Title: 200 Easy Mexican Recipes: Authentic Recipes From Burritos to Enchiladas
Author: Kelley Cleary Coffeen
About the Book:
Mexican cuisine is about layering flavor upon flavor, adding freshness and spicy accents all at the same time. This collection of recipes gives you the basics of and foundation for really good Mexican cuisine. It offers you insight on how to create and capture the bold, complex flavors of Mexican cooking right in your own kitchen. With these no-fuss recipes for authentic dishes, you’ll experience this wonderful culture through food and have fun with it.
My Review:
My knowledge of Mexican cuisine is small, but growing. I’ve made numerous trips to the Southern USA where Mexican food is everywhere! Most recently, John and I were in Dallas, TX and ate a few Mexican dishes. They were delicious, but I was not used to the spiciness! I had a Steak Fajita Salad made with Jalapeno Vinaigrette and it was a good thing I had a glass of ice water on hand!
The popularity of Mexican cuisine is only growing. In the USA, the Hispanic population has grown by 167% and is expected to outpace all ethnic groups in that country. I have a few good friends who are Mexican. In fact, my friend, Yolanda of Sassy Mama in LA, was the one who introduced me to guacamole! Love that stuff!
I’ve been perusing the book, 200 Easy Mexican Recipes and bookmarking all the ones I want to make. It’s the perfect introduction to Mexican cuisine and exactly what I was looking for. The book gives a brief history of Mexican cuisine and lists all the essentials you will need including tools & equipment, ingredients, toppings, Mexican food definitions and more.
The chapters are divided into the various types of recipes including:
- Appetizers
- Salsas, Relishes and Sauces
- Tortillas and Breads
- Soups and Stews
- Vegetables, Beans and Salads
- Tacos, Tostadas, Burritos, Tortas and Tamales
- Mexican Grill
- Enchiladas, Fajitas and Other Favorites
- Beverages and Cocktails
- Desserts
I found most of the recipes that I looked being simple and straightforward. I recognized most of the ingredients and they are items that I would be able to buy at stores in my area.
There’s not many pictures, but each recipe has a short description about the dish and also has tips and often ways you can vary the recipe. I want to try some of the desserts! Tres Leches Cake and Mexican Sundaes!
I selected the Chicken and Lime Soup to make for my family. I was interested in seeing how it would taste with the addition of the lime juice. It was actually really delicious. It had a light citrus flavour that blended perfect with the flavour of the chicken and with hints of garlic. Our local store didn’t have any avocados so I left those out of my garnish. I also only used two chicken breasts instead of the four. Chicken breasts are really expensive at our stores. It still had a healthy amount of chicken in it. I think any more might have been too much.
- 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 to 5 limes)
- 2 cups broken corn tortilla chips
- 2 avocados, diced
- 4 green onions, green parts only, minced
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning once, until no longer pink inside, 6 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let cool.
- In a large pot, heat remaining oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and tomatoes. Cover and cook until onion is softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Add chicken broth and lime juice.
- Dice chicken and add to pot. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Ladle into individual bowls and garnish with equal amounts of tortilla chips, avocado and green onion.
Connect with the publisher, Robert Rose, on Facebook and Twitter.
*I received a copy of this book for review, but was not compensated financially in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and are based solely on my experiences while reading this novel.*
Oooh! This sounds AMAZING! I love traditional Mexican fare! The flavors are something else!
This looks absolutely delicious!
This looks like the perfect book for our family, we enjoy Mexican food-but it’s always the standard tacos/burritos with the same store ingredients. Finding a good cookbook in a sea of SO many is tough. Thanks for the review and the soup looks and sounds delicious (and easy for a ‘not so good’ cook like myself) 🙂
This book sounds like a winner! I am always looking for new dishes to try that aren’t too tricky.
This sounds YUMMY
I’m always a bit shy when it comes to Mexican Cuisine. This sounds like a great place to start. Bookmarked this post and will have to try this soup!
That soup sounds delicious! I would love to have this book to make some real Mexican dishes!
I agree with Raine. Finding a truly good cookbook is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Mexican is one of my absolute faves, but it’s hard to find something that’s really unique fare. Thanks for this review!
those are nice food photos
Kelley Cleary Coffeen’s book sounds great! Love that word ‘easy’!
I’m going to try the Chicken and Lime Soup tonight! Thanks for sharing!
I love chicken and lime together – this sounds delish!
I love Mexican foods, but I have to tone down the spices 🙂 I’ve had chicken and lime before, but not in a soup. It sounds delicious! I love the combo of chicken and lime! When I find Mexican food too spicy, I add some sour cream, it really helps to tone it down!
Hello, Stacie. Love this review. I like having the different chapter titles when it comes to recipe books. I can better gauge if it will fit the needs of my family. I appreciate that the author also included variations on the recipes in their book, too. Thank you for the recipe book review, Stacie.
Thank you for the book review and for sharing the recipe – you have stirred up my interest in Mexican cuisine.
I LOVE Mexican food! Thanks for the review.
My husband would love this, thank you for sharing.
My husband would love this, thank you for sharing.
Sounds YUMMY
looks like a great book!
200 recipes! Fantastic – we love Mexican food
Wow this looks awesome. I just made burritos the other day, have a recipe to make about 30 of them, super cheap and easy. Just freeze a bunch of them in ziplock freezer bags and you’re good for a snack or lunch for a while!
Would love to try some of the recipies Im sick of taco bell LOL ~jokes~ I love mexican
This would be an awesome cookbook to have. I absolutely love Mexican food.
I love Mexican food. I just wish my husband did so I got to eat it more often! =0)
Oh yum, this looks so good! We love Mexican food in my house! My husband would love this soup. Going to have to try it!
This sounds like an awesome book! I love me some Mexican food!
Chicken and lime…I’ve heard that combination before, and I still haven’t had a chance to try it! This sounds like a fresh, light soup which is perfect for the warm weather that I am hoping comes soon 🙂
This looks delicious! I must try it out
This sounds pretty good, I am in love with chicken tortilla soup so this is probably pretty up there on the list as well. Thanks for the recipe.
I had this a while back and wanted the recipe because it was so good! Thanks so much!
This looks yummy!
I love soups! I’m making some tonight.
Thank you, this book looks great.
This sounds as if it would be delicious!!!!!It looks good too.
This sounds WONDERFUL! Can’t wait to try it!
Our family can never get enough of those Mexican tasty dishes.I was so happy to find a soup recipe with all the ingredients that I love in it.The added lime juice makes this intruiging enough to try this very soon.I am also wondering since I am cooking a big turkey again if I could substitute turkey for the chicken.I just have to say that the picture you took makes it look absolutely sublime.
That soup looks & sounds delicious!