Jane Butel's Quick and Easy Southwestern Cookbook

Sometimes credited with beginning the serious Tex-Mex interest in the U.S. in the early 1960s, Butel (Jane Butel's Tex-Mex Cookbook) provides more than 100 simple, low-fat recipes with a Southwestern flair designed to get the home cook out of the kitchen pronto. Most dishes, which range the Tex-Mex spectrum from hot and spicy to mild and gentle, are made with six or fewer ingredients. Others with more ingredients are labeled ""A Sunday Best."" For starters, there are Stuffed Jalape os and Pinto Pat as well as savory soups such as Chipotle-Teased Black Bean Pumpkin Soup and Salsa Snapper Soup. There are hearty entr es such as Cumin Chicken Chimi (chili con carne rolled in tortillas) and Grilled Lamb with Soft Tacos, and vegetarian delights such as Sweet Potatoes with Chile and Herbs and Black Bean Green Chili. To top off a meal, she suggests a Watermelon Freeze or Mexican Cinnamon Chocolate Roll-Ups, made with ice cream and chocolate-flavored tortillas. Butel provides nutritional information for each dish and helpful suggestions for further reducing fat content. In all, this is a good introduction for those time-constrained home cooks. Author tour. (Apr.)