Huevos Rancheros with Queso Fresco

First off - I ended up making the Cornbread II yesterday - and let me tell you, it was GREAT! It's almost like a cake, so if you don't want a sweet cornbread, that's not the recipe for you.

Whew! That's what hubby and I said after eating dinner last night. It was tasty, but it was a touch spicy - but not too much for me and I'm a spice wimp anymore. It was YUMMY! And it was what I like to call a Kitchen Dinner. It's one where it's so quick that you eat it in the kitchen. I did make it a bit quicker than written: I used canned refried beans (I could have also used Fantastic Foods dried refried beans too - I love those things and they take about 5 minutes to reconstitute) and I used the Mexican-style Ro-tel tomatoes and didn't bother with the cilantro and lime juice since it has some in it. I'm sure it would have tasted "fresher" with the lime juice and cilantro but it sure was quicker and easier without having to bother with it.

Huevos Rancheros with Queso Fresco

Traditionally served for breakfast, this dish piles tortillas with hearty beans, eggs, and cheese for a deliciously different dinner. Queso fresco is a soft, crumbly Mexican cheese found in the dairy section of large grocery stores or Hispanic markets, but use feta or goat cheese if you prefer.

1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons water
1 (16-ounce) 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 cilantro 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.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add eggs; cook 1 minute on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Warm tortillas according to package directions. 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.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 topped tortilla)

CALORIES 340 (26% from fat); FAT 9.8g (sat 3.2g,mono 2.7g,poly 1g); IRON 2.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 222mg; CALCIUM 153mg; CARBOHYDRATE 37.8g; SODIUM 970mg; PROTEIN 15.7g; FIBER 6.1g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2004