Honduran "Reprochetas"

For extra credit in her Spanish class, our daughter made these reprochetas one night for dinner. They were a bit labor intensive, and because she fried just one at a time, it took a while to make enough for the whole family. But they were really, really good! They are a traditional meat-less Honduran dish.


Ingredients

corn tortillas (we prefer flour, but bought corn ones for this in order to be "authentic"!)
tomatoes
onions
lemon juice
salt to taste
oil
Queso fresco, a soft white cheese similar to mozzarella (we found this with no problem at our large local grocery store)


Chop tomatoes and onion, mix with a bit of lemon juice (sorry no measurement!) and salt to taste. Set aside.


Heat just enough oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan. Slice the cheese and put between two corn tortillas.




Lay the tortilla stack in the hot oil and fry on one side until lightly browned. Flip over and fry on other side until equally done.




Remove from pan, drain, and pat excess oil dry with paper towels. Top with the tomato/onion mixture and eat like a tostada.


Enjoy!

Beef and Rice Burrito Filling

I found this recipe at Kate's Cooking During Stolen Moments blog, and since my family loves mexican food, I knew immediately that I'd give it a try. I'm glad I did! It's a variation on the taco/burrito theme, and it's super easy to make the filling and then freeze for later, or pull out just the amount you need.

Beef and Rice Burrito Filling

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 1/2 cups cooked rice, white or brown
1 15oz can diced or crushed tomatoes (I started leaving this out at the request of my boys)
2 tsp chili powder (I add heaping teaspoons)
2 tsp cumin (again, heaping )
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder (I add about 1 tsp)

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Cool completely and store in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.



To serve, spoon filling down the center of a tortilla. Top with shredded cheese. Roll up and repeat until casserole dish is full.


Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes or until heated through. Add desired toppings and enjoy!

Verdict: my whole family loved this dish, with the small exception of the tomatoes. I have made this several times already and will definitely make again!

Chicken Nachos

I found this recipe at Cooking During Stolen Moments and thought it would be a great one to try since my family tends to love anything Mexican-ish. I was right! Very delicious and loved by all.

Chicken Nachos

1 T olive oil
1/2 - 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (what you see in the picture below is the 2.5 pounds that I cooked so I'd have enough to freeze for a second meal later)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper (I ended up doubling these last 3 ingredients since I was doubling the amount of chicken I was cooking)
1 jar salsa (I used a small jar since my kids are not huge tomato fans)
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp each of cumin and chili powder (yes, cumin again!)
Tortilla chips
Shredded cheese, sour cream, olives, lettuce, or any other desired toppings

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Season both sides of chicken with the cumin, salt and pepper mixture. Add to skillet and cook chicken just until both sides are slightly browned, about 2-3 minutes per side. Add salsa, water and remaining seasonings. Cover skillet and simmer over medium low heat for at least 20 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked.


Remove chicken and shred. Set aside.


Bring remaining liquid in the skillet to a boil and simmer until thickened and reduced by half. Remove from heat and stir shredded chicken back in to skillet. Spread tortilla chips on a cookie sheet and pour chicken mixture evenly on top. Cover with shredded cheese and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, until cheese is melted.


Top as desired and serve!

Verdict: well liked by the whole family. Will definitely make again!

Tortilla Stack

I found this recipe at creative homemaking, and since my family loves mexican food, I figured it would be a hit. It's also a crockpot meal, and you know how I love my crockpot!

Tortilla Stack

1 lb ground beef
corn or flour tortillas (your preference), cut into 6 wedges
2/3 can undiluted cheddar cheese soup (I didn't have this so substituted with shredded cheese and some salsa for liquid)
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
2 medium tomatoes, chopped

Brown hamburger and drain grease. Layer hamburger in bottom of crockpot. Top with tortilla wedges.


Recipe then calls for you to mix the cheddar cheese soup and taco seasoning in a small bowl and layer some of it on top of the tortilla wedges. Since I was substituting, I sprinkled cheese on top of the tortilla wedges, sprinkled some of the taco seasoning on, and then poured a thin layer of salsa on top of that. Sprinkle some of the chopped tomatoes on top (I skipped this step since there were tomatoes in the salsa).

Repeat layers until all ingredients are used up. Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours. Serve with sour cream, shredded lettuce, olives, or other condiments.

Verdict: all the family loved it, it was super easy, and I will definitely make again!

Taco Soup

This was super easy to make, and everyone liked it. A winner! It's another one from the Happy Housewife.

Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef (or turkey, or can go meatless for the vegetarian version)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can diced tomatoes, or about 3 fresh ones chopped up with 1 T Italian seasoning mixed in
1 15 oz can tomato sauce (I used a 32 oz jar)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn or 1 small pkg frozen corn (which is what I used)

shredded cheddar cheese - as much or as little as you like
plain yogurt or sour cream - again, as much or as little as you like
avocado, chopped - optional
Frito Lay corn chips

Brown the meat, drain fat and add taco seasoning. Add all other ingredients and cook til heated through. Let simmer for 15 minutes. You can add water if you want to stretch it a bit further. If you add water, it will look more like soup, without the water it looks like thick stew.



I didn't have any chips so left that ingredient out, but my family would have loved it if I'd put corn chips in! The other 3 of the last 4 ingredients I added directly to the soup, but you can use them as a garnish if you'd prefer, or if anyone in your family has dairy allergies (add to individual bowls instead). This was a winner with everyone - will definitely make again!

Black Bean Burritos

These tasted much better than black bean quesadillas according to my children (black is not their favorite kind of bean). Easy to make and well liked by all! Yay! This recipe is from Crystal at the Family Homestead. During the month of January, while I was planning and preparing for a small food budget in February, I decided to invest $8 in Crystal's ebook, "How to Cook with Beans." It was $8 well spent! She gives lots of tips for how to soak and cook beans, as well as pages and pages of recipes. I chose this one first because I have lots of cooked black beans in the freezer, and I thought the addition of shredded carrot would be interesting (my family could not find or taste the carrots, but it made me feel good knowing they were in there!).

Black Bean Burritos

6 cups of cooked black beans
2 cups salsa
1 cup shredded carrots
8 oz cream cheese
6-8 whole wheat tortillas (or white, whatever you have)
shredded cheese

Combine beans, salsa and carrots in pan and simmer for about 15 minutes to allow carrots to soften.


While bean mixture is simmering, layer tortillas in the bottom of casserole pan.


When carrots are soft, add cream cheese.


Stir to combine well, and cook just a few minutes more so that the cream cheese completely melts into the bean mixture.


Layer bean mixture on top of the tortillas, and then a layer of shredded cheese. Continue layering tortillas, bean mixture and cheese until you run out of bean mixture or pan, whichever comes first!


Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes until cheese is nicely melted and bubbly. Serve with sour cream and salsa.


Verdict: Well liked by all, loved by some, will definitely make again!

Black Bean Quesadillas

We had these for dinner while watching the Super Bowl tonight. Our 8 year old son remarked halfway through the game, "we usually have chips and snack food during the Super Bowl. But we probably had no money and you were sick, so you couldn't go to the store for that stuff, right?" Right honey. :-)

These were not as popular with the whole family as the taco style lentils and rice. My husband, daughter G and son L loved them. Sons G and C liked them "a little" (their words). Little Man did not like them at all, and ate most of one quesadilla under duress.

This is Sabra's recipe from Sleeplesssabra.

Approximately 1 cup dry black beans - or 2 cans from the store

1/2 jar mild salsa (you can use a stronger salsa but they have quite a bit of flavor already)

Ground cumin (1 - 2 Tbsp)

Fresh cilantro (one bunch)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Tortillas

Sour Cream

Simmer the dried black beans for a few hours until they're just soft. If you use canned beans just drain and rinse them to remove the excess sodium.

Once your beans are cooked place them in a large bowl. Add a tablespoon of ground cumin and also a little salt to taste. Then, add in half of a jar of salsa. I prefer to leave my beans whole but you can also mash them a little if you want to change the consistency for your kids (that can also help keep the beans from rolling out of the tortillas). Then, chop and add the fresh cilantro and mix it all through.

For the last step, take a tortilla and place a layer of the bean mixture over one half of it (you are going to fold it over) and cover the beans with cheese. Fold the other side of the tortilla over it so it makes a half-circle and place it in a skillet over med-high heat. Toast it and flip it to toast the other side (just enough to heat it through and melt the cheese). Place it on a plate and top with sour cream.

The cumin and the cilantro really make this dish. It's just full of fresh flavor.

After we cooked a few in the skillet, we added them to a pan kept warm in the oven, so they would all be ready at the same time.


Inside you can clearly see the beans, cilantro, and salsa, with melted cheese on top.


A filling, delicious, and inexpensive vegetarian meal!

Taco Style Lentils and Rice

Oh my goodness, this was a HUGE hit!! I had my doubts while it was bubbling on the stove, but EVERYONE loved it. Every single member of the family! Yippee!!!! It was delicious and filling. The kids never knew (til they heard us talking about it later) that there was no meat inside the tortilla shells. Whenever I have served brown rice before everyone has complained. Well, again, no-one knew there was brown rice hidden inside of this dish! Cooking the lentils and rice together made it a complete protein, which means we got all the protein benefits of meat without the fat! You have got to try this! Trust me, it looks really really.....what's the word.....brown.....but it is absolutely delicious! It is also really inexpensive. Well under $5 total. I'm going to do a more exact cost breakdown the next time I'm at the store, just because I am really curious to see how cheaply I can feed my family such healthy and delicious food!

The beef bouillon eliminates this as a vegetarian dish (I think) but it obviously counts as a bean dish (I am trying to cook at least one vegetarian dinner and one bean dinner each week).

This recipe is from the Hillbilly Housewife website.

Note for larger families, I made this recipe according to the exact measurements and it was just enough for our family of 7. We were all satisfied but there were no leftovers. If you have hungry teenagers and/or more than 5 children, you will probably want to make one and a half batches or double it.

3/4 cup dry lentils (I used red lentils but you can use any type)
3/4 cup brown rice, uncooked
4 cups water
4 beef bouillon cubes or 4 tsp beef soup base
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder (I skipped this because we didn't have any)
1/4 tsp garlic powder (I upped this to 1 tsp because of having no onion powder)

In a 2 quart saucepan bring the water to a boil. As the water is heating, add everything else. Bring the whole thing to a nice fat boil. Reduce heat to low. Place a lid on the pan and allow the mixture to simmer for 45 to 50 minutes or until water is mostly absorbed. It should have about the same consistency as cooked white sticky rice when it's done, though it will be slightly more goopy because of the cooked lentils.

This is what it looked like halfway through the cooking time:




You could serve this in a variety of ways. We chose to put a dollop inside soft tortilla shells, lay the shells in a casserole pan, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and a touch of mango salsa, and bake for a few minutes until the cheese was melted.


I served this alongside waldorf salad and it was a really delicious meal! (Please ignore the paper plates. :-) My wonderful hubby was in charge of setting the table and he always chooses paper.)

Aztec Chicken

This recipe for Aztec chicken has been floating around the internet for at least a couple of years and I honestly don't know who to attribute it to, but I first got it from a homeschool mom named Melanie off the Sonlight Curriculum forums. Aztec chicken is a mexican dish, and it is truly easy. If you have the ingredients on hand ahead of time, all you do is layer them and turn the crockpot on. No chopping, slicing or dicing! Leftovers are wonderful either by themselves or rolled into a warmed tortilla shell.

Layer the following ingredients in your crockpot:

2 cans of black beans, undrained (or if you make your own beans, about 2 cups)
large bag of frozen corn
about 3-4 cups of cooked chicken strips or cubes
medium sized jar of salsa

Turn on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6. During the last half hour of cook time, add an 8 oz package of cream cheese. Cut the cream cheese in chunks, and push them slightly under the surface of the salsa. When cook time is finished, stir all ingredients together well.

Serve over rice and sprinkle cheese on top. Voila!