This is like Claire Saffitz when she was making gourmet versions of products like Twinkies for Bon Appetit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD2OOTx2G9k

I still question making enchiladas with flour tortillas. I guess that's why they had to call it an enchirito.

It is suppose to be a combo of a burrito and enchiladas.

I smoked a couple more beef chucks. Running low on new ideas, I decided to make smoked shredded beef enchiladas. They were very good and definitely different than my normal enchiladas.

The smoked beef flavor really came through. These are definitely keepers.

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I was perusing an old Ethnic Cuisine cookbook (in fact Ethnic Cuisine is the title) and found a recipe for a chicken, black bean and corn soup in the Mexican food section.

I liked the combination and decided to search online for some recipe options.

We ended up with this mixture of chicken, zucchini, black bean, corn, purple onion and bell pepper creation.

We combined it with some store-bought tamales for a quick to prepare dinner.

This was a nice departure from what I normally cook. A version of this will definitely remain in the rotation.

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sounds interesting and looks very tasty

Here is another new recipe for us: Mexican chicken soup.

This soup had a large ingredients list but was basically built around chicken, fire roasted tomatoes, onions, peppers, jalapeno, green chiles, carrots and corn.

In an interesting twist, six corn tortillas would cut into thin strips and added for what appears to be, thickener.

The soup was pureed and then the chicken and corn added.

This recipe is basically, leftovers. It utilizes left over chicken and tortillas, and other items that might be found in the kitchen.

After cooking it was more like a soup, but it really thickened up over-night. Also, I could really taste the smoked paprika and fire roasted tomatoes the second day.

I have noticed that smoky flavors tend to come out more after refrigeration and reheating.

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What the soup looked like the first day. The soup was not yellow. That is from the lighting in my kitchen.
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What the soup looked like the second day.
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Looks tasty.

I'm trying something new Saturday - Black Bean & Corn Quesadilla's.

Hank, that sounds like what we call tortilla soup here.  It's mighty tasty if I remember correctly.  We haven't made it in a long time and need to.  Thanks for the reminder!

Went to a new Mexican restaurant in Mayberry.  This location has been about 5 different Mexican restaurants in the last 4 years.  El Agave, a small chain in the area, 5-6 places.  About 12, 4 person tables. It was about a third full when we went in.  And full when we left!  All White Bread.  Pure Mayberry this night.  The food, well, you all won't be coming to Mayberry soon, and if you do, we wont be going here!  I guess Mexican restaurants cook for their audience back here, something I never had to deal with in LA!

Friend had Carnitas (he said very fatty) with beans & ensalada?  I had "Fried" Chimichanga w/ beans and toppings on side.  The Beans were Outstanding!

That doesn't look like any carnitas I've ever seen if that is what the first plate picture is.

Me either!  I told him I would make some CARNITAS TIJUANA this coming Friday!

The ones they make here are small pieces of pork that are fried.  They're crispy on the outside and tender inside.  Very delicious and probably not healthy since they are deep fried in manteca (pork lard).

That is what I am used to.  Cooked in OJ before the frying process.

I've never made them but I've eaten a lot of them.  Mighty good eats with the right hot sauce and fresh tortillas.  There are places here that do them along with barbacoa on the weekends.  Now I want some but I'd be the only one eating them.

I missed taking a picture of this but...

I had a very interesting meal of vegetarian enchiladas at a health food restaurant today.

They were stuffed with a mix of corn, carrots, zucchini, tomato and potato and covered with a mild red sause and covered in a white cheese.

They were quite good. I would certainly try to make my own version at home.

They came with brown rice and interesting beans that tasted very much like chili, but not chile.

I smoked a couple more beef chucks last night. That means shredded beef chuck and eggs, my version of machaca and eggs.

This is a simple recipe with shredded beef, onions, red and green bell peppers, tomato, mild green chiles and eggs.

I think this one was a bit more balanced than usual. I cut down the amount of shredded beef. More does not always mean better.

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