Tag: queso fresco
Quick Vegetarian Refried Beans
This is a quick, healthy side dish I came up with while I was cooking the rest of the meal for my friends. I had the enchiladas and rice. I was serving homemade salsa and guacamole with chips before dinner but something was still bothering me. I felt I didn’t have a balanced meal as yet. That is when beans came to mind.
As I started looking for recipe ideas for the refried beans, I realized most recipes called for frying the beans in pork fat or bacon. Normally I would add pancetta or bacon to the mix because as far as I am concerned, everything is better with bacon- but in this case I needed to make the dish vegetarian.
I started by cooking canned pinto beans in water and mashing them but left still them a bit chunky. As I was sauteing them with the onions and garlic, I kept thinking of a flavoring that would mimic the smokey flavor of bacon. Smoked paprika came to mind. That’s it- I thought. It was delicious paired with the creamy pinto beans, the onions and the garlic. In fact I would make this dish the same way again- why add extra calories with the bacon when I can achieve a similar flavor with the paprika?
I topped the dish with cilantro and queso fresco and the meal was well balanced, healthy and delicious!
Try these refried beans and you will never use the canned ones again!
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Green Rice
- I made this rice with the Mexican/Latin entree I was making for a small get together. I had initially thought of making Spanish rice with tomatoes, onions and garlic and lots of lime juice but when I thought of my main entree, I realized the enchiladas were cooked in a red sauce- and I didn’t want to make red rice with it. It would be drab looking. After doing some thinking- I came up with this green rice.
- One of the things I think of when coming up with a menu is presentation. I strive to have a colorful mix when serving any meal. We eat with our eyes first and it is very healthy to have foods of all different colors.
- In this case, I had baby spinach in the fridge- it is one of the staple vegetables you will always find at my house.
- I blended spinach, cilantro, green onions and garlic together and used the paste as the base for rice. It was delicious and paired really well with the enchiladas.
- This side dish is very versatile- serve it with chicken, fish or a steak. Pair it with a quesadilla or serve with some eggs and refried beans for breakfast. Speaking of refried beans- wait till you see how easy they are to make- recipe will be up tomorrow!
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Mushroom Enchiladas with New Mexico Red Chile
This is a fabulous meal to make for company or if you just want to impress your family. It is a vegetarian meal but you can substitute any kind of meat in here including chicken, pork, shrimp or even fish.
I made this fabulous meal for a friend who was coming over with her family. They are vegetarian so I had to be careful and use vegetable broth where ever I normally use chicken broth, etc.
I made a delicious stuffing for the enchiladas with cremini mushrooms, onions and garlic. I added paprika and unsweetened cocoa. I wanted to emulate the mole sauce flavor which is a very labor intensive dish to make requiring lots of ingredients. I decided to introduce just the cocoa part to the stuffing to bring out the earthiness in the mushrooms.
I used whole-wheat tortillas- and guess what- no one noticed. Once the tortillas are doused with the super flavorful sauce, you can’t tell the difference. A perfect, sneaky way to make the dish healthy without anyone knowing.
I also cooked up some green rice and some quick vegetarian refried beans- recipes to follow tomorrow and the day after.
Definitely try making the mushroom enchiladas with new mexico red chilies- you will be impressed with yourself.
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