The Best Guacamole Recipe

Simply the best guacamole ever - once you make this you will never buy it ready made from a supermarket again.  This recipe by Thomasina Miers from her book 'Mexican Food Made Simple' takes minutes to make and tastes amazing.

 Flavours of lime and chilli with tomato, red onion are perfectly balanced.

Picadillo - Mexican Fruity Chilli

Okay I know this sounds a bit odd, regular chilli made with the usual minced meat, but with the addition of banana, apples and raisins?..... 

 However, if you saw Thomasina Miers cooking this on her TV series 'Mexican Food made Simple' on Channel 5 then I'm pretty sure you'd want to make it too.  It was totally delicious, very hot but the heat is nicely balanced with the sweetness from the raisins.  Yes I will make this again and again.

Baked Eggs with Leftover Chilli and Tortilla Wraps

Ever made too much Chilli con Carne and then wondered what to do with the rest?  I always make too much and have come up with all manner of things to do with it!  

 You can stretch it out further by adding a few other tasty bits and bobs, such as tomato, spring onion, jalapeno peppers and cheese - you must have cheese!  This particular concoction of mine even uses up the odd tortilla wrap you might have floating about somewhere too!

Please note the serving dish you use must be able to go into the oven.

How to Make Huevos Rancheros - Eggs Mexican-Style

Eggs cooked in a spicy Mexican style tomato, pepper and bean chilli mixture served in individual bowls.  Up to the point before adding the eggs you can make these earlier the same day - ideal if you have guests coming.

 Huevos Rancheros is a classic Mexican breakfast dish of which there are many different versions - this is my experiment but it worked!

 Crispy crunchy tortillas for dipping and a dollop of soured cream is all that's needed.

Jan's Roasted Pepper Salsa Recipe

Salsa is the perfect side dish to my cheesy topped spicy potato wedges - recipe to follow.  Slight cooking involved in this as you have to char your peppers!  Roasting them till they're nicely charred results in soft, sweet and delicious peppers.

   Of course roasted peppers can be used in whatever else you fancy - you don't have to make salsa with them.

A nice bit of charring going on there, I think you'll agree?

Salsa doesn't need to be really spicy hot - but personally I can't quite see why you wouldn't want it at least a bit spicy.

Quesadillas made with left over Chilli con Carne

More economising going on here - I'm getting good at this!  As I had some Chilli con Carne left over the other week Quesadillas came to mind.  Of course it had been frozen once it was cold, popped it into a plastic tub and into the freezer it went.  

 So, you can either have the same dinner again a week or so later, only easier than the day you made the chilli. 

Or of course, you can think up something else to do with your left over chilli.

For anyone wondering they are pronounced kay-sah-dee-yah 

(simples)!

Jan's Chilli con Carne - Nice and Spicy

A right nice n spicy Chilli con Carne always goes down well and is so, so easy to make.

Just the thing for cold weather or when you have friends round.

Nice and Spicy Beef Quesadillas

These are so easy to make and the filling can be almost anything you fancy at the time of making them!
I chose spicy minced beef, salsa, grated cheese and spring onions. I put some extra bits in a dish - soured cream, some more cheese and salsa, shredded lettuce and some jalapeno peppers and chilies.



First of all - Get your self two frying pans at the ready!

You will need:

500g Minced Beef (buy one with low fat content such as 5% otherwise it will end up oily and horrid)
Pack of Soft Floured Tortillas - I like the make 'Discovery'. There are 8 in a pack but I think you only want 6 for this amount of minced beef.
200g jar of Salsa
1 Teaspoon Paprika
1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
1/2 a Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
2 Tablespoons of Water
Spring Onions - sliced
Grated Mature Cheese - a couple of good sized handfuls (sorry I didn't weigh the cheese)
A little Vegetable Oil - for frying the tortillas

And any extra bits you fancy, such as soured cream and jalapeno peppers for serving.



How to do it:

Get everything at the ready first!
Then fry your minced beef until it's on the way to being nicely browned.
Sprinkle over the paprika, cayenne and chili powder. Add the water and give it a good stir. ***Remember you can always add more of the paprika, cayenne pepper and chili but you can't take it away! So go steady with the spices and have a taste.

Once it's cooked and tastes how you want it, turn the heat down really low to keep hot. Put your second frying pan on the heat with a little oil. Add one tortilla and put a third of the minced beef into the center of the tortilla (Or a quarter if you want to use all 8 tortillas).

Put some salsa on top of the beef and then some grated cheese, spring onion and chopped parsley. Now place another tortilla on top of that making a sandwich and press down on it.

After a minute or so the tortilla at the bottom will have started to brown - when it has it's time to turn the whole thing over. Using a pallet knife, place one hand on the tortilla and turn it over.
Now cook for another minute or so and turn out onto a plate to cut into quarters.
Now do the next one QUICK!
Serve immediately.

Quick Chilli - Nigella Lawson

This chilli is most certainly quick and so very easy to make, no chopping or messing about.  Taken from Nigella Lawson's book 'Nigella Express'.

I'll be making this again as it was really good. My beans were not the spicy kind - just mixed beans in water, so I did add the chilli flakes.

Nachos too!

You HAVE to have Nachos as well as fajitas, or you haven't been fed enough!!.......Even though Paul had eaten four Fajitas, he still managed a whole bowl of these too!

This was one of those 'Nachos Kits'. Just open the packet, and follow the 'destructions'! This one had the spicy re-fried beans that you put at the bottom of the tortilla chips, then add salsa and top with melting cheese and sour cream.......

Tex Mex Heaven!

Some Good Things for Chicken Fajitas

Some good things for Fajitas, Sour Cream, Jalapeno Peppers, Peppers, Grated Cheese, Lettuce and Salsa.




I fried some onion with some red and yellow peppers in a little oil. Then added some sliced chicken breast fillet that I'd mixed with some oil and a packet of spicy fajita mix.
I fried the chicken until it was cooked through. Then put some of the mixture onto a warm soft tortilla wrap and added some, of all, the above ingredients......Topped with soured cream........ Mmmmm!!
Only about 15,000 calories per serving - but hey!

Today - by request from the husband.....

We are having 'Tacos'! EASY or WHAT?
Get a Taco meal kit from your local supermarket. The corn taco shells, you know the ones I mean?
The kit comes with 12 taco corn shells, spicy toamto salsa and the taco seasoning. All you do is fry minced beef, add the seasoning that comes in the kit, then fill the shells with the minced beef. You then add whatever else you fancy.... lettuce, grated cheese and tomatoes are a must!
Then, you can serve with some 'refried beans' once again these are available in a can in almost any supermarket. I also like to have some jalapeno and chilli peppers.......Mmmm!!

We were extra greedy and also had some spicy potato wedges with some soured cream.






Tomorrow - I think we'll have Thai Green Chicken Curry......