Making Authentic Mexican Recipes at Home

It is well worth making your own Mexican recipes because a lot of them are very simple and, like with most foods, homemade Mexican food is always delicious. Traditional Mexican recipes include tamales, which are steamed masa with a filling, tacos, Spanish rice, guacamole, arroz con leche, cajeta and there are many more.

It is quite easy to find the necessary ingredients to make authentic Mexican recipes because as well as Mexican grocery stores being easy to find in some parts, a lot of Mexican ingredients are carried by stores as well.

Mexican Foods through History

The conquistadores combined their imported foods such as pork, beef, wine, garlic, onions and chicken with the indigenous Mexican foods such as maize, guava, vanilla, chocolate, avocado, chili pepper, beans, peanut, fish, turkey and tomato, which is how Mexican food became what it is today.

Corn and rice are both popular in Mexican recipes. Mexican villages have their own exotic recipes, cooked in the Mayan or Aztec style, including ingredients such as deer, spider monkey, iguana, grasshoppers, ant eggs, and rattlesnake. When making Mexican recipes at home, you might want to give some of these a miss!

The Easiest Mexican Recipes

You can buy tortilla wraps and nachos rather than making your own, of course, and prepare the filling or topping yourself. You might also like to try some traditional Mexican dessert recipes, such as fried banana or pumpkin empanadas to enjoy after the meal.

Enjoy and watch out for the hot spots.

Mexican Recipes and Mexican Article Links

Mexican food is a delicious treat and it is interesting to learn a few Mexican food customs when you are enjoying your traditional Mexican recipes.

Breakfast is called "desayuno" and is served between 7 and 10AM. A Mexican breakfast might be a simple cup of coffee or it can be a huge plate of huevos rancheros, which are corn tortillas filled with fried egg, tomato, onion, and chili sauce.

Lunch is called "comida" and is eaten between 1.30 and 4PM. Lunch is the main meal of the day in Mexico and it is common to have a salad or soup as an appetizer, followed by poultry, seafood or meat, accompanied by beans, rice and hot tortillas. Lunch is a leisurely meal and is often accompanied by lots of chatting and laughter.

Dinner is called "cena" and is usually served between 8 and 9PM. This is a light meal and might be some tacos or a bowl of soup.

Eating in a Mexican Home

You should keep your hands visible while eating and keep your wrists on the table edge. Do not start eating until the hostess starts and leave a little food on your plate after a meal to show that you are full. Only men give toasts, never women. Foreigners will be forgiven for getting some Mexican food customs wrong but if you are friendly and polite, you will not do too badly.

Mexican Celebrations and Food

A lot of people misunderstand Mexican food or have not sampled real, traditional Mexican recipes. The Mexicans are warm and friendly people and many authentic Mexican recipes are absolutely delicious.

There are definitely some Mexican foods that spring to mind whenever we think of Mexican recipes. For example, enchiladas, tacos, tamales, and nachos are all well-known Mexican foods which most of us have sampled at one time or another. These can be called famous Mexican foods because they are known about and eaten all over the world.

However, what about pozole, which is a traditional Mexican pork and hominy soup, or romeritos, which are dried, shrimp patties? There are lots of delicious Mexican foods which most people have never even heard of but that applies to just about any cuisine so it is always good to find a comprehensive list of Mexican recipes you can make, including both famous Mexican foods and the ones which are not so well known.

Also, if you go on vacation to Mexico, the tourist menus in restaurants and the buffet in your hotel are not the same foods as the local Mexicans would be eating, which is why it is nice that Mexican food recipes are so easy to find. With Mexican recipes, you can make your own traditional Mexican food at home.

Popular Mexican Dishes

Tamales are also a popular Mexican food and these consist of steam-cooked masa (corn dough or hominy), which are filled or unfilled. Fillings can include cheese, meats and sliced chilies. Tamales are usually wrapped in plantain leaves or cornhusks before cooking.

Tacos are a traditional Mexican food. These are made with a wheat or maize tortilla, which is rolled or folded around a filling. Tacos are very versatile and fillings can include pretty much any fish, shellfish, meat, cheese, or vegetable combination. Tacos are usually eaten with the hands and they are served with vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, tomato, cilantro, or onion and a garnish such as tomato salsa.

Nachos are a good example of a popular snack food and they originated in Mexico. Nachos are tortilla chips and are often covered in melted cheese. These can also be served with sliced jalapeño peppers, tomato slices, and sour cream and tomato salsa.

Making Your Own Mexican Food

Mexican casserole is a delicious Mexican recipe made in layers. The ingredients include ground beef, cheese, tortillas, chili peppers and more. The word casserole actually applies to the cooking container rather than the recipe itself.

There are lots of different casserole recipes because there are plenty of different ingredients you can combine in a casserole dish. For example, you could combine beef, bouillon, potatoes, carrots, onions, and herbs to make a beef casserole. You could combine chicken, soup, mushrooms, and potatoes to make a creamy chicken casserole.

How is a Mexican Casserole Different?

There are plenty of traditional Mexican recipes using similar ingredients to Mexican casserole and even though Mexican foods often have similar ingredients in common, they all taste different and unique.

When making a Mexican casserole it is very important to drain the excess fat after frying the meat, especially if you are not using extra lean ground beef. Not draining it will mean the dish is very oily and this also dilutes the other flavors.

In addition, you can adjust a Mexican casserole recipe to suit your family. If you want to sneak some extra vegetables into their diet, try adding finely diced carrot, chopped onion or sweet corn kernels to the recipe. You will need to sauté the carrot or onion before cooking the beef, so it has the chance to soften.

Mexican casserole is a delicious recipe, which the family will love. It is healthy and nutritious and you have a free hand with the chili so you can adapt the spiciness to your family's taste.

A typical Mexican rice recipe might contain garlic, onion, pepper, salt, tomatoes, oil, and rice although Mexican rice recipes do vary. Rice does have its own flavor which is why the spices in a Mexican rice recipe should be limited.

The rice is cooked in the oil but you should strain off any excess oil when the rice looks toasted. You might want to add diced carrots or peas to your Mexican rice or you might want to leave it plain with the subtle flavors of onion, garlic and tomatoes.

It is completely up to you and it depends which dishes you are going to serve with the Mexican rice or whether you are going to serve it by itself and how you like your food. Perhaps you want to add some chili for a spicy kick or maybe you prefer a milder flavor.

The Best Mexican Rice Cooking Tip

Perfect Mexican rice should be soft and fluffy. If it is still hard, you can replace the lid and cook it for a bit longer. Practice makes perfect and most people have to make this dish a few times before they can make it just right.

You will need a good quality tequila such as Agave tequila, an orange liqueur like Cointreau, Grand Marnier, or Triple Sec, freshly squeezed lime juice, ice, and coarse salt. Moisten the rim of your glass with the lime juice and dip it in the salt.

Fill the glass with ice cubes. Add 3 parts of tequila, 2 parts of orange liqueur and 1 part of fresh lime juice to an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake until the shaker is coated with condensation. Alternatively, you can put the ingredients into a blender for 30 seconds. Pour the contents into your salt-rimmed glass. Garnish with a slice of lime and chill out with this aperitif before you enjoy your Mexican food recipes. Or even while you make them if you happen to be the chef!