Mexican Fiesta Bowl

One of us has to have meat on the fiesta bowl. This is a really good recipe that I will make again and again.




Ingredients:
1 avocado peeled, seeded, cut into 2" pieces
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 cup cooked rice (I used farro), but brown rice would be great
4 cups lettuce
1 cup frozen corn kernels, defrosted
1 1/2 cups canned, rinsed and drained black beans
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in 1/2
1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup reduced fat oil and vinegar dressing
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Method:
Peel avocado and remove the seed. Cut into 2" pieces. Place kin a bowl and toss with the lime juice. Cook the rice according to instructions on box. Divide the lettuce between two large bowls. Spoon corn on one side of the lettuce, black beans on another side, tomatoes on a third side, and black beans on the remaining side. Place the avocado in the center. Mix the jalapeno pepper and dressing together in a small bowl and drizzle over the corn, black beans, and tomatoes. Sprinkle the almonds and cilantro on top.

Black Bean Burger

These black bean burgers are really good.  I cut the recipe in 1/2 and made 4 nice size burgers.  I liked frying them in olive oil and butter because it gave it a crispness and flavor that I loved.  I also added about 5 cremini mushrooms chopped really fine.
This is Ree Drummond's recipe. I found it on facebook. You can find her recipe Here



Printable Version
Ingredients:
2 cans (14.5 oz. each) black beans
1 cup Seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated White onion
1 whole egg
1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder
Salt and Pepper
Hot Sauce (she used Choloula)
8 slices Swiss Cheese (I used Havartii)
Olive Oil, for frying
Butter for Frying and Grilling
4 Whole Kaiser Rolls or Good Hamburger Buns
Mustard or Mayonnaise
Lettuce
Sliced Tomato
Method:
Drain, but do not rinse, the black beans. Place them in a bowl and use a fork to mash them.  ( I used a food processor and just pulsed) Keep mashing until they are mostly broken up, but still have some whole beans visible. Add the breadcrumbs, onion, egg, chili powder, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Stir until everything is combined, then let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil with an equal amount of butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Form the bean mixture into patties slightly larger than the buns you are using. The patties will not shrink when they cook. Place the patties in the skillet and cook them about 5 minutes on the first side. Flip them and place sliced cheese onto each patty, and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Place a lid on the skillet to help the cheese melt if needed.

Grill the buns on a griddle with a little butter until golden if desired. Spread the buns with mayonnaise and hot sauce or mustard. Place the cheese patties on the buns. Top with lettuce and tomatoes.

Puffed Pancakes in Muffin Tins

 I found this recipe in the Austin American Statesman. You can read it Here The recipe calls for making blueberry compote, but I made mine savory. I cut the recipe in half because I was just making 6. Since I was making them savory, I did not add the vanilla or cinnamon.
Printable Version
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon or nutmeg, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Add cinnamon or nutmeg if desired. Set aside to rest for 10 minutes. This allows the flour to fully absorb the milk and eggs.
Cut each tablespoon of butter into 6 equal pieces and place a piece in 6 or the 12 muffin cups, spacing them in every other cup; repeat with the second pan. Place pans in the oven until the butter melts, about 1 minute.
Measure 1/4 cup of batter into each buttered cup. (about 2/3 full)  Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.Once out of the oven, the puffs will immediately begin to deflate, forming a cup for the blueberry compote. Run a knife around the edges to remove, then fill and serve immediately.
Bacon/Mushroom filling
Cut two slices of bacon in small pieces, Fry in a skillet until almost crisp. Add about 4-5 mushrooms cut in small pieces. Dice one green onion and place in the pan. I added about 1 tablespoon of flour and cooked for about 1 minute.  Add about 1 cup of milk to make a gravy. Fill your cups and enjoy.
Blueberry Compote
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, divided
3 tablespoons water,
2 T. sugar
Zest of 1 lemon or 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Cook in a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup blueberries, 3 tablespoons water, sugar and lemon zest or juice. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the berries start to break down. Add remaining blueberries and cook for 5 additional minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

French Bread

I only made one loaf, so I cut this recipe in 1/2.








Ingredients:
2 cups warm water
2 packages of yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 - 5 cups bread flour
Method:
Dissolve yeast in water. Add salt and sugar. Add flour until it forms soft dough, not sticky. Knead with a dough hook 4 minutes. Then knead 4 minutes by hand. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough inside, turning once to coat. Cover and let rise 1 hour or until double. Punch down and cut in 1/2. Form into 2--12" loaves. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise 30 minutes. Cut diagonal marks down the length of the loaf.  Bake 450 degrees F. 15 minutes. For crusty bread put 1/4 cup of water on the bottom shelf.

Margarita Pie

This recipe comes from Son Beverage Company. They sell the Margarita Mix. Elizabeth Miller created this recipe. I used a chocolate ready made crust.



Ingredients:
1 prepared 10 inch graham cracker crust
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup Jell-Craft Blue
Agave Mix
1/3 cup Sour Cream (or Greek yogurt)
Juice and Zest from 2 limes
1 teaspoon sea salt
Whipped Cream for topping
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all ingredients together except for the sea salt and whipped cream. Pour mixed ingredients into the pie crust. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the pie is set.  Sprinkle sea salt on top of the pie immediately out of the oven.  Let cool on a wire rack, then place in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Add a dab of whipped cream to each slice or spread over the whole pie.  I piped it on using a star tip and pastry bag.