Why use a juicer instead of a blender? While the blender does the job OK, the process of filtering the pulp through a mesh sieve can be a lot messier, and also take more time. The end result is that your juice has some pulp that you really don’t want in an agua fresca. …
I’ve written before about how to fry your own chicharrones with the kind you buy at the store that you have to cook so they’re edible. But if you can’t get those at your local Mexican market, you’ll at least be likely to find them already fried and packaged to buy—usually alongside the chips, Takis, and that kind of stuff. All you have to know is how to prepare them!
I get a lot of questions from my non-Mexican friends and readers about this snack because they’ve never seen it before, or didn’t know how to prepare it properly. It’s actually really simple, and these things are super addictive….
The best part about this dish is that it’s incredibly easy to make, packs a ton of flavor, and using a slow-cooker means it’s mostly a hands-off recipe.
There’s a taquería in Los Angeles I really love called Guisados. They make a taco de chicharrón guisado that’s very similar to this recipe, and they serve it on a corn tortilla over refried black beans, and topped with a little dollop of avocado salsa verde, which is how I served them here as well, but you can serve it without beans (or different beans) and whatever kind of salsa you like on top.
There are lots of recipes out there for chicharrón guisado—mostly in Spanish—and there’s one key departure in my version aside from using a slow-cooker: I use chile morita, which is a small, dried and smoked chile. I also like to serve these on smaller tortillas (about 4.5 inches round instead of the standard 6 inches) because it makes you feel more like you’re in a taquería….
Not all guacamole is created equal, and it’s much easier to screw up than one might think. And since avocados are sometimes a splurge in your grocery budget, you really don’t want to waste them with bad guacamole. There are some common mistakes people make that cause their guac to suck: mashing the avocado so much that it’s totally smooth, adding too much of one ingredient so it throws off the flavor balance, not enough flavor so the whole thing is totally bland, or the opposite – too salty.
I’m not bragging (OK, I am totally bragging) but everyone I know who has ever eaten my guacamole has said that I make the best guacamole ever….
Most chocolate pudding recipes use milk, along with cornstarch and sometimes egg yolks to thicken it. This avocado chocolate pudding recipe relies on the creamy texture and stability of avocado and gelatin to create that perfect pudding texture.
If you’ve got avocados that are slightly past their prime and a little too soft for anything else, this recipe is a great way to use them up so they don’t go to waste.…
This post is part of a compensated campaign in collaboration with HERDEZ® and #WeAllGrow Latina Network. All opinions and the recipe here are my own.
I would eat breakfast food for three meals a day if nobody prevented me from doing it. I LOVE poached eggs, and I’m no stranger to spreading chorizo on avocado toast, so I already knew Herdez Guacamole Salsa would pair perfectly with this dish.
The creamy texture of real avocado and the spicy kick of salsa verde is what makes the salsa so unique. You can use it for topping, dipping and cooking—there’s no wrong way to do it!…
In fact, it’s similar to a limonada, but with salt instead of sugar. It’s a very simple recipe and surely you’ll already have all the ingredients, but it’s the best remedy for a hangover.
And it’s not to be confused with buttermilk, which is another meaning of the word “suero” in Mexico.
RELATED: The Best Mexican Hangover Cures
What’s awesome about this drink is that it can also be used to help you recover from a run or an intense workout! The salt helps you retain liquids after you’ve been dehydrated.
Sick with the flu? This is also helpful for staying properly hydrated.
Remember: table salt tastes saltier than Kosher salt (which is what I usually cook with). Start with 3/4 of a teaspoon and add more if necessary if you plan to use table salt.
And if you’ve got some digestive issues, a little watermelon and aloe vera juice for a couple of days can help you get back to normal once you’re rehydrated. Té de bugambilia (bougainvillea tea) is also a great Mexican home remedy for when you’re sick with a cold or cough.
RELATED: Guide to Mexican Limes
The Mexican hangover, flu and dehydration cure that gives Gatorade a run for its money.
If you’re suffering from serious dehydration, please be smart and consult a physician.
With a couple of store-bought ingredients, you can make them quickly enough to eat breakfast at home before work!
RELATED RECIPE: Chorizo avocado toast with poached eggs
Eating breakfast every day is important to me. Don’t you just feel like you’re starting the day off right when you sit down and eat breakfast without being in a hurry? I started waking up a little bit earlier so I could have some daily quiet time to eat breakfast, sip my tea or coffee, and read the newspaper. Since last year, I’ve been eating a decent breakfast a lot more consistently and I notice I make better choices throughout the day when I’ve had breakfast at home.
And as much as I love stuff like churro french toast or pancakes on the weekend, I really need to eat a protein-rich breakfast on weekdays so that I don’t snack on too much sugary crap during the day. And as much as I love a trenza de huevo con chorizo for breakfast, unless I make it the night before, it’s a little too much work when I’m trying to get out the door quickly in the mornings.
Sometimes José will wake up early and make breakfast for me before work, which is such a treat. I love this huevo ranchero for one recipe because it’s so simple but SO good. To cut down on prep time, we just use canned beans (the preferred brand in our house is La Costeña) and Herdez bottled salsas (the red is called salsa casera and the green is salsa verde).
Prep
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Total
Yield 1 serving
A classic Mexican breakfast made easier with some store-bought ingredients.
Courses Breakfast
Cuisine Mexican
RELATED RECIPE: Huevo con chorizo breakfast tacos
Who doesn’t love doughnuts for breakfast? I don’t trust anyone who says they don’t. I first got the idea to make this doughnut recipe when Fany Gerson posted a photo on Instagram of a similar-looking doughnut she was making at her doughnut shop in Brooklyn—appropriately called Dough. If you’re not familiar with Fany, she’s one of my favorite people in the culinary world and she wrote a beautiful book called “My Sweet Mexico” in 2010 that has made me one of her biggest fans. As a lover of pan dulce and Mexican candies and desserts, her book was the first one I found that made these treasured recipes accessible in English.
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We’ve all been there. You had too much fun, and you’re paying the price the day after. You might even have what my friend Victor calls “cruda del agua,” which is when you’re so hungover that you can’t even keep water down. That’s the worst, and if that’s the case, as soon as you can hold anything down, try the recipe for suero below before you eat anything.
A few notes: I’m not a doctor and this isn’t medical advice. Some say they benefit from taking an antacid after a night of heavy drinking before consuming anything with tomato or chile to aid in curing a hangover because they’re acidic and sometimes can provoke heartburn and acid reflux.
Best remedy for the kind of hangover that makes you vomit:
Suero is like homemade Mexican Gatorade. In fact, it’s similar to a limonada, but with salt instead of sugar. It’s a very simple recipe and surely you’ll already have all the ingredients, but it’s the best remedy for ANY hangover. (And it can also be used to help you recover from a workout!) The salt helps you retain liquids after you’ve been dehydrated. Remember: table salt tastes saltier than Kosher salt (which is what I usually cook with). Start with 3/4 of a teaspoon and add more if necessary….
Several years ago, I was able to copy down abuelita’s recipe for rompope (which was for a very large crowd, based on the portions) from a typewriter-written version in a family recipe book at my mother-in-law’s house. Thinking it was going to be difficult, I didn’t make it until a few years later. It was then that I discovered the recipe wasn’t quite complete, the directions were sparse and it didn’t taste right on the first try. So I got to work in my kitchen, testing and tasting until it seemed right to us.
I’ve amended abuelita’s recipe slightly to my personal taste but so it still maintains its authenticity, and reduced the quantity of the original recipe to make a smaller batch in case we didn’t go through it quickly enough.
I recommend if you’ll be drinking your rompope solo, half-cup servings are best, and this recipe makes eight half-cup servings. If you’ll be serving a small crowd, make double the recipe and just refrigerate any leftover rompope.
RELATED RECIPE: Ponche navideño
One year, José’s Tía Annette hosted a fabulously catered posada, which is where I learned to put rompope in my coffee or make lattes with it. I’ve done it every December since!
A few notes:
RELATED RECIPE: Spicy Mexican hot chocolate
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Mexican eggnog, called rompope, is a popular drink during the holidays.
The rompope tastes better on the second day, as the alcohol settles with the other ingredients. If it doesn’t taste boozy enough to you at first, wait to add any more alcohol until at least the day after.
Keywords: rompope, eggnog
RELATED RECIPE: Champurrado
This post is sponsored by Teasdale Foods. All opinions and the recipe here are my own.
RELATED RECIPE: Slow-cooker pozole rojo
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This post is part of a compensated campaign with Teasdale Foods. All opinions and the recipe here are my own.
I admit that pozole can be an intimidating dish to make at home, mostly because making the perfect pork broth can be tough to match when you’re up against the memory of a beloved family member’s recipe. But I’ve found an awesome semi-homemade cheat for pozole that’s simple to prepare and easy to love!
I’ve used Teasdale’s new Easy Prep Spicy Red Pozole in this recipe, which is basically just cheating at the broth and hominy preparation—the two factors that often scare people away from making this traditional dish at home if they don’t have a trusted family recipe.
What’s great about it also is that you can choose what kind of meat you want to add; I’ve chosen boneless country pork ribs because they’re easy to find, usually have a mix of dark and light meat, and they cook to tender perfection in a slow-cooker. Nothing beats low and slow, especially when there’s minimal effort involved.
The majority of the prep time for this recipe is for slicing and dicing your garnishes. I’ve also doctored the pozole to my personal taste by cooking the pork with bay leaves and Mexican oregano, and adding more chiles to the broth. The slow-cooker also means that most of the cooking is hands-off so you can be doing something else!
RELATED RECIPE: Slow-cooker carnitas
Pozole is a prehispanic dish that has been enjoyed in Mexico for many generations dating at least all the way back to the times of Moctezuma in the latter part of the 1400s, and the preparation still used and served today goes back to the 18th Century, according to culinary historians.
The three main types of pozole you’ll find all throughout Mexico are pozole blanco, pozole verde and pozole rojo. In Mexico City, where our family is from, you can find many varieties of the three typical colors of pozole served all over the city, including more than a dozen regional varieties from all over the country. And, they can have pork, chicken, shrimp, or be vegetarian-friendly, too. You can find pozole served everywhere from dedicated pozolerías to markets, fondas and even some high-end restaurants that serve traditional Mexican cuisine.
Traditional garnishes with pozole include:
sliced radishes, diced white onion, shredded iceberg lettuce or cabbage, chopped cilantro, fresh limes, dried Mexican oregano and chile powder, such as ground chile piquin.
In Mexico City, it’s very common to serve pozole with tostadas with crema mexicana spread on top, which is to be eaten alternating with a spoonful of pozole, then a bite of tostada.
This recipe is most similar to Jalisco-style red pozole, and I’ve added a few extra ancho chiles to the broth for a deeper chile flavor. I like my red pozole fairly spicy, but you can leave them out if you’re not accustomed to spicy pozole. But if you do want to incorporate more heat, you can also puree the extra chiles with a little broth once hydrated, then strain them into the soup, or just add a sprinkle of ground chile piquin when serving.
Take care not to overcook the hominy, as it can become mushy. (When in doubt, you can always remove the hominy a little early and put it on the side while your broth is still cooking in the slow-cooker. You’ll know the hominy is done when it looked bloomed or fluffy.) Pozole reheats well and can also be frozen. If the broth is thicker than you’d like, you can also thin it out with a bit of chicken broth.
Do you like pozole rojo or pozole blanco better? Let me know why in the comments!
RELATED RECIPE: Frijol con puerco
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6-8 servings
Pozole rojo is a classic Mexican soup or stew, traditionally made with pork broth, pork, hominy, and spices, then topped with garnishes such as lime juice, radishes, onion, lettuce and more. It's a popular traditional dish served throughout the country that is representative of Mexican cuisine.
Serve with tostadas and crema mexicana.
Courses Lunch/Dinner
Cuisine Mexican
RELATED RECIPE: Slow-cooker cochinita pibil
Nieves and raspados are more or less the same: flavored shaved ice. And chamoyadas are in the same family, but made a little differently; usually they’re a slushy consistency and you drink them with a straw. I’ve included the directions for both below.
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The mangonada is a quintessential Mexican treat made with mango, orange juice, chamoy and Tajín and it’s a popular snack or dessert with street vendors and neverías (ice cream shops) in Mexico. The sweetness of the mango and orange juice is contrasted by the sourness of the chamoy, and together they make a perfect marriage of what’s known as an “agridulce” (sweet and sour) flavor. Agridulce candies and treats, such as tamarindo con chile, are common and beloved all over the country.
RELATED RECIPE: Mango cantaloupe popsicles with chile powder
Liquid chamoy is available in most Mexican and Latin American markets in the U.S., usually found near the bottled salsas such as Valentina, Cholula and Tapatío. You can pour the chamoy around the rim of each mold to get it to drip down as directed in the recipe below, or you can put the chamoy in a small plastic chef’s squeeze bottle if you want more control.
The real variable in this recipe, though, is how much Tajín you sprinkle on top! The more Tajín you use, the more sour and salty flavor you’ll get. If you haven’t had a mangonada before, I’d recommend that you start with just a pinch of Tajín sprinkled on top in case the salty-sour experience isn’t really your thing.
RELATED RECIPE: Frozen orange slices with Tajín
I’ve used a popsicle mold from Amazon which makes 10 three-ounce popsicles and holds the sticks perfectly in place while in the freezer. If this recipe makes a little more than what will fit in your popsicle mold, you can drip some chamoy down the inside of a drinking glass and fill with the remaining orange, mango and lime mixture to have a little mangonada. Just add a straw and a sprinkle of Tajín on top and enjoy!
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Make this fun spin on a traditional Mexican mangonada by adapting the recipe for your favorite popsicle mold!
RELATED RECIPE: Street food-style mango cups
The best part of summer is the peak availability of so many fruits; it means you can make a variety of sweet treats with little or no added sugar, such as street food-style mango and orange cups with coconut chips, watermelon aloe juice, and all kinds of paletas. With what seems like a surplus of juicy oranges at my local supermarkets, I’ve been using them in many different ways all summer. Whether it’s juicing them, eating them plain, or sectioning them to make a fruity pico de gallo or ensalada xec (a Mayan citrus and jicama salad), there are lots of possibilities.
This healthy snack is one I like to make in advance, freeze and serve by the pool or in the backyard on hot summer days. It’s great to serve to kids as well because even if they eat two servings, they’re eating only one whole orange. Plus, it’s an easy snack for little hands to hold.
RELATED RECIPE: Mango cantaloupe paletas with chile powder
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This post is part of a compensated campaign with Honey Maid. All opinions and the recipe here are my own.
One in five Americans is part of an immigrant family and I’m among them. Although I was born and raised in the United States, my husband was born and raised in Mexico City. So when it comes to celebrating American holidays, such as the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, I like to put some Mexican touches on our celebrations — both in the menu and the decorations. It’s important to me that we talk about and celebrate both cultures in our home. I know that someday, our kids will appreciate having been raised in a bicultural, bilingual household because it will give them the best of both worlds.
Most years, we celebrate the Fourth of July with my family in the U.S. It’s a day filled with family fun by the pool, snacks, a barbecue dinner (including dishes such as grilled Mexican chimichurri-marinated flank steak, arrachera borracha, tacos de rib eye and cebollitas), dessert and a fireworks display or at least some sparklers to conclude our Independence Day festivities. Any regular reader of my blog can attest that I love to put a Mexican spin on my favorite American dishes, so it’s probably no surprise that I’d do the same for my Fourth of July dessert pick: s’mores. Although I keep regular milk chocolate on hand to make traditional s’mores too, I like to switch things up and also make mini Mexican chocolate discs to sandwich between my Honey Maid graham crackers and fire-toasted marshmallows.
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During the summer, I always want paletas for dessert whenever possible because, well, it’s typically REALLY HOT in the part of Los Angeles where we live. I very rarely buy popsicles in the grocery store because they have a lot of added sugar, and if I’m going to be eating them daily, I need to make healthier choices. Plus, I have a reputation to uphold as the queen of paletas!
Whenever I buy too many bananas (which is basically always) and they start to get spots and are too ripe, I have to get creative with how to use them quickly. So I came up with this frozen treat version of a refrigerated banana chia pudding that I like to make when I’m trying to eat healthier. They’re not overly sweet or too banana-y, they’re very low-fat and not many calories per serving either (for the record, one serving is one popsicle). As you probably know, bananas are packed with potassium and Vitamin C as well as fiber and some other nutrients. Most of the sweetness in this recipe comes from the natural sugar in the bananas. Of course, if you like your popsicles on the sweeter side, you can always add a little extra sugar to the recipe if you want.
RELATED RECIPE: Coconut chia pudding
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This post is part of a compensated campaign with Nestlé El Mejor Nido. All opinions and the recipe here are my own. This post also contains product affiliate links to my Amazon store for ingredients and tools I’ve used to make the recipe.
Summer and parillada season is upon us, and I love to serve a dessert that feels special like fireworks at the end of the evening — but without too much fuss.
I was browsing recipes at El Mejor Nido for summer dessert inspiration and came across an easy homemade strawberry ice cream that looked divine. I love the idea of making homemade ice cream with fresh seasonal fruit, but I don’t have an ice cream maker.
So instead, I created this no-churn version of a Mexican vanilla ice cream with a grilled pineapple topping. Sweetened condensed milk folded into freshly whipped cream is the key to this dish, and there’s a surprise ingredient — a very small amount of tequila — that helps keep the ice cream easy to scoop. The only real skill you’ll need is patience while it freezes!
RELATED RECIPE: Frozen café con leche…
I love a good, healthy snack, and I’m always tempted to stop whenever I see a fruit cart on the street. Throughout Mexico, you’ll find these street food vendors with all different seasonal fruits that they’ll cut up and put in a cup and top with chile powder, Tajín, chamoy or some kind of bottled salsa.
RELATED RECIPE: Ensalada Xec (Mayan citrus and jicama salad)…
This recipe has been one of my long-lasting breakfast obsessions. After all, who doesn’t love avocado toast? But I can’t just make plain avocado toast, guys. No. I had to put some chorizo on it, too. Because… why not? Once you make this creation at home, you’ll be asking yourself why you didn’t think of this sooner. And with a poached egg perched atop, a runny yolk sprinkled with some fancy flaked sea salt just puts this dish into a category above and beyond your usual breakfast.
RELATED RECIPE: Trenza de huevo con chorizo…
Who doesn’t love a good café con leche? I have one a few days each week, but I almost always make them at home instead of buying them. My mom and I share a love for making copycat recipes at home. It’s become almost a game between us, and has been for many years. Why pay $6 or more for a large coffee house drink I can make better at home, and for much less money per serving?
This post is part of a compensated campaign with Nestlé El Mejor Nido. All opinions and the recipe here are my own.
I definitely inherited my mom’s gift for recreating recipes, so I’m grateful that she shared her love of cooking and experimenting in the kitchen with me. I created this frozen café con leche with my mom in mind. She usually will ask me what kind of coffee I’m drinking lately, and then she gets hooked on it too. So even when we can’t have a cafecito together, we can at least enjoy the same drink despite the miles between us.
RELATED RECIPE: Mexican mocha latte…
As a kid, one of my all-time favorite meals was taquitos de pollo (in fact, it still is one of my favorites). Anytime my mom would take me to a Mexican restaurant, I would always order this fried taco dish no matter what else was on the menu—whether it was called a taquito, flauta, or something else.
This post is part of a compensated campaign with Herdez. All opinions and the recipe here are my own.
Serve this Mexican mocha latte with breakfast, brunch or even just alongside some pan dulce. I personally like to dunk orejas in my coffee!
