Chicken Quesadilla with Black Bean Mango Salsa

Ingredients (Black Bean Mango Salsa)
1 can black beans (rinsed) or make your own from scratch!
1 mango (chopped)
1 handful of cilantro (chopped)
1 lime (freshly squeezed)

Directions (Black Bean Mango Salsa)
1. You’ll want to have this prepared ahead of time so it will be cool and refreshing.
2. Rinse black beans.  Place in bowl.
3. Peel and chop mango.  Add to bowl.
4. Chop handful of cilantro.  Add to bowl.
5. Squeeze lime into bowl.
6. Mix all together and then place in refrigerator to chill.

Ingredients (Quesadilla)
Tortillas of your choice
Chicken meat of your choice (I used dark) ~ for this dish I used 2 chicken thighs and chopped finely
1/2 of a red, orange, yellow pepper (chopped finely)
1/4 of an onion (chopped finely)
1 to 2 handfuls of spinach (chopped)
1 to 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 avocado (sliced)
1 to 2 tablespoons sour cream
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
dash of salt and pepper

Directions (Quesadilla)
1. Heat pot to medium heat.  Add olive oil.
2. Add chicken (cook for 5 to 10 minutes).  Then place on the side.
3. Add onion, peppers, garlic, salt and pepper.  Saute for 5 minutes or so.
4.  Add chicken back to veggie mix.
5. Heat another skillet to medium heat for tortilla’s.
6. Add a touch olive oil to skillet.  Spread around so it covers entire skillet.
7.  Once heated enough, place tortilla in skillet.
8. Add cheese to one side.
9. Add spinach on top of cheese.
10. Add chicken and veggie mixture on top of cheese.
11. Add some more spinach to that (if you’d like).
12. Add some more cheese on top.
13. Fold over the tortilla with spatula.  Press down once folded.
14. Let it cook for about 5 minutes.  Flip.  Cook other side for same amount of time.
15. Place onto your most lovely serving dish.  Add black bean mango salsa to top.  Add avocado and sour cream to the side, and then place at your lovely seat to be eaten.
16. Turn off all distractions, sit down by yourself or with your family, take a few deep breaths, say how much gratitude you have for your food, your family, your life and dig in, slowly and savor the deliciousness!

©  2011 Renee Yemma ® All Rights Reserved.

Renee C. Yemma, Holistic Health Coach.  She is a mother, writer, teacher, coach, photographer and so much more.  To receive weekly healthy living articles on loving delicious, nutritious foods and putting YOU first without feeling guilty about it, visit www.reneeyemma.com.

Chicken Quesadilla with Black Bean Mango Salsa is a post from: TasteForCooking

Ingredients:

3 large green plantains
1 medium white onion, chopped
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
4 to 6 garlic cloves mashed
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups chicken stock
juice of 1 lemon

Cut ends of off the plantains and peel.  Cut them into chunks.  You may find it easier to cut them first and then peel.

Bring the plantains to a boil, then lower heat, cover and simmer until tender.  This will typically take 20 to 30 minutes.  Test with fork for tenderness.  Keep the bananas in broth until you are ready to mash them. 

In a separate pan cook onions in olive oil for 3 to 5 minutes on low heat.  Add garlic and sauté for a few more minutes.  Mash the bananas with the broth (add 1/2 of a cup of broth or water at a time until desired consistency – should be like mashed potatoes.)  Add in oil, onions and garlic.  Add in lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.  I personally also like to add some chopped fresh parsley or cilantro.

Serve as a side dish or you can top with bacon bits, pork cracklings (Chicharrón) or masas de puerco (fried pork chunks) and have as a meal.

You can also make this with sweet plantains, or even medium ripe plantains for a sweeter taste.  With the sweeter plantains we suggest 4 plantains, 4 strips of bacon (cooked until crispy and chopped) 1 medium onion and 4 to 6 cloves of garlic.  Cook your bacon and then in the pan drippings cook the onion for 3 to 4 minutes over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Discard all of the bacon drippings except for 2 tablespoons.  Add to the bananas and mash with onion and garlic mixture.

Dominican Mangu:  Use the same unripe plantains and boil until tender.  They add in 4 tablespoons of butter instead of the olive oil, as well as 2 red onions, 1 tablespoon vinegar and 1 cup of cold water to mash together with the softened plantains.  I saw another version that used milk instead of water.  Will have to try the Dominican version to compare the taste to the Cuban fufu.  This is traditionally eaten for breakfast along with fried eggs.

Fufu de Platano Cubano Receta: Green Plantain Mash Recipe is a post from: TasteForCooking

As a side I made a Risotto with Asparagus and Mushrooms – it was great with it.

Pan-Grilled Snapper with Chimichurri Recipe – Even the Kids liked it ! is a post from: TasteForCooking

Prep Time: 20 minutes       Cook Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

* 1 lb dry lentils (you can soak 1 hour before cooking or rinse them off and let the cook longer)
* 1 onion
* 2 carrots
* 2 celery stalks
* 2 garlic cloves
* 2 Tbsp Spanish virgin olive oil
* 1 packet of Sazon Goya Con Azafran (found in the spice section of most stores, comes in a box)
* 1 Tbsp ground cumin
* salt and pepper to taste

Variations: you can also add potatoes to this while it is cooking. If you don’t want to make this vegetarian version you can always add cubes of ham or a ham bone (this will increase the saltiness)

Preparation:
Note: Preparation time does not include 1 hour for soaking the lentils before cooking (which is optional)

• Rinse lentils in a strainer. Place lentils into a medium sauce pan and cover with water. Soak for 1 hour if you can.

• Peel the carrots and cut into slices about 1/2-inch thick. Cut the celery stalks into slices. Peel and mince garlic cloves. Chop the onion. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes (if you are using them).

• Pour the oil into a large pot and heat on medium. When oil is hot, add the vegetables and sauté for 5 minutes.

• Add lentils, Goya Sazon, and Cumin to pot and add enough water to the pot to cover everything. Bring the water to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer or low for about 2 hours. Check the pot every 20 minutes or so. Add water if/when needed.
• Once it is done add salt and pepper to taste. And we sometimes serve it with white rice and banana chips.

Looking for more recipes? These are the most popular recipes on Taste For Cooking

1. Classic Icebox Cake Recipe
2. Maple Glazed Carrots Recipe
3. Classic Icebox Cake Recipe
4. Cheesy Carrot Casserole Recipe
5. Grape Jelly Meatballs Recipe – Crock pot Recipe classic

Lentil Soup Recipe – Lentejas Recipe is a post from: TasteForCooking

It is possible to make a quick and easy dinner for the family that everyone loves. Make it your own; set up all the parts separately and then explore variations on a theme. The kids can eat black bean and brown rice tacos with guacamole and pico de gallo without hot chili. The grownups can have grilled shrimp, hot sauce…

Love,
gp

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Mexican Dinner Family Style is a post from: TasteForCooking

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 lb skirt or flank steak
2 yellow onions sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 green bell pepper seeded and  cut into strips
1 red bell pepper seeded and cut into thin strips
1/3 cup tequila
1/2 lime, juiced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Flour tortillas

Directions: 

1.  In a shallow bowl, whisk tequila, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, cumin, cilantro and red pepper flakes.
2.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade (refrigerate until ready to use)
3.  Add meat to the bowl & rub marinade on all sides.
4.  Cover & refrigerate at least 2 hours. Can marinate overnight.
5.  When you are ready to cook the meat, pre-heat your BBQ.
6.  Grill beef – using the marinade you had set aside to brush onto meat every couple of minutes until beef is done.  (about 9 or 10 minutes for medium rare)
7. If you have room on your grill, as the meat is cooking, place a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cook onions & peppers.
8.  Brush onions & peppers with olive oil and season with a pinch of salt.
     Cook 3 minutes and then turn and cook an additional 3 to 4  minutes or until browned.
9.  Heat flour tortillas in the oven or on the grill.
10. Cut the meat in thin slices.
11.  Mix the meat slices with the onions & peppers.
12.  Serve on flour tortillas with your favorite accomopaniments.

Tips: 
   
Add chopped cilantro to your fajitas
Onions & peppers can be cooked prior to the meat in a pan & kept warm on low heat.
Replace the meat with chicken strips.

Steak Fajita Recipe is a post from: TasteForCooking

Tortilla Facts:

• Mission Foods is one of the leading tortilla producers in the United States.
• Gruma, the parent company of Mission Foods, revolutionized the tortilla-making process by creating Maseca corn flour that allowed for convenient mass production of corn tortillas while preserving their authentic taste.
• All of Mission Foods tortilla plants are kosher.
• The word “tortilla” comes from the Spanish word “torta” which means round cake.
• According to Mayan legend, tortillas were invented by a peasant for his hungry king in ancient times. The first tortillas, which date approximately 10,000 years before Christ, were made of native corn with dried kernel.
• NASA has used flour tortillas on Space shuttle missions since the 1980s. They use tortillas in the place of bread because of the easy clean-up and because the bread crumbs can cause a lot of trouble in space.

Nutritional Information:

• Flour tortillas are a low-fat food and contain iron along with other B vitamins. They have about 115 calories with 2 to 3 grams of fat per serving.(3)
• Corn tortillas are a low-fat, low sodium food and contain calcium, potassium and fiber. An average serving contains about 60 calories and only 1 gram of fat.(4)

For quick, nutritious and versatile meal solutions the entire family can enjoy, log onto www.missionmenus.com.

Tortillas More Popular Than Bread? is a post from: TasteForCooking

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 large white onion, diced
1 cup green pepper, seeded & diced
1 potato, peeled & diced
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 /2 cup white cooking wine (Vino Seco)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 cup water

In large skillet, saute ground meat, onion, pepper and garlic in large skillet over medium heat with a small amount of oil until meat is browned. Drain fat if necessary.

Add tomato sauce, potatoes, wine, vinegar and remaining ingredients. Cover and cook over medium low for 15 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Tips:

1. Variation:  Add 1/2 cup raisins
2. Variation:  Add 1/4 cup pimento stuffed olives
3. Variation:  Add 1/4 cup diced pimentos
4. Variation:  Add 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
5.  Leave out the potatoes & use the left overs for empanadas or taco filling

Picadillo Recipe is a post from: TasteForCooking