One of my Favorite Dishes

Now I am not a professional chef by any means but I love food and creating so what better way to put those things together than by cooking. That also means I get to do another one of my favorite things, which is eat. Who doesn’t love to eat? if you don’t, then something is wrong with you. One of my favorite breakfast meals is chilaquiles. It is a very simple yet delicious dish. My mom has made this for me (still does) for as long as I can remember and I just recently learned how to make it from scratch (well not completely but more on why later in the post) and I want to share my versions with anyone wiling to learn something new.

Cooking for me is….

Cooking for me is very soothing and it is when I can be as creative as I want while creating something which I hope will be enjoyable for people to eat. I don’t cook for many people on  daily basis but that does not mean that I just give something without all the love in the world when I make it. I still want my food to be every bit as delicious as when many people are going to be eating my food. Cooking to me is not just throwing ingredients together but to respect each individual ingredient. To give each ingredient their place in the dish and let them shine rather than mask something with another. When you cook, you should put a piece of your loving soul in it because without that, the dish can fall flat. Just food for survival and that is not what makes people feel good when they eat. It becomes a numbing routine without any sort of pleasure.

….Art

People cook for two reasons. One reason is because they have to. Hey, I get that, people gots to eat. People get hungry and fill up. The second reason people cook is because they love to do it. They love to be able to recreate dishes they have had that brought them joy. They also want to want to create their own masterpieces. I feel like cooking is art. I love art and I paint, draw, photograph and create art. I have been doing so for many years. I do not know what people think of it or how good I am but it brings me satisfaction when I create something that I had in my head. So I take my love for art and bring it into the world of food (cooking/baking).

Run Wild

Cooking lets you use your imagination. There is an unlimited amount of combinations and pairings that you can come up with. I like to use a child’s approach to cooking and that is uninhibited. Kids do not put a cap on their imagination (unless it is imaginary friends because when I was a kid I could not understand that concept) and that is important in the creative world. Unbridled is the way to be when you want to come up with anything. Whether it be food, writing, fashion, photography or whatever, have fun with it. Yes, there are technically some rules to follow but only to do things better, to learn how to do things, but not when it comes to ideas. Pull from anything for inspiration and go with it. Sometimes, some rules are meant to be broken in order to create something extraordinary. Isn’t that what you to do, in the end, to be extraordinary?

My Mom Makes the Best Chilaquiles

So I love eating and my favorite time of the day, to eat, is breakfast time (not too early). One of my favorite breakfast dishes is chilaquiles and to me, my mom makes the best ever. Not an exaggeration because I make it a point to try food from different restaurants and I have yet to try anything that tastes as amazing as the chilaquiles that my mom makes. I’m am not even one of those “biased” opinion kind of people. I like to be very objective especially when it comes to food. I like to tell it like it is because I love food and need for my food to make me feel all sorts of things. I only eat mediocre food when there is absolutely no other choice or bad food when I am in a “bad food” kind of mood.

WOW, I am getting a lil bit off track….

My mom makes a quite a bit of food that I love to eat and so it is no surprise that one of her dishes would be a favorite for me. I, also, love Mexican food (maybe because I am part Mexican) and I believe it is actually my favorite kind of food (aside from pizza duh…that is like a given). I love spice in my food and I love when my food is spicy especially when it is supposed to be. I have a lot of stomach and intestinal issues but I do not let that completely dictate what I can not have, especially, if I love something. Sometimes, food like pineapple ( I am allergic) is taken out of my life because it is something where the outcome can be dangerous and it is not worth the risk. However, spicy Mexican food is a must, to me.

I make, I make

Because The Kid and I have been trying to change the way we eat, less meat and dairy, I have been making chilaquiles. The first few times I made them with the salsa my mom would make for me. I decided to make my own salsa, so my mom told me how to do it and I did. My first time making salsa and I thought it turned out pretty good and had quite a bit of kick to it. So then I used my salsa to make chilaquiles and The Kid loved it. I, too, enjoyed them. The heat of the salsa did go down after cooking the chilaquiles but nonetheless I was happy with the outcome. Today I made a bit more of an elaborate version of the dish. Just a few more steps but a delicious outcome is worth the extra bit of work.

Chilaquiles Time

For 2 to 3 servings…if you stretch it, maybe 4 servings.

You Will Need:

*10 store bought tortillas    *salsa (preferably homemade)

*oil ( whichever you like)    *2 scallions chopped (thin or thick, your call)

*2 big garlic cloves or 4 small ones roughly chopped (to taste, I love garlic)

* 1/4 of a medium yellow onion (chopped or sliced, your call)

*a handful of washed cilantro (roughly chopped)

*a couple of handfuls of spinach (all I had available)

*1 Mexican chorizo sausage link  (take it out of the casing)

*a bit of queso fresco ( as much as you like or none at all)

*salt(optional….normally I would say salt is not optional but necessary except that with everything else, it is not needed this time, well mine did not need it)

How I made this Chilaquiles dish

Like I said, I am not a professional anything. All I know, I learned by watching my mom, shows, videos, trial and error. I would get a recipe and use it as a guide but add whatever I think would be a great addition or adjust quantities to what I felt would work. Also,I, taste as I go. That is an important step when cooking , if you don’t taste your food as you cook, how will you know if you are on the right track to awesomeness?

So I started prepping everything; I chopped the scallion, cilantro, onion and shredded the spinach. I placed the cilantro, spinach and scallions in a bowl and set it aside. I left the onions on my cutting board because I didn’t want to mix it in with the rest of the ingredients. After that, I put my oil in a pan, enough to be able to coat my all the tortillas, which was more than coating the bottom of the pan. I chopped the tortillas up into rectangular pieces (not too small) and put them into the pan. Then I tossed the tortillas in the oil, coating them all, after which I turned on the burner to semi-medium temp. Every so often, I would shuffle them in the pan as to not burn them but fry them evenly. My preference is a bit more on the crispy side. While that is going, I had a non-stick pan heating up that I added my chorizo to. I broke it apart before putting it in the pan then I added my onions to it and let them cook for a bit. I stirred the toritllas in the other pan then chopped my garlic then set it aside. I added the scallion, spinach and cilantro mixture to the chorizo and onions. I stirred them until they were all mixed together in the pan.

Almost done

After all of that is done, I checked my tortillas to see if they were the right amount of crispy because I don’t like them too soft. They tend to get too soggy after you mix the salsa in if they are not crispy enough. So I added my salsa to that and mixed it, then I added the garlic to that. Soon after that I added the chorizo mixture to the tortillas and mixed everything together. All along I had been tasting for flavor. After I was satisfied that everything was ready to be served, I turned off the stove and plated it, then I crumpled some queso fresco on top.

It was so yyyyyuuummmmmyyy. I only wished my mom was eating with us to taste it and tell me if it was as good as hers.

 

Enjoy it how you like

Now, you can add or take away from what I used but the main ingredients to chilaquiles are tortillas (store bought is fine, which is what I used because home made takes time), oil, and salsa ( I used the salsa I made and a bit of salsa my mom gave me, as well). Chorizo (find a tasty one, not too salty) can be added but not necessary ( I love me some chorizo but I am trying to cut back on meat, sadly) to complete the dish. I enjoy this meal with orange juice (I prefer Tropicana if fresh squeezed is not an option) and a delicious cup of coffee. This meal is easy to make, with just three ingredients needed and vegan, if you stick to the basic recipe. If you want, you can add crazy ingredients like shrimp or actual chilis. Let you imagination go crazy but also respect the ingredients.

Bye Bye

Hope you enjoyed this post. Hope you try this “recipe” and let me know what you think of it. Let me know of any delicious yet simple recipes that you know of in the comment section. Try something new. Have a great day.