The mr has a soft spot for tortilla chips. He doesn't get chips often, but when he does it is usually the super fried, super salty, in a plastic bag, tortilla chips. And I am ok with that because it is not often and the dude deserves chips when he wants them. But I hate how crappy they are for him, especially all the salt. So much salt that I can smell it in my mouth (yes, I said that right). So, as with everything else we eat in the house, I now make chips from scratch. (Slowly I have eliminated just about everything that is pre packaged and started making it myself. I think it's pretty much just the dried pasta and the mr's yogurt and cheese that I haven't gotten to.Yet.) This way he can eat his chips and I don't have to sit there tasting the smell and thinking about the crap that he is eating. I know I say this a lot, but lets just take a minute here and acknowledge how I really am the best girlfriend ever.
Ok, now about these chips. I have made plan tortilla chips a few times before and figured it was time for a twist. In come black beans. Why, because I was pretty sure beans were going to be awesome, and lo and behold, I was completely right. Adding the beans take little to no more effort then making the chips without, and bonus here, more fiber and protein and good stuff going into a chip. Then they are lightly oil, lightly salted, and eaten without any guilt because I made them and they are the best. Seriously, the mr thinks they are amazing and doesn't miss those pre package ones a bit. And sure, they might take a little time and minimal effort, but really they are super easy and the time and effort to make them is probably no more then going into a store, waiting in line to pay, and driving home to eat your chips. You can have these chip made in that amount of time. So you might as well just make them.
To the chips.
The stuff. Masa harnia, black beans, water, salt, and a little oil. There should be a lemon or lime here too, but I forgot to stick it into the picture. Oops.
Pretty easy. Add the beans to a food processor and blend untill completely smooth. Add in the masa and pulse then gradually add in water until a dough forms. Stop and feel the dough. If it feels like play dough and comes together into ball easily, then you are good. If it is to wet, add a little more masa, to dry, more water.
Dump the dough onto the counter and form into a ball. Place the doguh into a bowl and cover with a damp closer for 15-30 minutes to let the dough rest.
After the rest, divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Place the balls onto a damp cloth and cover while you are making the tortillas so they don't dry out.
To flatten those balls into tortillas. After doing this a bunch of times, I have a system that works the best for me. I use a large ziplock bag (the plastic is a little thicker and easier to deal with, plus I don't use plastic wrap), a cutting board, and a rolling pin. Place a dough ball into the center of the bag then take the cutting board and press directly on top, placing all your weight onto it. It gets flat, but not flat enough so take the rolling pin and flatten some more. Then press the rolled out dough with the cutting board one last time. Carefuly remove from bag and place direrely onto a hot dry skillet.
Cook each side 3-4 minutes or until it starts to get a few light brown spots. Once cooked, place on a plate or baking sheet. If I were just making tortillas, I would place then in between a kitchen towel to keep them warm, but because they are destined for chips and don't care.
Black bean corn tortillas. Hey, you could stop here and make a taco or something if you need to. Feel free to use a tortilla or two before using the rest to make the into chips.
So chips. Grab baking sheets, oil, salt, a knife, and the tortillas. Take a few of the tortillas and oil them. (The easiest way I found to do this is to rub oil on with my hands then rub the oil onto the tortillas. ) Oil 3 at a time, stacked them on top of each other and cut into 8 triangles,
Get as many of the triangles onto a baking sheet as you can, without overlapping. Once all nice and tight, sprinkle the tops with salt and pop them into preheated oven.
Pull the chips out of the oven when they are crispy and done (about 10 minutes) then squeeze a little lemon juice all over the chips. Toss around and pop the pan back into the oven for another minute or two just so the juice doesn't leave the chips soggy.
Dump cooked chips onto a wire rack to cool. Eat as you work, you deserve it.
Pile chips into a bowl, and serve with some salsa or guacamole or whatever you eat you chips with. They are your chips.
-C
Black Bean Tortilla Chips
Makes 98 chips, or like a good sized bag worth
- 2 cups masa harina
- 1 cup cooked black beans in bean juice
- 1- 1 1/4 cups warm water
- couple teaspoons neutral oil (I used grape seed oil)
- 2-3 teaspoons salt
- A lemon or lime
Beans go into a food processor and blended until completely smooth. Add in the masa and blend, slowly adding 3/4 cups water until a dough starts to forms. Stop and check dough. It should feel like play dough and come together easilty onto a ball. If it feel wet, add in a couple of tablespoons more of the masa. If it is still too dry and crumbly, add in more water until it's to the right consistnacey. Dump dough onto counter and form in a ball. Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp towel and let sit for abut 15-30 minutes.
Preheat a skillet on medium high heat on stove.
Once dough has rested, divide into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Place balls onto a damp towel and cover when not working with them. Grab a large ziplock bag, a cutting board, and a rolling pin. Take a dough ball and place in the center of the bag. Press down with the cutting board, placing all your weight on top. It got flat, but not flat enough. Continue to flatten out with the rolling pin until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Press again one last time with the cutting board. Gently remove from bag and place directly onto the hot skillet. Cook each side for 3-4 minutes or until it starts to get a few light brown spot. Place cooked tortilla on a baking sheet or in between a kitchen towel. Repeat until all 12 dough balls are cooked into tortillas.
Preheat oven to 375
Working in 3's. dump a little oil onto your hand then lightly rub it all over the tortillas. Stack them on top of each other then cut into 8 wedged. Place wedges onto a baking sheet, get as many as you can onto sheet without any overlapping, then sprinkle with salt. to taste. If you have them, use multiple baking sheets. Place in oven for about 10-12 minutes or until the chips are crispy. Remove and sprinkle lemon juice all over the chips. Toss around and place back into oven for a minute or two just until lth lemon juice evaporates. Remove and dump chips onto a wire rack to cool.
Eat chips. Any left over can be placed into a airtight container or bag and will last about 3-4 days.
And that's how I know that this is a winner. 
As an awesome aunt, when I have any of my nieces or nephews, I feel the need to make something special for dinner, something that the kiddos might not get very often, but also keep it on he healthy side. I have 2 littles for the night which gives me the perfect opportunity for a trash food recipe. You know trash food, things like boxed mac and cheese, beefaroni in a can, or, in this case, sloppy joes. 
The stuff… We start with onion and green pepper, chopped into pieces. Black beans, bulgur, can crushed tomatoes. Chili powder, garlic powder, a bit o apple cider vinegar (which I forgot to picture) ,and some salt and pepper. Oh and cheese if you want… Plus a bun of some sort is necessary.
Toss the chopped onion and peppers into a deep skillet or pot with a drizzle of oil. Cook on medium heat until tender and toss in the spices. Give a stir. Add in the beans, bulgur, and tomato, a splash of vinegar. Stir it all up, cover, and let simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the bulgur has absorbed the liquid and is nice and tender.
And Then dump a good heaping pile right onto a bun. Add some cheese, or not..and eat with wild abandonment, making sure to get as much on your face as you get in you mouth. 
Beans are in a pot filled with water unit beans are completely sumerged. Add in the onion, jalapeño, tomato paste and cajun seasoning. Bring to a boil then cover with a lid and simmer for about 45 minutes….. After about a half hour, start up the rice. Water in pot with rice, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. 
The rice is done and fluffed with at fork. The beans are cooked with just the tiniest bit of bite, bathing in a thick spicy tomatoey sauce. The chunks of onion and jalapeño have broken down and are hiding in every bite…. Oh so good!
Bringing a little spice and nice to this crazy cold winter day or any fun festivities you may have planned. 
