Authentic Mexican food recipes are usually made with fresh produce, good quality meat or fish and herbs or spices. Using fresh produce is one way to ensure your Mexican food recipes come out tasting the way they are supposed to. Another way of giving food an extra intense flavor is to slow cook it because this cooking method blends all the flavors nicely and it is also handy if you are planning to be out of the house all day.

Easy Mexican Chicken and Mushroom Casserole

This simple recipe makes a warming dinner, which the whole family will love. You can use any kind of chicken you have to make it but boneless chicken is best because you do not have to fish chicken bones out of the hot sauce at the end of the cooking time. You can use pork chops instead of chicken if you want.

So, to make this dish, add four chicken pieces to your slow cooker and stir in a can of cream of mushroom soup, a chopped onion, a can of Mexican style diced tomatoes and half a can of milk. Add salt, pepper, and hot sauce, then cover the crockpot and cook the recipe for about five hours on low. Serve with noodles or rice.

While you are making the noodles or rice, you can transfer the chicken to a platter and cover it with aluminum foil. Turn the crockpot up to high and leave it uncovered. Let the sauce reduce. If it is too thin, either transfer it to a pan on the stove to get a higher heat or add some flour or cornstarch dissolved in water. This is nice served with cilantro leaves on top.

Mouthwatering Mexican Meatloaf

Meatloaf is a family favorite in many households and if you want to try adapting this classic staple, what about making the Mexican food recipe equivalent to this American dish? You will need to stir together an egg, a third of a cup each of Mexican blend cheese and taco sauce, a cup of coarsely crushed corn chips, two pounds of ground beef and two tablespoons of taco seasoning.

Add more salsa or sauce if the mixture is too dry and add a little salt if you like. Shape it into a loaf and put it in the crockpot. Cover and cook for seven hours on low or until an instant-read thermometer reads 160 degrees F.

Simple Slow Cooker Casserole

This delicious Mexican casserole is easy to make and you can make it in the crockpot. Since this only has to cook for five hours, you can start it after lunch and it will be ready at dinnertime.

What you will need:

28 oz can crushed tomatoes in juice 2 cans black beans, drained, 15 oz each 5 flour tortillas 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon cumin 14 1/2 oz can corn kernels 2 chopped chilies 6 oz can tomato paste 14 1/2 oz can salsa How to make it:

Combine the garlic, cumin, tomato paste, chilies, beans, corn, tomatoes, and salsa in a bowl. Add a cup of it to the crockpot and spread it over the base. Top it with a tortilla. You might need to cut the tortilla to fit.

Spread a third of the remaining mixture over it, then another tortilla. Repeat these layers until you have used all the mixture and all the tortillas. Cover and cook for five hours on low.

Anyone who has ever attempted to make a mole sauce probably gave it up as a bad idea. An authentic mole has around 17 ingredients, and is a long, drawn our process. That explains why it is rarely offered on restaurant menus.

A trip to the store will reveal some magical philtres such as Abuelita Chocolate and Doña Maria Mole Paste.

Mole is traditionally made with chocolate and cinnamon, in a savory blend of ground seeds and spices and oil. Doña Maria takes much of the work out, and makes a fairly good product, but for some reason, they have left out the chocolate.

A good fix is the addition of some Abuelita Chocolate. Mexican chocolate comes in a pressed block divided into 8 sections. It is infused with cinnamon, and is not overly sweet.

To dress up jarred Mole sauce, first, measure out the amount you need into a saucepan, then to that add chicken broth, four parts broth to one part paste according to the package directions. Add the broth slowly so it does not lump up. Once you have the base of the mole ready, grab a wedge (one section of the disk) of the Abuelita. There may be other brands on the market, but this is the most common. You can recognize it by the octagonal shaped package with a picture of someone's sweet smiling grandmother on the front. Grate the chocolate into the mole sauce. About a third of a wedge should be enough for two servings of mole.

Heat the sauce over low heat, stirring almost constantly. Once it is on a simmer, give a taste. If you want a more pronounced flavor, you can add another grating of chocolate. A pinch of extra cinnamon or even cardamom may be to your taste. Keep the sauce on a very low heat for at least 15 minutes.

Mole sauce was served for years over sliced turkey, the way Americans use gravy. It also goes very well on grilled chicken breast.

You can also make up the entire jar of sauce (one small jar of Doña Maria's makes 8 servings) and keep it in the fridge. It will keep a week once it is prepared. In the jar, opened, it can last for up to six months.

One good use for mole sauce is with stuffed chicken breasts. These are easy to prepare on a countertop grill like a George Foreman, or they can be cooked in the oven or on the stove.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

What You Need:

Two large boneless, skinless chicken breasts four ounces fresh goat cheese, softened to room temperature 8 slices of thinly sliced cooked bacon, or 4 pieces of prosciutto lemon pepper seasoning grill spray, like Pam

How to Make It:

Cut the chicken breasts in half. Place one piece between two sheets of plastic wrap or inside a large plastic bag. Pound out with a mallet or the bottom of a pan until they are of uniform thinness, large and flat. Open the plastic. Sprinkle the chicken with lemon pepper seasoning. Put down two pieces of bacon or one of the prosciutto. You may need to trim the pork so it only takes up half of the surface of the chicken. Place one ounce of goat cheese in the center. Fold the pounded chicken in burrito fashion, folding the ends up, and then folding the sides over. Do not fold tightly, but do not leave any gaps if you can help it. Escaping cheese is not pretty.

Heat the grill, and cook the chicken bundles until done. You can check them with an instant read thermometer. 163° F is considered done for chicken. However, if you bring it to that temperature on the grill at one time, it will come out dry and tough. Instead, bring it up to between 145° and 150° F, and then allow it to rest for 15 minutes.

Serve with mole sauce and rice.