The aroma from the kitchen, the sound of laughter, conversations with loved ones and sharing a meal made with love all make the kitchen the hub of the household and dinnertime the thing that memories are made of. Food is for nourishment, but there’s also that social element to sharing a meal.
One of our favourite dinner nights is Mexican night! The spices, the flavours, the being able to assemble our own fajitas and tacos makes dinnertime interactive. Of course, I also love enchiladas, burritos. flautas, and chilaquiles! I also can’t say no to a good Mexican Mole!
I have a secret. I actually prefer salsa verde to the red salsa. I love the bit of tartness of the tomatillo.
Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb tomatillos (I use green tomatoes whenever I don’t have tomatillos on hand)
- 1/2 cup chopped white onion
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 3 Jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
- Salt to taste
1. Wash the green tomatoes well.
2. Place tomatoes in a pot and cover with water. Cook tomatoes.
3. Once cooked (but not completely mushy), pour out hot water and rinse with cold water.
4. Remove skin from tomatoes. This is probably the most tedious part, but you don’t want sharp pieces of the tomato skins in your sauce.
(You can roast the tomatoes or boil them. Roasting gives more flavour, but I was too lazy too impatient and wanted my chilaquiles ASAP!)
5. Place tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, chili peppers, sugar in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. Season to taste with salt. Cool in refrigerator.
I actually prefer green salsa over red salsa. I like dishes that are a bit tart. You can serve the salsa verde with tortilla chips or as an accompaniment to Mexican dishes. I always serve salsa verde with my chilaquiles.
Chilaquiles
- Yields 4 servings
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 quarts vegetable oil
- 16 soft corn tortillas, cut into 6 wedges each (if you can’t find soft corn tortillas at your local grocery store, you can take a shortcut and use hard taco shells and divide them into wedge-like shapes)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
- Herbamare or sea salt
- 2 cups Salsa Verde
- 1 cup homemade or store-bought low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup Mexican crema or sour cream (if you have any)
- 2/3 cup Touch of Philadelphia Mexicana Shredded Cheese
- Green onion, sliced thinly
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Directions
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Cook and shred chicken or if you’re really short on time, pick up a BBQ’d/rotisserie chicken and shred meat. Heat vegetable oil to 375°F in a large wok or Dutch oven. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with paper towels. Fry 1/3 of tortilla wedges, using a metal spider to agitate them as they cook. Cook until bubbling slows and tortilla chips are pale golden brown. Make sure to cook them until they are very crisp. This should be about 3 minutes.
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Transfer to the baking sheet and immediately season with Herbamare or sea salt. Repeat with remaining batches. ALTERNATELY, you can use hard taco shells and break them into wedge-like pieces if you don’t have soft corn tortillas. I know it’s a shortcut and not the same as having fried soft tortillas, but it works!
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Heat Salsa Verde and chicken broth in a pot and cook over medium heat until just simmering.
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Add tortilla “chips” and cooked chicken, and turn to coat. Cover and set aside.
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Sprinkle Touch of Philadelphia Mexicana Shredded Cheese over entire dish. Put Dutch oven in preheated 375 degree oven for a few minutes with lid off just to get the cheese melty and ooey-gooey delicious.
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Stir tortilla chips again and season to taste with Herbamare if necessary. Divide between four warmed serving plates. Top each serving with crema, sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, and serve immediately!
The above version was not made with Salsa Verde. I didn’t have any tomatillos or green tomatoes, and I froze my tomatoes from my garden for Winter use. Since I didn’t make any of my salsa, I grabbed some Old El Paso salsa. I also picked up a few Old El Paso kits because they’re fun, fast and easy for when we have crazy activity-filled evenings. Hubby can even make the soft tacos, hard tacos, or fajitas for the family if I’m at a meeting or not home for dinner.
Are you a coupon collector? When you purchase a specially-marked package of Old El Paso, cut out the coupon and use it when you purchase another specially marked Old El Paso Kit & Old El Paso Salsa. Get a FREE Package of Touch of Philadelphia Mexicana Shredded Cheese to complete your meal!
I don’t know about your kids, but Little One thinks everything is better with cheese! She likes the Mexican Four Cheese for her enchiladas and tacos.
Looking for other great Mexican dishes to try?
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Enjoy!
Disclosure – This is a sponsored post, however all thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and my own.
I have never heard of Chilaquiles but it looks so good!
We love Mexican food. This recipe sounds so good!
Mexican dinner nights are our favorites. We would have Mexican every night of the week if we could! HA!
Now you have me craving Mexican…lol!