Black Bean Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce

A while back I checked out Everyday Food: Great Food Fast from the library. One recipe really caught my eye: Spicy Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce . I've been waiting rather unpatiently for October to try it, and I wanted to try it out on us before I subjected any friends or family to it. It called for chicken, but I thought I might be good with black beans (since I do like black beans and sweet potatoes together), and I cut the recipe down a bit.

Black Bean Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce
Serves 2-3
1 can Black Beans, drained
6 green onions, white parts thinly sliced
1 cup chopped spinach
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic
1/2 jalapeno chile, quartered (remove ribs and seeds for less heat, if desired)
1 teaspoon chili powder
6 white corn tortillas (6-inch)
1 cup grated sharp white cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine black beans, spinach and scallions. Season generously with salt and pepper; set aside.
In a blender, puree pumpkin, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, water, salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth (hold top firmly as blender will be quite full). Pour 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of an 8-inch square (or other shallow 2-quart) baking dish.
Lay tortillas on work surface; mound black mixture on half of each tortilla, dividing evenly. Roll up tortillas; place, seam side down, in baking dish.
Pour remaining sauce on top; sprinkle with cheese. Place dish on a baking sheet; bake until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Lessons learned:
1. This was actually my first time working with a jalepeno. I was a little scared, so I removed the ribs and seeds. Next time I would either use the whole jalepeno with ribs removed, or half with the ribs and seeds in tact.
2. When chopping up a jalepeno, don't lick your finger afterwards!!!
3. I scrimped on the salt, and I should not have done that!
4. MORE CHEESE! It needs more cheese. I think I would actually mix another 1/2 cup or so in with the black bean mixture.
5. I'd steam the tortillas first - they fell apart when I was rolling them.

They were very good though - mainly just need more cheese and salt, and maybe more heat. Maybe some lime juice too.

Here's a picture with the filling busting out:

Taco Salad

I loved when my mother made taco salad when I was a kid. My mom's taco salad had to have been a southern church picnic recipe. In fact, she may have gotten the recipe from some spiral-bound church recipe book. Now, I may not eat beef anymore, but I am not against what I grew up on - in fact sometimes I wonder why I don't eat meat anymore. I am really just too scared to try it again after all these years. Since I'm not abandoning my roots, here is how my mother made taco salad:

My Mom's Taco Salad

1 lb. ground beef
1 package taco season mix
1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 green bell pepper (I think she put this in there, I can't remember since I didn't like bell pepper as a kid, so if it was in there I picked it out)
(you could add onion, but my mom never did)
2 cups cheddar cheese
French Dressing
2 cups Fritos corn chips
Sour Cream

Prepare beef per taco mix directions. Set aside. In a large bowl, arrange lettuce, top with taco meat. Add fritos around the sides. Arrange tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, and cheese on top. Top with French Dressing and a dollop of sour cream.

Please take into account that the proportions are different in my mom's salad than mine because she cooked for 4, I cook for 2. I take a similar concept, but make it all vegified (although adding chicken to it would probably be good if you are into that sort of thing). I would highly suggest adding avocado, but since Brian is allergic (gasp!) I don't.

Taco Salad

2 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
olive oil, divided use
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small can niblet corn, drained
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
4 tsp. taco seasoning, divided use
1 lime, divided use
2 cups lettuce (I used spinach, but honestly, this is when iceberg or romaine work great)
2 TBSP sour cream
2 TBSP French Dressing
3/4 cup cheddar cheese or colby jack cheese, grated


Heat oven to 300 degrees. Toss tortillas that have been cut into thin strips with olive oil until each piece is coated. Spread out on a baking sheet in one layer,with no overlapping. Bake for about 20 minutes, stirring several times and checking the doneness. They will be done when they are golden, not brown, and have a crisp to them. Remove from oven and salt as desired.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl mix together black beans, corn, green bell pepper, onion, and tomato with 2 tsp taco seasoning, 1/2 of lime's juice and 2 tsp olive oil. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together, 2 tsp taco seasoning, sour cream, French Dressing and juice of 1/2 lime. Toss with lettuce or spinach.

To plate, create a bed of lettuce on plate, top with black bean mixture. Sprinkle cheese and tortilla strips. Can garnish with extra dollop of sour cream.

NOTE: You can also just mix everything together and save a bowl and a few steps.

Veggie Tacos and Birthday Extravaganza

Yesterday, my family came over to our place for my mom's Birthday Extravaganza. The menu was:

Veggie Taco Filling
Beef Taco Filling
Flour Tortillas (from Rosa's Tortilla Factory), Grated Cheese, Chopped tomato, Avocado
Spanish Rice
Refried Beans
Queso
Salsa
Chips
Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream and Dulce de Leche

My sister made the Beef Taco Filling and Refried Beans. Brian made the Spanish Rice and Queso, and I made the the Veggie Taco Filling and Dessert.

I came up with the Veggie Taco recipe when I lived with my parents. My mom would buy tons of vegetables that we would never get around to cooking before they went bad. One day I took what was in the crisper - some carrots, zucchini, onion, corn and spinach and tossed it into a skillet with some taco seasoning, chuck it in a tortilla, and voila! Veggie Tacos!

Veggie Tacos

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 2-4 tablespoons extra
1 clove Garlic
1 small onion (3/4 cup) – chopped
1/2 cup carrots - chopped
1 bell pepper – chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 medium zucchini – chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon coriander
3 cups fresh spinach
Salt to taste

In a large pan over medium heat, sauté garlic and onion in 1/4 cup olive oil until just starting to soften (about 2 minutes).

Add bell pepper, carrots, and zucchini. Saute until just starting to soften (about 4 minutes).

Add corn, cumin, chili powder, and coriander. Stir well. As vegetables are cooking, add more oil if it is starting look dry.

Cook uncovered until all vegetables are cooked through (about 10 minutes), stirring periodically.

Stir in spinach and salt to taste. Cover and cook until spinach cooks down (about 2-4 minutes).

Serve in tortillas with shredded cheese, sour cream, and chopped avocado and tomato.

Brian's Spanish Rice made so much, I'll talk about that when have the leftovers!

Okay, so I cheated on the cake. I did not make it. I have never made an angel food cake from scratch, because it takes so many egg whites. I also realized that I don't have a pan to make it in, so I just picked one up at Tom Thumb.

I topped the store-bought cake with strawberries and whipped cream and dulce de leche. I made the dulce de leche from a recipe from Daisy Cooks!. I didn't cover it with foil, so it ended up lumpier with more sugar crystals than I wanted. Basically, you pour sweetened condensed milk into a dish (I used a square baking pan) , put it into a larger dish (I used a 13x9" baking pan). Boil water in a kettle, and pour water into the larger dish about halfway up (basically making a water bath). Cover loosely with foil. Put in a 350 degree and cook until it turns into dulce de leche. (about 45 minutes).

I sliced up the 2 pints of strawberries and tossed them with 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 Tablespoon Bouchant.

Everything was great, and another great part - Leftovers! (That will be the next post)