Enchiladas (3 Star), Refried Beans, and Cilantro Lime Slaw

This dinner was to die for. Everything was so good, but especially in this combination. The boys only liked the enchiladas, so that is what the rating refers to. (Crazy punks! How could they not like the refried beans? They were awesome!) All the recipes are courtesy of Prudence Pennywise, original recipes found at the following links: enchiladas, refried beans, and slaw.

I did change up the enchiladas to make them lower fat and more nutritionally packed, so here is the recipe:

Beef and Veggie Enchiladas

For Enchiladas:
2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
15 corn tortillas
1/2 cup shredded cheese, for top (I used a mozzarella, provolone, cheddar blend from Costco)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, or sliced green onions, for garnish

For Sauce:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoon flour
5-6 tablespoons chili powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon dried cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
2 cups/cans tomato sauce (if you can find it, try El Pato spicy tomato sauce in the yellow can)

For Filling:
1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
1 (7 ounce) can diced green chilies
1/3 cup finely minced onion or scallions
1 cup finely chopped broccoli
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
juice of 1 lime

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add corn tortillas, one at a time, and lightly fry just until softened, adding more oil as needed. Stack tortillas atop one another on a paper towel

When finished, in same skillet heat oil for sauce. Whisk in flour; cook for one minute. Add chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and paprika. Stir for one minute. Whisk in chicken broth and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While sauce simmers, put a large skillet on medium to medium-high heat. Fry the ground beef, onion, broccoli, and carrot together until the beef is cooked through. Add the green chilies, salt, cumin, and lime juice and stir until heated through and remove from heat to assemble enchiladas.

Preheat oven to 425 if you are baking the enchiladas now. Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking pan and an 8 inch square baking dish. Pour enough of the enchilada sauce into both pans to just cover the bottom. Dip the tortillas into the sauce in the skillet, on both sides. Add about 1/4 cup filling and roll up and arrange tortillas between the two pans. Pour remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle lightly with cheese. (Can be prepared up to this point. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate for up to two days.) Place tortillas in 425 degree preheated oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until just bubbly and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with cilantro and let cool for five minutes before serving. (If baking refrigerated enchiladas, increase baking time to 20-25 minutes. Keep covered with foil for first ten minutes of baking, to prevent drying.)


I am also including the refried bean recipe because I want to remember what seasonings I used this time, and I also made a larger batch. These beans were so good and so easy.

So Easy "Un" Refried Beans in the Crock Pot

3 cups dried pinto beans-no need to presoak
12 cups water
1 onion, diced

Put beans, onion, and water in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low overnight, or about 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours. (Every crock pot is different, so give yourself plenty of time.) When the beans are very soft, remove all of the liquid that you can with a small ladle or measuring cup. You don't need to strain the beans, just get out as much of the cooking water as possible. Mash the beans with a potato masher or immersion blender, getting them as creamy as you like, or leave them whole, if that floats your boat. Add seasonings and stir.

I (Becky) added:

4 tsp. chicken base
2-3 tsp. salt
2 dashes liquid smoke
3 dashes Tabasco
2 pinches chipotle powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Prudy's other add-in ideas:

start with 1/4 teaspoon salt (or use granulated chicken bouillon)
1/2-3/4 cup flavorful liquid: taco sauce, red or green salsa, enchilada sauce, tomato sauce (my favorite is El Pato spicy tomato sauce), or even a 14 ounce can of undrained Mexican style petite diced tomatoes
Optional Add ins: sauteed garlic-onions-jalapenos, bacon grease, chopped cooked bacon, roasted red peppers, diced green chilies, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped cilantro


Well, I guess I'm going to put the slaw recipe in here, too, since it is hidden inside her post and I did make one change by adding tomatoes.

Cilantro Lime Slaw

1 10 ounce package coleslaw mix or 1 small head of green cabbage, shredded
1 bunch cilantro
2-3 tomatoes, diced
juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine coleslaw mix, cilantro, tomato, lime juice, and olive oil in a medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chicken Enchilada Soup (3 Star)

This is one of my favorite soups, courtesy of Picky Palate, found here. It's another great recipe in which to use my homemade chipotle salsa. Other salsas work well, too. I make the recipe as written and add 1-1 1/2 cups salsa prior to boiling the soup. It adds freshness and greater depth of flavor to an already fantastic soup.

Roasted Chipotle Salsa (1 Star)

Bragging is not something that I typically do (I don't think) but I am going to brag about this salsa. It's so awesome!

I recently had a craving for salsa that I bought at Costco last year that I remember being called Santa Barbara Salsa Fresca, a slightly sweet and spicy salsa with roasted peppers. (Does anyone know what I'm talking about? If so, do you know where I can buy it?) I fell in love with it last year but hadn't bought it for a while. Unfortunately I discovered that our Costco isn't carrying it anymore and may or may not later. But I had to have it. Unable to find it on the Internet and unable to find a recipe, I began trying to figure out how to make it myself. I often tinker with recipes, making changes here and there, but I have never tried to figure out the recipe for an existing dish before. And actually, it may not be accurate to say that I figured this out myself because I did find a recipe (here) that was an excellent starting point on 101 Cookbooks, but I changed it to get what I was after. And I feel like I did a fairly good job because I did get what I was after! Woo hoo!

Roasted Chipotle Salsa

3 sweet peppers, 1 red, 1 orange, 1 yellow
2 pounds Roma tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
1 large yellow onion cut into six wedges
4 medium cloves garlic, peeled and halved
2-3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-2 canned chipotle chilies with some of the sauce (these are fairly spicy, but one was not too spicy for our kids)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt (or to taste)
1-2 Tablespoons honey (or to taste)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, stir tomatoes, onions, and garlic, with olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place the olive oil coated vegetables onto a foil-lined cookie sheet (tomatoes skin side down) along with the three sweet peppers. Roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes and then turn the peppers over and roast another 10-15 minutes. The peppers and onions should have black spots and the tomatoes should begin to collapse a little. Remove from the oven and place peppers into the large bowl used to stir vegetables and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to sit for 10 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Remove the peppers from the bowl and remove stems and seeds and peel the skins off of the pepper flesh.

Puree four or five of the tomato halves, the chipotles, and the roasted garlic in a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until coarsely chopped. Taste and add more salt and honey if desired. Be sure to have plenty of chips on hand! This is also excellent used in soups and other recipes--coming up next!

Cafe Rio Salads (3 Star)

I love Cafe Rio's pork salads. A lot of other people do, too, who work very hard to copy the exact recipe. I appreciate all the work they have gone to because I now benefit. Here is a post from one of these people that appears to be very popular amongst those wanting to replicate the salad. I used the Cilantro Lime Rice recipe and the Black Bean recipe from her site. And, if you are going for a version of the meat that is just like Cafe Rio's, I bet that this one is as good as it gets. However, due the the fact that I rarely drink caffeinated beverages and have instructed my children not to (due to the fact that they are unhealthy and addictive), I didn't think it would be a good idea to use it in our dinner. We rarely even drink pop at all. So I made up my own version of the meat that, while not authentically Cafe Rio, was still pretty good.



Sweet Pulled Pork

7 pound pork roast (mine was bone-in--it's just what I happened to have)
3 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 28 oz can mild enchilada sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 can diced green chilies
1-2 canned chipotle peppers plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce

In a little bowl, combine salt, pepper, cumin, garlic, and onion powder. Rub all over the pork. Place the pork into a crock pot along with any extra spice mix. In a blender blend enchilada sauce, brown sugar, molasses, green chilies, and chipotle chilies. Pour over the pork and cook on low for about 8 hours or until the pork falls apart when pulled with a fork. When pork is cooked, remove from crock pot and use two forks to pull apart, discarding any bones or fat. Stir in some of the juices to taste. I probably used about a cup. For better flavor, make the meat a day ahead and then reheat in the crock pot for a couple of hours.

Obviously, this is much less sweet than most versions (Cafe Rio pork is really sweet!), but we really enjoyed it.



I love to make homemade whole wheat flour tortillas. I use this recipe from Allrecipes. I've re-written it below with my changes.

Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas

5 cups whole wheat bread flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2+ cups boiling water
all-purpose flour for rolling

In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour and salt. Add the butter, and using a hand mixer, mix on low speed until the mixture is the texture of oatmeal. Make a well in the center, and pour in the boiling water. Mix with hand mixer until all of the water is evenly incorporated. Sprinkle with a bit of additional flour, and knead until the dough does not stick to your fingers. The dough should be smooth.

Make balls the size of golf balls, about 2 ounces each. Place back in the mixing bowl and cover with plastic. Let rest for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours.

Heat a griddle or large frying pan over high heat. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a tortilla to your preferred thinness. Fry one at a time. Place on the griddle for 10 seconds, as soon as you see a bubble on the top, flip the tortilla over. Let it cook for about 30 seconds, then flip and cook the other side for another 30 seconds. Roll out the next tortilla while you wait for that one to cook.

I only cook the amount that I am going to use at a time. For the extras, I singe each side on high heat and store in the refrigerator. When I am ready to use them, I fry to doneness. The extras could be frozen, too, but we always eat them quickly enough that this is not necessary.

This is a lot of work, but worth it to me because they taste so good, are healthy, and all of my kids love them. If I didn't go this route, I would get Costco's uncooked tortillas. Too bad they don't make whole wheat!



Costco's organic heirloom lettuces were excellent in this salad.



I used Pioneer Woman's Pico de Gallo recipe.



As mentioned above, I used the Cilantro-Lime Rice from here,



and the Black Beans from the same place, although I don't remember Cafe Rio's beans being like this. I actually don't eat there that frequently, so maybe I just don't remember. They were good, though.



For the guacamole, I mashed several avocados and mixed in a small spoonful of mayonnaise per avocado, and a little garlic powder and onion powder to taste.



For the dressing, I used a recipe given to me by a friend who's friend or relation's friend or relation had hired a chef to figure out the recipe and this is what they came up with.

Tomatillo Salad Dressing

5 tomatillos, husked, washed, and quartered
1 pkg ranch buttermilk dressing mix
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup mayo
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
5 slices of bottled jalapeno
1 Tablespoon of bottled jalapeno juice
juice of 1/2 lime
1/8 teaspoon chili powder

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.



To assemble the salad, place a tortilla on a plate. Top it with meat, rice, and beans. Then top with lots of lettuce, some pico de gallo, some guacamole, and cover with the dressing. You could also serve with sour cream and cheese.

Because there are so many elements to this salad (and because I'm freaky about doing it all homemade) it took a lot of work which could obviously be alleviated by buying things like the tortillas, pico de gallo, and guac. But whatever you choose to do, this is so incredibly good and I highly recommend trying it!



It's difficult to give this salad a "boy rating" because each boy liked different elements of the salad but none of them liked the entire thing all together. One boy only liked the tortillas. Two boys like the tortillas with the meat, and one boy liked the tortillas with the meat and the beans. I can't remember if anyone liked the rice, and none of them would touch the lettuce, dressing, pico de gallo, or guac. Picky buggers! I guess I'll go with 3 stars.

Also, just as a warning, the meat juice stains! It's the fault of the enchilada sauce.