Nachos

Somethings you just fantasize over, even though you know that I won't be as hard as making Shahi Chicken. Nachos was one of these things. I, for some reason, always thought that this is something I won't be able to make until one day we ordered Nachos from a local place and what we got was burnt, not enough cheese, no guacamole and tiny little portion (not even enough for one person) for a price of $9. It ruined my evening big time and I was not going to compromise this again.

The next day I was on a mission to make perfect nachos. And hurray! It was a no pain job and I can't believe I never tried this simple yet delicious recipe before. Talk about low confidence....

Ingredients:

1. One large bag of Tortilla chips (I used Tostitos brand "With a Hint of Lime")
2. For Salsa - One big red onion chopped, One big tomato chopped, One green bell pepper chopped, a bunch of fresh cilantro chopped, salt and lime juice to taste
3. Guacamole - see recipe here
4. Sour cream - store bought
5. Refried beans - store bought
6. Mexican four cheese - store bought

Process:

1. Place all of tortilla chips in a baking pan.
2. Spread all of Mexican four cheese on top of the chips.
3. Bake for 10-15 minutes (at 350 degrees Fahrenheit) or till cheese melts.
4. In a bowl mix together all the items in #2 and make salsa.
5. Spread salsa over to one side of the chips and cheese.
6. Spread sour cream over to other side of the chips and cheese.
7. Spread guacamole over to another side of the chips and cheese.
8. Lastly, spread refired beans over to the last side of the chips and cheese.
9. Serve immediately.  

If you like, you can mix together salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and refried beans and place it on top of chips. I like to spread it out separately 'cause everyone have their own preferences of what they want to eat.

ENJOY!!!

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Mexican Pizza

Where do I even start with for this delicious, quick, and easy snack item. This has been a life-time saver after Maggie of course! I normally make this pizza when I am really hungry but don't necessarily have enough time to do something fancy. This pizza is very filling and more importantly it is loved by dear Hubby, as well. He doesn't like the American pizzas with melted cheese but he loves Indian Pizza and this Mexican Pizza. Don't ask my why 'cause I am still trying to figure why it is the way he is :)

Ingredients:
1. Plain flour tortilla (I used store bought one).
2. One can of pinto beans (store bought).
3. Three tblsp Salsa (store bought).
4. Guacamole - four to five tblsp.
4. Half green bell pepper - chopped.
5. Mexican four cheese - as much as you need!

Process:
1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.
2. Place tortilla on a Pizza Pan, evenly coat tortilla with salsa.
3. Evenly spread guacamole, place pinto beans over salsa and guacamole.
4. Sprinkle chopped green bell pepper and cheese.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or till cheese is melted.
6. Serve hot!!!

ENJOY!!!

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Guacamole Dip

Days are now longer than normal - meaning me getting hungry more than usual...

Sometimes its bad to be a foodoholic, because all you think about is food, food and food...

When I am at home, every couple of hours I start to think what can I have next. When at work, I keep thinking of all the new recipes that I want to try and some of the old recipes that I haven't tried for so long now...

However, during weekdays, I normally get home around or after 7, so it gets really hard to actually cook something that takes up an hour... and believe me I am never in a mood to do so... weekends are a different story...

One of the things that I made few weeks ago, was this delicious Guacamole Dip and added it in as one of the ingredients in a burrito...

This is dip tastes havenly and you can have it with burritos, cliantro rice (recipe coming soon), or chips... and the plus point is that it is super easy to make!!!!

Ingredients:

1. One ripe avacado
2. 2 tblsp onions - finely chopped
3. 2 tblsp tomatoes - finely chopped
4. Salt - a pinch or per taste
5. Lime juice - half tblsp

Process:

1. Cut the avacado in half and take out the pit.
2. Spoon out the avacado from its shell with a spoon.
3. Mix together with the ingredients listed above (#2 to #5).
4. Serve with burritos or chips.

ENJOY!!!!

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Burrito Inspired Open Sandwich

Sending this recipe to Scrumptious Delights from Leftover Event hosted by PJ at Seduce Your Tastebuds...

I made burritos over the weekend... Came out great as usual but I had some leftover beans and didn't know what to do with them... I threw it in an airtight box last night... and forgot about it... Today when I got back from work.. I was starving and wanted something refreshing and quick - the leftover beans came to the rescue... as most of you know that I hate to waste food...

 Ingredients:

1. Two bread slices
2. Leftover beans, about two big spoonful
3. Small onion - finely chopped
4. Small tomato - finely chopped
5. Green bell peppers - 2 tblsp - finely chopped
6. Handful of fresh coriander - finely chopped
7. Sour cream - 2 tblsp
8. Cheese - as needed
9. Maggie Chili sauce 
10. Cooking oil spray

 Process:

• Heat frying pan
• On a bread slice spread chili sauce
• Place beans, onions, tomato, bell peppers, and coriander
• Place 1 tblsp of sour cream
• Shredded cheese
• Place the slice on the frying pan, let it cook on a medium heat or till cheese melts
• Repeat the same process with the second slice of bread
• Serve hot with chips and juice... 

I loved every single bite... I am sure you will too... let me know how you like it...

ENJOY!!!!

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Burritos

I Love Love Love burritos and can have it anytime of the day... including breakfast.. I can never have it enough... :)

Ingredients

1. 1 can of pinto beans ( I usually use the Goya one)
2. 2 tortillas (I get plain ones)
3. Shredded cheese (I get a shredded three cheese packages from the Supermarket which clearly indicates that it can be used for burritos)
4. One small onion - chopped finely
5. One small tomato - chopped finely
6. Half bell pepper - chopped finely
7. A bunch of fresh coriander - chopped finely
8. Two tblsp of lime juice
9. Sour cream (optional)
10. Salt per taste

Process:

1. Empty the can of pinto beans in a bowl and wash it with cold running water.
2. Boil about 2 cups of water and add in washed pinto beans, along with salt and let it cook while you do the following.
3. Mix in onion, tomato, bell pepper, coriander, lime juice and salt to prepare salsa.
4. Place tortilla on a panini maker, sprinkle shredded cheese, fold in half and let the tortilla warm and cheese to melt. (Note - this should only take about a minute or two)
5. Open up the tortilla and place it on a foil paper
6. Scoop out pinto beans from water using a sieve (chalni) - make sure all the water is drained out.
7. Place it on tortilla on top of melted cheese
8. Add in a layer of sour cream on top of beans
9. Add in a layer of salsa on top of sour cream - (after this step, it should look something like the picture below)

10. Wrap around the tortilla and then wrap around the foil paper (I used the absorbent paper and foil paper)
11. Serve hot!!!

ENJOY!!!

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Chicken Wrap

What a beautiful day we had in late August, which is usually very unusual for New England weather. There was a small get together held by one of the nearby city’s mosque in a farm. It was open to public, so we all decided to go. However, due to the fact that we would only consume halal food, we wondered if the place will have anything halal that we could eat. Time was short and we had to make something real fast for seven people and something easy to eat in a farm/garden. I went ahead and put my cooking hat on and started to think what we can make in just two hours that we had left. My mom and sister in law (SIL) were just blabbering out different dishes – dal vada (no – it will get cold), noodles (we are going to a garden – not a candle light dinner), tuna sandwich (unfortunately there are three people in the house who are fan of this), aloo parathe (no – it will get cold), etc etc [do not worry readers, I will soon post all these recipes for you]. I knew we had some chapattis left over from the breakfast and we were going to make chicken in the evening so my mom had already marinated it (overnight!!). I told everyone to relax and that I have some recipe in my mind that would work and told everyone to get ready and get all the picnic materials that we will need and leave me alone in the kitchen. Boy, was it the easiest recipe that I ever came up with. All seven wraps were done in less than 1 hour and I must say everyone enjoyed it to the fullest. AG & JK just couldn’t stop talking about it and telling to make it again next weekend…

Preparation time: 45 mins to 1 hour

Food Type: Lunch box item, picnic

Cuisine Type: Mixture of Indian, American & Mexican Cuisine

Materials: 1. Two chicken breast – cut in small cubes, 2. One and half tsp red chili powder 3. One tsp dhaniya powder 4. One tsp garlic-ginger paste 5. Half tsp turmeric powder 6. Salt per taste 7. Red food color – a pinch 8. Juice of half lemon 9. Seven fresh chapatis 10. Mayonnaise and ketchup 11. Onion – thinly sliced 12. Tomato – thinly sliced 13. Lettuce – shredded 14. Seven American cheese slices 15. Oil for fry 16. Panini Press Grill for grilling Process: 1. Mix together items 1 through 7 and marinate for two hours. 2. Heat oil in a pan or wok and deep fry chicken pieces until reddish brown. 3. Take a chapatti and put on a layer of mayonnaise with a spoon, put five to seven chicken pieces on top, put a layer of onion, then tomato, then lettuce, a little ketchup and the American cheese. 4. Roll over the chapatti to make a wrap, like a burrito. 5. Turn on the Panini Press Grill and grill the wrap till the green light goes on. 6. Repeat the same process for remaining chapattis 7. NOTE: you can grill two wraps at once in the Panini Press Grill. 8. Serve hot.

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