Black Bean and Mango Tostadas

It has been a while since I posted a recipe on here. I've taken a brief hiatus from cooking new recipes while we travel all over the place. But we are back for four days and I found a little time to scrounge together a quick recipe with these beautiful mangoes I bought at a discount store here in town.

These tostadas were delicious and I think even snafu'd Jared before he realized they were vegetarian. At that point, he didn't care and scarfed the rest. To Jared (and his mother's) credit, Jared is a healthy eater and doesn't mind the vegetarian dishes I throw at him as long as we get meat in there at some point during the week. This is a shoutout to my mother-in-law (and my father-in-law that would also eat anything): thanks, Anne, for teaching the boy good eating habits, and Doug, for setting the example of eating what's on your plate!

What could be better about a quick, healthy meal that's vegetarian and packs the protein? One dollar fifty cents per serving is what could be better. We loved these and actually ate them for Saturday and Sunday.

(adapted from myrecipes)

COOK TIME: 10 MINUTES
PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES Ingredient

1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 scallions, white and light green parts, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 8-inch flour tortillas

6 ounces grated low-fat Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, or Cheddar 

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and diced

1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced

1/4 small red onion, finely chopped (2 Tbsp.)

1 tablespoon lime juice

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Combine beans, olive oil, scallions, chili powder and 1/2 tsp. salt in a bowl.
2. Mist a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place tortillas on sheet and spoon bean mixture on top. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes.
3. While tostadas are baking, combine mango, onion, lime juice and 1/4 tsp. salt in a bowl. Remove tostadas from oven, spoon mango mixture on top and serve immediately.

Note: Spice it up. If you like more heat, use pepper Jack cheese instead of plain Monterey Jack.Swap salsas. Don't care for mango or can't find one? Sub in tomato salsa instead.Go green. To add another layer of flavor, sprinkle on some chopped avocado and fresh cilantro after assembling.Put in more fruit. Mango gives the dish a touch of sweetness. Substitute or add chopped papaya, pineapple or kiwi for even more of a tropical taste.Try another base. We used small flour tortillas for these tostadas, but you can use corn tortillas if you prefer.

Savory Shrimp Fajitas

This week I'm on a roll with good recipes. This is another recipe found on one of my favorite sites, finecooking.com. Sometimes their recipes are a little too fancy, but this one went together so fast and again, the cleanup was minimal. The marinade for the shrimp was delicious and we loved the poblano peppers. I think leftovers will be twice as good tomorrow. Believe me. Try 'em and love 'em. If you like shrimp. And onions. If you don't like either, well, this recipe isn't for you.

Oh, side note. Have you ever tried the frozen tortillas that you get at Costco? They are very good and no preservative or natural flavors. Just wheat flour, yeast, water.

1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. crumbled dried oregano
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1-1/2 lb. large or jumbo shrimp, shelled, deveined, rinsed, and drained
1 large yellow onion, sliced through the stem end into thin wedges
2 medium fresh poblano chiles or bell peppers (4 to 6 oz. total), cored, seeded, and sliced into thin strips
Warmed flour tortillas
1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves
1 lime, cut in wedges
Sour cream (optional)

In a small bowl, combine the cumin, garlic powder, pepper, salt, chili powder, brown sugar, and oregano. Put the 1/4 cup of olive oil in a medium bowl and stir in all but 1 Tbs. of the spice mix. Add the garlic and shrimp; toss to coat.

Heat a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat, and, when hot, add the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil. Add the sliced onion and sauté until they’re softened and fragrant and starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the chiles or bell peppers and continue to sauté for 3 minutes. Add the remaining spice mixture and sauté until the onion and chiles are tender but not mushy, another 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Return the skillet to medium high heat and add the shrimp. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sautéed vegetables; toss to combine and reheat. Transfer to a large serving platter. Serve with the warmed flour tortillas, cilantro, lime wedges for squeezing, and sour cream, if using.