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Posts Tagged ‘wraps’

The most delicious tacos. Ever.

Posted in Healthy Lifestyle, Lunch, Main Dishes, Pastured Beef, Whole Grains, Wraps, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 4, 2012 | 3 Comments »

We try to eat 100% organic, and we usually come in at about 90% organic.  These tacos were exceptional any way you cut it.  Local (think within 10 miles local), organic pastured ground beef; organic avocados, romaine, tomatoes; Wisconsin cheese; organic sour cream; homemade taco seasoning.  Homemade whole wheat tacos – and this recipe turns out better than the original I posted, and they stay flexible after refrigeration.  Can I get an Amen?

Zesty Taco Meat

Seasons one pound ground meat

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 T. chili powder
  • 1/4 t. garlic powder
  • 1/4 t. onion powder
  • 1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 t. dried oregano
  • 1/2 t. paprika
  • 1-1/2 t. ground cumin
  • 1 t. sea salt
  • 1 t. black pepper
  • 1 t. arrowroot powder

DIRECTIONS

Brown and drain one pound of ground meat (turkey, chicken, beef, or black beans put through a food processor).  Add 1/2 cup water and seasonings.  Simmer gently for 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Vegan Whole-Wheat Tortillas II

Yields 16 6-7in tortillas.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1-1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1-1/2 c. whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 5 T. organic non-hydrogenated shortening (ghee also works, but makes it non-vegan)
  • 3/4 c. warm water

DIRECTIONS

  1. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
  2. Rub in the shortening (or ghee), stir in the water and knead lightly to a soft dough.
  3. Divide dough into 16 equal pieces and shape into balls.  Cover with a damp dish towel and leave to rest for 20 minutes.
  4. Roll them out on a floured surface into 6-7in rounds.
  5. Heat a frying pan or griddle until very hot.  Add one tortilla and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Flip, and cook on the other side.  It should stay flexible.  Remove from the pan and place into a covered tortilla warmer, or into a clean dry dish towel to keep warm while cooking the remaining tortillas.
  6. If you’d like to have these on hand or made ahead of time, these tortillas freeze well.  Keep them separated with wax paper or parchment paper.

Chop up a head of romaine, maybe some spinach or kale too.  Chop a few tomatoes.  Chop a cucumber, if you like.  Pit and cube an avocado.  Grate some cheese that makes you happy (please, please don’t buy the shredded cheese.  Read this if you don’t believe me.)   Slap one of those beautiful tortillas on a plate, and load it up with goodness.  Take a big bite and suddenly understand that if people could taste this?  They would tell Taco Bell to go to hell and never come back.

Real food, slow food, whole food, takes time and a certain willingness to wait and see; it requires less expectation and more anticipation.  You must live in the moment right there with those tortillas as you’re rolling them out.  As you’re watching the bubbles form right in front of you, you might feel a little thrill that YOU just created that.  Nobody marketed that to you.  You MADE THEM, and now you will EAT THEM.  And they will be delicious and satisfying in ways you never knew weren’t being satisfied by “convenience” foods.

Slow food brings with it the gifts of sustenance, pleasure, and permission to take the time to nourish yourself in every way you need nourishing.  Enjoy!

Added 4/10/12:  This recipe was posted on FrugallySustainable’s blog hop.

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Creamy Avocado Chicken Salad Wraps (Without Mayonnaise!)

Posted in Chicken, Main Dishes, Wraps, tagged , , , , , , , on March 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

It’s a beautiful day by any measure, but especially in light of the fact that it’s mid-March in Wisconsin.  I think it hit about 75 degrees today.  The kids were playing out in Willow Acre Park this morning (our backyard), but we wanted to have a picnic lunch away from home.  Since it is so warm, I wanted to have a lunch that could sit outside.  After a swing through The Healthy Foodie’s website (I LOVE her recipes), I found her Creamy Chicken Avocado and Goat Cheese Salad.  I don’t eat anything goat-y because I just don’t like the flavor.  Please, I can hear you squawking, “But goat cheese is WONDERFUL!  You must not have tried the right kind!”  Please, trust me, I’ve tried and tried different varieties, and my palate says No, thank you, and please get this goat off me.

We also made whole wheat tortillas, which turned out beautifully.  The first time we made the recipe, we used all white flour, just to see how they came out.  They were delicious, so we substituted whole wheat flour for half, and unbleached flour for the rest.  Amazing.  SO much better than the whole wheat/multi-grain tortillas you buy at the store, both in flavor and in holding together.  We’ve found the store-bought multi-grain tortillas very soft and weak, and they break apart easily.  The flavor is weak and tastes over-processed.

The final touch was belgian endives.  We put two leaves down the middle of the tortilla, then filled the little endive “cups” with the chicken salad.  The crunch of the endive paired with the whole wheat tortilla and the creamy chicken salad made a delicious, healthy, portable, and satisfying lunch.  I hope you enjoy it as well!

Creamy Avocado Chicken Salad Wraps

Serves 4

CHICKEN SALAD

  • 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, sauteed and finished with salt and pepper, and cut into 1/2″ cubes
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 40 red grapes, halved
  • 1 unpeeled apple, cored and diced
  • 2 celery rib, diced
  • 1/4 c. pecans, chopped
  • 2 T. dried parsley (1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley, chopped)
  • 1 t. fresh rosemary, chopped

DRESSING

  • 1 c. plain Greek yogurt
  • 4 T. milk
  • 2 T. honey
  • 1 t. vanilla extract
  • 1 t. sea salt
  • 1/2 t. ground black pepper

ADDITIONAL

  • 8 whole wheat tortillas, warmed
  • 2 small endives, cored and separated into leaves

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large bowl, stir together the chicken salad ingredients.
  2. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.
  3. Add the dressing to the chicken salad and fold together gently.
  4. Holding the tortilla (or laying it on a plate), place two endive leaves down the middle.  Spoon chicken salad into endive leaves, and wrap the tortilla edges together.

Serve immediately.  If you prefer, the chicken salad mixture can be made up to eight hours ahead of time and refrigerated.  But it’s better fresh.

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