Black Bean & Green Chili Enchiladas with Creamy Cumin & Garlic Sauce

I just couldn't snap this photo quick enough, regretting not geting a better one- all I wanted to do was eat!

Man-these are dang good! I love me some good South of the Border Cusine and I even think that Bobbly Flay would dig on these! I have been wanting to create a signature "White Enchilada Sauce" for years and I have finally done it. I will never use another white/creamy enchilada sauce again! There are a million "creamy enchilada" recipes floating around that include a bunch of processed stuff like cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup, ext. I will admit, some of them are good (and some really bad), which is what inspired me to create this new recipe. This is the best of Tex-Mex people!

The vegetarian filling is full of flavor and hearty enough to satisfy most any meat and potato eater. Black beans, green chilies, onion and bell pepper with some spices go a long way. My two and four year old even ate them up.

Another thing that really puts these over the top is using FRESH flour tortillas.You can buy pre-made raw flour tortillas in the refrigerated dough section of most grocery stores. Costco also has great ones, they really add a lot and will help any enchilada taste ridiculously fresh! They also make your left-overs taste much better.

Black Bean & Green Chili Enchiladas

Serves 10

Creamy Cumin & Garlic Enchilada Sauce
5 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
Reserved juice from 40z green chili can
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 tablespoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Black Bean & Green Chili Filling
2 14oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 4oz can green chilies, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced small
1 white onion, diced small
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups sharp cheddar ,grated (1/2 cup reserved for top)

Other Ingredients
10 fresh uncooked flour tortillas, prepared as directed
1 cup Jack cheese for top, grated
Cilantro, tomatoes and sour cream for toppings (optional)
Serve with rice, chips and salsa or a fresh avocado salad. Mmmmm!


Directions


Make the sauce

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly being careful not to overcook butter.
2. Once butter is fully melted, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time, making sure flour is fully incorporated before adding more. Once all flour is added, cook for 2 minutes over medium heat stirring constantly.
3. Add chicken broth slowly, whisking as you add.
4. Add juice from can of green chilies.
5. Turn heat to medium-high and whisk constantly until mixture begins to thicken, about 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Add spices and stir well.
7. Turn off heat and add heavy cream, sour cream and cheese. Stir until creams and cheese are fully incorporated and melted. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary, set aside.


Make the Filling

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat in a medium to large saute pan. Add onions and bell peppers. Saute until onions and peppers are fragrant and fairly soft. Add black beans, green chillies and spices. Cook on medium low until beans begin to soften and mixture has cooked down a bit.

Cook the tortillas- according to package directions, do this last, right before assembling the enchiladas. You want these nice and fresh.


Assemble the Enchiladas

1. Preheat oven to 375 and spray 9 x 13 Pyrex or baking dish.
2. Be sure to have all of your components ready and in order. Tortilla, filling, cheddar cheese, plate to roll, prepared baking dish ready.
3. Cover bottom of prepared 9x13 with thin layer of enchilada sauce.
4. Begin to assemble enchiladas. Place about 1/3 cup filling in center of tortilla, sprinkle generously with grated cheddar. Place on plate and fold enchilada, top half over, sides in, bottom half over. Place seam side down into the baking dish with sauce.
5. Repeat process until all enchiladas are prepared. Your pan should fit 8 across and 2 along the sides. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over prepared enchiladas, spread with spoon if necessary making sure to fully and evenly cover.
6. Cover enchiladas with tin foil and bake for about 25 minutes or until heated through.
7. Remove from oven, discard tin foil and turn oven to broil on low.
8. Sprinkle with reserved cheese and broil on low for about 2-3 minutes, watching closely and rotating at least once. Cheese should be bubbly and slightly browned on top.


Serve immediately and drizzle with extra sauce in pan upon serving.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups- 12 Treats of Christmas Day 4

I posted this recipe last year but I just had to post them again. These mouthwatering, rich, chocolately bits of peanut butter heaven must not be forgotten during the holiday season! Every year I give these away along with my pumpkin spice bread- it's tradition- I love it!

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

This recipe comes from my most wonderful mother in law Linda.

1 18 oz jar of peanut butter

3/4 to 1 pound of powdered sugar

3 1/2 cups favorite good quality chocolate (on my MBA budget I used Costco Semisweet Chocolate Chips and it worked great, you can get good quality fairly inexpensive chocolate at Trader Joes)

Optional toppings- smashed nuts, oreos, caramel ext.

1. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and spray with cooking spray.

2. Put peanut butter into large mixing bowl. Slowly begin to add powdered sugar and stir with a wooden spoon. Keep adding sugar until peanut butter mixture begins to thicken. (Honestly, I have never measured this recipe before this year so it's very forgiving). At this point, you can begin using your hands, which is easier but messier. Add more powdered sugar until the mixture is firm enough to roll into a ball that will stand on it's own. If using hands, mixture will feel similar to play dough. Taste and check for sweetness, this is where personal preferencecomes in, I like mine less sweet, you can add more sugar for a sweeter, stiffer ball.

3. Roll all peanut butter into small balls about 1/2 the size of a golf ball. As you make each ball, place on the wax paper lined cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Place balls in cool placeimmediately (freezer works best). Let harden for at least 1 hour.

4. After peanut butter balls have hardened. Preheat oven to 200, spray a pie tin with cooking spray, pour chocolate into pie tin and place in oven. Turn off oven. Stir chocolate every minute until melted well. Stir again.Once the chocolate is melted, do the following.

5. With two spoons in hand, gently drop the peanut butter balls into the melted chocolate. Pass the ball back and forth between two spoons until the ball is covered evenly in chocolate. Using the spoons, never touching the ball, transfer to the muffin paper. Repeat process until all balls are covered in chocolate and placed into the mini muffin papers. Once you get the method down, you can drop a couple in at a time, do your best to move quickly so that you can cover all of the balls before the chocolate begins to cool, if this happens, pause for a moment and stick it back in the oven for a minute or two.

*FOR FANCY PB CUPS

After you have evenly coated the peanut butter balls in chocolate, immediatly drop them into a bowl of your topping of choice, coat evenly and place into muffin cups.

Once balls are finished, for best results, let harden in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Serve as desired.

Pecan & Oreo Dipped

Spiced Pumpkin Bread- 12 Treats of Christmas- Day 3

I love pumpkin- pumpkin everything, every way. Pumpkin bread is probably one of my top 20 favorite foods and this is my most favorite pumpkin bread in the world. One of the best things about this bread is that it's healthy enough to eat for breakfast but sweet enough to feel like a bit of a splurge in the evening. The mixture of whole wheat and white flour gives this bread a nice texture and the abundance of spices- cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and ginger give this bread warmth and flavor. This is the ultimate Holiday comfort food for me and I love giving it away because it's healthier then most treats but still very enjoyable. If you are wanting something a little less healthy and a little more chocolaty, use all white flour and add semi-sweet chocolate chips- I might just pass out thinking about it! This is also a very easy recipe. Mix, pour, bake!

Spiced Pumpkin Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Dry mix

2 cups all purpose white flour

1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour**

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon all spice

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

Wet mix

3 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 3/4 cups pumpkin (or about 1 15 oz can, 1/2 of large 29 ounce can)
1 3/4 cups sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350, grease 2 loaf pans.

1. Mix all dry ingreidents in a large bowl. Stir well with a metal whisk, set aside.

2. In a medium bowl beat eggs, oil and sugar together. Add buttermilk and pumpkin and mix well.

3. Fold wet mixture into dry and stir just until blended, making sure there are no dry clumps but being careful not to overmix.

4. Pour batter into prepared pans, bake for 1 hour, check at 55 minutes with toothpick or thin knife, which should come out clean with a few moist crumbs.

5. Let bread sit for at least 15 minutes before removing from pan.

* Bread will keep wrapped in the refrigerator for 1 week or in freezer for up to 1 month.

** To make this "dangerously delicious", replace wheat flour with white and add 2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips. A lot of the time I keep the wheat flour and just add the chocolate chips. This recipe is very versatile, add more or less of the spices to your preference or use all wheat flour for an even healthier version.

Hoilday Orange & Chocolate Shortbread Cookies- 12 Treats of Christmas- Day 2

This is fun recipe, I am super excited about these little gems. The speckles of orange and chocolate with the sparkling coarse sugar make these a hip cookie to give or take to a Holiday party, more importantly, they taste dynamite. Frequently (and sadly) orange and chocolate are not a good flavor combination- this is usually because there is too much sugar in both the chocolate and the orange. For this cookie, I use pure, simple ingredients- orange zest and good quality chocolate which creates a nice light citrus cookie with a hint of chocolate. I hope you enjoy these delights as much as I do and if you are apprehensive about the flavor combination, this is a perfect recipe to give it a try. Happy Holiday baking.

The inside looks fantastic- I love the hints of color and texture.

Holiday Orange & Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Zest from 2 medium size oranges (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped (dark or bittersweet would work well also, do not use milk chocolate- too sweet for this recipe).

1/3 cup coarse sugar or sanding sugar for decoration

Directions
1. In a food processor, combine butter, salt and powdered sugar. Pulse to combine, scrape down with rubber spatula and process until smooth and creamy. Add flour and pulse until just combined. Form dough into a soft ball and transfer to sheet of wax paper. Gently incorporate chocolate, being careful not to over mix.

2. Form dough into a 8-inch long round or square log and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes or up to 1 month.

3. Preheat oven to 350. Place baking rack in the middle of oven. Cut dough into 1/4 inch slices and dip edges and top of cookie into coarse sugar. Place cookies on parchment or silicone lined baking sheets. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time. Cover the other with plastic wrap and set aside until ready to bake. Bake until cookies are lightly golden around the edges, check at 16 minutes, cookies may need an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Let cookies cool 5 minutes on baking sheets.