Mexican – Simple Comfort Food – Recipes that are simple and delicious.

Chicken Poblano

May 16, 2018May 16, 2018 Dax Phillips Leave a comment

One of my colleagues recently told me about something he was watching someone next to him eat at one of his go to Mexican restaurants. As you may be aware, my go to at any Mexican restaurant is tacos or a torta, hands down. But what he was describing was intriguing to say the least. Chicken smothered in cheese and loaded with thinly sliced onions and poblano peppers. What was I supposed to do when I could not shake that thought off my mind? You got it, I went to this place (Casa de Alberto), ordered this dish and was so blown away that I had to recreate it, and I nailed it. This dish is not only way too easy to make, but my wife actually sent me a text as she has been eating the leftovers, that it is one of her new favorites. It’s not only about the cheese, or simplicity, but the combination of all of the ingredients.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken tenders (or chicken breasts, pounded)
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp cracked black pepper
5 medium sized poblano peppers, seeds removed, thinly sliced
3 cups Chihuahua cheese
2 whole yellow onions, thinly sliced
Mexican rice, cooked
1 can refried beans, cooked
corn tortillas, warmed, optional
2 tbsp canola oil

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Heating a large skillet on medium to high heat. Add in one tablespoon of the canola oil and swirl that around. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for a few minutes on each side.

To another skillet, add the remaining canola oil on medium heat. Add in the onions and poblano peppers and cook just until slightly tender. You still want a bit of a crunch to them. Remove from the heat and top them to the top of the chicken.

Add the cheese, covering the chicken and peppers and place into the oven.

Cook for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted.

Remove the skillet from the oven (make sure you have your oven mitt), and get ready to plate.

Using a spatula or large spoon, dig out some chicken, peppers and onions, and serve with the cooked refried beans, rice, and tortillas.

This dish is a stunner. That cheese alone will rock your world, but all together, this is one fantastic dish. Hope you enjoy!

Mexican Shrimp and Fish Soup

February 20, 2018February 20, 2018 Dax Phillips Leave a comment

I frequent a local Mexican Taqueria probably twice a week. Please don’t judge me. There is something about the vibe, the people, and the food that completes my day. I often kick myself when I leave from these lunch spots because I typically default to tacos. I love tacos, and again, please don’t judge me. But while I wait for my tacos, which doesn’t take long at all, I gaze at what others are ordering, and then I question my order. One particular week I was just stunned by this bowl of soup that a couple of locals ordered and I had to question my waitress as to what they ordered. As I always do, I make every attempt to use the Mexican language that I took for about 10 years of my life, and found out that it was a Mexican shrimp and fish soup.

Heck, I did not even pay attention to my tacos during my lunch. I was paying attention to the soup that these locals were slurping, and eating. They were pulling out whole, cooked, shrimp while at the same time slurping on this delicious broth and taking down tender vegetables. I was all over that stuff and decided to make this Mexican shrimp and fish soup for my weekly soup.

This soup reminds me of comfort and simplicity, and it is loaded with this awesome seafood flavor. It’s a true delight.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp canola oil
8 cloves of garlic, minced
1 whole onion, diced
6 Mexican pulla peppers, seeds and stems removed
14 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes, diced
6 cups of vegetable stock
3 whole carrots, cleaned and cut into bite-sized chunks
3 yukon gold potatoes, cleaned, and cut into bite-sized chunks
3 tilapia fillets
15 whole shrimp, deveined
1 lime, juiced
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
Mexican rice, cooked (optional)
corn tortillas, warmed (optional)

The soup itself is really simple, but pretty complex in flavors. It actually reminds me of a mix between an Italian cioppino and a Mexican chicken tortilla soup and I love everything about those two!

Start by heating the oil in a soup pot on medium heat. Add in the onions and sweat those down for about 7 minutes, stirring along the way. Toss in the garlic and whole chilies. Give that another good stir, and cook for a few more minutes. Add in the fire roasted tomatoes, and about a cup of stock. Stir, then add this mixture to a blender.

Blend until smooth, and strain the mixture back into the soup pot. This will remove any of the chilies that did not blend.

Mexican Fish and Shrimp Soup Ingredients

Add in the carrots, potatoes, and fish fillets. Stir, and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and let this cook until the potatoes are slightly tender.

During this time, make the rice if you are going that route. I always see the locals at the Taqueria eating their soup with some rice, and warm tortillas. They know what’s up so that is the route that I take.

Once the potatoes are tender, add in the whole shrimp, shells and head. Yep, the whole thing. If you are not into that then by all means just use cleaned shrimp. I like the experience and flavor so I keep them whole, but clean them of their dirty vein before throwing them in.

Let those shrimp poach for a few minutes. They don’t take long. Then get your ladle out and get that soup into a bowl. Make sure you get everything. The fish will fall apart so don’t worry. Shower some fresh cilantro and lime juice on top, and serve alongside some hot Mexican rice, and get a few tortillas ready as well. The result is a soup so comforting on a cool day. It’s really a perfect seafood soup and one that I was glad to gaze at during my lunch last week. I hope you enjoy!

Posole Verde or is it Pozole Verde

January 25, 2018January 25, 2018 Dax Phillips Leave a comment

My wife and I (and my family for that matter) have been on a soup kick since late fall. Soup is so comforting. We have so many favorites. My wife’s go to soup is probably Chicken Tortilla Soup whereas mine is probably Vietnamese pho, or this (or any type) Mexican Posole Verde. The thing I love about posole is that you can go the red (rojo) route, or go green (verde) and that it is loaded with hominy. I love hominy. This soup is super easy to make, makes a bunch, and is packed full of comfort.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

8 large green tomatillos, husked
2 whole onions, chopped
6 cloves of garlic
2 whole jalapeno chilies, seeds removed is optional
1 serrano chili, seeds removed is optional
25 oz can of hominy, drained
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 cups chicken stock
1 green cabbage, shredded
6 whole radishes, thinly sliced
salt to taste
cracked black pepper to taste
lime, quarted, optional
corn tortillas, warmed

Start by adding the chicken to a soup pot. Add the chicken stock, and 1 chopped onion. Next, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. To a baking sheet, add the remaining onion, tomatillos, garlic, jalapeno, and serrano chilies.

Bake for about 30 minutes until everything is well roasted. Add these ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

Once the chicken is cooked, remove the chicken from the stock. Let it cool until you can shred or chop. Your call on this one.

Pour the chili blend into the soup pot, along with the drained hominy. Return the chicken back to the pot, give a good stir, and cook for about 30 minutes. Taste and season with salt if you desire.

To serve, ladle a nice amount into a bowl and serve alongside warm tortillas, shredded cabbage, radish, and lime. Spoon in some of the sides, taking bites of warm tortillas. Repeat. Now I need to make another batch! I hope you enjoy.

Nacho Pot Pie

October 12, 2017October 12, 2017 Dax Phillips Leave a comment

It’s starting to ramp up to comfort food season. Not like that has stopped me year round to make most any type of comfort food, but this fall season in particular has already yielded a variety of soups and casseroles. This is one of those recipes. While thinking of a warm recipe for a cool day, I thought of what my wife and kids would eat, and eat well. Nachos! But how could I turn a simple, or complex plate of nachos into something warm and comforting?

I looked around to check on my inventory, and granted I was looking at pie dough and thinking of chicken pot pie, a thought I had to quickly shake out of my mind, and then again back to the nacho thought. How about a riff on chicken pot pie but go nacho style? How about a nacho pot pie?!

Nacho pot pie it was, and not only super easy to throw together, but everything you love about nachos in a luxurious pot pie style, sans the pie crust.

Granted this is not the prettiest of all dishes, but again what pot pie is when you plate it? This is forkalicious delicious.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef, or chuck, cooked and fat removed
1 cup onion, diced
15 oz can diced green chilies
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of taco seasoning
1/3 cup water
6 tbsp unsalted butter
4 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup of milk
2 cups of water or stock
1 cup of canned black beans, drained
1/2 tsp salt, to taste
1/2 tsp cracked black
1 bag of tortilla chips
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1 head of iceberg lettuce, shredded
sour cream, optional
hot sauce, optional
salsa, optional
black olives, optional
any other favorite nacho toppings

Think nachos. Think pie. Good, let’s go.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Get a large skillet on your burner over medium-high heat. Add the ground meat and cook until browned. Drain any fat, and then add the taco seasoning, green chilies, onion, garlic, and 1/3 cup of water. Give a good stir, and cook until the onions are softened, about 5-7 minutes.

Place the meat mixture into a casserole dish and return the skillet to the heat.

Add the butter and let it completely melt. Once melted, add the flour and stir (and keep stirring) until all of the flour is incorporated. Cook this through for a few minutes.

Slowy stir in the milk, and use a whisk if you want to ensure that the mixture gets nice and smooth. No clumps needed here.

Once smooth, add in the remaining water or stock, and stir again. Season with salt and pepper, and let the mixture come to a boil, stirring frequently. The goal here is to make a thicker sauce.

Once the sauce thickens, add in the black beans, and return the meat back into the skillet. Stir well and cook for another 5-7 minutes.

Add shredded cheese to the top, then crumble a generous amount of tortilla chips over the top.

Place the skillet (if it is oven safe, otherwise put everything in the skillet before adding the cheese and chips) into the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes.

Now you are ready to serve.

Scoop out your desired amount onto your plate and top with your favorite toppings. In my case it was black olives, shredded lettuce, avocado slices, sour cream, and hot sauce. Feel free to have a bowl of chips on standby for any additional scooping!

The result is spectacular. It is so comforting and everything we loved about a pie or a plate of nachos, all bundled together! Hope you enjoy!