Baked Black Bean Flautas

So....I'm not sure if anyone is still looking at this blog anymore but I still think of recipes to post on here all of the time.  So if nothing else, I know where they will always be, once I get them all posted haha

A friend of mine brought something very similar to this to us the week after I had Warren and we loved them so I found a recipe on Pinterest that is very comparable.  I've made it a few times for us (and I made it for Serena & Ryan's family recently too).  This is honestly a super easy recipe and I usually have all of the ingredients on hand.

The one change I made, was instead of adding water to the beans when cooking I added the juice drained from Rotel tomatoes.

(credit given to: http://vittlesandbits.blogspot.com/2010/05/oven-crisp-black-bean-flautas.html)

Oven-Crisp Black Bean Flautas

• 1 t. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1/2 t. onion powder
• 1 t. chili powder
• 1 T. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 10 oz. can mild Rotel diced tomatoes & chiles, drained
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/2 C. Monterey Jack cheese (or whatever type you prefer)
• 5 10" flour tortillas
• canola oil, for brushing

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook about 1 minute until fragrant.

Add 1/2 C. water along with beans, onion powder, chili powder and cilantro.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer about 10 minutes until most of water is evaporated.

Remove pan from heat and smash beans with back of spoon or immersion blender until mixture is thickened but still chunky, with some whole beans left.  Stir in salt & Rotel, and allow mixture to cool.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Coat baking sheet with cooking spray, or line with nonstick foil.

Microwave tortillas in 10 second intervals until soft & pliable.  Spoon a heaping 1/3 C. mixture in a line down center of each tortilla and sprinkle cheese on top.

Fold in sides on either end of the line, and then roll tortilla tightly around filling.  Secure end with a toothpick and set on baking sheet with seam side down.

Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops of the flautas with oil and place baking sheet in oven until crisp, about 10 minutes.  Serve with guacamole, sour cream, and/or salsa.  (I would also recommend cutting them in half to let them cool... the filling stays really hot in the enclosed tortilla!)

Cilantro Lime Slaw

Can I just say.....I love this stuff!!!  I got this recipe off of makeit-loveit.com and it is supposed to be served on top of sweet pork tacos.  Pork tacos will never be the same without it! But I've also taken it to a few BBQ's and potlucks just as a coleslaw and it's been a hit every time!  I'm only posting the slaw recipe but if you want the pork recipe just let me know...it's delish too!

1 package Cole Slaw or whole shredded cabbage (red cabbage is good!)
1 c. Mayonnaise
1 c. cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper or a dash of your favorite hot sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. Lime juice
1/2 tsp. Cumin

Combine all but slaw in a mini food processor-or chop and combine by hand (I just chop the cilantro and garlic, whisk the other ingredients together, then add the cilantro and garlic).  Mix desired amount of dressing with slaw mix no more than 30 minutes before serving.  **If you use a head of cabbage, I would recommend using half of it then see if you need more if needed. 

-If you try it, let me know what you think!

Thai Peanut Noodles

I saw this is the Our Best Bites cookbook and it said it was one of the favorites on the blog so I thought I’d give it a try. It’s also on their site http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/09/thai-peanut-noodles/. I kept putting off trying this, but we were given a ton of peanuts for Christmas so I thought it was a good time to test it. It’s super easy and Everybody loved it, Allie especially. She still talks about it. I liked it except I think I didn’t cook enough noodles and the sauce was too powerful, but that’s just because I don’t know how to judge how many noodles to make, is there a secret way to measure them? How do you judge how many noodles to make?! Here’s the Recipe:

Thai Peanut Noodles
1/2 c. chicken broth
3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
1-2 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce (1 is mild with a bite, 1.5 is medium, 2 is hot)
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
8 oz. Udon or linguine noodles
Chopped green onions
Chopped cilantro
2 limes, cut into quarters
Chopped peanuts

Cook noodles in salted water. In the meantime, combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until smooth and remove from heat. Toss cooked noodles with sauce and divide among 4 bowls. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, chopped peanuts, and garnish each serving with 2 lime quarters. Before eating, squeeze lime juice over noodles and stir to combine.

I didn’t do the Sriracha chili sauce because I couldn’t find it, and I was afraid of having it hot. We will be having this again.