Black Bean & Avocado Quesadillas

I made black bean and avocado quesadillas for dinner and they were AMAZING! I like that they are simple to make and very filling. I have been eating better and this recipe was a win for me. I will be adding this in as a regular meal plan. The original recipe was made with whole black beans but I wanted refried beans, I got the brand that was recommended if buying canned. I'm sure there are more out there for me to try and I'm sure it will be happening. My husband said he would like to have these again. So there will be more black bean recipes in my future.

This is all you need for this recipe.

Use I forgot the most important part.. corn tortillas!

 I used Bush's black refried beans and added diced jalapeno with a bit of juice. 

 Spread the beans on the tortilla then added the diced avocado.

Add cheese on top, cook for 5 mins and ENJOY!

 

Black Bean & Avocado Quesadillas

 

 

What Ya'll Need:

6 Tortillas (corn or flour)
1/2 can Black Refried Beans

1 tsp. diced Jalapenos
2 Avocados, diced
3/4 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Splash of Lime
Salsa, Sour Cream, Lettuce and Tomatoes for toppings

 

What to Do:

Two ways to cook this in a skillet over medium high heat or I used my George Forman Grill. Spread tortilla with a spoon full of black beans. Top that with the diced avocados then sprinkle the tortilla with cheese. Add another tortilla on top, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Cut in fours and Serve.

 

*Cooking Tip: I added lime juice to the diced avocados.. It was so good! Top with anything you like. I made Cilantro Lime Rice as a side dish to this meal.

 

Cilantro Lime Rice

I have made an effort to start eating better. I will still make things for my family that they love to eat, but I won't be eating it with them. I've been looking at different recipes that has ingredients I will eat. It's not been hard finding things to replace some of the things I like but it's worth it. Of the many foods out there to eat rice tops the list as one of my favorites, so when I seen this recipe for Cilantro Lime Rice I was thrilled. I can use this rice along with almost any meat, chicken or fish dish. When I first tried cilantro lime rice it was with green beans and chicken. I made this as a side dish to my Black Bean & Avocado Quesadillas. Lime lovers Enjoy!

 

This is all you need for this amazingly yummy rice! It's so simply to make.

 

Cilantro Lime Rice

 

What Ya'll Need:

1/2 tbsp. butter( you could use vegetable oil)

2/3 cup Jasmine rice
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
Juice of 1 Lime
Cilantro use fresh or dried

What to do:
In saucepan add butter, heat stirring occasionally until melted. Add rice and lime juice, stir till rice is coated. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. Once it's boiling, cover with lid and turn down to a simmer until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, takes about 20-25 minutes. Then remove from heat fluff rice with a fork. Place in a dish immediately.. taste and add extra lime if needed then add the Cilantro and serve.

*Cooking Note: My husband is not a big fan of Cilantro so I use the dried, but if you want to use fresh just chop and add to liking. Once the rice is done place in serving dish this keeps rice from still cooking and getting sticky.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies are Yummy in almost any flavor. I decided to make mint chocolate chip cookies since I had some of my nieces and nephews visiting me and they wanted to help make a dessert. I did the easy way and used the Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix recipe and I did a slight change nothing real major. l really enjoyed my time with the kids and we had fun making cookies.

What you need for this fun yummy cookie!

Here my niece Layla pouring the mix and getting ready to make cookies.

This is what it looks like mixed up. I didn't get to take a picture of it before we stirred.

Layla changed clothes. Cracked an egg went all over her, first time in the kitchen!

She did a great job! They tasted really good.

 Evan decided he would write the recipe down so that I wouldn't forget. He wanted to help out.

 

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies  

 

 

What Ya'll Need:

1 pouch (1 lb. 1.5 oz.) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix                 

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/4 teaspoon mint extract

6 drops green food color 

1 egg

1 cup Andes crème de menthe baking chips                

3/4 cup  Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

 

What to Do:

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, extract, food color and egg until soft dough forms. Then stir in crème de menthe baking chips and chocolate chips. Using small cookie scoop I got mine from Pampered Chef drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10* minutes. Let cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack or wax paper. Serve warm or cool completely!

 

Cooking Tip: I cooked mine for 9 minutes they turned out great. Test a cookie first in your oven  to check what time is best. It always helps from ruining the whole batch of cookies. I use less chocolate chips and more mint chips and very little mint extract. I like the flavor of the mint chips.

 

{Southern Style} Dirty Rice

Southern Style Dirty Rice is my take on a New Orleans traditional dirty rice which is often made with chicken gizzards and livers, which gives it the brown color and that gives this recipe its name. However I do not eat either of those two meats. I have tried them but, they are not for me. I have had dirty rice cooked for me by a friend from Louisiana and I've tried the boxed dirty rice by Zatarain's. The seasonings in dirty rice full of flavor. Then one day I thought why not try and make it from scratch. I got as close as I could on taste. If you like dirty rice you will like this. Give it a try!

{Southern Style} Dirty Rice

What You Need:

2 lbs. ground meat

3 cups uncooked long grain white rice(used uncle ben's) 

4 tbsp. Creole Seasoning (used Zatarain's)

1 1/2 tbsp. of Zatarain's Dehydrated Sweet Bell Peppers

2 tbsp. minced Onion(used McCormick's)

1 tbsp. minced garlic

2 tbsp. soy sauce

6 1/2 cups water

2 tbsp. of butter 

*dash of paprika on top for taste

Directions:

Brown ground beef in large skillet on medium-high heat, make sure you ground it up in very small pieces, then drain and set aside. In a large saucepan bring water to a boil add all the seasonings and butter stir until mixed. Then add the meat and rice; return to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 25 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with fork before serving. Dash with paprika and enjoy!

*Cooking Note: You could use fresh peppers and onion.

This make's 8-12, 1 cup servings. We like left overs in my house!!