Day 23, Mission: Tres Leches, 342 Recipes to Go

What Better to go with Chicken Tortilla Soup than tres leches. Tres Leches is a traditional mexican dessert composed of, well, three milks. This dessert is easy and very delicious!
Yields: 12 Servings
Total Time: 1 hour
# of Pans: 1
Ingredients:
* 1 1/2 Cups White Flour
*1 tsp baking powder
*1/3 Cup vegetable oil
*1 Cup sugar
*1 tsp Vanilla
*5 Eggs
*1/2 cup milk
*12oz Evaporated Milk
*14oz sweetened condensed milk
*1/2 cup heavy cream
*1 Tbsp rum or brandy
Directions:
*Pre-heat oven to 350'
*Grease a 9x13'' baking pan
*In a large bowl mix the egg whites on medium-high speed until light peaks form

*Slowly add in your sugar, then egg yolks and oil and vanilla and then milk

*Next, slowly add in your flour and baking soda. Mix until thoroughly combined
*Pour batter into your baking dish and bake on the center rack for about 30-40 minutes

*Once your cake has cooled, poke holes throughout the cake with a fork

*In a small bowl, combine evaporated milk, condensed milk, rum and cream

*Pour your milk mixture evenly over the cake.
*Place cake in fridge and allow to cool for about 15 minutes
Serve with whip cream or ice cream...que bueno!

Day 22, Mission: ChickenTortilla Soup, 343 Recipes to Go

As temperatures start getting colder, theres nothing i love more than soup.One of my all time favorites is Chicken Tortilla.

Yields: 10 Servings
Total Time: 45 minutes
# of Pans: 2
Ingredients:
*4 Chicken Breasts
*1 Onion (diced)
*4 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
*1 Can diced green chilies
*2 Tbsp garlic
*1 Tbsp paprika
*6 Cups Chicken Broth
*1 Can diced tomatoes (fire roasted tastes best)
*1 Can black beans
*1 1/2 Cups frozen corn
*2 Limes
*Fresh Cilantro
*3 Tortillas or tortilla chips
*Sour Cream
*1 cup shredded cheddar or cheddar jack cheese
Directions:
*In a large frying pan, heat up 2 Tbsp of your oil. Add your chicken breasts. Reduce heat to medium and cover
*Rotate chicken after about 8 minutes, and continue cooking until chicken is white in the middle

*Meanwhile, in a large sauce pan warm up the remaining 2 Tbsp Oil and sautee your onions over medium heat

*Once your chicken is thoroughly cooked, shred it using two forks
*Add in your green chillies and garlic and saute for 3 minutes

*Add in your corn, black beans, paprika, tomatoes, juice of one lime and chicken broth

*Bring to a boil
*Once boiling, add in your shredded chicken
*Cook for another 20 minutes
*While soup is cooking, you can either place sautee your tortillas, or crush up some tortilla chips (if you use tortillas, slice each tortilla into 1/2" by 4" before sauteing with 1 Tbsp of oil)

*Serve your soup with fresh cilantro, lime juice, cheddar cheese and tortilla chips (or tortillas)

Day 20, Mission: Home-made Tortilla Chips, 345 Recipes to Go

Today starts 4 days of Mexican food in a row. We'll start with home made tortilla chips!

Yields: About 8 Dozen Chips
Total Time: 15 minutes
# of Pans: 1
Ingredients:* 1 package Corn or flour tortilla chips
*4 Tbsp oil
*2 Tbsp lime juice
*Salt to taste
Directions:
*Pre-heat oven to 350'
*Cut your tortillas into 8 triangles
*Lightly coat each side of your triangles with oil
*Sprinkle with salt and squeeze a little lime juice over each triangle

deliciousmagazine.co.uk

*Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until crispy

Serve with your favorite salsa or home-made guacamole

Day 11, Mission: McCormicks Fish House & Bar Chorizo & Cheese Fundido, 354 recipes to go

I spent the evening in Denver with Jason again before heading out in Denver. We wanted to eat a really good, cheap happy hour meal. Jason recommended we try out McCormicks Fish House & Bar located in the Oxford Hotel in lower downtown Denver. Their happy hour meny features Edamame, Baja Fish Tacos, Hummus, Grilled Artichokes, Flatbread Pizza, Chicken Wings and much more, along with an extensive drink happy hour (there is a $3.50 drink order minimum). But the best thing we ate was their Chorizo and Cheese Fundido. This queso type item is served warm with flour tortillas and it is delicious! So here is how you can make it at home!
Yields: 4 servings
Total Time: 25 minutes
# of Pans: 2
Ingredients:
1/2 Pound ground chorizo sausage, or sausage links with the skin removed
1/2 Small onion, chopped
1/2 Cup Monterrey Jack cheese
1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese
1 Jalapeno seeded and diced
1 Tomato, diced
6 Small flour tortillas, or a bag of tortilla chips
Directions:
*Pre-heat oven to 400', and grease an 8" oven safe casserole pan
*Add oil and sausage to a large frying pan, bring to medium heat and cook sausage fully. Set aside

*In a medium sized bowl, mix together your cheese, tomatoes and jalapenos. Once mixed, add in the chorizo and mix again.

* Pour your mixture into your casserole dish and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and bubbling , and the top is golden brown
*Allow to cook for 3-5 minutes, then serve with tortillas or tortilla chips and enjoy this cheesy goodness :)

And Check out McCormicks Fish House & Bar

      http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/Locations/denver-colorado/denver-colorado/wazee.aspx

Day 10, Mission: Tahona's Fried Chicken Taco, 355 recipes to go

I decided that when I make a post for the weekends that I am going to highlight one or two restaurants in the area that I happen to be, and inform you all on how to make one of their delicious entrees. So for Saturday before a grueling round of golf, Jason and I decided to grab a quick bite to eat at Tahona Tequila Bistro on Pearl Street. They have an amazing happy hour featuring Fried Chicken Tinga Tacos, Spiced Rubbed Carne Asada Tacos, Vegetarian Calabacitas Tacos, Daily Tamales, Chips & Salsa, Chile Rellenos, Queso Fondito, Corn & Chorizo Fritters and much more! One of the different things I had here was their Fried Chicken Tinga Taco. So I decided to hunt down a recipe that would be as delicious as Tahona's Taco. Tinga is a mixture of some type of meat, sometimes potatoes, vegetables and seasoning. Basically a smorgasbord of whatever you would have left over in your fridge. This particular Tinga is fried chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and guacamole.
Yields: 4-6 (8-12 tacos)
Total Time: 45 minutes
# of Pans: 2
Ingredients:
For Chicken:
3-4 Chicken Breasts, cut into 1inch pieces
1tsp chili powder
1 Cup all purpose flour
1/2 Cup Buttermilk
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt & Pepper to taste
Oil for frying
Glaze: 
2 Cups orange juice

4 Tablespoons honey
2 teaspoon minced canned chipotles
Potatoes:
2 Potatoes (of your choice) peeled and chopped into 1" or 1/2" pieces
Taco Filling:
1 Small White onion, chopped
2 Tomatoes, diced
4 Table spoons fresh cilantro, diced
8-12 corn tortillas

1 Cup shredded lettuce or shredded cabbage
Guacamole:
2 Large avocados
1 Pinch garlic salt
1 Pinch Onion powder
1 Tablespoon salsa
1 Lime, or lime juice
1 Pinch Salt

Directions: 
*Pour oil into a large saucepan and bring to almost a boil (if you have a deep fryer, add oil and follow manufacturers guidelines)
*Place potato pieces into a pan and fill with water so water level is one inch above the potatoes

.
*Bring water to a boil and cook potatoes for 10-15 minutes or until tender
* In a large gallon zip lock bag, add the flour, paprika, chili powder and salt and pepper. Close Bag and shake to mix all the ingredients

*Pour your buttermilk into a large bowl, dip each of the pieces of chopped up chicken into the milk and let soak until completely coated.

*Once soaked, drop your chicken pieces into your bag with the flour mixture.

*After all chicken has been added to the bag, shake the bag to make sure chicken gets evenly coated
*Pick out the chicken pieces and let sit aside for about 2-3 minutes forming a solid coating
*In a medium sized bowl mix together orange juice, honey, and chipotles and set aside
*Once your oil has heated up, slowly drop 5-10 pieces of chicken into the hot oil...be careful!

*Cook for 5-10 minutes or until completely crispy and golden brown. Cut one piece of chicken in half to make sure it is fully cooked ( chicken should be totally white inside)
*Once fully fried, remove with a slotted spoon and allow to cool on a paper towel
*Repeat until all chicken is cooked,
*Once chicken is somewhat cooled, add to chipotle glaze and toss until evenly coated...set aside
*Now you can prepare your guacamole
*In a large boil, add your avocado, and mush until slightly chunky. Add in your onion salt, garlic salt and salsa, mix well. Add lime, and salt to taste until it is as delicious as you want.

Courtesy of kalynskitchen.blogspot.com

*Once all your chicken is fried, guacamole is done and potatoes are done, you can construct your taco

*Fill a tortilla with fried chicken and potatoes, top with diced onions, diced tomatoes & fresh guacamole..add a little fresh diced cilantro and enjoy!!
This recipe is very similar to Tahonas, and just as delicious, but I still recommend that if you are in Boulder to enjoy Tahonas happy hour along with one of their delicious infused tequilas!

http://www.tahonaboulder.com/

Day 7, Mission: Chicken Enchiladas Suizas, 358 recipes to go

For some reason I've been craving Mexican food latley, and I think it's time I acted upon my craving. I found out my boyfriend loves enchiladas suizas, which I decided would be a perfect meal. Enchiladas are defined as a corn tortilla rolled around some type of stuffing and covered in some type of delicious sauce. Sounds pretty simple right? And it is. I chose to make Chicken Enchiladas because I have chicken on hand, but you could substitute the chicken in this recipe for steak, ground beef, ground turkey, pork, mushrooms and quite frankly what ever you damn well feel like :) but for Chicken the recipe is as follows:
Yields:  Servings
Total Time: 1 hour

# of Pans: 3

Ingredients:
6 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon olive oil or butter
1 Whole yellow onion, chopped
1 Red bell pepper, chopped
1 Yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Cups Monterrey Jack Cheese (set aside 1 1/2 for topping)
1 4oz can of diced green chilies
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
12 Flour tortillas
1 Cup fresh cilantro diced
2 Serrano Chilies (optional) diced w/o seeds
Directions:
*Fill a large saucepan with water and a dash of salt. Bring to a boil
*Add your 6 chicken breasts, cover and let cook for 15-20minutes

*Once fully cooked, drain your chicken breasts and set aside to allow to cool
*Preheat your oven to 350' and grease a 9X13" baking dish
*Once your chicken has cooled, peel it apart to create shredded chicken

*Add your oil or butter to a medium sized skillet and bring to a medium heat.
*Add in your diced green chilies, diced red pepper, diced yellow pepper, diced Serranos, diced garlic and diced onion. Cook until peppers and onions become soft.

*Add your onions, peppers and chilies to a large boil. Add in your cumin, 1 1/2 C. Monterrey jack cheese,  cilantro and chicken and mix well.

*Lay down 6 tortillas on the bottom of your baking dish
 *Top those tortillas with your chicken, onion, cheese ect. mixture

*Top your chicken mixture with your remaining 6 corn tortillas

*In a small bowl, mix your sour cream and chicken broth until smooth and well mixed.
*Pour this mixture to smother all of your corn tortillas, sprinkle with remaining cheese

*Place your baking dish on the middle rack of the oven and cook for 30 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and sauce begins to bubble.
*Once your enchiladas are finished cooking, remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving.
*Scoop out your enchiladas and serve with lettuce, salsa, tomatoes...whatever you are in the mood for.
Add 1 margarita, 1 pinata and 6 sombreros and you have yourself your own Mexican fiesta, Ole!

MMM Good till the last drop!