Enchilada Casserole

I grew up in the Southwest, eating a lot of Mexican food. As a result, I'm very picky about my Mexican food. However, while I grew up eating a lot of enchiladas, I'm not very good at cooking them! They are time consuming and difficult to get right. This casserole gives you the enchilada-y goodness without the hassle. It's very simple and very tasty! Thanks to my mom for passing it along to me!

2 boneless chicken breasts
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can nacho cheese soup
1/2 onion, diced
1 can sliced olives
1/2 cup chicken bullion or chicken broth
corn tortillas

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cube and cook the chicken breasts on the stove top. In a bowl, mix the chicken, enchilada sauce, nacho cheese soup, onion, olives, and chicken broth.

Now you're going to layer your enchilada casserole like a lasagna. Pour 1/3 of your enchilada mixture into an 8x8 casserole dish, then top with corn tortillas that you've torn into bite-sized pieces. Cover that with cheese, then spread another 1/3 of your mixture on top of that. Add a layer of torn-up corn tortillas, the last of the enchi mixture, and lots of cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes. YUM. Enchilada-y goodness without the hassle!

TIPS:
When I'm doing a layered casserole like this, I often find it helpful to pour the liquidy portion of the dish into a large Pyrex measuring cup. That way, I know exactly how much I have, and how much I should use for each layer. I usually use less for the first layer, so I can use more for the last layer, since the liquid will seep down from the top to the bottom. You don't want to get to the top layer and realize you don't have enough liquidy stuff left, so err on the side of caution, and use a measuring cup. If you have 3 layers, and 3 cups of liquid, use slightly less than 1 cup for the first two layers, and the rest for the top layer.

Chicken Not-Quite-Caprese

So, the other night I was in a bit of an embarrassing spot. I had proudly announced I was going to make Chicken Caprese (Caprese Salad needs grape tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and basil), and when I went to prepare it, my mozzarella was moldy. What was I going to do? Well, I had everything else I needed, and some shredded cheese...

2 boneless chicken breasts
olive oil
flour
bread crumbs plus salt and pepper
1 egg
shredded cheese

grape tomatoes
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
basil

I like to prepare the Caprese salad early, so that the tomatoes (and usually mozzarella) have a chance to soak up the flavors. Cut up your tomatoes, put them in a Ziploc bag, and toss with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and basil. Place in the fridge until you need them. I did mine about an hour before I was ready to cook dinner.

Heat some olive oil in a skillet. Coat the chicken breasts in flour, then dredge in egg and coat with the seasoned bread crumbs, pressing them into the bread crumbs to thoroughly coat. Place into the heated oil and cook on medium heat about 7 minutes, then flip them. Cook for about 3 minutes, then sprinkle shredded cheese on them, cover and cook for another 3 minutes or so. Either use a meat thermometer (temperature should read 170 degrees), or cut into the thickest part of the breast to make sure they're done.

Once the breasts are done, place them on their plates and spoon the Caprese salad (in this case, just marinaded tomatoes) over the chicken.

It really is quite tasty, even if it's Not-Quite-Caprese. :) My husband wants it again, anyway.

Beef Stroganoff

So this is another favorite at our house. I know it's not the *prettiest* of dishes, but it is so so tasty!








1 pound stew meat (or other cheap meat cut into small chunks -- you can buy the cheapest meat you can find and cut it yourself to save money)
olive oil
flour
salt and pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet onion soup mix
water
cooking sherry
sour cream
egg noodles

Heat some olive oil (just enough to coat bottom of pan) over medium heat. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a quart Ziploc, then add meat, seal and shake. When meat is well coated, brown it in the oil.

Add the can of soup, the onion soup mix, and enough water and cooking sherry to thin it out. Probably 1 cup water, and about half that in cooking sherry, but everyone likes it a different consistency, so just add and stir, add and stir. ;)

Cover and simmer. Go take a nap. The longer you simmer, the more tender the meat, so if you're using a cheap meat, you're going to want to simmer for a long time. But 30 minutes is ok too, if you're in a hurry or have a more tender cut of meat.

Start your egg noodles. Uncover your meat and stir in about 3/4 cup or 1 cup sour cream. Drain noodles. Cover noodles with stroganoff on your plate. Enjoy!

Oh, for the picture I sprinkled parsley and a little paprika on top, just to make it a little prettier. My husband said it was tasty that way.

Thanks, Mom, for this recipe!

Modifications:
You don't have to use the sherry, but it's not quite as good without it. If you don't like noodles, you can serve this over rice, but it's better on noodles.

Flatiron Steak with Potatoes

So this is a pretty easy, affordable steak dish, with spinach cream sauce and accompanied by butter-fried red potatoes. Yum!










1 pound flatiron steak (if your shopping choices are Kroger or Walmart, in this case I would go with Kroger -- their flatirons are much better quality, with less gristle and fat)
Worcestershire sauce
Cumin
Cilantro
Garlic salt

3 Tbsp butter
7 or 8 red potatoes
Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour (I use whole wheat, but you can use white if you prefer)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 handful chopped fresh chopped spinach

Marinate your steak in the Worcestershire, cumin, cilantro, and garlic salt. Go easy on the cumin and cilantro -- it doesn't take much to get the point across. As always, the longer you can marinate, the better, but even a half hour will be fine.

Wash and quarter your red potatoes, then halve the quarters. Melt the 3 Tbsp butter over medium heat, then add the potatoes and mix them well in the butter. Sprinkle on the Mrs. Dash and stir again really well, then turn down to just below medium heat, cover, and cook for around 20-25 minutes.

This gives you plenty of time to do everything else you need to do! Chop your spinach, measure out your milk and cream (I just measured them into the same Pyrex measuring cup for ease), and set up your frying pan and sauce pan.

Your steak and sauce will take less than 10 minutes. I start them at the same time.

Place steak in pan and turn it on to just above medium heat.

Melt 2 Tbsp butter in sauce pan. Add 2 Tbsp flour and whisk until it's smooth and bubbly. Pour in the milk and cream, and as you're whisking that into the flour/butter mixture, sprinkle in the chopped spinach. Whisk until everything is good and mixed.

Flip your steaks.

Bring your sauce to a boil for about 1 minute, whisking constantly, then simmer and whisk until your steaks are done. I like mine rare or medium rare, so it doesn't usually take long.

Now, if you bought your steak at Kroger, you likely just cooked ONE piece of meat that will feed both of you. What I usually do when I have a Kroger steak is cut it into thin strips after I've cooked it, and then cover them with the sauce.

However, if you bought the steak at Walmart, it's probably 4 smaller pieces. Just arrange them on your plate and cover with cream sauce.

I found that the potatoes and the sauce went well together -- the potatoes made a good "mopping up" food, since I didn't serve any bread with this. I figured that the potatoes were enough starch.

Economics and substitutions:

You can usually get enough flatiron steak to feed two people for $5 or under -- I got mine for tonight on manager's special and it was less than $4. If you don't feel like spending extra money on the cream for the sauce, then use 1 cup milk instead of half milk and half cream, and simmer a little longer. If you don't have cumin and cilantro for the marinade, then just use Worcestershire and salt, or, if you don't have Worcestershire either, just salt. I've done it all 3 ways, and they're all good.

Sour Cream and Mustard Chicken

Soooooo easy.

I used drumsticks tonight, but you could do this with breasts or thighs or even whole cut up chicken. Cook time will vary between bone-in and boneless pieces, so keep that in mind.

Chicken pieces
Sour Cream
Mustard (I used stone-ground spicy brown mustard, but any kind will work -- yellow, spicy, horseradish mustard -- your pick!)

Heat oven to 350.

Mix sour cream and mustard (you decide how much of each depending on how much you like each flavor). Coat chicken. Bake. If you are using bone-in pieces such as drumsticks, bake for about 45 minutes. If you are using boneless pieces like boneless breasts or thighs, scale it back to about 30 minutes.

Serve with previously mentioned garlic bread and a veggie.

I wish I'd gotten a picture of this one, cause it was kind of pretty. :)

4 stars

Home-made Crock-Pot Spaghetti Sauce

Ok, I know you can just buy a jar of spaghetti sauce, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's what I grew up with, and I loved it. But honestly, I think this is better, and probably better for you, and it's not hard. It hardly takes any time at all in prep-time, but try to start it a couple hours before you want to eat, because the longer it has to cook, the better it will be.

1 pound ground beef
1 16 oz can of tomato sauce
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 10-16 oz can of diced tomatoes (my regular tomatoes come in 16 oz cans, but the Rotel tomatoes I used tonight are 10 oz)
1 2 oz can of sliced olives (this is how much I love you people -- I had used my last can of olives, so I wasn't sure what size can it was...so I dug through the trash to find it for you. Then I washed my hands.)
1 handful chopped or sliced mushrooms
1/2 onion, diced
garlic powder
onion powder
Nature's Seasons
pasta

Brown ground beef. While it's browning, chop your onions and mushrooms. Pour the tomato sauce, paste, olives and diced tomatoes into the crock pot and add your veggies. Add liberal amounts of garlic powder, onion powder, and Nature's Seasons. Stir.

When your meat is browned, mix it into the tomato mixture in the crock pot. You can drain the meat if you like, but personally, I think the little bit of grease (especially if you use lean ground beef) adds flavor. Cover and cook on low for however long you like. By now, you know what I did while it was cooking -- went and took a nap with the baby. :) I think our sauce simmered for about 4 hours altogether.

(Side note -- I promised "healthy" recipes. I hope you don't disagree with me when I say that I would rather have some grease in my food than eat food with unpronounceable ingredients. So...it follows that if I'm making my food mostly from scratch, I can have a little grease for flavor...which, let's face it, is tasty. And the sauce doesn't turn out greasy feeling if you cook it long enough. BUT if you don't like grease, then by all means, drain the meat. The sauce will still be tasty -- I've done it that way too, and it was still very good!)

When you're ready, boil and drain your pasta, then just toss it in the crock pot and stir it in. Then I leave the crock pot on "warm" so that if anyone wants seconds, it isn't cold.

My husband has always loved my homemade spaghetti sauce -- tonight was the first time I tried it in the crock pot. He says it's better than ever.

4.5 stars

Mmmm Zucchini!

When I posted the chicken dinner with asparagus and garlic bread, some told me that they didn't do asparagus. I can understand that, so here is an alternative veggie for that dinner.

2 zucchini
2 Tbsp butter
garlic powder
bread crumbs

Heat oven to 350 and spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.

Place 2 Tbsp butter in a little bowl and sprinkle garlic powder on it. Melt in the microwave, a little at a time, swishing to make sure the garlic is well mixed in. In between swishings, slice zucchini into wedges. You should end up with 8 approximately 2-inch wedges per zucchini. Once the butter is well melted, pour it into a Ziploc baggie and add the zucchini wedges. Shake well.

Using a fork or tongs, move the zucchini from the bag to the dish. Sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on how well done you like your 'zukes.' These have a nice buttery flavor that my toddler quite enjoyed. :)

Thanks, Mom, for helping remember how to do this. :)

4 stars