From Fine Cooking Magazine

This dish makes a delicious accompaniment to steak or chicken fajitas.

Southwestern Rice Pilaf

From Family Circle

Empanadas, a Mexican pastry, can be filled with sweet or savory fillings. This peach-filled turnover recipe falls into the sweet category. About the size of a cookie, they're great for buffets and pot lucks.

Peach Empanadas

From Taste of the South

Baked Mexican Pie

From Midwest Living

Corn tortillas and spicy sauce star in these tasty beef enchiladas. Serve them for dinner with chopped tomatoes and lettuce.

Beef Enchiladas

From Betty Crocker

Old El Paso® products and easy fish fillets make quick work out of Mexican fare.

Easy Fish Tacos

From Taste of the South

Sopapillas

From Taste of the South

Spicy Mexican Rice

From Better Homes and Gardens

This popular fiesta food is served in dried cornhusks which makes a smashing presentation if you're having a party with a Mexican flair. Use the make-ahead directions to ease party planning.

Shredded Pork Tamales

From Taste of the South

Cheesy Rice Casserole

From Family Circle

Turn nachos into a main-dish recipe by adding chicken and black beans to the mix of toppings. It also makes a hearty appetizer.

Chicken Nachos

From Family Circle

This sensational enchilada casserole combines tortillas, beans, cheese, and taco-seasoned chicken. Take this main-dish recipe to your next potluck or Mexican-themed dinner party.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

From Fine Cooking Magazine

There's just no comparison between supple, aromatic, freshly made corn tortillas and store-bought ones. You can roll out tortillas by hand, but a tortilla press makes for faster, more consistent results. It's an inexpensive tool and if you have one, it's more likely that you'll make fresh tortillas often.

Handmade Corn Tortillas

From Fine Cooking Magazine

In Mexico, arroz huerfano is often served at lunch or for a late, light supper, accompanied by a bowl of soup and perhaps some tacos.

Arroz Huerfano

From The Food Channel

This bright red Mexican-style cocktail has a spicy kick to it. To celebrate Mexico's Independence Day bicentennial, which begins tonight, consider serving Sangrita alongside a shot of tequila and lime juice to mirror the colors of the Mexican flag.

Sangrita

From Fine Cooking Magazine

Some cooks mix the lime juice into the powdered spices to create a paste, but I find it easier to brush the juice onto the meat and then dust it with the spices.

Steak Adobo

From Taste of the South

Dipping Sauce

From Fine Cooking Books

This is an updated version of everyone's favorite make-your-own taco dinner. Here you fill warm corn tortillas with slices of succulent spice-rubbed steak, crunchy red cabbage, and cool, creamy avocado salsa.

Steak Tacos with Cucumber-Avocado Salsa

From The Food Channel

Avocado soup with a splash of tequila--a good way to say 'Viva Mexico!' in this year when our southern neighbors celebrate the bicentennial of their independence from Spain on September 16 and the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution in November.

Tequila Avocado Soup

From Food & Wine

Jennifer Zavala's downfall in the first episode of Top Chef Season 6 was her insistence on using seitan (made from wheat gluten) for vegetarian chiles rellenos, but not in a way that improved the classic stuffed peppers. She also covered her clunky, overstuffed poblanos in a thick, unappealing crust. Instead, Gail Simmons fills poblanos with a traditional mix of cheese and jalapenos, then tops them with a bright, fresh salsa.

Chiles Rellenos with Tomato-and-Avocado Salsa

From Food & Wine

Spiked with jalapenos and fresh lime juice, this zingy jerky was inspired in part by Rachel Graville's stint as sous-chef at a Mexican resort.

Mexican Lime Jerky

From Food & Wine

Oaxaca is famous for its complex mole sauces, often made with more than 20 ingredients, like unsweetened chocolate, seeds and chiles. Since moles are so time-consuming to make, most Mexican cooks rely on the prepared pastes sold at the outdoor markets, and Alejando Ruiz Olmedo is no exception. Instead of stewing chicken in the mole, he takes a more elegant approach: He roasts chicken breasts until the skin is crisp and serves the mole alongside.

Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts with Mole Negro

From Family Circle

Sweetened condensed milk and canned coconut milk make this flan extra rich and velvety smooth. Chill the flan overnight for a handy make-ahead recipe.

Coconut Flan

From Taste of the South

Tacos al Carbon

From Fine Cooking Books

A grilled fish taco is a beautiful thing to eat. San Diego and points south are where they originated. Although many of the fish tacos in the area are fried, the grilled ones really stand out and are much lighter. Meredith Deeds grew up in San Diego and taught me the ins and outs of the fish taco. These are an adaptation of her mom's recipe.

Grilled Fish Tacos

From Taste of the South

Salsa-Cheddar Cornbread