Meatless Monday: Tia Melanie's Cheesy Mexican Omelet

Cheesy Mexican Omelot

This tastes so good, you don't even notice there is no meat. Living in southern California has advantages. Not just mountains, deserts, beaches and Disneyland, but authentic Mexican food. This is a very basic recipe for an omelet. I tweeked it a bit to fit our tastes here at home, but I think it is representative of SoCal cooking. Although it is not spicy, I must tell. I'm pretty much a gringo when it comes to that.



 Tia Melanie's Cheesy Mexican Omelet

Cheese starts melting.

Ingredients

5 eggs, well beaten          1/2 c. picante sauce, divided
12 tsb butter                      2 tsb milk
1/8 tsp salt & pepper        2 dashes (or 4 pinches) cumin
3 tbs fresh parsley
1 or 1 1/2 c shredded Mexican cheeses
(Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero Cheeses)

It's fluffy.

Combine eggs, milk, 3 tbs picante sauce, salt, pepper, cumin; mix well. Melt butter in ten inch omelet pan. Heat until just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. Pour in egg mixture all at once.

As mix starts to cook, gently lift edges of omelet with a fork and tilt pan to allow uncooked egg mix to run underneath cooked part. When mix is set and no longer runs, sprinkle cheese on the omelet, cover pan and remove from heat. Fold omelet in half and place on warm platter. Top with remaining picante sauce. Serves 3 or 4.

Fairly easy to make, and muy delicioso. Lots of good protein, too.

Meatless Monday: Black Beans and Rice

We all probably have several days during the week that we go meatless. But it is a good thought to make it deliberate and specific. We save money going meatless, we give our digestive track a rest from the extra effort of processing meat, and we save the environment since there are maybe  fewer cows, pigs or poultry needed to feed us.

But do we lose anything doing that? Not really. For example, take today's recipe for meatless Monday: Black Beans and Rice.

Great taste and texture. Excellent protein and nutrients. Beautiful color, more deep purple than black. Smells inviting. Simple preparation and cleanup. Ingredients could not get easier to find. Saves well if there are leftovers. It even freezes. So, let's go!

This recipe is good for two adults.

Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients

1 c black beans
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground chili pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 small onion
1 large clove garlic

Step 1: Boil black beans in 2 qt. saucepan with 1 1/2 qt. water until tender, about 1 hour.
Step 2: Add other ingredients, cook until well integrated into beans, about 20 minutes.

Prepare one cup rice according to instructions. (You can prepare rice while Step 2 of Black Beans is combining.)


Pour beans over rice. If you like, you can sprinkle cheese on top. We liked grated Medium Cheddar.