Black Bean Quesadillas

You Will Need:

• 8 corn tortillas (taco size) 
• 1 can black beans (15 oz. drained and rinsed)
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese or colby jack Mexican mixed cheese
• 1/4 cup picante sauce 
• 1 tsp. oil plus a little more for rubbing on the corn tortillas
• homemade guacamole dip (for this you will need 1 ripe avocado mashed and creamed and sprinkle of garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste) 
• tortilla chips to eat with the guacamole dip

Heat rinsed drained beans in a small pot with some water, bring to a boil, then drain water from  beans. In a bowl, combine beans and picante sauce. Rub oil onto each side of the corn tortillas, heat 1 tsp. oil in a non-stick skillet on medium heat, add one corn tortilla to the skillet cook 20 seconds or so on each side, sprinkle tortilla with cheese, then add bean mixture to the center of it, top with shredded cheese and top with another corn tortilla (like a sandwich), mash with a spatula. Use a spatula to carefully flip the corn tortilla, to brown the other side of it. Cook 1-2 minutes until golden brown on both sides.

Makes 4 Quesadillas

Eat with homemade guacamole dip with tortilla chips, chips and salsa or both and some Mexican rice! You can even add some of the homemade guacamole to the top of your quesadilla if you'd like to.

Enjoy!

Easy Mexican Rice

You Will Need:

• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 1/8 cup oil
• 4 oz. of tomato sauce (1/2 of a small can)
• 1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 Tablespoons chopped onion (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 cups chicken broth
• dash of cumin
• dash of black pepper
• dash of garlic powder

Heat oil, rice and optional onion in a non-stick skillet on med-high heat, add rice, stir often and cook until it becomes a golden brown color, then add other ingredients to skillet and stir, cover and reduce heat, and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Fluff rice with a fork.
Serves 4-6

Enjoy!

Marinated Chicken Strips

This Chicken recipe has a wonderful and unique flavor, slightly sweet, with a little kick from the spicy brown mustard.

You Will Need:

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons spicy brown mustard
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 Tablespoons oil
• black pepper
• 1 lb. to 1 1/4 lb. of chicken strips

For Marinade, mix together the first eight ingredients in a bowl, wash chicken strips, and beat them with meat mallet tenderizer and then sprinkle with black pepper, place chicken pieces in a gallon size freezer bag and pour the marinade mixture over the chicken.  Refrigerate 3-8 hours. When finished marinating the chicken, remove from bag, place chicken in a preheated lightly greased non-stick skillet, cook on medium high heat for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until done (no longer pink).

Enjoy!

Chopped Steak with Onion & Mushroom Gravy

You will need:

• ground sirloin meat (enough for your size family) 
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 small can mushrooms or mushrooms with stems (drained)
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 heaping Tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tsp. canola oil
• salt, black pepper, and garlic powder

Directions: 

In a nonstick skillet, add oil, onion and mushrooms, cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or so until onion is tender and transparent looking. Remove from skillet, place in small bowl and set aside. 

Make patties from the ground sirloin meat, sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder on both sides. Add to skillet and cook on medium heat about 15 minutes (flip them every 4 minutes or so)  until they are no longer pink inside and liquid runs clear. When they are done, remove them from the skillet place on plate and set aside. 

Add cornstarch to 1/4 cup of cold water, stir well and set aside. (this is called cornstarch water)

On medium heat, to the skillet add beef broth, stir to remove beef bits from bottom of pan, stir in the cornstarch water, continue stirring, turn up the heat to medium-high heat, bring to a boil, keep stirring, when thickened (after about 5 minutes or so), add onions and mushrooms back to the skillet, salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low until ready to serve. Serve gravy over patties, or you can add the patties back to the skillet until ready to eat. 

This is great with homemade mashed potatoes!

Enjoy! 

Note: This is a thin gravy, for a thicker consistency, you can add a little more cornstarch mixed with little bit of water (a little bit at the time) and boil, and repeat, until desired thickness.