Crispy corn tortilla flautas stuffed with refried black beans seasoned with caramelized onion and ground cumin.


Black Bean Flautas - lacocinadeleslie.com

Because sometimes you get a craving for something crispy and fried. Black bean flautas are a meat-free alternative perfect for any night of the week. The kiddies love them because they can eat them with their hands, and Hubby loves the rich flavor the caramelized onions add to the beans. Serve these flautas with Mexican Rice and a simple green salad for a complete meal. Cut the flautas in half to make mini-flautas to serve as appetizers at your next family get-together.

Black Bean Flautas

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All the flavor of hot wings in a creamy, cheesy, and spicy Buffalo Chicken Dip made with Valentina Hot Sauce.


Buffalo Chicken Dip with Salsa Valentina - lacocinadeleslie.com

I'm so excited about this month's Secret Recipe Club because I've been a long-time admirer of my blog assignment for this month. Daily Dish Recipes is written by Nicole. Nicole is a mom of 5, writer, food blogger, and she has one heck of a green thumb. (I have major garden envy!) Because Nicole and I got to know each other through another food blogging group I have pinned and made a few of her simple, down home, feel good recipes. Like her Jolly Rancher Vodka. A must try! Other recipes I've wanted to try are Nicole's Pumpkin Donuts, Corn Cob Jelly, Crockpot Curry Chicken, and Summer Berry Cinnamon Bread Pudding.

Secret Recipe Club: Buffalo Ranch Chicken Dip w/ Valentina Hot Sauce

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Homemade Chili Beans made from scratch with cooked pinto beans and five varieties of chiles.


Homemade Chili Beans - lacocinadeleslie.com

This weekend the US will be celebrating Independence Day. Now that I live in Mexico the 4th of July always makes me a little homesick for fireworks, American flags flying high, and all the yummy food being served at the cookouts. When I was younger the 4th of July always meant that Gramm was going to open a can of chili beans and ladle them over hot dogs, because for Gramm nothing was more American than hot dogs and chili beans.

Homemade Chili Beans

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Aside from my blender, which I use pretty much every single day, my favorite small kitchen appliance has to be my crockpot. Especially during the hot and humid summer months. That's one of the reasons why I suggested to my good friend girlichef (Heather) that we make a crockpot meal for this month's edition of She Made/Ella Hace. Heather is serving up Slow Cooker Baked Beans over on her blog, while I've cooked up Barbacoa de Res (Beef Shank Barbacoa).

 Barbacoa de Res is a tradtional Mexican dish with tender pieces of beef served in a dried chile broth seasoned with ground cumin and crushed oregano.

You won't believe how easy this barbacoa is to make AND you can serve it a number of ways so you don't get bored. You can serve barbacoa the traditional way with lots of chile broth topped with chopped onion and cilantro. Or you can serve the beef shanks whole Osso Bucco style with mashed potatoes and a chile broth gravy. (Yum!) Then if you have any leftovers, finely chop the meat and spoon onto warm corn tortillas for tacos de barbacoa. However you decide to serve up this Beef Shank Barbacoa, I'm sure it will quickly become a family favorite.

Crockpot Beef Shank Barbacoa (de Res) - lacocinadeleslie.com

Crockpot Beef Shank Barbacoa (de Res) {She Made/Ella Hace}

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This recipe for Chile de Huevo (en Chile Colorado) might look familiar to longtime readers of La Cocina de Leslie. It was one of the first recipes I ever posted on this blog. That was six years ago and it's one of those recipes that kind of got lost in the shuffle and hasn't really gotten the love I think it deserves. Because it's Throwback Thursday, and  because Chile de Huevo was one of my favorite breakfasts growing up, I thought it would be fun to share this recipe again.

Chile de Huevo en Salsa de Chile Colorado - lacocinadeleslie.com

Chile de Huevo (eggs in chile sauce) was a dish that both Gramm and Pappy (my grandparents) often made for breakfast. It was one of those easy, no-fuss meals that didn't require anything more than scrambled eggs and leftover enchilada sauce. Pappy liked to add nopales (cooked cactus paddles) to his Chile de Huevo, but back then I was not a big fan of nopales at all. Thank goodness times have changed because now I can't imagine having this dish without the nopales. They really do help to bring this dish together.

Chile de Huevo en Chile Colorado (Chile Colorado w/ Eggs) #ThrowbackThursday

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A vibrant mix of bacon, onion, tomato, zucchini, and colorful bell peppers, Pisto Manchego is often referred to as Spanish ratatouille.

Pisto Manchego with Zucchini - lacocinadeleslie.com

It's because of recipes like this Pisto Manchego that I love being part of the Secret Recipe Club, because every month I get the chance to discover new-to-me blogs full of swoon-worthy recipes from all over the world. My assignment this month is Things I Made Today written by Vicky Cassidy, a wife and mom who loves to cook, bake, blog and photograph everything around her. Vicky's blog is so beautiful and elegant, it's like looking through the pages of a gourmet food magazine like Saveur or Food & Wine. It's no surprise that her recipes have been featured on Apartment Therapy, Buzzfeed, The Kitchn, and Food52. But what I liked most about Vicky's blog is that it features simple, easy-to-follow recipes made with fresh ingredients.

Secret Recipe Club: Pisto Manchego

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My good friend girlichef and I are in the cocina once again for She Made/Ella Hace. This month it's all about strawberries. Heather (girlichef) is serving up not one, but TWO sweet strawberry recipes: Strawberry Atole + Strawberry Atole Paletas. (Be sure to head on over to Heather's blog to check out her mouth watering recipes.) And I whipped up these delightful Strawberry Margaritas, because who doesn't love a good margarita? These Strawberry Margaritas are sweet, refreshing and taste like summer in a glass.


Fresh Strawberry Margaritas - lacocinadeleslie.com

Fresh Strawberry Margarita {She Made/Ella Hace}

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Homemade snow cone (shaved ice) syrup made with fresh mango and a hint of cinnamon.
The temps are heating up here in Mexico, so it's time to keep cool with one of our favorite summer treats... Nieves Raspadas (aka raspados/raspas/snow cones)! Making your own snow cones at home is a fun summer activity for kids of all ages. And since mangos are one of our favorite summer fruits, I decided to combine the two for a sweet and delicious frozen treat. I like to add a dash of ground cinnamon to my mango syrup to enhance the flavor of the mango, but if cinnamon isn't your thing you can leave it out and still have a delicious raspado de mango. And if like me (Hubby & our kiddies) you like to spice things up a bit, sprinkle a little Tajin (dried chile & lime fruit seasoning) on top for an extra kick.

What's your favorite raspado (snow cone) flavor?

Nieve Raspada de Mango (Mango Shaved Ice) - lacocinadeleslie.com

Almíbar de Mango (Mango Syrup for Shaved Ice)

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Tender pieces of chicken in a rich, chocolate mole sauce wrapped in warm corn tortillas.

Tacos de Mole - lacocinadeleslie.com


These shredded chicken tacos are a cinch to make especially with the help of an old family friend, Doña Maria. Doña Maria is a brand of mole paste and it's the only kind of mole I ate growing up with my Mexican grandparents. Over the years I've learned to make various mole sauces from scratch, but every once in a while I crave the mole that my grandparents made.

Shredded Chicken Tacos de Mole

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Agua de Lima is a light and refreshing agua fresca made with sweet limes (citrus limetta).

Agua de Lima (Sweet Lime Agua Fresca) - lacocinadeleslie.com

Since moving to Mexico 15 years ago I have discovered (and fallen in love with) many new-to-me fruits native to Mexico like ciruelas amarillas (yellow plums), pitayas (fruit of the pipe organ cactus), and limas. Limas  are by far my favorite. Here in Mexico limas are a variety of citrus limetta (AKA sweet lemon/lime). Sweet limes have the distinct flavor and aroma of a citrus fruit, but without the acidity and tartness. In it's place is a subtle sweetness, hence the name "sweet lime". Although their flavor is subtle at first, it lingers on your tastebuds and in the back of your throat leaving you with a sweet and refreshing taste in your mouth.

Agua de Lima (Sweet Lime Agua Fresca)

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It's the first Monday of the month, which means it's time for another installment of The Secret Recipe Club. This month my assignment is the family friendly blog Hun... What's for Dinner? written by Cindy, a Canadian blogger who is also stay-at-home mom of two adorable little kiddies. Cindy lives in Canada and loves recipe contests. With good reason too. Her recipes have won several awards, including the Rising Star Award in the first season of the Real Women of Philadelphia Canada AND she's had several recipes published in Gooseberry Patch cookbooks. (Something we have in common!) And did I mention that her hubby is a chef?!


Banana Butterscotch Bars - lacocinadeleslie.com

I had a hard time deciding which of Cindy's mouth-watering recipes to make. A few recipes that caught my attention were Cindy's Lemon Cracker Cake, Chicken Club Pasta Salad, Zucchini con Queso, Strawberry Cake, and Jalapeño Popper Cheeseburgers. But then I spotted something that reminded me of my childhood... Banana Butterscotch Blondies!

Secret Recipe Club: Banana Butterscotch Bars

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Breaded pork chops infused with Mexican flavor from a crisp and spicy masa harina crumb coating.

Spicy Pork Milanesas - lacocinadeleslie.com

My family loves milanesas served any way, shape or form. Whether they be made from beef, chicken, pork or fish. In my cocina each type of milanesa has it's own unique recipe. For my Milanesas de Cerdo (pork milanesas) I like to coat them with masa harina seasoned with chile powder and ground cumin. Using masa harina in the crumb coating not only adds texture to the milanesas, but it also adds another level of flavor. And the chile powder and ground cumin add a rich smokiness, as well as spice.

Spicy Pork Masa Harina-Crusted Milanesas

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Another month is upon us, which means it's time for another installment of The Secret Recipe Club. For those of you unfamiliar with the SRC, it's a fun virtual recipe swap with another blogger who has no idea who will be cooking something from their blog. 

My assignment this month was Baking & Creating with Avril, a bright and delightful blog full of baked goodies and family friendly savory recipes. As usual, I didn't have anything specific that I was looking to make, but with the word "baking" in the blog title I was definitely leaning towards something sweet. With so many mouth-watering recipes to choose from Avril's blog did not disappoint. Recipe like Nutella Drop Cookies, Pumpkin Black Bean Soup, and Zucchini Cornbread all caught my eye, but in the end I decided to go with Avril's Honey Bun Cake.

Secret Recipe Club: Honey Bun Cake

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Squeee!!! I can't contain my excitment about today's post. After what seems like forever, I am back in the cocina with my foodie BFF girlichef for another installment of She Made/Ella Hace. Woo-hoo! Our theme this month is "green" in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Heather (aka girlichef) is sharing some festive Matcha Shamrock Shortbread Cookies, while I'm serving up a pitcher of Cucumber Lime Margaritas.

On St. Patrick's Day everybody (in the US) is a little bit Irish. Now I know margaritas and tequila aren't your typical Irish fare, but with it's vibrant green hue these refreshing Cucumber Lime Margaritas with a hint of spice will have everyone wanting to be Mexican Irish.



Cucumber Lime Margaritas {She Made/Ella Hace}

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Welcome back to another edition of What's for Dinner - a weekly menu planning series with inspiration from my Cocina to yours.
Week 9 of weekly dinner menu ideas - lacocinadeleslie.com

This week I was looking forward to getting back to our regular meal planning, especially since we didn't have any leftovers from the weekend that needed to be used up. (Love it when that happens!) We ended up having take-out three times this week, two of which don't surprise me because I usually take the weekends off from cooking. But mid-week I was blind-sinded by a migraine, so take-out again it was. I'm hoping to do better next week.

Our meals this week...

What's for Dinner: Week 9

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Sunshine hued Mango Margarita made with fresh mango and tequila reposado.

Mango Margaritas - lacocinadeleslie.com

It's time once again for one of my favorite foodie holidays...National Margarita Day! And it's also time for my good friend girlichef's annual Margarita Party with some of our food blogging friends.

I love me a good margarita, whether I'm ordering one at a restaurant or making them at home. One of my all-time favorite margaritas is a sweet mango margarita made with tequila reposado. During the cold winter months when fresh mangos are no where to be found I make this margarita with canned mango, but now that spring has made an early appearance here in Mexico I added some fresh mango which helps intensify the flavor and the gorgeous sunshine-y hue. Whether you decide to use fresh or canned mango, you're in for a quite a treat because this mango margarita is like sunshine in a glass.

Mango Margarita

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