Chorizo, Bean and Cheese Empanadas with Egg Sofrito

I was torn between making Huevos Rancheros for dinner and making something new. 

So....I made a new version of Huevos Rancheros! Instead of a crispy tortilla, you have a cheesy, spicy empanada insead.

 

Chorizo, Bean and Cheese Empanadas with Egg Sofrito

Serves four dinners, plus four extra for freezing/lunch

To make the pastry                                                                               

4 c wheat flour
1 tbl sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks (6oz) COLD butter
2/3 c COLD water
2 tbl white vinegar
2 egg

1. Combine flour, sugar, nutmeg, and salt with a whisk. Using your hands or a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk vinegar, eggs, and water, slowly add liquid to the dough; kneading gently until combined. Wrap in plastic wrap or a damp towel and place in the fridge until needed.

For the filling

 
1 c chopped chorizo
2 c cooked pinto beans
1 onion, diced fine
2 green chilies/jalapenos, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp fresh coriander leaves
1/4 lb. of shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a saute pan, add chopped chorizo and dry fry on low. Don't worry about adding oil, as the chorizo will release its own grease and crisp the pieces up nicely; approximately 8 minutes. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

2. Add onion, chilies and garlic to remaining chorizo grease, saute on low until onions are soft. Add beans, spices, and a splash of water; let beans fry for 10 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan and mashing beans occasionally; adding more water to prevent them from burning.
 
3. Mash the beans once tender until they resemble thick mashed potatoes. Stir in cheddar cheese, coriander leaves and chorizo. Let mixture cool 30 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Remove the pastry dough from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to 1/8″ thick. Cut dough with a large lid or coffee can into 4in or 6in diameter circles. I got 8 empanadas out of this. 4 for dinner, 4 for the freezer :)

I used a teacup saucer to measure

5. Put about 2 tablespoons of filling into the center of each empanada. Fold the dough over each other, making a semicircle, and press the edges with a fork to fully enclose the filling.

 

6. If making ahead, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and keep refrigerated up to 2 days. When ready to bake: brush with an egg wash or milk. Bake the empanadas for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Keep in the oven to warm.

Sauce and Egg

1/2 onion, diced
1 green chili, chopped
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
2 small tomatoes chopped or 1/2 can chopped tomatoes

1. Clean out the same saute pan. Drizzle a little oil and add onions and chilies; softening the onions on medium heat. Once translucent, add the tomatoes and the juice the tomatoes are packed in. If you are using fresh tomatoes, chop them first, then add. Note: that fresh tomatoes will take longer to cook as canned tomatoes are already cooked to begin with. Add cumin and salt, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt to taste if needed.

2. Crack 4 eggs slowly on top of the sauce. Cover with a lid and let cook for 3-5 minutes or until whites are cooked and yolk is set (I like mine a little runny, like poached eggs).

start

finished

To Serve

On a plate, place 1-2 warm empanadas. Top with sauce and one egg. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves, salt and pepper.

Calories calculated using Sparkrecipes Calculator: 545.2 calories per serving

Black-eyed Beans and Potato Curry

Some nights you just need to experiment and hopefully you come out with a winning dish.

Meals start with inspiration. Tonight I looked around and I saw my collection of beans sitting prettily in their jars, and I said: "I want something with black-eyed beans" and thus this creation happened. It only takes one thought and some steps to make what you want a reality.

I really enjoyed this meal. It was very good and very filling. You can't go wrong with low in fat, high in flavor meals that feed a family and takes little to no effort to make.

November is a big month of National Health Associations trying to bring awareness to different causes. I take it as a challenge to create, healthy dishes I can be guilt free to eat. October was Unprocessed month. November follows through with overall health awareness.

So enjoy this meal with good healthy thoughts and a nice, satisfied tummy.

Black-eyed Beans and Potato Curry

1 extra large potato, cubed
1 cup, black-eyed beans/black-eyed peas
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 chilis or 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 bay leaves or 1/2 tsp crushed leaves
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
9-10 mint leaves, chopped (optional)
salt

Beforehand to speed up the cooking process, quick soak the beans. In a pot, place your beans and 6 cups of water. Cover, and just as water is boiling, turn down the heat to simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit for an hour. Drain and prepare as directed below.
1. Heat oil in a  heavy bottomed pan and add potatoes. Fry until brown on most sides, remove from pan and set aside.

2. Add 2 tbl of oil and add cumin seeds, when they start to make a cracking noise, add the bay leaves, chopped onions and fry until tender.

3. Lower the heat. Add the garlic, chili's/jalapenos, turmeric powder, garam masala.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry until the oil separates.

5. Add the beans and cooked potatoes, add water to cover the beans and cook for 40-50 minutes (or 10-25 mins of you quick soaked your beans).

6. Uncover and add the chopped mint leaves and simmer for another 5-10 minutes, depending on how well cooked the beans are. Add water if required. If you find there is too much water, then uncover and let boil until the amount of water has decreased.

7. Sprinkle with salt and enjoy.

Calories calculated using Sparkrecipes Calculator: 135 calories per serving

Coconut Rice

If you are looking for a simple and filling rice and bean mixture, this dish certianly fills that want.

I was playing around with flavors tonight and after one bite, I didn't want anything else I made for dinner. My side dish became my main dish!

The coconut is subtle for those who cringe at the flavor being too strong. The basmati rice and red beans are a perfect compliment in texture. Sprinkle with a little pepper before serving and you are set.

Coconut Rice

1 tbl butter
2 garlic cloves, minced

2 jalapenos, minced (ribs and seeds removed for less heat)

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 tsp celery salt

Coarse salt (optional)

3/4 cup canned coconut milk

1 can red kidney beans, drained

1 cup Basmati rice

2 scallions, cut
Black Pepper (optional)

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter; add garlic, jalapeno, thyme, celery salt and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds.

2. Add coconut milk and 1 1/2 cups water- bring to a boil. Stir in kidney beans and rice. Cover; reduce heat, and simmer until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Remove from heat; stir in scallions. Let sit, covered, until water is absorbed, 10 minutes.

4. Enjoy! Try as a side dish, with Coconut, Curry, and Lime Chicken.

Black Bean and Sausage Soup

I have been loving introducing dry beans into my regular meal plans during the week. I used to think it was too hard to plan ahead and soak beans overnight.

What if I forget about them? What if I change my mind and don't want to cook _____ tomorrow night, what do I do with all these beans now? I want to make something now but I needed to pre-soak beans last night? Ugh! etc...

But, there are some simple recipes that I have found that used the quick soak method (which I love) and still make delicious meals fast.

Craving something with black beans and what I had in the house, I made a VERY yummy soup, Black Bean and Sausage.

I seriously ate this soup for lunch and dinner for two days straight! It was that good.

Black Bean and Sausage Soup

1 cup dry black beans
2 cups chicken broth (homemade is best)
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
8 oz or 1/2 lb ground sausage

1. Rise beans and pick over them, removing any beans that are broken or wrinkled. In a deep pot, combine beans and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Let simmer for 2 mins then remove from heat and cover. Let stand for an hour (do not remove the lid the entire time, heat will escape while beans are still cooking).

2. Drain and rinse beans, return to same pot (no need to get a new pot), Stir in 2 cups of water, broth, celery, onions, garlic, salt and red pepper.

3. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender.

4. Halfway through cooking (45 mins), brown the sausage and crumble as fine as you can. Add to the soup, stir and continue cooking another 30-45mins.

5. Serve and enjoy.

Don't be afraid of dry beans. They save you money. Contain less salt then canned beans and only require a bit more of your time to make these kind of hearty dishes.

Calories Calculated using Sparkrecipes Calculator: 107 calories per 1 1/2 cup serving

Lentil Stuffed Bell Peppers

So let's talk healthy.... Everyone knows they need to add more fiber, good proteins, and vitamins into their diet and simple changes can help achieve those goals. 

Take a classic yummy dish like stuffed bell peppers. Swap rice and meat for nutritious and hearty lentils, pack it full of veggies and you got a winning meal.

These bell peppers are yummy, filling and best of all *healthy*!

Lentil Stuffed Bell Peppers

1 c dry green lentils
6 c water
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 pinch chili powder
1 pinch turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbl olive oil
1 tbl coriander, powder
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch ginger root, minced
1 lb bunch spinach, chopped
1/2 tomato, chopped
2 red bell peppers
2 yellow bell peppers
mozzarella cheese (Optional)
Lime wedges (Optional)


1. Mix water, lentils, chili powder, jalapeno and turmeric in a medium pot. Boil lentils for 30 mins on low simmer until lentils are tender. Drain and pour into a deep mixing bowl.

2. Rinse out pot and fill with water. Boil water and submerge peppers for 3-5 mins. Remove peppers, stem and remove seeds inside. Slice sideways if too large to stand up on their own and place in a foil lined, shallow roasting pan. In the meantime, begin stuffing.

3. Preheat oven to 350F. Take out a heavy saucepan and cook cumin on medium heat until it pops. Cook onion, garlic and ginger until tender (not brown). Sautee tomato for 3 mins or until soft. Add coriander and mix well, cook an additional 5 mins. Add spinach and stir occasionally until wilted. Mix with lentils.

4. Fill each pepper with lentil stuffing and return back to pan. Bake for 12 mins. Open oven and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, and bake another 3 mins or until cheese is melted.

5. Serve hot, garnish with lime wedges.

Calories calculated with SparkRecipes Calculator: 99.9 calories per serving. Check out the loads of vitamins you will get! Yum!


* If you have leftover lentils, I mix in a little taco seasonings and have tacos for lunch tomorrow!

Indian Beans

I don't know why this is called Indian Beans. I did some research online and it took me all over the place looking at Middle Eastern, Native American, Northern Indian, Southern Indian, South Asia Indian, and even the Cleveland Indians! All were different, none with exactly the same ingredients....so, I'll just leave it as is.

All I know is it looked like baked beans. I wanted to eat something with beans and it was easy. After eating it, found out it's delicious and very filling! Yum!

Indian Beans              Serves 10

1 c Pinto beans; dried
1 c Kidney beans, dried
2 qt Water
2 Roma or small Tomatoes
1/2 lg Onion; chopped
4 slices Bacon; cut in 2" pieces
1/4 c Celery; sliced
1-2 ts Salt
3 tb Sugar
1-1 1/2 tb Vinegar
Small corn tortillas
Mozzarella cheese

1.Wash beans; place in 3 qt. kettle with 2 qts. water and bring to a simmer. Cover; cook 2 1/2-3 hours, or until tender. Drain and place in a 2 quart baking/casserole dish.

2. Mix remaining ingredients with beans; cover and bake at 350F  1 to 2 hours or until done. Remove beans from oven, stir.

3. Using a flat pan, turn on stove top to medium and heat tortilla until soft, flipping once. Sprinkle cheese on tortilla and let melt slightly. Top with beans.

4. Enjoy.

Calories are about 228 per serving, figured using Spark recipes calculator