Refried Beans without the Refry

I don't know why I bothered to take a picture of these beans as no matter what they don't look appetizing. Let me assure you however that they are incredibly good! Especially if you or anyone in your family likes a little kick (they can of course be made without the kick and they'd still be good).

The original recipe was of course from allrecipes.com, the usual place we go to when looking for a specific recipe.

Refried Beans Without the Refry

1 lb pinto beans, rinsed
1 large onion, sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
3 tbsp minced garlic
1-2 tbsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
water

Put the rinsed beans, onion, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper and cumin in to a crock pot and fill with water and stir to combine. Cook on high for 8 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more water if needed.

Once the beans have finished cooking strain them and reserve the liquid. Remove most of the onion slices and then return the beans to the crock pot. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved liquid as needed to attain the desired consistency.

*Note: As I'm sure you can guess I don't usually measure the garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin but I did my best to estimate the amounts I used. I know in specific I used more garlic and cumin than the original recipe called for.

Chimichangas

I've never thought I liked Chimichanga's until Chris made one for me. I'm sure it's the fact that it's fried, but I couldn't believe how much I loved it. And they're super easy to make which is a bonus when you don't have much time to make dinner.

Chimichanga's
Tortilla's
Refried beans
shredded cheese
lettuce
tomatoes
sour cream
Cholula hot sauce, optional

Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan, just enough to fry one side of the Chimichanga at a time.

If using uncooked tortilla's like we do, grill a tortilla then fill with refried beans and some cheese.

Fold the sides of the tortilla over the beans and cheese and then fold the bottom up over it as well.

Place the folded side down in the oil and fry until golden brown, then flip it over.

Place on paper towels and pat the excess oil off and serve immediately, topped with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, sliced avocado's (or guacamole), chopped lettuce and Cholula.

*Note: You can of course make a chicken, beef or pork Chimichanga, but we love the bean and cheese ones!

Enjoy!

Yummy Baked Quesadilla's

I love these quesidilla's. I make mine without chicken in them, but make Chris's with chicken. Of course when Chris makes them mine have chicken in them as well (he claims "the baby wants it").

They're really pretty simple, but very very yummy! And sorry there's no exact amounts for anything as it all depends on how many you're making and of course how full you like your quesadilla's.


Yummy Baked Quesadilla's

chicken breasts or tenderloins, cut into small pieces (approx. 1 tenderloin or 1/2 breast per full quesadilla)
zucchini, sliced and halved
red, yellow, orange peppers, julienned
onions, sliced
Wishbone Bountifuls Simply Santa Fe or Kraft Zesty Italian dressing (regular, low fat or fat free)
cumen, very generous sprinkling
shredded cheddar cheese (sometimes I used pepper jack for Chris's as well)
sour cream
tortilla's (2 for every quesadilla)
tomatoes, chopped
cilantro, chopped (fresh is preferable, however dried works as well)
lettuce, chopped
avocado/guacamole

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a large baking sheet with tin foil.

Over medium heat and in a frying pan (sprayed with PAM) add the cut up chicken and drizzle a generous amount of dressing on top, followed by the cumen (again be generous).

When the chicken's about half way done I start my veggies in a separate frying pan (also sprayed with PAM) and again drizzled with the dressing and cumen on top.

Of course if you're making chicken/veggie quesadilla's then you can add the veggies to the same frying pan as the chicken.

When the chicken and veggies are almost finished lightly cook the toritilla's (we always buy the uncooked ones from Costco, so if you have precooked tortilla's already then you can skip this step).

To prepare the quesadilla's, place one tortilla on the baking sheet and sprinkle with a little shredded cheese, followed by a nice thick layer of the chicken / veggie mixture. Sprinkle some chopped tomatoes, cilantro and more cheese on top of the chicken and veggies. Then spread a thin layer of sour cream on the other tortilla and place on top of the first tortilla. Continue with as many as you're wanting to make and then bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven with a lifter/spatula.

Serve with guacamole/avocado, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, and lettuce on top.

Enjoy!

*Note: You can also make a 1/2 quesadilla by of course using only one tortilla and folding it in half.

Authentic Chicken Enchiladas

Chris loves Mexican food...he loves it so much in fact that he organizes our Mexican Heritage night every Christmas Eve (his grandmother grew up in Mexico I believe - yes it's a little bit of a stretch, but it's fun!). Some of the girls he works with at the Hospital know how much he loves it and started bringing him different dishes from time to time (one of them is originally from Mexico and one is from Guatemala). After having their enchilada's he decided he asked for the recipe and we've been making our enchilada's this way ever since. I actually really like our other, not quite so authentic recipe we have for enchilada's, so I'll post that one at a later time. I should note that recipe is a very loose term with these enchilada's because there's no exact recipe. I should note that the first time I had them I thought they'd taste really good with rice and beans added to them (aka, less chicken) so now that's the way we make them, therefore the recipe I'm going to give you below. I have to say that they're absolutely delicious!

Authentic Chicken Enchiladas
corn tortillas
chicken breasts, tenders, or any kind of chicken
minced or chopped garlic
chopped onion
green enchilada sauce
shredded cheese
cooked rice (optional - I recommend using Cafe Rio rice - it makes a large batch and I usually store some of it in the freezer)
black beans (optional)
sour cream
olives (optional)
*Note: amounts will vary depending on how large of a batch you want to make.

Boil chicken with garlic and onions.

Make rice. Or if you're like us, you'll take a container of rice out of the freezer and just defrost it.

While the chicken is cooking, fry the tortillas in a little bit of oil, just until they're cooked slightly. Place tortillas on a plate and pat the oil off them with a paper towel.

Once the chicken is finished drain the water and shred the chicken using two forks. Add the green enchilada sauce to the chicken.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray PAM on the bottom of your baking /casserole dish and pour a thin layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan. Put a layer of tortilla's on the bottom (you'll notice as you're doing this that you might want to cut some of the tortillas in half), then a layer of the chicken mixture, topping it with a little cheese and enchilada sauce (if your chicken mixture has a lot of sauce in it you can skip this step). Put another layer of tortillas on top and add a layer of rice and beans, followed by cheese and some enchilada sauce. Repeat the layers, alternating between the chicken and rice/bean layers, finishing with a layer of tortillas on the top. Cover the top tortilla layer with some enchilada sauce and shredded cheese and cook at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream. You could also serve with olives, or add olives in with the chicken.

Enjoy!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

These homemade flour tortillas are very easy to make and are extremely yummy. They're nice and soft and are great as soft taco's, burrito's, with the Cafe Rio recipes, or with yummy refried beans, etc. I haven't tried frying them (Chimichanga's or Taquito's) because they're just so nice to eat fresh out of the pan...just ask Chris, he loves to eat them with a little butter or salt on them!

Homemade Flour Tortillas
2 cups of white flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl combine the warm water and oil. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour mixture, one tablespoon at a time and mix the dough with a fork. Once the water is mixed in, add another tablespoon of water and repeat the process until all the water is mixed into the dough. *Note: The dough will be sticky.

Lightly flour a cutting board and knead the dough for about 5 mins, adding a dusting of flour when the dough gets sticky or sticks to the cutting board. Eventually the stickiness will go away and you will have a nice smooth dough.

Place the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a damp towel or damp paper towel. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into golf-ball-size balls by pinching off the dough with your thumb and fore finger. Form each ball into a nice ball shape.

*Note: This recipe makes approximately 10, 6-7 inch tortillas. If you want larger tortillas, divide the dough into 6-7 balls.

Place the balls on a flat dish making sure they don't touch each other and cover with the damp cloth. Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes.

Preheat a skillet or cast iron pan on medium high heat. Lightly dust your cutting board with flour. Take one of the balls of dough and flatten it out on the cutting board to a 4 inch circle. Rub flour on your rolling pin and begin to roll out the dough starting from the center out. Roll the tortilla until it is 6 or 7 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick.

* Note: It's difficult to roll out a perfectly round tortilla so if that is important to you, you can always trim the tortilla with a knife.

Once you have rolled out the tortilla, place it on a preheated skillet. You don't need to add any oil or butter. Cook the tortilla for about 30 seconds. You will notice brown spots all over your tortilla. Flip it over and cook an additional 30 seconds. Don't over cook it as you want the tortilla to be nice and soft. Keep your tortillas warm by covering them with a towel on a plate or in a tortilla warmer.

* Note: Tortillas are best eaten hot right off the pan, but you can make them ahead and then keep them in the tortilla warmer until you're ready to eat and they stay nice and soft and fresh. I usually make them about an hour ahead and then keep the tortilla warmer in a warm oven.

* Note: They also refrigerate and freeze well. If you refrigerate them, wrap them in foil and place them in a 250 degree oven for 10-15 mins. If you freeze the tortillas, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and put them in a ziplock bag. When you are ready to use them, first thaw them at room temperature and then wrap them in the foil and place them in a 250 degree oven for a 10 to 15 minutes. Microwaving them is not recommended as it tends to toughen them.

Just Like Cafe Rio Recipes

I love the restaurant here in Utah called Cafe Rio...I guess I should say that what I love is their salad. Chris found me recipes online for their rice and dressing shortly after we got married and we've been making our own Cafe Rio salads since then.

It's all super easy and tastes pretty similar. We usually cook our tortillas, then put some cheese and pinto or black beans on the tortilla and cook them in our toaster oven on broil until the cheese melts. Then we top it with the rice, chicken (if desired), lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, a dollop of sour cream and then the dressing. Sometimes we also make our own tortilla strips for on top too. Depending on how much you put on top of your tortilla you might want to eat it like a salad, or you can fold it in half and eat it like a soft taco. We usually just end up eating it like a soft taco... sooo yummy!

Tomatillo Ranch Dressing
1 buttermilk Ranch dressing packet, make as directed (we buy the Hidden Valley Original Ranch Seasoning mix at Costco and then make 8 oz)
2 tomatillos
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno, use seeds only if you want it spicier (you can substitute 2-3 drops green tabasco sauce instead)

Using a food processor, blend all ingredients together. Let sit in fridge for approximately 30 minutes (you can use it right away too it just won't be as thick).


Cilantro Rice
3 cups water
4 tsp chicken bouillon (you can also use vegetable)
4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/2 onion
1 can green chilies (4 oz)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter or margarine
2 cups rice

Blend the cilantro, green chilies and onion in a food processor.

Bring the water to a boil and stir in all other ingredients. Turn the heat down and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Stir before serving.

*Note: Sometimes I make half a batch and other times I make the entire batch and put some of it in containers in the freezer to use later.

Shredded Chicken
1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italien dressing (8 oz)
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 lbs chicken breast

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours. Shred the chicken using two forks and cook for 1 more hour.

*Note: I don't make 5 lbs of chicken at once so I never follow this recipe exactly. Instead I put as much chicken as I want to make (usually about 6 tenders) in the crockpot, drizzle some of the dressing over it and then sprinkle some chili powder, cumin and garlic on top. I stir it periodically.


Tortilla Strips
tortillas
melted butter or margarine or oil
salt (optional)

Using a pastry brush lightly brush the melted butter/margarine over one side of each tortilla and if desired sprinkle with a little salt. Pile the tortillas on top of eachother (if you're making a lot you might want to make two piles) and cut each pile into thin strips and then cut the long strips in half. Place the tortilla strips in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until strips are crisped and lightly browned.


Sweet Pork
Chris got this recipe from someone at work claiming it's Cafe Rio's sweet pork recipe.
5-6 lb pork roast
2 tbsp cumin
12 oz hot taco sauce
20 oz coke

Cover roast 1/2 way with water and cook in crock pot on low for 8-12 hours. Drain liquid and add remaining ingredients and cook on low for another 2 hours or so.

I also found another recipe online that said it's like Cafe Rio's Sweet Pork, however we haven't made this one. I thought I'd include it for interest sake.
2 1/2 lb pork roast
1/3 cup water
pinch of salt, pepper and garlic salt
1/2 cup green chili sauce
brown sugar

In crock pot slow cook 2 1/2 pounds of pork in the water with a pinch of salt, pepper and garlic salt. Once the pork is done drain the water, then pull the pork apart and add the green chili sauce and some brown sugar.