Mexican Bowl

We do enjoy Mexican food, and have enjoyed this dish on many nights. For lack of a better name, we called it "corn bowl". That is not fitting at all since there is so much more than corn in it! But, alas, I could not come up with anything better than "Mexican Bowl". It is kind of like the burrito bowls at Chipotle, but I think it could be the base or insides of tacos, tostadas, fajitas and burritos, too, if your heart so desired.

It's very simple, and a lot of it is raw.

1/2 cup corn (we used uncooked, fresh white corn cut from the cob)
3/4 cup black beans*
1 Roma tomato, chopped
1/4 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/4 cup plain yogurt, optional
garlic salt, optional
onion salt, optional
hot sauce, optional
shredded cheese, optional

Put all veggies in the bowl, layering as you go. If using the optional ingredients, top with yogurt, then sprinkle the garlic and onion salt lightly over the yogurt, to taste. Add hot sauce to taste, and top with desired amount of shredded cheese.

*Note the black beans are canned although not heated. We have tried to eat black beans that we purchased dried and from the bulk section. We soaked them for a really long time, I think 24 hours, maybe 36 hours. Although they were still slightly hard, which made them slightly crunchy, we ate them and thought they were okay. Unfortunately, we both were sick to our stomachs the next day. Until I become more educated about beans, I am going to stick with canned for now. I noticed after that unpleasant experience that most of the raw food blogs I read do not use beans often. Maybe there's a reason, huh?

Using the veggie ingredients only would yield a 100% raw dish, although I'm not sure it would be very tasty. I have come to find that seasonings are quite important to eating mostly raw. They definitely help add flavor and interest to the dishes. So I strongly suggest adding your favorite seasonings. Also, the black beans provide good amounts of dietary fiber and protein. And, the yogurt has beneficial bacteria. All good stuff!

Enjoy!

Shrimp tacos, avocado cilantro salsa, avocado tomato salad

Simplicity can be truly awesome. Case in point: shrimp tacos. For the shrimp lover (like me), shrimp tacos are heaven! This taco is all about the shrimp. There is nothing in the taco but shrimp and a yummy avocado cilantro salsa. Absolutely one of my favorite summertime meals! (It may only be April, but it's getting warm in Phoenix!)

The side salad is also very simple: a roma tomato and half an avocado drizzled with lemon juice. It is refreshing and light, and the lemon juice actually made the tomato flavor more apparent, and the avocado brighter.

The shrimp sauce ingredients include olive oil, chili powder and paprika. The shrimp were just coated in this sauce, allowed to sit for about 5 minutes, and then fried in a pan. (My husband just really warms the shrimp since we buy the already cooked and peeled shrimp.) The avocado cilantro salsa ingredients include one half avocado, half a bunch of cilantro, garlic, onion salt, garlic salt, lemon juice and about 2 tablespoons water, all combined in a food processor. Add more lemon juice or water to get your desired consistency.

Easy, simple and extremely flavorful! Enjoy!

La Parrilla Suiza

http://www.laparrillasuiza.com/

13001 N. Tatum Blvd.

Phoenix, AZ 85032

602-759-8191

:):):):):) (5 smiles out of 5!)

La Parrilla Suiza (which means "the Swiss grill") has been our favorite Mexican food restaurant for the past 10 years. (The "Swiss grill" is, I believe, the metal tray they serve some dishes, like the fajitas, on which has a compartment to hold pieces of hot coal from the grill, to keep the food warm or sizzling. We do not know the story behind how the Swiss influenced the owners of the restaurant chain, or how they came to use the device.) We have also tried to remember how we came to discover Suiza (as we call it for short), and we cannot remember if someone recommended it, or if we just saw the sign for Mexico City food and decided to try something new, which we like to do and have done often.

As Super Dragon has been our favorite Chinese restaurant, Suiza has been our favorite Mexican restaurant. Again, the food is consistently good, and the service is great. The food IS different than regular Mexican fare. They do have the usual - burritos, tacos, quesadillas, fajitas, chips and salsas. But, they also have different or unexpected dishes.

According to the website, Suiza's tacos, meat and cheese dishes are all grilled or cooked on charcoal. One of my favorites is called Shrimp Alambre. It is grilled shrimp with bell peppers, and a sort of pico de gallo salsa (of tomatos and onions and peppers), which gives the dish a slight kick. It is served with flour tortillas and buttery white rice. I love to eat it with the chips. My daughter loves their flour tortillas, so when I order this dish, more often than not she gets the tortillas.

My husband loves their corn tortillas, which are fresh and hand-made right there. The Tatum Blvd. location has a window into their grill area, and we can see them making the corn tortillas, or grilling up the meat. Sometimes it is quite a show!

I like to think that their food is healthier, although I don't know at all what their calorie counts or fat contents are like. But, they serve grilled meats, not breaded or fried, and lots of veggies, including bell peppers, onions, tomatos, and a wonderful cabbage salad they have recently started serving as a side with some of their meals. Of course, they have fried foods, and full fat cheese, I'm sure, and serve sour cream, but I feel they have better options than traditional Mexican restaurants if you are watching what you eat. The Shrimp Alambre is one meal that seems relatively healthier to me than, say, a beef burrito. Lean protein, grilled, and lots of veggies, with a small serving of rice - sounds good to me!

I have raved about the Shrimp Alambre - sorry! Can you tell it's my favorite dish there?

The restaurant itself is enjoyable to just sit and look around as well. There is a beautiful mural painted inside, and there are brick and rock arches, as well as Mexican tiled art on the walls.

La Parrilla Suiza's Tatum Blvd. location received an average of only 3 stars out of 5 from the Yelp.com review, and if you read the reviews, they vary from 2 to 5 stars. I did notice that the two most recent reviews - one from February this year, and one from December last year - were 5 stars though. Some people thought the food was bland and nothing special. Others thought it was right on in representing Mexico City food. I suppose expectation can be something to consider. I've never been to Mexico City, so I have no idea how the food is different there from what we Americans think of as traditional Mexican food.

I think La Parrilla Suiza is a fantastic place to eat when you want Mexican food, but are tired of the usual fare. We've been going for 10 years, so obviously we think it's pretty good!

"Monster" Quesadillas

This is a recipe my husband remembers his mom making. We call them "Monster" because of their sheer size. He makes them big! One will easily feed 2 people, or, like me, you can save half for another time. Of course, you don't have to make them gi-normous!

We like these because they are easy, and have good stuff in them. Also, our California roots show with this meal, too, because the ingredients shine in their mostly natural state with few, if any, seasonings.

(This recipe is for 1 quesadilla.)

1 large (or burrito-size) tortilla

1 tsp. butter or margarine

1/2 of 1, 15-oz. can black beans

1/2 of 1, 15-oz. can whole kernel corn

1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded meat (can use turkey, chicken, beef - or you can omit meat altogether)

1/2 fresh tomato, sliced or cubed

2 handfuls of shredded cheese (we use a mix of shredded cheeses with only 2% fat)

1/2 fresh avocado, sliced

Melt the butter in a large skillet (large enough for the tortilla to lay mostly flat) over medium heat, and spread it around the bottom of the skillet. Place the tortilla in the skillet. Layer the beans, corn and shredded meat on half the tortilla. Top with tomato and cheese. Fold the empty-tortilla side on top of the ingredients. Carefully flip in the skillet and continue browning the tortilla. Remove from skillet once tortilla is nicely browned and crispy. Top with avocado slices.

You could add sour cream and/or salso if you'd like. We would have, but we didn't have any!

This was a nice way to use up the leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Have your own adventure with this recipe!

Chuy's Mesquite Broiler again

http://www.bajachuys.com/

We remembered this place and went there again with some visiting family! They had a Chicken Enchilada special which looked so good that 3 of the 4 of us ordered it! And, we picked a good dish, too. It was sooo yummy! The 2 chicken enchiladas were lightly fried, which I was totally not expecting, so they were crunchy but not hard, and there was also a bit of cream cheese inside. It was served with Spanish rice and refried beans, and was only $5.49 (I think).

This was definitely good - probably because it's kinda bad with the frying and cream cheese! Owell. I'll eat salad another time.

(Yeah, right!)

Chuy's Mesquite Broiler

www.bajachuys.com

We like Mexican food, and Chuy’s serves a Southern California version of that, I guess. They have tacos and burritos, Spanish rice and pinto beans, but they also have salads, sandwiches and mesquite-grilled chicken and beef. We went there for lunch, and I had the California Taco Platter, and the hubby had the ¼ Killer Chicken Meal, and of course, chips and salsa.

It is a very casual, fun place to hang out. Each location has something different to observe - from the spray-painted wall art to the many fish pictures, there really is something new to discover each time we go. And, the stuffed animal they give you as your table marker is so cute!

The serve-yourself chips and salsa is always good, but we especially enjoyed the orange colored salsa this time. (Sorry, they did not have labels and I did not think to ask. Too busy eating!) Our meals were yummy, too. I loved my simple California Taco, with mesquite-grilled chicken and avocado. The baja sauce tastes like Thousand Island dressing, but better somehow. Their pinto beans taste slow-cooked and probably should be eaten with a spoon to get all the good juices. The Spanish rice was good, too, but nothing special. I know my husband enjoyed his chicken – 2 good-sized pieces, pinto beans and rice, too, with a cabbage salad. The cabbage salad had vinaigrette dressing and tomatoes, and was very flavorful.

We always forget about Chuy’s, but we do like it. We’ll go there again, when we think of it!

:-) :-) :-)
(3 smiles out of 5)