Huevos Rancheros...AND A WINNER!

On Sunday, I woke up and wanted a good hearty breakfast.  BUT…I wanted something different than I normally make.  No muffins, no pancakes, no waffles.  I wanted something that challenged me in the kitchen and brought some versatility to our somewhat boring breakfast rotation.  The first thing I thought about was huevos rancheros.  It’s filling, it’s different, and it’s delicious.  I couldn’t wait to make it.  Now the challenge was…HOW?

I started scouring the web for various recipes.  It seemed like every recipe was different.  One called for you to make your own salsa (which I didn’t feel like making), most had barely cooked eggs (I like mine medium-well), and most importantly, all of them had no meat!  What the heck?  I needed some meat.  What better to go with a Mexican breakfast dish than chorizo?  I experimented and it was amazing.  Here’s my creation:

Huevos Rancheros

1 15oz can black beans

½ c water

1 tsp salt, divided

1 tsp pepper, divided

1 tsp hot Mexican chili powder (or regular chili powder), divided

1 tsp garlic powder, divided

1 tsp onion powder, divided

1 tsp cumin, divided

1 tsp olive oil

16oz ground chorizo

½ c diced onion

1 jalepeno, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

6-7 canned whole peeled tomatoes, seeds removed

1 tbsp vegetable oil

4 corn tortillas

4 large eggs

¼ c crumbled queso fresco

chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

Drain and rinse black beans.  Add black beans and ½ c water to a small pot at medium heat.  Add half of the salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin.  Stir and bring to a boil.  Once heated, use a fork to mash some of the beans and reduce heat to low until ready to use.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Brown ground chorizo.  Add jalepeno, garlic, and onion about half way through cooking.  Once chorizo is browned, crush tomatoes into the chorizo mixture using your hands.  Add remaining salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin.  Bring to a boil and then simmer until ready to use.

Note: I grabbed fresh chorizo from the grocery store packaged meat section.  Hopefully you can find it at a grocery store near you.  Remove the skin, add it to the pan, and brown it.

Coat a cast iron skillet in vegetable oil.  Heat 2 tortillas until browned on both sides.  Break one egg over each tortilla.  Carefully flip tortilla to cook egg to desired doneness.  Flip tortillas and eggs back over and cook a couple of minutes.  Repeat with remaining tortillas and eggs.

Tip: Cooking method for eggs may vary depending on how well you want your eggs cooked.  If you want them sunny-side up, then you can fry them in a separate pan and just place them on top of the tortillas.  Cooking them on top of the tortillas works well for medium or medium-well eggs.

Place tortillas and eggs on a plate, top with black beans, chorizo mixture, and queso fresco.  You can also garnish with green onion and/or chopped cilantro.

NOW…WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!  It’s time to announce the winner of our 1-year anniversary giveaway!  We want to thank those of you who commented on the blog and gave us feedback on Facebook.  It is always great to hear from those who have followed us from the beginning and those new fans who we want to keep wanting more.  This year is sure to bring more goodies, so be sure to stay tuned!  And don’t forget that you can always contact us with recommendations for improvements at nopressurecookercontact@gmail.com.

DRUMROLL PLEASE………………………………………………………………………………………………

AND THE WINNER IS…………………………………………….

JODY LAURA!!! 

Jody, thank you so much for your feedback!  We hope that you continue to follow us and please enjoy some of our favorite kitchen items as a token of our appreciation!

*Jody, please send your full name and home address to our email address and we'll ship the goodies out to you as soon as possible :)

White Chicken Chili

I have been looking for a great white chicken chili recipe for the longest!  I just feel it’s not something everyone gets right in restaurants.  And since I love it so much, I wanted to make it at home and be able to have it whenever I want.  Well, the Neelys on Food Network knocked this one out of the park!  I was eating this for 3 days! 

White chicken chili is a great alternative to regular chili.  It doesn’t take long to make and is a fantastic one-pot dish.  It’s also something nice to make on the weekends and have it for lunch because it continues to get better and better as it sits and all of the flavors meld together.  Poblano peppers are my favorite pepper so I was thrilled when I realized this recipe used them.  This dish has the perfect amount of spice, earthy tones, and flavors that I just couldn’t get enough of.  Every bite was better than the last.  Please, please, please make this soon before summer hits!  After all, who wants chili during the summer???

White Chicken Chili

*slightly modified from the Neelys

2-15oz cans white beans

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium jalapeno pepper

2 medium poblano peppers

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 ½ tsp ground coriander

1 tsp hot chili powder

4-5c chicken stock

2 limes, juiced

1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed and meat shredded

¼ c chopped cilantro leaves (also additional for garnish)

sour cream, for topping

tortilla chips, coarsely crushed, for topping

Drain and rinse the canned white beans.  In a medium bowl, mash half of the beans with a potato masher until chunky.  Set beans aside.

Note: For this recipe I used Northern beans but any white bean will do.  It’s a larger white bean with mild flavor so I think it blends well with the chili and isn’t overpowering.

Add oil to a large dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat.  Add peppers, onion, and garlic and sauté until soft and fragrant (~5 mins).  Season vegetables with salt and pepper, to taste.  Stir in chicken stock and lime juice and bring to a simmer.  Add the beans and continue to simmer for 20 mins.

Taste and add seasoning as needed.  Stir in shredded rotisserie chicken and cilantro and simmer until heated through.  Serve chili topped with sour cream, tortilla chips, cilantro, and lime wedges.

Tip: Your hands are your best kitchen tools!  I shred chicken with my fingers.  It’s so much easier than using two forks.

All of the garnishes and toppings are a MUST!  Do not forget them!  The citrus from the lime, freshness from the cilantro, and tanginess from the sour cream takes this way over the top.  Definitely blog-worthy!

Black Bean and Chorizo Bake

Hi everyone!  I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Sarah and I shared pictures of our Thanksgiving meals on our Facebook page so be sure to check out the page.   We would love to hear ideas of what recipes you would like to see for Christmas so be sure to email us or send us requests on Facebook.

We have a football household and I was looking for the perfect dip or appetizer that would work for any football watch party.  Every Sunday (and Monday…and Thursday…) are about football for us.  As you can see, it takes over our lives!  So we often need food that is good for just sitting back while cheering on your favorite team.  It’s not fancy, it may not be pretty, but it’s easy, it’s good, and it’s fun :)

This “bake” was slightly modified from the Cooking Light recipe.  It’s not as light because I added more cheese.  They also used more of a layering technique and I just kinda threw everything together.  (Think football lol).  I needed something quick and delicious.  Serve this with lime Tostitos tortilla chips and you are good to go!

Black Beans and Chorizo Bake

Ingredients:

1 tbsp EVOO

½ c diced Spanish chorizo

cooking spray

1 c chopped onion

1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and sliced

½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp crushed red pepper

4 garlic cloves, minced

¾ c fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

2 (15oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1c halved and seeded cherry tomatoes

¾ c shredded Mexican blend cheese

¼ c thinly sliced green onions

Preheat oven to 400F.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Add chorizo; sauté for 2 mins.  Add onion and jalapeno; sauté 4 mins, stirring occasionally.  Add salt, black pepper, cumin, red pepper, and garlic; sauté 1 min, stirring constantly.  Stir in broth and beans; bring to a boil.  Cook 5 mins. 

Mash to desired consistency.  Stir in tomatoes while hot.  Spoon bean mixture into a baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Tip: To seed tomatoes, cut in half and lightly squeeze over a bowl.

Top with cheese.  Bake at 400 for 20-25 mins or until lightly browned.  Top with green onions.