Chiles Rellenos
*This recipe is my absolute favorite way to eat poblano peppers.  If you go to a Mexican restaurant in the U.S. and you ask for Chiles poblanos you will most likely get served a version of this recipe.*

Ingredients

• Chiles poblanos (As many as you like.  Usually one big chile poblano is enough to fill me up.)
• Mexican cheese (Preferably Oaxaca if you can find it, or some other type of good melting cheese.  Enough shredded to stuff your peppers. Probably about 1/2 a cup per pepper depending on size.  You can also add extra to melt on top of the peppers whenever they're done frying.)
• Eggs (Room temperature. Depending on how many chiles you're making I would suggest around 1 egg per pepper.)
• Flour (Around 1-1&1/2 tablespoons of flour.)
• Salt (to taste)

Directions

1. First you have to roast your chile peppers.  To do this simply place your whole poblanos in your oven on around 350 degrees and roast them until tender and the outside of the skin is starting to brown.  Turn the peppers occasionally.
2. Once peppers are cooked immediately take them out of the oven and tie them up in a plastic bag.  Let them "sweat" in the plastic bag for around 30 mins.  This process will make peeling the peppers significantly easier.
3. Take them out of the bag and peel the wilted skin off the peppers.  
4. You will need to slice the pepper lengthwise on one side.  Fold open and remove all insides and seeds.
5. Now you can stuff your peppers with literally whatever you like.  Cheese is the only "required" ingredient for me.  Most people here stuff their chiles with a variety of ingredients, but the most popular are: refried beans, chorizo, and black beans. I personally like mine with just cheese or cheese and chorizo.
6. Once done stuffing your peppers fold it back together.
7. Now you need to prepare your egg mixture.  To do this take about 1 egg per pepper and beat only the whites until a stiff peak forms (like making meringue: very important that your eggs are room temperature).  Add egg yolks, flour, and salt to taste and beat until well combined and fluffy.  
8. In a skillet pour about a 1/2 inch of a good frying oil and let it get hot. 
9. Take about 1-2 big spoonfuls of your egg mixture and spread in the shape of an oval (a little longer and wider than your chile pepper) in a thick layer onto the hot oil.  Take your chile pepper and carefully place it seam side down on the egg layer.  Quickly cover the rest of the pepper in more egg mixture and spoon the hot oil onto the top of the chile.  Once the egg mixture on the top of the pepper is slightly cooked you can now flip your pepper in the oil.  Cook on all sides until the egg mixture is a nice light brown color.  
10. Now you can go ahead an eat the pepper like this or you can do 1 of 2 options.  You can place your peppers in the oven with some more shredded cheese on top for long enough to melt the cheese and then eat them like this.  Or you can eat them covered with the "special" traditional chile relleno sauce and eat like this (recipe for "special" sauce  included below).
11. ENJOY!!!!

Special Sauce

*This is a traditional chile relleno salsa that is used to cover the chiles once they have been fried.*

Ingredients

• Onion (1/2-1 whole white onion peeled and cut into strips.)
• Garlic (1 clove of garlic chopped into big chunks.)
• Tomatoes (around 3-4 plum/Roma tomatoes.)
• Water (Just enough to cover your tomatoes, garlic, and onion in a saucepan to boil them.)
• Salt (for taste)

Directions

1. Place all vegetables in a saucepan and add just enough water to cover them.  Boil your vegetables until garlic and onion are tender.
2. Pour everything (all water and all vegetables) from saucepan into a blender and add salt for tasting.  Blend until sauce is very smooth and no chunks remain.
3. Use to cover your chile peppers.
4. ENJOY!!!! 

Squash flowers!

Squash flowers
*This recipe is very simple but very delicious and a great way to use those pretty yellow squash flowers instead of throwing them away!*

Ingredients

• Squash flowers (Picked fresh and cleaned.  Use as many as you like.  They do wilt a good bit when cooked so use more than you would anticipate.)
• Garlic (1-2 cloves chopped finely)
• Onion (1/2-1 whole white/yellow onion depending on your personal preference.)
• Chiles (You can use any type of chile pepper that you like.  My host family makes it with either 2 diced jalapenos or 1 chopped serrano.)
• Tomato (1-2 diced plum/Roma tomatoes)
• Squash (One small squash diced finely)
• Butter (Small amount of butter to grease the bottom of your skillet and help saute your vegetables) 
• Salt (for taste)

Directions

1. Clean your squash flowers.  To do this simply cut the stem off (you will need to cut a small portion of the bottom of the flower off too with the stem: the part where the stem connects with the flower).  Wash your flowers to remove dirt/insects.  You do NOT need to remove the inner portion, this part is fine to eat.  
2. Clean and cut all of your vegetables.
3. Butter your skillet and saute all vegetables together until the onions are translucent and the rest of the mixture is tender.
4. Season with salt.
5. You can eat it now the way it is.  However my host family, like with everything we eat, heats up some tortillas.  You can put a slice of cheese (I suggest Oaxaca or Ranchero) in the tortilla and then fill with your vegetable mixture.  Add salsa or eat as it is.  
6. ENJOY!!!!

Guacamole
*once again for this "salsa" you can add as much garlic or chiles as you like depending on your taste and heat preference.*


Ingredients

• Garlic (Depending on your taste preference 1-2 cloves chopped)
• Tomatillos (These are small green tomatoes that have a "husk" on the outside.  You need to peel the "husk" off and chop them into quarters. Quantity depends on how much salsa you would like to make.) 
• Avocados (Depending on how much guacamole you want to make I would use between 6-10 or more. You need to cut them in half remove the large pit and scoop the flesh out of the skin.)  
• Chiles (This ingredient is technically optional, but I prefer my guacamole with a little kick.  You can roast your chile peppers just as directed in the "salsa" recipe to give them an extra kick of flavor or you can just remove the stem and chop them up without cooking.  However for this recipe I WOULD remove the seeds.  Also once again the quantity and type of chile pepper depends on your heat tolerance.  Both Jalapeno and Serrano are tasty in this recipe.)
• Onion (This ingredient is also optional but depending on how much guacamole you want to make I would use between 1/2-1 whole onion.  I would use white or red.  You do not have to cook the onion for use, just make sure you chop it up, doesn't have to be really finely chopped because you are going to use the blender.)
• Lime juice (Around 1 teaspoon depending on taste preference.  The lime juice and the tomatillos help keep the avocado from browning from oxidation.) 
• Salt (add for tasting) 

Directions

1. If you would like to roast your chile peppers go ahead and do so.
2. Roughly chop up your peppers, onion, garlic, tomatillos, and avocados.
3. Add everything to blender with salt for tasting and blend to consistency that you want, thick or smooth.  
4. You can garnish with diced roma tomatoes and cilantro if you wish.
5. ENJOY!!!! 

Salsa

*This recipe is very open-ended.  I am not going to list specific quantities of ingredients because everyone has a different taste preference and heat threshold.  You can add more or less chiles and you can change which type of chile you use depending on how much heat you can handle.*

Ingredients

• Garlic (depending on how much salsa you are making I would use between 1-3 cloves cut into big chunks)
• Tomatoes (Whole and preferably plum/Roma tomatoes, and again the quantity depends on how much you would like to make)
• Chile peppers (I would choose the type and quantity of chile pepper depending on your heat tolerance. Usually my family uses Jalapeno peppers or at times Serrano.  You do NOT need to cut them up.) 
• Salt (add for tasting)

Directions

1. In a large saucepan or frying pan place all of your ingredients except the salt (Whole tomatoes, whole chile peppers, and garlic chopped into big chunks)
2. Turn on heat to around medium (hot enough to "roast" and "grill" the outside of your vegetables.
3. You will need to grill your vegetables until the outsides are slightly browned and the skin on the peppers and the tomatoes starts to "wilt" off.  Make sure to turn the peppers and tomatoes occasionally and to stir around the chunks of garlic to prevent burning.
4. You will know it is ready once the "skin" on the tomatoes and the chile peppers starts to wilt off and the outsides are browned slightly.  Also there should be a nice layer of "tomato juice" that has leaked out into the bottom of the saucepan during the cooking process.  You NEED to keep this juice.
5. Remove pan from heat and transfer EVERYTHING just as it is after cooking into the blender. (i.e. you don't need to remove the skin from the chiles or the tomatoes and you don't need to remove the seeds either.  However you DO need to remove the stems from the chile peppers.)
6. Blend everything together with salt for tasting in your blender until it is the consistency that you want, chunky or smooth. 
7. ENJOY!!

Potato Tacos!!!

Potato Tacos
*This recipe is really really simple...but soooooo delicious!*

Ingredients:
Small Red Potatoes (enough to stuff your tortillas)
Oaxaca cheese (shredded to mix with your potatoes and top your tortillas) (you can find this in Walmart with the other Mexican cheeses)
Salt (to taste)
Tortillas (small ones; preferibly corn)
Frying oil (enough to have about one-fourth of an inch in the pan)
Lettuce (shredded for topping)
Sour Cream (for topping your tortillas)
Chile Verde Salsa (for topping your tortillas)
Egg White (probably only 1)

Directions:

1. Boil your potatoes until tender, with or without skin.  If you do not skin them before, you need to skin them after you boil them.
2. Once tender, mash your skinned potatoes.
3. Shred enough Oaxaca cheese for your liking.
4. Mash shredded cheese, potatoes, and egg white together until well incorporated.  Add enough salt for your liking.
5. Spread potato mixture in one end of your tortilla (not too much probably about 2 teaspoons worth), and roll tortilla up tightly. Fix all of your tortillas this way.
6. Heat frying oil in pan until very hot.
7. Place tortillas seam side down into the pan (don't crowd the pan).
8. Let tortillas cook seam side down for probably 2 minutes or less until very crispy.  Turn tortillas in pan until all sides are golden and crispy.
9. Place tortillas on paper towels to soak up the extra oil.
10. Place tortillas on plate and cover top with sour cream, chile verde salsa, shredded lettuce, and shredded cheese.
11. ENJOY!!!!!!

Enchiladas Queretanas

Enchiladas Queretanas

• Tortillas (as many as you would like)
• enchilada sauce (as soon as I learn how to make enchilada sauce from scratch I will post the recipe...but for now use canned sauce unless you already know how to make some)
• White onion (about 1/4 of an onion for every 3 tortillas)
• Olive oil or vegetable oil (enough to coat the bottom of your frying pan)
• Shredded white Mexican cheese (you can find a good cheese like this in the "Cacique" brand called "Oaxaca" at walmart...shred as must as you would like to stuff your tortillas)

Directions:

1. Cut onion into very small pieces.
2. Shred your cheese.
3. Toss shredded cheese and onion together.
4. Pour some enchilada sauce on tortillas…enough to cover both sides.
5. Put a portion of shredded cheese and onion mixture in the center of the tortilla and roll up very tight.  Don't make them very thick.  Make them so that when they are rolled up they are about ½-¾ an inch thick. 
6. Place in frying pan and fry until slightly crispy on the outside. ENJOY!

*My parents say that this is the traditional meal here in Querétaro. They serve their enchiladas with lettuce, carrots, and broccoli.

Chiles Poblanos!

Chiles Poblanos

• Chiles Poblanos (poblano chile peppers...however many you would like)
• Good melting cheese (I can't remember the name of the cheese we used, but you could easily find a good melting Mexican cheese in walmart...probably like "Cacique" brand, shred enough to stuff your peppers)
• Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil
• Sour Cream

Directions:

1. Rub a tiny bit oil on the outside of your peppers and roast in the oven on 350 degrees until the skin is very wilty and tender.  You will probably need to turn your peppers every now and then to keep them from burning.  Total cooking time probably around 30 minutes.
2. Remove from oven and place chiles in a plastic bag or ziplock bag and let sit and sweat for 20 minutes.  You will notice that after this time the outer layer of skin on the chiles will begin to separate kind of like when you get a really bad sun burn (I know I probably shouldn't compare sun burns the food I'm writing about but I couldn't think of a better way to explain it.)
3. After letting the chiles sweat, remove the outer layer of skin that has separated itself.
4. Cut the chile open lengthwise and remove both the stem and the insides and seeds (the seeds are usually very hot and crunchy, so you will definitely want to remove them)
5. Stuff your chile with as much shredded cheese as possible and close them back up. 
6. Put chiles back in the oven for only long enough to melt the cheese inside.
7. Remove from oven and serve with a thin layer of sour cream on top.  ENJOY!!

*Chiles Poblanos are usually not very spicy peppers compared to other peppers...at least in my opinion. 

Mexican Rice, "Puerco", Broccoli Soup, and Cactus Leaves!

Traditional Mexican Rice

• Normal white rice (enough so that when it has plumped up you have about 6 or 7 cups)
• Vegetable oil, or another good frying oil like olive oil (enough to submerse your rice in once it has soaked…probably 2 cups or so)
• “Jitomate Salsa” (recipes follows)
• Carrots (washed, and chopped into tiny cubes) (about 2 cups once chopped)
• Salt (to taste)

Directions:

1. Let rice soak in warm/hot water for about ½ an hour, stirring every now and then.  (Mi mamá did not let the rice soak on the stove top, instead she heated the water and poured both it and the rice into a plastic container to let it soak.)
2. While the rice is soaking, you need to prepare the “jitomate salsa”, which is just simply a traditional tomato sauce. (recipe follows)
3. Once the rice has soaked you need to drain it and put it in a frying pan/skillet.  Pour enough oil into the pan with the rice so that it almost covers the rice.  This is the part where you “fry” the rice.  Let the rice and oil come to a somewhat hot temperature and let it fry for about 10-15 minutes.  After you have fried your rice you need to drain the excess oil. 
4. Next pour your “jitomate salsa” in the pan with the fried rice and let it simmer away covered for about 30-45 minutes adding extra water as needed to make the rice plump and done.  This is also the part where you need to add your chopped carrots.  Add salt to taste and stir often.
5. Once your rice is plump and has soaked up all the sauce and water and the carrots are tender it is ready to eat! ENJOY!

“Jitomate Salsa”

·         Plum or “Roma” tomatoes (about 7 or 8 chopped, make sure you leave the skin on and use the whole tomato)

·         Garlic clove (1 whole clove, peeled)

·         White onion ( ½ – ¾ of a whole onion peeled and chopped)

·         Clove (1 whole clove, like the ground cloves some people season pumpkin pies with)

·         Salt (to taste)

Directions:

1.      Put chopped tomatoes, garlic, and onion in a saucepan and cover with water.  Let it come to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer until tomatoes, onion, and garlic are tender. 

2.      Remove from heat and pour both veggies and water into a blender, you may need to add extra water depending on how much evaporated during simmering.  Add whole clove and blend until smooth and salt to taste. 

3.      Use when cooking traditional Mexican rice! ENJOY!

“Puerco”  

*(part of the back of the pig, also has the texture and flavor of pork chops, in case you cannot find “puerco” substitute pork chops)*

• “Puerco” or pork chops (as many as desired)
• Salt (to taste)
• “Pimiento blanco” (this is a white pepper pimento powder/seasoning that may be hard to find in the U.S., but you could easily substitute for any favorite type of pork seasoning or just plain ground pepper.)
• Frying Oil like Olive or Vegetable
• “Jitomate Salsa” (optional, but I preferred with it)

Directions:

1. Rub “pimiento blanco” powder or your favorite pork seasoning onto the “puerco” or pork chops to taste.
2. Rub salt onto “puerco” or pork chops to taste.
3. Pour frying oil into a skillet and let it heat (enough to have about ½ an inch in the bottom of the pan.)
4. Place the “puerco” or the pork chops into the hot oil and let fry until done.
5. This next step is optional.  You can either remove the “puerco” or pork chops from the oil and it is ready to eat or you can add some “jitomate salsa” and let simmer until slighly thick.  This is the way we ate the “puerco” today and I thought it was really good.  Either way, ENJOY!

“Sopa de Bróculi” aka “Broccoli Soup”

• Broccoli florets (washed and steamed, around 4-5 cups)
• White Onion ( ½ - ¾ of a whole onion peeled and sliced and already cooked until tender with broccoli)
• Garlic (1 clove peeled and chopped and cooked until tender with broccoli and onion)
• Salt (to taste)
• Whole milk or mixture of whole milk and heavy cream (I’m not sure how much milk or cream but it needs to be enough so that once blended the soup is the color of a medium green, almost like pea soup.  I would guess a couple of cups.)

Directions:

1. Wash, peel, and chop broccoli, onion, and garlic. 
2. Steam all until tender.
3. Combine all in blender with milk or cream or both.  Add enough milk to achieve consistency and color of pea soup.  A medium green color and very creamy and thick consistency. 
4. Add salt to taste.
5. Re-heat and ENJOY!

“Cacto” aka Cactus leaves

*I don’t know if you can find this in your local store, you might have to go to a hispanic/Mexican food store to find these*

• 4-5 cactus leaves (washed and make sure there are no spikes/thorns left)
• White Onion (cut the top off of an onion, peeling and all)
• Salt (to taste)

Directions:

1. Cut cactus leaves into strips.
2. Add cactus leaf strips and top of the onion to saucepan and cover with water.
3. Let water come to a boil and then reduce heat and continue to simmer for about 10-15 mintues until they are tender. 
4. Add salt to taste.
5. Drain excess water and ENJOY! (to me the cactus tasted and had the texture of green beans)