Huevos Rancheros Redux

I LOVE huevos rancheros. I have posted about them previously.

The recipe came from my cooking light every day favorites cookbook, so we got to have them again!

We've always had them with feta or cheddar cheese. But, since we are following the recipes, we used queso fresco. It was a great way to introduce a new ingredient into my culinary repertoire, something we know with something we don't.

Guess what, it's fantastic. It's creamy and slightly sweet. It lends a beautiful cooling property to the spicy egg dish. We have a few other recipes coming up that use queso fresco so I am interested to see if I feel the same using it in other culinary applications.

This is the picture from the cookbook(I was too busy eating to take pictures of these guys)

Wanna know what else I was up to today? Home made tater tots. Yea. I did that. Jon said to me, you can do that?! Yes, yes you can. Well, I can can rather. He just ate them :)

Aren't they cute?


So, today you get a two-fer: tator tot recipe and huevos rancheros recipe.

Here's to you and your culinary adventures, friend. Cheers!

Home Made Tator Tots
Makes about 30 tots

3 medium yellow flesh potatoes, peeled and diced
2 medium red skin potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 (heaping)TBS flour
season salt and pepper to taste (be a little heavy on your seasoning as it mellows a bit when baking)
1/2 cup very well crushed corn flakes
melted butter

Start potatoes in cool water. Bring to a simmer. Boil the potatoes until just about done, 18 minutes or so. Slightly under cooked is best in this case.

Using a hand masher or sturdy fork, mash- LEAVE LUMPS! You need these for texture. You don't want super big chunks, but you do want a fair amount of smallish lumps.

Season well. Stir in flour.

Form into tot shapes. Dip in melted butter and roll in corn flake crumbs.

Bake on an ungreased baking sheet at 400 for about 12-15 minutes until golden.

Huevos Rancheros with Queso Fresco
Serves 4
330 calories per

1 (10 oz) can rotel tomatoes, undrained
1 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce (we use mild)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley*
1 TBS fresh lime juice
2 TBS water
1 (15.5oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
Cooking spray
4 large eggs
4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled queso fresco cheese

Combine the tomatoes and enchilada sauce in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat; stir in parsley and juice. Set aside.

Place water and beans in a microwave-safe bowl, and partially mash with a fork. Cover and microwave at HIGH 2 minutes or until hot.

In a dry non-stick skillet, warm each tortilla over medium heat until golden brown on both sides. Set aside.

Spray the skillet with cooking spray. Add eggs; cook 1 minute on each side or until desired degree of doneness. (we like ours over easy)

Spread about 1/3 cup beans over each tortilla; top each tortilla with 1 egg. Spoon 1/2 cup sauce around each egg; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese.

*Original recipe uses cilantro