Cinco de Mayo - part 1

In honour of Cinco de Mayo, I thought I would share my favourite Mexican inspired recipes today and tomorrow.

Mexican Lasagna Casserole

350 grams (3/4 pound) boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped fine
2 cups frozen kernel corn, thawed
1 650 ml (22 ounce) jar mild or medium salsa
2 - 2 1/2 cups crusaded tortilla corn chips (I use baked chips)
2 cups grated medium cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 2 litre casserole dish with Pam. Combine first five ingredients and spread evenly in casserole dish. Top with crushed chips. Spread cheese on top. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for about 10 minutes or until cheese is starting to get crispy. Serve with fat free sour cream and chopped green onion.

I love to serve this with corn muffins and a side salad. Serves four.

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Taco Meat

450 grams (1 pound) lean ground beef, turkey or chicken
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 sweet red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 650 ml (22 ounce) jar mild or medium salsa
1/2 teaspoon cumin
a few drops Tabasco sauce (optional)

In a large skillet brown the meat in a little bit of cooking oil. Remove the meat to a paper towel lined plate. Brown the onion and pepper, adding a little more oil if necessary. When the onions are translucent, stir in the corn and the garlic. Continue cooking for a couple minutes. Return the meat to the pan and add the salsa and cumin, stirring well. Add a couple drops of Tabasco sauce if you like it hot! Simmer, stirring occasionally until the liquid of the salsa is almost all absorbed.

This meat can be used right away for tacos, taco salads or try a taco pizza. It can also be frozen in individual portions (about 1/2 cup) for future use.

To freeze: Place about 1/2 cup of the meat sauce in a zipped snack bag. Gently  flatten out the contents within while sealing and removing excess air. Lay flat on a baking sheet and place in freezer. Once frozen, transfer the bags to a sealed freezer bag and store in freezer up to 3 months.

Taco pizzas: Place 2 small soft corn tortillas on a lightly greased baking pan. Spread about a 1/4 cup Taco mixture on each. Top with finely chopped tomatoes and green onion and sprinkle with grated medium cheddar cheese and bake in 375F oven for about 15 minutes or until cheese is crispy. Makes a dinner for one or serve with a side salad and it serves two.

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Tomorrow, I will print my corn muffin recipe. It goes wonderfully with either of these dishes!

dn