Bean, Cheese and Rice Burrito

You will need:

a bunch of flour tortillas OR for a gluten free option rice flour tortillas, lettuce wraps, Vietnamese rice wraps

tiny bit of oil (I use grapeseed)

A can of seasoned black beans, refried beans, 

Rice- seasoned, or plain

Cheese of your choice

Prepared salsa or chopped tomatoes, lime, cilantro, onion combo.

Sliced avocado

Sour cream

Hot sauce

To prepare the tortillas:

Place a dime sized amount of grapeseed oil in the pan- spread it all over the pan

Dip in 1 tortilla and then flip it immediately once some oil is on one side.

Saute until it is lightly brown in spots then flip and brown.

The reason I have this method is I find the oil dries up after one side is complete and then you would have to add more oil. This way you get the minimum amount on the tortilla.

Once your fillings are ready place them on the tortilla in the order of cheese, beans, rice. Then wrap it like it the picture and brown it further so the cheese gets melted. To make things quicker have the beans and rice already warm.

Pretty easy peasy.

Serve with the fixing or just with tortilla chips or a fresh salad.

Make a few extra and put it in the fridge for lunch the next day already wrapped.

Rustic White bean and Swiss Chard Medley

I looked in my food closet today to get some inspiration and googled a few recipes with white bean and swiss chard to get some ideas and then went ahead to create my own.  I found a few things in my fridge and used up some things I needed to get rid of. Feel free to change up any ingredients and use more or less of what you want. This is a simple dish with the natural flavors coming out and just a little tomato paste to bring it all together.

1 T coconut oil (or whatever oil you want)

2 cloves minced garlic

2 small leeks sliced-(can use onions)

1 red pepper chopped

1/2 soy chorizo from Trader Joes (or real meat chorizo/ textured vegetable protein w/ cajun seasoning)

1 bunch of organic rainbow swiss chard

2 cans of white beans (Also called cannellini)

2 T tomato paste -give or take (or tomato sauce)

1 bunch of organic rainbow swiss chard

15 cherry tomatoes I just happened to have

1/2 c water

salt and pepper to taste

Sauteed the leeks and garlic till soft on medium.

Add peppers stir for 1 minute.

Add chorizo or substitute or not.

Add chopped swiss chard and stir.

Add a 1/4 c of water to pan and put lid on to steam chard so it softens-1-2 mins.

Add white beans and stir.

I just happened to have some cherry tomatoes that were kinda old and getting shriveled so I halved them and threw them in.

 

I never seem to use up a whole can of tomato paste so i usually wrap up 1 T portions up in some parchement or wax paper and get it when I need it and defrost it right in the pan. You can also put it into an ice cube tray and pop them out and then freeze into nicer looking cubes.

Mmmmm. Stir up this delish dish and add some salt and pepper to taste.  I didn't need any salt but that was likely because the chorizo had enough in it.  Serve over brown rice. 

Avocado, Bean and Feta Quesadillas

Basically the recipe is what you see.  I used

1 can of refried beans
sliced avocado
feta cheese ( I tried feta for something different and it was OK but i think i'd go with cheddar or jack or something not as over powering)
red onion
red peppers
salsa
cilantro
tortillas (which i toasted in a pan with a tiny bit of oil on each side.
hot sauce to finish it off.

Add whatever you like to make it suit your taste.
Garnish with sour cream and cilantro

Yummmmmy!

Inspirational Meatless Mexican

When my husband and I visited San Francisco we went to a funky Mexican restaurant and for less than $20 were able to stuff our faces with tasty food.  Ok, so my husbands dish here has meat in it but imagine something meatless in place.  This is a nice array of flavors and may inspire a dish to make one evening.

Cuban Inspired Medley

When I was a kid we always had a "food closet" in my house and literally it was a closet with tons of canned foods and other dry goods. I have my very own "food closet" and found a can of beans that inspired this fast, easy, no frills meal.

Wedged potatoes w/ skins w/ blue cheese dressing (or lightly oiled and salted)-then Bake @400 for 15
1 can of Trader Joe's Cuban style black beans w/ shredded cheddar
Sliced avocado



Coleslaw Salad
Shredded coleslaw
Shredded carrots and red peppers
Dressing -a viniagrette I had in the fridge