RECIPES: South of the Border favorites

Mexican Mostaccioli

1 (16 ounce) package mostaccioli pasta

1 pound ground beef

1 (24 ounce) jar picante sauce

1 (15 ounce) can stewed tomatoes with juice

1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican-style

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook mostaccioli at a boil until cooked through yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes; drain.

Cook and stir ground beef in a large pot over medium-high heat until crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard any excess grease.

Add picante sauce and stewed tomatoes to the ground beef; cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes soften completely, about 10 minutes. Gently stir the cooked mostaccioli into the ground beef mixture. Add Mexican-style cheese; cook and stir until the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

-- Cara Nullings

Mission Mexican Pizza

8 (6 inch) Mission® Fajita Flour Tortillas, cooked into crispy tortillas

1 cup refried beans, prepared

1 pound ground beef, chuck, raw

salt to taste

pepper to taste

4 tablespoons pizza sauce, prepared

1 cup Mexican Cheese Blend, grated, prepared

1/2 cup Roma tomato, fresh, small chop

4 teaspoons cilantro, fresh, rough chopped

To make the Mission(R) Crispy Tortillas: Place all 8 tortillas directly on the oven rack of a 350 degrees F oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve on your work surface.

Heat the 1 cup of refried beans for 1 minute in the microwave to get hot and reserve for the recipe build.

Season the ground beef with salt and pepper and saute for 8 minutes in a non-stick pan, drain and reserve hot for the recipe build.

To build 1 Mexican Pizza: Place 1 crisp Mission(R) tortilla on work surface.

Evenly spread tortilla with 1/4 cup hot refried beans.

Evenly top refried beans with 1/4 (approximately 4 ounces) of the cooked ground beef.

Top ground beef with second crisp tortilla and evenly spread 1 heaping tablespoon of pizza sauce over the tortilla.

Evenly top the pizza sauce with 1/4 cup grated Mexican cheese blend and 2 tablespoons chopped tomatoes.

Repeat steps 1 through 5 for remaining 3 servings.

Place all 4 pizzas, at one time, in 350 degrees F oven on a cookie pan/flat pan, and bake for 2 minutes to melt the cheese. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro evenly over the top of each pizza. Serve each pizza whole.

-- Anne B. Thomas

Baked Chipotle Chicken Flautas

10 Mission® Small/Fajita Flour Tortillas

2 cups diced cooked chicken breast meat

1 (10.75 ounce) can reduced fat and sodium cream of chicken soup

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers, undrained

1 teaspoon ground dried chili pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Prepared salsa

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Mix together chicken, cream of chicken soup, diced green chile peppers, 1 tsp. chipotle powder, cumin, and coriander in a medium size saucepan. Heat over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat.

Place about 3 tablespoons of the chicken filling along the edge of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla up more tight than loose. Put a toothpick through the middle of the flauta to hold in place. Place on a sprayed large baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

In a small bowl mix together the canola oil and remaining ground chipotle pepper.

Lightly brush the flautas with the oil mixture. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool.

Remove toothpicks, slice each flautas on the diagonal. Transfer on your favorite fiesta platter, sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro, serve with low fat sour cream and salsa.

-- Shirley Young

Firecracker Shrimp Taquitos

3 Mission® Small/Fajita Super Soft Flour Tortillas, cut into 4 equal pieces

12 jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails intact

3 tablespoons Sriracha hot sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups vegetable oil for frying

In a mixing bowl, combine sriracha, soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, honey, salt and pepper. Whisk well to combine. Add shrimp to bowl and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Lay the tortilla triangles onto a work surface. Place a shrimp on top of each with the tail extended from the tip of the triangle. Roll up tightly. The tail will stick out from the tortilla. Secure with a toothpick. Store in the refrigerator until ready to fry.

Heat the oil in a medium size saucepan over high heat. When the temperature reads 350 degrees F on a thermometer it is ready to use. Maintain the temperature by adjusting the heat up or down when necessary.

Using tongs and working in small batches, carefully place the shrimp in the hot oil. Fry until tortilla is a deep golden brown and the tail of the shrimp curls, about 2 minutes. Remove the toothpick from each and serve with peanut sauce or Thai chili sauce.

-- Tonya Lopez