Black Bean and Corn Potatoes

This one is quick, easy, and delicious. I love discovering recipes like this! This is a great (vegetarian, I might add - you won't find many of those on this blog) meal to whip up in a pinch. And I like the different idea of putting Mexican-type toppings on a baked potato. It adds a little variety to the boring, everyday meals we're so used to.

Black Bean and Corn Potatoes

4 (6-ounce) baking potatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn
1 1/2 cups fresh salsa
1/4 cup shredded cheddar-Jack cheese
Additional garnishes (sour cream, cilantro, guacamole, tortilla chips - whatever floats your boat at the moment!)

Pierce potatoes with a fork and microwave on high for 10 minutes (or bake them in the oven - whatever your favorite baked-potato method is). While potatoes cook, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion garlic, cumin, and chili powder; sauté 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add beans, corn, and salsa; cook 4 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Split potatoes lengthwise. Fluff with a fork. (Or just hack them to pieces like I do. ;) ) Spoon about 1 cup bean mixture over each potato. Top each serving evenly with cheese, sour cream, and cilantro.

Taco Pizza

This recipe was posted on Pioneer Woman a while back. We tried it one night using my favorite homemade pizza dough recipe and loved it. I really like the idea of taco ingredients on a pizza! I think what really made this recipe, though, was the fried corn tortilla strips. It gave it an extra bit of crunch and reminded me a bit of the tortilla strips on Cafe Rio/Costa Vida's salad. In fact, now that I think about it, this recipe would me amazing with Cafe Rio/Costa Vida/Our Best Bites (phew!) Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing drizzled on it instead of the sour cream.

Yep, I just may have to remake this recipe this week using the salad dressing. (I just happen to have half of a batch in my fridge just waiting to be used.) Sigh...my mouth is watering just thinking about it...  :)


Taco Pizza

Favorite pizza dough recipe, prepared and rolled out
1 can (14-oz.) black beans
1 tsp. taco seasoning
4 whole corn tortillas, sliced into thin strips
½ cup canola oil, for frying
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 head green leaf lettuce, sliced/shredded thin
2 whole ripe tomatoes, diced
½ cups cilantro leaves
¼ cups sour cream
3 Tbsp. hot sauce
(Or substitute the two previous ingredients with your favorite creamy salad dressing. :))

Fajitas

Fajitas always remind me of the restaurant Chili's. Usually I've ordered something safe and boring - like chicken - and then immediately regret my choice when a waiter walks by with a sizzling pan of fajitas, the smell wafting over our table. Then, by the time we go back again, I've forgotten just how good those fajitas look and smell, so I do the same thing over again. Solution: make my own at home!

This recipe came from one of my husband's co-workers years ago and it's definitely become a keeper in our family. I made a few changes to the original recipe (and I like my changes much better, if I do say so myself). I simply added some honey into the marinade and used a lime instead of a lemon at the end. It makes a difference, trust me.

And just because the recipe calls for good old chicken doesn't mean you couldn't mix it up a little bit. Have fun with the toppings, too, of course.


Fajitas

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. chili powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1 dash hot pepper sauce (I didn't include this because I'm a spice-wimp and I think the chili powder gives it enough kick)
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into strips
1 Tbsp. oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1/2 lime, juiced

In a medium bowl, combine Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, honey, chili powder, garlic, and hot pepper sauce. Place chicken in sauce, and turn once to coat. Marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate for several hours.

Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add chicken strips to the pan, and saute for 5 minutes. Add the onion and green pepper, and saute another 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and sprinkle with lime juice. Add additional toppings of your choice (we added some cheddar cheese and sour cream and it was perfect).

Stacked Tacos

I got this recipe from the archives of Real Mom Kitchen. I was bored with our normal Taco/Burrito/Taco Salad rut and was hunting for a new twist on some easy Mexican food. I think I hit the jackpot with this one. We all loved it - including my 3-year old. The sauce reminds me of the sauce on Taco Bell's Mexican pizza. It's tomato base makes it really unique and delicious.

We ate it the first night on these stacked tacos and still had enough for Navajo tacos another night AND my daughter and I made quesadillas with it for lunch one day. I  especially recommend using it on Navajo Tacos. Wow it was good!

Okay, on the recipe. Oh, and ONE more thing. In this recipe, it says to fry the tortillas one at a time. This took me forever, so I recommend maybe experimenting with other options. I was thinking that brushing the tortillas with oil and broiling them until they're crispy might work. That way you could do a few at a time. Okay, now it's on to the recipe. :)


Stacked Tacos

1 lb. ground beef
1 (8 oz.) can of tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes (Mine had lime juice and cilantro in them and I could definitely taste the difference. Yum!)
1 cup salsa
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 Tbsp taco seasoning
15 fajita-sized flour tortillas
Toppings of your choice


Brown ground beef in a skillet and drain.

In a large soup pot, combine tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salsa, tomato soup, and taco seasoning.  Stir well.  Add ground beef and allow mixture to simmer for about 30 minutes to blend flavors.

Heat a small amount of cooking oil in a skillet.  Pan fry each tortilla in hot oil until brown and crisp.  Drain on paper towel.

To serve: Place a tortilla shell on each plate. Add 1/4 cup of saucy meat mixture on each tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese. Repeat two more times. You should now have a stack of 3 layers. Add desired toppings and serve! Makes 5 stacked tacos.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

This probably lands a spot as my #1 favorite soup recipe right now. I couldn't say it tastes exactly like an enchilada, but it's still amazing in its own creamy, mexican-styled soup way. It's also another easy, throw-it-in-the-Crock-Pot recipe - always nice on those Sundays when I need to let something cook while we're at church for three hours.

My mom recommended the recipe to me (I think she may have gotten it from Studio 5?), and I'm pretty sure Real Mom Kitchen has a version close to, if not exactly like it.


Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes (better with the "petite diced" version, in my opinion)
1 pkg. frozen corn OR 1 can corn, drained
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped (I think red tastes better, but green is prettier :))
2 chicken breasts
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups milk
Shredded Pepper jack cheese

In a slow cooker, combine beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, and pepper. Place the two chicken breasts on top of mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce, soup, and milk until smooth. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients in slow cooker.

Cover; cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours. Remove chicken and shred into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken back into soup and stir.

Serve and sprinkle individual servings with Pepper jack cheese. Also good with avocado, sour cream, and/or crushed tortilla chips.

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I just discovered the Our Best Bites website a couple of weeks ago. I'm in love. So is everyone else in the food blog kingdom, I think, because they're crazy popular. And I can see why. I tried this Creamy Chicken Taquitos recipe from their site and am seriously impressed. They're so, so good! The hubby and I both love frozen taquitos but they're expensive and let's face it... I really have no idea what really goes into those babies. This homemade version is actually quite healthy. And they don't taste healthy - the best part. :)

The only downer was that they do take a bit of time to make. Of course, I cooked and shredded my own chicken, so that may have been the problem. If you used canned chicken, it would probably be much easier.

Oh, and the corn tortillas? Total pain. Make sure you microwave them the whole 30 seconds AND use the paper towel method. Those babies will crumble if you don't.


Creamy Chicken Taquitos

1/3 cup (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 cup green salsa
1Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas (the recipe says flour ones work good as well)
kosher salt
cooking spray
Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. (30. Do 30... trust me on this.) If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 Tbsp of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.
Then roll it up as tight as you can. Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Great dipped in salsa, sour cream, or guacamole.