Twelve Days of Christmas: Ladies first!

 

Day three of Open House and the ladies are here! I was going a little cross-eyed making birds so it was fun to move on to the people!

On the Seventh Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, seven swans a-swimming! 

On the Eighth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, eight maids a-milking!

On the Ninth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, nine ladies dancing!

Can you tell the Lady is my favorite? I really enjoyed making her and giving her a really sparkly gown and some jewelry... even a tiny wedding ring! 

*****

If you're not from Texas (or maybe even the American Southwest), today's recipe may seem a little weird, but in the part of Texas we're from, these tacos are a staple. We eat them at all hours of the day and night, including breakfast. People on their way to work will stop at their local taqueria and buy a box full of these foil-wrapped tacos to take to work and share (especially if they're running late!). When we go to Texas, there's always a box of these at my parents' house for our breakfast, or whenever. Sometimes they will have chorizo (Mexican sausage), potatoes, or egg, but the basic breakfast taco is just refried beans and cheese. 

I am not, and never have been, a breakfast person. I just don't like to eat in the morning. But I've always loved bean & cheese tacos, and I've had to increase my protein intake so these are perfect. I make up a big batch and keep them in the fridge. It's so quick and easy to zap one in the microwave for a low-carb, high protein breakfast. This is an adaptation of a recipe for refried beans. You can make it as spicy as you want. I don't add much in the way of spices since these are mainly for breakfast, but jazz them up if you want to.

Bean & Cheese Tacos

3 c. dried pinto beans

1 onion, peeled and halved

4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. dried minced garlic

1/4 tsp. cumin

7 c. water

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low-carb tortillas

shredded cheese

Put first seven ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for about 6 hours or until beans are done. Discard onion halves and mash beans with a potato masher. Place a couple of generous spoonfuls of beans on one side of a tortilla and top with a little cheese. Roll tortilla from the side with the beans into an enchilada shape. Three cups of beans will make at least 24 tacos, with beans left over. I make a couple dozen at a time because that's about how many we can eat in a reasonable amount of time. This recipe is easy to scale down. Store tacos in the fridge and zap in the microwave for about 45-50 seconds.

The last three tomorrow! See you then!