Emily's Corn Cakes With Black Beans

everyones raving about this dish! Easy to throw together any night of the week. Vegetarian, and you won't miss the meat one bit. Serves 4-6, double for large family.

1 can black beans
1/2 tsp oregano
2 tsp chili powder, divided
1/2 onion, chopped fine
2/3 cup stone ground yellow corn meal
2 T flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 T butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
2 tsp oil
Salt & pepper
Chopped cilantro, sliced green onion, sour cream for toppings

Prepare beans by stirring together oil, onion, oregano and 1 tsp chili powder in a hot skillet. Cook a few minutes to soften onion. Add beans (I didn't drain). Simmer till everything is blended and liquid is reduced by half, about 7-8 mins. Make batter for cakes by whisking together cornmeal, flour, baking soda, 1 tsp chili powder, salt and pepper to taste. Mix wet ingredients in separate bowl: melted butter, egg, buttermilk. Add wet to dry, stir just till blended. Fold in corn. In a heated fry pan or griddle, fry pancakes in a little oil. Cook till golden brown and puffed. To serve, top corn cakes with a spoonful of bean mixture, sliced green onion, cilantro and dollop of sour cream.

Easiest-Ever Chicken Tamales

Great weeknight meal. Takes about 15 mins to prep!

1 pkg corn muffin mix (like Jiffy 8.5oz)
14 oz can cream style corn
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
2 cups shredded cheese or blend of cheeses
10oz can mild red enchilada sauce (hot if you like it hot!)
3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
Sour cream for serving
Heat oven to 400. Coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. In a bowl combine muffin mix, corn, eggs, milk, chili powder, cumin and 1 cup of the cheese. Pour into 9x13 and bake 20 mins. Remove from oven, pierce casserole with a knife all over top then pour enchilada sauce over. Scatter chicken and remaining cheese over top. Bake another 20 mins. Allow to cool slightly before cutting into squares and serving with a blop of sour cream on top!

Smashed Black Beans

Can make the beans and jalapeño rice the day before!

1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
1 T oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans black beans, drained
1 cup chicken broth
1 T white wine vinegar
Cook onions and jalapeño in oil. Add spices, salt and garlic, cook 2 mins. Add beans and broth and 1 cup water. Bring to boil, reduce and simmer 15 mins till most of the liquid is gone but not dry. Smash with a potato masher slightly, add vinegar. Serve with chiles rellenos and jalapeño rice.

Jalapeño Rice

2 T butter
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green bell, chopped
Salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups raw rice
3 cups chicken broth
1 lime, zested and juiced
Melt butter. Cook jalapeño, onion, bell and salt. When soft, add garlic. Add rice, stirring till golden . Add  broth, simmer covered 20 mins. Before serving add lime zest and juice. Serves 6. Goes with chiles rellenos and black beans.

Chiles Relleno, Jalapeno Rice, Smashed Black Beans

6 large pablano or pasilla peppers (can use canned, but fresh is best)
4 eggs, seperated
1/3 cup flour
Salt & pepper
2 cups shredded jack cheese
1 cup corn (frozen is good)
Oil
Preheat broiler. Lay peppers on sheet and broil 2 minutes on all sides, turning each two minutes till skin blisters and gets darker. Remove, place in bowl covered with plastic wrap, let rest 10 mins. Then remove as much skin as you can from peppers(I left stems on) mix cheese and corn. Stuff cooled, seeded peppers pressing it in to stick together so filling doesn't tumble out.( the seeds are hot, so make sure to get them all out if you just want it mild). Separate whites from yolks, beat whites till peaks form. Take 3 yolks, mix with 1 T flour and 1/2 tsp salt, then fold into whites. Heat 1 1/2" oil in pot. Take each stuffed pepper and roll in flour, then egg mixture. Fry on both sides till golden. Drain on paper towels. I found them tricky to not lose a little filling while they fry, but just drain well and they will be good. Serve on a puddle of Red Sauce:

Red Sauce

1T olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
14 oz diced tomatoes with juice
1 T cilantro
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Cook onion in oil, when soft add garlic and seasonings. Add broth and tomatoes. Simmer 2 mins. Blen in a blender just till smooth. Then add cilantro and vinegar, pulse till combined.

The Pioneer Woman's Perfect Enchiladas

I love her cooking. These are really satisfying. A little spicy for kids, but Brandon and I loved them.
Sauce:
2 T oil
2 T flour
28oz red enchilada sauce
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Meat filling:
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 onion, chopped fine
1/2 tsp salt
Other stuff:
14 corn tortillas
2 cans chopped green chilies
1 cup chopped green onion
1 cup chopped olives
shredded cheddar, about 3 cups
cilantro
oil for frying
Cook meat, onion, salt till done, drain if needed and set aside in a bowl. In same skillet, cook flour and oil, whisking till bubbly 1 minute. Add enchilada sauce, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer till reduced, about 15 mins. Meanwhile, fry tortillas is a little oil to soften, about 10 seconds per side. Do not let get crispy. Heat oven to 350. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in bottom of 9x13(may need an 8x8 as well) Take each tortilla, dip in sauce then fill with meat, green chili, green onion, olives and a pinch of cheese. Roll up and put in pan. When all tortillas are filled, pour remaining sauce over top, sprinkle with any remaining olives, chilies, onion, and cheese. Bake 20 mins till hot. serve with fresh cilantro on top.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

This isnt the run-of-the-mill enchilada soup! Best I've tried yet! Packed with healthy goodness.

8 cups chicken broth
4 chicken breasts (raw, leave whole)
small can green chilis
1 large onion, chopped fine
4 medium size potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 red bell pepper, chopped (I like mine in chunks)
4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed.
3 good cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 cup sour cream
8 oz tomato sauce
2 cans white beans such as Great Northern, drained
2 T taco seasoning
In large stock pot add broth, breasts, chilis, onion, bell pepper, potatoes, squash, garlic, salt and cumin. Simmer covered till everything is tender and chicken is done.(15-20 mins). Can add water if not enough liquid to cover. When done, take out breasts and shred or chop. To the broth, whisk in sour cream and tomato ssauce. Add taco season, beans and chicken back to pot. Heat through and serve with chips and fresh pico de gallo. (recipe calls for blending all the veggies and broth in the blender to make a smooth soup, then add chicken back to it. I left it chunky and wouldnt want it any other way!) *even better next day*

Savory Chicken Tacos

This recipe rocked the house!!!! makes a lot and can be adapted to your taste! From Smith's.
1 Rotisserie Chicken (savory flavor) meat taken off the bone and shredded
12oz pkg steamable brown rice ( I used 1 pkg brown, and heated leftover white rice that was cooked in beef consomme- yummo)
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mexican style shredded cheese blend
1 can Kroger diced Salsa Style Fire Roasted Tomatoes( if u dont have Kroger, use something similar)
1 can green enchilada sauce (mild)
corn tortillas, shredded lettuce, more cheese, and sour cream
Mix all except tortillas and toppings. you can bake this in a 9x13 @450 for 20 mins or just heat in big skillet on the stove for 15 mins or so over med-high heat. Stir often. Add cheese towards end. You could add black beans or whatever you like to this and it would be great! Heat corn tortillas in pan with a little oil to soften. Fill shells and top with what ever you love- lettuce, sour cream, salsa etc. You could also put this over tortilla chips and make ultimate nachos!!

Spicy Shredded Crockpot Beef

I made this at Lava for the family.  We put it in tacos.  It is our very favorite and last night I used it as French Dip!  YUM!! is all I can say. Often I use 2 roasts and we eat it for a couple days or I freeze extra.

4# roast (I use chuck or arm or a nicer one, too.  It is a good way to use up roast!)
2 T Tone's Roasted Garlic Seasoning  (I got this at Costco. Just add fresh or powdered garlic if you don't want to get it.  But, it is worth getting!)
1 t red pepper flakes (this makes it moderately spicy, so add more or less depending on what you like.)
1 T salt

Put meat in crockpot.  Add seasoning and a little water.  Crockpot all day. (6-8 hrs) It will shred easily when it's done.  I have been freezing the juice to use this winter in soup or gravy.  It is so yummy.  I could drink it!  :) 

For tacos:  Small round corn tortillas.  You can either put Pam on them or not.  Microwave them in a stack in paper towel 40 seconds for 10. Put meat in, then cilantro and white onion and salsa of your choice.

For French Dip:  I decreased the red pepper flakes by about half.  I had a packet of au jus (mine is just western family and I like it) I added maybe a teaspoon to the roast to make it a little more "beefy".  It was really good.  The broth gets very concentrated from sitting all day, so I add water til it's right for dipping sauce.  Get some hoagie rolls or mini french bread.  Put it under the broiler til brown, add mozzarella/parmesan or swiss cheese to bread and stick under the broiler til melted.  Put meat on, and get dipping!  Kids loved them and so did we!  4# roast feeds my family of 6 one dinner and lunch for me and little ones next day.

Someone told me if something is too salty, throw an onion in it and it will take some of the salt out of your dish.  I have heard the same thing about potatoes.  Just FYI if you get yours too salty!

Authentic Mexican Salsa

I finally got it!  A lady Chris works with told me how to make salsa!!  It is so yummy!

Stewed tomatoes.  You can take fresh ones and put them in a pot with peppers and a some water. Or just use canned. (In summer, she roasts fresh ones over the BBQ or in oven.  Can't wait for garden tomatoes!) Put these through the blender or processor.
Boiled or roasted serano peppers (can use jalapeno, not as hot)  (Put peppers on a tray in oven at 400 til they are shriveled and flat. 20-30 minutes.)  To boil, just add them to tomatoes and cook about 10 minutes.  (I usually just boil, it's faster)  Blend up peppers in blender or food processor with salt and a tomato or two to make a chile sauce. Add as much as you like.  I usually do at least 3 or 4 for 2 cans of tomatoes.  Take out seeds and ribs to reduce heat. I make a lot at once and store in fridge or you can freeze it for next time.  We have a running bowl of it, so I always use mine up.
White onion, when you think you have enough, ADD MORE!!
Green onion, if desired.  Not necessary, but really good.
Cilantro, lots of it.
Salt
Avocado, if desired.  Chop up fine and put the pit in the bowl of salsa.  It keeps the avocado from browning--it really works!!
You can also add oregano for a nice change.  Just a little.

You'll just have to play with it to get it like you like.  I never measure, just add til I like it.  Sorry.  But, isn't that easy??  I couldn't believe it was canned tomatoes.  And the roasted peppers is the secret!  It makes the salsa so much better!  Good luck and happy dipping!

Chris and I have been putting this on everything!  Eggs, chips, tacos, salads, so we use less creamy dressing, even a Johnsonville sweet Italian sausage!  All were fabulous.

Breakfast Tacos

We have been obsessed for a while now with mexican tacos.  We eat them several times a week, whether it's for breakfast or dinner.  Here is the breakfast version.  (we eat it at any meal time, too)  They are cheap and so filling and satisfying.

Start with some Chorizo in your pan. It comes in a tube, maybe 1/4 of the tube.
Saute til almost done.  If desired, add real bacon bits.  We buy the giant bags of the Kirkland Signature brand at Costco.  Cook a minute more.  Add desired amount of eggs.  For my family of 6 I usually use about 10 eggs.  (from our own chickens! yay!)  Add salt and cook til done.

In the meantime, start cooking your tortillas.  White corn are what we prefer.  My favorite brand is Juan Valdez, Pepe's variety.  They are a local company,  so I don't know if they are sold everywhere.  If you have this brand, BUY THEM!!  You can cook them in a little oil or just spray each side with Pam and cook them slightly on both sides just to soften them up.  You can cook them til they are chewy, if you like.  I usually just lightly spray with Pam and stack them in a paper towel and microwave for maybe 30 seconds.  This makes them REALLY good and it's so fast to do a big stack.  My friend told me this little time saving trick!

Take your tortilla and add the egg mixture and salsa and devour!  We love avocados on these, too.  We also add a handful or so of hashbrowns to the egg/chorizo mix sometimes, too.

I have been perfecting salsa.  When I'm done, I'll share it with you.

Honey Lime Enchiladas

These are our new favorite enchiladas. Just double and put one in freezer!
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tsp chili powder(more if want spice)
1-2 large garlic cloves, pressed
1.5lbs cooked chicken, SHREDDED
Mix above ingredients and marinate 30 mins. Stiring occasionally. In another bowl mix:
20 oz can green enchilada sauce
1 cup cream
This is your sauce. (save a cup or so for serving)
Spread a little sauce in bottom of greased 9x13. Take 10 flour tortillas and fill with chicken mixture, then grated cheddar, then drizzle spoonful of sauce. Roll up and place in dish. Drizzle sauce over top then extra cheese. Bake 30 minutes. Serve with remaining sauce. These are not hot if you use mild enchilada sauce!

Mexican Lasagna

Brandon took left-overs to work for lunch with him for about 5 days- he loves this.

1/2 lb EACH ground beef and ground sausage
1 jalapeno, chopped( I did not use this, spicy enough w/o it)
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp EACH salt and pepper
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
10oz can enchilada sauce(mild)
18 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded jack cheese
2 tomatoes chopped
4 green onions sliced
fresh cilantro
1 avocado sliced or diced
Cook sausage and beef. Drain. Add jalapeno, and next 5 ingredients, cook till heated. Stir together soups and enchilada sauce in a pan, cook till heated. Spoon 1/3 of the sauce onto bottom of greased 9x13. Layer 6 tortillas. Spoon half the meat mixture and 1/3 sauce over tortillas, then sprinkle with half the cheddar cheese. Add 6 more tortillas, repeat layers, ending with tortillas. Sprinkle top with the jack cheese and next 3 ingredients. Bake @350 for 30 minutes. Serve with avocado on the side.

Winter Salsa

Don't you miss fresh salsa in the winter??  I surely do.  I came up with this the other day.  Most Mexican resturants don't use fresh tomatoes anyway.  And who doesn't have them on hand all the time?!

1 can (15 oz) stewed tomatoes--puree, diced, whatever you like (I put mine in the blender because I don't like chunks)
jalepeno pepper, to taste
annaheim pepper, to taste
onion, to taste
green onion, to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
salt
pepper
little bit of sugar, if desired
cilantro
2-3 tsp cider vinegar, to taste  (I found the vinegar was key to making it yummy!  I don't know if lime juice might do the same thing, you might play with that)

Put tomatoes, peppers, and some of plain onion in blender.  Whirl til just blended, not pulverized.  Put in bowl and add the rest of your ingredients.  Chris is the salsa king and he LOVES this!  Now we can have good salsa all year round!

Home Canned Salsa ala Erika

This is a recipe I got from fellow blogger Afton last year. My family really enjoys it and since our supply is diminishing I was excited to make it again. I got a bunch of free produce from a neighbor with an incredible garden so I incorporated some of the things he gave me into the recipe and switched it around a bit. This is now homemade salsa ala Erika. I double this when canning, but it's wonderful fresh in a single batch and keeps in your fridge for a while. My thoughts are that if you're going to make the mess, you might as well make it worth your while and double it. One batch fits in my 4.5 quart pot, and when doubling I simply use two pots. I'd rate it medium in hotness. If you want it more on the mild side than I would take out the jalepenos and maybe even reduce chile peppers to one.

2 4.5 quart pots roma tomatoes (can use regular but drain really well)
15 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 large onions, chopped (any color will do)
2 jalepenos, seeded and diced
1 1/2 bunches chopped cilantro
2 chile peppers, seeded and chopped
2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped (red or green)
1 1/2 T salt
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1/4 c white vinegar

-Fill your 2 pots about 2/3 full of water. Bring to a boil. Put as many tomatoes as will fit in. Romas are so flavorful and not as watery as regular tomatoes so I prefer them.
-Leave tomatoes in for a few minutes.
-Take tomatoes out in colander, run under cold water, or you can dump them in sink full of cold water.
-Peel tomatoes. You can chop by hand, but I just put them in my blender (it worked better than my food processor.)
-In the pot that you used to boil the tomatoes, dump out water and you can now dump chopped tomatoes in. I like to keep a little of the tomatoes in the blender to help blend the other ingredients in better.
-To a little of the tomatoes, now add garlic, peppers, cilantro, and onion. Pulse to chop up. I like to hand chop some of the onions and all of the bell peppers so they are a little bigger and add some chunkiness to the salsa.
-Once all veggies are chopped and in pot, add salt and vinegar.
-Stir and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes.
-Pour salsa in jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove any air bubbles with non-metallic spatula. Clean rims of jars with clean rag and put on lids and rings.
-Process 15 minutes in boiling water canner.
-Yield about 7 pints.

Bean and Cheese Quesadillas al a Erin

OK. I know it sounds easy, but these where a huge hit at our house tonight. Harrison had these at Erin's last week and requested I make them! I used the raw tortillas from Costco. I don't like refried beans from a can, so I just mashed up pinto beans and added garlic powder and simmered about 5 minutes. Put the beans on the tortilla then cheese (I used the Mexican blend and plain cheddar because I didn't have enough) and another tortilla. Heat and eat with salsa. Next time you need something fast or nothing else sounds good, here's your answer! Thanks, Erin, for another delicious and practical dinner!!!

Black bean tostadas with corn relish

There's nothing earth-shattering about this recipe, but I liked the corn relish and thought I'd share. It's from Martha Stewart's magazine Everyday Foods. It was one of those time saving issues where you do most of the work early in the day and it only takes a few minutes at dinnertime to throw it all together. I actually made it a more time consuming recipe because I changed a few things to my liking, but it is still fast and easy and satisfying.

2 limes (I didn't do all of the two)
2 scallions (I used green onions)
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen corn
coarse salt and pepper
3 T olive oil
1 jalapeno (my pepper was super mild, so I used it all)
1 pint grape tomatoes (I just used regular cuz it's what I had)
8 oz Monterery Jack cheese
4 flour tortillas (6 inch)
1 can black beans
1 avocado
reduced fat sour cream for serving

In the morning:
Corn relish
Squeeze limes in a medium bowl. Thinly slice scallions, and add to bowl along with corn. Add 1 T oil, season with salt and pepper; toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate.

Halve jalapeno (remove ribs and seeds), and mince. Halve tomatoes. Combine in airtight container; cover and refrigerate.

Shred cheese coarsely and refrigerate.

At dinnertime:
Make tostadas. (They did flour, but it's blasphemous at our house to use anything but corn tortillas. I fried them up crisp like usual.) Preheat oven to 475. Arrange tortillas on two baking sheets; brush both sides with remaining 2 T oil. Rinse and drain beans; sprinkle over tortillas. Top with tomatoes, jalapeno and cheese. Bake until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.

(I like the refried type beans, so I simmered 2 cans with garlic and 3 T butter til they were thickened and it was wonderful.)

Finish corn relish
While tostadas are baking, pit and peel avocado; dice. Toss with corn mixture. Top tostadas with corn relish, and sour cream.

Everyone really liked this. The corn relish doesn't taste really great by itself in the bowl (too tangy), but it is delish on the tostada. I'll definitely make this again during the garden season!

Angel's Chicken Roll-Ups

2 1/2 cups shredded or cubed cooked chicken (I used a rotissere)
12 oz sour cream, divided
3 tsp taco seasoning
1 can cream of chicken
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar, divided
1 small onion, sautee in butter
1/2 cup salsa
1 can refried beans
1/2 cup sliced olives, divided
10 smaller size flour tortillas
Combine in a bowl: chicken, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 1/2 tsp taco season, half can of soup, 1/2 can beans, 1 cup cheddar, onions, salsa, and half the olives. Place 1/3 cup filling in tortillas and roll up, place in greased 9x13. Mix together remaining sour cream, soup, taco seasoning. Spread over tortillas, cover and bake 35 mins. at 350. Remove from oven, uncover, and put small dollops of remaining refried beans over top. Then sprinkle with last of the cheese and olives. Return to oven, uncovered, and bake aditional 5-10 mins. Serve with lettuce, tomatoes and salsa on side.
This is excellent-the beans add so much flavor.

Simple Shrimp Tacos

**These are waaaaay good!**
1 lb. cooked medium shrimp, tails cut off
handful cilantro, chopped
half a lime
1 clove garlic, pressed
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
5 green onions, sliced thin
corn tortillas
sour cream
grated cheddar
lime wedges
Herdez green salsa (mild)
Heat a skillet on medium heat and melt 1 T butter. Add shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Toss 1-2 minutes till heated through. Meanwhile, in a bowl throw together the tomatoes, onions, cilantro, garlic and squeeze the half lime. Season with salt. Heat tortillas in the microwave or spray with cooking spray and fry briefly in hot pan to soften. Serve tortilla with spoonful of shrimp, tomato mixture, and add any of the garnishes listed above! Divine.

Enchilada Lasagna

1 can refried black beans (Rosarita)
4oz can diced green chiles
15oz container ricotta cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tsp taco seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
2 cans(10 oz each) enchilada sauce
18 corn tortillas
11oz can corn (mexicorn if you like spice) drained
1-2 large chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
2 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese
Heat oven to 400. In microwave safe bowl, heat black beans and chiles for 1 minute covered. In separate bowl, mix ricotta, egg, taco seasoning and salt. Set aside. In a 9x13 dish, spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on bottom. Lay 6 tortillas on bottom, overlapping to cover the bottom. Then take half of the bean mixture, then half the ricotta mixture and spread in layers. Then sprinkle half the corn, half the chicken, and a handful of cheese. Top with 1/2 cup enchilada sauce. Repeat layers, starting with 6 tortillas again, then beans, ricotta, corn, chicken, cheese, sauce. Finally last 6 tortillas topped with remaining enchilada sauce and last of the cheese. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes and bubbly. Let sit 5 mins before serving.
*This was a hit with ALL my picky eaters. Brandon had seconds. You could even make this without the chicken and it would be a great vegetarian dish! I served it with sliced oranges and it was a complete meal. From Family Circle Oct. issue.`It wasn't spicy using the regular corn!*