Black Bean & Corn Salad with Chipotle-Honey Vinaigrette

Black Bean & Corn Salad with Chipotle-Honey Vinaigrette

By Jennifer Segal

This make-ahead black bean and corn salad is a real crowd-pleaser. Bonus: it doubles as a dip!

Servings: 6 (as a side dish)

Total Time: 30 Minutes, plus at least one hour to chill

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SALAD

• 2 ears fresh corn (or just use frozen corn -- straight from the bag, no need to defrost.  I used about 14 oz -- same as black bean amount)
• 1 cup chopped red onion (this might seem like a lot, but it's not, just put in the full cup)
• 1 (14.5 oz) can black beans
• 1 red bell pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh chopped cilantro (plus a bit more for garnish, if desired -- i used more than 1/2 cup)
• 1 avocado

FOR THE DRESSING

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from 1-2 limes
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (2 peppers, not 2 cans; use smaller peppers and if they are all large, use only 1-1/2)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the corn, cover, and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the corn from the water and let cool.  Or skip this step and just add frozen corn.  I used a mixture of frozen corn (10 oz bag) and then added in some frozen roasted corn from Trader Joes until I felt it was about 14.5oz.
2. Meanwhile, place the chopped red onions in a small bowl and cover with water. Let sit about ten minutes, then drain completely in a sieve and set aside.
3. Place the beans in a sieve; run under cold water to rinse well. Let drain completely and set aside.
4. Holding the cooled corn upright in a large bowl, cut the kernels off the cob in strips. Add the beans, red onion, red bell pepper and cilantro.
5. Make the dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a blender or mini food processor; process until smooth.
6. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or, preferably, overnight.
7. Right before serving, slice the avocado in half. Remove the pit; using a butter knife, cut a grid in each half. Holding the avocado halves over the salad, use a spoon to scoop out the diced flesh. Toss the salad gently, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (I usually add a squeeze of fresh lime to freshen it up). Garnish with a bit of fresh chopped cilantro if desired. Serve cold.

Steak/Shrimp Fajitas

Ingredients:

Marinade (Mojo):

1 orange, juiced

2 limes, juiced

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

3 chipotle chiles, in adobo sauce

3 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 pounds skirt or flank steak, trimmed of fat cut into thirds or 8-inch pieces

(Note:  Could also do shrimp, but only marinade shrimp for about 20 minutes)

Salt and pepper

Fajitas:

2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced

1 large onion, thinly sliced

Lime juice, olive oil, optional

12 flour tortillas, warm

For Serving:

Guacamole, recipe follows

Good quality store bought salsa

Sour Cream

Shredded Cheese

Guacamole:

5 ripe Hass avocados

3 to 4 limes, juiced

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 serrano chile, chopped

1 big handful fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Drizzle olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. For the marinade: In a small 2 cup measuring cup, or something similar size and shape, combine all the marinade ingredients. Using an immersion blender, puree the marinade until smooth. Transfer to a re-sealable plastic bag and add the steak, seal and shake to coat. Refrigerate the beef for 2 to 4 hours to tenderize and flavor the beef.
2. Preheat a ridged grill pan on high heat.
3. Drain the marinade from the beef. Lightly oil the grill or grill pan. Season liberally with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Grill the steak over medium-high heat and cook for 4 minutes on each side and then transfer to a cutting board and let rest. Depending on the size of your grill pan you may need to cook in batches.
4. For the fajitas: Once the beef is off the grill pan and resting, add the bell peppers and onions tossed with lime juice and olive oil, if using. Grill the mixture for 7 to 8 minutes until the vegetables are just barely limp.
5. While the peppers and onions are cooking, heat up the tortillas. Turn any free burners on a medium low flame. Place a tortilla on each flame and let it char about 30 seconds to 1 minute, flip the tortilla and repeat on the second side. Once heated and charred remove the tortilla to a clean tea towel and wrap to keep warm. Repeat until you have warmed all of your tortillas.
6. You can also heat your tortillas in a microwave, lightly dampen a tea towel with some water, wrap the tortillas in the damp towel and heat in the microwave for about 1 minute. Check to see if they are warm, if not repeat the heating at 1 minute intervals until they are warm and pliable.
7. Thinly slice the steak against the grain on a diagonal.
8. To serve: Spread some guacamole on a tortilla, top with a few slices of steak, peppers and onions, and salsa. Roll up the tortilla to enclose the filling.
9. May also be served with sour cream and shredded cheese.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas:
Allrecipes

1 Tablespoon Butter
1 chopped yellow onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1  Rotisserie Chicken
2 cups Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend
10 (12 inch) flour tortillas
1/2 cup milk
Green Tomatillo Salsa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the onion until tender (about 3 to 4 minutes).  Add the garlic powder, cumin and chili powder, then stir in the green chiles, cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup and sour cream.  Mix well.  Reserve 3/4 of the sauce and set aside.

To the remaining 1/4 of the sauce in the saucepan, add the chicken and 1 cup of shredded Cheddar.  Stir together.

Put green tomatillo sauce on bottom of casserole dish

Fill each flour tortilla with the chicken mixture and roll up.  Place seam side down in a 9x13 pan.

In a small bowl, combine the reserved 3/4 of the sauce with the milk.  Spoon this mixture over the rolled tortillas and top with the remaining shredded cheese.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Mexican Lasagna

Mexican Lasagna
Rachel Ray

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 pounds ground chicken breast, available in the packaged meats case

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained

1 cup medium heat taco sauce or 1 (14-oz) can stewed or fire roasted tomatoes

1 cup frozen corn kernels

Salt and Pepper

8 (8 inch) spinach flour tortillas, available on dairy aisle of market

2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or shredded pepper jack (1 bag shredded cheese)

2 scallions, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil - twice around the pan. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper and chili powder, cumin, and red onion. Brown the meat, 5 minutes. Add taco sauce or stewed or fire roasted tomatoes. Add black beans and corn. Heat the mixture through, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Coat a shallow baking dish with remaining extra-virgin olive oil, about 1 tablespoon oil. Cut the tortillas in half or quarters to make them easy to layer with. Build lasagna in layers of meat and beans, then tortillas, then cheese. Repeat: meat, tortilla, cheese again. Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Top with the scallions and serve.

Chicken in a Cilantro Lime Cream Sauce

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Ingredients:

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chicken stock
2-3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 Tablespoons heavy cream*
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
optional: lime wedges and more cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375°F
2.  If the chicken breasts are uneven in thickness, pound them down so they’re all even. This way all the breasts will cook through simultaneously. 

3,  Sprinkle each chicken breast with salt and pepper.
4.  In a large ovenproof skillet (LeCruset), heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 6-7 minutes, turning once.  Just sear and brown the chicken.  (It doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through yet.) Set chicken on a plate and cover tightly with foil.

5.  Add onions and saute for a few minutes until translucent.

5.  Remove skillet from heat and add the broth, lime juice, cilantro, and red pepper. 

6.  Return to heat. Cook and stir to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Bring to a boil. Allow to boil gently, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until the liquid is reduced to around 1/4 cup. 

7.  Reduce heat to medium-low, then add the cream and butter. Stir until butter has melted.
8.  Add chicken to the sauce and place the skillet in the preheated oven. Bake uncovered until the chicken is completely cooked through, about 5-10 minutes.

Serve chicken with sauce spooned on top and any of the listed optional garnishes. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. Reheat to your liking.

Black Bean Salad with Corn, Red Peppers & Avocado With Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette

Black Bean Salad with Corn, Red Peppers & Avocado With Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS

• 2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 ears fresh cooked corn, kernels cut off the cob
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots, from one medium shallot
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, best quality such as Colavita 
• 1 teaspoon lime zest (be sure to zest limes before juicing them)
• 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice 
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
• 2 Hass avocados, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients except for avocados in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and chill for a few hours or overnight. Right before serving, add avocados and mix gently, being careful not to mash avocados. Garnish with a more chopped cilantro if desired. Serve at room temperature.

El Torito Salad

El Torito Salad:

1 large head Romaine lettuce, rinse, torn into bite size pieces or chopped

1 Box cherry tomatoes (cut in half)

1 Avocado

5 green onions (chopped)

1 1/2 cup crushed lime tortilla chips

Grilled Chicken or Shrimp (optional)

Pepitas (Roasted Pumpkin seeds - optional)

1/3 cup Cotija Cheese

El Torito Green Caesar Dressing

Aside from the lettuce and the El Torito dressing, can add or omit any of the above ingredients.  

After assembling salad, toss with dressing and top with tortilla chips and cotija cheese (again, optional).