Cooking with Daisy: Mexican Cuisine with a Twist

Although she is now a successful culinary influencer specializing in authentic Mexican cuisine, this world wasn’t always one of Daisy Annaly Campuzano’s passions or priorities.

After graduating with a degree in political science, her passion for cooking blossomed five years ago with the birth of her first child. Focused on providing balanced, nourishing meals for her son, she immersed herself in recipes that celebrated her family’s traditions and Mexican heritage.

“Before having my kids, I wasn’t that interested in cooking. I would watch my mom, who always made delicious food, but I didn’t think it was for me. When I became a mom, I realized how important it was to learn how to make healthy, natural food,” she shares.

Though she says she doesn’t remember much from her childhood, Daisy has vivid memories that have influenced her current dedication to cooking. “I remember my mom cooking all the time. She worked, yet we always had homemade meals. And I remember that when she made enchiladas, she would have me shred the chicken,” she recalls with a smile.

Her journey in the kitchen flourished through personal effort and trial and error. “I would call my mom for tips, but she never really taught me hands-on,” she confesses. In addition to her five-year-old son, she now has a three-year-old daughter, which has only deepened her discovery of strategies to prepare healthy meals daily. She set her goal to provide nutritious dishes that also serve as a cultural anchor and a source of identity for her children, both born in the United States.

“I cook Mexican food because I love the idea of preserving our recipes across generations. Sometimes my dishes have an American influence, but I focus on making authentic Mexican meals,” Daisy affirms. In the path of mixing traditions, he developed some standout combinations, such as the Pumpkin Spice Horchata, which mixes the classic Mexican beverage with a pumpkin and cinnamon flavor inspired by fall trends in the United States.

For her, culinary tradition shapes everyday life and values, being that “family always comes first” one of her foundational ones. “It’s very important to spend time together and do activities that bring us closer. Cooking is undoubtedly one of those activities. That’s how we get to know each other. Cooking together is also about valuing the time we share. It is offering something meaningful to your loved ones,” Daisy explains.

As a mother fully dedicated to her children, she also relies on strategic planning when grocery shopping and preparing meals. Her priority is to avoid processed foods as much as possible. She explains that she shops in bulk twice a month, cooks every two days—often making recipes from scratch—and freezes meals for convenience. She emphasizes that having full control over the process guarantees better health, as she selects every ingredient and ensures its quality.

Her cooking style, as she describes it, is defined by simplicity as the main principle is using key ingredients from Mexican tradition, such as rice, beans, and nopales. “A typical day includes eggs in the morning and easy Mexican dishes like tinga for lunch. I love making pozole for my kids; they enjoy it a lot. And if I want to make something a bit more complicated, I prepare everything the day before so the process doesn’t take too long,” she shares.

She also firmly believes that authentic Mexican recipes can be maintained with some substitutions to make them more wholesome. “Some ingredients can be swapped without changing the fundamental flavor. For example, if you’re making flautas, instead of using canola oil, you can use avocado oil,” she suggests.

Enchiladas: Daisy’s Birthday Dish

For her collaboration with the JENNIE-O® Brand, Daisy chose to highlight one of her favorite dishes: enchiladas, which she considers “part of her identity.”

“They have a very special place in my heart because my mom makes them for me every year on my birthday. It’s a true act of love because frying tortillas can be a bit tricky and messy. First, you dip them in the sauce, then in the oil, and the sauce usually splatters everywhere. It’s a little complicated. After making them, you have to clean up quite a bit. That’s why she only makes them on special occasions,” she says.

While her mom traditionally makes them with chicken, Daisy chose turkey—a generally leaner protein alternative that’s just as tasty.

Red Enchiladas Recipe (Enchiladas Rojas)

Ingredients

Sauce Ingredients:

• 7 Chiles Guajillos
• 7 Chiles California
• 2 Chiles de Árbol
• Dried Oregano
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1lb. JENNIE-O® Lean Ground Turkey
• Salt

Additional Ingredients: 

• 16 Corn Tortillas
• Oil (any type of oil)
• For your filling use: JENNIE-O® Lean Ground Turkey, cheese, and onion. 
• Optional: garnish with queso fresco, lettuce, and/or sour cream. 

Directions

• Remove the seeds from the chiles except the chiles de arbol (if you don’t want them spicy, then don’t add the 2 chiles de arbol).
• Boil the chiles (guajillo, California, & chiles de arbol). 

• Add the boiled chiles to a blender along with some of the water in the pot (about 2 cups of water; it depends on how thick you want the sauce). Add a pinch of dried oregano, 2 garlic cloves, and salt to taste, and blend. 
• Once you blend the sauce, add it to a pan with 1 tbsp of oil. Once the sauce starts to bubble, keep it on low.
• Add oil to another pan and leave it on high heat. The amount of oil depends on the size of your pan & how many tortillas fit on there as well. It has to have enough oil to cover the tortillas when you dip them.
•  You’re going to dip the tortillas in the warm red sauce first and then in the hot oil (TIP: Use cold tortillas so they don’t fall apart when you’re dipping them in oil). Dipping them in oil will only take about a few seconds so they can turn soft.

• Stack up the hot tortillas on a plate and once you’re done dipping all of your tortillas, it’s time to add the filling.
• Add the filling, featuring JENNIE-O® Lean Ground Turkey. Add toppings mentioned above.

• If there’s a little bit of the sauce leftover, feel free to brush it on top of the enchiladas.

Note: For optimal food safety, ensure that the JENNIE-O® Lean Ground Turkey used in this recipe reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) when fully cooked. We recommend using a food thermometer to accurately measure the temperature.