Mexican Baked Potatoes

Look how cute these are! They are like twice baked potatoes, Mexican style! Love it! While these were not "quick" (baked potatoes never are), they were REALLLY easy and very good. Because I use vegetarian fat-free refried beans, I don't think these are too unhealthy either. All in all, I would call these babies a success!

I used refried black beans this time, but I don't like the dark color it gave the inside, so if I were serving these to guests, I would probably use normal refried beans so that it was more of a brown and less of a burnt looking black. Then again, I always love the taste of black beans, so who knows, maybe I'll stick with it.

Oh, but about the vegetarian fat free refired beans? Come on, they are so much better for your arteries and still taste just as good. I feel fine eating them since the 2nd ingredient isnt "lard." Heeby Jeebies to that one.

I am entering this recipe into My legume love affair. Check out here and here for details if you are interested in entering.

Mexican Baked Potatoes
4 large russet potatoes, washed
3/4 cup vegetarian fat-free refried beans
2 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced
1 Tbsp taco seasoning
salt & pepper to taste
3/4 cup mild or medium salsa
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
sour cream and/or guacamole (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Prick the potatoes with a fork and bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour, or until tender. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and let the potatoes cool at room temperature for about 15 minutes before handling.
2. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the potato pulp, transferring to a small bowl and leaving a shell about 1/4 inch thick. Add the refried beans, scallions, taco seasoning, salt and pepper to the potato pulp; mash well to thoroughly blend. Stuff the mixture back into the potato halves and transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. (potatoes can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for 24 hours before continuing)
3. Top each potato half with about 1 1/2 Tbsp of salsa. Bake in the center of the oven, about 15 minutes (about 20 minutes if they have been refrigerated), or until heated through. Sprinkle each half with 2 Tbsp of the cheese. Return to oven and bake until the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Serve at once, with the toppings (if using).

Pineapple Kiwi Chicken

Because I have found myself a TAD bit busy (somewhere between torts briefs, training to run a 5k and trying to have a life, my schedule got crowded) this post is going to be an exercise in brevity. Trust me, I can use all the help I can get in staying brief; my current memo is over 7 pages and there is a 5 page limit! Law school is phenomenally interesting and I love it, but people are not kidding when they say there is a lot of work. Oh well, here is a quick and FANTASTIC recipe from last night. The ease of this recipe was much appreciated, but so were its spicy sweet flavors. I adapted this recipe from Robin Miller's seared pork version.
Pineapple Kiwi Chicken
serves 4

1 cup diced pineapple (fresh or canned in juice)1 cup peeled and diced kiwi (about 2 or 3 whole kiwi)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (I used a jalapeno from a jar [technically pickled?] I rinsed it off, pulled out the seeds, rinsed the inside and dried it off to use, then I used less than called for because I didn't want too much spice)
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 chicken breasts, each cut into chicken strips
chili powder to taste
cooked brown rice

In a medium bowl, combine the pineapple, kiwi, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime juice and toss to combine. Season, to taste, with salt and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season one side of each of the chicken strips with salt, pepper and chili powder. Put the seasoned side down into the pan. Spice the other side with salt, pepper and chili powder. Once the first side is cooked, turn the strips over and cook until done. Serve the chicken over the rice and spoon the pineapple kiwi salsa over top.

Refried Bean Roll-Ups

I first came across this recipe when trying to make dinner for the 2nd pickiest dinner guest I have ever had. The pickiest is my dear friend and upstairs neighbor for whom I made the Brownie Ice Cream Sandwich Cake. This guest was only slightly better. He is a vegan who doesn’t eat tomatoes or, get this, sauces. That meant no pasta, no eggs, no grilled cheese, no salads (dressing counts as a sauce) or ANYTHING. I was stumped. The no pasta (cuz he wouldn’t want sauce on it) and no salad thing just killed me.

I spent the ENTIRE day looking for a recipe that the 2 of us would both like. I finally found this super simple, vegan friendly dinner and was saved of all of his complexities. No meat or animal products so long as I shopped wisely, the only tomatoes were in salsa (which he does eat, along with ketchup), and the salsa was mixed in so that it was not a sauce. PERFECT. And get this, it’s really good too! And super filling. This past week roomie and I shared it and would have had enough to use it as bean dip (which it is really good as!) and have another serving leftover. Did I mention it makes a good bean dip, cuz it does. I was starving at midnight the next night (writing a paper until 1 or 2 am does that to a gal) and in searching through the fridge I found the leftovers. I had them cold as bean dip on tortilla chips and was in heaven.

Overall, you can’t beat this recipe. It's cheap, filling and healthy. I am entering it in Eat Healthy- Protein Rich. It has 12.25 grams of protein in a 2 wrap portion.

I apologize for the pics. I must have bought a bad bag of tortillas because most of them were already ripped before I even pulled them out of the bag. When folding the tortillas up, it lead to a bean explosion, but was still tasty. Do try to use unripped tortillas though.

Refried Bean Roll-Ups

1 can (16 ounces) fat-free refried beans (the fat free kind are better for you and are vegan friendly)
1/2 cup salsa (any variety)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
8 fat-free flour tortillas (8 to 10 inches in diameter)
1 cup shredded lettuce
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (2 ounces)

1. Mix beans, salsa and chili powder in 1-quart saucepan. Heat over medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until warm.
2. Spoon about 1/4 cup of bean mixture onto center of each tortilla; spread slightly. Top with lettuce and cheese. Fold over sides and ends of tortillas. Serve with addiditional salsa if desired.

South West Eggrolls

I’m sorry for the disconnect in the blogging. One day I post regularly, then next thing you know I miss about a month of posting! Since my last post I had a case to present for the University Student Judiciary (ugh, I am not allowed to and also don’t want to go into it), I had a women’s studies preliminary and final paper due and had a final paper (20 pages in length) due for my environmental policy course. Oy. oh and then I graduated. And then I went to Europe (not that I'm complaining!). Oh, and I got my apartment for next year.

Somehow cooking did still happen, but that cooking is not going here. This post is actually going back in time a few months to J and O’L’s engagement party. Just a recap- party was great, had a ball and I think the engaged couple did too (or at least I hope so). All the food was ready on time and the only thing I forgot was the salad tongs. I’d say that was a success! Sadly though, not nearly as many people came as we expected to come and 3 of the people who did come didn’t eat, so needless to say there was a lot of extra food. We had leftovers for DAYS (though the ice cream sandwich cookies disappeared the very next day! Lol) The two HUGE hits of the party seemed to be the Italian grilled cheeses as well as the ice cream sandwiches, with a 3rd place going to pigs in a blanket.

Another hit was the south west eggrolls. Ground turkey, some southwest spices, corn, beans and spinach wrapped in a tortilla and baked until crispy, as though almost fried. I changed the recipe from the original by reducing the beans to ½ can per 1.3 pound package of turkey and using ½ box of frozen spinach per 1/3 pound pack. I limited the spices because the couple didn’t like spicy things, though you can easily bump up the spice if you want. I served it with a version of my Mexican dip (gosh, how much do I put this stuff on?!) and ate them up.

With the beans and the turkey they are super filling, so appetizer sizes are ½ rolls and about 3 rolls seemed to be a dinner sized portion. Because of the beans and turkey an entree size portion has about 19.7 grams of protein! I'm thus entering it in Eat Healthy- Protein Rich.

South West Egg Rolls (adapted from many ideas, especially AllRecipes)

1.3 lb ground Turkey

4 tbsp chopped Onion

1 can Corn

½ - 2/3 can Black beans, drained and rinsed

3-4 tbsp Frozen Spinach, thawed and drained

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Chili powder

2/3 tsp garlic Salt

1/8 tsp Cayenne

19 flour tortilla

pam

1. In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, cook turkey most of the way. Remove from heat, drain, return to pan.

2. Heat to medium high again. Stir in onion. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until onions are tender and meat is cooked.

3. Mix in corn, black beans, spinach, cumin, chili powder, garlic salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until well blended and tender. Remove from heat

4. Wrap tortillas with a clean, lightly moist cloth. Microwave on high approximately 1 minute, or until hot and pliable.

5. Spoon even amounts of the mixture into each tortilla. Fold ends of tortillas, then roll tightly around mixture.

6. If you are freezing and eating later: Secure with toothpicks. Arrange in a medium dish, cover with plastic, and place in the freezer. When ready, continue to next step without defrosting, but add another 5 minutes of baking time

7. When ready to eat, remove toothpicks if you used them. Place the egg rolls seam side down on an aluminum foil and pam covered baking sheet. Spray the egg rolls with pam, and bake at 475 degrees for 15 minutes. May take longer if there are too many rolls on the baking sheet

Black Bean and Corn Salsa- Testing my Taste Buds

My room mate this summer has fantastic taste in food. She always is bringing home stuff from Trader Joes, including this great Corn and Black Bean Salsa. Sadly, this salsa is about $5 for an itty bitty jar. I took on the mission of trying to recreate this salsa using the ingredients list on the back of the jar, the very discriminating palates of my room mate, run-girl-run and myself, and whatever I had lying around the apartment. This is where a well stocked pantry came in handy as I refused to buy anything specifically for making the salsa. The result: Delic! Not exactly the same as the store bought version since neither my corn nor tomatoes were fire roasted, but still darn good. And for not putting out any extra money for it, I am darn happy. And now I have some space in the fridge and pantry again!

Corn and Black Bean Salsa (My Way)

1 can corn

1/2 can black beans thoroughly rinsed and very lightly chopped

1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onions (if large chunks of tomato, chop them some more with scissors in the can) (do not drain! the liquid gives it a good consistency)

2 handfuls cherry tomatoes, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

about a handful of jarred jalepenos (to taste) diced

2 roasted red peppers, chopped

salt

pepper

paprika

red pepper

tobasco sauce

cumin

1 green onion

parsley

1)Drain corn and saute with salt, pepper and paprika

2) combine corn with lightly chopped beans

3) add both types of tomatoes and the red peppers

4) saute green pepper pieces and jalepeno pieces then add to corn mixture

5) season to taste with the herbs, spices and green onion (cut into thin rings)

The last step is definately the hardest as I KEPT tasting, changing, tasting repeat. So worth it though, as I then had virtually free salsa. I heated up some tortilla chips that were about to go stale and we gorged ourselves on salsa and chips. I used an old store bought salsa jar to can some of the salsa, and the rest (yes, this recipe makes a lot) is in a tupperware. Lesson learned. If you end up with so much summer corn that you've already eaten it boiled, grilled and steamed, also try it in a salsa.