Enchilada Lasagna

So here's the final product, and I know my food photography skills are painfully lacking. So believe me when I say it tastes WAY better than it looks.



With that said, this is a super easy meal that even the kids ask seconds and thirds of. It's kind of different every time I make it, because there's no recipe. It's basically enchiladas, but I very much dislike rolling up enchiladas, so in this version, I just layer it. Read on.....

Ingredients:

1 can enchilada sauce

corn tortillas, white or yellow (about 24)

1 lb. ground beef or 1 can Vegeburger

1 1/2 cups day-old rice

2 cups cheese (or more, depending on your affinity to cheese)

sour cream for garnish

You start with ground beef (in our case, a can of Worthington Vegeburger. Otherwise, for those of you who are carnivores, about a pound of ground beef, cooked and drained.

This is the best part--add old rice. Not moldy-old, but day-or-two old rice that's too dry to eat by itself. Add in, oh, about a cup or a cup-and-a-half. You also see I've added the enchilada sauce, about 2/3 of a can.

Add about a cup or two of cheese, and cook it all together until it's nice and bubbly, and the rice is tender.

Meanwhile, spray a 9x13 casserole dish and coat the bottom with about half of the enchilada sauce you have left in the can. Here I am using the store brand, but I really prefer the Rosarita brand. Yum.


Then, layer your corn tortillas in the bottom of the dish. No need to cook them in butter or anything, just slap 'em on in there.

Then just layer half of your meat mixture, you can add more cheese if you like, then another layer of tortillas, the rest of your meat mixture (and optional cheese), then a final layer of tortillas.

At this point, I would usually be adding the rest of the enchilada sauce from the can over the top of the bare tortillas, but guess who forgot to save some. So if you didn't forget, do that. Then sprinkle cheese on the top of all that.

Bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes, and voila! Easy, delicious meal that you may or may not have leftovers of.

Oh, and P.S., the rice in the top picture is also old rice, I just added some of Filipe's homemade salsa and cooked it for about 5-10 minutes until the rice was tender. Perfect Spanish Rice!

New Recipe--Pasta Primavera

Yum yum! Here's a quick, easy, moderately healthy recipe for Pasta Primavera:

2 cups broccoli florets

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed mushroom soup, undiluted

1 large carrot, julienned

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 garlic clove, minced (I just used some garlic powder)

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3 cups cooked spaghetti

In a large saucepan, combine the first seven ingredients. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat until vegetable are tender, about 12 minutes. Stir in spaghetti; heat through. Yield: 4 servings

I can send you the nutritional information if you're interested. Otherwise, eat and enjoy!

The fruits of my labor

Filipe and my mom took the kids to the Children's Museum this afternoon.... blessed peace! For me, not them, ha! Here's the product of that lovely quiet time....







Let's see, there's Banana Chocolate Chip Mini-muffins, Lemon-filled Coffee Cake, Pecan Poppy Seed Loaf (actually made yesterday), Cheesy Mexican Corn Bread, Sausage Enchiladas (thanks, Kim!), and Spaghetti Pie. OH..... I can't wait to start eating!

Colorful Pasta with Wham

Today's lunch was brought to you by:

1 pkg. (16 oz.) tricolor spiral pasta

1 1/2 cups cubed wham

1 can (15 1/4 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained

1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 can (2.8 oz) french-fried onions, divided

1 can (14 1/2 oz) vegetable broth

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In a greased shallow 3-qt. baking dish, combine the pasta, wham, corn, 1 cup cheese and 3/4 cup onions. In a bowl, combine the broth, soup, milk and seasonings. Pour over pasta mixture; mix well.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and onions. Bake 5 minutes longer or until heated through. Makes 8 servings.

Comfort Food

So my family has been taking turns with various illnesses, and yesterday it was my turn to experience flu-like symptoms. So today my body is a bit worn out. I haven't been eating too well, so this afternoon, I really wanted something substantive and maybe semi-healthy. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, which is one of my go-to sites for new recipes. I think it turned out pretty good. And it was easy, which today is a prerequisite. It says it makes 5 servings, but I think I'll double it next time. Pretty skimpy servings. If you're interested in trying it, here goes:

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
2 cups chicken broth (I made mine out of McKay's Chicken Style Seasoning, but regular vegetable broth would work too)
2 1/2 cups fresh broccoli
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Bring broth to a boil. Add broccoli and onion. Cook for five minutes, or until broccoli is tender.
In a separate bowl, slowly add milk to flour, and mix until well blended.
Stir flour mixture into broth mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until soup is thick and bubbly. Add cheese if desired; stir until melted. Add seasonings and serve.

California Veggie Rolls

Okay, I know this isn't a recipe blog, but I had to put this one up too. It's fun to make, fun to eat, fun to serve--what more could you ask for??

California Veggie Rolls

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1/2 teaspoon Lawry's Garlic Powder with Parsley (or just garlic powder)

1/2 teaspoon Lemon Pepper

6 large or 12 regular size flour tortillas (or however many your ingredients can make!)

1 large bunch fresh spinach leaves, cleaned and stems removed

1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups shedded carrots

Fresh Salsa

In small bowl, blend together cream cheese, garlic powder, and lemon pepper. On each flour tortilla, spread a layer of cream cheese mixture. Layer spinach leaves, cheddar cheese, and carrots over cream cheese mixture. Roll up tortillas. Slice each tortilla into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Serve with salsa. Makes 3 dozen.

Peanut Butter Granola

I inherited this recipe from my childhood, and I'm eating some right now. It's kind of addictive, so beware. I'm pretty sure it's semi-healthy, too, so I guess that makes up for the fact that I can finish off the whole batch by myself in less than a week. Easily. Also, if you're not afraid of a little mess, kids can help make it, too. Here it is:

6 cups quick oatmeal

1 cup wheat germ

1 cup sesame seeds

1 cup chopped nuts (I usually use walnuts, but I'm guessing any will work)

3/4 cups honey

2 teaspoons salt

3 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup peanut butter

7 oz. shredded coconut

Combine all ingredients, rubbing back and forth between hands until crumbly (did I mention this might get a little messy??). Bake in cookie sheets (the kind with an edge!) at 225 degrees for about 2 hours. Does not need to be stirred. Makes about 11 cups. Goes great with milk, or with yogurt (hello, road trips!).

Yum Yum!