A QUICK BUT DELICIOUS MEXICAN DINNER !

I would like to thank EACH ONE OF YOU who visited my blog home and wished my family on Diwali with all my heart.You have really made this year's Diwali a memorable one for us indeed!!Hope all of you had a great Diwali or weekend and our muslim friends a great Eid celebration as well!
I don't have much energy left to cook this week but looking forward to Halloween for kids' sake this weekend...

Alrighty then, let's do this...here is a delicious,easy meal I made the other day when my husband was at a meeting and was not expected to come home for supper!! Every time that happens, my kids would say "Yay!! dad's not coming home for dinner today, we get to eat junk food!!" :D..When I am too lazy to cook, canned food or frozen , or anything quick to prepare would be very handy :)

A Plate of Quesadillas, Taquitos, Spanish Rice, Texas Beans and Salsa!!





Here is the menu for quick Mexican dinner, some home made and some store-bought to make life easier!! I made Spanish rice from scratch,cheese and Salsa Quesadillas, ground chicken and cheese Taquitos and few re-fried beans and cheese Taquitos , canned Texas style beans and served with some salsa. For dessert, I made some quick and easy version of Mexican Sopapillas.(soft pillows)

For Quesadillas:

You Need:


Take 6"-8" flour tortillas,heat on a pan for a minute. Place on a plate , sprinkle 3 tbsp any Mexican blend cheese,sprinkle salsa and cover with another warmed tortilla.You can add re-fried beans, any meat filling ,jalapenos ,vegs , any sauce at this stage.



Pat down firmly to seal,spray or smear some oil and cook both sides until golden brown and crisp on a non-stick pan on a medium heat. Take it out on a wooden board or metal sheet and cut into fours to get triangles. Serve warm...






To make Taquitos;take few 6" flour tortillas.Usually Taquitos are made with corn tortillas but I find them harder to roll.Warm flour tortillas, put in cooked ground chicken or re-fried beans,any cheese you like ,some salsa and roll to a tube. Cook seam down first to seal and roll them to cook on non-stick pan with little oil to a golden color on all sides.


To Make Spanish Rice:

You Need:

1 Cup uncle Ben's easy cook rice, 1/4 cup (sauteed in 1 tsp oil) vermicelli(optional),salt,1/2 cup Tomato sauce,chilli flakes or pd ,1 tsp cumin pd,1/4 cup minced onion, minced 1 garlic or garlic pd, lemon-pepper pd,1/4 tsp Oregano , dry parsley and some cilantro.






Mix everything together in a bowl with 2 cups of water, put it in the microwave and cook until rice is soft.It should still be little thin not very dry ,it thickens as it cools. Sprinkle hot sauce and cilantro if you like before serving.




Open a can of Texas style beans or any beans you like, heat in the microwave and serve!! Did I have to explain that to you!!:D





Cinnamon-Sugar Sopapillas:

Mexican 'Sopapillas' (Pronounced as 'sopapiyas') literally means 'soft pillows'.They are made of flour dough ,rolled out, cut into squares like little pillows, deep fried and sprinkled with sugar pd. I added cinnamon pd to make it more flavorful dessert for kids!!



TO MAKE THEM:


I used 1 cup store bought Sopaplilla mix,mixed with water to a firm dough.Rest for about 5 mins. To make them from scratch : Mix 2 c. flour,1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt,1 tbsp butter or margerine,some warm water, make a firm dough.Rest for 5 mins.




Roll the dough to a circle to 1/8th thickness, cut them across into squares and seperate them slightly. Heat oil to 350F, gently lower the squares ,fry them to a golden color and all puffed up. Drain on paper towel.





This is how they look before and after you sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar!! While they are still hot on the peper towel, sprinkle cinnamon-sugar quickly and generously on them.Delicious Sopapillas are ready to eat! :))




NOTE: Sopapillas I have made with store-bought mix although tasty ,did not puff up well as you can see. But you are better off with the 'from scratch' recipe I have given you which is very easy to mix in a jiffy and you will a get a pillow like dessert.

If you want to make own cinnamon-sugar, mix 1 tbsp sweet cinnamon pd with 3-4 tbsp fine sugar and sprinkle evenly on the Sopapillas!

Have a great Mexican meal and remember, this is not an authentic Mexican food but my quick ,delicious version. Kids will love them!:) Enjoy!!

Halloween is on Tuesday this year which is really weird and inconvenient. Lot of kids have school next day.I am hoping they would change it to this weekend instead of a school day...

See you all on Friday for Halloween party! Be scared, Be VERY scared!:))