Creamy Beef Taquitos

I know I've shared my love of the Meal Planning 101 blog before. I don't think I've had a single bad recipe from her website, so I go to it a lot when I need meal ideas. My Bff, Jen Clementine had made these awhile ago and really liked them, so I thought I'd give them a try. I'm always game for a new Mexican food recipe.

Creamy Beef Taquitos
Source: Meal Planning 101 blog


1 lb lean ground beef
2 tbsp taco seasoning (homemade or store-bought)
1/3 cup light cream cheese
1/4 cup salsa
1 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp green onions, chopped
1 cup grated cheese (cheddar, mozzarella or pepperjack)
12 small flour tortillas (can also use corn tortillas)

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and break it up into crumbles as it cooks. Add the taco seasoning and cook the beef about 8 minutes until cooked through.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add salsa, lime juice, cilantro and green onions and stir to combine. Once the beef is browned, add the beef and cheese and combine well. You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Place 2-3 tbsp of beef mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Roll it up as tight as you can. If your tortillas are cracking or breaking, you can microwave them for 10-20 seconds with a damp paper towel over top. Once rolled, place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or brush with a bit of oil and sprinkle some kosher salt on top. Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Dip taquitos in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or Chipotle Ranch dressing.

*****

The only thing I changed up was to use ground turkey instead of ground beef because I had it on hand, and the husband was going through a "let's lay off the red meat" phase for awhile back when I made these.

Like I expected, these were super easy to put together, fast to cook, and really tasty!! Winner winner, taquito dinner! I love those frozen taquitos that you see a lot at parties, but these were so much better. I'll definitely make them again. Actually I'm wishing I had some ground beef or turkey on hand so I could make them this week!

Herbed Chicken Breasts with Tomatillo Salsa and Queso Fresco

This was another from my new favorite cookbook, The Best of Cooking Light Everyday Favorites. I had queso fresco left from the yummy Roast Chicken Chimichangas and thought this sounded super tasty. It could also easily be made low carb by skipping the breading portion and just grilling the chicken instead.

Herbed Chicken Breasts with Tomatillo Salsa and Queso Fresco
Source: The Best of Cooking Light Everyday Favorites

Salsa:
2 quarts water
1/2 pound tomatillos (about 10 small), husks and stems removed
1 garlic clove
1/2 to 1 serrano chile
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Chicken:
3 (1-ounce) slices white bread
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled queso fresco cheese
Cilantro sprigs (optional)
Lime wedges (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare salsa, bring water to a boil. Add tomatillos, garlic, and chile; cook 7 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Combine tomatillos, garlic, chile, chopped cilantro, onion, lime juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor or blender; pulse 4 to 5 times or until coarsely chopped. Set aside.

To prepare chicken, place bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 1/2 cups. Arrange crumbs on a baking sheet; bake at 350° for 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely.

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, cumin, and red pepper; sprinkle evenly over chicken.

Place breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Place egg in another shallow dish. Dip chicken in egg; dredge in breadcrumbs.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Top chicken with salsa, and sprinkle with queso fresco cheese. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and lime wedges, if desired.

Nutritional Information
Amount per serving
Calories: 364
Calories from fat: 26%
Fat: 10.7g
Saturated fat: 3.2g
Monounsaturated fat: 4.5g
Polyunsaturated fat: 1.6g
Protein: 47.1g
Carbohydrate: 17.7g
Fiber: 2g
Cholesterol: 162mg
Iron: 3mg
Sodium: 770mg
Calcium: 169mg

*****

I used whole wheat bread for my breadcrumbs because that's what we had. The salsa was super tasty and smelled so good. I had looked up the recipe on the Cooking Light website and saw some people complained that they didn't like that the queso fresco didn't melt onto the chicken, but I really liked that about it. This was super tasty and pretty easy. The salsa could easily be made ahead of time, too. I heated up a can of black beans as our side and sprinkled some queso fresco on top of them when I plated. Mmmmm...tasty!!

Pioneer Woman's Pico de Gallo

This will be my second time making PW's pico de gallo recipe, although apparently I didn't post it before. I really, really love pico de gallo...the chunky vegetables, the combination of fresh flavors...yum. And of course I have yet to go wrong with a PW recipe!!

Pioneer Woman's Pico de Gallo

5 whole Plum (roma) Tomatoes
1/2 whole Large (or 1 Small) Onion
3 whole Jalapeno Peppers
Cilantro
Lime Juice
Salt To Taste

Chop jalapenos, tomatoes and onions into a very small dice. (Leave seeds in your jalapenos for a hotter pico). Adjust amount of jalapenos to your preferred temperature. Next, chop up a nice-sized bunch of cilantro. Just remove and discard the long leafless stems before chopping. No need to remove the leaves from the stems completely. Place all of these ingredients together in a bowl and give it a good stir.

Squeeze the juice of half of one lime into the bowl. Add salt to taste and stir again.

*****

Yum. That's all I have to say about that.

Brisket Tostadas

Tap...tap...tap...is this thing on?? I'm back! Did you miss me? Are you still there? The last couple weeks have been crazy with house stuff. I think I've mentioned we're trying to find a new house. Last week I had a minor breakdown that we're never going to find one and would forever be stuck living in our what-used-to-be-nice-but-is-now-ghetto neighborhood. The boys and I went out with our realtor one day last week (after my breakdown) and ended up finding a house that I loved. The husband came and saw it, put an offer on it, and it got accepted!! We're just waiting on the signed contract to come back from the seller then we can move forward with the inspection, appraisal, and all that fun home-buying stuff. What a relief! Of course, once that happens then I have to start cleaning out our house and packing, so I'm sure I won't be updating that often once again. Or I will because I hate packing to move and look for any excuse to procrastinate.

Now...finally I'm going to finish up the rest of my Brisketfest posts!! Well, Brisketfest leftovers anyway. But that was part of the reason to have Brisketfest so we could try a bunch of awesome leftovers using the brisket.

As you know, I heart The Pioneer Woman's cooking website. Since I had used her brisket recipe I thought it was only fair to also use her recipe for Brisket Tostadas. She does a much better job of laying it all out and taking pictures so I'm just going to link to her post:

Pioneer Woman's Brisket Tostadas

I didn't change it up a whole lot, although I bought tostada shells instead of making my own, and I only did two shells per tostada instead of three. I had some leftover Trader Joe's enchilada sauce in the fridge, so I used that instead of the El Pato.

These were so good!! I love tostadas, but I usually just have them with beans. I really liked the addition of the brisket meat. I would definitely make these again, assuming I have leftover brisket again at some point!





I'm soooo wishing I had stuff on hand to make tostadas!!

Santa Fe Burgers

I just want you to know that I stayed up late last night cleaning my house so that I could update my blog today during naptime without feeling guilty about the state of my house. It was bad. So after the kiddos and husband were in bed I cleaned. Now I can get all caught up here. I think I have four posts to do, and I think I have pictures for most of them, or at least some!

For most of my meal planning last week I used a Cooking Light cookbook I forget to use. It's Cooking Light Superfast Suppers. It has some really good stuff in it, and all the recipes are quick to put together. Since I wanted to have mostly new stuff on the menu AND be healthy, I figured it was a great place to start.

I always have Boca Burgers on hand because the husband takes them for lunch a lot, so when I saw this I figured it would be a great dinner since we already had the protien piece, we had hamburger buns, salsa, and I had gotten several avocados from my produce co-op last weekend. All I needed was the cheese!

Santa Fe Burgers

4 (2.8-ounce) frozen meatless soy protein burgers
4 (2.8-ounce) whole grain hamburger buns
4 (3/4-ounce) slices 2% Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
8 thin slices avocado
1/2 cup chunky salsa

Cook burgers in a nonstick skillet according to package directions. Place 1 burger on bottom half of each bun; top with 1 cheese slice, 2 avocado slices, and 2 tablespoons salsa. Cover with top half of bun. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information
Calories:367 (23% from fat)
Fat:9.4g (sat 2.8g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.5g)
Protein:24.2g
Carbohydrate:52.5g
Fiber:9.6g
Cholesterol:11mg
Iron:4.4mg
Sodium:872mg
Calcium:314mg

*****

I happened to take dinner to my friend Jen on Monday night, and I took them Mexican Chicken Casserole. The husband was VERY disappointed that they got that while we were having Boca burgers. He didn't realize they were "fancy" Bocas, so I think he felt a little better once I told him that, but he was still jealous of their dinner.

These were really good burgers. I ended up mixing the salsa with a little mayonnaise for a creamier sauce. The combination of that with the pepper jack cheese was realy good, with the creamy mellowness of the avocado to balance it out. Yum!! I had planned on doing some kind of potatoes with these, but Jen's dinner ended up taking me longer to put together than I anticipated, so instead I made up some guacamole and we just had tortilla chips and guac on the side.

I'd probably make these again, especially since most of the ingredients are things I had on hand. It was a really good, really fast vegetarian dinner to add to my arsenal. The cookbook actually has a whole section on doctored up Boca burgers, so I may try out more of them. Surprisingly both my kids ate the Bocas as well. I wasn't sure what they'd think, but both kids ate their burgers just fine, although they just had regular ol' American slices on theirs.

Rick Bayless' Crusty Chorizo and Black Bean Subs

I had made these sandwiches awhile back, and the husband and I both loved them. I mean really, it's a Rick Bayless recipe, so how can you really go wrong?! When I was doing my menu plan for next week I was trying to think of things I had on hand for he and I to have for our Friday date night dinner. I remembered some chorizo I had bought that needed to be used up soon, and I had bought a bunch of avocados because they were on sale for really cheap. I immediately thought of these sandwiches and knew we had to have them. Here's the link to my original post:

Ricky Bayless' Crusty Chorizo and Black Bean Subs

I took a picture of our sandwiches, but it's on my phone, and I need to email it to myself, then I'll add it. The only variation I made was that I had some leftover guacamole in the fridge from a couple nights prior, so I slathered that on there instead of sliced avocados. I also used feta for the cheese because it's what I had. It's hard to say whether this is my most favorite sandwich or the muffuletta. I can't decide. I guess one can win for warm sandwich and one can win for cold. :)

Rick Bayless Salsa Mac and Cheese

The husband is obsessed with the NCAA 2010 college football game for the Xbox, so the other night while he was playing it I decided to dig around on the Rick Bayless website and see what I could find. There were some very tasty sounding recipes I came across and emailed to myself. This was one I wanted to try as soon as I possibly could. I had wanted to make Quick and Easy Mexican Chicken because we hadn't had it in a long time, and it's so tasty and easy. I figured since this would have some of the same flavors as the chicken, it would be a decent pairing.

Chef Rick Bayless' Salsa Mac and Cheese
Recipe from Season 7 of Mexico - One Plate at a Time

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 1/2 to 2 cups Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa or your favorite salsa
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Salt
1 pound dried pasta (though elbow macaroni will do, I suggest you try cork-screw cavatappi or the spiral rotini or fusilli)

Pour 4 quarts of water into a large pot, cover and set over high heat.

In a medium-size saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, then stir in the flour and whisk until the mixture turns a deep golden, about 2 minutes. Add the milk and continue to whisk constantly until the mixture thickens and comes to a full boil, 4 or 5 minutes. (Whisk diligently and there will be no lumps.) Stir in the salsa, remove from the heat, then stir in cheese. Continue stirring until all the cheese has melted. Taste and season generously with salt, usually 1 1/2 teaspoons. Cover to keep warm until the pasta is done.

When the water has come to a boil, add the dried pasta. Stir well to keep the pasta from sticking together and boil until the pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly and add the pasta to the sauce. Stir until all the pasta is covered in the salsa cheese sauce. You’re ready to dig in.

*****

I've mentioned before the difficulties I have making a roux, but I have to say a butter roux versus an oil roux is so much easier! Or maybe I'm just getting better at them. Hard to say. I didn't want to mess with making my own salsa, so I bought some fire roasted tomato salsa instead. I also cut the recipe in half. This was tasty, but I used reduced fat cheese, which I think was a mistake. It would have been better with regular cheese I think, and I think mine had a bit too much salsa. We all really liked it--especially the baby! He'd literally scream when he didn't have any left on his tray. I'll definitely make this again. Oh, Rick Bayless, how I heart you.

Vegetarian Tamale Pie

We haven't had this dinner in quite some time. It's filling, economical, and it was really good when I made it before! The recipe originally came off the back of a package of shredded cheese, but I modified it slightly. My friend Jen B. makes a tamale pie that's really good, so I combined some aspects of her recipe with this one. When I first posted this recipe I wrote it as it was on the cheese package, but I'm going to redo it here with the changes I made last time.

Vegetarian Tamale Pie

Vegetarian Tamale Casserole
1 can (8-3/4 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (15-1/4 oz) red kidney beans, drain half the liquid
1 can (8-3/4 oz) garbanzo, pinto, or black beans, drained
1-2 chipotle peppers, chopped
2 tsp. adobo sauce (from canned chipotle peppers)
1 cup salsa
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup green onions with tops, sliced
2 packages (8-1/2 oz) cornbread mix

In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients but cornbread. Pour into a greased or sprayed 2-quart baking dish or casserole. Make cornbread according to pacakge directions. Pour over top and spread evenly. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden.

*****

We all really liked this the last time I made it, so I'm hoping we have a nice, easy dinner tonight. I'm not sure what we'll have with it--salad and some kind of vegetable I think.

Crusty Black Bean Chorizo Subs

Oh man. I am so, so, so, so, so excited for dinner tonight!! I was watching an episode of Rick Bayless' show Mexico One Plate at a Time recently where he was talking about Lucha Libre (the crazy Mexican wrestling with masks) and made a super torta. It looked FANTASTIC. Then it just so happened that the last time I was looking at cookbooks at the library, his Mexican Everyday cookbook was back, so I checked it out and am once again holding it hostage. I was flipping through it and found that the torta he made on that episode was in the cookbook. It also just so happened that I have some chorizo in the freezer I need to be using up, so this worked out great. I've been looking forward to this dinner for a week now. I was going to make it last night, but my aunt called and invited us over for mixed grill. I'm not one to turn down a dinner made by someone else--especially if my uncle is grilling--so I bumped this back to tonight.

Crusty Black Bean Chorizo Subs
aka Tortas de Chorizo y Frijoles Negros
Copyright 2005, Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday

8 ounces fresh Mexican chorizo sausage, casing removed (about 1 cup)
3-4 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil (divided use)
Two 15-ounce cans black (or other) beans
Salt
4 bolillo rolls, crusty French rolls or submarine sandwich rolls (6-7 inches long, 3 inches wide)
6 ounces queso fresco or other fresh cheese such as feta or goat cheese, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 ripe avocado, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin and cut into 1/4-inch slices
3/4 cup Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (recipe to follow)

Set a large 12-inch skillet over medium heat and add the chorizo. Cook, breaking up the clumps, until browned and thoroughly cooked, about 8-9 minutes. Add 1-2 Tbsp of the oil (depending on how much fat the chorizo has rendered) and the beans. As the beans come to a simmer, mash them to a smooth paste with a Mexican bean masher, old-fashioned potato masher or the back of a large cooking spoon. Cook, stirring nearly constantly, until the consitency of very soft mashed potatoes--expect about 10 minutes after adding the beans. Taste and season with the salt if you think necessary. Keep warm over the lowest heat, covered to keep the beans soft and moist.

Heat a large griddle or skillet over medium. Slice the rolls open. use fingers or a spoon to scrape out some of the soft bread in the center of each half, making a small hollow. Brush the insides with the remainig 2 Tbsp oil, then lay them cut side down on the griddle or skillet to crisp to a rich golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Smear about 1/2 cup of the chorizo-bean mixture over the bottom half of each roll. Top with slices of the cheese and the avocado. Spoon on the salsa or dash on the hot sauce. Set the top of each roll i place, and you're ready to serve.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Copyright 2005, Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday

4 medium (8 ounces total) tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and halved
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
Hot green chiles to taste (2 serrano or 1 jalapeno), stemmed and roughly chopped
About 1/3 cup (loosely packed) roughly chopped cilantro
1/2 small white onion, finely chopped
Salt

Set a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lay in the garlic and tomatillos, cut side down. When the tomatillos are well browned, 3-4 minutes, turn everything over and brown the other side. The tomatillos should be completely soft.

Scrape the tomatillos and garlic into a blender or food processor and let cool to room temperature, about 3 minutes. Add the chiles, cilantro, and 1/4 cup water. Blend to a coarse puree. Pour into a salsa dish and thin with a little additional water if necessary to give the salsa an easily spoonable consistency.

Scoop the chopped onion into a strainer and rinse under cold water. Stir into the salsa. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 tsp.

*****

Mmmmmmm...I cannot wait for this dinner!!! The chorizo I'm using is bulk chorizo, so I don't need to worry about removing the casing. It's also chicken chorizo, which I'm assuming is slightly healthier. I just started doing Weight Watchers to get rid of this darn baby weight, so I'm all about healthier choices. I'll probably cut back some on the oil, too.

I wasn't really sure what to do for a side, so I looked on RecipeZaar.com and found a potato recipe that sounded pretty good and like it would be a nice accompaniment...Ancho Chile Fries. We'll probably have a salad on the side, too.

*****

Rick Bayless is a god among men...but only in a food/cooking way, not in a blasphemous, breaking-a-commandment way. Oh man...these were so good!!! Super easy to put together, too. I'm so glad there was some left because I've already slated it for lunch today. I didn't put enough of the salsa on mine at first, so I added some more. YUM! The boy didn't really like it, but the baby ate quite a bit of the chorizo/bean mixture. Crazy, huh?! I swear that baby will eat anything. The chorizo wasn't very spicy, otherwise I wouldn't have given it to him. It could have been a little spicier, but that's really my only complaint, and really it was my own doing. I will definitely make these again!!!

Oh, and the salsa was AWESOME!! I'm kicking myself for not having bought any tortilla chips when I went grocery shopping this week. We have to go to Target today, so I'll be sure to pick some up there so I can enjoy every last drop of the tomatillo salsa.

Quick and Easy Mexican Chicken

What a day. My avocados were finally ripe yesterday (yes, I know you can speed up the avocado ripening process), so I made Tortilla Pie. It was yummy. I'm too lazy to do a second post on it right now. I need to update our family blog later tonight, and the thought of that is daunting because it's been awhile, so I need to conserve my blogging energy. And it's been a long day. The grand idea I had for the boy's birthday party next month bombed because I called about it too late. And we made the decision to give our dog away. We had decided it awhile ago, and she's been staying at my mom's house, but the time had come to find somewhere else for her to go. I could use a few cocktails, to say the least.

I had meant to start getting the chicken I was going to roast ready to go around 4:00. I looked at the clock at 4:30 and went, "D'oh!" I thought of this recipe I had slated for Sunday night and at first had a minor freak out because I had used all the salsa in the Tortilla Pie. Then I remembered I had some in the pantry. Phew! Jen B. had made this chicken recipe awhile back and really liked it, so I thought I'd give it a go. It's from allrecipes.com.

Quick And Easy Mexican Chicken
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup salsa
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pinch ground cumin

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Heat a greased skillet to medium. Rub chicken pieces with garlic, salt, pepper and cumin to taste and add to hot skillet. Cook until brown on both sides and no longer pink (10 to 15 minutes).

Transfer meat to 9 x 13 inch baking dish or casserole dish, top with salsa and cheese and bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes (until cheese is bubbly and starts to brown.) Serve over rice or buttered noodles.

*****

Sounds totally easy and should be good. And if we like it, it will be easy to have again because these are all things I always have on hand. I'm making a rice dish with it from the cookbook my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas; I'll post that separately.

(I'm embarrassed to admit I never hit the Post button last night after typing this out. Oops!)

*****

This was AWESOME. Definitely a keeper and also probably one of my all-time favorite ways to cook chicken. I was out of garlic, so I put all my chicken on a cutting board and sprinkled with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cumin. I love the smell of cumin when it's on something that's cooking. On its own, I think it smells like BO, but cooking it smells great. This was super easy to make, too. The boy doesn't like spicy, so I just put cheese on his chicken breast and skipped the salsa because the salsa I had was medium, and I didn't think he'd dig it.

You could probably skip the oven step and top the chicken breasts with the salsa and cheese in the skillet, then cover and let the cheese melt. This didn't occur to me at the time. Darn, I could have saved myself a pan to clean.

Chilaquiles

We're apparently having Benah week at our house...the pumpkin cake (which is gone, by the way), this recipe tonight, and we'll see her tomorrow for dinner, and Will and I are going to see her at the zoo on Sunday. Those last two events of course are contingent on when this baby gets here. Hopefully he at least holds off until tomorrow night so we can catch the LSU vs. Bama game (GEAUX TIGERS!!) and make it to dinner because it's at one of my most favorite places, and I'm worried if I miss it, this kid will have that held over his head for his whole life. I don't want to put that kind of burden on him.

Anyway, I've wanted to make this for awhile, but I'm not sure why I haven't. Pretty much all of the ingredients are things I normally have on hand. I was trying to come up with some new vegetarian options to have for dinner because I feel like I'm in a rut with all the veggie dinners I make. The husband said he likes all of them when I mentioned that to him last night, but I get tired of having the same things over and over and over. I'm just not a "Thursday is meatloaf night" kind of girl. I meant to post this earlier, but I've gotten sucked into reading the Twilight books and couldn't tear myself away this afternoon.

Chilaquiles
Sauce:
1 cup salsa
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
4 ounce can chopped green chilies, undrained
14 ounce can pinto or kidney beans, rinsed and strained
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Fixings:
1 11-oz bag tortilla chips
1 cup sour cream
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
2 Tbsp minced cilantro, optional

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all sauce ingredients in a large bowl. Pour half the sauce into a shallow baking dish (Pyrex 12x7x2) and top with half the chips. Drop small spoonfuls of sour cream all over chips, then sprinkle on half the cheese. Top with remaining chips, sauce, sour cream, and cheese. Bake 35 minutes or until bubbly hot around the edges. Sprinkle top with cilantro.

*****

It sounds really similar to the Taco Crescent Bake I've made before, only no crescent rolls and meatless. I didn't really change anything up in the recipe, although I didn't have enough sour cream, so I used some sour cream and some plain yogurt. I had already run to the store earlier today to buy cheese because I didn't buy enough on my weekly grocery trip on Monday, and no way did I want to brave a grocery store at 5:00 on a Friday. NO THANKS!! Oh, and I did the layers a little differently. Instead of chips, sauce, sour cream, and cheese for the order the second time, I did sauce, chips, sour cream, and cheese to match up with the first. I also spread the sour cream around instead of leaving globs. Tricky business when spreading over chips (oh, which I broke up a little), but I got it to work.

I'm excited to try this and hope it turns out. Especially since I think Benah reads my blog, and I'd hate to give it a bad review and have her read it. ;)

*****

I just realized I never reviewed this. I liked it, the husband and boy weren't quite as sold on it. The husband thought it would be good as a dip, or at least he wanted tortilla chips to dip into it. The boy ate it okay but had to be prodded along (which isn't really anything new for dinner with him at our house).

Tacos

It was another dinner crisis tonight. I had gotten out some chicken drumsticks to make using a recipe from The Pioneer Woman, but I got the chicken out too late, and it was still frozen when I needed to start working on it. Oops. Maybe Friday night. I remembered seeing a box of Boca grounds in my garage freezer, and I just bought tortillas at the grocery store yesterday, so I think it's going to be taco night. We don't have much in the way of fixings, but I think that should be okay.

My taco recipe--if you can call it that--isn't even worth posting. Pound of ground beef (or Boca Grounds in our case tonight), packet of taco seasoning, tortillas, cheese, sour cream, salsa, etc. Pretty humdrum, but I'm actually excited about it. I heart taco night.

Get ready for an exciting dinner tomorrow night! The husband's big 3-0 birthday is on Thursday, so we're having his choice tomorrow night because we're going out on Thursday. It's something that I'm not sure I've posted before, or if I have it was quite awhile ago. I'm already excited for it!!

Tortilla Pie

Okay, I think I'm caught up and current now. In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I wanted something Mexican for dinner tonight. I went through my blog to find something other than the chicken taco idea that first popped in my head. I saw this recipe and realized we haven't had it in quite awhile, so this is what it will be. I'm excited for it...it's super yummy.

Tortilla Pie
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 cup chunky salsa, divided
2 (4 or 6 ounce) cartons guacamole
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Mexican cheese blend

Combine first three ingredients, stirring well. Place one tortilla in a lightly greased 9-inch cake pan; spread with half of bean mixture and top with another tortilla. Spread with 1/2 cup salsa and top with another tortilla. Spread with half of guacamole and top with another tortilla. Sprinkle with half of cheese and top with another tortilla.

Repeat layers with remaining ingredients except cheese. Pan will be full. Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes; uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 3-5 more minutes. Cut into wedges to serve. Garnish with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole if desired.

*****

I use a springform pan instead of a cake pan; I've found that makes it a lot easier to slice and serve. I also use taco seasoning instead of the chili powder and cumin. I make my own guacamole, too. It's really easy, so don't be intimidated if you've never tried it. Slice an avocado in half the long way. Plunk a sharp knife down onto the pit and twist to remove the pit. Then dice up the avocado in the shell (if I think of it, I'll take a picture when I'm doing this tonight) and then toss it out into a bowl. Add in a few spoonfuls of salsa and mix. Add a little salt, too. Then taste it and see how it is. Add more salsa if you need it. Start slow with the salsa because if you add to much, you'll need to add more avocado, which is fine if you have more avocado...you just don't want to run to the store in an angry fit because you need another avocado.

Tortilla Pie

Sundays are always kind of a downer. You try to enjoy it because it's the last day of the weekend, but in the back of your mind you know it's just a matter of time until Monday arrives. Even staying at home I feel that way! Probably because Monday is laundry day, and I HATE doing laundry! Before I became a SAHM, the husband and I each did our own laundry. I made sure I had enough clothes to last me a month so I didn't have to do laundry often. Of course then when I did do it, it was horrible. Anyway, I digress...

We're having Tortilla Pie for dinner tonight, and I'm really excited. We haven't had it in quite awhile, and it's one of our favorites.

Tortilla Pie
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 cup chunky salsa, divided
2 (4 or 6 ounce) cartons guacamole
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Mexican cheese blend

Combine first three ingredients, stirring well. Place one tortilla in a lightly greased 9-inch cake pan; spread with half of bean mixture and top with another tortilla. Spread with 1/2 cup salsa and top with another tortilla. Spread with half of guacamole and top with another tortilla. Sprinkle with half of cheese and top with another tortilla.

Repeat layers with remaining ingredients except cheese. Pan will be full. Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes; uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 3-5 more minutes. Cut into wedges to serve. Garnish with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole if desired.

*****

I use a springform pan instead of a cake pan; I've found that makes it a lot easier to slice and serve. I also use taco seasoning instead of the chili powder and cumin. I realized once I got started that I only had six tortillas since we used a couple for tacos the other night. So I just put the salsa on top of the beans. We'll see how it turns out.

I also messed up a little on my guacamole. Normally I dice up two avocados, mash them up, and add in some salsa and mix together. I'm ashamed to admit I accidentally added marinara sauce instead of salsa! Luckily I caught my mistake before I spread marinara sauce on the beans, and I did mix in some salsa to the guac, so hopefully I covered it up decently. We'll see how it turns out.

Ever try typing with a two year old standing next to you playing with the mouse? It's not fun...nor is it easy!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

The husband woke up with a really bad cold yesterday and is still sick today. We had some frozen gnocchi from Trader Joe's last night for dinner, which was really good. Today is mostly overcast and yucky looking outside, and I want soup. I have most everything on hand for Chicken Tortilla Soup, so I'm going to make some up after the kid and I run to Walmart for a couple items and some more tissues for the husband. I can't wait to have a big bowl of this for lunch today!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 container (12 ounces or so) salsa
6 regular cans chicken broth (or 2 large)
1 lime, juiced
1 bag tortilla chips
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
Hot sauce to taste
Shredded cheese to taste
Cooked chicken to taste

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil. When oil is heated, saute onions until translucent. Add garlic and saute for a few more minutes. Add cooked chicken, chicken broth, salsa, and bring to a boil. Add any aditional vegetables (i.e. corn, tomatoes, black beans, etc.) at this step. Once boiling add cilantro, lime juice, and hot sauce to taste.

In individual serving bowls, place some broken-up tortilla chips in bottom and sprinkle with cheese. Pour the hot soup over the chips and cheese and serve.

*****

I can't remember if I mentioned last time that this can be made into a vegetarian version by leaving out the chicken and adding in some black beans or kidney beans (or both) or even just leaving out the chicken and not adding anything else to it. After I dry my hair, we're off to Walmart and then it's soup time! I'm trying to decide if I should sneak some pureed veggies into it, but I'm not sure what I'd use.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Oh man, I've been waiting a week and a half to make this! My MOMS Club has a cooking club and this was the recipe that was done for December. This is why I cooked the whole chicken last night, so I could use the leftovers for this! My friend Jen B. made it...her recipes have so far all been awesome!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 container (12 ounces or so) salsa
6 regular cans chicken broth (or 2 large)
1 lime, juiced
1 bag tortilla chips
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
Hot sauce to taste
Shredded cheese to taste
Cooked chicken to taste

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil. When oil is heated, saute onions until translucent. Add garlic and saute for a few more minutes. Add cooked chicken, chicken broth, salsa, and bring to a boil. Add any aditional vegetables (i.e. corn, tomatoes, black beans, etc.) at this step. Once boiling add cilantro, lime juice, and hot sauce to taste.

In individual serving bowls, place some broken-up tortilla chips in bottom and sprinkle with cheese. Pour the hot soup over the chips and cheese and serve.

*****

I realized when I was getting stuff out for it that I forgot to get cilantro. I hope it turns out okay without it...the cilantro really gave it a fresh flavor when Jen made it. I added in some canned corn to mine, when Jen made it she had some tomatoes she needed to use and added those. My best friend's mom makes tortilla soup and adds avocado when she serves it, and that's really good.

So far the sample tastes I've had are really good...I can't wait to have some!