Best Beans on PumpernickelToast

Day 364

Best Beans on PumpernickelToast

Jamie Oliver Recipe for Best Beans

Today, I was flipping through the flyers and I noticed a Jamie Oliver recipe for Best Beans. The beans looked really good, so without really reading the recipe at all, I perused the ingredients, checked the pantry and picked up what we needed for it while I was out.

Jamie Oliver recipe for Best Beans

When I was ready to start making it, I realized that the recipe was actually kind of complicated AND took long time to cook - longer than I was prepared to wait. After a moment of panic (NOW what do I do with the beans I just cooked?) and a discussion with Laura, I decided to make it, but make it our way, not Jamie Oliver's way.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup pinto beans (instead of a can of white kidney beans like his recipe)
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, chopped fine
6 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 small Kellogg's Breakfast tomatoes, chopped
10 small cloves of garlic, minced fine
1/3 orange pepper, chopped fine
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp salt

Onions, pepper & tomatoes

Directions

Cook the beans and set aside. Sauté the onions and peppers in the oil just until they begin to soften but not brown. Add the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and 1/2 cup water.

Beans & sautéing veggies

Once most of the liquid has cooked out and the vegetables are soft, add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, chipotle powder.

Adding spices to tomato mixture

Stir it up then add 1/2 the beans and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and then begin mashing the beans.

Adding beans to tomato mixture

Mix the other half of the beans in and continue cooking on medium low heat until they are heated through.

Erin's Best Beans

We went with pumpernickel and it was a great choice. Toast and butter the bread and serve the beans on it.

Pumpernickel bread

Sprinkle a bit of grated cheddar over top like Jamie Oliver does. ;)

Best Beans on toast 

Reviews/Comments

Laura gives it a 12. I agree, the beans were probably the best ones we've made. Total 10. Inspired by Jamie Oliver, but not his recipe. Might try his some other time, when I'm feeling like fussing over dinner. It called for rosemary infused oil, and while we still have rosemary in the garden, I just wasn't feeling it...way too friggy for my mood today!

More Sweet Potato Burritos

Day 352

Sweet Potato Burritos 

Aw, Man! Burritos Again?

Having yummy sweet potato burritos a second night since there was more of everything left over. And also, yum.

How To Prepare Leftover Burritos

The sweet potatoes and refried beans were reheated in separate saucepans with a couple tablespoons of water in each pot. Heat on medium and stir.

Also, warm tortillas one at a time in a dry frying pan. Grate some cheese.

Reheating sweet potatoes

Reheating refried beans

Burrito Assembly

Warm the tortilla in a dry frying pan. Scoop the reheated beans and sweet potatoes into the center.

 Warm tortilla with beans and sweet potato

Add some grated cheddar.

Warmed tortilla with beans and sweet potato

Fold into burrito by flipping the bottom of the burrito toward the center, then each side toward the center. Try to keep it tight like wrapping a baby.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, chives, tomatoes, or whatever else you think sounds good.

Sweet Potato Burritos 

Reviews/Comments

Even better than last night, so 11.

Sweet Potato Burritos

Day 351

Sweet Potato Burritos

This was my 2nd supper, since I had dinner at Mom's for Alyssa's 9th birthday. She served spaghetti with salad and garlic cheese bread. They made a meatless sauce just for me, but Jacob had some too.

Meatless Spaghetti & Salad

Later, I couldn't resist having a sweet potato burrito despite already having eaten because they're just so good.

Here is the original recipe.

Here is the first time we made this.

Here is the last time we made it.

Here are some pics Laura took while making it today.

Sautéing onions

Cooked pinto beans

Minced garlic, oregano, jalapenos

Our salsa

Sweet Potato Burritos

Reviews/Comments

Two 10's. Absolutely perfect.

Burritos Extraordinaire

Day 331

Burritos Extraordinaire

Day three of Mexican fare, and I'll take it. We had yet more salsa fresca, as well as leftover beans, so Laura made a few more tortillas and we made burritos. They're just like huevos racheros but without the eggs, haha.

Burritos Extraordinaire

Ingredients
Fresh, homemade tortillas
Re-refried beans
Salsa fresca (day 3)
Grated cheddar
Sour cream
Sliced avocado

Tortilla cooking

Re-refried beans

Salsa fresca

Good & Healthy

I love that this meal is fairly healthy and definitely full of nutrients, not to mention protein. It also has some naughtiness in the sour cream and cheese, but those ingredients are served in smaller amounts than the huge dollop of beans and the generous helping of fresh, raw vegetables. Not to mention the health benefits the avocado adds.

Burrito, unwrapped

Reviews/Comments

I did buy more cheddar for this and it was year-old cheese. OMG, sooooo good. The salsa fresca was all the better for having had a chance to set for a few days and the flavors have melded. There is still more, and we're going to divide it and have it with tortilla chips for snacks at work tomorrow.

Huevos Rancheros

Day 330

Laura and I love, love, love huevos and we have been making them for nearly 10 years. This will be one of the meals we will have to give up when we go vegan. Well, we can still have a version of them, but they will just be called burritos.

Huevos Rancheros

Huevos Rancheros

We had a couple of tortillas and a lot of salsa fresca left over from last night, so this is what we came up with.

Huevos Rancheros Recipe
I posted the recipe for this on my Favorite Recipes page, so if you're inclined to make it Laura-style, here's the recipe. (rather than reinvent the wheel)

Refried beans
2 cups pinto beans
1 Ancho pepper
1 jalapeno pepper
1 Anaheim pepper
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp cuming
2 tsp salt
3 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp chipotle powder

Refried beans

Poached eggs
1.5 quarts water
2 eggs
1/3 cup vinegar
Leftover salsa fresca

Tortillas
Laura makes amazing tortillas; way better than the store-bought kind.

Tortilla warming

Salsa fresca

3 Purple Cherokee tomatoes

2 Kellogg's Breakfast tomatoes

2 jalapenos

1 green Flavorburst pepper

20 grape tomatoes, halved

1 onion, diced small

6 small cloves of garlic

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Sprinkle of cumin

Juice of 1 1/2 limes

Salsa fresca

Serve with:
Sour cream
Grated cheddar

Cheese & sour cream

Huevos rancheros

Reviews/Comments

Excellent, as always. 10's.

Fajitas

Day 329

Fajitas

Salsa Fresca

Made with the world's finest ingredients, Laura's garden-fresh salsa fresca is a colorful delight that is sure to please even the most discerning of palates. (I should write ad copy, right?)

Ingredients

3 Purple Cherokee tomatoes

2 Kellogg's Breakfast tomatoes

2 jalapenos

1 green Flavorburst pepper

20 grape tomatoes, halved

1 onion, diced small

6 small cloves of garlic

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Sprinkle of cumin

Juice of 1 1/2 limes

Salsa fresca ingredients

Salsa fresca

Fajitas

Again, Laura did all the slaving. All I did was slice some peppers and grill the "chicken" and avocado.

Fajita Ingredients

1 red pepper, sliced

1 yellow pepper, sliced

1 Ancho pepper, slivered

2 onions, sliced

3 vegetarian chicken breasts, grilled

4 cloves minced garlic

Cumin

Paprika

Smoked paprika

Onion powder

1/2 lime (juice)

3 - 4 tbsp water

2 tsp corn starch

Ancho pepper

Fajita Directions

Grill the veggies until slightly soft, then sprinkle cumin, smoked paprika, chipotle powder, regular paprika and onion powder on top and mix in with juice of half a lime, the water and corn starch and simmer until right consistency, then stir in 4 cloves minced garlic.

Grill the "chicken" breasts and slice them. Add to the veggie mixture. Serve on Laura's homemade tortillas. If you can't find Laura's homemade tortillas, settle for some store-bought ones or get Laura's recipe. It's worth it.

Sliced fajita veggies

Tortilla dough

Preparing Avocados

2 avocados 

1/2 lime

1 tbsp olive oil

Sprinkle of sea salt

Halve and pit the avocados, brush the olive oil and squeeze the lime over them and sprinkle with sea salt. Grill fruit side down for 3 minutes.

Grilled avocados

Making Fajitas

Place a grilled avocado on the plate and spoon some salsa on top of it. Serve with sour cream and green onions. Place tortilla on your plate and spoon some chicken/veggie mixture on it. Wrap tightly. 

Serving fajitas

Fajita

Reviews/Comments

This was as good as it looks. I love that you can eat something this delicious and get tons of nutrition to boot.

Pimped Out Jalapeno Popper Black Bean Burgers

Day 256

I love the idea of veggie burgers that have lots of protein without the soy. I could eat veggie burgers at least 3 times a week.

Pimped Out Jalapeno Popper Black Bean Burgers

Pimped Out Burgers

We had these last night but tonight we made a couple improvements:

1. Diced some portobello mushrooms to give it a better bite/texture. Didn't really work. Well, the texture was better, but they didn't hold together better.

Portabellos

2. Added more salt. I know you can't see it in the pic, but it's there.

Burger mixture

Burgers with cheese on the grill

3. Used more toppings. Last night we just had cheese, ketchup and mustard on these. Tonight we had:

• Avocado/lime spread
• Tomato
• Lettuce
• Garlic dills
• Grilled mushrooms

 Tomato slices

Laura's pimped out burger

My pimped out burger

Reviews/Comments

They were impossible to eat but sooooo effing gooood. Got a 10 from me. Laura gave them a 9. Said they'd be a 10 if they'd stay together.