Corn Cakes

I made these to go with slow cooked pork roast and they turned out great; they are a hybrid of a few different recipes. I used yogurt instead of just buttermilk because I had some greek yogurt left over than needed using up but you could probably use all buttermilk if you wanted or even sour cream. Also, cheese would probably taste really good in these too.

These cakes are addictive and I kept nibbling on them as they were frying!

Corn Cakes
1/2 cup Yogurt
1/2 cup Buttermilk
1/3 cup Oil
2 Eggs
1 cup Cornmeal
1/3 cup Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Sugar
2-3 Chili Peppers chopped
1/2 Onion chopped
1 cup frozen Corn
Butter for frying
In a large sized bowl mix together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar and then add in the buttermilk, yogurt, oil and eggs. Mix just until everything is moistened then put in the corn, onions, and peppers.

Everything in the bowl

Heat a large skillet to about medium high heat and put a little butter in the pan (I just take a stick of butter and rub it around on the skillet until there is a light coating of butter).

Mixed up batter

Using a large serving spoon scoop out a spoonful of the batter and put it in the pan. (my pan fits two scoops) fry for a little over a minute and then flip over and fry for about 45 seconds.

Both sides of the corn cakes should be light brown. Continue until all of the batter is used up. Makes about 12.

Pepper and Black Bean Filling

All the peppers and Onions

This is my go-to meal when I am by myself or don't feel like doing a lot of cooking. Mexican is probably my favorite cuisine and this is a mexican-ish tasting filling that works for pretty much anything. I use them as a filling for a quick burrito, sprinkle them on top of nachos along with other toppings, in quesadillas...you see where I am going with this.

Nachos!

I can make this in about 20 minutes and have enough to use for several days (if it is just me eating it). I never get tired of eating it either, yesterday I had a burritos filled with these beans and today I had nachos.

Enjoy!

Pepper and Black Bean Filling
2 15 oz cans Black Beans
1 Onion chopped
1 Orange Bell Pepper diced
1 Poblano Pepper diced
1 Red Chili Pepper diced
3/4 cup Frozen Corn
Oil
To taste:
Salt
Pepper
Chili Powder
Cumin
Coriander
Cheese
Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium heat and saute onions, bell pepper, poblano pepper, and chili pepper until browning then add in the corn, black beans and spices and cook on medium low for about 10 minutes; sprinkle with cheese and continue to heat until melted then take off of heat. Wrap these beans in a tortilla, sprinkle over nachos, or whatever you want to do.

Classic Wet Burritos

These burritos were inspired by memories of really tasty burritos a friend of mine back in Michigan would make, also I had a bunch of pinto beans I had made a while ago sitting in the fridge and I needed to use them up. I totally didn't write down how I made the pinto beans but they are pretty simple, soak them overnight in water, drain the next day. Put in just enough water to cover and add in some garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and whatever else suits your fancy and let them simmer for about 3 hours until they are cooked down. The most important thing is to cook them until they are in a very thick broth made from the beans partially breaking down, this is what makes homemade pinto beans so different and so much better than canned ones.

Anyway, on to the burritos. These are really easy to make and make good leftovers. Enjoy!

Classic Wet Burritos
1 lb Ground Turkey
2-3 cups cooked Pinto Beans
2-3 Jalapeno Peppers seeded and diced
2 Red Chili Peppers seeded and diced
2 Onions chopped
3-4 teaspoons Chili Powder
1 1/2 teaspoons Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
2 10 oz cans Enchilada Sauce
1 1/2 cups Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend
10 Tortilla Shells (soft taco sized)
Olive Oil
Spice amounts are approximate I just dumped stuff in for this recipe
Saute peppers and onions in a large skillet in a little oil for about 5 minutes then add in the ground turkey and spices and cook until turkey is browned. Add in the pinto beans and stir, then turn off heat. Put about a 1/4 cup of the filling onto a tortilla shell and sprinkle on a little cheese then roll up and put in a 13x9 inch pan that has  been lightly greased. Repeat until filling is used up. Pour Enchilada sauce over the top of the rolled up burritos and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for about 25-30 minutes at 350 or until heated through.