Southwest Chicken and Black Bean Taquitos – the revenge of the Taquito craze…

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baked, black beans, cheese, chicken, cumin, flauta, leftover chicken, shredded, southwest, taquito

I was pretty happy with all those taquitos I made this winter, I thought they were great.  Now I know they could be even better…

  

My moment of clarity came last week at work when we found ourselves with several pounds of leftover chicken salad from a banquet.  In stepped super-hero, Sous-Chef Ceasar (he’s a man of many titles) who said ‘lets make flautas.’  He added some of his special brand of love to that chicken salad (meaning beans, cheese and spices, get your mind out of the gutter), rolled it up into corn tortillas and took it for a dip in the deep fryer.  It was topped with some guacamole and cotija cheese and thus a beautiful appetizer special was born.  It sold like hot cakes all weekend.  

Now these little suckers were what flauta/taquito dreams were made of.  Perfectly crispy yet creamy, a veritable flavor explosion.  I think that the secret was that mayonnaise in the original chicken salad.  I decided in that moment when the first fauta, fresh out of the deep fryer, hit my lips that I needed to try to make these little suckers at home.

So creamy…

But before we get down and dirty, a little linguistic digression.  Latley, I’ve been working on improving my Spanish by asking my Latino co-workers clarification on words I wasn’t sure on and adding a few new bits of vocabulary here and there.  (Yesterday I learned that ‘chichis’ are nipples where as ‘tetas’ are boobies but ‘pechugas’ are what chickens have…)  So, I asked one of my coleagues what the differerence between taquitos and flautas was.  He said “Flautas come out of a deep fryer and taquitos come out of a microwave.”  Interesting.  Seeing as what I make at home are no where near authentic Mexican food, and I’m not busting out my deep fryer today, I’m going to keep on calling them taquitos.  

Southwest Chicken and Black Bean Taquitos – served with Spanish rice, slaw, lime sour cream and avocado sauce

Serves 5 – 6 – cost approx $1.26 per serving, including sides and sauces

Makes approx 40 taquitos – Batch costs $4.45 or $.11 per taquito

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked black beans – from 1 cup dry beans ($.40)
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken – a great use for leftovers ($.43 I got a whole chicken for $.60/lb because it was the sell by date, if you can be flexible in your menu planning or have room in the freezer you can take advantage of those killer deals!)
• 1 jalapeno, small dice ($.25)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, small dice ($.25)
• 1/2 onion, small dice ($.06)
• 2 cups/ 8oz shredded mild white cheese – jack, mozzarella, or white cheddar would be good ($1.20)
• 1-2 Tbs ground cumin, to taste
• salt, to taste
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise ($.50)

• 40 corn tortillas ($1.11)

Just mix up all the ingredients in the first set to make the filling.  

 

What happy colors! Maybe I’ll add some corn next time…

 

Follow the procedure outlined in my first taquito post (https://fullbellyfullwallet.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/pulled-pork-taquitos-im-falling-fast/) to roll up the little suckers.  From this point you can either freeze them for later use or bake them right away.  When you want to eat, cook at 400F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with any sauces that you like and dig in!  These would be a great appetizer or could be a full meal when paired with some rice and veggies.

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Black Bean and Sweet Potato Taquitos – Vegetarian Fun-Land!

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baked, black bean, black beans, cream cheese, cumin, flauta, sweet potato, sweet potatoes, taquito, vegetarian

I was going to say that I’m a master of turning healthy ingredients into things that are bad for you, (which I am) but when I thought about it I realized that my baked taquito craze isn’t all that unhealthy.  So, go buck-wild!  Destroy a tray of these little suckers without the guilt associated with plowing through a tray full of fried goodies.

Now that holiday entertaining season is upon us, these are a great make ahead appetizer.  Plus, these little buggers are vegetarian too!  At larger gatherings and when I’m planning out any sort of a party menu I always try to make at least half of the appetizers vegetarian-friendly.  I made a big ol’ batch of these last night and popped some in the freezer.  Stay tuned to see how they thaw/bake.  But, I can attest that cooked ones keep well in the fridge for a day or so and reheat well in the oven.

To be le’honest, I saw the idea for black bean and sweet potato taquitos on pinterest but I developed this recipe entirely by my onesies.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Taquitos – served with cilantro lime rice, sour cream and salsa

Makes 40 – cost approx $.12 each including fixin’s

Serves 6 as entree – cost approx $1.03 per serving including fixin’s and rice

Ingredients

• 1 lb sweet potatoes, 3 medium, peeled and small dice – ($.83)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2-3 cups cooked black beans – from 1 cup/8oz dry beans, you could use canned too ($.50)
• 8 oz cream cheese ($.24)
• 1 jalapeno, minced – optional ($.25)
• 1/2 cup or 4 oz shredded jack cheese ($.50)
• salt, to taste

• 40 corn tortillas ($1.11)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or bacon grease, divided use

• 1 cup sour cream – for dipping! ($.50)
• 1/2 cup salsa – also for dipping ($.50)

Start off by cooking the black beans if you’re starting from dry beans.  If you’ve got a busy day, a crock pot on low for 4-8 hours is a great way to get your beans cooked while you’re out and about.

Next up, cook those sweet potatoes.  Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Toss the diced sweet potatoes with some salt, a few tbs of vegetable oil and the cumin and chili powder.  Bake on a cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes.

To assemble the filling, mix up the roasted sweet potatoes, cooked and drained black beans, cream cheese, jalapeno, shredded cheese and some salt.

Now that the filling is all made up, it’s time to assemble.  (I’m holding my imaginary mijolner in an “Avengers Assemble!” sort of a moment here, but I digress…)  Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Keep a pan with a few tablespoons of vegetable oil or bacon grease over medium-low heat and prepare a little assembly station.   I go into more depth on my assembly set-up in my first taquito post if you want to read about it in a little more detail.  ( https://fullbellyfullwallet.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/pulled-pork-taquitos-im-falling-fast/ )

Go ahead with the system of briefly microwaving a few tortillas at a time, dipping one in the pan of warm grease and rolling it up with a few tablespoons of filling.  Set each taquito on a baking sheet.  If we’re being completely honest here, I used the same tray I baked the sweet potatoes on.  Why make more dishes to wash?  Bake for 20 minutes at 400 F or until golden and crisp.

They’re so cute!

Salt Crusted Trout – for the good days on the lake!

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baked, salt crusted trout, simple, trout

I had my birthday last week and the Fishing Gods were kind enough to grant me a bit of luck on a ‘Daddy-Daughter’ trip to the lake.

We almost caught our limit of gorgeous rainbow trout; we would have come home with ten trout, but one broke the leader and jumped out of my Daddy’s hands as we were trying to get it off the line.  I watched him swim away, was thankful it was one of the little ones and shouted at it “Enjoy your life, you lucky bastard!  And tell your fishy friends of our furious blood-lust!”

I felt like treating myself and my fireman to a fancy trout dinner that also turned out to be a piece of cake to make too.  I learned to make salt crusted fish on internship in Tuscany, it’s simple to prepare and a fantastic preparation.  I would have preferred to leave the heads on the fish, but they were (sorry, I have to brag) too big to fit in the plastic bags.  This one is a great recipe to keep in mind for fancy dinners or company, it’s so easy and delicious yet impressive.  Just add some roasted potatoes and veggies and you have a full meal that you made entirely in the oven, no need to dirty any thing but a few cookie sheets!

Salt Crusted Trout –served with roasted potatoes and vegetables

Serves as many people as you caught fish for – costs less than $1 per serving total

Ingredients

• Fresh round fish – anything you like, lake bass, sea bass, trout!
• 1 box rock salt – may be labled as ‘ice cream salt’ ($1.79)
• salt and black pepper
• 1-2 cloves of garlic per fish

This dish couldn’t be easier to prepare!  Preheat your oven to 400F.  Clean your fishies and pat them dry, sprinkle the cavity of the fish with a little salt and a fair amount of pepper and stuff with a garlic clove or two.  Lay them on a sheet tray side by side and pack the rock salt all around the fish like so.  You only have to make the salt layer about 1/4 inch thick.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes for a few trout.  It you’re feeding a crowd, you may want to up the time to about 30 minutes.  This steams the fish and seasons it perfectly, trust me, it’s not too salty! Let cool then crack the salt off the fishies and serve.  Make sure to remove all the rock salt, it’s rather unpleasant to eat.  You’ll find that any salt sticking to the skin or cavity will come off when you remove the skin and bones on your plate.

Enchilada Verde Turkey Casserole

Tags

baked, beans, casserole, cheese, easy, enchilada, Tex Mex, turkey

There are some things that I’m just too lazy for, and heating up tortillas, stuffing them and then rolling up enough enchiladas to fill up my fireman is just one of those things.  In my experience, a nice enchilada casserole is just as tasty as the real thing for a good week night dinner.  It’s also a great make ahead then bake dish for busy days.  Add some Spanish rice, and you can easily feed your loved ones a great Tex-Mex meal even if they have Texas-sized appetites!  Because of all those reasons, a smattering of different enchilada casserole variations have become a staple in my house.

This enchilada casserole version came from some basic ingredients that I usually have in my pantry combined with my need to get some things out of the freezer.  It’s scary in there, the extreme couponer in me can’t help stocking up when the getting is good!

Enchilada Verde Turkey Casserole –served with Spanish rice

Serves 4-6 – cost approx $.98 per serving, including rice

Ingredients

Filling / Assemblage

• 2 cups shredded turkey or chicken – I froze up left over Thanksgiving turkey pickin’s in 12 oz portions ($.75)
• 2-3 cups cooked pinto beans ($.50)
• 1 onion, small dice – saute or leave raw depending on your taste ($.10)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced – saute with the onions or leave raw depending on your taste
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels ($.25)
• 1/4 cup fresh herbs, minced – I used cilantro and scallions ($.20)
• 2 cups shredded cheese ($1.25)
• about 20 corn tortillas ($.55)

Sauce

• 2 Tbs bacon grease, lard or vegetable oil – hey, it’s Tex Mex, don’t begrudge me my animal fat…
• 1/4 cup All Purpose flour
• 1 cup milk or half and half ($.19)
• 1 cup turkey or chicken stock
• 1/2 – 1 cup salsa verde – I used some spicy tomatillo salsa that I made and canned this summer, use as much or as little as suits your spicy tolerance. ($.50)

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Coat a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with spray grease, butter or bacon grease.

To make the filling, combine the shredded turkey, beans, veggies and herbs.  Save the cheese and tortillas for the assembly.

To make the sauce, melt the fat then whisk in the flour.  Stir continuously for 2-3 minutes to make a simple roux.  Whisk in the dairy of your choosing and stock.  Bring up to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.  Mix in the salsa verde.  Taste and adjust seasonings, if your salsa is mild or not too salty, you may need to add some salt to your enchilada sauce.

To assemble the masterpiece, begin by putting down a layer of tortillas, then a cup or so of filling and a small handful of cheese; repeat until all filling is used up.  (I made three layers)

For the final layer, put down layer of tortillas then sprinkle with some cheese.  Pour the sauce over the top and let it ooze down into the sides of the casserole.

Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and slightly golden brown.

Mushroom Phyllo Triangles – better than StateFarm…

Tags

appetizer, baked, curry, phyllo, triangle, vegetarian

I’m really lucky in many ways, but one that I’m particularly happy about of late is my awesome neighbor.  I’ve heard so many horror stories about neighbor feuds, and now that we’ve put down roots here in Lake Tahoe, I’m so glad that in addition to being on good terms with the neighbors, that we’ve become friends as well.  My neighbor, Michelle, helped me immensely with getting into blogging and taking pictures of my food.  Also, as both of our sweeties travel for work frequently, we’re sometimes left alone to defend our homes against bears (ok, we’re more likely be defending our trash cans against raccoons) so occasionally we’re a two-woman-support-group.

One thing that I’ve noticed about Michelle is that she’s a classy version of Katherine Hegel’s character in ’27 Dresses;’ after getting through a rash of bridal showers and bachelorette parties in the past few years she has now began throwing a few baby showers for her friends, ever the gracious and fun hostess.  She’d fit right in in the south!   Her latest one is a ‘BaByQue’ (so cute!) theme shower, and we collaborated on a ‘make-freeze-bake’ style appetizer that would be easy to make the day of as well as a tasty vegetarian treat for the Mamma-to-be.

We had a great time with a girls bloggy night.  (She has barbecueforlife.com, you know, the people with the awesome broccoli salad recipe!)  We cracked a bottle of chardonnay, made some party appetizers and took some fun pictures!  These little appetizers are a curried vegetable salad wrapped in flaky and buttery pastry dough.  So tasty, don’t worry, we taste tested.  My fireman even showed up for the tasting, surprise!

He had fun posing for photos and pretending to be my boss 🙂

Mushroom Phyllo Triangles

This recipe I would call ‘worth the splurge,’ and what you’re buying with your extra money is buckets of convenience, this one is so quick and easy the day of your party!  About $.25 per appetizer is a good price point though, about what you can expect to pay for appetizers at a catered event.

Makes 32 triangles – cost approx $7.48 per batch or $.23 per triangle

Ingredients

• 3 oz dried shiitake mushrooms ($3)
• 1/2 head napa cabbage, thinly shredded ($1)
• 2 carrots, grated ($.25)
• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced  ($.50)
• 1 tsp curry powder
• salt/pepper – to taste
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup mayo ($.20)
• 1 package phyllo ($2)
• 4 oz (one stick) butter ($.25)

First off, make sure your phyllo is thawed.  (I made that mistake once.)  Warm up a few cups of water and soak the dried mushrooms for about 30 minutes.  Mix the cabbage, carrots, scallions, seasonings and mayo.  When the mushrooms are soft, slice them thinly and add to your mixture.  Melt the butter in a small pan over low heat.

Such happy colors!

Now to assemble your yummies.  Get a damp towel or paper towel, unroll the phyllo dough and lay the damp towel over it.  Phyllo is lots of extremely thin sheets of pastry, which is what makes it so flaky and delicious.  So, first lay one sheet down in your workspace and brush it with a little butter (no need to go crazy with it).  Repeat this until you have three buttered phyllo sheets stacked up on top of eachother. Remember to keep the damp towel over the un-buttered phyllo stack so that it doesn’t dry out.

Layering phyllo dough with butter

Now cut it into four equal sections (If you remember grade school, it’s hot dog style)  and put a tablespoon of your curried vegetable mix at the base of each phyllo section.

Assembling the triangles, you make four at a time.

Fold the phyllo over itself to form a triangle, repeat with three remaining sections.  Folding the phyllo over itself adds up the number of layers your pastry has, for example, instead of having just three layers you will have nine layers if you folded a total of three times.

Once you have assembled all your mushroom phyllo triangles you can bake them right away or freeze them and bake at your leisure.  If you’re freezing the triangles, freeze them on a sheet tray and then transfer them to a zipper bag when they’re frozen, that way they won’t stick together.  When you’re ready to eat them, (if they’re frozen, let them thaw 15 – 30 minutes at room temperature on your baking sheet) bake at 375 F for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and delicious.