Our family’s love of Hispanic food began with my trip to Guatemala in 1974. Our then 8-year-old son, David, my mother and I flew there to adopt a baby girl and enjoyed 2 1/2 weeks of touring ancient ruins, volcanoes and indigenous villages where the aroma of incense hung heavy in the mountain air. A local taxi driver who first accompanied us to the orphanage took us under his wing for the rest of our trip and made sure we saw all the important towns and churches and a few restaurants. We ate in our hotel dining room and other hotels that boasted purified water systems and tried local dishes. By the time, my husband joined us a week later, we were old hands at the local cuisine, and we introduced him to black beans and rice, plantains, several corn dishes and the best coffee ever!
Two years later, my (then) four children and I flew to Mexico City, where we tried true Mexican food for the first time. We rode our first subway and got lost in a barrio of the city, but that’s a story for another time. The highlight of sampling enchilada suizas hooked me forever! We returned to the United States via Dallas, where my husband met us, and vacationed all over Texas, eating in wonderful Tex-Mex restaurants along the way.
Back in Nashville, we found a serious lack of Mexican restaurants of any kind. About this time Cuban, Jose Quintana, opened the Vizcaya Restaurant in the city, where his chef created the most wonderful black bean soup, flan and Spanish paella. During those same years, a foreign student from Costa Rica lived with us. Mayra introduced us to several recipes from her country. In subsequent years, our family frequently vacationed in the American Southwest and became quite fond of Northern New Mexican cuisine, yet another type of Hispanic cooking. We sampled Indian fry bread cooked in an outdoor “horno” or oven. In a small Northern New Mexico village, we happened on a religious celebration. The participants invited us to partake of homemade tamales made by a group of ladies. I don’t make tamales, but the real ones are heaven on earth!
Over those many years, I developed a number of recipes based on our travels in Spanish-speaking countries and in the American Southwest. I offer a couple here for you to try. Perfecting the correct sauces for various dishes takes some experimentation to find what works best for each person. If you don’t do well with spicy foods, go easy on the hot sauces and green or red chili peppers. I used to make my own salsa but seldom do that today. In fact, many of the recipes I use today include prepared foods or seasonings. At my age, I’m all about finding the easy way.
Carol’s Homemade Chalupas
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 chopped onion
1 envelope of taco seasoning
1 tsp. chili powder (optional)
Grated cheddar
Grated Mexican cheese blend
Shredded lettuce
1 Can drained Goya Black Beans
1 Can refried beans
Corn tortillas – small size
Guacamole, chopped green chili peppers, salsa – homemade or prepared
Sour cream
Brown onion in a small amount of oil. Add ground beef and cook till browned. Drain the meat in a colander to get rid of as much grease as possible. Return meat to the skillet and add the taco seasoning, chili peppers (optional), grated cheddar, refried beans and black beans. Heat the tortillas separately in a mostly dry skillet to a light golden brown and, drain and keep warm.
To serve: Place a warm tortilla on a plate and top with meat mixture. Then layer on shredded cheese, guacamole, lettuce and salsa if desired. Top with another tortilla and repeat. Top with Habanera Sauce or the Mexican Hot Sauce below (if you like it spicy), sour cream and enjoy!
Mexican Hot Sauce: Saute 1 chopped onion, ½ cup chopped green pepper, 1 tsp. garlic powder in 1 Tbsp. of oil in skillet. Add 1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chili peppers – undrained, ¼ Cup Hot chili sauce, 1 Tbsp. Chili powder, 1 (7oz.) can corn – drained, 1 (16 oz.) can tomatoes, drained and chopped. Add 1 tsp. salt and 2 tsp. pepper. Mix well in skillet and heat thoroughly. Store in Refrigerator.
WHITE ENCHILADAS
1 Pkg. Flour tortillas 1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 (16oz.) Sour Cream 1 Medium Can Diced Green Chilies
1 Can Roast Beef or Chicken Chopped Green Onions
(or use diced cooked chicken 1 lb. Grated Jack Cheese
or leftover roast beef
1 lb. Long Horn Cheese, Grated
Mix all ingredients except tortillas with about 1/3 of the cheese. Fill each tortilla with mixture and roll up. Place in 9 X 13 pan and top with remaining cheese and chopped green onions, if desired. Bake uncovered for approximately 30 min. at 350 degrees.
*Whenever possible, I try to keep on hand a couple jars of Hatch Green Chili Sauce from Rancho de Chimayo in New Mexico. It is by far the best I’ve found! With the above enchilada recipe, try topping the enchiladas with the sauce before baking and keep a container of warm sauce on the table for those who want extra.
