Mexican Fiesta Part Dos

By now it's no surprise that I love Mexican food. Luckily for me, TF shares my love of Mexican food, so much so that we've become modern day queso experts. Finding good queso on the east coast has been one of our greatest challenges to date, surpassed only by our many failed attempts to create our own version of the delectable dish. TF and I spent an extended Labor Day weekend in Oklahoma, during which time we tried our hands at yet another queso recipe. 

One day I'll share the recipe that passes our increasingly rigorous standards

This one was our closest yet (and actually good and edible....which is a far step above some of the concoctions we've come up with) but alas, the perfect queso remains just out of reach.

In more successful cooking adventures, I also offered to make TF a dinner of his choosing one night. This was partially a selfish gesture as I welcome any opportunity to test my cooking skills, but since I left him dictate the menu I figured the selfishness was balanced out. Naturally, he requested Mexican (in the form of a chimichanga) and then proceeded to craft a list of various elements that he wanted included in said chimichanga. It was a fairly extensive list, but I felt up to the task.

Step 1: Chicken

As a vegetarian, I rarely find myself working with meat in my recipes. Since I've been unable to convert TF, I knew chicken or beef were going to have to be part of the dish. Unfortunately, the market was sans chicken tenders (which I prefer because they're thinner and cook faster) so I had to settle for a chicken breast. This recipe is really versatile though and the ingredients are completely interchangeable, so feel free to use whatever strikes your fancy.

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast
• Fajita seasoning (to taste)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease baking dish
2. Wash and trim any excess fat from the chicken (I'm super anal about this, even when I'm not the one eating it)
3. Season as desired and bake for 20-35 minutes (depending on meat thickness)
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Slice at an angle into thin strips 

Step 2: Homemade Refried Black Beans

One food area where I feel as though I have been successful in my conversion of TF and his eating habits (although don't tell him this :)) is with black beans. I love a good black bean. As a vegetarian I feel like liking beans is somewhat of a prerequisite and although there are a slew of varieties on the market today, I love the black bean for its versatility. When TF listed off refried beans (or as I like to call them: when bad things happen to otherwise healthy beans) I was determined to not only make them from scratch (and with my beloved black beans) but also healthy. 

Ingredients

Slightly edited from Ellie Krieger

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder, or other chili powder
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed
• 2/3 cup low-sodium vegetable broth, plus more if needed
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat
2. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes
3. Stir in the garlic and chili powder and cook for 1 minute more
4. Stir in the beans and vegetable broth and cook until the beans are warmed through, about 5 minutes
5. Mash the beans coarsely with the back of a wooden spoon, adding more vegetable broth to moisten, if needed
6. Season with salt and pepper, to taste
7. Stir in the cilantro

Step 3: Additional Fillings

In addition to beans and chicken, TF also requested rice, a sauce of some sort, and lots of cheese. The rice was nothing special (just a fiesta rice found at market....I had to cut myself off somewhere in an effort to keep from overextending myself, as I'm known to do) and for the sauce, I recreated this one, a personal favorite that I don't make nearly enough despite how easy it actually is. Finally, we had a block of monterey jack cheese left from our queso experiment and I shredded most of it for filling to complete the ensemble.

Keeping with the theme of not trying to over extend myself, I also didn't get to make the tortiallas from scratch. Still love this recipe when time allows!

Step 4: Grand Finale--the Baked Chimichanga

Similar to my above referenced feelings towards baked beans, I am anti-cooking anything that requires frying. Consequently, my greatest challenge in creating this dish was finding a baked version of the restaurant-style chimichanga that TF craved...soft and melty on the inside, lightly browned and crispy on the outside. 

And thus, this beauty was born. I made a non-chicken version for myself and while this isn't something I'd usually order (or make for myself), but I must admit, it was pretty damn tasty (and TF agreed).

Preparation

Inspiration for this creation found here

1. Preheat oven to 450F and spray baking pan with cooking spray
2. Using the above ingredients, mix rice and beans in a bowl until combined
3. Pile desired number of tortillas on a plate, cover with a damp paper towel, and microwave for 1 minute to make the tortillas more flexible for folding
4. Fill tortilla(s) with desired fillings (I ordered mine-rice/beans, chicken, cheese, and topped with tomatillo sauce before folding). Be careful to avoid overfilling (I got a little overzealous and as a result ours were a little fatter than the original recipe)
5. After filled, tuck in the sides and roll up, laying fold side down in baking dish
6. Cook until golden brown and crispy (about 8-10 minutes)
7. Serve with guacamole on the side and enjoy!