick

1 12oz can of evaporated milk

1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1 cup of whole milk

1/2 of vanilla extract

Steps:

1. In a medium/large simmering pot bring the water, rice, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to a boil or the cinnamon stick. Boil for 18 minutes, uncovered.

2. Drain the liquid from rice and add the milks and vanilla extract to the pot. Keep the stove on a medium heat and mix for 20 mins consistently until thick and creamy.

3. Pour the rice pudding into a round 2 1/2 qt dish. Mix in the rest of the cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon) and continue to mix while still hot.

4. Serve right away warm or chill for 2 to 4 hours. Dash some more cinnamon on top for appeal. Enjoy!