Pitas

Makes 4 servings

2 chipotle black bean burgers - thawed
1/4 sweet onion chopped
1/2 bell pepper chopped
2-3 mushrooms chopped

Chop black bean burgers into small pieces and add to frying pan with other veggies. Sauce in a little but of Italian salad dressing (or we like Newmans own light balsamic). cook till onion is transparent.

Put it on a Papa Pita's pita bread (Costco) - one line down the middle

You can add any veggies on top. We like

Chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles, artichoke hearts, pineapple - the sky's the limit.

Top with mustard or your favorite sauce.

Super easy and keeps for a week in the fridge.

One Pan Mexican Rice

This is a great main dish to eat with salsa chips and avocado or to roll up in a burrito or wrap. It freezes fairly well and you can cook the rice in it or use left over rice. If you are using leftover rice substitute 2 cups cooked rice for the raw rice and vegetable broth.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup rice* and vegetable broth OR 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 
  
• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Drain and rinse the black beans and corn if using canned and set aside.

*If using raw rice, drain the diced tomatoes saving the juice in a 2 cup measuring cup. Add enough vegetable broth to equal two cups. 

*If using cooked rice just add the tomatoes, juice and all to the pan. 

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion is transparent. Add the chili powder and cumin and cook until fragrant. Add rice, raw or cooked and cook and stir until the rice is coated with spices. All all beans, tomatoes, corn. 

RAW RICE: Add tomato/vegetable broth mixture and bring to a full rolling boil. cover with lid and set aside for 15-20 minutes until rice is cooked. 

COOKED RICE: Cook and stir until all ingredients are heated through. 

Add avocado, squeeze on lime juice and cilantro leaves if desired. Eat with chips and salsa, wrap in a tortilla or just eat it with a spoon? 

Carne Asada Tacos

for Amy
picture from here

We fell in love with these while in Mexico last December and came home and found this recipe.
I have found that this recipe will feed 5 (including 1 adult male and two late teen/early twenty boys) as long as I serve it with rice and beans on the side. If you only serve the tacos you may run out of meat.

Combine marinade ingredients in large ziploc bag:
2 TBS white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic minced
1 lime juiced
2 TBS oil
1/2 tsp salt (only needed if you use low sodium soy sauce)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin

Prepare the 1.5 - 2 lbs flank steak

If you have a few hours to marinade the meat, prick it with a fork, place it in the marinade and refrigerate for 3-4 hours and up to 24. When it is done marinading cut it first in two or three long pieces with the grain and then slice it in thin slices perpendicular to the grain. You can stack the long pieces on top of one another to speed up the slicing.

If you are in a hurry slice the meat according to the directions above and add it to the marinade. Let marinade at room temp. for about an hour.

Add the meat to the marinade for the time given above.

While it marinades prepare the condiments:
1/2 sweet (yellow) onion chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
salsa or pico de gallo
chopped avacados or guacamole
grated cheese (Mexican or cotija cheese is recommended)
1 or 2 limes sliced in wedges

Cook 1 16 oz pkg of corn tortillas. I like to spray each side pam and cook each side in a fry pan.

Cook the meat (choose one of the three options):
a)Pan fry the meat with some oil to desired doneness.
b) BBQ it over high heat allowing the middle to remain slightly pink. If you grill it allow it to sit for 10 min. or so to set juices.
c) Cook it in batches on a George Foreman grill. I do this next to the edge of the sink as the juices overflow the little trough.

To make your taco, put a small amount of meat on a corn tortilla, add onion and cilantro and other condiments and squeeze a little lime on top. Thoroughly enjoy each bite.

Mexican Wraps

Filling
2 cups cooked brown rice (OK you can use any kind but brown is my personal favorite cooked in chicken broth with just a little honey)
1 - 14.5 oz can of each of the following:
diced tomatoes with lime and cilantro (you can use plain but do so at your own risk)
corn - drained
black beans - drained and rinsed
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 bunch of cilantro finely chopped.

Mix all ingredients together and season with:
1 tsp chili powder (or more)
1 tsp cumin (or more)
Salt to taste

Place filling in your choice of "wrapper" I like corn tortillas, my husband likes whole grain tortillas and my kids love the "cook it yourself" ones from Costco.

Add one or more of these (or not):
Grated cheese
left over meats, chopped
Avocado (Guacamole)
Sour cream

Roll it up and microwave to heat through, 1 takes about 1 min 30 sec in my microwave.

Top with sauce and/or salsa or just eat it plain. You can wrap it in a paper towel and take it to the ball park or where ever. If I am making rice for another meal I always make extra. If the rice is cooked already these can be ready in about 15 min. - that's a pretty quick dinner!

This recipe makes enough for 10 wraps on a regular size flour tortilla.

Calzones

On a trip back from St. George we stopped at a little place in Cedar City called Bruno's
It's actually connected to a gas station... but I got a calzone there and it was so yummy!
I played around a little and this is what I came up with:
This recipe makes about 10 medium size calzones.
(It can be done with one person but goes really fast with a helper)

Make half a batch of bread dough (or make a whole batch and use half to make a loaf of bread, faux foccacia or bread sticks - more details on that later)

Allow dough to rise once before you cut it into 10 even parts.

About 15 min or so before dough is ready chop and prepare the toppings you want in your calzone. (cheese, Ham, pepperoni, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, peppers, olives, spinach, onions, artichoke hearts, BBQ chicken ... whatever you like or have on hand) Set it aside.

Preheat oven to 400.

Roll each dough ball into a thin circle. I like to lift and turn the dough as I go (I use a little pam on the counter and my rolling pin for my first one but the dough should not be sticky). Rolling it thin makes for a crispy crust and also allows it to cook quickly. It sould be about the size of a small plate.

Spray a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with pam and place the dough on the pan. ( I stretch it a little more here too). Put the desired toppings on one half in the middle, keeping it away from the edge. Wet your finger (you could use a pastry brush) and wet the edge of the calzone.

Stretch the other half gently over the top and press to seal the calzone.
Note: I tried to make these with sauce inside but could never get them to seal well, so now I serve sauce on the side.


If you want to identify what is inside you can use a fork to make initials in the top. When the pan is full, spray the whole thing with Pam and bake at 400 for about 13 min, until golden brown.

You can see in the picture at the top that I wanted to try once again to put the sauce inside - and it leaked...

These are great for a meal on the go as well as snacks.

Note: If you have two people, one can do the rolling while the other fills and seals.