Black Bean Pitas with Avocado Salsa

avocado salsa

2 avocados, pitted and diced

1 1/2 to 2 cupes roma tomatoes, diced

4 green onions, chopped

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

black bean pitas

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion (sweet or red work well)

1 teaspoon minced garlic 

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 16oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 salt (optional)

1/4 cup mayonnaise (no substitute or it will taste funny)

1/2 teaspoon minced chipotle peppers in adobo (can be found by the canned green chiles usually)

1 cup chopped lettuce

Pitas or Wraps

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, cook until clear. Stir in garlic and cumin. Add beans and salt. Heat thoroughly. Lightly mash the bean mixture, cover and set aside.

Combine the mayonnaise and chipotle in a small bowl. Taste and see how spicy/mild the mixture is and add more of mayo or peppers as needed. With small children, you can leave out the chipotle peppers all together.

To make the pitas, spread the mayonnaise over the pita/wrap, then add the bean mixture on top of the mayo, and top with salsa and lettuce.

***Got the recipe from my cousins website listed here.  I haven't tried these, but once again...I didn't want to loose the recipe and not know where to find it.

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies
Makes 16 Servings

One 15 ½-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed very well

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons canola oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, optional

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch salt

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8 X 8-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Place the black beans in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, peppermint extract, baking powder, and salt and process until smooth. Add ¼ cup of the chips and pulse a few times until the chips are broken up a bit.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the top with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips.

4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before slicing.

Wheat Bread

Wheat Bread

3 ¼ cup Whole Wheat flour (for 100% Whole Wheat do 6 1/4 cups Whole Wheat. No White flour.)

3 cups White flour

2 tsps salt

5 tbs brown sugar or 3 ½ tbs honey

1 egg

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 ¼ cups lukewarm water

1 ¼ cups lukewarm milk

1 ½ tbs yeast

Dissolve yeast in the water and milk. Set aside. Mix flours, salt, and sugar (if using the honey mix it with the water, milk and yeast). In a separate bowl mix egg and oil. Combine the egg and yeast mixtures with the dry ingredients for about 1 minute on lowest mixing speed. The dough will wet and course. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes to fully hydrate the flour.

Continue mixing the dough until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl and clings to the mixing hook. Dough will be slightly sticky. (If you touch your finger to the dough and it doesn’t pull away easily, add more flour. If the dough doesn’t stick at all add more water)

Knead the dough for 1 mintue by hand. Place dough in an oiled bowl that’s big enough to hold the dough when it is double in size. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.

Remove dough from refrigerator 3 hours before you plan to bake. Divide dough into two equal parts. Roll the dough into loaves and place into greased bread pans. Or roll into balls for rolls and place on a greased cookie sheet or baking pan. Brush loaves with oil and let rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours or until loaves dome about 1 inch above the rim. Let rolls rise till double in size. Brush rolls with egg wash before baking. (1 egg white with 2 tbs water)

Bake loaves at 350º for 20 minutes, then rotate; rotate rolls after 10 minutes. Continue to cook loaves for another 20-30 minutes, rolls for 10-20 or until the crust is a rich brown.

Remove bread from pans and place on a cooling rack. Brush bread with shortening or butter to make a soft flaky crust.

Abuelo's Papas con Chile

I have tasted these potatoes at the restaurant but I don't want to miss the recipe that they gave out so I am going to put it on here so I can try it.

3 lbs. red potatoes
3 oz cream cheese – cut into 2" squares
½ cup heavy cream
10 oz Velveeta – cut into 2 " squares
½ TBS salt
¾ tsp granulated garlic
¼ cup sour cream
½ cup diced red bell peppers
½ cup diced green bell peppers
2 cans chopped green chiles
½ cup chopped green onion tops
2 TBS of finely chopped jalapeño – seeds removed

1.Wash and scrub potatoes until clean
2.Place potatoes in a pot covered with water and boil until soft.
3.Drain potatoes
4.Add the rest of ingredients and mash. Be sure all ingredients are incorporated.

Bruschetta Chicken

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup egg substitute (1 large egg)

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

1 tablespoon butter, melted

2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped

3 tablespoons minced fresh basil (1 Tablespoon dry basil)

2 garlic cloves, minced (1 Teaspoon garlic powder)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Place flour and eggs in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in flour, then in eggs; place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Combine the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and butter; sprinkle over chicken.

Loosely cover baking dish with foil. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 170°.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon over the chicken. Return to the oven for 3-5 minutes or until tomato mixture is heated through. Serve over noodles. Yield: 4 servings.

No-Fry Doughnuts

2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1-1/2 cups warm milk

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

4-1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, melted

GLAZE:

1/2 cup butter

2 cups confectioners' sugar

5 tsp. water

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup chocolate chips (if you want a chocolate glaze, if not omit chocolate chips)

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add milk and shortening; stir for 1 minute. Add sugar, eggs, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and 2 cups flour; beat on low speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (do not knead).

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface; roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. cut with a 2-3/4 inch doughnut cutter (or a cup if you don't have a doughnut cutter); place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Brush with butter. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350˚ for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt butter; stir in sugar, water and vanilla (and chocolate chips if desired). Stir over low heat until smooth (do not boil). Keep warm. Dip warm doughnuts, one at a time, into glaze and turn to coat. Drain on a wire rack. Serve immediately. Yield: 2 dozen

Mexican Chicken Wrap

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in strips

1 T. vegetable oil

2 c. water

1 c Salsa

2 c. Minute Rice

8-12 tortillas

Cheddar Cheese shredded

1 pkg. Taco Seasoning Mix

Brown chicken in oil*. Add water*, salsa and seasoning mix; stir. Heat to a boil. Stir in Minute Rice*; cover. Cook on low 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Spoon chicken mixture onto tortillas; top with cheese. Fold up sides to enclose filling.

* Changes I made:

I used frozen, boiled chicken I keep in my freezer to add to the salsa mixture. I didn't use Minute Rice and boiled it until it was still a little bit crunchy then I added it to the mixture, which also means I only used 1 cup of water. To cut back on fat you can use Mozzerella Cheese instead of Cheddar.