Burrito Bowl with Creamy Chipotle Sauce

Makes 3-4 burrito bowls

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked rice or quinoa

1/2 cup salsa

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

2-3 roma tomatoes, diced

1 1/2 cups corn (I used frozen corn, thawed)

Romaine lettuce, chopped

Creamy chipotle sauce*

Other additions: onion, green onion, bell pepper, avocado, cheese, cilantro

Directions

Cook rice. (For firmer rice, use 1 cup rice + 1 1/4 cup water.)

While rice is cooking, prep your veggies and make the creamy chipotle sauce.

When rice is cooked, stir in salsa.

Begin layering your bowl: start with rice, then black beans, and vegetables.

Drizzle the creamy chipotle sauce on top and enjoy.

*Creamy Chipotle Sauce:

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1 chipotle in adobo sauce

1/2 tsp. adobo sauce

1-2 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/8 tsp. cumin

Scrape away the seeds from the chipotle with a knife (use caution when handling chipotle, and wash your hands when done.)

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

Taste and adjust seasonings/consistency as necessary.

Tips: if the sauce is too thick, thin it out with more lime juice, or olive oil. If it's too thin, add more greek yogurt. If you like a touch of sweetness, add some honey/agave.

Taco Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (obviously I use soy)
1 packet taco seasoning
2/3 cup water
1 can black beans, drained
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
36 wonton wrappers
your favorite taco toppings - salsa, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, etc
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375.

Brown the meat in a skillet.  Return the meat to the skillet; add the taco seasoning, water and black beans.  Mix and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until water is absorbed.

Spray 18 regular muffin pan cups with cooking spray.  Place one wonton wrapper in each muffin cup.  Divide half of the taco meat between muffin cups.  Sprinkle half of the cheese over the cupcakes.  Repeat layers - wonton, taco meat and cheese.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.  Top with your favorite taco toppings.

Mexican Pizza

Ingredients:  
1 Package of ready-to-bake whole wheat pizza dough (16 oz)
1 container of salsa- your choice (I used the Salsa Especial from Trader Joes)- (30 g)
3 cups of Mexican shredded cheese
15 oz of black beans- rinsed and drained

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.

Spread pizza dough evenly over a cookie sheet or pizza stone.  Top with salsa, spread evenly over dough extending to almost the edges, sprinkle with the cheese and then top with the black beans.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and edges of pizza dough are starting to brown.

Serves:  4
Serving:  1/4 of the pizza

Calories:  445
Fat:  13g
Carbs:  67
Protein:  18g

Black Bean and Quinoa Quesadillas

1⁄2 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup water
1 400g can black (or red kidney) beans
4 large flour or corn tortillas
3⁄4 cup grated cheddar cheese

 

1. Measure the quinoa and water into a small saucepan.
2. Bring the quinoa to a boil. Reduce to a slow simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes until the water is fully absorbed. Set the pan aside.
3. In a separate saucepan, warm up beans over low-medium heat.
4. Warm a cast-iron frypan over high heat.
5. Place a tortilla in the skillet until barely warm, then flip.
6. Spoon about 1⁄4 of the cooked quinoa and black beans over half the tortilla.
7. Sprinkle about 1⁄4 of the cheese over the black beans.
8. Fold the top of the tortilla down.
9. Cook for about 1 minute on one side. Flip and cook for another minute.
10. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Serves:  4

Serving:  1 Tortilla

Calories:  416

Fat:  10.5g

Carbs:  61.6g

Protein:  19g

Jamaican-style Black Bean and Coconut Cornbread Bake

2 Tbs. olive oil, plus more for greasing pan
2 15-oz. cans black beans,rinsed and drained
1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes with mild green chiles, juices included
1 1/2 cups frozen yellow corn, thawed
1/2 tsp. jerk seasoning, or more to taste
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 Tbs. sugar
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
2/3 cup light coconut milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil 8-inch-square baking dish with olive oil.
2. Stir together beans, tomatoes and juices, corn, jerk seasoning, 1/4 tsp. salt, and pepper in medium bowl. Adjust seasonings with more jerk seasoning, if desired. Spread in prepared baking dish.
3. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and remaining 1/4 tsp. salt in separate bowl. Add coconut milk and 2 Tbs. oil, and stir until just combined—do not overmix. Spread batter over bean mixture with spatula. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned and toothpick inserted in center of topping comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serves: 6
Serving size: 1 cup
Calories: 346
Fat: 9g
Protein: 13g
Carb: 57g

*** (out of 5-star rating)

I made this for dinner- I couldn't taste the coconut very much (which may be good for those who don't favor the coconut so much) but all in all this was pretty good and definitely filling!

Black Bean & Toasted Corn Tacos

• 1 cup cooked black beans
• 1/2 cup prepared salsa
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
• 2 1/2 tsp. ground cumin, divided
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 4 6-inch corn tortillas
• 12 baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup jarred roasted red pepper strips
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• 2 small green onions, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup crumbled cotija

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring beans, salsa, garlic, and 1 tsp. cumin to a simmer in saucepan. Reduce heat to medium low, and cook 5 to 6 minutes, or until soft. Remove from heat, and mash with fork to crush beans for creamier filling, if desired.
2. Heat skillet over medium-high heat, and coat with olive oil cooking spray. Wrap corn in paper towels, and squeeze out excess water. Add corn to skillet in single layer, and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tsp. cumin, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, or until golden and crispy, stirring frequently.
3. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350°F. Toast tortillas in toaster oven 1 minute to soften. Alternately, bake tortillas on taco baking rack in oven 7 to 10 minutes, or until crisp. Fill each tortilla with 1/4 cup beans, 1/4 cup corn, 3 spinach leaves, red pepper strips, cilantro, and green onions. Top each taco with 1 Tbs. cheese.

Serves: 4

Serving: 2 Tacos

Calories: 362

Fat: 4g

Protein: 14g

Carbs: 74g

****1/2 (Star-rating out of 5)

The husband really liked these and said he would most certainly eat them again! Hooray! A winner. I found the cotija cheese at Trader Joes. Warning: These are really cumin-y (I like to make up words) so if you don't favor cumin so much maybe cut it in half. Fresh cilantro is a must- dried just won't cut it in these.