Last year’s posts:
Prep
Review
Beans and Rice month for this year has been scheduled and mapped! (May 20-June 9… that’s four weeks) Because I’m allowing homemade breads and a little cheese, it doesn’t seem like a big change from a typical diet that includes meat… but it really is. Maybe I’ll get the food even better this time and we’ll be able to incorporate this type of meal more often! It sure is cheaper
What else we will eat:
Vegetables and fruit (this includes salsa)
Spices
PBJ toast and Yogurt for breakfast (to encourage Brian to participate – I am hoping for some rice, raisins and milk for breakfast)
Milk
Eggs from our chickens
A minimal amount of cheese and sour cream
Tortilla chips
Homemade tortillas and bread – I don’t WANT this to be part of our menu, since it takes away from the purity of the idea… but it’s so much easier if you have tortillas with beans and bread with salads… so to limit how much we have, I have to MAKE it, which is a lot of work. 🙂 Favorite tortilla recipes or tips, anyone?
The Menu:
1. Herbed Lentils and Rice *New recipe. Will try it with less cheese than called for… and cheddar of course instead of swiss. 🙂
2. Bean & Rice Enchiladas *Love this recipe! We’ll use less cheese and sour cream than usual on top for this month’s “fast” but these are delicious any time and I often have them in the freezer.
3. Middle Eastern Rice with Black Beans & Chickpeas
4. Majedra
5. Spicy Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup *Made this last year. It’s very spicy, but that’s nice if you’re tired of beans. We added rice to tone down the spice. A little sour cream would be excellent if you’re permitting yourself. I didn’t think I’d like it, but was pleasantly surprised.
6. Mexican Rice & Beans *I really love these with tortilla chips. Yum! Thinking of trying these this year. Also – I love cilantro, so added extra. 🙂
7. Bean & Rice Tacos *You know – just like you usually make tacos, but with beans and rice and no meat. Haven’t decided how to make the beans yet. White, black, red, whole, refried, with canned tomatoes and cooked onions… or not. So many decisions, so little time!
8. Salad with Beans *A green salad with veggies and boiled eggs…. topped with beans and salsa.
9. Rod’s Spicy Kale N Beans *Never had this.
10. Chickpeas in Coconut Milk *Another new one
11. Warm French Lentils *Newbie
12. Roasted Vegetable Biriyani *Heard this was worth the effort. So it’ll be my “fancy” meal.
13. Black Bean Burger *I’ve had black bean burgers before, but this is a new recipe. They taste really good, but the texture is a little softer than you might like. Not sure if I’ll make hamburger buns or eat them with a fork.
14. Pita bread and Hummus (usually make regular and Roasted Red Pepper) *The red pepper hummus is a little spicy for the girls, but having two kinds is nice for us grownups. Both are delicious!
I’ll be shopping in dry bulk for the beans and rice – it won’t cost much for a month’s worth of food. I’m guessing the dry goods will be less than $20.
GO Rachel!!! 🙂
Melissa… is there a pun intended?
Here’s my tortilla recipe
4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 T. oil or shortening
1 1/2 c. warm water
I mix this up for about 10 minutes on the dough cycle in my bread machine. You could mix it up with a dough hook, or get a work out and do it by hand. You want a nice smooth dough.
Divide dough into 20-24 pieces Roll very, very thin. Cook on a HOT pan. If you roll them thin and the pan is nice and hot, they’ll bubble up nicely which makes them super good!
Pingback: Grocery Budget Bust! | The Davis Family
I like the tortillas I make, and I’ve tried and tried with differing recipes. So, I make these by “eye or ear” and don’t use a recipe anymore… but here is what I think I do:
3 c of flour. I like to use half white and half wheat
salt, about 1tsp
1/2-1 tsp of baking powder
1-2 Tbsp of canola oil
1 Tbsp or so of shortening. (Shortening makes them softer for some reason, and I like them better with than without. I figure that 1tb of shortening spread out over 12 tortillas or so isn’t going to kill me.)
HOT WATER, about 1 Cup
The hotter the water, the better the tortillas turn out. Just not boiling, you don’t want to burn yourself.
Directions:
Cut the fats into the dry ingredients. Pour in enough water to make a sticky dough. Not sticky enough to stick to your hands but just dry enough not to. The more water in your dough the softer your tortillas will be.
Knead the dough until it is smooth. cover it in the bowl for 15 minutes or so. Pull off hunks, roll them out really thin and cook on medium heat on a comal (best!) cast iron (also good!) or else just a flat pan. Flip them when they are just browning on one side. I put my cooked ones in a towel so that the steam softens them while they cool. I just stack them as they come off the griddle. If your dough is wet enough, you may need a little flour when rolling them out so they don’t stick to your counter.
I haven’t bought tortillas in months. I love to make them and they taste SO MUCH better.
Oh, they don’t keep well. They’re ok, but of course, they’re much better when right off the griddle.
A tip on beans: Refried beans made with bacon fat are the best. (cooked pintos + bacon fat mashed up in pan with some bean water) 🙂
This seems like a long explanation, but there are two things that I learned… make sure you get enough water in the dough… and a little shortening makes a huge difference! The water in the dough evaporates when you heat the tortillas on the griddle, causing them to bubble up, which is what you want, and makes them softer. I discovered this by accident… after having made numerous frustrating batches of flat frisbees.
Have fun!
Pingback: Beans and Rice Month – Year 2 in Review | The Davis Family