black bean and guacamole sandwich

mood: redolent
listening to: orbital :: never/wonky

this is a really simple and healthy dish to make. i was looking around for something different and found this recipe online, but they referred to this as 'torta' which doesn't really make sense as this preparation uses a baguette and the majority of places say that a torta is a circular bread that is not similar to bread. anyhoo, enough of this breadology 101. this recipe takes about 20 minutes to make from start to finish and can be used as a simple snack or as part of a meal. this dish can be served warm or cold and i, of course, added in some of my own ingredients to jazz it up.

Ingredients: 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed 1/8 cup of salsa 1 serrano pepper, diced i tsp of ground cumin 1/4 cup of minced cilantro 3 gloves of garlic, minced

1/4 small onion, diced 1 avocado, pitted 1 lime, cut in half and juiced 1 baguette, cut in quarters 2 cups of shredded cabbage

Preparation:
- first, canned black beans contain a lot of sodium, so to reduce this, run the beans under water.
- in a medium size bowl, mash the black beans, salsa, pepper, cumin and garlic together.
- in a separate bowl, mash the avocado, lime juice, cilantro and onion together.
- remove the soft bread from the bread pieces.
- if you choose, you can warm up the black bean mixture or you can spread it directly on one side of the bread. spread the guacamole mixture on the other side.
- lay some of the shredded cabbage on top and put the sandwich together and enjoy.

the ingredients in the recipe are enough for 4 sandwiches.

mexi-turkey pasta salad

mood: asphyxiated
listening to: the blood of heroes :: chains/salute to the jugger

as i've been working on different culinary masterpieces and some not-so-masterpieces, i realized that almost everything if not all of the things that i've posted here have been warm recipes. well, i decided to change things up with a recipe that could be either warm or cold, but personally... it takes a lot better cold. this is meant to be an appetizer and something to be shared by many people. it's easy, rather quick and can be adjusted to your particular fancy.

Ingredients: 16 oz. of fusilli pasta 1 tbsp, olive oil 1.25 lbs, ground turkey taco seasoning mix 24 oz. jar of salsa 8 oz. bottle of ranch dressing

1 green pepper, sliced 1 red pepper, sliced 8 green onions, chopped 4 jalapeno peppers, sliced sm. can of black olives, sliced 8 oz. of cheddar cheese

Preparation:
- in large pot, add 12 cups of water, olive oil and bring to a bowl on med-high heat; when boiling, add in fusilli and cook pasta till malleable
- in a separate pan, brown turkey meat and drain; add in taco seasoning mix; set aside and let cool
- in a large bowl, mix together salsa, ranch dressing, green onions, green/red/jalapeno peppers, cheddar cheese and olives
- when pasta is ready, drain and put pasta under cold water
- stuff cheese mixture into shells and set aside
- in large bowl or pan, mix together salsa mixture, turkey meat and pasta
- cover and place in refrigerator for an hour before serving

breakfast burrito

mood: dauntless
listening to: mudvayne :: closer/heard it all before

happy new year to all! one of my resolutions was to attempt some more easy and difficult recipes, so we'll see how close i come to carrying that out.

not sure what your situations were on new year's day, but this guy was quite hungover and in need of something delicious to put me back to sleep/remove the hangover. i decided to make a simple, yet tasty little morning treat to get my 2010 off to the right start. this is a healthier, non-mcdonalds based dish that anyone can make!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
splash of milk
1/4 onion, diced
1/4 ham steak
pinch, paprika
pinch, cumin
pinch, garlic powder
shredded cheddar cheese
hot sauce
tortilla
light sour cream

Preparation:
- crack eggs, add milk, onion, ham, paprika, cumin, garlic powder and mix
- grease a nonstick pan and pour mixture in over medium-high heat
- cook eggs until slightly brown
- on a tortilla, add small layer of sour cream and cover with eggs
- add cheese and hot sauce on top, roll closed... and enjoy!

there are a lot of things that could've been added to make this even more of a masterpiece, but as i said... i was looking for something quick and delicious to douse my hungover a final blow.

m'egg'xican pizza

again, i'm quite slack and i realize that i've been talking about this creation of mine from chicago... well, here it is. i call it the m'egg'exican pizza. i was visiting my sister in chicago and trying to be a good guest and make her breakfast. i poured a bit too much egg mixture into a 7" pan and what happened next is sheer brilliance. i think i'm gonna find a way to patent this and sell it to taco bell, ha ha.

enjoy... this one really is worth a try. if you add/change anything, i'd be curious how you m'egg'xified this dish.

Ingredients: 3 eggs or egg-substitute tostadas refried beans guacamole black pepper chili powder	1/2 white onion, chopped green pepper 1/2 ham steak, cubed tomatoes shredded cheddar cheese light sour cream green onions

Preparation:
- crack eggs or pour equal portion egg substitute in bowl
- add black pepper, chili powder, green pepper, white onion and ham steak; mix
- grease 7" pan, add mixture and cook on medium-high heat
- in separate pot, add beans, 2 spoons of sour cream and handful of cheese; mix until warm
- when egg mixture turns light brown underneath, flip over and cook
- cover tostada with layer of beans and egg "pancake"; if pancake is too large for tostada, cut off the edges
- add layer of guacamole on top of egg
- put cheddar cheese on top of second tostada and heat in microwave for 15-20 seconds (or till you want), then put on top of guacamole
- add tomatoes and green onions

you can eat this with a fork, slice into pieces or eat the whole slab. whatever you wish.