Refried Beans without the Refry

Here's the original recipe I found on allrecipes.com:

INGREDIENTS
1 onion, peeled and halved
3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
5 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
9 cups water

DIRECTIONS
Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on High for 6-8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.
Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.

Changes I made: 1/2 t red pepper flakes instead of jalepano, 1/2 t cumin. Seth prefered them unmashed when I served them at dinner with rice, so I just processed them for lunch today to put them on a quesidilla. Yum!

This was very quick prep work, and the beans turned out so flavorful, much better than the can. (It makes about 6 or more cups of beans.)

Chicken and Black Bean Taquitos with Adobo Sour Cream

The adobo sauce is hot, so if you want something with less kick, greater convience, or a familiar flavor, use salsa instead. To make it a meal, you can serve with a side of beans and rice.

Ingredients

Taquitos:
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 pound diced skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, undrained
10 (8-inch) flour tortillas
Cooking spray

Adobo Sour Cream:
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 to 3 teaspoons minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce

Preparation

To prepare taquitos, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, and sauté 5 minutes or until done. Place chicken in a food processor. Add cheese, beans, and green chiles; pulse 15 times or until beans are coarsely chopped.

Spoon about 3 tablespoons chicken mixture across the lower third of each tortilla; roll up. Cut each tortilla in half; secure with wooden picks. Place taquitos in a large zip-top plastic bag; freeze up to 3 months.

Preheat oven to 400º.

Place frozen taquitos on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes; turn taquitos, and coat with cooking spray. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until golden.

To bake the taquitos immediatly, bake at 400º for 10 minutes, turn, bake an additional 5 minutes.

To prepare adobo sour cream, combine sour cream, cilantro, and chipotle chile. Stir well.

Slow Cooked Pork Tacos

• Ingredients:

• 1 boneless pork sirloin roast (2 pounds), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1-1/2 cups salsa verde
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• Dash hot pepper sauce
• 10 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
• Reduced-fat sour cream, thinly sliced green onions, cubed avocado, shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese and chopped tomato, optional

Directions:

In a 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the first 11 ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until meat is very tender. Shred pork with two forks. Place about 1/2 cup pork mixture down the center of each tortilla. Serve with toppings if desired. Yield: 10 tacos.

Tilapia Tostadas with Roasted Corn Relish

I just made these tonight and Marc declared that they are now one of his favorite meals.

These crisp tostadas have all the appeal of fish tacos, but the flat shape allows you to pile toppings high. Although we broil corn tortillas for the base, substitute flour tortillas, or use prepared shells, if you prefer.

Yield

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup green salsa
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup yellow corn kernels
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeño pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 cup diced peeled avocado
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 pounds tilapia fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1 cup packaged angel hair slaw
• Lime wedges (optional)

Preparation

1. Combine sour cream and salsa.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add corn, bell pepper, onion, jalapeño, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to pan; sauté 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove mixture from pan; wipe pan clean with paper towels. Combine avocado and juice; toss gently. Stir avocado mixture into corn mixture.

3. Preheat broiler.

4. Sprinkle fish evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Place cornmeal in a shallow dish; dredge fish in cornmeal. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add half of fish to pan; cook 3 minutes. Carefully turn fish over; cook 2 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and fish.

5. Coat both sides of tortillas with cooking spray. Arrange tortillas in a single layer on baking sheets; broil 2 minutes on each side or until crisp. Place 2 tortillas on each of 4 plates. Arrange 2 tablespoons slaw on each tortilla. Divide fish evenly among tortillas; top each serving with about 3 tablespoons corn relish and about 1 1/2 tablespoons sour cream mixture. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

Corn Salsa

This is my go-to dish when I need to bring something for parties or potluck.

Ingredients:

2 cans shoe peg corn

1 can diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed

1 can chopped green chilies, drained and rinsed

1 can chopped olives

1 green pepper

1 red, orange, or yellow pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup Italian dressing

Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients. Better the next day. Freezes well.

Fish Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Crema

This recipe is so good and the seasoning can be used for regular tacos as well. In a pinch, you can rub the fish with packaged taco seasoning. This is one of Marc's favorite recipes and he always squirts lots of extra lime on his. The recipe calls for red snapper, but we use the tilapia filets you can get at Costco. I also use plain yogurt in place of both mayo and sour cream.

Ingredients

• CREMA:
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 teaspoon grated lime rind
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 
  TACOS:
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 pounds red snapper fillets
• Cooking spray
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 2 cups shredded cabbage

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.

To prepare crema, combine the first 8 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.

To prepare tacos, combine cumin and next 5 ingredients (through garlic powder) in a small bowl; sprinkle spice mixture evenly over both sides of fish. Place fish on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake on a broiling pan at 425° for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Place fish in a bowl; break into pieces with a fork. Heat tortillas according to package directions. Divide fish evenly among tortillas; top each with 1/4 cup cabbage and 1 tablespoon crema.

Quick Buttermilk Bread

This was so fast and easy. The bread was moist and almost cake-like in texture. This will definitely become a staple in our house. Before baking, it is a batter, not dough, so don't be confused. If you don't have buttermilk on hand, for every cup of milk, replace 1 tbsp of milk with vinegar or lemon juice. That is a good tip for anytime you need buttermilk.

Ingredients

2 cups flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 large egg whites, or 1 large egg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in the center of mixture. Combine wet ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Add wet ingredients to dry mixture stirring just until moist. Spread batter into a 8 x 4-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan or a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.