Nov 092011
 

The weather is turning a little colder so we’re starting to make some heartier meals like soups/stews, chili, casseroles and crock pot meals.  And now that Baby C. can be partially entertained in her high chair for a few minutes if I pull her close to me in the kitchen, it’s giving me some extra time to try new things.  So tonight we tried an enchilada casserole recipe that a friend gave me a bit ago.

My friend found the recipe in an issue of  Taste of Home magazine and said that it had been voted #1 Casserole of 2010.  I did make a few minor changes to suit our tastes; you can definitely do the same.  And while I am sharing a photo of the final result, I will be honest: this is not a pretty, photos-well kind of dish.  It’s bubbly and gooey and cheesy, so please forgive the quality of the image.

Enchilada Casserole
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 8
 
Ingredients
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • 1 jar (16oz) salsa
  • 1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 sm. can corn, drained
  • ¼ C Italian dressing
  • ½ C sour cream
  • 2 T taco seasoning
  • ½ tsp. cumin
  • 4 8-inch flour tortillas
  • 2-4 C shredded Mexican cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. In a large skillet cook ground beef with the onion powder until no longer pink; drain.
  3. Stir in the salsa, black beans, dressing, taco seasoning, corn, sour cream and cumin.
  4. Spread ¼ of the meat mixture in the bottom of an 8×8 casserole dish. Sprinkle with ½ to 1 cup of cheese. Cover the cheese with 1 tortilla.
  5. Continue layering meat mixture, cheese and tortillas until you've used all the meat mixture. The last layer should be a heavy covering of cheese (so no tortilla on the top of the last layer of cheese).
  6. Spray aluminum foil with cooking spray and cover the casserole. Bake for 25 minutes or until it starts to get bubbly.
  7. Serve with extra shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, crushed Doritos, tortilla chips or other sides.

Enchilada Casserole Recipe

Mine turned out a bit more runny than I had expected.  Next time I will probably use a “chunky” salsa to reduce some of the liquid.  Also, I only used 2 tortillas because that’s what was listed in the recipe.  But I suggested 4 in my above ingredient list.  Hubby suggested that it could use more tortilla layers and also I think additional tortillas would give it extra stability and soak up a little extra liquid.

What is your favorite casserole recipe?

Oct 192011
 

Tasty Tuesday: Peanut Butter Cookies

I was in the baking mood over the weekend and felt like baking some cookies.  I knew if I made chocolate chip cookies I’d end up eating more of them than I wanted to, so I decided to make peanut butter cookies, which are a favorite of my husband.  I like them, too, but not so much that I’d be too tempted. They also fairly fast to pull together, and I always have the ingredients on hand.  Definitely a vote in their favor.

This is my Mom’s recipe for peanut butter cookies (they’re also a favorite of my father’s so she’s baked a few dozen in her day).  Not sure where she got it from, but it’s probably a fairly standard cookie recipe.
Peanut Butter Cookies
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 5 dz
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup shortening
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, well beaten
  • 1 T milk
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Whisk together the flour, both sugars, salt and baking soda.
  3. Beat in the eggs, milk, peanut butter and shortening until dough pulls together.
  4. Roll into small balls then roll the balls in sugar; place on a baking sheet. Press down slightly with tines of a fork.
  5. Bake for 12-14 minutes until cookies start to brown. Cookies will continue to cook a little while cooling.

 

They’re also very yummy when you turn them into Peanut Butter Blossoms.  Just press an unwrapped Hershey’s Kiss into the center of each cookie as soon as they come out of the oven (the tops will crack a little).