going south in the morning.

chilaquiles was one of the first things that i learned when i was in home economics waaaay back in grade school. i remember my teacher, mrs. morehead (yeas...she got a lot of slack for her last name) was this quiet little lady with a soft voice and with a patience of a nun. i went to public school so i found that that there were a lot of slackers in that class that just wanted to give her such a hard time. interestingly enough, though...when it came to making food, they were all ears. probably because they not only get to cook whatever it is that they made...they got to eat it too. :)

back to chilaquiles...they were definitely not something that i've ever heard of when i was younger. fried corn tortillas, tomato sauce, and then american cheese was how i thought they were usually made of. it wasn't until i tasted authentic chilaquiles that the home ec version didn't even come close to what it was supposed to be like! nonetheless, sometimes when i feel nostalgic and think of those home ec days, i think of mrs. morehead and the americanized mexican dish she all made us cook and eat.

my sister enjoying the fruits of our labor!

this dish isn't authentic by any means. it has some delicious leftover carnitas and fresh made corn tortialls from our local mexican market as well as some fresh made guacamole from the same place. not having any salsa in the house, we opted for some organic tomato sauce as a substitute, as well as some plain yogurt and chopped romaine as a topping. it was a very hearty, crispy, savory and tasty morning treat. :D

 

Egg Carnitas Chilaquiles
(makes about 3 to 4 servings)

2-3 cups corn tortillas, cut to about 1 inch wide
oil for frying
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 to 2 cups pork carnitas, roughly shredded
1 can organic tomato sauce
1/4 - 1/3 cup red chile salsa, plus more for topping
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup shredded spicy cheese mix or mexican cheese mix, plus more for topping
salt and pepper to taste
small head of romaine, cut into strips
guacamole
pico de gailo
plain yogurt

Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat until hot. Take the cut tortillas and carefully drop them into the oil (work in small batches if you have a small pan/pot). Fry them until golden brown and the tortillas are nice and crispy/crunchy. Drain on a paper towel and set aside.

Fry the onions in a little bit of oil and cook them until slightly browned. Add the carnitas and cook for an additional few minutes. Add the beaten egg and let sit for a couple of minutes. You want to make a kind of a scramble without over-mixing so there will be some nice pieces of egg later on. Now stir and cook the mixture for a little bit until the egg is mostly cooked then add the crispy corn tortillas.

Once the mixture is well mixed, add the can of tomato sauce making sure to coat all the tortilla chips. let cook for several minutes then add the red chile salsa, stirring to incorporate. salt and pepper to taste then stir the cheese in slightly. Remove from heat immediately as you want the tortillas in the chilaquiles to still be a little crunchy when you take a bite. serve topped with additional red chile salsa, cheese, lettuce, guacamole, pico de gallo and yogurt.