Black Bean Tortilla Chips

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

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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. 

Refried Black Bean Tostadas with Mango Salsa and Avocado Cream

Spring is happening, my plants are popping out of the ground, I found a gigantic rhubarb patch in the back yard of the new house.... Life is feeling fresh full of possibilities. And soon, so soon, 'll get some veggie plants in the ground and the farm share begins.... life will be filled with all the freshest yummy foods. I can't wait.

But until then, I grocery shop. And this week has been a good week for shopping. Why, cause it CInco de Mayo this week ,which is one of my favorite holidays cause avocados, mangoes, and limes all go on crazy sale. I can buy 20 avocados for the price of what like 5 would normally cost. And I take full advantage of the sales (my fridge is currently housing a shit tone of avocados, mangoes, and limes) I will be eating like a queen for days!

And what does one make with all these good things? Well I made tostada! A tostada is pretty much a cross between a taco and a humngo, fully loaded nacho. Stuff all piled high onto a crispy (usually fried but I bake mine) corn tortilla. Its fantastic in all the ways and super simple to make. This particular tostada highlights all the good stuff on sale, Mango salsa , avocados cream with lots of lime, all onto a pile of the yummiest refried black beans. (my mouth is watering thinking about it),

And people, Cinco de Mayo is but once a year, but these tostada should be made all year round!

The stuff. Precooked (or canned) black beans, a sweet ripe mango, an avocado, some shredded red cabbage one red onion, one jalapeno, and a few limes. Also need a few cloves of garlic, at least 4 corn tortillas (mine are home made but you can get store bought) some coconut oil, slt ans pepper, and a bunch of fresh cilantro.

Start with making the mango salsa. Cut the mango into little chucks. ( I do this but halving mango, scoring each side into chunks then scooping the fruit out with a spoon..easy) Dice half of the red onion into little pieces as well as the seeded jalapeno. Toss it all into a bowl or jar, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper, mix in the juice of a lime, and add in as much fresh cilantro as you like (or none if oyu don't like)

There is it, mango salsa.

To make the avocado cream just place the avocado (peel and pit removed) into a bowl or blender with a clove of garlic, the juice of a lime, a splash of water, and a sprinkle or two of salt. Blend until smooth, adding more water until the consistency is to you liking.

That's it.

And now for the beans. Start by tiny dicing up the other half of the onion and a few cloves of garlic and place into a skillet with a teaspoon or two of coconut oil. (can use any oil you like). Add in a splash of water and a sprinkle of salt an place on stove on medium heat and cook.

After the onions have gotten nice and soft, dump in the bean (liquid and all) Keep onheat and cook until the beans are hot and the liquid starts to thicken.

Grab a fork. Fork to beans. Mash'em up to make them officially refried.

And lastly, a little oil rubbed onto the corn tortillas and then placed into a hot oven to get crispy.

All the stuff, ready to go.... And go there, go there NOW!!!

Beans, cabbage, mango salsa, and avocado cream, all piled onto a toasted, crispy tortilla. A few fresh sprigs of cilantro and a slice of lime... This is for real something all amazing.

Eat the greatness (and not just for Cinco de Mayo)

-C

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Refried Black Bean Tostadas with Mango Salsa and Avocado Cream

Makes 4-6 tostadas

mango salsa stuff

• 1 ripe mango
• 1 jalapeno
• 1/2 a red onion
• 1 lime
• salt and pepper
• fresh cilantro*

for the refried black beans

• 2 cups (1 can) prepared black beans
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 red onion
• 1-2teaspoons coconut oil (can use any oil you like)

 the avocado cream

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 lime
• salt and pepper
• a tablespoon or two of water

and the following

• 4-6 corn tortillas
• small bowl of thinly shredded red cabbage
• a little extra oil for tortillas
• fresh cilantro *

Note. Omit cilantro if you don't like it.

Start with making the salsa cause the longer it sits, the better it tastes. Cut mango away form pit and score each half into cubes with a knife. Garb a spoon and scoop the mango meat away from the skin. Stick into a bowl. Finely chop half a red onion and de-seed the jalapeno and dice that up too and toss all that into with the mango. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, add in the juice of a lime and add in as much or as little fresh cilantro as you like. Set aside. Also while your at it, toss the cabbage with a little salt and that that sit out as well.

Preheat oven to 400

Now on to the Avocado cream. Place avocado (sans peel and pit) into a blender (or a a bowl and use a hand blender) with the juice of a lime and a clove of garlic. Blend until smooth, adding about 2-3 tablespoons of water until nice ans creamy smooth. Add salt to taste and mix.

Next take the other half of the red onion and dice into very small little pieces. Mince up the garlic and toss both into a pan with a teaspoon or 2 of coconut oil and a few splashes of water. Cook on medium low until onion is nice and soft. Add in black beans (bean water and all) and mix together. Season with salt (if needed...canned beans are usually salty enough) and pepper. Continue to cook beans until hot and bubbly then take a fork or a potato masher and smash the beans until a the beans are all mushed and refried like. Feel free to make then smoother by sticking them in a blender if you want. Add more water to thin out as well.

And lastly, get those corn tortillas into the oven to crisp up. What I did is took a bit of coconut oil and coasted my hands with it then rubbed the tortillas on both side. Or you can brush on melted oil if you don't want to do that. When lightly oiled, stick them into the oven and bake until crispy, flipping them after about 4 minutes and finishing after another 4-5. (you can gauge your liking on crispy)

Now compile the tostadas

Take a crispy tortilla, smother with refried beans, top with a little red cabbage then a big scoop (or two) or the mango salsa and a big spoonful of avocado cream. Add more fresh cilantro on top and serve with a slice of lime..

No utensils needed, just eat with your hands.

Pico de Gallo… Super Freshy Salsa

 Happy Cinco de Mayo! And what better day to share my version of  my oh so fantastic pico de gallo, or as I call it, super freshy salsa.

I love me some freshy salsa, It makes me oh so happy. 

 I make this stuff all the time, especially during the warmer months and tomato season. I usually make a batch right before a meal, just enough to eat right away, but sometimes I 'll make a big batched of it, thinking I'll save some for the next day.   It never makes it past the second day in the fridge because it's just one of those things that when you see it, you want to eat it. Weird but true. And it's totally ok to do so cause it's basically eating a big bowl of healthy goodness, so eat on!

It takes no time to prepare, tastes super refreshing, goes on everything, and it's just so freaking tasty. You can eat it with tacos and chips (the mister) or like me, I like to add it to everything; salads, popcorn, or directly in my mouth. 

Make one batch, make 4, it doesn't matter cause you will eat it all, and need to make more.

The stuff. Chopped Roma tomatoes, chopped red onion, a diced jalapeño, lemon, a bunch of cilantro, and salt.

Stick all the chopped stuff into a jar and add in the juice of the lemon. Roughly chop the cilantro and add that on in with a sprinkle of salt. 

Mix it up….And thats it. Now eat… with something or without.

A spoon out of the jar is one of my favorite ways to go at it.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, Happy Tuesday!

-C

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Pico de Gallo… Freshy Salsa

• 4-5 Roma Tomatoes
• 1 small red onion
• 1-2 jalapeños (Depending on heat preference)
• 1 lemon or lime
• salt
• 1 bunch of cilantro (don't use it if you don't like it)

Chop tomatoes and onion and toss into a bowl or jar.  Cut seeds from jalapeño(s) and dice up into little bitty pieces and add that to the tomato and onion. Roughly chop the cilantro and toss that in as well with the juice of the lemon or lime. Sprinkle with salt. Stir, let sit for a minutes, taste and then add more salt if needed. 

Eat right away or make ahead and store in the fridge until ready to use.

Goes great with corn chips, tacos, toss onto salads or eat as is standing in front of the fridge. If someone is judging you, they are stupid.