Summer Fiesta

This Months Theme is "Summer Fiesta"
Hosted by Debbie

Our menu this month will be featuring Fruitful White Sangria, Southwestern Eggrolls, Warm Taco Dip, Fresh Tomato Salsa, Chicken Fajitas, Seafood Enchiladas, Santa Fe shrimp, Spanish Rice, Fiesta Salad w/Green Godess Dressing, and Coconut Tres Leches Cake.

These recipes are under the Theme: Summer Fiesta category. ~ Enjoy!

Southwestern Egg Rolls

Prepared by Patty

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half
• 2 tablespoons minced green onion
• 2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
• 1/3 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1/4 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 tablespoons diced jalapeno peppers
• 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
• 3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 5 (6 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 quart oil for deep frying

Directions:

• Rub 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over chicken breast. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook chicken approximately 5 minutes per side, until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in green onion and red pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until tender.
• Dice chicken and mix into the pan with onion and red pepper. Mix in corn, black beans, spinach, jalapeno peppers, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until well blended and tender. Remove from heat and stir in Monterey Jack cheese so that it melts.
• Wrap tortillas with a clean, lightly moist cloth. Microwave on high approximately 1 minute, or until hot and pliable.
• Spoon even amounts of the mixture into each tortilla. Fold ends of tortillas, then roll tightly around mixture. Secure with toothpicks. Arrange in a medium dish, cover with plastic, and place in the freezer. Freeze at least 4 hours.
• In a large, deep skillet, heat oil for deep frying to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Deep fry frozen, stuffed tortillas 10 minutes each, or until dark golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving.

Warm Taco Dip

Prepared by Karen

Recipe Coming Soon...

Fresh Salsa

Prepared by Debbie

This is a great recipe to make during the summer when you can purchase the ingredients fresh from the farmer's market.

Ingredients:

• 12 plum tomatoes, diced
• 2 or 3 chipotles in adobo sauce
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 jalapeño peppers, diced
• 3 tbsp, onion, diced
• 3 tsp, fresh cilantro, chopped (use more if desired)
  
• juice of 1 lime

Directions:

• For a bolder/smoky flavor, grill 6 of the 12 tomatoes prior to chopping. I grill them until the skin of the tomato just starts to turn a little black.
• In a small food processor or chopper, process the 2-3 chipotles and some of adobo sauce, tomato paste and garlic cloves until smooth.
• In a mediums size bowl mix the chipotle mixture and the remaining ingredients.
• Refrigerate at least a couple of hours to allow to flavors to mix. Serve with tortilla chips.

Fiesta Salad

Prepared by Debbie

Recipe Coming Soon ...

Seafood Enchiladas

Prepared by Debbie

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 tablespoons lobster base
• 3 1/2 cups 2% low-fat milk
• 1 cup white wine or 1 cup cooking sherry
• 8 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1 (4 ounce) cans baby shrimp
• 2 (8 ounce) packages imitation crabmeat, flake style
• 10 (6 inch) flour tortillas, old mission restaurant style
• 1 10 ounce can red enchilada sauce
• 1paprika

Directions:

FOR THE SAUCE:

• melt butter in a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat.
• add flour.
• cook and stir for 5 minutes(should have a nutty aroma).
• add 1/2 tsp white pepper.
• stir in 2 tbsps lobster base and cook for an additional minute.
• add milk & wine.
• add 2 oz. of the cheese.
• continue to cook until thickened.

FOR THE CRAB MIX:

• lightly chop the flaked imitation crab.
• combine with shrimp in a medium size bowl.
• add 1.5 cups of cold sauce.
• mix well.

FOR THE ENCHILADAS:

• pour (or laddle) 1/2 of canned enchilada sauce on the bottom of your baking dish.
• lay out the tortillas on a flat surface.
• place 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons of the crab mix across the center of each tortilla.
• place flap of the tortilla over the crab mix and roll.
• place flap side down onto a plate or in your baking dish.
• ladle warm sauce over the enchiladas.
• drizzle the remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas.
• top with remaining monterey jack cheese.
• sprinkle with paprika.
• put into a preheated 425 degree convection oven for 12-14 minutes. In a conventional oven you may want to microwave on high for a minute or 2 before placing in the oven.(Note: I baked this at 350 degrees for 40 minutes).
  

Chicken Fajitas

Prepared by Theresa

Recipe Coming Soon...

Spanish Rice

Prepared By Kelly

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups uncooked white rice
• 2 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 4 cups water
• 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes and green chiles
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon chili
• powder, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

• Heat oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Saute rice, onion, and bell pepper until rice is browned and onions are tender.
• Stir in water and tomatoes. Season with chili powder and salt. Cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed.

Santa Fe Shrimp

Prepared by Kathi-Anne

Recipe Coming Soon ..

Fruity White Sangria

Prepared by Debbie

Ingredients:

• 2 bottles (750 ml) white wine (Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay or your favorite white wine)
• 2 oranges, sliced
• 2 lemons, one sliced and one juiced
• 2 limes, one sliced and one juiced
• 1 green apple, cored and cut into 1/2–1/4-inch dice
• 3 peaches, sliced into wedges
• 2 cups ice
• 8 ounces lemon-lime soda
• Sugar for sweetening (optional)

Directions:

• Place all the fruit in a glass pitcher. Add the ice, lemon juice and white wine. Allow the mixture to sit in the refrigerator until just before serving.
• At the last minute, add the sugar (to taste) and soda, if desired.

Coconut Tres Leches Cake

Prepared by Debbie

I found this delicious Coconut Tres Leches Cake recipe on My Kitchen Cafe and prepared it exactly how she did...

Cake:
Make-Ahead Yellow Cake Mix (recipe follows) or other preferred cake mix or homemade yellow cake recipe.

Milk Syrup:
1 can (15 ounces) cream of coconut
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnishes:
2 medium-size ripe bananas
Sweetened cream (see instructions below)
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted (spread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake it at 350 degrees until golden brown, 7 minutes, or toast it in a skillet over medium-low heat on the stovetop)

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spray a 9X13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set the baking dish aside. Place the make-ahead cake mix, 1 1/4 cups warm water and 2 large room-temperature eggs in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes (if using another cake mix or recipe, bake according to box or recipe instructions). Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake until it is lightly golden and is slightly pulling away from the edges, 30-34 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool completely, 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the milk syrup: in a blender, combine the cream of coconut, evaporated milk, cream, and vanilla and process until smooth.

Pierce the cooled cake all over the top with the tines of a fork or a thin wooden skewer. We are talking all over! The more pokes, the more the syrup will soak into the cake. Using a large spoon or ladle, spoon some of the milk syrup over the cake. Let the syrup soak into the cake, then continue spooning the syrup on top until all of it has been used up. When you have finished, not all of the syrup will be completely absorbed and might be pooling on the top but that’s ok because it will absorb as it refrigerates. Cover the cake loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until all of the syrup is absorbed, 2 hours. Cut the bananas, if using crosswise into ¼-inch slices. Slice the cake and serve it with sliced bananas, sweetened cream and toasted coconut, if desired.

Sweetened Cream:
Pour 1 cup heavy whipping cream into a large (preferably chilled) glass bowl and beat it on high speed until thickened 1 ½ minutes. Stop the machine and add ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar and ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Makes 2 cups.

Make-Ahead Yellow Cake Mix:

*Makes enough for two 9-inch layer cakes (bake according to recipe), or one 9X13-inch cake (bake for 30 to 35 minutes), or one 12-cup bundt pan (bake for 40 to 45 minutes), or 24 cupcakes (bake for 18 to 20 minutes)

*Note: the recipe calls for cake flour. If you don't have cake flour on hand, My Kitchen Cafe suggests the following as a substitution for the 3 cups of flour called for in the recipe (this is what I did) -- 2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour and 3 tablespoons cornstarch for.It works beautifully.

2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons butter (2 sticks), cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Process sugar, flours (or flour and cornstarch if making the substitution for the cake flour), milk powder, baking powder, and salt in a food processor for 15 seconds to combine. Add butter and vanilla and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal (you want this much finer than, say, a pie crust). Freeze the dry mixture in a zipper-lock bag for up to 2 months or use immediately.

To make the cake, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your pan of choice (see the note above the recipe).

With an electric mixer, beat the prepared cake mix, 1 1/4 cups warm water and 2 large room-temperature eggs until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan(s) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-27 minutes for two 9-inch layer cakes. See the note above the recipe for alternate cooking times with other baking pans. Cool the cake(s) in pan(s) for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Cool completely.

Blueberry Picking

This was not a Taste Tempters cooking club event but thought I'd share since I love blueberries and love picking them every July!



Blueberry Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp sugar (can add more if you like it sweeter)
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 (10 oz) pack fresh spinach
• 1 (4 oz) pack feta cheese or blue cheese, crumbled
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup almonds, toasted
• 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 6 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled

Directions:

• In a jar with tight-fitting lid, mix first 5 ingriedents and shake well. In a large salad bowl, toss the spinach, cheese, blueberries, almonds, eggs and bacon. Add dressing, gently toss; serve immediately.

Note: In this photo I served the spinach salad with a baked potato, bacon & feta cheese (rather than putting the cheese and bacon on the salad I put it on the potato). This recipe was adapted from this Blueberry Spinach Salad recipe on Allrecipes.com.