Cheesy Tex-Mex Casserole

I'm not usually a big casserole making fan...but it had me at "tex-mex" =) This is a variation of Emerill's Ooey Gooey Tex Mex Casserole. His recipe calls for stew meat AND ground beef (among several other variants)....in my opinion that's just too much beef! But if you're a big beefy fan, go ahead and try it. Or add some beans instead like I do and have a great well rounded meal, not too beefy. This is the first recipe with beef in it that my 2 year old has EVER eaten! AND she had seconds!!! Granted, I slathered it in organic sour cream...but still, I've never been able to get her to eat beef before. This is one of hubby's favorite meals. He once came home from a long day and had eaten a burger on the way home but didn't want to tell me (I hate it when he eats right before coming home when I've made a yummy meal!!). I had made this meal that day and he still had 2 servings of it because it's just THAT good. He JUST told me tonight about the burger, and that was like 2 years ago! So even if you're anti-casserole, try this, it really is THAT good!

Ingredients:
1 lb organic ground beef
2 cups organic black beans, cooked
1 organic onion, chopped
4 TB organic tomato paste
2 large tomatoes diced
1 veggie boullion cube
2 cups of water
(or instead of water and boullion you could use 2 cups veggie stock, or beef if you must be that beefy, ha)
Approximately 6 whole wheat tortillas
2 cups organic jack cheese, shredded
2 cups organic cheddar, shredded

In a large skillet, saute onion in a little oil for 3 minutes. Add ground beef stirring constantly until cooked through. Add beans, tomato paste, tomatoes and boullion/water or stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off burner. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large baking dish, pour a couple ladles full of beefy/bean mixture. Top with a layer of tortillas. If using small tortillas, place two side by side. If using large ones, place one whole one and a strip of another to cover the remaining space. Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, and cover with beefy/bean mixture. Follow with another layer of tortillas, cheese, and beefy/bean mixture. Keep layering until beefy/bean mixture is done or you're at the top of the dish. Your last layer should be tortilla covered with cheese. Bake for about 10 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Top with a dollop of sour cream and some hot sauce

Mexican Stuffed Poblano Bake

This is so yummy, I could eat it all the time. Well...almost all the time...I have to leave room to eat enchiladas and french onion soup =) This turned out to be totally family-friendly. The first time I made it just for hubby and I because I thought it would be too spicy for the kids. They kept asking for bites and ended up eating a ton of it. Though, here's a disclaimer, some poblano peppers are spicier than others so if I had really spicy ones it wouldn't be so kid-friendly. But I've made it many times since then and they still gobble it up. So maybe cooking them for so long makes them less spicy, I don't know. Either way, we love this recipe!

Ingredients:
24 oz organic crushed tomatoes or tomato puree
2 organic onions, chopped, divided
1 jalapeno, chopped
Sea salt and pepper
3 cloves organic garlic
2 cups organic beans, black or pinto
1/2 cup organic cornmeal
1 cup pepperjack cheese
1 ts organic cumin
4 large poblano peppers, organic if you can, I can't find them =(

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a blender, puree tomatoes, 1 onion, jalapeno, 2 garlic cloves, and a dash of salt. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish.
Mince remaining garlic clove. In a large bowl combine garlic, beans, cornmeal, 1/2 cup cheese, 1 diced onion,  cumin, 3/4 cup water, 1/2 ts salt, pepper to taste.
Slice peppers in half and remove stems and seeds. Place in baking dish and stuff with bean mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top.
Invert another baking dish to cover the dish and place in oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes until cheese browns.
Enjoy!

Mexican Chicken and Beans

You had me at "mexican" =) Quick, easy, and yummy!

Ingredients:
1 lb organic chicken thighs or breasts, diced
2 cups organic corn
1 cup organic black beans
1 ts oil for cooking
1 TB cumin
1 ts chili powder
1 ts garlic salt
1/2 cup water

Optional:
Tortillas (fajita or burrito)
Sliced jalapeno
Organic sour cream
Salsa

Cook diced chicken over medium in a skillet with the oil. When fully cooked, add the beans, corn, water and seasonings. Cook about 10 minutes until sauce thickens and flavors are mingled. Serve with or with a tortilla if you wish and top with sliced jalapenos, salsa, and a dollop of sour cream!

Tacos - Make your own taco night!

I'm sure most people know how to make tacos. I'm not talking authentic Mexican tacos, I'm talking American-ized tacos. But, do you know how to make it without the little packet of taco seasoning? If not, read on! Make your own taco night is a favorite around here. Simply fill a bunch of bowls with taco toppings, hand out shells, and let the kiddos go to town! Garden of Eatin makes organic taco shells, which I was super excited about when my grocery store started carrying them!

Ingredients for taco meat:
1 lb organic ground beef (or more depending on size of your family, this leaves us leftovers)
1TB organic garlic powder
1 TB organic chili powder
1 TB organic cumin
1 TB organic all season salt
1/2 cup water

Brown meat. Add all the other ingredients and simmer while you chop everything else! So easy-no packet needed =) (If you have onion powder, add some of that too, I never have any)

Toppings:
Shredded cheese
Diced tomatoes
Diced onions
Chopped cilantro
Shredded lettuce
Diced jalapenos
Beans
Salsa
Guacamole
Hot Sauce
Sour cream

Chicken Fajitas (Works great for beef too!)

This recipe works for a pound of meat. Easily multiplies for more meat. Make with my tortillas! Mmmm, Mexican food!

Ingredients:
1 lb organic chicken (or organic beef may be used)
1 cup shredded organic cheddar cheese
4 whole wheat tortillas
1 organic red pepper, sliced
2 organic onions, sliced
1 cup organic beans, pinto or black
Organic sour cream, salsa, and hot sauce if desired

Marinade:
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup water
2 TB olive oil
2 ts braggs liquid aminos or organic soy sauce
3 cloves of organic garlic, shopped
1 ts salt
1/2 ts ground pepper
1/2 ts cayenne pepper

Slice chicken in strips and soak in marinade for at least an hour, up to overnight, in the refrigerator.

Cook chicken in a pan with red pepper and onions until chicken is cooked through.

Wrap in a tortilla with beans, cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, and salsa. Enjoy!

Awesome Rosemary Chicken

I love rosemary! I guess it's a little over the top to have rosemary roasted potatoes with this dish, but it was SOOO good! We love both so why not eat them together? ;) Though this would pair nicely with some creamy mashed potatoes, garlic roasted veggies, a salad...you can't go wrong with this chicken! This is adapted from a recipe at www.mommybistro.com

Ingredients:

2 lbs organic chicken, thighs and drumsticks

1/2 cup evoo

Handful of fresh rosemary (removed from stem)

1 1/2 ts sea salt

1 ts ground pepper

4 garlic cloves, chopped

Place chicken in a baking dish. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix everything up really well with your hands (I know, Eww, I hate touching chicken, but sometimes it must be done!). Spread the pieces out evenly. Bake at 400 degrees for an hour and 15 minutes (Yes, really that long. It seems like a long time but don't worry, it will come out GREAT!!!) Mouthwatering yumminess!!! (Can you believe my spell check says "yumminess" isn't a word??? Weird.)  Enjoy!

Garlic Lovers Pasta

HHHHHEEELLLLOOO....can you smell me from there? I bet you can. This pasta is garlicky, hence the name. And it is SOOO yummy! Try it, just make sure everyone else eats it too! Adapted from a recipe at www.mommybistro.com

Ingredients:
1 lb whole wheat pasta (you can really use any shape pasta, I used fettuccine because it was that or spaghetti)
6 cloves organic garlic, minced
1/2 cup reserved pasta water
8 TB evoo
2 TB dried parsley
1/2-1 ts red pepper flakes
Juice of one lemon
4 ts sea salt
Shredded parmesan (Really excited, our grocery store just started carrying organic!!!)
1/2 ts Ground pepper
Salt to taste

Cook pasta according to directions on package. Use 3 ts of salt in pasta water. While pasta is cooking, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add 4 TB evoo. Add garlic, 1 ts salt, and  ground pepper, and stir often. Cook garlic for a few minutes until it browns just slightly...you DO NOT want to overcook it because garlic gets an awful taste when overcooked. As soon as it browns, remove from heat. Stir in red pepper, lemon juice, 2 TB reserved water, parsley. Drain pasta and place in a large mixing bowl. Toss with 4 TB evoo and remaining reserved water. Add garlic mixture and toss. Divide among bowls and top with parmesan. Add salt to taste. Serve with a caesar salad! Yum!

Cheese Enchiladas

I'm from California and my favorite food ever is enchiladas. Granted I like almost anything Mexican (or Mexi-Cali, since I guess I've never really had Mexican food in Mexico). I judge every single Mexican restaurant by their cheese enchiladas. If they aren't good, I don't go back. Harsh? Maybe, but enchiladas are super important to me =) So, since moving to NY there is a serious lack of Mexican restaurants so if I want enchiladas I have to make them myself. I came up with this recipe and in my opinion it's perfect. I've passed down my love of enchiladas to my kids. They always have seconds and sometimes thirds. So try this recipe, you'll be happy you did!!! And FYI I use small whole wheat tortillas for this. You by all means CAN use corn tortillas. I actually prefer corn, but the tortillas are a little trickier to roll. So warm them first. My husband prefers flour tortillas. I conceded since I've been unable to find organic corn tortillas. Since corn is highly GMO'd, I opt for the flour tortillas. I did make my own tortillas once, but that took a long time.

I make two pans at a time, cut in half if you only want one. But believe me, you'll want leftovers!

Cheese Enchiladas

18 small tortillas
16 oz. organic jack cheese

Sauce:
2 TB olive or coconut oil
1 TB organic chili powder
1 TB organic cumin
1 ts organic garlic powder
1 ts sea salt
2 cans organic tomato sauce

In a saucepan heat oil over medium heat. Toss in the chili powder. Cook for a few minutes. Pour in both cans of tomato sauce. Rinse down the sides of the cans with water so they both fill half way and pour the water in the pot. (You are only adding one can of water, each can is half full) Add cumin, salt, and garlic powder. Simmer on medium low for atleast ten minutes.

Let sauce cool for ten minutes (not totally necessary, but your fingers will thank you in a few minutes).
This is how I set up my work station:

Pour a spoonful of sauce in each pan and spread it around. Also pour a spoonful of sauce on the empty plate.

Take a tortilla, lay it on the plate, and rub it around in the sauce. Flip it over and do the other side so both sides are coated in sauce. Sprinkle cheese across the middle. (Now by all means you can add veggies, ground beef, chicken, etc...I'm just partial to just cheese)

Grab one end and roll up. Place in baking dish, seam side down.

Continue with all tortillas. Pour remaining sauce over the top and spread around. Sprinkle on remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until everything is hot and bubbly! I always serve them with a side of rice and beans, sour cream, and cholula hot sauce! Enjoy!