Recipes Discovered – Recipes

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 6 6-inch tortillas (or 4-5 cups stale corn tortilla chips)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• Zest and juice of 1 lime, divided
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (canned), seeded and chopped, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
• 2 15-ounce cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes, drained
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 cups corn, fresh off the cob or frozen and defrosted
• 2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup chicken stock or water
• 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese, any variety
• 4 scallions, chopped on bias
• 1/4 cup (about a handful) chopped parsley or cilantro
• Sour cream, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Stack the tortillas on top of one another and slice them into strips about an inch thick. Place into a mixing bowl along with 1 tablespoons vegetable oil, cumin, coriander and lime zest. Give everything a toss to evenly coat the tortilla strips then place them onto a baking sheet. Bake the strips until they’re crispy and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

While the tortillas are crisping up in the oven, place large skillet over medium-high heat and add the butter. Add the corn to the melted butter and cook it until really golden brown, 8-10 minutes. (The secret to getting it good and brown here is to only stir it occasionally – let the corn sit so that the sides can brown up.) Remove to a dish, set aside, and place the skillet back on the stove top. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet and then toss in the onion and garlic and cook 3 to 4 minutes to soften them up. Add in the chipotle peppers along with the adobo sauce and the tomatoes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir to combine. The sauce can be used as is or transfer everything to a food processor and pulse until it resembles salsa. Set aside. Place the same skillet back over medium-high heat. Add the black beans and heat them through. Using a fork, wooden spoon or potato masher, mash the beans to a paste (or however you like them), adding a little chicken stock to loosen them up.

Assemble the chilaquiles by ladling half of the salsa into a 9×13 casserole dish. Arrange the toasted tortilla strips or chips in the dish and top them off with the black beans, followed by the corn and the remaining salsa. Top with a shower of your shredded cheese and pop it into the oven to melt the cheese, about 10 minutes. When the dish comes out of the oven squeeze the juice from the lime over the top and garnish with scallions and chopped parsley. Pass some sour cream at the table to dollop on top.

Serves 6 to 8 people.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

The original recipe called for 10 tortillas. I halved the recipe and only used 2 (I believe they were 8 inches though), and I thought it was enough tortillas. I used whole wheat tortillas, although any variety will work.

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup bulgur
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 chicken bullion cube
• 6 sun-dried tomato halves, chopped
• 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup corn, thawed if frozen
• 1 small red pepper, chopped
• 1 small green pepper, chopped
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat a saucepan over medium heat, and add the shallot. Saute for 1 minute before adding the bulgur, water, chicken bullion, and sun-dried tomatoes. Bring to a boil, and then cover, turn the heat to low, and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, until liquid is absorbed.

Remove from heat and add black beans, corn, and peppers. Season with cumin, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine, and adjust seasonings to taste. Can be serves warm or at room temperature.

Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side dish.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

My own concoction.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups (9 ounces) dried black beans, rinsed, soaked overnight, and drained
• 3 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon wine vinegar
• 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, minced
• 1 3/4 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup fresh whole-grain bread crumbs
• 6 whole-grain hamburg buns
• 6 slices tomato
• 6 slices red onion
• 3 Bibb lettuce leaves, halved

Directions:

In a large saucepan over high heat, combine the beans, water, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover partially, and simmer until the beans are tender, 60-70 minutes. Drain and discard the bay leaf.

While the beans are cooking, combine the tomatoes, half of the onion, half of the garlic, the tomato paste, vinegar, chipotle chili, 3/4 teaspoon of the cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced and the mixture is a thick sauce, about 5 minutes. Set the chipotle ketchup aside to cool.

In a frying pan, heat 1/2 tablespoon of the canola oil over medium heat. Add the remaining onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the bell pepper and the remaining garlic and saute until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, transfer the mixture to a bowl and let cool. Set the pan aside.

In a foot processor, combine the drained beans, the onion mixture, the brown rice, pecans, green onion, the remaining teaspoon of cumin, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pulse several times until the mixture is coarsely pureed. Fold in the beaten egg and bread crumbs. Form the mixture into patties each 3/4 inch thick.

In the same pan used for the onion mixture, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the patties and cook, turning one, until nicely browned on both sides and heated though, 7 to 9 minutes total.

Serve each burger on a bun topped with 1 tomato slice, 1 onion slice, 1/2 lettuce leaf, and a dollop of the ketchup.

Makes 6 burgers.

Nutrition:

Calories: 389, total fat: 11 g, saturated fat: 1 g, sodium: 791 mg, cholesterol: 35 mg, carbs: 59 g, fiber: 15 g, protein: 16 g

Substitutions:

Instead of dried black beans, I used two 15 ounce cans of black beans, drained and rinsed (saves a lot of time). I used a sweet onion in place of a yellow onion. For the bread crumbs, 3/4 cup is equal to about 2 slices of bread.

Recipe courtesy of The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook: Eating well for Better Health