Breakfast casserole

This is a great dish to make when you have guests for brunch or overnight guests during the holidays or anytime you have leftover crusty bread.

1 small baguette
10 eggs
2 small zucchini
1 small onion
1 medium tomatoe
1 - 2 fresh jalapeños
1/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup shredded cheese (whatever you have on hand, I used jack)
olive oil
salt & pepper

Cube the baguette and set aside. In a medium size bowl beat the eggs, add the milk, salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the baguette, set aside.
Chop the onion, heat a skillet and coat the bottom with olive oil; add the onion. Chop the zucchini and add to the skillet. Chop the tomatoe and add into the skillet. Chop the jalapeño and add to the skillet. Cook thoroughly.
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix your egg and baguette mixture with the cooked vegetables and cheese. Place in a casserole dish or pie plate and put in the oven for 35 minutes or until center is cooked thoroughly.
Once you remove it from the oven let sit for about 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Chiles Rellenos

6 chiles poblanos
Jack cheese - cut into pieces
flour
4 egg whites
Corn oil
Salsa (see Huevos Rancheros recipe)

Roast the chiles - I grilled them until they were charred on the outside. Place them in a plastic bag to allow them to sweat, this will make pealing the skin off much easier. Once they chiles have cooled off remove the skin and make a small slit in the chile (you can remove the seeds if you like, I left them in), fill the chile with the jack cheese and set aside. Continue with the rest of the chiles.
Place some flour into a bowl, coat the the chiles with flour and set aside.
Take the egg whites and beat them until they form soft peaks. Heat your skillet and the corn oil, about a 1/4 inch of oil.
Take one chile and dip it in the egg whites and place in the skillet, repeat with the rest of the chiles. Allow to cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Once done place on a plate and set aside.

Make the salsa as for the huevos rancheros. Plate the chile and cover with the salsa and serve. Enjoy!

Chilaquiles

This is my husband's favorite and I make them for him all of the time; especially after we've been drinking. You can enjoy them alone or with eggs, I like to add a fried egg on top.

8 tortillas
1 - 8oz can of tomato sauce
A handful of dried chiles (to find the right amount of heat, you can start by adding just a couple at first and then more if needed)
1 garlic clove
1/4 of a small onion
Salt
Vegetable oil
Jack cheese - shredded

Cut the tortillas into small pieces. Heat your skillet and add enough oil to coat the bottom, add the chiles and roast them. Remove the chiles from the skillet and set aside. Add the tortillas to the skillet and fry them until they are crispy, stirring them so they fry evenly.
Place the tomatoe sauce, chiles, garlic and onion with salt to taste in the blender; blend thoroughly. Add the chile sauce to the skillet and allow to heat thoroughly. Top with cheese and reduce the heat until the cheese melts. Enjoy!

Fish tacos

1 box tempura batter mix
2 lbs Tilapia fish
2 cups flour
1 can of cold beer
1 tablespoon baking powder
Salt & pepper
Vegetable oil
Cabbage - thinly sliced and washed
Sour cream
Corn tortillas
Salsa
Cut fish fillets in half to the size of a fish stick. Place 1 cup of the flour in a bowl with salt & pepper, mix together. Coat fish with flour and place on a plate, set aside. In a mixing bowl add the tempura batter, beer, 1 cup of flour, 2 cups of water, baking powder, salt and pepper. Mix thouroughly. The batter should be the consistency of pancake batter, on the runny side. If the batter is thick it will coat the fish more thickly, you want a light crispy batter.
Take a skillet and add the vegetable oil, you will need enough oil to deep fry the fish. Once the oil is hot enough take one piece of fish and dip in your batter mixture and slowly dip in the oil (this will be your test piece). If the fish quickly floats to the top then you know the oil is hot enough. Repeat this step with enough fish to fill the pot, once it is brown and crispy remove from the oil and set aside.
In the meantime you can make the sour cream sauce. Take 1 cup of sour cream and add 1/4 cup of milk, salt and pepper and whisk together; add more milk until desired consistency. It should be easly able to drizzle over your tacos.
Once you're done frying the fish, warm the flour tortillas add a piece of fish, cabbage, top with sour cream and salse. Enjoy!

Milanesa

Milanesa is a breaded piece of beef round sirloin tip. It is very thinly sliced. If you go to any market where they have a butcher you can ask for milanesa or beef round sirloin tip.
We are going to serve the milanesa as a torta on a Mexican roll known as a telera or bolillo.

1-2 lbs Milanesa
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
salt & pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 cups bread crumbs (I used the generic store brand)
4 telera rolls
2 avocados
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
4 large lettuce leaves
mayonnaise & mustard as preferred
vegetable oil

The secret to making the breaded coating stick to the milanesa is to do a dry, wet, dry coating. Take three bowls. In the first bowl add the flour and salt & pepper to taste, this will be your first dry coating.
In the second bowl you will make an egg wash, this will be your wet coating. Add the eggs milk, cinnamon, salt, pepper and the parsley. Beat the eggs to combine. (you will need to keep combining the egg wash throughout the process as the cinnamon will sink to the bottom of the bowl.)
In the third bowl you are going to place your bread crumbs, this will be your last dry coating.
Take the milanesa steaks and cut into pieces that will fit onto your telera roll. Heat your skillet and add enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom.
Take your first piece of milanesa and coat with the flour mixture on both sides of the steak, then coat with the egg wash on both sides of the steak and lastly coat on both sides with the bread crumbs and place in the skillet. Repeat these steps with the remaining milanesa steaks.

Cook 3-4 minutes per side, remove from the skillet and place on a platter.

Wash the tomato and lettuce, slice the tomato and onions. Slice and toast your telera bread and add mayonnaise and mustard, place your milanesa steak on the telera, top with tomato, onion, lettuce and avocado. You can also add cheese. Enjoy!

Marinade

Marinade for steak or chicken

1/4 cup soy sauce
juice or 2 oranges
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
salt & pepper to taste

Place all ingredients into a bowl and whisk together. You can also place all ingredients into a blender and blend together.

Take chicken or steak and pour the marinade all over, let sit for about 30 minutes or overnight. Grill to your taste and serve. Enjoy!

Mashed Cauliflower

In an effort to eat healthier we are eating more vegetables. My family loves mashed potatoes, so I thought I would try making mashed cauliflower.

2 heads cauliflower
1/2 stick of butter
2 tablespoons sour cream
Salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and dried parsley (or any other dried herbs you prefer) to taste.

Wash and rinse the cauliflower and cut into small pieces. Place in a pot with a steamer basket at the bottom and enough water to reach the bottom of the basket. If you don't have a steamer basket place the cauliflower in a pot with about an inch of water. Cover and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Place the cauliflower in an oven proof bowl and add the butter, sour cream, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and dried parsley. (You can also add your favorite cheese.) Mash like you would potatoes. Place in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the top has browned. Serve as a side dish with your favorite meal. Enjoy!