Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Black Bean Burritos

BLACK BEAN BURRITOS



These are a staple in our house. Between Matt studying every night and the baby being especially fussy in the evenings, we get very excited over simple, yummy meals. In an attempt to eat healthier, we try to cook dinner every night and avoid the (delicious) dreaded fast food or pizza delivery guy, even when we are both tired and/or busy. I always keep the ingredients for these on hand because it is a fast, easy and delicious dinner that only takes about 20 minutes to make (including prep time!) 

I came across this recipe while looking online for vegetarian dinner options. The fact that it doesn't include meat means it is not only less expensive, but involves less prep work and a shorter cooking time that it's meaty counterparts. The other great thing about these delicious burritos is that that are actually rather healthy......if you cut back on the amount of cream cheese you mix in. You can use as little as a dollop or the whole 8 oz. package. They are delicious no matter what. 

Oh, and they're just as good the next day, so don't worry if you have filling left over! :) 
Start of by finely chopping up one large garlic clove, one red bell pepper and one large yellow onion.  Heat up your skillet over medium heat. Add your olive oil and throw in the garlic. Make sure you give the pan a shake to cover all the garlic in olive oil. Let it cook for a minute or two until it starts to turn a nice golden brown. 


Add your pepper, onion and a can of chopped green chiles to the skillet. 



How long you cook your veggies really depends on how you like them. I prefer mine to be very soft (I don't like crunchy onions), so I tend to cook mine until they're transparent and even a little browned. Make sure to give them a little stir to keep them from sticking to your pan and burning!


While your veggies are cooking, drain and rinse your black beans. Make sure you really drain them well because I find that these taste best without any excess liquid (the cream cheese makes them just creamy enough). Add the beans to your veggies and stir em up!


Once the beans and veggies are combined, I like to add a pinch of salt and pepper. The beauty of this burrito filling is that you can really doctor these up in any way you choose. You could even leave out the cream cheese completely if you want a vegan alternative! 


Add your cream cheese in manageable chunks! Add as much or as little as you want. Tonight I chose to add the entire 8 oz. package because I have cheese addiction issues.


This is when the filling goes from colorful and tasty looking to just plain sloppy looking. The filling isn't pretty but it goes inside of a tortilla so it's all good ;)


Warm up your flour tortillas!!! If you don't, you are clearly a burrito making amateur. Shame on you.


Spoon some of the filling into a tortilla and roll it up. Matt likes his with cholula. I like mine with sour cream AND cholula. 



I warned you. They're not pretty, but they're oh so tasty.




Black Bean Burritos

You will need:

1 tsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1 red bell pepper
1 large onion (yellow or white)
1 small can of chopped green chiles
2 cans of black beans
One 8 ounce package of cream cheese
Flour tortillas (I like the taco sized ones)



Heat up a large skillet over medium heat. 


Finely chop up garlic, onion and bell pepper. Add olive oil to pan and then add garlic and cook until golden brown. Add onion, pepper and chiles to the skillet and cook to desired consistency. 


Drain and rinse beans and add to skillet. Stir the beans and veggies together. Add cream cheese and stir everything together. 


Warm up a flour tortilla in a clean skillet and fill with the bean mixture. Serve with hot sauce, sour cream or eat em up plain!!


Enjoy :)

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Chocolate Cobbler


Chocolate cobbler?! Yep. I did not create this recipe, but you can find the original recipe here! It is moist, chocolate deliciousness. If you have an appreciation for molten lava cake and/or chocolate pudding, then you will more than likely LOVE this. The texture is really nothing like a traditional cobbler but I suppose the name comes from the sauce that the magically forms beneath the cake while you bake it. Matt went nuts over it, and he rarely gets all that excited over desserts. The best part is that it is not only very easy to put together, but you most likely already have all the ingredients you need. Make sure you pour yourself a nice, cold glass of milk too. Enjoy!


CHOCOLATE COBBLER

Your ingredients!



Start by putting your flour, sugar, cocoa and baking powder in a medium-large sized mixing bowl.


 Add your milk.


Add in your melted butter.


Add your vanilla extract.


Mix it all up! (A whisk works best)


Pour the batter into an 8 inch square baking dish. I used what I had, but the original recipe calls for a glass dish.


In a clean mixing bowl, add the rest of your sugar, brown sugar and cocoa.


Mix it up!


Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of your batter.



The next step is a little strange, but this is what causes the delicious sauce to form underneath the cake. Heat up your water and pour it on top of the cake. Do. Not. Stir.


Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 mins. When you take it out it might look a lot like this....aka a hot mess. Don't be fooled. It is YUMMY


Nom Nom Nom



***************************************************************************

HERE IS THE ORIGINAL RECIPE FROM bakeorbreak.com


Chocolate Cobbler

June 18th, 2008 · No Comments

Read and see more at Bake or Break.
  • 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided into 3/4 cup and 1/2 cup
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 7 tablespoons cocoa, divided into 3 tablespoons and 4 tablespoons
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 & 1/2 cups hot water
Preheat oven to 350°.
Stir together 3/4 cup sugar, flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, butter, and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Pour into an ungreased 8-inch square glass baking pan.
In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, and 4 tablespoons cocoa. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Pour hot water over the top. Do not stir.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Let stand for 15 minutes, then serve. Use the chocolate sauce in the bottom of the pan to spoon over servings. Garnish, if desired, with ice cream or whipped cream.
Makes 8 servings.



Saturday, December 10, 2011

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Mac N Cheese

This is my first ever attempt at blogging.  Dun Dun Dun.
Anywho....this a blog about food. I do not claim to be a "good" cook but more often than not, the food I make is edible. It is sometimes downright delicious. 


It's friday night and I asked Matt (the hubby) what he wanted me to make for dinner. He said "how about a new kind of mac n cheese". Challenge accepted. 

I began searching the internet for a "unique" mac n cheese, but then I remembered that I had found a recipe on Pinterest for Chicken Bacon Ranch Mac N Cheese.  The recipe that I came up with is inspired by this dish but it uses ranch seasoning instead of a mix of onion and garlic powder and I left out the chicken completely.


 This is not a healthy or low-fat dish.  I promise that this blog will have healthy options too but this my friends is NOT one of them ;)


**After devouring a plate (or two), I began to wonder if the mac n cheese might be even better with the added moisture from the dressing. Hrm, maybe next time!**




Start by boiling 2 cups of elbow macaroni. Make sure to salt your water!


While the noodles are boiling (about 10 minutes), start by mixing together your sour cream, eggs, butter, salt, pepper and milk.


Mix it all up with a whisk. It wont be completely smooth because of the butter but that's okay!
 (At this stage I thought it looked an awful lot like I was about to make an omelette) Then add your ranch seasoning and mix it up a bit more.


Put your mixture aside. Remove the noodles from the heat and drain them. I put them right back into the pot I boiled them in! Now you get to add your cheese. I love cheese.


Mix the cheese in with the noodles and then add your mixture of eggs, sour cream etc. 

Stir it up!
Add your bacon!!


Mix everything together. Grease your casserole dish of choice. I used a 9x13 pyrex dish because that's what I had. I need to get my hands on a deep, square casserole dish because I find that mac n cheese is best when in a deep dish! (personal opinion but I'm sure someone agrees ;) )
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 mins. I added an extra sprinkling of cheddar cheese at 30 mins and then turned the broiler on for 2 mins. (this is completely optional step)





CHEDDAR BACON RANCH MAC N CHEESE
You will need:
2 cups elbow macaroni
dash of salt
dash of pepper
1/2 C. sour cream
1 C. milk (I used skim)
3 eggs
3 T. butter or margarine
1 packet Ranch seasoning
3 C. sharp cheddar cheese, grated.
1 (2.5 oz) package of bacon pieces 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. 

Fill a pot about 2/3 full of water and turn to high heat. Add a teaspoon of salt! When water reaches a rolling boil, add your elbow macaroni. Allow to cook for approximately ten mins.
In a separate bowl, mix together your sour cream, butter, eggs, salt, pepper and milk. Whisk together (mixture will not be completely smooth). Add ranch seasoning and whisk mixture together. 

When pasta is cooked, remove from heat and drain completely. Transfer the noodles back into your pot and add cheese. Mix the noodles and cheese together. Add your sour cream mixture to the noodles and cheese and stir together. Mix in the entire package of bacon pieces and stir everything together. 

Grease casserole dish. Pour your mac n cheese into dish and bake for 25-35 minutes! Allow to sit for five minutes before serving. 

ENJOY!

Rachel