7-Layer Burrito

As a former fast food junkie, there are certainly times I miss some of those foods.  One of them in particular is the 7-layer burrito from Taco Bell.  It's got everything you would want all wrapped up in a tortilla.  But...it's also filled with GMO's and conventional produce.  By making it at home, you can use all organic ingredients as well as fresh, homemade salsa and guacamole.  Not to mention it tastes a MILLION times better!  I didn't list quantities of the ingredients below as you can customize it to your tastes.  So the next time you are craving a drive thru burrito, make this version instead.  You won't be disappointed!

Ingredients

flour tortillas

refried beans (make your own!)

rice (any kind, though we use brown)

finely grated cheddar cheese

romaine, thinly sliced

pico de gallo

guacamole

sour cream

Directions

1. Warm the tortillas and load them up to your liking.  Enjoy!

Black Bean and Kale Quesadilla

I am so excited about this recipe!  It is a fun new way to sneak some more kale into your kid's diet.  These are so tasty, the kids won't even believe that there is any kale in them!  They are also jam-packed with black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, and avocado, making this a very hearty quesadilla (not just a big pile of melted cheese).  

Another great aspect of this meal is the fact that you can make the bean mixture and grate the cheese ahead of time.  That makes the dinnertime rush much easier to handle!  Serve these with a great side dish like Roasted Mexican String Beans or Spanish Rice, and you've got a fantastic meal for the entire family!

Ingredients

4 large handfuls of kale, stem removed and chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

15 oz cooked black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 C Restaurant Style Salsa

1/3 C chopped cilantro

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 large avocado, peeled, pitted, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp chili powder

juice of 1 lime

6 flour tortillas

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

8 oz Greek yogurt or sour cream

3 green onions, sliced

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a medium fry pan over medium-high heat.  Add the kale and cook, stirring constantly until wilted, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and place into a large bowl.
2. To the kale, add the beans, salsa, cilantro, tomatoes, avocado, salt, pepper, chili powder, and lime juice.  Mash with a fork until smooth.
3. Put an even layer of bean mixture onto half of a flour tortilla (about 1/3 C).  Sprinkle an even layer of cheddar cheese on top of the bean mixture.  Fold the tortilla in half.
4. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large fry pan over medium high heat.  Cook the quesadillas for about 3 minutes, or until golden.  Flip and repeat on the other side.  
5. Serve topped with more salsa, yogurt or sour cream, and green onions.  Enjoy!

Adapted from Kiwi Magazine Dec. 2012

Hearty Vegetarian Chili

Chili is my absolute favorite winter meal.  Comfort in a bowl.  I LOVE IT!  This particular chili has been a house favorite for years.  It is filled with black and pinto beans, tomatoes, onions, and faux ground beef (it would be AMAZING with real beef too!).  I cook my own beans ahead of time to cut out the need for canned beans (loaded with extra salt).  Serve it with some cornbread and honey butter for the perfect meal.  This recipe is so easy and so delicious you will wonder how you ever survived a winter without it!

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

12 oz veggie ground beef (or about 1 pound ground beef)

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp oregano

15 oz black beans and their juices

15 oz pinto beans and their juices
28 oz diced tomatoes and their juices
1 tsp salt
pepper and crushed red pepper to taste
freshly grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, and green onions to garnish

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional 1 minute.  Add veggie ground beef and and break it up with a spoon.  
2. Add cumin, chili powder, and oregano.  Stir frequently until veggie crumbles are broken up and heated through.  
3. Add black beans, pinto bean, and tomatoes, with their liquids, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer stirring occasionally for about 45 minutes.
4. Add salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.  Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.  Serve hot with the toppings of your choice!

Adapted from Food to Live By

Not-a-Lotta Tostada

I just LOVE tostadas.  The crispy shell.  The fresh veggies.  The spicy salsa.  Mmmm.  Not to mention the edible bowl!  That just makes any soup or salad better, right?  :)  The only problem I have with tostadas is the fact that they are usually very big.  I mean ginormous!  For someone who is trying to manage their portions, it makes it kind of difficult to have because you don't want to waste a bunch of food!  Also, the huge fried tortilla isn't going to help that waistline of yours.  Well, I fixed both of those problems!

These tostadas use soft taco-sized baked tortillas!  You heard me, BAKED!  And it is so easy you won't believe it.  The size is perfect for a light dinner, or it can be a side dish if you prefer a bigger meal.  Once you have the shell, fill it with whatever you like and enjoy!  Below are the ingredients we used, but I didn't list any quantities since it is to your taste.  Just make it up as you go and have fun! 

Ingredients

flour tortillas

spray oil

black beans

lettuce, chopped

tomatoes, chopped

onions, chopped

green onions, chopped

cheese, grated

salsa

guacamole

sour cream

 Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Flip over a standard muffin tin.  Lightly spray both sides of a tortilla and place in the open space between the muffin wells.  Weigh it down with some dried beans or something similar (I used dried chickpeas).  Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes until the edged are golden and crisp.
4. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
5. Top with whatever you like and serve!

Ultimate Mexican Pizza

It's a known fact...I love pizza.  If I could have it every single day, I would.  If you ask me, it's the perfect meal!  It includes grains, dairy, and a variety of fresh produce!  Sounds pretty balanced, huh?  I love trying new combinations of veggies on my pizzas and boy did I find a winner!  This Mexican pizza is PACKED with veggies and is even given an extra boost with a base of beans in lieu of the standard tomato sauce.  This gives the pizza tons of fiber and a virtually fat-free source of protein.  By making your "refried" beans at home, you have control over the salt levels, lowering the overall sodium content of this meal.  

This pizza with the toppings shown above is awesome (that is how my 3 year old ate it), but if you want to make it truly "Ultimate" you have got to add my Restaurant Style Salsa and some broken tortilla chips on top of your pizza slices.  Seriously life-changing people!  The combination of hot pizza with cold salsa and crunchy chips is a match made in heaven.  All the prep can be done ahead of time, making this a great dinner when you are short on time in the evening.  Go ahead.  Try it tonight!  :)

Ingredients (add to your liking!)

Your favorite pizza dough or crust
refried beans
jack and pepper jack cheese, shredded
sliced olives
fresh or frozen corn
tomatoes, seeded and chopped
green onions, chopped
cilantro, chopped
avocado, chopped
Restaurant Style Salsa
tortilla chips

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 475 degrees with a pizza stone inside.  
2. Ready your pizza dough/crust and add toppings.  Start with an even layer of refried beans.  Next add cheese.  Then top with all the veggies except cilantro and avocado.  
3. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling.
4. Remove from the oven and add cilantro and avocado.   Just before enjoying, top with salsa and chip pieces.  

Crock Pot "Refried" Beans

I am always looking for ways to cut back on pre-made foods be they canned, bagged, boxed, or jarred. In my family, we go through our fair share of beans.  Our favorites include black beans, pinto beans, and chickpeas.  One thing I had relied on for many years was canned refried beans.  I figured it would be WAY too hard to "re-fry" beans at home.  Boy, was I wrong!

This technique is so incredibly simple, you will wonder why you ever bothered buying canned beans before!  All you need is a crock pot and a food processor or blender.  That's it!  There is no frying involved, and most of the work is done overnight while you sleep.  Isn't that the best type of cooking?  :)  Seriously, the hardest thing about this is just remembering to cook them the night before you need them.  But once you make it a habit, it just becomes part of your regular meal planning.

Ingredients (makes about 2 C)

1 heaping cup dry pinto beans
1/4 onion in a large wedge
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
dash of cumin
1/8 - 1/4 jalapeno, seeded

Directions

1. Rinse the dry beans under running water to clean them.
2. Place the beans, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, and jalapeno into a crock pot (I use a small one, but a larger one is great if you are making a bigger batch).  Fill with water allowing space for the beans to double in size and stay submerged.  Turn on low and cook overnight or about 8 hours.  
3. Drain the beans, reserving the liquid.  Discard onion.  Pour the beans into a food processor adding 4 Tbsp cooking liquid back in.  Pulse until a good consistency adding more water as needed.  Taste and adjust salt and seasonings as needed.  

Homemade Crunchwrap for Daiya's Vegan Challenge!

Daiya Foods has given us a cooking challenge.  Daiya was kind enough to allow us to try their product and come up with a great recipe using one of their dairy-free cheeses!  I jumped at the chance to try something new.

I decided to make a Vegan Crunchwrap and it was AMAZING!  It was so easy to make, and by chopping everything ahead of time, dinner took less than 10 minutes to make!  We even enjoyed it again for lunch the next day because my 3 year old said it was her new favorite meal.  We made it completely vegan and it was amazing!  But the best part is that you can customize it to your own tastes.

Ingredients

Burrito Grande flour tortillas

flat crispy tostada crisps

refried beans

hot sauce (I used Tapatillo)

dairy free sour cream

tomatoes, seeded and chopped

onion, chopped

Daiya pepperjack style shreds

lettuce, chopped

Directions

1. Heat a dry non-stick fry pan over medium high heat while you assemble the crunchwrap.
2. Lay the tortilla flat and spread a layer of beans in the middle the diameter of the tostada crisp.  Add hot sauce.
3. Place the tortilla crisp on top of the beans.  Layer the dairy-free sour cream on the tostada crisp.  Top with the tomatoes, onion, Daiya shreds, and lettuce.
4. Carefully begin making several folds into the flour tortilla in order to completely wrap the contents.  If needed, take a piece of scrap tortilla and place it in the center to close any gap.  Quickly place it topside down onto the fry pan.  Allow to cook until it is golden and remains sealed.  Flip and cook the other side until golden.  

Corn and Black Bean Salad

This salad is such a staple at my house that I will even make it when the main veggies are not in season.  I just can't live without it!  It is a wonderful compliment to any Mexican dish and a fresh alternative to the Spanish rice standby.  It can be made in advance (you know how I love anything that streamlines the dinner rush!) and can be served cold or room temperature.  We enjoy this dish with tacos, enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, you name it!  I sure hope you give it a try!

Ingredients

1 C dried black beans, cooked and drained (or a 15 oz can)

2 ears sweet corn, kernels removed (or 2 C frozen)

2 medium tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped

1 small red onion, diced

2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1/4 C olive oil

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Directions

1. Place beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, and parsley into a bowl and stir to combine.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, white wine vinegar, olive oil, chili powder, cumin, sugar, salt, and pepper.
3. Pour the dressing into the veggies and stir to combine.  Can be served cold or at room temperature.

Adapted from Earthbound Farms - Food to Live By

Huevos Rancheros

If you can believe it, I had my very first huevos rancheros meal less than 2 years ago.  I can't believe what I was missing out on!  As soon as I tried it, I knew I had to make it at home.  While it might not be a "health food" because of the crispy tortillas, I do love the sheer volume of veggies you can pack on top! An added bonus of making it yourself is you can cook the black beans at home minimizing the added salt you might find elsewhere.  This dish is great for breakfast or dinner.  Best of all, you can customize it to your family's tastes with your favorite veggies!

Ingredients (makes 3 servings)
1 C dried black beans, cooked and drained (or 1 can, drained)
1/4 C olive oil, plus 1 Tbsp
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, chopped
8 oz cheddar cheese, finely grated
6 oz sliced olives
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 avocado, diced
4 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
6 eggs, over easy (2 per plate)
Restaurant Style Salsa
sour cream
6 flour tortillas (2 per plate)

Directions

1. Heat about 1/4 C olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.  Place one tortilla at a time and cook until the underside is crispy and golden.  Flip and repeat on other side.  Place on a paper towel to drain excess oil.  Repeat for all the tortillas you plan on using.  Set aside. 
2. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onions, beans, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper.  Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Cook eggs over easy while you assemble the rest of the dish.  Place 1 tortilla on a large plate.  Top with about 1/4 C of the black beans.  Top with the other tortilla.  Ad more black beans, then cheese, then the rest of the veggies.  Top with the cooked egg.  Add salsa and sour cream to taste and garnish with cilantro.  

Southern-Style Veggie Sliders

Hamburgers are one of those foods that are so wonderful for a warm-weather dinner outside.  What's even better than hamburgers?  Sliders!  Sliders are so much fun for kids to eat because they are just the right size for little hands.  These southern-style sliders are a wonderful twist on an old favorite.  They have bright veggies right in the patty, and the Cajun mayo is so yummy!!

Given the fact that my husband is a meat-eater, I can't make just any veggie patty.  I try to find options that have a unique flavor and a hearty texture.  He has learned that vegetarian burgers are not going to taste like beef, so he knows not to expect that.  They are a new category of food with an entirely different flavor.  

The patty has a base of mashed black-eyed peas.  They give the patty a great texture and the kids will have a blast smashing the beans!  The black-eyed peas are a great way to get more legumes into your diet for lean protein since each serving contains no fat or cholesterol.   They are also a good source of potassium and iron.

When you add the veggies to the bean mixture, the colors really pop.  The selection of chopped vegetables really give the patty a nice texture.   Give these sliders a try for a healthier alternative to ground beef.  They are just delicious!!

Ingredients

2 (15 oz) cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 C finely chopped sweet red pepper

1/2 C finely chopped celery

3 green onions, finely chopped

1/4 C fine dry bread crumbs

1/2 tsp garlic salt

olive oil for cooking

1/2 C mayonnaise

1 Tbsp cajun seasoning

12-14 soft dinner rolls or mini hamburger buns

lettuce

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mash the black-eyed peas with a potato masher or meat tenderizer.  Add the egg, red pepper, celery, green onions, bread crumbs, and garlic salt.  Mix well.
2. When ready to cook, shape the bean mixture into 1/2 inch thick patties that will fit the size of your rolls - they will not shrink during cooking.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the patties and cook about 4 minutes on each side until lightly browned and heated through.
4. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and Cajun seasoning.  Serve with lettuce.

Adapted from BHG

Mexican Layered Dip

Chips?  check!  Dip?  CHECK!  Want a delicious side dish to any mexican food or a wonderful option for your next pot luck?  This dish is it!  It is so easy to assemble, and it tastes so much better than the pre-made options from the store!  It is served cold, so it can be made ahead of time for easy entertaining.  

Ingredients

refried beans - 1 can or you can make your own

taco seasoning - 1 packet or you can make your own

1 large tomato, seeded and diced

1 C sour cream (room temperature)

1 C guacamole

1 C finely shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 C sliced green onion

2 oz sliced black olives

Directions

In a 8x8 glass baking dish, layer the beans evenly on the bottom.  Follow with an even layer of the taco seasoning.  Next, spread the tomates, then the sour cream, and then the guacamole.  Follow with the cheddar cheese.  Top with the green onions and then olives.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve with you favorite tortilla chips!