Loaded Enchilada Casserole

Recipe name: Loaded Enchilada Casserole
Source: Rice and Beans and Other Fine Things
Servings: 8
Cookbook date: October 28

Ingredients (I made a few adjustments from the original recipe)

1 pound ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of chicken soup

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups cooked rice

1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

12 corn tortillas, quartered or torn into fourths

1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce

3 cups Colby jack cheese

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 (4-ounce) can chopped black olives, drained

2 tsp dried cilantro or 2 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

1. Brown the ground turkey, onion and garlic in a large skillet. Drain off grease, then stir in the soup, black beans, rice, canned tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste.
2. Place half of the tortillas in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch pan, then drizzle with half of the enchilada sauce evenly.
3. Spoon half of the turkey mixture on top, then half of the cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the remaining cheese.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the cheese melts and it's bubbly.
5. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the chopped tomatoes, black olives, and fresh cilantro.

This was superb! Thanks so much to Lorie for posting this recipe! We absolutely loved it. I'd estimate that the casserole cost us between $8-10 to make, but it made 8 very filling and very tasty servings, so it is a bargain meal in our book. If you like Mexican food, this is a meal that will not disappoint. It's only 8am and I'm already looking forward to my lunch break because I get to eat the casserole as leftovers!

Moving on without the camera

I still can't find the cord so I can upload my pictures. I've decided not to stall my blog any longer, though. I know that recipe posts are much better with pictures, but we have been making some yummy stuff and I want to capture that here and share it with you, pictures or not! So here we go!

Recipe name:Mexican black bean and spinach pizza
Source: Cooking Light
Servings: 4 (at 2 slices each)
Cookbook date: August 24

Ingredients

1 (10-ounce) Italian cheese-flavored thin pizza crust (such as Boboli)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup bottled salsa
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.

Place pizza crust on a baking sheet; bake at 375° for 5 minutes or until crisp.

Mash beans with a fork; combine beans and next 4 ingredients (beans through garlic) in medium bowl, stirring to combine. Spread bean mixture over crust, leaving a 1-inch border. Spoon salsa evenly over bean mixture; top with spinach and cilantro. Drizzle with hot sauce; sprinkle with cheeses. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.

I was a little bit worried about the spinach being too excessive, but by the time I squeezed all of the water out of it, it was just fine. We served this to company and they seemed to enjoy it. We love pizza and we love Mexican food, and this recipe was a perfect marriage. I think this is the third cooking light pizza I have made, and I've loved them all!

Baked Black Bean Dip

Recipe name: Baked Black Bean Dip
Source: no idea
Servings: 3
Cookbook date: August 15

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup light sour cream
1 clove garlic, diced
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 cup grated cheddar
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1 small tomato, diced
tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place beans, sour cream, garlic and cumin in a food processor. Process until mixed but still chunky.
spread mixture in a pie plate. Top with cheese, onions, olives and tomato.
Bake 15 minutes.

Our substitutions: I only had cherry tomatoes, but they worked out really well. I didn't have any olives (but I know they would rock in this recipe). Believe it or not, I made this with the sour cream and Tim gave it his seal of approval. It's a miracle!!!
This is super yummy. It was really good with Wheat Thins. The next time I make this I will double it because it doesn't last long enough. This is also a great dish for those nights when you want something really fast, because it comes together quickly.

taco salad

Recipe name: taco salad
Source: made it up
Servings: 4
Cookbook date: July 12
Date prepared: July 13

Ingredients:
1 head of iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 small tomatoes, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups hot pepper or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 pound ground turkey
bag of corn tortilla chips
salsa
Ranch salad dressing (optional)

Brown the turkey and onions in a large skilled over med-high heat. Meanwhile, prepare each plate by putting down a layer of tortilla chips, lettuce and tomatoes. Drain the turkey. Add the meat to the top of the salad. Top with desired amount of cheese. Add salsa on top, and ranch dressing.

This was so easy and SO tasty. I got some low fat Ranch dressing to go with it and it was so yummy! It totally brought me back to the days of eating at Effie's Cantina in Enterprise, Alabama with my Memaw and Aunt Gail. I will totally make this again. I may add some sort of spice to the meat next time, although it really tasted great as is since we used hot pepper cheese.

value:***
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taste:****

Chimichangas

Recipe name: Chimichangas
source: made it up with inspiration from a Weight Watchers Recipe (and of course, this dish is NOT low calorie!)
servings:
Cookbook date: July 7th
Date prepared: July 7th


Ingredients:
12 oz ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
3/4 cup salsa (I used Emeril's medium Southwestern salsa)
1/8 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried cilantro
8 (6 inch) flour tortillas
3/4 can of refried beans
1 mounded cup of cheese (prefer monterey jack or pepper jack)

1. Preheat oven to 475º F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large skillet brown meat and onion. Stir in garlic, salsa, chili powder and cilantro. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Spread a tablespoon of refried beans in each tortilla. Spoon 1/4 cup meat mixture into center of each tortilla. Sprinkle cheese on top of meat mixture. Wrap up the tortilla like a burrito. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.

Serves 4 (2 each)

These were totally simple and very delicious. They also make great leftovers for work. I found that these could be eaten without a knife and fork if given enough time to cool off. Definitely give these a try (that means you, Natalie! I promise you will like this recipe!)

The next time I make these, I'm going to make a large batch and stash several in the freezer for last minute lunches to take to work.

expense:**
time:***
taste:****

Taco, Burrito, What's Coming Out of Your Speedo?

Recipe name: Larry's Black Bean Tacos
Source: Recipezaar (and of course, Larry)
Servings:4-6
Cookbook date: June 28
Date prepared: June 23

Ingredients

• 2 cans black beans
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1 lb ground beef (turkey for us)
• 1 package soft tortilla

Directions

1. Brown ground beef with taco seasoning.
2. Add stewed tomatoes and black beans.
3. Simmer for 5-10, until black beans heated through.
4. Serve with tortilla chips or make soft tacos using soft tortillas.

Larry, this post is dedicated to you and yours. We don't know you, but we like you.

Our substitutions were as follows: We used ground turkey. We also used large tortillas so that these turned into burritos rather than tacos. Oh, also, we started out with dried beans rather than canned beans. If you don't know us well, I should tell you that Tim and I are pretty serious about saving money on food. We go cheap or we go home! So canned beans was simply not thrifty enough for us. Because we used canned beans this took a lot longer than it otherwise would have, which accounts for this dish not scoring well in the "time" department.

The dish was really simple to put together, but Larry, you made one crucial mistake; you left out the cheese! We added a small amount to ours, and that was a great decision on our parts (one of only a few great decisions we managed to make today!).

So make this dish, eat it, love it, take it to work the next day, and make your co-workers jealous Spartan Cheerleader-style (I wish I could post this skit, but it looks like Saturday Night Live has their skits on lock-down...nothing to be found on YouTube!).

value:****
time:*
taste:****

Mexican Beef and Bean Casserole

Recipe name: Mexican beef and bean casserole
Source: no idea
Servings: 4-6, depending on appetites
Cookbook date: June 18
Date prepared: June 15

1 pound ground beef (or turkey)
2 cans pinto beans
8 oz tomato sauce
1/2 cup salsa
1 tsp chili powder
1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese

Heat oven to 375
Cook beef over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until brown. Drain. Rinse and drain beans. Mix the beef, beans, sauce, salsa and chili powder in an ungreased baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 20 minutes. Stir. Bake another 20 minutes. Uncover. Add the cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes.

My post must begin with an apology. I TOTALLY forgot to take a picture of this casserole. But I'm sure you can imagine this....think ground meat, sauce, lots of beans, topped with cheese. Yup, what you are imagining is pretty much what this meal looks like.

Overall, this dish was very tasty and actually easier than the instructions would have you believe. The shortcut that worked for us was to add the sauce, salsa, beans and chili powder to the cooked beef (turkey for us) and let it get hot in the pan, which took maybe 3 or 4 minutes instead of 20 in the oven. Then follow the rest of the directions. Serve this with tortilla chips for scooping.
Oh, our head chef Tim has one more important note: 1 cup of cheese is ridiculous. You definitely need to double that, and don't apologize for doing it!



value:***
time:***
taste:****

Huevos Rancheros

Recipe name: Huevos Rancheros
Source: no idea
Servings: 2
Cookbook date: June 10
Date prepared: June 9

4 eggs
1 tbsp olive oil
4 tortillas
1 cup monterey jack cheese
salsa, to taste.
scramble eggs. add some cheese. meanwhile, heat tortillas on skillet with a dab of oil. add egg mix to each tortilla, add more cheese. add a small amount of salsa. top with another tortilla.

What can I say about this dish? It is a culinary trifecta, in my opinion (cheap, fast, and good). You need to be in the mood to basically eat some jazzed up scrambled eggs for dinner, but if you are, you will find your perfect dish right here. The only drawback to making this dish on a weeknight is that you don't have any leftovers to take to work the next day.

value:****
time:****
taste:***

Chicken Burritos

Recipe name: Chicken burritosSource: somewhere online
Servings: 8
Cookbook date: June 13
Date prepared:


3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 undrained 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp lime juice
1 14.5 oz can water
1 medium chopped onion
1 8 oz bag black beans and rice
8 large flour tortillas

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. place chicken in slow cooker. pour undrained can of tomatoes over chicken. In a small bowl, combine taco seasoning, cumin, lime juice, water, and onion; pour into slow cooker. cover and cook on low 7 hours (or high 3 1/2). remove chicken and shred with fork. lace chicken back into c rockpot and mix in bag of black beans and rice. cover and cook another hour, until rice is tender. serve in tortillas with cheddar cheese and sour cream, if desired.

I love when I find a crockpot recipe that actually works. This one does, I'm happy to report. I made this on my day off, though, which in some ways is counter intuitive. Isn't the point of a crockpot to make dinner for you while you are gone (generally to work?). The problem is that I'm at work for more than 7 hours, which is typically the upper limit of how long a dish can simmer in a crockpot before it starts to burn.
Anyway, the main thing I did for this recipe was cut back on the amount of chicken it called for. I didn't see a reason to have burritos that were so intense with the amount of chicken. I mean, they are burritos...the genius of which is in the amount of rice and beans you can add to help out your budget!
My can opener totally broke while I was trying to open my can of tomatoes. You don't want to know what words were spoken in my kitchen while I wrestled with the can, but I did take a picture to show you the aftermath. I won, but just barely.


We are headed to Target after I finish this post to find a new one.
This dish made a lot of servings, as promised, and Tim and I are currently enjoying them as tasty lunches at work. We give this dish two thumbs up and will definitely make it again.

value:****
time:*
taste:***

Crockpot Meatball Taco Soup

Recipe Name: Crockpot Meatball Taco Soup
source: no idea
servings: 4
Cookbook date: May 5
Date prepared: May 14

16 oz package frozen Italian meatballs
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14 oz) cans beef broth
1 (16 oz) jar salsa
1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 cup short spiral pasta
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Combine meatballs, onion, green pepper, garlic, beef broth, salsa, chili powder and cumin in a 3-4 quart Crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours. Add pasta, stir well, cover and cook on low and additional hour or until pasta is tender. sprinkle with cheese and serve. 4-6 servings.

I made this without the green bell pepper and I cut the onion amount in half. I also used 1 can of beef broth and 1 can of vegetable broth. The next time I make it I will do 2 cans of vegetable broth because the dish was just too beefy for our taste. I would also recommend only topping individual bowls with cheese rather than the whole thing . That way, everyone can choose how much cheese they want. I should also note that I forgot to add the chili powder and the cumin until the last hour, but that didn't really seem to matter. The pasta only needed about 20 minutes, and not an hour as directed.

Rarely have I had success with CrockPot recipes, even though I so desperately want them to work. Who doesn't like the concept of throwing a bunch of stuff into a pot and having it transform into a delicious meal when you get home from work? Unfortunately, 90% of the CrockPot meals I have tried have either burned by the time I got home, or turned into a gross pile of mush.
With some tweaking, this dish will actually turn out to be a winner, saving my CrockPot from the donation pile!

expense: ***
time: * (but remember, all the work is done while you are away)
taste: **