I know a lot of you probably had some variation of “Spanish Rice” you grew up with. My Mom’s recipe very possibly came from some kind of “international cooking” type of book or article in magazines like Redbook or McCall’s. White rice in a tomato-y, sweet, salty and overall bland sauce. Maybe with a bit of chopped up bell pepper, celery and onion. Mom often would serve this with ground beef mixed in and then stuff it all into bell peppers and bake. Certainly not Spanish and not really quite reminiscent of the rice dishes from South and Central America. Really one of those Tex-Mex dishes that have become popular throughout the years.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This was a favorite dish growing up and I still like making stuffed peppers. Lately I’ve been stuffing them with quinoa instead of rice and pinto beans instead of meat.

This weekend we decided to have fajita tacos with lots of bell pepper, onion and Soy Curls. Christie also made some great homemade mashed black beans. I was kind of wanting the Tex-Mex rice and we happened to have some quinoa on hand. In fact the quinoa had been in the rice cooker on warm for a couple of days and was actually getting a little dried out. I just love finding a way to extend the life of leftovers like slightly dried-out qunioa so I was struck with inspiration.

This is a recipe I almost feel guilty for calling a recipe. It is just that simple. However, it turned out so darn tasty I’m writing it up and posting it!

The Stuff

• 2 cups cooked quinoa (preferably a couple days old so it is dried out some or just don’t put in quite enough water to fully cook it)
• 1 14.5 oz. can Muir Glen fire-roasted, petite diced tomatoes in Adobo sauce
• 1 4 oz. can of diced mild green chilies

The Making

Put all of the above into a saucepan and simmer on low heat for at least 20 minutes. You want the undercooked/dried-out quinoa to have time to reabsorb all of the moisture from the tomatoes & chilies.

Top with a pile of beans, sauteed veggies, and maybe some salsa & avocado slices too.

Delicious and easy!

The Adobo sauce is mildly spicy. If you are spice adverse go with diced tomatoes with garlic or just plain. I’m not sure all areas carry the petite diced in Adobo sauce, so you can wing it by using diced tomatoes and adding some chili powder, cumin, powdered garlic

The petite dice and the fire-roasting of the Muir Glen brand make for a great flavor and the tiny tomato bits really blend in well.

If you want it hotter use diced hot chilies instead of mild. I’m sure it would be damn tasty!

Christie asked me this weekend what recipe I used for chili and I had to fess up that it was a dish I just made up each time. No recipe used, just threw stuff in a pot until it was done.

So in honor of getting back to some posts after a break while I adjusted to my new job, here’s a recipe for chili. Serve this with some cornbread or brown rice for a very hearty, warming meal on a cold winter’s night!

The Stuff

• 6 cups of cooked beans (if using canned beans, aprox. 4 cans, make sure to rinse well first)
• 3 15oz cans of tomato sauce
• 2 15oz cans of diced tomatoes (I like using the fire-roasted kind with green chilies)
• 1 large onion, medium dice
• 2 green bell peppers, medium dice (or 1 bell and 2 Anaheim chilies)
• 5 large cloves garlic, chopped fine
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 2 Tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika (sweet or hot, depending on your preference)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• salt – to taste (if your canned tomatoes are salted you will probably not need any)

The Making

Bring a good sized stock pot (e.g., 8qt) up to medium-high heat and lightly coat with oil (e.g., high heat, spray canola). Add diced onions and saute for 5-8 minutes, letting them get dark in places is fine. Add garlic and continue to saute well for another 3 minutes. Add bell pepper and reduce heat to medium, saute for another 3-5 minutes

Add the rest of the ingredients, starting with all the tomato items. Fill each empty can half full of water, swish around to get all the tomato-y goodness, dump into the chili, and give a good stir.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for at least 30 minutes to let flavors blend. If the chili comes up to a bubble, reduce heat fully to low. A longer simmer is best before serving, the flavors really come together nicely.

Options:

• Mix it up on those 6 cups of beans! Try a mix of pintos, black beans, Anasazi beans, kidney beans, navy beans, chickpeas, etc.
• Throw in a cup of broken up bits of Soy Curls. They will rehydrate nicely in the chili and add a great chewy texture.
• Serve over roasted potato wedges
• Use as filling for enchiladas (this recipe makes a very stew-like chili)
• Pair with a big ol’ wedge of cornbread, crusty whole wheat bread or some brown rice
• Top with a generous dollop of guacamole

Just what a cold day needs...

Used this in a “chick’n” burrito last night. This is very “Taco Bell”-ish, which is actually what I was going for.

• 1 cup Vegenaise (use soy-free version)
• 2 tbsp brown mustard (I used smoky brown, which was nice)
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp smoked chipotle powder (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Whisk all together. There you go…

This is a riff on the old Taco Hell “meat & potato burrito”, only better, because it won’t give you Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease. It can be very easily veganized.

For each burrito, you’ll need roughly 7-10 seasoned tater-tots. I have the magic of a convection toaster-oven to get them deep-fried crisp from frozen in about 12-15 min. Also, don’t try this with a 12″ tortilla; they’re just too small for the amount of stuff you’re putting in there.

INGREDIENTS:

* 18″-24″ restaurant-sized flour tortillas
* Bag o’ Classic frozen tater-tots
* Taco spice
* Taco Grounds (I luuuv me some El Burrito SoyTaco*)
* Refried beans
* Diced onion
* Green onion
* Fire-roasted frozen corn (optional)**
* Daiya Cheddar Shreds
* Shredded lettuce
* Guacamole
* Tofuti Sour Creme
* Salsa Picante OR can of diced tomatoes -drained (“salsa fresca”-w green chilies is goodness).
* Sliced black olives (optional)
* Sliced pickeled jalapeño (optional, but if you opt out, you’re a wuss. Go make yourself some farina).

DIRECTIONS:

1) Toast up your tots. If you want good, crispy tots in a regular oven, ignore the bag destructions, use an air-bake pan, preheat to 350f, and bake them longer. Or, use the broiler at the last minute. You want crisp, because they’re going into a skooshie burrito.

2) While tots are a’toastin’, prep all your other fillings. I tend to make my refried beans more restaurant-style by adding extra water or veggie broth to thin them, then heating in the nuke-box. If you’ve ever slung taco for a living, you know what I mean about thin frijoles, and you know its utility to good burrito assembly.

3) Heat your meat filling in the microwave. If I’m doing the frozen corn, I typically add it into this step.

4) When the tots are done, spritz lightly with spray oil, then toss in a bowl with taco seasoning.

5) Microwave or moist-towel oven-steam your tortillas. Soft tortillas are key to proper and safe burrito structural integrity!

6) Lay out your tortilla on a large clean flat work-surface. Get your mise uhhh… in place.

7) Stripe the side nearest you with a nice line of refried beans. Then a line of taco filling. Sprinkle shredded cheese on the beany-meat to encourage melty-goodness.

8) Place your seasoned tots on and near the melty-line.

9) Add the rest of the optional components in rough lines throughout the rest of the field of play, making sure to leave at least 1/3 of the tortilla empty. To this last 1/3, place a very thin later of refried again, but leaving about 1″-2′ of the outer tortilla lip empty. The scant extra frijoles will help bind the universe together.

10) Lastly, sprinkle a layer of shredded lettuce. This is a capillary safety-net that keeps the good goos in the burrito, and not ooozing out on to your plate to languish in a shameful puddle of fail and lack of burrito-making mojo. You’re better than that!

11) Start by rolling the bean/meat edge up first. When you get to the tot demarcation line, pleat and tuck your ends in. Keep rolling and gathering in as you go, until you have a burrito.

Eat, be happy and thank me later…

* = http://www.nowcasting.com/~elburrito/soytaco.html
**= Trader Joe’s carries frozen fire-roasted corn. It’s a staple to me. If you don’t have a TJ’s by you, it must really suck…