Food, Feminism, & life

Black Bean Taco “Cupcakes”

I had a serious crunchy food craving yesterday & decided to finally take a look through the Emily Bites main course cupcake recipes that everyone raves about. Her original Taco Cupcakes inspired my version. Mine is vegetarian because I didn’t feel like eating ground beef last night. Skipping the beef & loading them up with black beans saved 2 PP per Cupcake! I ate two right out of the oven & they were incredible. Thanks for the idea, Emily!

The secret ingredients that made these so delicious were Cheeze Whiz & Trader Joe’s corn salsa. I always have a jar of that salsa in my fridge & it really brightens up meals. It’s sweet with a slight kick to it & is perfect against spicy salsa. I suggest going out & getting a jar, but if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you just sub in sub frozen corn kernels.

Black Bean Taco “Cupcakes”

Servings: 4 ● Points Plus: 4

Ingredients:

• 16 wonton wrappers
• 1 can black beans with jalapenos, drained
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 packet of taco seasoning
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 onion, diced
• 8 TB fat free refried beans
• 8 TB shredded Weight Watchers Mexican cheese
• 8 tsp Cheeze Whiz (yummmmmmm)
• 8 TB Trader Joe’s corn salsa
• Your favorite salsa (about 8 TB) - I used Trader Joe’s

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a cupcake tin with non-stick spray & press a wonton wrapper into 8 cupcake holes.

2) Saute the onion in a pan. When soft add the black beans & garlic. Toss until the black beans are warm. Add 1/4 cup water and the taco seasoning, toss & turn off the heat.

3) In the cupcake tin, layer the following on top of the wonton wrapper:

• 1 TB refried beans
• 1 tsp Cheeze Whiz
• 1 TB corn salsa
• Second wonton wrapper (really push this down)
• 1.5 TB black bean mixture
• 1 TB regular salsa
• 1 TB shredded cheese

4) Bake at 375 degrees for 18 minutes. Let cool & remove cupcakes from tin. Top with your favorite taco toppings!

VeganMoFo: Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

Mmmmm chili. Nothing is better on a cold night than a bowl of thick & hearty chili, especially when it’s meatless & loaded with good-for-you ingredients. I serve mine with some jalapeno corn bread, or with plenty of tortilla chips to use as forks. It’s comfort food at it’s max. If you load up your slow cooker on a Sunday morning your house will smell amazing all day while you relax & do whatever it is you do on Sundays (nap, watch football, read, clean).

If possible, don’t skip the chipotle pepper in this! It gives the chili a smoky background & a bit of added heat. This chili is slightly sweet at first taste, but the heat hits later. Don’t touch the pepper with your hands & you’ll be okay.

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

Servings: 6 ● Points Plus: 6 (chili only - about 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into 1” cubes
• 15 oz black beans
• 15 oz dark kidney beans
• 15 oz chickpeas
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• 15 oz diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 TB cumin
• 2 TB Mexican chili powder
• 3 tsp paprika
• 1 TB brown sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo, pepper chopped + 1 TB sauce

Directions:

1) Place all ingredients into your slow cooker, toss together.

2) Cook on low 7-8 hours. Give it a stir every now & then for a quick second. You can skip the stirring if you’re making this while you’re at work.

*If you have a large slow cooker you can toss some corn bread batter right on top of the chili & let it cook all day at the same time. You’ll have moist corn bread & hearty chili ready at the end of the day.

Vegan MoFo: Taquitos! Black bean, corn, & roasted veggies.

These are the result of having leftover veggies, a bottle of good enchilada sauce, and my favorite corn salsa in my fridge. The enchilada sauce is from Trader Joe’s & so is the salsa. I was confused because the enchilada sauce said “chicken style base,” and I assumed that meant chickens. Turns out it’s a seasoning base that would be used for chickens, not actual chicken derivatives. An email back from them confirmed this (a very quick email I should add).

This was part of the email: “The ‘chicken-style’ base that is used is just
spice blend that would be commonly used on chicken, but does not contain
any chicken itself.  We hope this is helpful.”

Thanks, Trader Joe’s!

You can really put whatever you want in these, but the sweetness of the corn salsa + the hint of spice from the enchilada sauce really did it for me.

Taquitos! Black bean, corn, & roasted veggies

Servings: 4 ● Points Plus: 5

Ingredients:

• 8 corn tortillas
• 1/2 cup black beans, cooked or canned
• 1/2 cup enchilada sauce
• 1/2 cup corn salsa (about 1 TB per taquito)
• 1/2 cup Daiya shredded cheese
• Roasted veggies - I used butternut squash, mushrooms, and onions

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees, line a baking tray with aluminum foil & spray with non-stick spray. Roast veggies if you need to.

2) Heat 2 corn tortillas at a time for about 15 seconds. If you don’t heat them then they will crack as you roll them. Layer the bottom third of each with 1 TB enchilada sauce, 1 TB corn salsa, some black beans, veggies, and about 1 TB of Daiya shreds. Roll & place seam side down on the baking tray.

3) Repeat with all 8 corn tortillas & bake on the bottom oven rack for 16 minutes, flipping halfway through.

*If you fill them too much don’t worry. They’ll still be crunch but you might need a fork & knife when you eat them. I forgot to spray my pan with non-stick spray so mine ended up needing to be cut up to eat.

Black Bean & Lentil Tostadas with Coriander

This recipe is mainly for the filling that I used to substitute ground beef. You can use this filling in anything you want, but I opted for crunchy, salty, warm tostadas. It would be great in enchiladas, soft tacos, or even stuffed into peppers with some quinoa.

The coriander was a last minute ingredient decision. It was begging to be used since it’s little spice jar sits lonely amongst my other jars never getting any attention. I saw it & thought, why not? I was so happy with the flavor it gave this recipe.

Black Bean & Lentil Tostadas with Coriander

Servings: 4 tostadas ● Points Plus: 6 per tostada

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked black beans
• 1 cup cooked lentils
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2/3 cup frozen corn kernels
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup salsa verde
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp chili powder
• small bowl of water
• 4 corn tortillas
• 8 TB shredded low fat Mexican cheese
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 TB chopped cilantro

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil, poke a few holes in each corn tortilla with a fork & spray each with non-stick spray. Place on baking sheet & bake for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn!

2) Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan & saute the onion and garlic until the onion is soft. Add the black beans, lentils, & corn. Cook until the corn is defrosted and the beans and lentils are warm.

3) Add the coriander, cumin, chili powder, salt, & salsa verde. Toss together. Add the lime juice & using a fork mash the beans & lentils. You want  to mash everything together while leaving chunks. If you mash the mixture too much you will have a consistency closer to refried beans. Once you have mashed the beans and lentils, sprinkle with the cilantro & mix together. Taste for salt & season if necessary.

4) Once the corn tortillas are crispy, spoon some of the bean and lentil mixture on top of each one & top with 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese. Place under the broiler & broil on high about 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Chicken & Kale Enchiladas Verde

Salsa verde is my favorite Mexican condiment. I like regular salsa, but tangy salsa  verde is where it’s at. I’ve been wanting to use kale in something & came up with this after remembering about the Sweet Potato & Kale Enchiladas from Veganomicon. I made them once & they were awesome. I would have made them again if I had sweet potatoes in the house.

These enchiladas are covered in salsa verde & a little bit of homemade red enchilada sauce. That recipe will be a separate post. If you don’t feel like making homemade enchilada sauce then you can use canned, or just skip the red sauce in this recipe. I really only use it for the color & the heat. Sprinkling some crushed red pepper on top of the salsa verde would do the trick for the heat factor.

Chicken & Kale Enchilada Verde

Servings: 6 Points • Plus: 7

Ingredients:

• 8 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 vidalia onion, chopped
• 8 oz fat free refried beans
• 2 TB olive oil
• Juice of one lime
• 1 bunch of kale, stems removed & cleaned
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 TB Mexican chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• Kosher salt & black pepper to taste
• 1 can roasted or regular green chilies, chopped if not diced in the can
• 1 1/2 cup salsa verde
• 1 cup enchilada sauce
• 2 1/2 cup low fat shredded cheese (I use WW’s shredded Mexican blend)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the chicken with salt & pepper. In a large pan with a lid, saute the onion in the olive oil. Once softened add the chicken & cook through. Add all of the spices to the chicken & onion mixture & let them cook a bit.

2) Clean the kale. Slowly add some kale in bunches to the same pan that the chicken is in. It will seem like it won’t fit, but keep pushing it down. It will fit! Once all of the kale is in, sprinkle with the garlic powder & squeeze the lime juice over it. Add the cup of water to the pan & put the lid on. This will wilt the kale. Once the kale is wilted remove the lid & saute everything together. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.

Yayyy Kale!

3) Add the refried beans, 1 cup of cheese & chilies to the bowl and mix together. Spray a baking pan with non-stick spray. Heat the tortillas two at a time for 15 seconds to prevent them from breaking when you roll them. Fill the bottom third of the tortilla with about 2 TB of filling & roll. Place seam side down in the baking pan (use two baking pans if you don’t have one large enough to fit 12 tortillas).

4) Once all of the tortillas are in the baking pan/s, pour the salsa verde over the entire thing. Then pour the enchilada sauce down the middle & cover with the remaining cheese. Bake 25 minutes until bubbly.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

I was insipired to make these by a fellow boardie’s blog yesterday. These were perfect for a simple lunch after my work out this morning, and they came together in 20 minutes. These would be great as a “clean out the fridge” meal also because you can put any ingredients in them that you have lying around.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Servings: 2 ● Points Plus: 7

Ingredients:

• 3 oz cooked chicken breast
• 1/2 poblano pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 1/4 onion, sliced into thin slices
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
• 6 corn tortillas
• 2 TB reduced fat sour cream
• 1/2 TB cumin
• 1 tsp Mexican chili powder

Directions:

1)  Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Saute the onion & pepper in a pan with a little non-stick spray until soft & the onions begin to brown.

2) Chop up the chicken into small pieces, and put in a mixing bowl with all of the other ingredients.

3) Heat the tortillas 2 at a time in the microwave for 20 seconds. This will stop them from breaking when you roll them. Place one tortilla on a flat surface & fill with about 2 TB of filling on the bottom third of the tortilla. Roll & place seam side down on a baking pan. Repeat with the other tortillas & place all 6 on the baking pan.

4) Bake the rolled taquitos for 16 minutes, flipping halfway through. Serve fresh out of the oven.

*If you eat these leftover, heat them in the oven at 425 degrees for about 6 minutes.

Slow Cooker: Creamy Chicken & Black Bean Chili

My newest thing is making one slow cooker or casserole recipe every Sunday & dividing it up for lunches all week. Last week I made the Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken, and this was on the menu for this week. It isn’t a chili in the traditional sense, but I’m calling it one because there is meat, vegetables, beans, & Mexican spices in it. Those all say “chili” to me.

I was happier than I thought I would be with the results. I find that chilis never get thick enough for me in the slow cooker, but this one definitely did. Actually, it may be a bit too thick. You can simply add another 1/2 cup of salsa if you find that the cream cheese thickens it up too much for you. I plan to eat this with a few slices of avocado on top.

Slow Cooker: Creamy Chicken & Black Bean Chili

Servings: 6 ● Points Plus: 7

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts)
• 15 oz can black beans, draines
• 15 oz can corn kernels with red & green peppers, drained
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 TB Mexican chili powder
• 1/2 TB ground cumin
• 15 oz jar salsa (any brand you like)
• 8 oz low fat cream cheese

Directions:

1. Add chicken breasts to slow cooker.

2. Add black beans, corn, green pepper, onion, spices, and salsa. Toss all together.

3. Cook on low for 7 hours.

4. Once finished, either remove the chicken breasts & shred them with two forks, or shred them right in the slow cooker (I left them in & shredded them in the slow cooker). Add the brick of cream cheese & toss with the other ingredients. Let the cream cheese melt.

*Note: The cream cheese should melt with no problem. You can cut it into 4 pieces, toss with the other ingredients, and let the entire dish cook another 30 minutes if you find that it isn’t melting.

Mexican Brown Rice Casserole

This was a really great cold weather dinner. It would also be great in the summertime with a salad on the side. As usual, I deviated from the original recipe & added way more chili powder than it called for, and I added sauteed onions & green peppers. I also made homemade tortilla chips to eat this with. 

These servings were HUGE. I topped each serving with a 1/4 cup of low fat sour cream & a few dashes of hot sauce. (the sour cream will add points)

Mexican Brown Rice Casserole

Servings: 6 ● Points Plus: 8

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 1/4 cup salsa
• 1 TB cumin
• 15 oz can of refried beans
• 10 oz frozen corn kernels
• 4 oz can mild green chili peppers, chopped
• 2 TB chili powder (1 TB if you don’t like it too spicy)
• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
• 3/4 cup low fat shredded cheese
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13” (or 2 quart) baking pan with non-stick spray. Saute onions & peppers in a pan until they’re semi-soft, about 4 minutes.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine rice, salsa, onion & peppers.

3. In a second bowl, combine beans, corn, green chili peppers, chili powder & cumin.

4. Spoon 2 cups of the rice mixture on the bottom of the baking pan. Scoop bean mixture on top. Drain all of the water out of the spinach & layer on top of the bean mixture. Sprinkle with 6 TB of cheese. Top with the remaining rice mixture & sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

5. Bake until casserole is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Top with cilantro before serving.

Tomatillo Shrimp Tostadas

Tostada literally means “toasted” in Spanish. It also translates to “one of my all time favorite foods” (no, not literally). This recipe takes corn tortillas and bakes them to turn them into tostadas. The mixture of shrimp & salsa verde on these is excellent. Once you get the method down, you can start creating different combos & toppings for your tostadas.

Genuine tostadas are fried in oil, but at home I bake them to save on calories. The result is just as crispy.

Tomatillo Shrimp Tostadas

Servings: 2 (2 tostadas each) ● Points Plus: 6 per tostada, 13 for 2

Ingredients:

• 4 corn tortillas (6”)
• 1/2 lb raw shrimp, peeled & deveined
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 1 cup fat free refried beans
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 1 cup salsa verde
• 1 cup low fat shredded cheddar
• 1 lime, cut into 5 pieces
• 1 TB Mexican chili powder
• 1/2 TB cumin
• kosher salt & black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil & arrange all four tortillas on it. Spray each with non-stick olive oil spray & pierce each one a few times with a fork (this will prevent it from bubbling in the oven). Bake tortillas for 5 minutes, flip & bake another 5 or until crispy.

2. Meanwhile, place the shrimp in a large ziploc bag or mixing bowl & spray with olive oil spray. Coat with the chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper & the juice of one lime wedge. Toss shrimp until they’re coated with all of the spices.

3. Coat a large skillet with non-stick spray & cook shrimp, about 2-3 minutes on each side. When they’re cooked, turn off heat, dice into small pieces & set aside.

4. Once the tostada shells are done cooking, remove from the oven & preheat the broiler.

5. Top each tostada shell in layers: refried beans, corn, avocado, shrimp, and cheese.

6. Place tostadas under the broiler until the cheese is melted, about 2-3 minutes. Once finished, scoop the salsa verde onto each one & serve immediately.

*If you skip the avocado, they are 5 points+ per tostada, 10 points+ for two.