Cooking in Pajamas: A Food Blog

BBQ Chicken and Rice Burritos (Vegetarian Version included)

GwennW — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:00:00 -0800

We have "Mexican Night" at least two or three times a month in our house. We don't wear sombreros and rent a margarita machine (although that will be fun when Jamie and Joey turn 21!), we just enjoy Mexican inspired cuisine. It is always easy to make, it is loaded with fresh, flavorful ingredients and Mexican is usually inexpensive to prepare at home. Plus, you never have to have the same meal twice. You can stuff a burrito with anything, top a tostada with whatever you find in your refrigerator, and what wouldn't be good as a topping on a plate of nachos with melted cheese?

Today's burrito is so incredibly flavorful and healthy! I sneak in whole wheat tortillas, brown rice and all white meat chicken, and no one suspects my healthy substitutions (if I tell my family we are having a lowfat, nutritious meal for dinner, the eye rolling and whining begins immediately). I serve this dinner with a side of fat-free refried beans and a green salad and we have a super nutritious and inexpensive meal.

I make my burrito into a vegetarian version, which is hardly any extra work. I set aside some brown rice in a small bowl and make a separate mixture for myself. I add canned black beans to my filling (any canned bean or refried bean works), and continue the recipe just like the chicken version (obviously leaving the chicken out of my filling). Remember to season your chicken substitute, so you get all of the original flavor of this burrito. It is "muy deliciouso"! You could also use sliced portobello mushrooms, grilled eggplant, cubes of grilled firm tofu or any vegetables you have sitting around as a substitute for the chicken.

Stuff your burrito with anything you want! One of my favorite combinations comes from Teela Tacqueria in Sandy Springs....chorizo, dates and feta cheese! Spicy, sweet, salty...all in one bite. Yum!

Mexican Chicken Salad with Black Bean Salsa

GwennW — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:35:00 -0800

The International Red Cross has estimated that up to 3 million people may have been affected by Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti. People are without food, water, shelter, medical care, supplies and transportation. Many charitable Americans are rushing to help the nation of Haiti recover, but sadly, we need to watch out for online, mail and phone scammers looking to make a quick buck.

Two charities that I like, and that are trustworthy are:

1 - American Red Cross. You can text HAITI to 90999. This will allow you to donate $10 to the Red Cross. The $10 charge will appear on your cell phone bill. You can also go online to the American Red Cross website and donate from there.

2 - Doctors Without Borders. They are an international medical organization that assists people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect or catastrophe. They have already treated more than 1000 people, but the medical need in Haiti is huge. The website is doctorswithoutborders.org.

Here are more details on how you can help.

In addition, you can always check out CharityNavigator.org. They are an independent, nonprofit organization that evaluates charity groups based on effectiveness and financial stability.

Here is a delicious and filling salad that I found while browsing through one of my favorite cookbooks, Nigella Express. The dressing is amazing. It would make a great dip for raw veggies or along side chips and salsa. Although I served this salad for dinner, there was plenty leftover for lunch the next day. I served the dressing on the side, so the leftovers would not get soggy.

Quesadillas Two Ways: Mango and Brie AND Bean and Cheese

GwennW — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:04:44 -0700

I love our family "Quesadilla Night". No one in my family likes their quesadillas the same way. I like mine to be vegetarian. Phil doesn't like any onions. Joey doesn't like cilantro. Jamie wants only chicken and cheese in hers. It is enough to drive my crazy! I finally decided the easiest thing to do would be a 'make-your-own' quesadilla bar on the kitchen island.

I put out several bowls of fillings on the counter, and 'take orders'. Then I custom make the quesadillas to everyones liking. This may sound complicated, but it's not. Once the bowls of fillings are out, it is easy! I always have out a bowl of shredded Mexican cheese. The rest of the fillings vary by what I have in the house, or picked up at the store. This week, fillings that I offered were: a mixture of fat-free refried beans and corn; chopped cilantro; chopped jalapenos; sliced mangos; and sliced brie. Then I took my orders, filled the quesadillas accordingly and I was done. On the dinner table, I had 2 bowls. One bowl of jarred salsa and one bowl of cilantro-lime dipping sauce (3 ingredients). Everyone was happy, and we had a delicious meal.

I have a few tricks for making quesadillas super easy. First, I like to pre-brown my tortillas in a dry, nonstick pan. I use whole wheat tortillas, which taste delicious, and are healthy.

I brush each side of the tortilla with a little EVOO, and brown on each side for a minute or two, in the hot skillet. When each tortilla is done, I stack them on a plate. Now the tortillas are nice and crispy, with hardly any oil.

Next, I place the crispy tortillas on a cookie sheet and start making my custom order quesadillas.

On the left is the plate of fillings I use for my mango brie quesadillas...mango, brie, jalapenos and chopped cilantro. On the right is a bean and corn quesadilla before cooking. For the bean and corn quesadilla filling, I combined one can of fat free refried beans with one can of corn. I always have canned corn in the house, and I always keep different varieties of canned beans in the pantry as well. Then I spread the mixture on the tortilla, and topped it with chopped cilantro and shredded Mexican cheese.

Here is my mango brie quesadilla (mango, brie, and jalapeno) ready to go in the oven. You will notice that I did not put a top tortilla on these. Sometimes, I leave the top tortilla off, and make a tostada. This will go in the oven on broil for 2 - 3 minutes, just to melt the cheese on top. When it comes out of the oven, I like to sprinkle the top with chopped cilantro. If I decided to put the top tortilla on, and make a true quesadilla, I would then put it in the oven on bake, at 350, for about about 20 minutes, until the cheese was melted. Either way tastes great. When they are done, I cut them into quarters, with a sharp knife, and serve!

To make the Lime-Cilanto Dipping Sauce combine 1 c. of light sour cream, the juice of 1 lime, 1/4 c. chopped cilantro and kosher salt to taste. You could also use Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream.

Some other filling suggestions are: roasted chicken, black beans, scallions, sliced steak, any roasted vegetable, shrimp, tomatoes, avocado, portobello mushrooms....whatever you can think of, will probably work!

The leftovers from this dinner are wonderful. I just heat them up in a toaster oven for 5 minutes, and they make a perfect light lunch the next day! This recipe can also be used as an appetizer.