Enchiladas, Tacos & Soup, oh my! (3 great Mexican-inspired recipes)

Well we kicked off May with a fun Mexican food trifecta, so why not end it that way, too? I can't really believe that May is already about to end, though I'm thankful that the weather has finally decided to catch up with the months, which are hurtling at top speed into summer. I feel a twinge of...guilt? regret? that I'm here bragging about the clear, sunny skies outside my bedroom window as I type this, while so many people are still battling weather so destructive that I half expected Rapture-ites to come out with an "I told you so" PSA. Hopefully everyone who I touch with this blog has been left untouched by these tornadoes and intense storms.

I have a feeling that most of you, though, are happily preparing for a fun, relaxing Memorial Day Weekend. Although these three meals are not picnic or barbecue fare and the soup in particular is bordering on inappropriate for this 80 degree weather (though hot, spicy meals are thought by some cultures to be healthy in the heat, and are often consumed in the summer months), they are all meals that can be easily made for if not a crowd, then at least a family. 

Let's start with the enchiladas - sour cream chicken enchiladas, to be exact. This dish does take a bit of time to assemble, but if you do it in parts ahead of time, it's really not bad. And, get this - I wasn't actually wowed by the recipe until the leftovers sat in my fridge overnight. So when I heated my second enchilada up for lunch the next day? Heaven. This means that you can absolutely, positively, 100% get away with preparing this way early in the day or even the night before, so that all you need to do is pop it in the oven. If you allow time for the sauce to mingle with the rest of the ingredients, you'll get a spicy, mildly sweet (maybe too sweet) enchilada bursting with saucy flavor. The cheese plays a very minor role here, so if you're of the mindset that cheese must be melting and oozing all over the place, you might want to up that ratio a bit.

Now let's move onto the tacos, which were vegetarian and certainly different from what you'd normally expect. They used a ricotta-spinach mixture as the filling, which might get some crinkled-up nose reactions amongst some kids (and some adults I know, too!), so this one might not be for everyone. I added chicken just to make it more filling, though I think they'd be fine, especially as a lighter meal, without any extra protein (or with beans, tofu, beef, etc.). These were ridiculously easy to prepare but, ultimately, disappointingly bland. It was such an interesting idea and the textures were spot-on, but the flavors just were not there. I almost didn't even share this with you except I had some leftover filling that I used for a stir fry the next day, and it came out much better. I really just threw in ingredients that I had on hand - dried basil, some parmesan, roasted red peppers, extra jalapeno pepper, and garlic - and I forewent the tortilla. All this to say that these tacos are redeemable, just don't be shy with the flavors. In the recipe below I've added the spices and flavorings that I used the following day, which should help.

And lastly, that brings us to the Spicy Tomato Soup, which I adapted from a Taco Soup recipe. This was so easy to put together and so tasty that I marked it in my notes as "definitely a repeat recipe." It was simple with a small kick, not huge, and would be just as excellent ramped up with some corn, chicken/beans, and tortilla strips (homemade preferably!). There's really not much to say about this soup other than that - it's just plain good eats, and I have to encourage you to give it a try. Eat it with a grilled cheese sandwich, serve it as an appetizer before taco night, or just eat it on its own - you really can't go wrong.

Now, onto the recipes!