Vegetarian Tex-Mex Pizzas

Happy Friday! It's been a long week 'round these parts, and even though Jacob and I both have to work over the weekend, I am excited for the chance to sleep in a little tomorrow morning and enjoy a little quality time with the husband and the pup. Running shorts, coffee, and sitting out on the porch will be involved.

Last night Jacob and I had an awesome dinner that I just had to share with you all. Mexican pizzas! These guys are so quick and easy to make, and can be topped with whatever ingredients you have on hand. Jacob would admit, he was skeptical of these guys at first, but I'm pretty sure he liked them, judging from the three inhaled. Also, I just remembered that the last recipe I posted was for enchiladas - I promise we eat things that don't involve tortillas, we've just been on a tex-mex kick lately, I guess.

This whole thing started when I found these organic refried black beans at Harris Teeter. I knew I could find a use for them.

Mushrooms, green pepper, and kale were sautéed and drained to be used as topping for the pizzas. I drained them after they were cooked because I didn't want any extra moisture to make the pizzas soggy. No one likes soggy pizza.

Fajita size flour tortillas were used.

Refried beans + veggies...

 + cheese...

I love using cucumber as a fresh and crisp topping for mexican dishes like this.

Salsa and sour cream are a must.

The finished product!

Along-side some steamed green beans and cauliflower. 

Vegetarian Tex-Mex Pizza Recipe

Serves 4

- 6 fajita size flour tortillas

- 1 can refried black or pinto beans

- 2 cups sautéed and drained veggies

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 tsp chili powder

- 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese

- 1 cucumber, peeled and diced

- Sour cream

- Salsa

Directions:

- Line a large sheet pan (or two small sheet pans) with aluminum foil for easy clean up.

- Place tortillas on the sheet pan(s).

- Divide the refried beans along the tortillas and spread on the tortillas.

- Once the veggies of your choice are cooked and drained, season with salt and chili powder.

- Top the pizzas with veggies and cheese.

- Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and pizzas are crispy.

- Serve with cucumber, sour cream, and salsa.

Huevos Rancheros

When I was 16, my Brother, Josh, and I decided to travel to Costa Rica for a month of intensive Spanish language school. Since we were both homeschooled at the time (Yes, I was homeschooled. Make your judgements as you feel necessary), we had the freedom to experience many different educational experiences. We decided to live with a host family so that we could fully experience the "Tico" or Costa Rican lifestyle. Our host family was amazing. We had a great time getting to know them over the month long period we lived with them, and we enjoyed the foods and cultural experiences that came along with the host-home experience.

One of my greatest memories from that trip was breakfast each morning. Our host mother would cook up the traditional Costa Rican breakfast for us, commonly known as "Gallo Pinto" (pronounced guy-o). Salty beans, rice cooked perfectly (and in a way that I have tried to imitate but don't think I will ever succeed), and fried eggs. It was delicious. I wish I could re-create the dish the exact same way our host mom made it. Unfortunately, I can't. But, Jacob gave gallo pinto a serious contender the other night for dinner.

That's right - Jacob cooked this meal. I got home late from work, and Jacob was slaving over a hot stove creating this:

Funny thing is, this dish was actually made using duck eggs. My Father in Law gave us some duck eggs that he had been given from a friend. We couldn't taste a big difference from regular chicken eggs, but the duck eggs were much bigger and had much thicker shells than "normal" eggs.

A large salad was served on the side - made up of spinach, carrots, and mushrooms.

Just one more picture - it was just so pretty.

Huevos Rancheros Recipe:

(serves 2-3 people)

- 2 cups rice, prepared according to package directions (brown OR white is fine)

- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

- 2-3 Eggs

- 1 tbsp Butter

- Salt/pepper to taste

- 1/4 Cup Salsa

- 1 Avocado, sliced

- 1/2 Cup Cheddar cheese

Directions:

- Once rice is finished cooking, add black beans and toss. Cover, and let the beans steam in the hot rice.

- Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium heat.

- Add butter to pan, crack eggs into the skillet.

- Cook eggs to desired consistency, season with salt and pepper.

- Place 1-2 cooked eggs on each serving of heated beans and rice.

- Top with desired toppings (salsa, avocado, cheese)

Baked Potatoes with Cheesy Black Bean Sauce

We had some potatoes in the house that needed to be used last night, so I decided on baked potatoes for dinner. Now usually, a meal made of pure simple carbs would not be my first choice, but these baked potatoes were loaded with protein, fiber, and tons of vegetables - they're healthy baked potatoes! Now don't get me wrong, I love a baked potato smothered in butter, sour cream, cheese, and salt. But for a main dish, I thought I would spice it up a bit.

You know how baked potatoes that are cooked just right have that slightly chewy but soft texture in the middle? Mm. These ones turned out just like that, and boy were they good.

I didn't actually use "baking potatoes" (or russet potatoes as some would say...), I used a combination of red skinned and yukon golds. This was what I had on hand, and they worked just fine! They since were small, we each had two for dinner - the perfect amount.

I washed the potatoes really well (since I like to eat the entire potato, I like to make sure all the dirt and sand is removed), poked a few holes in them with a form, then rubbed them with a drizzle of olive oil, and sprinkled them with a pinch of salt. Roll each one up in a small piece of aluminum foil, and bake at 350 for an hour or until tender.

Next I worked on the cheesy black bean sauce. This is just a basic white sauce with a little cheddar and a can of drained and rinsed black beans added in.

 Start by melting butter, then whisk in flour and cook for one minute. 

 Whisk the milk into the butter and flour mixture and bring to a slow simmer so the sauce can thicken. Season with salt and pepper, and add cheddar cheese and black beans.

Next, I worked on getting some veggies ready to roast. Broccoli, mushrooms, and onions. Chili powder, salt, red pepper flakes, and olive oil. Toss until all spices and oil are evenly distributed and roast at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Once the potatoes are soft, the veggies are roasted, and the cheesy black bean sauce is prepared, pile it up! 

In addition to the roasted veggies and cheese sauce, we also put fresh spinach, salsa, avocado, and sour cream on our potatoes. The sky's the limit as far as toppings - grilled chicken would be great, black olives would be delicious, fresh cucumber would be refreshing. Customize and enjoy!

Cheesy Black Bean Sauce Recipe:

- 3 tbsp butter

- 2 tbsp flour

- 1 and 1/4 cups 2% milk

- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

- Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

- In a heavy frying pan or sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.

- When butter is melted, add flour and whisk until incorporated into the butter evenly. Cook for 1 minute.

- Slowly add the milk to the flour and butter mixture, whisking vigorously to ensure lumps do not form. 

- Bring mixture to a low simmer and cook until it coats the back of a spoon.

- Add cheese and beans to the flour and milk mixture.

- Season with salt and pepper.