Super Bean Burritos

I love the blog My Kitchen Cafe. I'd say I check her blog daily for new recipes. We seem to both like the same foods so her blog is a favorite. Well she posted these burritos and I knew we had to try them cause we love burritos in our house. My husband declared these the best burritos ever and then helped me make two more batches to keep in the freezer for future lunches and meals. I had wanted to make these smothered but time got away from me so I ended up topping the burritos with homemade pico de gallo and guacamole. Give this a try you'll never go back to store bought frozen burritos again.

Super Bean Burritos
Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe

1 cup brown or white rice (or 2 cups already cooked rice)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed, finely diced (can substitute 1 can of green chiles)
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cans (15 oz. each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups water
1 (10 oz) package frozen corn or 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
6 green onions, white and green parts finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

16 burrito-sized (10-inch) flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Cook rice; set aside. Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, jalapeno and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and golden, being careful not to let the garlic burn. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring for 1 minute.

Add one can of beans and mash gently in the pan (a potato masher or fork works great here). Add the second can of beans and the water and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 10-12 minutes, being careful not to let the mixture stick to the bottom of the pot. Add corn; cook to heat through, 2-3 minutes. Stir in onion and garlic powders. Remove from heat; stir in green onions and cooked rice.

Heat tortillas in microwave for about 30-45 seconds or until all are warmed through.

Fill each tortilla with about 2/3 cup bean and rice mixture and 1/4 cup cheese on one side of tortilla. Fold, and hold in sides. Starting from filled end, holding sides in as you work, tightly roll into a bundle. Place on a baking sheet, seam side down, and prepare remaining burritos.

Serve warm immediately, with salsa and sour cream if desired -- or, to freeze for later consumption, put the baking sheet of burritos into the freezer for at least 30 minutes, or until very cold so that they don't come apart in the wrapping process. Remove them from the freezer and wrap each burrito individually in plastic wrap and place all the wrapped burritos in a freezer-safe resealable bag and freeze up to three months.

To reheat from frozen:
Remove plastic wrap from the burrito. Poke holes in the top several times with a fork. Microwave on high for two minutes. Gently poke a few more holes in the burrito and microwave for another minute. Be careful as the burrito will be piping hot!

Giveaway

I'm giving away the Jan/Feb. 2010 issue of Cooking Light. Somehow I forgot I subscribe to this magazine and I bought a copy at the store. This issue has loads of great looking recipes along with their new rules and tips to make healthy eating simple. The giveaway is simple. Just comment on this post saying you would like the magazine. Feel free to enter more than once if you'd like. The contest is open until Thursday at midnight. I'll announce the winner Friday.

Salmon with Lemon and Dill

I can't believe I'm posting another seafood recipe so soon after the last as I'm not a fan of seafood. However my husband loved this dish and he wants me to remember how I made it so we can make it again. I searched all over the internet for a quick and easy salmon recipe that I had all the ingredients on hand to use which led me to combine three recipes into one.

Salmon with Lemon and Dill

2 salmon fillets
2 tablespoons butter
juice from one lemon
1 teaspoon dried dill, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
pepper

Melt the butter in a pan over medium high heat. Sprinkle the salmon, on one side, with the juice, dill, and parsley. Add pepper to your taste. Place the sprinkled side down in the butter and cook about 10 minutes. Watch so it doesn't burn. Flip the salmon over and cook another 5-10 minutes or until salmon flakes easily.

Sticky Wings

Great addition to any super bowl party! And easy to make to boot. Most of the cooking is done in the slower cooker which makes it really easy. Then you use your broiler for a few minutes to finish up the wings. The flavors were not spicy but provided great taste. You can't go wrong with this dish.

Sticky Wings
Cooks Country Feb/March 2010

1 3 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 pounds chicken wings, halved at joint and wingtips removed
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup tomato paste

Pulse ginger, garlic, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne in food processor until finely ground. Add mixture to slow cooker insert. Add chicken and toss until combined.

Cover and cook on low until fat renders and chicken is tender, 3 to 4 hours. Using slotted spoon, remove wings from slow cooker and transfer to clean large bowl (discard the liquid in slow cooker). Let wings cool 20 minutes (or cool briefly and refrigerate up to 24 hours).

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat broiler. Set wire rack inside rimmed baking sheet and spray rack with baking spray. Whisk water, tomato paste, remaining sugar, remaining soy sauce, and remaining cayenne pepper in bowl. Add half of sauce to bowl with cooled wings and toss gently to coat. Arrange wings, skin side up, on prepared rack. Broil until wings are lightly charred and crisp around edges, 10-15 minutes. Flip wings, brush with remaining sauce, and continue to broil until well caramelized, about 3 minutes.

Crossroads Coop 1/2010

Produce Share $10
5 lb bag red potatoes
1 red leaf lettuce
2 lb green grapes
5 roma tomatoes
3 grapefruit
2 red bell peppers
5 apples
3 cucumbers

For more information see their website.

Recipes for using up the produce:
Classic Potato Salad
Thai Beef Salad

Bountiful Baskets Coop 1/30

Mexican Pack cost $7.50
one pack tortillas
1 bunch green onions
3 avocados
1 bunch cilantro
2 yellow onions
1 garlic
10 tomatillos
10 limes
6 peppers ( I believe anahiem)
4 jalapeno's

Conventional Basket $16.50
3 lbs pears
4 zucchini
2 red bell peppers
7 small cucumbers
6 oranges
10 bananas
4 grapefruit
11 apples
9 tomatoes
1 lb carrots
1 romaine lettuce
1 bunch asparagus

If your interested in the program check out their website.

The Best Biscuits

I'm not making this up these are the best biscuits I have ever made. Plus, this is my favorite part of this recipe, I didn't have to struggle to cut in the butter. These biscuits had the best flavor of any biscuit I've ever made and they were so flaky. The recipe isn't hard and I promise you its worth the little effort required to make these. If all you've ever made are canned biscuits your in for a big treat. The recipe calls for vinegar and cream, both of which I did not have on hand. I used buttermilk when I made these biscuits as such I'm listing the buttermilk. If you'd like to try it with the vinegar and cream let me know and I'll post the amounts.

Best Biscuits
Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day

1 cup (8 oz) buttermilk
1/2 cup (4 oz) frozen unsalted butter (needs to be in the freezer for at least 30 minutes)
1 cup (4.5 oz) all purpose flour
3/4 cup (3.5 oz) pastry flour (you can use all purpose flour)
1 tablespoon (.5 oz) sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons ((.5 oz) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (.13 oz) salt or 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Whisk the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.

Place a cheese grater over the bowl of dry ingredients. Remove butter from freezer, unwrap it, and grate it through the large holes into the dry ingredients.

Use your fingertips to separate and distribute the butter pieces evenly, breaking up any clumps but not working the butter so much it disappears or melts into the flour. Add the buttermilk and stir with a large spoon until all of the flour is hydrated and the dough forms a coarse ball. Add a tiny bit more buttermilk if necessary to bring the dough together.

Transfer the dough to a generously floured surface, then dust the top of the dough with flour. Working with floured hands, use your palms to press the dough into a rectangle or square about 3/4 inch thick. Use a metal pastry scraper to lift the dough and dust more flour underneath. Dust the top of the dough with flour as well, then roll it out into a rectangle or square about 1/2 inch thick. Then, using the pastry scraper to help lift the dough, fold it over on itself into three sections as if folding a letter.

Rotate the dough 90 degrees, then once again lift the dough and dust more flour underneath. Dust the top with flour as well, the once again roll it out into a square or rectangle about 1/2 inch thick and fold into thirds. Give the dough another quarter turn and repeat procedure again. Then, repeat one final time (four roll outs in all).

After the fourth rolling, dust under and on top of the dough one more time, then roll the dough out to just under 1/2 inch thick, in either a rectangle or an oval. Use just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface.

Cut the biscuits with a floured pizza cutter. Transfer the biscuits to an ungreased sheet pan (lined with parchment paper) placing them about 1/2 inch apart.

Let the biscuits rest for 15-30 minutes before baking. Even better, place the pan in the refrigerator to chill.

About 20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Transfer the biscuits to the oven and lower the oven temperature to 450 degrees, or 425 for a convection oven. Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for another 6-10 minutes. until both the tops and bottoms of the biscuit are a rich golden brown. The bake time will be shorter in a convection oven. The biscuits should rise about 1 1/2 times in height.

Place the pan on a wire rack, leaving the biscuits to cool on the hot pan for at least 3 minutes before serving. The biscuits will stay warm for about 20 minutes.

Hamburger Buns II

I've been playing with hamburger bun recipes for ever without finding the perfect one. This is the closest I've come to making the prefect bun. It was easy to make and they tasted wonderful. I added the optional onion powder and although I loved it if your not a fan of onion taste in your bread you may want to leave it out. You could taste it in the bun. Next time I make these I plan on topping them with sesame seeds or dried onion. I just love hamburger buns that have either of those two additions to the top. I don't know why I didn't think of adding it to the buns this time. I served these with the pulled pork from two day ago but you can use these for almost anything. The sloppy joes recipe I have would be great with these buns.

Hamburger Buns II
King Arthur Bakers Companion

1 cup (8 oz) water
2 tablespoons (1 oz) butter
1 large egg
3 1/4 cups (13 3/4 oz) unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz) sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon onion powder (optional)

Combine all ingredients and mix and knead them together- by hand or mixer- until you've made a soft, smooth dough. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it, and let it rise for 1 hour.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces and shape each piece into a flattened ball. Place the buns on greased baking sheets, cover, and let rise 30-40 minutes, until they're quite puffy.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the buns for 12 to 15 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven and cool them on a rack. Split and use for burgers or sandwiches.

Sweet and Tangy Barbecue Sauce

Loved this sauce. Honestly after having tried dozens of recipes for bbq sauce and knowing how simple most are to make I'm surprised anyone still buys the way too sweet sauce at the store. This ranks up there as one of my all time favorite bbq sauce recipes. The flavors blended together wonderfully and really complimented the pulled pork I posted yesterday. If you haven't tried making your own sauce you really should give it a try.

Sweet and Tangy Barbecue Sauce
Cooks Illustrated Jan/Feb 2010

1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup light or mild molasses
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, defatted, from yesterday

Whisk all ingredients together. Serve.

Indoor Pulled Pork

I love pulled pork. I don't think there is a recipe I see for pulled pork that I don't make. My favorite way is outside with tons of smoke for flavor. During the summer I meet so many neighbors who find their way to our house due to the smells coming from the grill. When winter hits I don't do much smoking on the grill but I still crave the dishes I can make. This recipe, while not as perfect as the outdoor smoking, did help with my craving. It is quite easy to make although the cooking process takes time. I made my own bbq sauce for this dish, which I'll share tomorrow, but you could substitute your favorite kind of store bought or your own homemade sauce.

Indoor Pulled Pork
Cook's Illustrated Jan/Feb 2010

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons table salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1 boneless pork butt (about 5 lbs), cut in half horizontally
1/4 cup yellow mustard
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons smoked paprika (you can substitute sweet)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Dissolve 1 cup salt, 1/2 cup sugar, and 3 tablespoons liquid smoke in 4 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge pork in brine, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

While pork brines, combine mustard and remaining 2 teaspoons liquid smoke in small bowl; set aside. Combine black pepper, paprika, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, remaining 2 teaspoons salt, and cayenne pepper in second small bowl; set aside. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.

Remove pork from brine and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Rub mustard mixture over entire surface of each piece of pork. Sprinkle entire surface of each piece with spice mixture. Place pork on wire rack set inside foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Place sheet of parchment paper over pork, then cover with aluminum foil, sealing edges to prevent moisture from escaping. Roast pork for 3 hours.

Remove pork from oven; remove and discard foil and parchment. Carefully pour off liquid in bottom of baking sheet into a fat separator and reserve for the sauce. Return pork to oven and cook, uncovered, until well browned, tender, and internal temperature registers 200 degrees on instant read thermometer, about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer pork to serving dish; tent loosely with foil, and rest for 20 minutes.

To serve: Using 2 forks, shred pork into bite-sized pieces. Toss with one cup sauce and season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.