Jana: Chicken Flautas

After a long day at work, sometimes I just want some yummy Mexican food. Who am I kidding... I could go for Mexican food any time.

And, although Rob and I have recently found our favorite Mexican restaurant in this "new" town of ours, we can't justify the cost or calories of going too often.

So, here's our make-at-home answer... chicken flautas with a pick-two combination of black beans, fire-roasted corn, cilantro lime rice, and baked tortilla strips.

Chicken Flautas

Time: 10 minutes prep. 15 minutes cooking.

Servings: 2 or more, depending on how many you make

Ingredients:

• 8" flour tortillas, 2 per person
• cooking spray
• Southwestern flavored chicken strips, we've tried several and found we like the Oscar Mayer DeliFresh brand best

Optional add-ins:

• salsa
• chopped onions... about half of a small onion does the trick for us
• chopped cilantro
• squirt of lime juice
• shredded cheese... if you're into that sort of thing
• avocado slices/guacamole
• other taco-like toppings

Directions:

Spray the tops and bottoms of the tortillas with the cooking spray. Fill the tortillas with chicken and other tasty toppings. Roll them up. Garnish the top with a handful of shredded cheese.

Bake on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes.

Month 5

Considering that neither of us did very well with black beans, we've decided that May is going to be a double month. Although I was careful to specify... double the ingredients, not necessarily double recipes. Both black beans and ground beef. Perfect for Cinco de Mayo!!

Jana: Black Bean Tostadas with Corn Relish

Wednesday afternoon in our house: I had been icing sugar cookies all day, but made a discovery that with the tv on (aka reruns on the laptop) I can get a whole heck of a lot of work done around the house. Knowing that this would be the last night at home over Spring Break (we left the next day for Ohio), I decided it was now or never for the first Black Bean recipe.

Luckily many of the vegetables I had left over from avocado month were still appropriate for black bean recipes, so I used this recipe for Black Bean Tostadas with Corn Relish.

I chopped all of the veggies and even cooked the meat ahead of time. When Rob got home from work hungry, all I had to do was layer the tostadas and bake for 10 minutes. Must remember this for the summer... especially when Rob comes home after late bike rides. I could have everything all ready in the afternoon, so that it will be done as soon as he gets out of the shower.

The combination of crunchy tostada shell, warm toppings, and cool corn relish was a hit! And I was even able to personalize them for each of us: no cheese for me, please.

Of course I literally lost the bag of tortilla chips that was going to be our appetizer, so I quickly threw together some rice for the side. Chips would have been better. Of course... chips make everything better.

Month 4