Better than Qdoba?

I’ve used to work at Qdoba during college. I loved it. I got paid close to nothing, but I didn’t care. I got a free burrito, chips, queso, basically anything I wanted each shift and worked with some pretty awesome people. It was a skinny social college girl’s dream job. I joke now that there’s gotta be something in the queso that makes you crave it because I still get Qdoba cravings and will stop at nothing until I get it. However, due to being a medical student back on a student sized budget without a  job that gives me free food, I’ve been trying to make more meals at home. It’s both cheaper usually healthier than eating out.

I celebrated “Taco Tuesday” this week by making easy healthy black bean tacos! And well, I’ve continued celebrating everyday this week with leftovers because cooking after a long day at clinic just doesn’t happen sometimes. These can be made in less than 15 min on the stove with only 1 pan to clean up. They are cheaper than any restaurant and don’t require me to drive anywhere because let’s be honest – after a long day at clinic and some sort of attempt at exercise, I’m now already in my pajamas.  Dare I say that everything about these are *gasp* better than Qdoba? They might just be.

Black Bean Tacos 

Ingredients: 

2 cans black beans

1/2 onion, sliced 

1 cup frozen corn 

1/4 cup water

Juice of 1 lime

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 Tbsp Olive oil

Cumin, cilantro, dash of red chili powder

Flour tortillas

Garden Fresh Gourmet Salsa- Jack’s Special (MY FAVORITE SALSA EVER!)

Shredded mexican cheese 

Romaine lettuce 

Sritacha sauce 

1. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Once oil is hot, saute the garlic and onion until onion is transparent. Continue stirring.
2. Add black beans, cumin, cilantro. To be honest, I didn’t measure the amounts of my spices when I made this recipe (sorry yall!). To estimate, I did “~7 shakes” of the cumin and cilantro, and a dash of chili powder.
3. Squeeze lime juice into pan. Add frozen corn, and 1/4 cup of water. Continue stirring for ~3-5 min or until corn is hot.
4. Assemble your tacos:  Top flour tortillas with black beans, salsa, cheese, lettuce, and sriracha
5. Eat and be happy! 

First post!

Hello! I started this site with these huge lofty goals of posting recipes and all kinds of fun things throughout my 3rd year of med school. Weeeell, I’m a 4th year medical student now and just getting to writing my first post (whoops!). Third year of med school kept me busy to say the least! It was so much fun (and so much better than year 1 and 2), but I was also WAY busier.

4th year so far has been great. I finished taking my Step 2 CK (2nd written exam to be a licensed physician) and now am doing an away rotation at another school’s program. It just so happens (or maybe I planned it that way…) that one of my bestest friends from college lives there now so I am staying with her this month. We are guilty of hitting all the tourist hotspots, and also trying out some new restaurants and even doing some cooking at her apartment! So, I thought I’d mark my first post by sharing a fall recipe we made this week. It has cheese and wine in it so obviously it’s delicious. Hope you enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash Cheesy Bake 

Roasted spaghetti squash. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash (any size. The one I bought was ~4 lb)

2 garlic cloves, diced

12 oz Trader Joe’s broccoli florets (no prep work needed? yes please)

1/2 large valdalia onion, coarse chopped

3-5 oz white wine (I used a Riesling. Need enough to cover the bottom of your saute pan.)

15 oz low-fat ricotta cheese

6 oz shredded parmesan cheese

1 large egg, whisked

1 1/2 C jarred pasta sauce (I used Newman’s Own Sockarooni)

Olive oil

Spices: salt, pepper, basil, thyme, crushed red pepper flakes

1. Stab a few holes in squash with a knife (be careful). Microwave for 3-5 minutes. This softens the outer shell of the squash and makes it easier to split open.
2. Split the squash in half lengthwise. Take out the seeds using a spoon.
3. Heat oven to 425 F. Drizzle olive oil over the cut surfaces. Sprinkle with salt/pepper/basil/thyme. Place squash on a cookie sheet, cut side up. Roast for 30-40 minutes until squash is tender.
4. While the squash is cooking – heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium in large saute pan. Once the oil is hot, add in the garlic and onions and cook until onions are transparent, ~5 min. (My non-scientific way of testing the heat of the oil:  add just a few onion/garlic pieces. If they make a nice sizzle sound, it means the oil is hot enough).
5. Turn down the heat a little (low-medium) and add in the broccoli florets, wine, salt/pepper/seasoning. You can cover the pan with a lid and add a little more wine here, but be sure to stir often and make sure the broccoli doesn’t burn. Once broccoli is bright green and tender, take off the heat and let sit for a few minutes.
6. Mix the ricotta cheese and egg together, then add to the veggie pan.
7. With a fork, scrape out the strands of spaghetti squash directly into the pan with the cheese and broccoli. Add more basil/thyme and the red pepper flakes (I like heat so I add a lot!). Mix until well combined.
8. Transfer the mixture to a 9 inch square baking dish. Top with a layer of tomato pasta sauce and a layer of parmesan cheese.
9. Bake until the cheese is brown and bubbly, ~15-20 minutes.

Into the oven it goes!