Huevos Rancheros

 When my husband and I were on our honeymoon in Mexico, I pretty much ate this everyday. The hotel that we stayed at was not all inclusive, but did include this on their complimentary breakfast menu. It was delicious! Even though this is a favorite for me, I've never made it at home. I've substituted the standard lard laden refried beans for healthier refried black beans. I don't feel so bad when eating this dish since I can count the egg and beans as protein. The avocado also provides some healthy fat. 

Huevos Rancheros

4 corn tortillas

canola oil for frying

1 can black beans, drained

1 teaspoon cumin

1 fresh or pickled jalapeno, seeds removed

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup whipping cream

4 eggs

2 avocados, sliced

pico de gallo or salsa

sour cream and cilantro for garnish

Heat canola oil in a skillet on medium heat. Place corn tortilla in skillet and fry until edges start to turn brown. Using tongs, flip tortilla and fry on the other side. Remove tortilla and place on a plate covered with a paper towel. 

In a food processor or blender combine 1 can black beans, cumin and jalapeno. Puree until smooth. In a skillet heat 1 tablespoon butter on low to medium heat. Add pureed beans. Whisk in whipping cream.

In a non stick pan cook egg sunny side up. If you do not have a non stick pan add butter to pan before cooking egg.

Assembly by spreading refried black beans onto the fried corn tortilla. Add cooked egg. Garnish with sliced avocado, pico or salsa and sour cream.

Enjoy!

*Serves 4 -  one per person *

Pico de Gallo

I tend to think of "pico" as having fresh tomatoes and hot sauce or picante as a cooked salsa using fire roasted or cooked tomatoes. At some Mexican restaurants in San Antonio, you will be offered both with your meal. When I saw some beautiful cherry tomatoes at a farmer's market, I knew exactly what to do with them. Make pico, of course! This is one of those sauces that gets better the longer it sits in the fridge.

Pico de Gallo

2 cups cherry tomatoes, washed, stems removed, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeds removed and finely chopped

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, washed and finely chopped

juice of half of a medium size lime

salt and pepper to taste

 

Combine all ingredients into a bowl. 

*OR add ingredients into a food processor and puree until chunky*

Mixed Green Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing

Lately I've been on a Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Sugar Free meal plan. Diet is such an ugly word. I'm doing this more for health reasons and not to lose wight. Hey, if I happen to drop some pounds that is great. There are so many "detox" diets out there. The problem in my opinion is that if you detox for two weeks and then go back to eating pizza and hamburgers you are not really accomplishing anything. Eating healthy has to be a lifestyle change. It is time consuming and can be expensive. If you do not eat all the veggies in your fridge within a week then mostly likely they will go bad. Processed food last longer, is easy and cheap. The bad thing is processed food is not living food. It is not full of vitamins and minerals. I have to be honest, I cheat on my meal plan. Sometimes I want to have a burger or a slice of pie. If I cheat, it better be good, like an Angus burger or a pizza cooked on a wood burning stove. Ok, I'll get off my soapbox.

Mixed Green Salad:

I head of red leaf lettuce, washed and shredded

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons unsalted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup cherry tomatoes

1/2 avocado, sliced

Lemon Tahini Dressing:

1 tablespoon tahini

juice of 2 lemons

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

 Mix ingredients together in a small bowl and drizzle over the salad. 

Grilled Edamame with Sea Salt

I'll never turn down a bowl of Edamame. In fact, I can make a whole bowl of it disappear pretty darn fast at a sushi restaurant. There is something about grilling it that takes it to a sublime level. It brings out a smokey and earthiness flavor in the beans. I grilled my mine on a stove top grill. If you decided to try this on a traditional grill, I highly suggest that you use a veggie basket. You don't want all your lovely edamame to end up on the bottom of your grill. 

Grilled Edamame:

1 package of edamame 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions: 

Cook edamame according to the directions on the package. Add edamame to a bowl and pour in the olive oil. Toss beans until they are completely covered in the oil. On a stove top grill, cook until grill marks appear, turning several times. Sprinkle with sea salt when you are ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Shrimp Po' Boys

You know what happens when you watch Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives late at night? You start to crave some random meal. At least that is what happened to me after watching some episode where they were making mouth watering Shrimp Po' Boys. My first thought is, OMG! I have to make Shrimp Po' boys NOW. I don't care if it is 12:00 in the morning. For me the key to a good Shrimp Po' Boy is having fresh shrimp (I try to only purchase shrimp when it is in season. Why yes, I am a food snob). You also have to have amazing fresh, soft bread and top it off with some homegrown tomatoes. Cajun tarter sauce is also a requirement in my book. 

Shrimp Po' Boys:

1 small container Buttermilk

1 Tablespoon Tabasco  

1 pound fresh Gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup flour

Cajun seasonings

1/4 cup canola oil for frying

french bread

iceberg lettuce, shredded

tomatoes, sliced

Cajun tarter sauce

Directions:

Peel and devein shrimp. In a large bowl, combine buttermilk and Tabasco. Add in shrimp. Place in fridge for 2 hours. 

Place a large frying skillet on medium high heat on the stove. Add in Canola oil. Combine cornmeal and flour.  Dredge shrimp and add them to the skillet. Cook about 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown. If all the shrimp do not fit into your skillet, then fry in batches. 

After the shrimp have finished cooking, remove them from the skillet and place them on a plate lined with a paper towel. Dust them with Cajun seasonings. 

Cajun Tater Sauce:

1 1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons Wickles or pickle relish

1 Tablespoon grainy mustard

1 tablespoon green onion
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper 

Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

To prepare the Shrimp Po' boys, cut the french bread into 4 pieces. Spread Cajun tarter sauce onto bread, add shredded lettuce, shrimp and tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Organic Gardening and Growing your own food

We are fortunate to have a huge backyard at our new home. When we moved in we decided to dedicate one side yard for a garden. I've always wanted to grow veggies and herbs. Our plants are planted in raised beds in a compost blend (New Earth) and are watered by a drip line irrigation system that my husband installed. If you are gardening in Texas, raised beds are a must. Our soil is mostly caliche, which basically means you are digging in rock. Watering is definitely a must here as well. We can go for days with 100 degree temperatures.  

Here are some pros and cons to growing your own food:

Cons-  

*Bugs* If you are planning on a Organic garden you must realize that there are lots of little creatures that will find your garden tasty. We have not used any chemicals on our garden at all and just let nature take its course. I'm sure your local garden center has many organic products that are available and would be happy to advise you. After squash bugs almost demolished all our squash, I realized I'm probably going to have to cover my new plants next year. 

*Weather* Luckily, we have not had a huge hail storm this year...knock on wood. I have seen what one of these storms will do to tomato plants and it is not pretty.

Pros-

*Convenience* There is nothing better than being able to walk outside and pick fresh herbs for a dish I'm going to making. 

*It is Economical* Have you seen the price of herbs? I usually pay $3.99 for a fresh herbs and end up throwing half of them away since I just need a few. 

*Bragging Rights* I'm picturing a conversation along the lines of.....

YOUR Friends or Family: WOW, _______________(insert your name here) This is the best salad I've ever had.

YOU: Thanks. I just made it with some fresh herbs and lettuce I picked from my garden. 

YOUR Friends or Family. WOW, _________________(insert your name here) You are such a food snob! 


As you can see the pros way out number the cons. I promise this blog will not turn into a gardening blog, however if you would like to see more of my garden, please visit my gardening blog at Rambling Wren.

Happy Fourth of July