Tex-Mex

Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 45 min

Pair this with a green salad for a light lunch.

In New Mexico, chili verde is prepared with lots of meat — and no beans. This recipe uses chicken, and you can make it spicier by adding jalapeño chilies. Serve it with the Layered Rice Salad and the Toasted Jalapeño Corn Bread .

Chuckwagon cooks used to simmer beans for days, and the cowboys always thought they tasted best on the third day. This version, called frijoles de olla in Spanish, is even better reheated. The beans cook in flavorful juices that are also served with them.

(Grilled marinated Skirt Steak with Bell Peppers, Onions, and Flour Tortillas)

"A good newspaper review of the Cosmos Cafe in Houston convinced me to try out the restaurant and particularly the owners award-winning green chili," says Janice E. Bryant of Humble, Texas. "It was everything chili should be—hearty and hot with a great kick from poblano chilies." Serve the chili with warm corn tortillas, and pass bowls of chopped fresh cilantro, chopped green onions and sour cream for garnishes. This recipe can easily be halved for a smaller crowd.

Even better over rice. Top it with sour cream and grated cheddar cheese.

With some warm corn bread, this chili is a meal in itself. You wouldn't know there was chocolate in the recipe, but it adds a subtle depth of flavor to the dish.

Brian Polcyn of the Five Lakes Grill in Milford, Michigan, has updated this Mexican favorite by oven-roasting the stuffed chilies rather than coating them with batter and frying them. The chilies are presented on a bed of rich-tasting caramelized onions.

From Jane Butel's cooking school in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Traditional beef stew with Spanish overtones. It's delicious over rice or pasta.

This recipe can be increased to serve any number of hungry people as a main course or appetizer. Chopped olives, chopped red or green bell peppers and kidney beans are also good in this dish.

A gift from Native American cooks, hominy is dried, hulled corn kernels. Sold rehydrated in cans, it also makes a great addition to soups, stews, and casseroles.

Sliced avocado and purchased salsa are great additions to this Tex-Mex entrée. Let guests assemble their own tacos.

You can also make these with chicken, ham or roast pork.