Beef fajitas

Ingredients

• 1 whole Beef Flank Steak
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/3 cup Lime Juice, Fresh Squeezed
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 Tablespoon Cumin
• 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 2 whole Medium Onions, Halved And Sliced
• 1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Sliced
• 1 whole Orange Bell Pepper, Sliced
• 1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Sliced
• 1 whole Yellow Bell Pepper, Sliced
•  Oil, For Frying
•  Flour Tortillas, Warmed
•  Cheese (grated Cheddar/jack Or Crumbled Queso Fresco)
•  Salsa
•  Sour Cream
•  Cilantro Leaves

Instructions

In a dish, mix together olive oil, Worcestershire, lime juice, garlic, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and sugar until combined. Pour half of the marinade into a separate dish. In one dish, place the flank steak, turning it over to coat. In the second dish, place all the veggies, turning to coat. Cover the dishes with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Prepare tortillas, salsa, sour cream, and cilantro.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle in some oil. Add the veggies and cook them for a few minutes, until they're cooked but still slightly firm and have nice black/brown pieces. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Heat the same same skillet (or a grill pan if you have it) over high heat and drizzle some oil. Cook the meat for about 2 minutes per side until medium rare. Remove and allow to rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes.

Slice the meat right before serving and serve with all the fixins. Enjoy!

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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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Homemade Tortillas

16 tortillas

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup warm water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the dough hook attached mix dry ingredients until well combined. Add oil and water with mixer running at a medium speed. Mix for 1 minute, stopping several timesto scrape the sides of the bowl. After about 1 minute, or when mixture comes together and begins to form a ball, decrease mixing speed to low. Continue to mix for 1 minute or until dough is smooth.
2. Transfer from mixing bowl to a well-floured work surface. Divide dough in half, then in half again. Continue until you have 16 fairly equal portions. Form each piece into a ball and flatten with the palm of your hand as much as possible. If dough is sticky, use a bit more flour. Cover flattened balls of dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes before proceeding.
3. After rest period, heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Roll each dough piece into a rough circle, about 6-7 inches in diameter, keep work surface and rolling pin lightly floured. Don’t stack uncooked tortillas on top of each other or they will get soggy.
4. When pan is very hot, place one dough circle into pan and allow to cook about 1 minute or until bottom surface has a few pale brown spots. The uncooked surface will begin to show a few little bubbles. If tortilla is browning too fast, reduced heat a bit. If it’s taking longer than a minute to see a few pale golden brown spots on underside of tortillas, increase heat a bit. Flip to other side and cook for about 30 seconds. You want the tortilla to be soft but have a few small pale golden brown spots on surface. Remove from pan with tongs and stack in a covered container or zippered bag till all tortillas are cooked. This will keep them soft and pliable.
5. Wipe out the pan inbetween tortillas if flour is started to accumulate.
6. Serve warm or allow to cool for later use. When ready to use, place a slightly damp paper towel in the bottom of a container (with a cover) that will hold the stacked tortillas. Microwave, uncovered for 15-25 seconds (start with 15) or until warm, then cover to hold heat while serving.
7. The tortillas will keep well stored in an airtight container or zippered bag at at room temperature for 24 hours or can be frozen indefinitely. To freeze, separate tortillas with parchment paper or waxed paper and place in a zippered bag before placing in freezer.

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Black Bean and Veggie Pizza

INGREDIENTS

Mexican pizza

• 8 large (7-inch) corn tortillas
• 2 14.5-ounce cans organic refried black beans
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 14.5-ounce can whole black olives, sliced
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• ½ bunch green onions, sliced
• ¾ cup shredded light monterey jack cheese
• Avocado cream, to taste (recipe below)
• Optional: salsa for serving.

Avocado cream

• 1 ripe avocado
• ½ cup greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 large clove garlic
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste.

INSTRUCTIONS

Mexican pizza

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F with a pizza stone (or a large baking sheet) inside.
2. Working in batches, lay as many tortillas out as possible on the pizza stone without overlapping and bake for 10 minutes, or until just crispy. Repeat until all tortillas are crispy.
3. Meanwhile, heat the black beans, paprika, cumin, and cayenne over medium heat until smooth and pliable (it doesn't need to be heated all the way through, just enough to make it easy to spread).
4. Divide the black beans among the crispy tortillas (about ⅓ cup per tortilla), and use a rubber spatula to spread the beans out evenly to the edges.
5. Evenly the olives, red onion, tomatoes, and bell pepper among the tortillas.
6. Sprinkle 1.5 tablespoons of shredded cheese over the top of each pizza.
7. Bake the pizzas for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the toppings are cooked through. My pizza stone holds only 4 pizzas at a time, so work in batches if needed.
8. Before serving, dollop or swirl avocado cream over the pizzas, to taste, and sprinkle sliced green onions on top. (To swirl it, I put the cream in a Ziploc bag and cut off the tip!).
9. Optional: serve with a side of salsa.

Avocado cream

 1.Toss all the ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth. You'll likely have leftover cream that you can dip chips in too!

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Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce

Ingredients

For tomatillo sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

3 medium cloves garlic, peeled and smashed with the side of a chef's knife

3/4 pound tomatillos, husks and stems removed, cut into 1-inch chunks

3 jalapeño chiles, seeded and roughly chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

For the filling

1 pound chicken tenderloins

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1-1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

8 ounces (2 cups) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

For the tortillas and  toppings

11 6-inch corn tortillas

2-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

3 ounces (3/4 cup) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Smoked paprika

3/4 cup sour cream

1 small heart of romaine lettuce (or 5-6 leaves), shredded

1 avocado diced

1 lime, sliced

Instructions

For the tomatillo sauce

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatillos, jalapeños, sugar, salt, cumin and 1/3 cup water; bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until tomatillos are softened, about 8 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender and purée until completely smooth. Set aside.

 For the filling

Place the chicken tenderloins in a medium bowl and sprinkle with the cumin, smoked paprika and salt. Toss with tongs until the chicken is evenly coated with the spice blend.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick sauté pan until shimmering but not smoking. Add the chicken and cook until just done, about 2 minutes per side; transfer to a plate to cool. Do not rinse the pan. Add the onions and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it into bite-sized pieces. (All tenderloins have a tough tendon running through them; just remove it.) Add the shredded chicken to the pan with the onions, along with the chopped cilantro and shredded cheese.

 To Assemble

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spread 3/4 cup of the tomatillo sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Pour the oil into a small bowl or ramekin. Using a pastry brush (or your hands), brush both sides of each tortilla with oil, then stack them on a plate and microwave until hot and steamy, 1-1/2 - 2 minutes. This makes them pliable.

Spoon about 1/3 cup of the filling down the center of each tortilla. Roll each tortilla tightly and place side by side in the baking dish, seam side down.

Pour the remaining chili sauce over the top, and use the back of a spoon to spread evenly over each tortilla. Sprinkle the cheese down the center of the enchiladas. Bake until hot and bubbling, 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle the smoked paprika down the center of the enchiladas and serve immediately with sour cream, lettuce, avocado and lime wedges.

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