Baked Bean Chimichangas

4-6 servings 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing the tortillas

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

One 4-ounce can green chiles, drained

2 cups black beans (I soaked some beans overnight the night before)

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

Juice of one lime

2 cups refried beans, cooked, and hopefully still a little warm

Tortillas

For garnish (optional):

Cheese-I used a combination of shredded Monterey Jack and queso fresco

Cilantro

1 tomato, chopped

Greek yogurt, optional

Black olives

Avocado

Instructions

1. In a saute pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.

2. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 4-5 minutes.

3. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

4. Add the green chiles, black beans, chili powder, cumin, and lime juice, stirring until combined.  Cook until the beans are heated through, about 3-4 minutes.

5. Once the beans are heated through, place about 2 tablespoons of each of the refried beans and the black bean mixture into the center of each tortilla.  Top with whatever garnishes you might want inside the chimichangas-I used a small amount of cheese on each one).  Fold in the ends of each tortilla and roll up the chimichanga.  Place each chimichanga, seam side down, into the prepared baking dish.

6. Lightly and thoroughly brush each chimichanga with olive oil.

7. Bake the chimichangas until heated through and lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes or so.  

*Watch your chimichangas carefully.  As oven temperatures can vary significantly, the browning time may be dependent on your oven.  Use your own judgment here.

8. Top each chimichanga with the garnishes of your own choosing, and enjoy.

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Baked Vegetable

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 medium yellow squash
• 1 medium potato
• 1 medium tomato
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• to taste salt & pepper
• 1 cup shredded Italian cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Saute both in a skillet with olive oil until softened (about five minutes).
2. While the onion and garlic are sauteing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.
3. Spray the inside of an 8×8 square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.
4. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

 

Enjoy!

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Oven Baked Salmon

INGREDIENTS

1½ pound filet of salmon

1 pound baby fingerling potatoes

½ cup red onion, sliced thinly

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

1½ cups small broccoli florets

1 large clove garlic, sliced very thinly

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons dry white wine

Salt and black pepper

Lemon for flavor if desired

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the salmon into 5 pieces. Slice the potatoes in half and set on a large baking tray (17inches x 12inches). Add the broccoli, red onions, garlic and both herbs to the potatoes. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over the mixture and toss well. Spread the vegetables out evenly. Place each piece of salmon onto the baking tray with the vegetables around them. Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the salmon. Pour the white wine over the ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

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Baked Chicken Nuggets

2-3 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 medium), diced into bite size pieces
• 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs, white or wheat
• 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 3 Tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Olive Oil Spray

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a shallow 13 x 9 baking dish (I used a small cookie sheet) generously with olive oil spray. Pour 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil into a small mixing bowl. In a separate mixing bowl whisk together Italian seasoned bread crumbs, Panko bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Place chicken pieces into olive oil and toss chicken to evenly coat. Drop oil coated chicken, working with about 5 pieces at a time, into bread crumb mixture and coat each side (I kind of pressed the pieces into the bread crumbs to get more to stick). Place all of the coated chicken pieces onto oil coated baking sheet then sprinkle remaining bread crumb mixture over chicken pieces. Spray top of chicken pieces with olive oil spray. Bake in center of preheated oven for 10 minutes, then remove from oven, rotate chicken pieces to opposite side and bake an additional 5 minutes. Serve warm with ketchup, barbecue sauce or honey mustard for dipping, if desired.

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