Guest Post: Amy McGinnis’s take on Mexican

My husband and I love Mexican food. We have moved a few times in the nine years that we’ve been married; each time we moved one of the first things we’d look for is a good Mexican restaurant. We understand that some of our tastes in Mexican food are more Tex-Mex than authentic, but we have expanded our tastes into more traditional Mexican food as well.
Like everyone else, we have cramped down on our budget in recent months. This has forced me to search for recipes that allow us to make tasty Mexican food at home.
Here are 4 recipes that we make quite often at our house:

1. Place oil in a high sided pan on medium heat.
2. Using a pizza cutter, slice tortillas lengthwise and then across. This should give you 4 equal pieces.
3. Place tortilla pieces into oil, 3-4 pieces at a time. Allow to fry for 30-45 seconds and then flip. Repeat the process until the chips are a deep gold color.
4. Remove chips from pan and place on a paper towel lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt.
5. To keep warm, place in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve. 

Tips
1. I have read in various recipes that say the oil temperature should stay around 350 degrees. You may choose to use a thermometer to monitor the oil temperature in the pan. I, however, just watch the chips. If they begin to brown too quickly then I will turn the heat down a bit.
2. To make sure the oil is hot enough to begin frying the chips, break off a piece of one of the chips and drop it in the pan. If it fries fairly quickly then the oil is ready to go.
3. Depending on your batch size the amount of oil should be adjusted. If you intend on frying 5 tortillas then ½ cup of oil will suffice.

1. Heat Oven to 400 F. Place frozen chicken breasts in boiling water and boil until cooked through. Once chicken is done cooking, allow to cool on cutting board and then shred into bite size pieces.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, tomatillos, poblano pepper, garlic, cumin and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until veggies are tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Transfer veggies to food processor; add cream and puree. There should be some chunks of veggies left.  The mixture will not be completely smooth.
4. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, tomatoes, 1 cup of cheese, ½ cup of tomatillo sauce, and ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
5. Warm tortillas between two damp paper towels in the microwave for about 40 seconds.
6. Spread 1 cup of tomatillo sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 pan.
7. Roll the chicken mix in the warmed tortillas and place in pan, seam side down.
8. Pour remaining sauce and cheese over the finished enchiladas. Place in oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the tortillas begin to brown.

2. Combine chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Increase heat to medium high and add the pork; cook, breaking up the chunks of meat with a spoon until cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.
5. Add spice mixture to heat, stirring until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Remove skillet from heat.
6. Layer lettuce, beans, and tomatillos in a serving bowl.
7. Top salad with the pork and onion mixture; serve with sour cream and salsa.

1. Scramble eggs in pan until cooked through.
2. Add beans and most of the jar of salsa (depends how much salsa you like). Stir ingredients in pan.
3. Add slices of pepperoni (again, depends on how adventurous you are).
4. Season with salt and pepper. 

From this point, you have a few different options in serving this meal. You could let everyone roll their own tortilla wrap using the mixture as a filling. Or you can make quesadillas on the stovetop. 

1. To make the quesadillas, warm a 9-12inch pan on medium heat.
2. Spray one side of the flour tortilla with cooking spray or coat with a thin layer of butter.
3. Place greased side of tortilla down in pan.
4. On one side of the quesadilla, place cheese and egg mixture.
5. Fold quesadilla in half and flip until each side is golden brown.

Thank you, Amy, for guest posting!