These were a great dinner last night...and Wesley loooooves black beans, so he ate quite a bit of the filling as his dinner. No need for the tortillas! I found the recipe on Annie's Eats. There are a few changes I made, as well as a few I'll make next time, which I noted.
2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
olive oil
1/2 an onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. corn kernels (next time I'll leave this out...didn't really care to have the corn in it)
1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 c. salsa
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
2 T lime juice
2-3 c. shredded Mexican cheese blend
medium flour tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce (I accidentally got the medium...quite a bit of heat!)
Using an immersion blender, mush up some of the black beans to your desired consistency (I'd say about 1/2 the beans were mush, 1/2 were whole!). You could also mush with a spoon if you want.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and saute the onions and garlic until very soft. Add the beans, tomatoes, salsa, cumin and chili powder (and corn if using), stirring well, until heated thru and thickened a bit. Remove from heat, and stir in lime juice.
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Spoon some of the filling down the middle of a tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, and roll up. Place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with as many tortillas as desired.
Pour enchilada sauce over the tortillas, and cover the dish with foil. Bake for approximately 25 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly. YUM!
**One other thing I may do next time: add a strip of cream cheese as I did in these chicken enchiladas**
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Easy-Peasy (and YUMMY!) Chicken Pot Pie!
Now, I would prefer to make this with fresh (Farmer's Market!) veggies (and homemade stock), but 1) the FM isn't opened yet; and 2) Wesley and I had a playdate with Isabelle and Sallie today, so I didn't even go to the grocery to figure out what to eat tonight until about 5:30. So, we needed something super fast and super yummy! It helps a little that everything was organic from Whole Foods, right??
Olive oil
1/2 an onion, finely diced
1 rotisserie chicken (I used the herb roasted)
1 can cream of chicken and mushroom soup
vegetable stock (I used the boxed kind)
1 bag frozen veggies (peas, carrots, corn, greenbeans mix)
frozen biscuits
seasoned salt
Preheat oven (whatever temp it says for your biscuits...mine said 400). In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat, and saute the onion. While the pan is heating/you're sauteeing, dice up the chicken. Add the can of soup and about 1 c. of stock to the pan, stirring well. Add stock until it's the consistency you like. Add the veggies, and let simmer for a few minutes, then stir in the chicken. Season as needed. Pour the whole mixture into an oven-proof casserole dish. Top with the frozen biscuits (Tip: I let the biscuits sit out on the counter while I was unpacking groceries/beginning to cook. They thawed just enough for me to flatten them some with my palm before putting them on top of the casserole). Sprinkle a little bit of the seasoning on top. Bake until the biscuits are golden...our dinner took about 25 minutes start to finish to prepare, and both the W's loved it...SUCCESS!!
Olive oil
1/2 an onion, finely diced
1 rotisserie chicken (I used the herb roasted)
1 can cream of chicken and mushroom soup
vegetable stock (I used the boxed kind)
1 bag frozen veggies (peas, carrots, corn, greenbeans mix)
frozen biscuits
seasoned salt
Preheat oven (whatever temp it says for your biscuits...mine said 400). In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat, and saute the onion. While the pan is heating/you're sauteeing, dice up the chicken. Add the can of soup and about 1 c. of stock to the pan, stirring well. Add stock until it's the consistency you like. Add the veggies, and let simmer for a few minutes, then stir in the chicken. Season as needed. Pour the whole mixture into an oven-proof casserole dish. Top with the frozen biscuits (Tip: I let the biscuits sit out on the counter while I was unpacking groceries/beginning to cook. They thawed just enough for me to flatten them some with my palm before putting them on top of the casserole). Sprinkle a little bit of the seasoning on top. Bake until the biscuits are golden...our dinner took about 25 minutes start to finish to prepare, and both the W's loved it...SUCCESS!!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Potato Soup and Cornbread
Wes's mom, Vill, used to make potato soup and cornbread on a regular basis. His family would eat it on a plate...crumble up the cornbread, pour potato soup over, devour. I coluld never get into the idea of eating it as a plate of mush (don't worry, Wes knows I call it this), but I did like both the potato soup and the cornbread. I've tried to make cornbread a million times, but it never turns out quite right...I think I've finally figured it out though! I also looked at a few recipes for potato soup, and think I've come close to Vill's recipe. Wes was in the den when he took his first bite (all mushed up on a plate!), and I heard him from the kitchen say, "Wow! This is it! It's good!" Yay for making one of his favorite meals his mom used to make him!
Cornbread (and next time, I think I'll try it in a preheated cast-iron pan, but I didn't this time)
1 1/4 c. self-rising cornmeal
3/4 c. self-rising flour
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. milk
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another. Add the egg/milk/butter mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring only until just moistened. Pour into a greased 9" pan, and bake for 25 minutes at 425*.
Potato Soup
*if you'd like to top with bacon (I do!), cook some until crispy, crumble, and set aside
*you may also cut up some scallions and grate some cheddar cheese on top
About 3 lbs. Idaho potatoes (I think I used 5 med. to large potatoes?)
1 c. sour cream
1 stick butter
2 2/3 c. milk
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Rinse, peel, and cut the potatoes into 1" chunks. Put into a large pot, and add just enough cool water to cover. Heat to a boil, reduce and simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender, approximately 35-45 minutes.
Drain the potatoes, and return to the pot and mash (Vill didn't really mash the potatoes in her soup, so I didn't mash it a ton...left some chunks). Stir in the sour cream, butter, milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer to heat through, and serve however you'd like--mushed up on a plate with cornbread (yuck!), or in a bowl, topped with shredded cheese, scallions, and bacon (yum!) with a side of cornbread.
**And leftovers are great--Wes ate most of them, so I stirred about 1/2 c. of the leftover soup with about 1 c. of frozen broccoli and heated through for Wesley and my dinner. YUMMY!
Disclaimer: I didn't say either of these recipes was healthy ;)
Cornbread (and next time, I think I'll try it in a preheated cast-iron pan, but I didn't this time)
1 1/4 c. self-rising cornmeal
3/4 c. self-rising flour
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. milk
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another. Add the egg/milk/butter mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring only until just moistened. Pour into a greased 9" pan, and bake for 25 minutes at 425*.
Potato Soup
*if you'd like to top with bacon (I do!), cook some until crispy, crumble, and set aside
*you may also cut up some scallions and grate some cheddar cheese on top
About 3 lbs. Idaho potatoes (I think I used 5 med. to large potatoes?)
1 c. sour cream
1 stick butter
2 2/3 c. milk
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Rinse, peel, and cut the potatoes into 1" chunks. Put into a large pot, and add just enough cool water to cover. Heat to a boil, reduce and simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender, approximately 35-45 minutes.
Drain the potatoes, and return to the pot and mash (Vill didn't really mash the potatoes in her soup, so I didn't mash it a ton...left some chunks). Stir in the sour cream, butter, milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer to heat through, and serve however you'd like--mushed up on a plate with cornbread (yuck!), or in a bowl, topped with shredded cheese, scallions, and bacon (yum!) with a side of cornbread.
**And leftovers are great--Wes ate most of them, so I stirred about 1/2 c. of the leftover soup with about 1 c. of frozen broccoli and heated through for Wesley and my dinner. YUMMY!
Disclaimer: I didn't say either of these recipes was healthy ;)
Saturday, January 2, 2010
New Year's Day "Lucky Lunch"
Happy 2010, ya'll!
I wanted to post what I cooked for the traditional NYDay Lunch before I forgot how I did everything! It was so much fun...Sallie and Isabelle, and Maggie, Barry and Davis came over to eat with us. I was a little concerned that I'd cooked WAAAAY too much...but either everyone was starving or everyone was being polite, because the majority of the food got eaten!
So here it goes...we had black eyed peas, collard greens, macaroni and cheese (posted previously), and pork tenderloin. Oh, and the ladies enjoyed some seriously amazing pink champagne ;)
A great thing about this meal...I did 3 of the 4 dishes in crock pots (yup, I am the proud owner of 3 crock pots..more on that later). So, I was able to get everything prepared in the morning, veg on the couch for most of the day, then once everyone got here, I quickly cooked the pork and everything was good to go!
Black Eyed Peas:
6 or so slices of bacon
1/2 a large onion, diced
3 c. water
Glory vegetable base
1 can of RoTel tomatos, drained just a bit
2 10-oz packages of fresh (local!) black eyed peas
Salt and pepper
Cut the bacon into 1-inch (or so) pieces, and brown until crispy. Drain about half of the bacon on a paper towel, and add the onion to the remaining bacon, cooking in the bacon fat (those diet resolutions shouldn't kick in until the 2nd or later!) until very translucent. Put this mixture in the crock pot, along with the water, a heaping teaspoon of the vegetable base, the tomatoes, peas, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on high for approximately 4 hours, checking the seasoning and doneness of the peas often. Crumble the reserved bacon over top of the peas just before serving.
Collard Greens:
1 T. butter
1/2 a large onion, diced
1 pack of Turkey Jerky
6 c. hot water
1 beer
Glory vegetable base (approx. 2 T)
2 bunches of fresh (again...local!) collard greens, washed and trimmed
1/3 to 1/2 c. cider vinegar
1 T. brown sugar
2 T. soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute the onion in the butter until translucent. Put in the crockpot along with the next 5 ingredients, and some salt/pepper to taste. Cook over high heat, stiring with tongs frequently to ensure all the collard pieces spend ample time submerged. About 1 hour before serving (once collards are very soft and yummy!), add the cider vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce, and s/p if needed. Serve with cider vinegar to be sprinkled on top if desired!
I wanted to post what I cooked for the traditional NYDay Lunch before I forgot how I did everything! It was so much fun...Sallie and Isabelle, and Maggie, Barry and Davis came over to eat with us. I was a little concerned that I'd cooked WAAAAY too much...but either everyone was starving or everyone was being polite, because the majority of the food got eaten!
So here it goes...we had black eyed peas, collard greens, macaroni and cheese (posted previously), and pork tenderloin. Oh, and the ladies enjoyed some seriously amazing pink champagne ;)
A great thing about this meal...I did 3 of the 4 dishes in crock pots (yup, I am the proud owner of 3 crock pots..more on that later). So, I was able to get everything prepared in the morning, veg on the couch for most of the day, then once everyone got here, I quickly cooked the pork and everything was good to go!
Black Eyed Peas:
6 or so slices of bacon
1/2 a large onion, diced
3 c. water
Glory vegetable base
1 can of RoTel tomatos, drained just a bit
2 10-oz packages of fresh (local!) black eyed peas
Salt and pepper
Cut the bacon into 1-inch (or so) pieces, and brown until crispy. Drain about half of the bacon on a paper towel, and add the onion to the remaining bacon, cooking in the bacon fat (those diet resolutions shouldn't kick in until the 2nd or later!) until very translucent. Put this mixture in the crock pot, along with the water, a heaping teaspoon of the vegetable base, the tomatoes, peas, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on high for approximately 4 hours, checking the seasoning and doneness of the peas often. Crumble the reserved bacon over top of the peas just before serving.
Collard Greens:
1 T. butter
1/2 a large onion, diced
1 pack of Turkey Jerky
6 c. hot water
1 beer
Glory vegetable base (approx. 2 T)
2 bunches of fresh (again...local!) collard greens, washed and trimmed
1/3 to 1/2 c. cider vinegar
1 T. brown sugar
2 T. soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute the onion in the butter until translucent. Put in the crockpot along with the next 5 ingredients, and some salt/pepper to taste. Cook over high heat, stiring with tongs frequently to ensure all the collard pieces spend ample time submerged. About 1 hour before serving (once collards are very soft and yummy!), add the cider vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce, and s/p if needed. Serve with cider vinegar to be sprinkled on top if desired!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Nothing to do with cooking...
But I love reading Jill's blog at www.babyrabies.com. She's freaking hilarious. And, to make it even better, she's giving away a Dyson vacuum! So, head on over there and read about her life with an adorable toddler...and life in general. BUT, if you win that vacuum, I'm gonna be mad...it should be MINE!!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Thanksgiving Yummyness!
I'm still stuffed from 3 Thanksgiving meals (yes, 3!) and can't even think of turkey right now, but I did want to go ahead and share the recipes I made because they were super yummy and I want to have them for next year! Hope you had a great holiday with family :)
Cranberry Sauce (a combination of a couple of recipes, but basically this one by Alton Brown)
1/4 c. cranberry juice (NOT cocktail...the 100% juice)
juice from one orange (approx. 1/4 c.)
1 c. honey
zest from one orange
1 bag fresh cranberries
Bring the cranberry juice, orange juice and honey to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes, adding zest after a couple of minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the cranberries, and continue to simmer for 12-15 minutes (no more than 15). Continue to stir every minute or two. The cranberries will begin to burst, and I used a wooden spoon to kind of mash up the cranberries in the last few minutes of cooking.
Remove from heat, let cool for a few minutes, then pour into either a mold or serving bowls. Refrigerate overnight.
Cheesy Broccoli Casserole (I believe it was basically a recipe by Paula Deen, but of course now I can't find the original recipe)
2 bags frozen broccoli (1 family size, 1 large size I believe)
1/4 c. chopped celery*
1/4 lb. chopped mushrooms*
1/4 c. chopped onion*
*I eyeballed these measurements, and probably used more celery and less onion.
2 T butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 lb. velveeta cheese
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Steam the broccoli in salted water for just a couple of minutes (basically to heat thru). Drain well--I drained it in the colander, then spread the broccoli out on a few layers of paper towels to absorb as much water as possible.
Saute the celery, mushrooms, and onion in the butter until very soft. Add the soup and velveeta, stirring often, until the cheese is melted and everything is combined well. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Combine the broccoli and cheese/soup/veggie mixture well, then pour into a greased casserole dish. Top with the cheddar cheese.
Either 1) put into a preheated 350* oven for about 20 minutes and serve; or 2) if made ahead of time, cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before cooking, and cook at 375* for about 30 minutes.
Streusel Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (From Tyler Florence's recipe)
This may be my favorite sweet potato recipe!
6 small to medium sweet potatoes
1 stick (1/2 c.) butter, room temp
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. toasted pecan pieces
1 c. (or a few handfuls) mini marshmallows
Scrub and prick the sweet potatoes, then bake in a preheated 400* oven until soft (about 45 minutes or so).
While the potatoes are baking, make the streusel: combine the butter, sugar and flour with a fork until crumbly. Add the cinnamon, salt and pecans.
(I made this the day before, so at this point, I put the streusel in the fridge, along with the cooled sweet potatoes.)
Cut the sweet potatoes in half length-wise, and use a fork to kind of tear up the insides (does that make sense?! haha). Place them in a baking dish, flesh-side up. Top each half with a generous amount of the streusel mixture, covering as much of the potato as possible. Sprinkle marshmallows over the streusel.
Cover with foil and bake in a pre-heated 375* oven for about 45 minutes, removing foil for last 15-20 minutes. (If you are making this directly after baking the potatoes, I think you can keep the oven at 400*, and just bake uncovered for about 20 minutes).
The streusel should get crispy, and the marshmallows will melt and brown. SO yummy!
Cranberry Sauce (a combination of a couple of recipes, but basically this one by Alton Brown)
1/4 c. cranberry juice (NOT cocktail...the 100% juice)
juice from one orange (approx. 1/4 c.)
1 c. honey
zest from one orange
1 bag fresh cranberries
Bring the cranberry juice, orange juice and honey to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes, adding zest after a couple of minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the cranberries, and continue to simmer for 12-15 minutes (no more than 15). Continue to stir every minute or two. The cranberries will begin to burst, and I used a wooden spoon to kind of mash up the cranberries in the last few minutes of cooking.
Remove from heat, let cool for a few minutes, then pour into either a mold or serving bowls. Refrigerate overnight.
Cheesy Broccoli Casserole (I believe it was basically a recipe by Paula Deen, but of course now I can't find the original recipe)
2 bags frozen broccoli (1 family size, 1 large size I believe)
1/4 c. chopped celery*
1/4 lb. chopped mushrooms*
1/4 c. chopped onion*
*I eyeballed these measurements, and probably used more celery and less onion.
2 T butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 lb. velveeta cheese
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Steam the broccoli in salted water for just a couple of minutes (basically to heat thru). Drain well--I drained it in the colander, then spread the broccoli out on a few layers of paper towels to absorb as much water as possible.
Saute the celery, mushrooms, and onion in the butter until very soft. Add the soup and velveeta, stirring often, until the cheese is melted and everything is combined well. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Combine the broccoli and cheese/soup/veggie mixture well, then pour into a greased casserole dish. Top with the cheddar cheese.
Either 1) put into a preheated 350* oven for about 20 minutes and serve; or 2) if made ahead of time, cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before cooking, and cook at 375* for about 30 minutes.
Streusel Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (From Tyler Florence's recipe)
This may be my favorite sweet potato recipe!
6 small to medium sweet potatoes
1 stick (1/2 c.) butter, room temp
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. toasted pecan pieces
1 c. (or a few handfuls) mini marshmallows
Scrub and prick the sweet potatoes, then bake in a preheated 400* oven until soft (about 45 minutes or so).
While the potatoes are baking, make the streusel: combine the butter, sugar and flour with a fork until crumbly. Add the cinnamon, salt and pecans.
(I made this the day before, so at this point, I put the streusel in the fridge, along with the cooled sweet potatoes.)
Cut the sweet potatoes in half length-wise, and use a fork to kind of tear up the insides (does that make sense?! haha). Place them in a baking dish, flesh-side up. Top each half with a generous amount of the streusel mixture, covering as much of the potato as possible. Sprinkle marshmallows over the streusel.
Cover with foil and bake in a pre-heated 375* oven for about 45 minutes, removing foil for last 15-20 minutes. (If you are making this directly after baking the potatoes, I think you can keep the oven at 400*, and just bake uncovered for about 20 minutes).
The streusel should get crispy, and the marshmallows will melt and brown. SO yummy!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Olive and Feta Stuffed Chicken
Okay, this is seriously awesome. I didn't know what to make for dinner, and called mom on the way to the grocery. She suggested this, and I made a few tweaks since Wesley would be eating it with me. I am seriously thinking I'll make it again tomorrow night!
olive oil
boneless skinless chicken breast
about 8 kalamata olives, diced*
about 1.5 T crumbled feta (I used the garlic herb kind)*
about 1/3 bag of frozen spinach
salt and pepper (and/or seasoned salt...I used Crazy Salt)
*I put both the olives and feta in the food processor to dice since I was feeding this to Wesley.
Preheat oven to 375. In an ovenproof pan, heat olive oil over medium to medium high heat. Cut the chicken to create a pocket. Combine the olives and feta, and stuff into the chicken. Season outside of chicken, and brown well in the olive oil. Once browned, add the spinach to the pan, season, and cover. Put the pan in the oven, cooking until the chicken is completely cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes. YUM!
olive oil
boneless skinless chicken breast
about 8 kalamata olives, diced*
about 1.5 T crumbled feta (I used the garlic herb kind)*
about 1/3 bag of frozen spinach
salt and pepper (and/or seasoned salt...I used Crazy Salt)
*I put both the olives and feta in the food processor to dice since I was feeding this to Wesley.
Preheat oven to 375. In an ovenproof pan, heat olive oil over medium to medium high heat. Cut the chicken to create a pocket. Combine the olives and feta, and stuff into the chicken. Season outside of chicken, and brown well in the olive oil. Once browned, add the spinach to the pan, season, and cover. Put the pan in the oven, cooking until the chicken is completely cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes. YUM!
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