Tex Mex Pasta Salad

 

This Tex Mex Pasta Salad would make an easy, flavorful addition to any picnic, BBQ or potluck. It’s colorful, fresh tasting, and includes all the vibrant ingredients you would expect from a pasta salad with a southwest flair. Cooked pasta mixed with black beans, corn, onion, red pepper, green pepper, salsa, black olives and cilantro, then dressed with a blend of mayo, sour cream, taco seasoning, cumin and lime juice. (You can easily lighten it up by substituting low fat mayo and nonfat sour cream.) Packed with zest, rather than spicy heat, this salad really delivers on taste. This creative combination of flavors will have everyone asking, “Who made the salad?”

Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse thoroughly with cold water. Drain well.
While pasta is cooking, prep the veggies. Chop onion, red pepper, green pepper and cilantro. Rinse and drain black beans.

Prepare dressing. In small bowl, combine mayo, sour cream, taco seasoning, cumin and lime juice. Mix well to thoroughly combine.

In large bowl, add well drained pasta.

Add black beans, corn, onion, red pepper, salsa, black olives and cilantro. Mix well to combine. 

Add dressing. 

Stir well to combine.

Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

TEX MEX PASTA SALAD
Source: Food.com
Posted by: www.meldingmagic.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (16-ounce) box pasta, elbows, shells, or rotini (any pasta will do)
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1-1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 1 cup onion, chopped fine
• 1 red pepper, chopped fine
• 1 green pepper, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup salsa, hot or mild (your choice)
• 1/2 cup sliced black olives
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro

Dressing:

• 1 cup mayonnaise, regular or light
• 1/2 cup sour cream, regular or nonfat
• 1 (1-1/2 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• Juice of one lime

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse thoroughly with cold water. Drain well.
2. Prepare dressing. In small bowl, combine mayo, sour cream, taco seasoning, cumin and lime juice. Mix
    well to thoroughly combine.
3. In large bowl, add well drained pasta, black beans, corn, onion, red pepper, salsa, black olives and
    cilantro. Mix well to combine. Add dressing. Stir well to combine.
4. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

Tex Mex Bacon Queso Burgers

We had spring fever in a BIG way this past weekend (as you can see from above pic)! I think I eat burgers about 2 times a year, but I was so ready for a grilled burger that I went all out. This Tex Mex burger (from Rachel Ray Magazine 2012) is everything you dream about in a burger: the meat is flavored with garlic, cooked bacon, onion, pureed chipotle peppers and Worcestershire sauce and formed into patties. Instead of being topped with sliced cheese, the burger is slathered in homemade Queso sauce then garnished with pickled jalapeno pepper slices, tomatoes, lettuce, more onion and “even more” bacon. Of course, you can mix and match toppings of your choosing. Just one luscious bite and you are oblivious to everything going on around you. This is Utopia on a bun. Big, sloppy, messy and loaded; but isn’t that what makes a good burger? Based on those standards, I’d rate this one “5 napkins,” and a happy face  :)

Pic above does not include Queso sauce ingredients, which is shown in another pic below.

Preheat and clean grill.

Finely chop onion. Mince garlic. Puree chipotle peppers. (I would highly recommend that you taste test the adobo sauce in the can of chipotle peppers to help determine the heat level you want in your burgers – 1 or 2 Tablespoons of the pureed peppers.)

Ignore the sour cream and other items in background - that was for another recipe.

For garnish: slice red onion, slice tomato, and chop some cilantro (if using). Garnishes are mix and match and you can use any combination, or all – it's totally up to you.

If using a block of cheese, shred (or cut into cubes). I’m not a fan of Cheddar cheese in sauces because of the grainy texture. I used a mix of Colby and Jack cheeses. However, for a more authentic flavored Queso sauce, next time I would go with a block of Land O’ Lakes white American, or Asadero or Chihuahua cheese (which are the melting cheeses used in Mexican restaurants, but not always easily available, depending on region).

Preheat oven to 375° F. On broiler pan, or baking sheet with wire rack, cook bacon 10 to 12 minutes, or until nice and crispy. (You will probably have to cook it up in 2 batches.) You will be dividing up the bacon; some of it will be crumbled (to go in the meat mixture); the balance you will leave whole (to top off the burger). I crumbled 8 to 10 slices, and reserved the rest for the top. You can decide what ratio of chopped and whole works best for you.

In large bowl, combine beef, crumbled bacon, chopped onion, garlic, chipotle puree and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture into 5 to 6 balls, and gently press into patties. Drizzle patties with olive oil. Grill 5 to 7 minutes per side (depending on size of patties) for medium doneness. (USDA recommends an internal temperature of 160° F. for ground beef.) Just before burgers are done to your liking, toast the buns on the grill.

Meanwhile, prepare the Queso sauce. 

In small saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute. 

Slowly whisk in milk. 

Stir in the cheese and stir until melted. 

Add well-drained tomatoes, stir well to combine. Reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally, until ready to serve.

And now it’s time to put it all together. Line bottom of bun with lettuce, top with burger patty, slather with Queso sauce, add a slice of red onion and a slice of tomato, add 1 or 2 slices of bacon and top with some pickled jalapeno peppers. Other optional garnishes include: corn chips and cilantro. (I left the corn chips out, as I didn’t feel it added any value to the taste and texture of this burger.)


And, there you have it! A thing of beauty!

TEX MEX BACON QUESO BURGER
Source: Rachel Ray Magazine 2012
Posted by: www.meldingmagic.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound package bacon, divided
• 1-1/2 to 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 3 to 4 Tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 to 2 Tablespoons pureed chipotle peppers (in adobo sauce)
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Olive oil, for drizzling
• 5 or 6 burger buns, split

Queso Sauce:

• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups cheese, shredded or cubed (Recommended Land O’ Lakes white American, Asadero, or Chihuahua); however, Cheddar or even Velveeta can be substituted
• 1 (14-ounce) can Ro-Tel diced tomatoes with green chiles, well drained

Toppings:

•  Lettuce
• Red onion, sliced
• Tomato, sliced
• Pickled jalapenos, sliced
• Crisp, yellow corn chips, optional
• Cilantro, optional

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat and clean grill.
2. Preheat oven to 375° F. On broiler pan, or baking sheet with wire rack, cook bacon 10 to 12 minutes,
    or until nice and crispy. Cook all the bacon. Crumble 8 to 10 slices (to mix in with beef). Leave the rest
    whole, to garnish the burgers.
3. In large bowl, combine beef, crumbled bacon, chopped onion, garlic, chipotle puree and
    Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture into 5 to 6 balls, and gently
    press into patties. Drizzle patties with olive oil. Grill 5 to 7 minutes per side (depending on size of
    patties) for medium doneness. (USDA recommends an internal temperature of 160° F. for ground
    beef.) Just before burgers are done to your liking, toast the buns on the grill.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the Queso sauce. In small saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in
    flour and cook 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk. Stir in the cheese and stir until melted. Add well-
    drained tomatoes, stir well to combine. Reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally, until ready to
    serve.
5. Line bottom of bun with lettuce, top with burger patty, slather with Queso sauce, add a slice of red
    onion and a slice of tomato, add 1 or 2 slices of bacon and top with some pickled jalapeno peppers.
    Other optional garnishes include: corn chips and cilantro.

Orange Rice

This is one of those extremely versatile, no-fuss side dishes using only 4 ingredients. Combine instant rice with orange juice, chicken with rice soup and some grated orange peel; cover with aluminum foil, bake for 30 minutes (no peeking), uncover and bake for 10 minutes more. That’s it! Done. All the mixing is done right in the casserole dish, so no extra bowls to clean afterwards. The refreshing “summery” taste of this Orange Rice would be an ideal way to serve up those grilled kabobs. Scoop a bed of prepared rice on a platter, garnish with some mandarin orange segments and lay the kabobs atop. Or, make it a main meal indoors. Brown pork chops in a skillet. Mix rice, juice and grated orange peel in casserole dish. Lay the browned chops over the rice mixture. Pour the canned soup over all. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes; uncover and bake for 10 minutes more. How versatile is that? You have a stand-alone side dish, an outdoor complete meal option and an indoor complete meal option; and I was able to give instructions for all three choices in just a few sentences. A flavorful and different way to serve up plain ol’ rice (and the kids will love it)!

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Grate orange peel.

In 2- quart casserole dish, combine instant rice (Minute rice), orange juice, orange peel and canned soups. Stir to combine (right in the casserole dish). 

Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; uncover. 

Return to oven and bake for 10 minutes more.
 
If desired, garnish with mandarin orange segments. 

ORANGE RICE
Posted by:  www.meldingmagic.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-2/3 cups instant rice (Minute rice)
• 2 cups orange juice
• 2 cans (10-1/2 ounces each) chicken with rice soup
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• Mandarin orange segments, for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. In 2- quart casserole dish, combine instant rice (Minute rice), orange juice, orange peel and canned
    soups. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; uncover. Return to oven
    and bake for 10 minutes more.
3. If desired, garnish with mandarin orange segments.

Variations:
To make pork chops with orange rice – Brown pork chops on both sides in skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Place rice in 2- quart baking dish. Pour orange juice over rice. Arrange browned pork chops on rice. Pour chicken soup over all. Cover and bake at 375° F. for 40 minutes; remove cover and bake for additional 10 minutes.

To serve with grilled kabobs – Prepare rice according to directions above. Scoop a bed of prepared rice on serving platter. Garnish with mandarin orange segments. Lay kabobs atop rice.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken Strips

This is a quick and easy weeknight meal that’s sure to please the whole family. Chicken tenders are dredged in milk (or buttermilk), coated with shredded Cheddar cheese and then dipped in “Everything” flavored Ritz cracker crumbs, baked until crispy and topped with a creamy sauce. Ever since Ritz came out with the new “Everything” flavor, it’s all we keep in the pantry. These crackers are packed so full of flavor. The Everything cracker has onion, poppy seeds, garlic and sea salt, so I knew the flavor combination would be ideal for this recipe, and it was. As an alternative to the Everything flavored cracker, you could substitute the Roasted Vegetable flavor. This is an incredibly tasty chicken dish; and I wouldn’t hesitate to make it again. Kid friendly and husband approved, you can’t go wrong serving this up for your next meal.

I omitted the salt and pepper, as there was already salt and pepper in the crackers.

I found this recipe on Jamie Cooks It Up. I did run into one slight snag in the original recipe. After the shredded cheese got wet (from the milk), it clumped together and would no longer stick to the chicken. So, I would suggest either pouring out smaller quantities of cheese, at a time, in your dipping tray, or combining the cheese with the cracker crumbs. I think I would go with the latter solution the next time I make this. Also, you could probably get away with 1-1/2 sleeves of crackers (3 snack size sleeves), as there was a lot of cracker crumbs leftover.

Preheat oven to 400° F. (Actually, I had something else baking in the oven, so I reduced the temp to 375° F. and cooked the chicken a little longer.) Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. (I found a 9x13-inch pan to be a little tight. I did manage to fit all the chicken pieces in, but I might go with a bigger pan the next time, in order to get crispy edges on the strips.)

If using whole chicken breasts, cut each breast into 3 large pieces.

Crush crackers. As suggested above, you may want to mix the cheese in with the crackers when you crush them and omit one dipping station.

If not using Everything flavored Ritz. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper to crumbs.

Pour the milk (or buttermilk) into one dipping tray. Put cheese in a second dipping tray (dividing it out, so you are only putting in a little at a time, so it doesn’t get wet and clumpy). Put crushed crackers in a third dipping tray (or a cracker/cheese combo, if you want to omit the second dipping tray step).

I put my cheese in the dish all at once and it got too wet and clumpy to adhere to all the chicken pieces.

Dip each piece of chicken in the milk. Next, dip the chicken into the cheese, pressing the cheese into the chicken so it adheres fully. Then press the cheesy coated chicken strips into the cracker crumbs. Again, press the crumbs firmly onto the chicken, so it gets a good coating. (Some of the cheese will fall into the crumbs when dredging, as you can see in pic below. Again, you may prefer to mix cheese and crumbs together at the start and eliminate an extra step.)

Place coated chicken in prepared baking dish. I sprinkled a little additional cracker crumbs over the top before baking. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes (do not turn chicken at all while baking). 

Remove the aluminum foil cover. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, without turning, or until chicken edges are golden brown and crispy. 

In a medium saucepan, combine soup, sour cream, butter, garlic powder and dry mustard. Whisk together over medium high heat until the sauce is hot. 

Serve over the chicken. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

CRISPY CHEDDAR CHICKEN STRIPS
Source: Adapted from Jamie Cooks It Up
Posted by: www.meldingmagic.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds chicken tenders, or 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 sleeves Ritz crackers, preferably Everything flavor, or 4 snack size sleeves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup whole milk, or buttermilk
• 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
• Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Sauce:

• 1 (10-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 2 Tablespoons sour cream
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard, or to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. If using whole chicken breasts, cut each breast into 3 large pieces.
3. Crush crackers. You may want to mix the cheese in with the crackers when you crush them and omit
    one dipping station. Season crumbs with salt and pepper (if not using Everything flavor crackers).
4. Pour the milk into one dipping tray. Put cheese in a second dipping tray (dividing it out, so you are
    only putting in a little at a time, so it doesn’t get wet and clumpy). Put crushed crackers in a third
    dipping tray (or a cracker/cheese combo, if you want to omit the second dipping tray step).
5. Dip each piece of chicken in the milk. Next, dip the chicken into the cheese, pressing the cheese into
    the chicken so it adheres fully. Then press the cheesy coated chicken strips into the cracker crumbs.
    Again, press the crumbs firmly onto the chicken, so it gets a good coating.
6. Place coated chicken in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle a little additional cracker crumbs over the top
    before baking. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes (do not turn chicken at
    all while baking). Remove the aluminum foil cover. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until
    chicken edges are golden brown and crispy.
7. In a medium saucepan, combine soup, sour cream, butter, garlic powder and dry mustard. Whisk
    together over medium high heat until the sauce is hot. Serve over the chicken. Garnish with chopped
    fresh parsley.