Discover Mexican Food for Cinco de Mayo

Mexican food is a favourite cuisine here Inside the Wendy House, so when we were offered a selection of Discovery products to help celebrate Cinco de Mayo (5th of May), I jumped at the chance.  Any excuse to cook up a delicious Mexican feast!

We received a bag containing Perfect Fajita Kit, Fajita Season and Sauce, Green Jalapeno Relish, Garlic and Herb Soured Cream and Medium Salsa.

I was also challenged to come up with a recipe using some of the Discovery products to share here on my blog.  So here is my recipe for Vegetarian Cinco de Mayo Enchiladas using Fajita Season and Sauce and the Fajita Kit.

Ingredients

Discovery Fajita Season and Sauce

Discovery Tortilla Wraps

250g mushrooms sliced

2 onions sliced

oil for frying

bag of Quorn Pieces

150ml single cream

1 free range egg

Mexicana cheese grated

Discovery Sour Cream

Discovery Jalapeno Relish

Method

1:  Fry onions and mushrooms for 5 minutes then add Quorn pieces and continue to fry.
2:  Add pot of Fajita seasoning from the Season and Sauce and cook through until coated.
3:  In a jug, mix together the cream, egg and Sauce (from the Season and Sauce).
4:  Fill and roll each Tortilla Wrap with a spoonful of the spicy Quorn, onion and mushroom mixture.
5:  Put into an ovenproof dish and cover with the creamy sauce.
6:  Top with grated Mexicana cheese.
7:  Put into a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
8:  Serve with Discovery Sour Cream and Jalapeno Relish and a side salad.

Delicious and very easy to do!


So enjoy a fiesta this May the 5th and celebrate Cinco de Mayo with your own Mexican feast, made easy thanks to Discovery foods!

Rambling On About Miranda, Tampon Girl, Cook-Offs and Ambition

I simply cannot believe that January is almost over.  Clearly, time is showing no intention of slowing down anytime soon.  Already this year we have achieved a few things on our to-do list for 2013 and have put the wheels in motion to organise a few more.  It's nice to feel we're getting somewhere albeit slowly.

The over-riding thing that is putting our lives on hold at the moment is the imminence of Ian's operation. Last year he had an op with a 50% success rate.  Unfortunately he fell into the wrong half and so now needs a bigger op to correct the first and put right his original problem.  The recovery time is going to be quite arduous, but we are psyching ourselves up to deal with everything and get ourselves prepared.  We just want it all over and done with so we can move on, with what will hopefully be a cure for Ian.

Today, I was meant to be at a Cook-Off with three other bloggers, making my Quorn Enchiladas for a celebrity chef to try to win a trip to Australia.  I forfeited my place because I wasn't sure if Ian's operation would have been done by now and because he is taking a lot of time off for hospital appointments at the moment so I couldn't justify him taking another day off to look after the kids while I went to London.  But when I thought about the competition I decided that I really wouldn't want to win a trip to Australia without my family anyway.  I just couldn't have done it.  It made me realise that I won't be trying to seize every opportunity that comes my way.  Maybe last year I would have gone ahead and done it, but right now my priorities have really changed and my personal ambition is much less important to me than I thought it was.

Yesterday, Ella asked me if I'd seen 'that' video.  Not knowing what 'that' was, I surmised that I probably had not seen it.  I pressed her further to discover that 'that' video was the latest viral video of 2013 to spread itself across the  internet.  This new video is basically a young girl pulling out a used tampon and sucking on it.  Yes, seriously.  Already there are hundreds of reaction videos and photo memes in honour (or in disgust) to this phenomenon.  It just made me feel really sad to think that someone is so desperate for their 15 minutes of fame that she would dream up such a grisly stunt and that it would then go on to become an internet sensation!  The world wide web is an amazing thing, full of so much potential but it also has given rise to a society where a girl sucking on a tampon becomes a huge success in terms of views, exposure, reach and influence.  Frightening!  In short, my advice is don't watch it. Period.  It's bloody awful. (Sorry, couldn't help myself!!)

Another thing that has left me confused and perplexed this week is Miranda, the 6' 1" comedienne who everyone seems to adore.  That is everyone except me.  Why is she funny??  Because she is tall and awkward and a bit funny looking?  Because of her slapstick comedy acting?  Watching her show is like going into a time machine and a returning to 1978 when comedy like this was en vogue.  Surely we have left that sort of humour behind us?  Surely we have evolved as a nation.  Surely we want more sophistication in our comedy than a tall woman falling off a gate?  Obviously not.  I admit to watching the Gary Barlow episode because, you know...Gary Barlow was in it.  The series of mistaken identity moments, silly walks,  slapstick comedy, implausible relationships and unbelievable, stereotyped characters was just so old fashioned. I'm sure Miranda is a hugely talented woman, I love her in Call The Midwife as a straight actress, but this sit-com and its massive success just confuses me.  If we have gone in a big comedy circle, I look forward to the return of the alternative comedians.  Bring back the Young Ones!

Quorn Enchiladas Recipe

Our homemade Quorn Enchilada recipe is a favourite with my family.  It is an evolving recipe that has been adapted over the years.  When I received a selection of Gourmet Garden herb and spice tubes, I was excited to put them to work in my recipe to add the benefit of the fresh purees to flavour my filling!

Filling Ingredients

2 sliced onions

3 teaspn Gourmet Garden Garlic

1 teaspn Gourmet Garden Chilli

1 teaspn Gourmet Garden Coriander

150g sliced mushrooms

1 pack Quorn pieces

1 head of cooked fresh broccoli cut into florets

1 can of pinto beans

Sauce Ingredients

Small carton chopped tomatoes

1 teaspn Gourmet Garden Chilli

2 teaspn Gourmet Garden Garlic

small carton of single cream

1 egg

Plus

8 Corn Tortilla Wraps

Mexicana cheese to top

Method

Fry the onion.  

Add Gourmet Garden chilli and garlic and fry for 3 minutes.

Add sliced mushrooms and Quorn pieces.

Add the brocolli florets and pinto beans.

Cook until everything is soft and cooked down.

Meanwhile put tomatoes and Gourmet Garden chilli and garlic in a saucepan.

Heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly and add cream.

Beat in egg.

Fill the wraps and roll up.

Place into ovenproof dish.

Pour over sauce.

Top with grated Mexicana cheese.

Cook in a pre-heated oven at GM 6 for 20-25 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.

Serve with creme fraiche and refried beans.