Black Bean and Chicken Burritos

Posted by thinman on Sun, Aug 3, 08 at 14:03

Here's my recipe for black bean and chicken burritos, modified a little by my daughter and taken almost verbatim from her blog, since why would I want to spend all that time typing it out when she has done it for me, and a better job to boot?
Here's what you'll need:

2 to 3 chicken breasts (You can cheat on this one and use precooked chicken strips)
1 can of Black Beans, rinsed (DD apparently rinses her beans. I don't. TM)
1/2 an onion
About a 1/2 cup of Taco sauce (I use Ortega) or salsa
1/4 cup of water
Shredded cheese, chopped lettuce and tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, avocado and sour cream (all optional)
Tortillas (if you want to treat yourself, buy the Tortilla Land fresh tortillas at Costco, if you live near Costco and have a membership and fry them in olive oil--totally puts precooked tortillas to shame.)

Cook the chicken breasts through, then shred or chop into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

Sauté the onion in olive oil (or whatever kind of fat you happen to have). When it begins turning transparent, add the black beans, chicken, taco sauce or salsa and water. Simmer until heated through. (I usually have to simmer mine a while to reduce it to a nice consistency. TM)

Scoop the cooked chicken/black bean mixture into your tortilla, add cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and roll. Place a glop of sour cream on top, and, if you want to get fancy, fan a few avocado slices and a sprinkling of cilantro and green onions across the top.

Natillas (a Mexican dessert)

Posted by lorna-organic on Thu, Jan 31, 08 at 11:10

This pudding is light and slightly foamy. I love the flavor and texture. BTW, the unfortunate witch hunt regarding eggs has gone by the wayside. Current thinking is that an egg a day has no detrimental effect regarding cholesterol.

NATILLAS (pronounced Nah-tee-yahs) a Mexican dessert
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup flour
1 quart milk (4 cups)
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg, plus 1/4 tsp. cinnamon


Use a whisk to make a paste of egg yolks, flour and 1 cup of the milk. In a medium saucepan add the sugar and salt to the remaining milk and scald at medium temperature. Add the egg yolk mixture to the scalded milk, whilst stirring constantly to prevent the egg from curdling. Add vanilla and continue to cook, and stir, at medium heat until it reaches the consistency of soft custard. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry, fold gently into the custard. Spoon custard into individual serving dishes. Chill well before serving. Sprinkle each pudding with spices before serving.

**If you goof, and the custard curdles (bits of cooked egg) during cooking, put the mixture through a sieve before folding in the egg whites. The sieve will remove any curdled egg. Hint: a tiny dash of salt, or cream of tartar, helps egg whites to beat up nice and fluffy.

Cultural note: Mexican folk healers use cinnamon as a laxative.