My Mexican Feast!

Supper's gonna be good tonight!! Muy muy good.

I found this recipe for Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream at Simply Recipes and just had to try it! (Thanks to my friends Pam and Jackie who offered to lend me their ice cream makers!) I only made a half-batch, and I didn't have cayenne pepper so I used a pinch of chili pepper flakes. My intention was to strain them out before freezing the ice cream, but I totally forgot, so there are chili flakes in the ice cream. I also used a bit of rum at the end instead of brandy, but otherwise I followed Elise's recipe and it looks great.

Update: This ice cream was so creamy! You can't taste the chili at all. I can't wait to try out a new flavour!

Next I cooked up 4 chicken breasts, seasoned with some Tex-Mex Rub and a squeeze of lime juice. I baked them at 375 F for about 20 minutes, and I'll shred them to use in my soup and taco recipes, which I found in my Mexican Cookbook. (They smell awesome, so they'd be perfect as a supper dish on their own, or topped off with some of the salad that's listed below.)
CHICKEN, AVOCADO, & CHIPTOLE SOUP (adapted from Mexican Cookbook)
4 c. chicken stock
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp. Chipotle Chili Powder (or 1 chipotle chili, cut into thing strips)
1 avocado, diced and tossed with lime juice
3 green onions, sliced
cooked chicken breast, shredded or cut into thin strips
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges
tortilla chips

Place stock in a pan with garlic and chipotle chili and bring to a boil. Arrange green onions, chicken, avocado, and fresh cilantro in the bottom of your soup bowls. Pour hot stock over top, and serve each bowl with a lime wedge and a handful of tortilla chips.

Update: This soup should be called "Spicy Heaven Soup". It was just on the borderline of being too spicy, but the lime and cilantro balanced it out. Oh my goodness, it was so good. Not to mention the fact that it's ridiculously simple to make!

CHICKEN TACOS FROM PUEBLA (adapted from Mexican Cookbook)
cooked chicken, diced or shredded
2 tsp. oil
1 can refried beans, warmed with 2 tbsp. water to thin (I used 2 tbsp. of broth from the chipotle soup)
1/2 tsp. Tex-Mex Rub
1 avocado, diced and tossed with lime juice
lettuce, shredded
salsa verde, pico de gallo, or regular salsa
sour cream
small tortillas

Heat tortillas in an ungreased frying pan and wrap in tinfoil to keep warm. Heat oil in frying pan and add chicken to heat through. Combine refried beans with Tex-Mex Rub (or whatever seasoning you like.) To assemble, spread some refriend beans on a tortilla, then top with a spoonful of chicken, diced avocado, lettuce, salsa, and/or sour cream. Fold in half or wrap up tightly to eat.

Update: Surprise, surprise, these were good too!

JICAMA SALAD (I'm sure there's a recipe out there for this, but I'm just tossing stuff together, so my apologies if it looks like something I copied)
1 c. jicama
1 apple
1/2 cucumber
1 avocado
1 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
juice from 1 or 2 limes
Chili Lime Sansel or chili powder & salt, to taste

Peel and dice the jicama, apple, cucumber, and avocado. Toss in a bowl with cilantro, lime juice, and seasonings.

Update: This was a light, fresh side dish. I think I'll be taking it to the school potluck at the end of the month, FYI.

If you haven't had jicama before (HICK-ah-ma), it's a tasty little snack I fell in love with when I lived in Mexico. It was always served with lime juice and chili powder, so it surprised me to find out that plain jicama sort of tastes like fresh garden peas. It has the texture of an apple. It sort of looks like a turnip, and I've often found it at Superstore with a sticker that says "Mexican Potato". If you're looking for a new summer snack, jicama is your root vegetable!