Bean Chalupas

It is Sunday night and I am sitting on the couch watching TV with my husband.  I am tired.  But a good kind of tired.  I flew to Los Angeles this weekend to attend Camp Blogaway and it was exactly what I needed.  On many levels.  I will write about the actual event later, but tonight I just want to say that I am very grateful for what blogging has brought to my life.  I am a long time blogger, although new to food blogging.  I have a personal blog that is now where I write about my everyday life, but before that I had a blog for my photography business.  The blog was a platform to talk about other people and others people’s lives; the thing about Baked Bree and my personal blog is that it is all about me.  I am not hiding behind my clients or events that I covered for other people, but I am now using my own voice.  I cannot tell you how grateful I am for the blogging community and how touched I am to have the cheerleaders that I have behind me.  I am grateful for every single person that reads this little blog.  Leave a comment and I am over the moon.  I am beyond thrilled when you make something that you saw here and tell me about it.  I love that you are in the kitchen with me.  This weekend, I met some wonderful people that love food and writing as much as I do and just being in a room like that is inspiring.  So thank you.

Now on to the recipe… I was at my parent’s house over the summer and I pulled out my mom’s recipe binder and leafed through it and relived great portions of my life.  Recipes are like scrapbooks sometimes.  I would remember the dish and then remember something about the day that I ate it, or a conversation that we had over that meal.  I would have flashbacks to being a child in my mother’s kitchen and learning how to cook from her.  I stumbled across this recipe that was cut out of The Press of Atlantic City.  It was wrinkled and yellowing, and had splatters all over it.  Those are the best recipes in my opinion.  I remember sitting at the bar in my parent’s house and loving this meal every time my mother made.  But I forgot all about it.  So when I found it in my mom’s binder, I felt like I found a long lost friend.

This meal is vegetarian, and is perfect for Meat Free Monday, which is why I am including it today.

12 corn tortillas
cooking spray

1 (14.5 ounce) can pinto beans, drained
1 cup diced onion
1 Tablespoon taco seasoning (I like the Trader Joe’s kind, but use whatever you like or make your own)
1/2 cup low fat ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Picante sauce
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste

To garnish:

2 cups chopped onion
3 cups shredded Romaine lettuce
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup cilantro
1 avocado sliced
1/2 cup salsa

In a large non stick saute pan, saute the onion over medium heat until lightly brown and soft.  Put the cooked onion in the food processor with drained beans, garlic, taco seasoning, Picante sauce, and ricotta cheese.  Pulse until it is a chunky puree.

Put the mixture back in the saute pan and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Heat until hot and bubbling.

Spray the corn tortillas with cooking spray on both sides.  Place them directly on the oven rack and bake for 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.

To serve, place the corn tortilla on a plate and top with the bean mixture.  Add the chopped onion.  I like the crunch from the onion.

Top with some lettuce.

I put the other toppings in these cute little cups so the kids could do it themselves.  They do not seem to mind all of the lettuce when they get to cover it up as they wish.

I was in all honesty surprised at what a hit this meal was at my house.  I thought for sure that there would be some serious complaining when I serve them a plate of beans, but they all loved it and gobbled it up.

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