Friday, February 14, 2014

Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

Ingredients
2 cups black beans, cooked
½ cup red onion, minced (we only used 2-3 Tbsp)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
4-6 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 avocado, sliced
Pinch of salt and pepper
8 corn tortillas
Hot sauce
Salsa
Sour cream

Instructions
1. In a medium bowl, add beans along with red onion, cilantro, and spices. Add a pinch of salt and lightly mash all of the ingredients together. Grate your cheese and have it ready as well.
2. In a large, non-stick skillet or cast iron skillet, add a few tablespoons of oil and heat over medium-high heat.
3. Add one corn tortilla at a time and let each get hot in the oil for a few seconds. Then add about 1/4 cup of the bean filling to one half of the tortilla. Top with a sprinkle of grated cheese.
4. Using a spatula, carefully fold the tortilla over so it forms a shell. Press down lightly on the tortilla so it holds its shape.
5. As the first tortilla cooks, move it to the side and do a second one. Depending on the size of your pan, you should be able to get 2 or 3 tacos at once. If you have a griddle you can do even more at once.
6. Cook each taco for about 3 minutes per side until they are nicely browned and crispy.
7. When flipping the taco to cook on the other side, use a spatula and flip the taco toward the fold so the filling doesn’t fall out.
8. Serve tacos with toppings like hot sauce, salsa, avocados, and sour cream.

Notes: We were missing a couple of the ingredients, but still enjoyed these tacos. From the source: "Corn tortillas are resilient to heat. Don’t worry about burning them. They are very flexible. Just be sure to cook them on each side long enough to get them really crispy." 

Source: Endless Simmer


Thursday, February 13, 2014

Ramen Noodle Upgrade

Ingredients
1 package Ramen noodles
1 pack noodle flavoring
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter
2 teaspoons Sriracha chili sauce
1/2 scallion, thinly sliced (optional)

Directions
Boil noodles with flavor pack and drain off most liquid. Toss with soy sauce, peanut butter, and Sriracha. Garnish with scallion. 

Notes: Brittany tripled the recipe to have enough for our family (except for the scallions). She also added peanuts. The 2 year-old and I enjoyed this but the 5 year-old did not.