Bean and Cheese Burritos

If you have followed many of my blogs, you have probably noticed that there are quite a few recipes with a Mexican flair. I can't help it. My dad was from Texas, and he made sure I grew up on Old El Paso and Tex Mex-style food. Now that I'm older, I'm learning how to make many of those dishes from scratch, and there have been quite a few successes! This recipe here for bean and cheese burritos is one of the successes. I use the base recipe I received from my aunt for bean dip (I just don't add the sour cream). Then I followed this blog for Freezer Burritos for how to package and freeze the burritos I made. This recipe makes 10 burritos, and two are a very filling meal when eaten by themselves.

2 27-ounce cans of chili beans
1 small onion
2-4 cloves of garlic
variety of peppers for the amount of heat you want (you can use more peppers for flavor but reduce their heat some by scraping out many of the seeds)
1 Tbsp cumin

Dice the peppers and garlic.

Place beans in a pot large enough to hold them and allow you room to stir. Add onion, peppers, garlic and cumin.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for several hours stirring frequently until mixture thickens and the beans are soft and mushy. Use a spoon or a masher to mash beans together.

Then assemble your ingredients for the burritos - cheese, refried beans, tortillas and aluminum foil.

Warm tortillas for 30 seconds in the microwave. Take a tortilla, place on aluminum foil and scoop one to two spoonfuls of beans. Sprinkle with cheese.

Fold sides in, then begin rolling from the short side, ensuring that the seam ends up on the bottom.

Wrap burrito in aluminum foil, and then place in a freezer-safe bag.

If you want to cook some at this point, bake unwrapped burritos in 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 7-10 minutes until burrito shell begins to turn golden brown. Ensure the seam side is down. If not, freeze burritos, and when ready to cook, place frozen burritos in 400 degree Fahrenheit oven and bake for 35 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and bake for 7 minutes longer until burrito begins to turn golden brown.

Crockpot Shredded Chicken

I mentioned in my last post that I love Mexican food. Even Americanized Mexican food. Any day of the week. So, I planned to fix a late birthday dinner for my sister, and she sent me a recipe for tacos and said she wanted chicken. Well, I can do chicken, but there were ingredients on the recipe that I didn't even know what they were, and was pretty sure Walmart wouldn't carry them. So, I went on a search to find a chicken taco recipe that we could both live with. I made them today, and by the verbal accounts and the amount of chicken left, I think I did okay! Here's the link to the original recipe I ended up sort of following: Crock Pot Chipotle Chicken. I did make quite a few adjustments to this recipe. I knew I wasn't going to use that much chicken, so everything is altered. Here is what I used:

1 lb (or so) of boneless, skinless chicken  (I bought a really think sliced breast that would cook faster)

1/2 can black beans

1/2 can corn kernels

1 cup chicken stock

1 medium jalapeño

1/4 (or so) diced onion

1/2 tsp lime juice

garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chipotle pepper, paprika, black pepper

I began by rinsing off and cutting any fat chunks that remained on the chicken. I also rinsed off and drained the beans and the corn. Place the chicken pieces in your crock pot. Pour 1/2 a can of black beans and 1/2 can of corn over the chicken. Add the onion and jalapeños (I knock out some of the seeds to reduce the heat but keep the flavor). Measure out 1 cup of chicken stock, add the lime juice, and pour mixture over chicken, beans and corn. Now here's sort of the tricky part. I didn't actually measure any of the other spices. I used probably ABOUT 1/2-1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp cayenne and chipotle, 1/4 tsp paprika and black pepper. Listen carefully - about... I did not measure these, so tread lightly and adjust to your own taste. 

Cook in the crock pot for about 4 hours. I started mine shortly before 8 a.m., and by 11:30 a.m., most of the juice was cooked out and the chicken was beginning to shred. By 12:15-30 when we ate, it was dang near perfect. To help with the shredding, take two forks and pull the chicken apart. Let me know if you try it and what you do different!

Empanadas

I love Mexican food. It is a staple of my diet. And it is definitely one of my comfort foods. This is a recipe I started making several years back when I lived in South Carolina. I found it in a hand-me-down cookbook from my mom. I completely hijacked it and changed it, because I tend to like simpler recipes, and I am very picky on what goes in my food. I'm fairly certain that most anyone of Mexican descent would be horrified at my calling these empanada Mexican food, but it works for my family. They are tasty and reheat very well (can we say lunch?).

1 lb ground beef
1-3 jalapeños, diced
2-4 cloves of garlic, diced
1 packet of taco seasoning
1/4 cup water
1 can refried beans
cumin, cayenne pepper, season all salt

Brown the ground beef, with season all salt added, over medium-high heat and break into small pieces. Just before the ground beef is completely cooked, add the jalapeños and garlic. Add the taco seasoning, and any of the other spices that you'd like depending on how spicy you want it. Add the water and stir occasionally until it cooks down over medium heat. Add a can of refried beans and stir until well mixed. Turn off heat.

Shells
4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
8 Tbsp butter or margarine
8 Tbsp crisco
12-16 Tbsp water

Use a pastry cutter to blend the butter and crisco into the flour and salt until you have a crumbly mixture and you can't see any chunks. You can test it by pinching the mixture between your fingers and if it hold the shape, it's ready. Add the tablespoons of water and with a fork toss dough until it pulls away from the side and all of the dough is incorporated.

Take a small piece of the dough, about the size of a golf ball, and cover in flour. Place in a tortilla press and flatten.

Get a small bowl of water, and gather your pressed dough and mixture close together. Take a circle of dough, dip your finger in water and lightly wet 1/4 of the edge of the dough. Fold dough in half and seal the half that is wet. With a small spoon, scoop mixture into the dough pocket packing it as much as you can while leaving sufficient room to finish sealing the empanadas. Wet your fingertip again and wet one side of the other half of the dough and seal completely. Once they are all filled and sealed, take a fork and poke three holes on each side.

Add oil to your skillet. Cook on both sides until a light golden brown color. I usually have to stand them up for a minute in the oil to ensure that the bottom gets cooked well. As with most of my recipes, this one is not very difficult, it just takes time, but they are so worth it! When my daughter got home today, she walked in and said, "Mmmmm. Empanadas???" That's why I do this. :-)

Chicken Tamales

Tamales from scratch are rather time consuming, but, oh my, are they so worth it! Absolutely delicious! And you can freeze part of the batch to enjoy at a later time, so you get two dinners out of one cooking session, and I am all about that! Here is the link to the recipe that I found online several years ago: http://www.pastrywiz.com/dailyrecipes/recipes/115.htm. I've made these many times since, and never been disappointed... except for that time I burned up my pot by letting all the water evaporate. lol I didn't know you could burn a hole through a pot, but take it from me, you can. So, check the water level often!

Tamale Filling:

2 lbs. lean, boneless beef or chicken

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups water

2 tsp. beef base (or chicken - I've used both)

1 (7-ounce) can green chilies, chopped

4 large cloves garlic, finely minced

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

2 to 3 tsp ground red chili pepper

1 Tbsp ground chili powder

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1/4 cup tomato sauce

In a large sauce pan, cook meat in water until tender. Cool slightly and shred.

In large skillet, heat oil until hot and add beef or chicken and cook until brown. Add the remaining ingredients in the order given. (I stir in the flour slightly, then add the water. I also add the chilies and garlic at the same time, and mix the spices in one bowl and add together). Cover and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Soak corn husks in hot water for 30 minutes to make pliable.

Tamale dough (this is the recipe on the website):

1 1/2 cups lard

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 1/2 cups masa harina (corn flour)

2 2/3 cups warm water

This is the recipe I use:

4 cups Maseca

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup vegetable oil

1 Tbsp salt

1/2 to 1 tsp garlic powder

Tamale Dough (again, this is the recipe on the website):

In a large mixing bowl, beat the lard and salt until fluffy. Dissolve masa haring in warm water and add to lard mixture, beating well until all the ingredients are combined.

My recipe:

Put dry ingredients in a bowl. Add oil and water and mix well. Add water and mix until masa is smooth. It can't be wet, but if it's too dry, it won't hold together or spread on the corn husk easily.

How to assemble tamales:

Spread a thin coating of tamale dough over the cornhusk, allowing room at the bottom to turn down.

Spread filling down the center of the dough. Fold the sides of the husk firmly together. Turn up one or both ends.

If turning up both ends, tear some of the husks lengthwise in narrow strips and use for tying each tamale across the top flap.

To cook tamales:

Cook tamales in a conventional steamer or blancher. Fill the bottom of the steamer up to the level indicated and bring to a boil. When the steamer is dry you will need to add more water.

Line the steamer with corn husks, covering the bottom and sites. Stack the tamales upright.

Place the tamales firmly but not too tightly, because the husks swell as the dough cooks. Cover the tamales with more husks and the top of the steamer with a thick cloth to absorb the moisture. Cover with a tight fitting lid.

Steam for about 2 1/2 hours. To test the tamales for doneness, remove one from center of the steamer. The dough should peel away easily from the husks and be completely smooth. The dough should also appear spongy and well cooked throughout.