Black Bean and Corn Flautas

I have made a push recently when planning our dinners to try some new recipes. Most of them have been a bust, but luckily we happened onto this one and felt that it was a keeper.

We are pretty big fans of Mexican food, so this one looked like a good one to try because it also looked like it wasn't too time consuming. The only issues I've had so far has been with the bake time and temp. The recipe instructs 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Both times that I have made these flautas, they have been very crispy and browned, even though I've tried a few different positions with the oven racks. I will have to keep playing with it until I get it right, and if I get it i'll update this entry to let you know.

The original recipe was a little confusing in parts to follow.She started instructing you to do something with peppers that she never said you needed, and the microwaving instructions become a little strange, so I have re-written it. However, if you want to access the original, it is here.

Ingredients:

·         -9 Corn tortillas

·         -1 cup Black beans

·         -1 cup Mexicorn (corn w/ red and green peppers)

·         -½ tsp Chili powder

·        - ½ tsp Garlic powder

·        - ½ tsp Cumin

·        - ¼ tsp Red pepper flakes

·        - 4-6 oz Shredded cheese

·         -2 heaping Tbsp Taco sauce

·         -Chicken-cooked or mostly cooked (optional)

·         -Olive Oil

 -Dips/toppings of choice (sour cream, salsa, Sriracha, etc)

Instructions:

·         -Heat oven to 425

·         -Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and lay a cooling rack on top. If you don't have a cooling rack, you can use a broiler pan

·         -In medium bowl, combine black beans, corn, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, taco sauce, and chicken

·         -Pour a little bit of olive oil into a small bowl and shredded cheese into another bowl (will use later but want ready)

·         -Do this next step in small groups and fully prepare flautas from each group before starting next batch so they don't get cold. Wrap a few tortillas (about 4) in a damp paper towel followed by a dry paper towel and microwave on plate for 30 seconds

·         -Using a plate as prep space, rub a little olive oil on one side of a tortilla and fill with black bean mixture. Add shredded cheese. Roll up and secure with toothpick. Place on cooling rack on top of baking tray

·         -Repeat with all tortillas heated in this batch, then heat and fill next batch. Continue until all flautas are filled and ready to bake

-Bake on middle rack (not too close to top of oven) for 15 minutes. At the end of baking, set to broil for just under a minute to make tortillas crisp and golden

Taco Salad

For the first several years of my life (well into high school) I was not able to eat lettuce.
No, wait, let me be more specific: I was physically capable of eating lettuce, but the act of doing so filled me with an unmatchable disgust. I was able to detect the tiniest speck of lettuce in my food, and I had the immediate reaction of spitting out the entire bite onto my plate. My parents thought this was gross and awful, but it was how it was.

Sometime during my senior year of high school, I decided to try to lose weight and eat healthier. I knew that my meal choices were limited unless I decided to get over this thing with lettuce, because it's super easy to make or order a salad (though I know several restaurants have managed to make them unhealthy, but that's a different matter). Right around when I first made this decision, my sister brought this taco salad to a family gathering. I tried it, and I loved it immediately. It was my gateway salad and thanks to it, I am able to eat some green leafy things (though not many... let's not go nuts here).

Sometimes at restaurants I will see salads on the menu that are similar to this one, and every time I order one, I am stunned when the server asks me what kind of dressing I'd like. There is a solid moment every time in which I stare at them with a completely confused look on my face and don't say anything, then ask them what they have, and choose something that sounds vinaigrette-y, but request it on the side. When the salad comes, I just remove the dressing cup and ignore it completely.
With the salsa and sour cream mixing together in this salad, you really don't need a dressing. It's delicious just how it is.

You can make this salad in varying levels of "completeness" depending on where you are eating it and how much you think will be gone in a sitting. If you are taking it to an event and expect it all to be eaten, mix everything together really well in a bowl and leave it for guests to help themselves.
However, if you're making it at home or expect there will be leftovers, only mix the romaine, beans, and corn into the salad bowl. After that, serve the other mix ins separately and allow each person to make their own. The salad can't be kept once the salsa is mixed in with it, and the chips just get pretty gross after sitting in it for a while.


Ingredients: (they're approximate because I usually just make my own personal bowl, so feel free to play around with it until you like what you have)
-Head of Romaine Lettuce (or bag if you don't feel like cutting it up)
-Can of Black Beans
-Can of Corn
-Tortilla Chips
-1/2 jar Salsa
-8 oz Sour Cream
-Shredded Mexican Cheese
-Optional: Cook some chicken or steak with taco seasoning to put on top

Directions:
1) If adding meat, prepare as desired. I usually cut up chicken breasts into cubes then cook them with taco seasoning.
2) Rinse and chop romaine and put in salad bowl
3) Drain cans of beans and corn, then add to salad bowl and mix well
 - here's where you stop and put everything on the table buffet style if you want to keep any -
4) Crumble tortilla chips into bowl
5) Add salsa and sour cream, then top with cheese
6) Mix well and enjoy