Beefy Tex-Mex (taco salad)

For a super busy Sunday (and fast Sunday at that) we sure managed to do more than our share of cooking yesterday.  3.5 desserts a meal and a fruit salad (the .5 dessert.)  Tavio did make the cookies for the court of honor.  Brandon made the 2 desserts - one for us, one for someone who helped him out with his brakes on Saturday.  I made the meal and fruit salad.  So at least it wasn't one person in the kitchen all day - definitely still too hot for that unfortunately.  Everything turned out pretty well.  I'm starting with dinner because I actually made some changes there.  (Plus of course I actually made it.)  Everyone really liked it -whose to say if it is because they had been fasting all day and were hungry, or if it was super good.  I guess I'd have to go by the fact that the 5 year old ate it with no complaints.  (Of course the 2 year old just dipped some chips in sour cream and left the rest on the plate - didn't even eat his cheese.  The boy kills me.  He wouldn't even try the grapes or the sauce on the grapes...  But that is another story.)
This recipe is originally from Rachael Ray, but I found it on dealstomeals.com.  Here is my adaptation to make it speedier and less spicy.

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 cans mild diced green chilies
• 1 onion diced (I used about 1/2 but I had a very large onion - probably 1.25 cups)
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder (this was perfectly mild for kids.  If you like spice, you can double this.)
• 1-1.5 lbs lean ground beef (I used pre-cooked, DH had packaged this batch and filled them a bit fuller than I do - hence the 1-1.5 lbs.  We probably had about 1.25 lbs.)
• 1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• chopped lettuce (I just grabbed a jar from the fridge)
• tortilla chips, slightly crushed
• shredded cheddar cheese
• sour cream
• any other optional toppings like cilantro, salsa, olives, avocado or guacamole, I even put some red and yellow pepper on the left overs at lunch today.

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large skillet.  Add onions and saute until fragrant.  Add green chilies and chili powder and cook and stir until well combined and heated.  Add defrosted meat, beans, and tomato sauce and cook until heated through.  (If not using pre-cooked beef, add it first and cook it until done, then add the beans and tomato sauce.)  I then let this simmer while I got the rest of the meal together (finished dicing tomatoes, set the table, and made a grape salad.)  I just kept an eye on it and turned it to very low when I got worried it might get dry.
2. To serve, place tortillas on a plate, top with meat/bean mixture followed by cheese lettuce tomatoes and any other optional toppings.

Steak Tacos

Here is another one Brandon picked and made.  It too is from the American Test Kitchen 2008 book.  It was good, but not great in my opinion.  Brandon had it marked a 5, but I lowered it.  I know that part of the problem was we used some chuck we had in the freezer so our meat was a bit tough.  I can't hold that against the recipe.  It was totally our fault.  The flavor was still good, I just didn't think it was 5 star.  I did like the combination of the beef with the pickled onions, but honestly, I think the pickled onions added more to the panini Brandon made me the night before. The picture here is just of the meat and the pickled onions.  Those things showed better in the bowls than buried in the tacos.

1.5 to 1.75 lbs sirloin steak cut into 4 equal pieces
Sprinkle steaks with 1 Tbsp salt
Spread herb paste all over the steak, reserving the paste for later use
Let steak and paste sit for 30 mins
Scrape paste from steak
Sprinkle steak with 1/2 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp pepper
Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in saute pan and pan fry steaks 2 to 3 min on each side, and 2 mins on the edges
Let steak rest for 5 mins, then slice thin.
Mix paste mixture with cooked beef

Tacos
Meat mixture, pickled onions, and if desired sour cream and lettuce.

Beef Enchiladas

Brandon picked these the other day.  They were the best Enchiladas!  And they didn't use a canned enchilada sauce - I think that is why they were sooo good.  YUM!  Definitely a 5 star.  I also loved that I had left overs for days.  I never mind 5 star left overs.

Ingredients

• 6 Garlic cloves minced
• 2 Tbsp. Chili Powder
• 4 tsp. Coriander
• 4 tsp. Cumin
• 2 tsp. Sugar
• Salt

Mix together

• 2.5 lbs. Chuck steak cut into blades
• 1 Tbsp. oil

Cook meat in oil 3 mins per side
Remove meat

• 3 Cups chopped onions

Add onions and brown for 5 mins
Add chili mix and cook for one min.
add

•  29 oz. tomato sauce and 
• 1 cup water bring to a boil

add meat and cook for 1.5 hours on simmer.
Remove meat and shred
Add to meat,

• 2/3 cup of chopped cilantro and 
• 1/4 cup chopped pickled Jalapeños and (we used this amount in 1/2 if the recipe.  I'd put it in both halves next time and use 1/2 cup.) 
• 1-2 cups of shredded jack or cheddar cheese

Take 1/3 cup of meat mixture into a tortilla.  White for Brandon, Corn for Kimberly.  (Don't let him fool you he didn't buy any corn - the recipe called for it though.)
Roll tightly and place on top of the sauce.
Add 1-2 cup of cheese on top
cook at 350 degrees F. for 25 mins.

Taco casserole

Pitiful. That is all I have to say for myself.  I just uploaded 8 pictures with no blog post.  That is backwards of what I normally do.  I know there are many bloggers out there who post one a day, but they do this for other reasons.  I just want my recipes where I can find them, and I want to remember how I alter them and if everyone liked them that way.  Kind of hard when I'm 8 recipes behind.  Best quit chatting about it and start typing the important stuff.  

This recipe is from last Saturday.  I was out shopping with Tavio, so Brandon made it.  It came from recipe shoebox.  I'm loving that sight lately.  We've liked everything we've tried from there.  YUM!  Thanks again Catherine.  This recipe was no exception.  Seemed like it took a little while to put together, but it wasn't me making the food.  :)  I thought it was a tiny bit spicy, but I'm sure that was the brand of taco seasoning we used - it was a new one for us.  (I really want to find a recipe and make my own - one of these days in my spare time. lol)  I believe the only changes that Brandon made were to use a full pound of meat because we just used a package of pre-cooked and we do those in 1 lb containers. He also added an egg to make up for the extra meat.  Here is our adaptation of the recipe.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1 1/3 cup plus 4-5 Tablespoons water, divided
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons cold butter
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper (we used red)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup water
• 1 envelope taco seasoning
• 3 eggs, slightly beaten 
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 cups shredded lettuce
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 3/4 cup salsa (not sure I added this on mine)
• 1/2 cup fat free sour cream

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, bring rice and 1 1/3 cups water to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed. 
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; cut in butter until crumbly.  Sir in enough remaining water (the 4-5 Tablespoons) to form a soft dough.  On a floured surface, roll dough into a 12 X 8 inch rectangle.  Press into a 9 X 13 pan coated with cooking spray.  (Brandon said the dough was not very rollable the way he made it so he just pushed it into the bottom of the pan - no rolling step.)  Bake at 400 for 13-15 minutes or until very lightly browned.
3. For filling, in a large non-stick skillet, cook beef, onion, green pepper and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.  (Certainly Brandon just sauteed the onion pepper and garlic then added the pre-cooked meat)  Add 1 cup water, taco seasoning and cooked rice.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2-3 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat.  Stir in eggs and cilantro.  Spread over crust.
4. Cover and bake fore 15-17 minutes or until filling is set.  Add cheese and let melt.  Serve topped with lettuce, tomato, sour cream and salsa.

Chicken Enchiladas with roasted tomatillo sauce

I found this recipe on the sisters cafe.  I didn't change much, but after typing all my changes, I decided to just retype the recipe.   I'd probably give them a 4.5 star, but DH gives them a 5 and the 4 year old asked for seconds, so they get a 5 star.
I also made my own tortillas - sour cream tortillas today.  I'll post that next.

Ingredients
Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa:

• 1 pound tomatillos, husked
• 1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 jalapenos (both mine were on the large side, so I only added 1 and a half-could have added both though)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 lime, juiced

Enchiladas:

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken stock 
• Chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 container precooked chicken (about 1 lb-we grill ours, chop it and freeze it.)
• 10 large flour tortillas
• 1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (I don't think I ended up suing this much.)
• 1 cup sour cream 
• optional toppings of choice - additional sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, cilantro... (we didn't use any today, after making homemade tortillas, and a home made salsa for this recipe, that was all she wrote. :)

Directions

For the salsa:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. (I seeded and veined my jalapenos first, but if your family likes spicy, you wouldn't need to.)  Add the cumin, salt and cilantro and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.  

Reduce heat of oven to 350.

For the enchiladas:

Meanwhile heat butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized - this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn't burn then gradually add the chicken stock. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, and fold in the shredded chicken meat  sour cream.

Spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray.  Cover the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa. (If not using fresh tortillas, heat until pliable)  Using a shallow bowl, coat each tortilla lightly with the reserved salsa mix. (oops, I forgot to do this, but would do it next time.)  Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Roll up and place the tortillas in the baking dish seam side down.  Pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.  Garnish with cilantro and tomato if desired.

Chicken Taquitos

Well, I got the idea for these from Hungry Girl's book.  She calls them exploding chicken taquitos, but I didn't do a good job of following directions (imagine that.)  What I really loved about this recipe is that I had some chicken we had overcooked one day making the precooked chicken that we always make as a time saver.  I  had ground that up and thrown it into the freezer, but never had a use for it.  This recipe had you add some salsa to some canned chicken so I used my dried, shredded chicken and ended up adding double the salsa and then some taco sauce.  Then somehow I forgot to add the cheese and had to go back and add it, I didn't microwave the tortillas long enough and they weren't pliable enough....... So much for a quick lunch.  I hope they turn out well.  They are currently in the oven.

They were quite tasty, although lots busted. -see the picture.  Definitely get them hot before rolling them.

Ingredients

• precooked chicken, shedded or chopped very fine (I had a little over 10 oz.)
• 1 cup salsa (I used this much because my chicken was dry,  you may not need this much.  I started with 1/2 a cup, then added another 1/2 cup
• Taco sauce - not sure how much I added -about 1/3 cup.  I wanted to make my mix a little moist, but not dripping or anything
• cheese - I used fat free cheddar - not sure the amount I used, I'd say 1/2-1 cup depending on how cheesy you want them
• corn tortillas - I ended up making 

Directions

1. Mix chicken, salsa, and taco sauce and cheese - let stand while preparing the everything else.
2. Preheat oven to 375, spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and set aside
3. Dampen 2 paper towels with water.  Place tortillas between them.  Microwave for about 1 minute.  (I started this way, but they were not pliable enough.  I made a bunch and they split...  I ended up going back and microwaving 2-3 at a time for 30 seconds.  That worked a lot better.  They came out super hot, but very pliable.  I would suggest doing them that way.
4. Take 1 tortilla at a time (leaving the rest in the paper towel.)  Spray both sides with cooking spray.  Spoon about 2 Tablespoons of filling onto the tortilla.  (apparently I was supposed to spread this over the whole tortilla, but I didn't.  I write it because I would like to try it next time.)  Roll tortilla up tightly and secure with a toothpick.  Place seam side down on baking sheet.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes (original recipe said only 14-16, but we ended up doing 20 or 21 and they still weren't super crispy.)  Allow to cool for 5 minutes.  
6. 
   

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe at melskitchencafe, but she got it from the Sister's Cafe. I changed it a bit to make it healthier. It called for cream - I used fat free sour cream. I also did my popular sub of 1/2 chili powder, 1/2 cumin to lessen the spice. It was still plenty spicy for us. I made a couple of Enchiladas with just cheese to use up the rest of the tortillas and to use up the cheese, but they weren't nearly as good. The best thing about this was the honey lime chicken. It had a great flavor.

I also liked how easy this was to make with just the chicken and cheese in the middle -only sauce on the top.

Ingredients

• 6 Tablespoons honey
• 5 Tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime) - their limes must be on steroids. It took me 4 Limes to get this much
• 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 Tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I just used my pre-cooked)
• 10-12 flour tortillas
• 1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded (I had a package of moneterey jack and 1 of cheddar jack)
• 1 15 ounces can green enchilada sauce
• 1 cup fat free sour cream

Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour. Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. (I think I made 8 -9 using 1 package of cheese and then 2 cheese only with the rest of the cheese on top. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade (I didn't have much marinade left.) Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas (I actually separated my enchiladas with my finger to make sure the sauce got in between each enchilada.) Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top. (You may want to cook them a bit longer although I would suggest covering them first if you do that. My cheese wasn't melted inside, but they were just right on top.)

I made some corn and black beans as a side by first mixing the juice of 1 lime and adding a sprinkle of splenda (would have used honey to make a honey lime sauce, but then the baby couldn't eat it - not that he did anyway.) Added some garlic mix and a bit of salt. Then I added a can of corn and a can of black beans (both rinsed and drained.) and tossed.

Fiesta beef

This is adapted from a recipe in this month's simple and delicious magazine.  I changed it to be less spicy/different flavor - changed some chili powder to chipotle powder, used diced tomatoes and diced green chilies rather than the mixed Rotel type...  I thought it was ok over the rice, but liked it a lot more when we served it as Tacos a couple of days later.  Next time I'd probably add a full teaspoon of chipotle and full tablespoon of cumin.  Sadly we did  not have guacamole for our meal.

Beef Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless beef top round steak (I had close to 2 of sirloin)
• 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 4 oz can diced green chili
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (use 1 Tablespoon next time)
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder (use 1 teaspoon next time)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (use 1 Tablespoon next time)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper (I'd probably up both salt and pepper to 1/2 teaspoon)
• 2 cans (15 oz.) pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Other ingredients

• 3 cups cooked rice
• shredded cheddar
• sliced olives
• sliced green onions
• guacamole

Directions

1. Place beef in a slow cooker.  In a small bowl combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, and seasonings.  Pour over steak.  Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until meat is tender.
2. Remove meat from slow cooker and shred.  Return to slow cooker and add beans.  Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until beans are heated through.
3. Serve over rice topped with cheese, olives, green onion and guacamole.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This recipe comes from my new Hungry Girl book.  I did end up modifying it, so I'm posting what I did.  First of all I wasn't planning to use canned chicken.  I use my pre-cooked.  I did use the amount called for.   This recipe had some parts that were vague.  Like is called for frozen bite-sized mixed veggies.  I debated on what type to add.  I went with a broccoli, corn and red pepper mix (thinking the corn and red pepper went well with the enchiladas.)  However the mix had a lot more broccoli than I expected, so I added more corn.  That ended up being a lot of veggies but oh well.  Next time I think I'd just add corn and some red pepper, or maybe red peppers and onion.  It also didn't say what size pan to use.  I started with a 9X13 because I was doubling the 4 serving recipe to make it family size, but that seemed too small for the tortillas.  I also subbed out part of the salsa for taco sauce. 

I have more thoughts for changes next time - I'd probably sub out 1 can cream of celery for 1 can cream of chicken, and I'd probably make do 1/2 and 1/2 with the salsa and taco sauce.  Here is how I made the casserole today.

Ingredients

• 20 oz pre-cooked chicken, thawed
• 2 cans cream of celery soup
• 2 cups brocoli, red pepper, corn mix

• 1/2 cup corn
• 3/4 cup salsa
• 1/4 cup taco sauce
• 12 corn tortillas, cut into 1/8ths
• 2 cups cheese - I used a mix of what I had - fat free cheddar, reduced fat monterrey jack, and regular colby jack

Directions

1. Preheat overn to 350
2. In a large bowl, mix chicken, soup, veggies, salsa, and taco sauce
3. Spray a 9X13  baking dish with non-stick spray. (I actually used a 10X13, but 9X13 would have been better.)  Cover 1/2 the tortilla pieces.  Spread 1/2 of the chicken mixture over the tortilla pieces.  Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Repeat layers. 
4.  Bake 35 minutes or until edges are brown and crispy.
5. Allow to cool for 5 minutes until sauce thickens. 

I wrote this up before we ate it.  It turned out really good.  I probably wouldn't give it 5 star on taste for the brocolli today, but I'm giving it 5 star becasue the combination of the fact that it was so easy and I think would be 5 star with the following changes for next time:  Follow the same instructions but use these ingredients:

Ingredients

• 1 package (about 1 lb) pre-cooked chicken
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (or pinto if you prefer)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced (or use a frozen onion and pepper mix for ease)
• 1.5 cups frozen corn
• 2 cans cream of celery soup (98% fat free)
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup taco sauce
• 2 cups fat free cheddar (or cheese of choice)
• 12 tortillas cut into 1/8ths (I just ran over them with a pizza cutter.

Chili marinated pork with black bean salsa

This is another recipe I adapted from a recipe in Steven Raichlen's Healthy latin cooking. I like the recipes in that book, but they are time consuming. This actual recipe wasn't very time consuming. It was actually easy. I did make the black bean salsa to go with it. It was good, but a bit more time consuming to chop everything up. However, it was so pretty to look at with the different colors. Then I added corn and lime rice as other sides. The corn, lime rice, and black bean salsa got mixed on my plate by the end with a few pomegranate seeds. Yum. I actually stored the left over salsa, rice, and corn together as a pilaf and had it for lunch yestarday. YUM! The modifications I made to this recipe were mostly to cut down spiciness. I'd give the pork a 4 star, the salsa alone a 4 star, and the pilaf a 5 star.


Pork ingredients

• 4-6 boneless pork loin chops
• 1/2 teaspoon chipolte seasoning
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 shallot
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 3 Tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• sour cream
• 1 pomegranate, broken into individual seeds
  

Directions

In a blender combine chipolte seasoning, oregano, allspice, garlic, shallot, orange juice, lime juice, and vinegar. Puree until smooth.

Cover pork with marinade in an airtight container or ziplock bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 6-12 hours.

After marinating, grill 4 inches from the heat for 6-8 minutes or until 160 on a meat thermometer. To serve, place black bean salsa on a plate. Place pork chop in the middle, top with sour cream and pomegranate seeds.

Black Bean Salsa Ingredients

• 2 cups rinsed and drained black beans
• 2-3 slices of a large red onion - about 1/3-1/2 cup diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 rib celery, finely chopped
• 1 poblano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno chile seeded and minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
• 3 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon pepper
  

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Toss to mix. (Chopping all the ingredients sure is time consuming, but doesn't it make a pretty picture?)

I've posted lime rice before, but it is easier to just type it in again than to look for a link right now because it is so simple.

Lime rice Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups long grain rice
• Juice of 6 limes
• chicken stock
• 1/8-1/4 cup cilantro - I used less today than I normally do

Directions

I make this in my rice cooker. I add the rice, cilantro and the juice of the limes, and then fill it up the the appropriate line with chicken stock. If making in a pan, just substitute water with lime juice and chicken stock.

To make a tasty pilaf - mix salsa, rice, and 1 can corn, heated and drained. Yummy and pretty.

Orange Marinated chicken with smoky tomato salsa

This is another recipe from Steven Raichlen's Healthy Latin cooking book. I changed it a bit -increasing it from 4 to 6 chicken breasts and increasing ingredients, but not necessarily in the exact same proportions. I also changed the salsa from chipoltes to jalapenos because the canned chipotles I've used lately have all been too spicy for the family. A Chipotle is a jalapeno anyway, so I used a jalapeno and roasted it on the grill with the other veggies. I really liked the way the salsa turned out. It was a bit sweet. Not too spicy. I may have even liked a bit more spice to the salsa and little less cilantro, but it was the best salsa we have made of the 3 I've done in the last month or so.

Chicken and marinade ingredients

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz each)
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 3 Tablespoons lime juice
• 2 clove garlic, minced

Salsa Ingredients

• 2 large tomatoes
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1-2 jalapenos
• 1/4 cup cilantro (I porbably used about 1/3 cup and it was a bit too much for me.)
• 2-3 Tablespoons lime juice
• salt and pepper
• dash chipotle pepper seasoning (I used this very sparingly and would probably add more next time.)

Directions:

Chicken:

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Arrange in a 9X13 pan. In a small bowl, combine the oj, lime juice and garlic. Whisk to mix. Pour over chicken. Cover and marinate for 60 minutes.

Salsa:

While the chicken marinating, preheat the grill. Place tomatoes, jalapeno, onions and garlic (skewer the garlic, and my onions ended up skewered by the end) on the grill to roast, turning occasionally until starting to char. Remove from grill and allow to cool until you can handle them.

While they are cooling, put the chicken on the grill to cook. Cook until 160. Recipe book said 3 minutes on each side, but it took longer than that on my grill.

Go back to the salsa and remove any charred skin you don't want in the salsa (a little gives it the nice smokey flavor, so don't worry about removing all of them.) Combine grilled veggies and the rest of the salsa ingredients in a food processor. Puree until the desired smoothness. (I seeded and deveined my jalapeno so it wouldn't be too spicy.) Add salt and pepper to taste.

Warm some tortillas on the grill

To serve, spoon salsa in a pool on the plate and place grilled chicken breast in the center of each. Serve with tortillas.

chicken tostadas with mango salsa

This recipe is from a taste of home recipe card booklet I picked up at the grocery store. It was different. I was afraid that it would be too spicy with the serrano pepper so I made the salsa, divided it in half and only added it to half. I ate the peppered half and it wasn't too spicy. I wasn't overly impressed with this meal. I didn't care for the ginger flavor of the salsa. It didn't taste bad or anything, it just wasn't what I'm used to in a salsa, and I didn't care for it. It also seemed to be the biggest flavor of the meal (not that it was super powerful flavor, but I also only added 1 1/2 Tablespoons.) Anyway, it only rated 2.5 stars overall.


Ingredients

• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 5 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 medium mangoes, peeled and diced
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 1 serrano pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 Tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 corn tortillas (6 inch)
• 3 cups coleslaw mix
• 6 Tablespoons fat free sour cream

Directions

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the orange juice, 3 tablespoons lime juice, garlic powder and cumin; Add chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
2. For salsa, in a small bowl, combine mangoes, onion, cilantro, serrano pepper, ginger, brown sugar, salt, and remaining lime juice. Cover and chill until serving
3. Drain and discard marinade. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 4-6 inches from heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 170. Cut into thin strips.
4. In a nonstick skillet, cook tortillas over medium heat for 1-2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Top each with coleslaw mix, chicken, mango salsa and sour cream.
   

Enchilada lasagna

This is from a healthy cooking magazine. I actually did use the wheat tortillas it called for, but not ground turkey or fat-free cream cheese. It was moderately rated my my older boys - 3-4 star or 6 from one and 7 from the other on a 10 point scale. I'd give it a 4. I thought it was pretty good. I liked the creaminess the cream cheese gave it. I also liked the nice enchilada flavor without too much spice. Forgot to take my picture until we were serving seconds. Hence the dirty plate - oops.
This recipe came with freezer instructions which I included but did not try.



Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey (I used my pre-cooked ground beef.
  
• 1 large onion, chopped (I used a smaller onion)
• 1 large green pepper, chopped
• 1 small sweet red pepper, chopped (I used 1/2 a large)
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese (I used reduced fat)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce
• 6 whole wheat flour tortilla (8 inch)
• 1 cup shredded reduced-fat mexican cheese blend - (I used 2 cups of the regular fat)

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook turkey, onion and peppers over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain (I just heated my pre-cooked meat with the veggies until they were tender.) Stir in cream cheese and chili powder.
2. Pour enchilada sauce in a shallow bowl (I used a plate.) Dip tortillas in sauce to coat. Place 2 tortillas in a 9 X 13 pan coated with cooking spray; spread with half of the turkey (or beef) mixture. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheese. REpeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and cheese.
   
3. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months or bake, uncovered at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and cheese is meltes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Ser ve with salsa and sour cream if desired.
4. To us frozen lasagna: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from the frige 30 minutes before baking. Bake as directed.
   

Layered Enchilada Casserole

This is a recipe from Saving Dinner. It has to be the vaguest recipe I have ever tried to follow. It just said 1 can of tomato sauce, 1 can diced green chilies etc. No mention of the size of tomato sauce. I had a tiny can and a super large can. I actually planned on adding 1/2 of the large can to equal 1 medium can, but ended up adding the whole thing. I also added some extra spices. It definitely needed them. I think that next time I would add even more cumin (not in the original recipe) and maybe some more onion - possibly even the larger can of green chilies. So, here is the recipe with more detail, and changed to the way I made it. It was delicious, and easy. Can't beat that.



Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef - I used my precooked ground sirloin - 1 package
• 1 cup oats
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 2.5 oz can sliced black olives
  
• 1 29 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon cumin (add more possibly add a bit of taco sauce or chili powder as well)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon corriander
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup Ricotta cheese
• 1 4 oz can diced green chilies (wouldn't be bad with the 7 oz can if not adding taco sauce or chili powder)
• 1 bag baked tortilla chips
• 1 cup low fat cheddar cheese - I'm pretty sure I used more - maybe even double this. I just covered the top.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Fry up hamburger (or defrost if using pre-cooked and put into a frying pan.) Add oats and stir well to incorporate. Add garlic powder, cumin, corriander, olives, and tomato sauce. Simmer while making sour cream mixture.
2. Mix sour cream, Ricotta cheese and green chilies.
3. Crush tortilla chips and place 1/2 of them on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish (I'd us a 9X13 next time. I had to leave out some chips because it wasn't going to all fit, and it was to the very top.) Add half the meat mixture, then half the sour cream mixture, then cheese (here I just covered the top with cheese - both times. I didn't measure.) Repeat the layers. Bake uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes.

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Oven-fried chicken monterey

This was super tasty. I loved it. It is from the plaid Betty Crocker cookbook (which I never use for some reason - I think I'll have to start using it more often.) This reminded me of Enchiladas. I thought I wouldn't like it on top of lettuce and actually had planned on making a salad instead, but Brandon made the meal, and he served it on the lettuce. It was wonderful that way. I also loved the sauce, but we seemed to have more chicken than sauce, so I think that I would double the sauce next time.


Ingredients

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 packet taco seasoning (we used a mild one)
• 16 chicken thighs (4 pounds) we used 3.25 pounds of chicken breast which we cut into smaller pieces
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 cup crushed tortilla chips
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
• 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 13 oz can evaporated milk
• 1/4 teaspoon bottled hot pepper sauce (we left this out for the kids)
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup sliced olives
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• lettuce

Directions

1. Combine the 1/4 cup flour and taco seasoning in a plastic bag. Add 2 or 3 chicken pieces at a time and shake to coat. Melt butter in 10 X 15 inch baking pan. Place chicken in pan, turning once to butter surfaces. Roll each thigh in crushed chips and return to baking pan.
2. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes or till tender. (Pretty sure we did less time, and it was still a dry. Meanwhile, for cheese sauce, cook onion in oil till tender but not brown. Stir in the 2 tablespoons flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add evaporated milk and pepper sauce all at once; cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes more. Add cheese, olives, and lemon juice, stirring just till cheese melts.
3. To serve, line a serving dish with leaf lettuce. Top with some shredded lettuce and chicken. Spoon cheese sauce over chicken.
   

Confetti Chili

Here I am posting while dinner cooks again so I can remember what I did to change it up. This recipe came from recipe girl, but I didn't want to use a chipolte because the ones I had were super spicy for some reason, so no one would want dinner tonight. Since I'd like my kids to eat, I cut out the chipolte, upped the cumin, added chili powder... I also didn't want this to take over an hour, so I adapted it to take only 30 minutes. I did totally forget to take a picture, and I forgot to add the corn at the end. Oops. It looked like any number of things. In fact, it looked like the previous post so much in pictures that I didn't make it for a few days not wanting to repeat myself. It tasted plenty different though. I was really pleased with the flavor considering all of the flavor changes I made. I really liked it. I served it with some corn bread, but it didn't get done until after we were done eating.


Ingredients

• ½ Tbs olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced (1 cup) (I used 1/2 a medium)
• 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded & diced (1 cup)
• 1 medium carrot, diced (½ cup)- I used 2 rather small
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 lb lean ground beef (I usually use sirloin because it is lean and has a good flavor.)
  
• One 28oz. can crushed tomatoes, with their juices
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 15.5oz. can black beans
• 1 15.5oz. can kidney beans
• 1½ cups frozen corn kernels
• salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. I diced all my veggies in the food processor, so they were tiny pieces. Heat oil in large pot over Saute onion, bell pepper and carrot for 5 minutes. Add cumin and coriander and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add ground beef - I used pre-cooked, so defrosted it while veggies were sauteing, then added it and went right on. If not using pre-cooked, you would cook it now. Stir in tomatoes, chili powder, oregano and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

2.Stir in the corn and cook until heated through. Season with salt & pepper and serve.

You can see the original recipe at: http://www.recipegirl.com/2007/02/23/confetti-chili/#ixzz0cXThhemi

Chimichangas

I got the idea to make these from a recipe I found for "Skinny Chimichangas" on recipegirl.com. It is originally a weight watchers recipe. However, I didn't make it very skinny - mostly because I didn't use light tortillas - I used the pre-made bake yourself tortillas - not good for you, but definitely tasty. I also added extra cheese and didn't use light cheese. I doubled the recipe and changed the spices too. This is of course how I made it. I'm writing it down as they cook in the oven so I don't forget what I did. :) I served mine with shredded cabbage (would have preferred lettuce, but cabbage is what I had.) and some salsa and sour cream - honestly, I'm more worried about getting veggies in my kids and family than I am in cutting out fat. If you want to make them skinny, check out recipegirl. I cut out other steps because I wasn't using fat free tortillas. These were very yummy. Definitely a keeper. I loved the inside the way I made it. I think it could just as easily have been made with ground beef. I also think it would be good with kidney beans thrown in. I'm putting in a picture of the whole tray fresh out of the oven, and how I served them.


Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey breast
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 clove garlic, minced (actually I used a heaping teaspoon of minced garlic from a jar.)
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 heaping teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 8 ounce cans tomato sauce
• 1 4 oz can mild green chiles
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 15-16 6-inch ready to cook flour tortillas (Larger tortillas would have made a better chimichanga, but the ready to cook at my store only come in 6 inch.)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a nonstick baking sheet with nonstick spray.

2. Cook turkey, onion, garlic, chili powder, oregano and cumin in a skillet, breaking up the turkey until browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce and chiles; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until the flavors are blended and the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cheddar.

3. While cooking this, cook the tortillas in another skillet. I had no idea how many to use, I just started cooking tortillas at the same time I started cooking turkey and they both got done about the same time and ended up being the right amount. Lucky me.

4. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the filling into the center of each tortilla. Fold in the sides, then roll to enclose the filling. Place the chimichangas, seam-side down, on the baking sheet. Bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Do not turn.

Chicken Fajita Soup

This is another recipe from The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner. I changed it up a good bit though - I wanted to saute my onions in more butter -used more green pepper, less beef broth, more cumin, and my pre-cooked chicken, and a bit more of that etc. but I got the idea from her book. This is how I made it. It was quite tasty. Everyone ate it without complaint, and that is saying something.



Ingredients

• 1 1/2 containers of precooked chicken (about 1.5 lbs raw)
• 1 medium onion, diced
  
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 can beef broth
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 Tablespoon ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste (although I didn't add any.)

Serve with

• Tortilla chips
• grated cheddar cheese
• avocado slices
• lime wedges

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large pot, saute onion in butter. Defrost chicken for 2 minutes in microwave while sauteing onion. Add the chicken. to the onions and continue cooking until completely defrosted. (If using raw chicken, cut it in bite size pieces, add it with the onions and cook until done.)
2. Sir in the chicken stock, beef broth, tomatoes, bell pepper, chili powder, and cumin. Bring to a boil, then decrease heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
3. Serve in bowls and top with the tortilla chips, cheese, and avocado slices. You can also add a squeeze of lime if desired. It tastes great both ways.

Cafe rio chicken and black beans

So today I tried a cafe rio chicken recipe from a cookbook my mom had sent me. Their pork, rice, and dressing recipe are all different from what we call Karley's pork at our house. I followed my recipe for the rice, but tried theirs for black beans. I was also a bit lazy after a day full of cooking (2 types of waffles + sauce, 3 Christmas candies, chicken, sauce, rice, and beans for dinner.) Anyway, because of that I didn't make any guacamole, or pico, or even dice tomatoes for our salads. They were still good, but I prefer the sweetness of the pork. I just really like the blend of the sweet pork, lime rice, and tomatillo/cilantro dressing. Got a picture of this though. I'll have to make the pork again in the near future to add a picture to that page as well. While I liked the beans, I don't know that I would go to the trouble of making them for this meal again because of all the other steps involved. I'm not sure it added that much to the overall flavor of the meal.



Cafe Rio Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 onion sliced
  
• 2 cans diced green chilies (I found 1 large can)
  
• 2 cups chicken broth (I used stock)
• 1 tsp cumin
• salt to taste

Directions
Combine in slow cook and cook on low 10-12 hours. Shred. (I cooked it on high for 5-6 hours because it was grocery shopping day I didn't have chicken until noon.:)



Black Beans

Ingredients

• 2 cans black beans
• 1 tomato (I used 2 roma tomatoes today)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions
Combine and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. (I diced my veggies in the food processor, adding the tomatoes last. Then I sauteed them in some oil. I didn't want my beans soupy, so I boiled it more than simmered is so it would boil some of the juice off.)

Karley's Pork

Aka Cafe Rio pork - but my sister Karley gave us the recipe, so it is forever known at our house as Karley's pork. It is an absolute favorite. Tavios ultimate favorite food. Haven't made it in a while because it takes a while, but I need to share the recipe and this is the easiest way to do it right now. I'll post a picture next time I make it.

Pork

Ingredients

• 3-4 lbs pork loin
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 bottle red taco sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Cumin
• 1 can Coke

Directions
Cook pork on low in crock pot with water covering 1/2 the pork for 6 hours or until able to shred. Three hours before serving, drain liquid off pork and add coke, taco sauce, brown sugar, and cumin. Continue to cook for approximately 3 more hours.
(I find these instructions weird, never know if I'm supposed to cook for 6 hours total or 9 hours. I usually just cook the pork until shreddable, shred it, add the flavorings and let cook for another hour or so to combine flavors. I'm afraid of getting it too dry or something, but have never had that problem.)

Rice

Ingredients

• White rice
• Chicken broth
• chopped cilantro
• chopped white onions
• lime juice

You get to experiment on the portion sizes. Cook the rice in the chicken broth instead of water with cilantro, onions & lime juice.
(very vague again - what I usually do is put 3-4 rice cooker measuring cups into the rice cooker. I add the juice of 4-5 limes, 1 small onion chopped - probably about 1 cup - more or less if you like, and maybe 1/4 cup chopped cilantro or so - not packed in the cup or anything. After adding the lime juice, I fill the rice cooker the rest of the way to the appropriate line with the chicken broth and cook it.)

Tomatillo Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 package Dry buttermilk dressing (ranch)
• 3 tomatillos
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Liquify ingredients in blender. Dressing will be runny at first, but thickens gradually.


Actual "salad"

Ingredients

• Tortillas or chips
• cheese (monterey jack or cheddar)
• rice recipe
• warmed black beans
• pork recipe
• chopped lettuce
• chopped tomatoes
• chopped green onions
• cilantro (optional)
• sour cream (optional)
• salsa (optional)
• Tomatillo dressing

Directions
Stack on plate in the order listed.

We like to buy the uncooked but pre-made tortillas for this. They are really yummy.