Taco Stack Casserole

I didn't like the recipes I found online, so I invented this one, with the added benefit of using my garden's roma tomatoes.

6 tortillas
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed (can use refried)
1 lb. ground beef
8 roma tomatoes
1 T. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups fiesta blend grated cheese
1 c. salsa
1 can sliced black olives
3 sliced green onions

Brown ground beef (or pull it, conveniently pre-cooked, from your freezer). Drain fat and set aside. Chop roma tomatoes and place in skillet with seasonings. Cook 10 minutes or until soft; add the beef.

Spray bottom of 9x13 pan with no-stick spray. Line bottom with two tortillas; they should overlap a little. Spread the beans over the tortillas and sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese. Place two more tortillas over beans. Top with tomato/beef mixture and 1/3 of the cheese. Add two more tortillas; spread with salsa. Sprinkle with black olives, green onion, and remaining cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serves 6.

Homemade rotel

This recipe is a great way to use up summer produce. It is easy and freezes well. It probably cans well too, but I don't can. Yet. I've adapted it from a larger recipe because it suits me to work in small batches. The recipe was originally four times every ingredient.

1 lb. tomatoes (my romas weigh about 2 oz each, so I used 8), diced
3 jalapenos, diced (deseed if you want less heat)
1/4 tsp. salt

Place in a saucepan. When tomatoes boil, reduce heat and let simmer until a thickness you like. This batch took me 60-90 minutes. It's so pretty when it starts; it's tasty when it's done.

My saucepan might be a little small, but it cooks way down.

This recipe yields a cup and a half. One cup is the equivalent of a small can of Rotel that you buy at the store.

Monterey mashed potatoes

Wash one poblano pepper; deseed, cut in half, and spray with olive oil. Roast until blackened. Place in plastic bag for 10 minutes and peel off skin. Dice.

Clean 4 potatoes (biggish? not huge, but not really medium either), cut into pieces and boil for 20 minutes or until soft. Mash with milk (or cream), 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Add diced poblano, 2 T. chopped green pepper, 3/4 c. grated cheese, 3 T. butter. You may also add sour cream or cream cheese; I omitted these because of calories.

I used a potato masher and worked in the same pan I cooked them in (less cleanup), but I finished smoothing them with a heavy spatula.

Salsa verde

I love green salsa, but I find it just as easy to buy (unlike red, which I think is amazing homemade). Maybe I just need to tweak my recipe.

However, given tomatillos, one makes green salsa! Here's my recipe.

6 tomatillos, husked & halved
1 thick slice onion, separated
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 anaheim pepper, halved & seeded (optional)
1 jalapeno pepper, halved & seeded

Coat with olive oil and broil. When blackish, turn, spray with oil and roast the other side. My tomatillos were very soft, so I left them alone and turned the other veggies.

Process in a blender with juice of half a lime, 1/2 tsp. sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a tablespoon chopped, fresh cilantro. Mine turned out quite spicy, so I have the option of mixing it with 1-1/2 cups chicken broth and dousing enchiladas with it. My husband, however, wants to claim it for chips. Next batch, I'm omitting the anaheim.

Ninja salsa

This recipe came with my Ninja--hence the name. It is superb. I use whatever peppers I have on hand, which sometimes is just a serrano or jalapeno. When you roast the salsa, eat as much of it as you can while it is still warm. If there is ever any leftover, I use it in Mexican skillets or to top enchiladas in lieu of enchilada sauce.

Spray vegetables with olive oil and roast in the broiler. Then turn everything over, spray again, and broil some more.

I have a small Ninja that I throw the vegetables in, along with some onion (maybe 1/4 of a small onion). I often roast the onion if there's room in the roasting pan. Then I add a teaspoon of sugar, teaspoon of salt, pinch of cumin, pinch of oregano, some lime juice. I always add fresh cilantro, but today I was out and just used the dried variety. Drat.

My husband and middle daughter love homemade salsa. When I make it fresh, it seems like a wonderfully nutritious health food. When I buy it at the store, I think of it more like ketchup. Who knows!

Chicken and kale enchiladas

I adapted this recipe from Barbells and Bellinis--in fact, I adapted it so much, I needed to rewrite it entirely. I made it with ingredients I had on hand. No guarantee I'll ever be able to repeat! My recipe made an 8x8 pan of enchiladas.

For the filling...

Saute kale (I had about 2 cups) in olive oil. Toss with 1-1/4 cup Mexican chicken (a staple in my freezer). Saute half of a large onion (again in olive oil) and add to the mix. Stir in about 1/2 cup cheese (your pick).

Meanwhile, for the top...

Saute 5 chopped roma tomatoes in (you guessed it) olive oil. Season with cumin, garlic powder, oregano, and a generous amount of chili powder. Let the liquid cook down on a lower temperature while you roll the enchiladas.

Spread the bottom of an 8x8 pan with salsa verde (another staple I keep on hand). Divide the filling among six tortillas. Roll and place seam side down in the dish. I place a small saucepan lid on the top if they try to unroll.

Smother the enchiladas with sauce. I placed the tomato sauce that I concocted over half the pan and salsa verde over the other half, so that each enchilada is half red, half green.

Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese, and bake another 5-10 minutes. I used queso fresca and mozzarella--you can pick whatever cheese you like. I was very hungry, so I clipped the initial baking time by about ten minutes.

Feeds 4 people (1-1/2 enchiladas apiece). Goes well with salad and Spanish rice.

Poblanos and corn

I'm always excited when we get corn at my produce co-op, but that's rather ironic: this recipe only calls for one ear of corn (I use two) and three poblano peppers. If I get fresh corn, I buy poblanos. It's sort of a programmed response.

3 poblanos: blacken them, then place in a plastic bag to steam for 10 minutes.

In a skillet, heat 1-1/2 T. olive oil.

Saute: 1/2 medium onion and the kernels from one ear of corn (I use two!).

Add 1 T. cream (or half-and-half; if I only have milk, I add a little butter too), 2 T. creme fraiche, and the poblanos (cut into strips). Salt and pepper to taste. Stir together until everything looks melty and yummy. Add 1/4 c. Monterey Jack cheese (I use colby jack or whatever is on hand).

Eat on soft tortillas. You wouldn't think something this tasty would have so little seasoning.

Wow Waters

During the last semester of school, I became a two-pot-of-coffee-a-day kind of woman. I knew it wasn't healthy, but I didn't have the time to think about it. Now I've finally been spit out on the bank of Summer Vacation, and I must begin drinking more healthy options. At least after the morning pot is gone.

I also, thanks to The Produce Gathering, have a lot of citrus fruit hanging around my house. I love the idea of fresh squeezed orange juice and fresh lemonade, but the citrus likes my stomach less than coffee. However, instead of trading the beautiful grapefruit for someone else's broccoli, I've found a solution that also addresses my "what to drink?" problem.

I made homemade lemonade the other day for the family, and when I wandered thirsty into the kitchen about 1:00, I had an aha moment: add a bit of lemonade to a plain cup of water. Genius! It was lemony and refreshing without completely eroding the lining of my stomach! Two summers ago, I was wild about infused waters, and now I am brimming with ideas.

Ades. Why do we stop at lemonade and limeade? What about orangeade and grapefruitade (which I happen to be enjoying RIGHT NOW). Granted, this option has a small amount of sugar, but I guarantee it is better than any soda. Consider it a gateway option to healthier drinking.




My Grapefruitade

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup very warm water
1 grapefruit
1 cup ice
3 cups water
3 sprigs of mint

Place the sugar in the bottom of your pitcher. Traditional lemonade has 1/2 cup of sugar, but I'm trying to cut down on it. Add very warm water and stir until sugar dissolves. I don't use boiling water because my pitcher is plastic, and that's just not recommended. Juice the grapefruit and dump in as much of the pulp as you like (for me, that means all of it). Add ice, water, and mint. The mint will take time to ooze out its flavor, but that makes it more fun for later.

I am now enjoying my second glass.

Infused water.

This is incredibly easy to make, and there are a thousand recipes online. Cut fruit, place it in the bottom of a pitcher, with maybe a few sprigs of something, and let it sit in the frig overnight. I bought a pitcher recently with a built-in infuser, which I would not recommend. It looks cool, but if the pitcher isn't full, it's not infusing. Fruit in the bottom will continue to add flavor.

In the photo, you can see my infused water with orange, strawberry, mint, and basil. I could only fit one berry and half an orange in the infuser; I would have used twice that amount in a plain pitcher. I will like take out the infuser in the future. Just wanted you to see the option (don't buy it!).

Infused water has no added sugar, no pulp swirling in the bottom of your glass.

The next time I make salsa, I'm going to save a slice of jalapeno to infuse. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Aqua fresca. This treat can be made two ways: mash ripe fruit and press through a sieve, or process in a blender and then strain. The fresh juice is added to water with sometimes a little sugar. The drink is often enjoyed in Mexico, where they will sometimes include edible flowers. Melons, papaya, and mangoes are all perfect for frescas. I have none of those on hand, but if the children stay out of them, I'm going to let the strawberries from last Saturday's basket ripen and have Strawberry Fresca later this week. If you garnish it with fresh fruit, it feels decadent and looks like a special event--a good replacement for afternoon coffee. Click here for six recipes with a Mexican flare, including one grain-based fresca. You can find plenty others through a quick on-line search!

Now I will pour myself a third glass of grapefruitade and fold some laundry.

Another week of menus

Alas, I did not photograph our basket this week, which contained red bell peppers, red potatos, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, carrots, celery, broccoli, yellow onions, bananas, gala apples, and oranges. These are all pretty standard produce items, but I still thought I'd share my menu plan in case you are looking for ideas.

I made refrigerator pickles with the cucumbers. I am not a fan of this green vegetable, but for some reason, I had a hankering for pickles. Thanks to having all this produce on hand, I've learned that refrigerator pickles are easy to make and stay on hand for a month, which is long enough for me to gobble them down.

I'm posting a picture, but I think something this unattractive qualifies me as running an "anti-food" blog. Eek. Anyway, to make refrigerator pickles, you heat 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup white vinegar, and 3/4 cup white sugar in a small saucepan until sugar is dissolved. Pack cucumber slices tightly into jars (adding herbs, onions, and peppers makes your jars much prettier) and cover with brine. You can add spices to the vinegar mixture after it's heated: 1-1/2 tsp. mustard seeds, some celery seed, some pepper. Enough with the cucumbers...

Sunday: I marinated Oven-roasted lime chicken from Crepes of Wrath (hands down, our favorite chicken recipe) the night before, and cooked it after church, along with a side of garlic mashed potatoes and cauliflower. I have found that love to mix cauliflower into mashed potatoes. Trust me, not only small children need their veggies "hidden." I would like to say we had applesauce with this meal, which sounds more balanced, but truthfully we munched on homemade rye bread to assuage our hunger while the chicken cooked. My youngest wants to learn to bake bread, so we made the rye on Saturday.

Monday: I also bought the stew pack from The Produce Gathering, which has all the ingredients for beef stew. Easy and satisfying, even though it shouldn't be 14 degrees in Oklahoma in March.

Tuesday: Most of the fruit from our basket will get used up just in lunches and snacks, but my family doesn't eat oranges very much. Instead of juicing them, I'm planning waffles and bacon. I slice oranges and put them on the table, and since the waffles come out one at a time, the waiting people munch on orange slices. You can make monkey mouths with them, which is an entertaining family activity. We offer waffles either plain, or baked with cheese, blueberries, or pecans.

Wednesday: I will likely saute onions and peppers for lunch some day, but I may save a few red peppers for sloppy joes. I now add a large amount of chopped bell pepper to my mom's recipe from college. Her recipe sautes onion (and bell pepper), then I add precooked ground beef (not quite a full pound, thanks to the copious bell pepper). The sauce: 3/4 c. ketchup, 2 T. sugar, 2 T. mustard, 1 T. Worshteshire, and 1 T. vinegar. I can serve this with oven roasted potatoes (cubed potatoes tossed with olive oil, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, a little cayenne, a little oregano, baked at 400 for 30 minutes or until soft) or broccoli. Yes, we eat steamed broccoli with both sandwiches and soups. It's easy, I like it, it's good for us.

Thursday: Glazed carrots and salad. My youngest loves both of these, and we'll probably have some kind of muffin or bread to go with it. If your family likes meat, you could add an entree. We have grown accustomed to simple vegetarian meals. Without the calories from a meat, you can make guilt-free brownies or chocolate snack cake.

Friday: Because my family is small and we're light eaters, I can probably fill out the rest of the week with leftovers. And most of my basket is relegated elsewhere at this point. There is a lot of celery remaining, however, and since the weekend allows me time to cook, I might whip up some homemade cream of celery soup. My middle child can't have processed foods, and the more I move away from them, the better the rest of us feel as well. Many recipes call for creamed soups, so when I have time, I make homemade versions and we enjoy a few casseroles. One of my favorites is Rotel Chicken Casserole. I actually have some homemade rotel in the freezer, left from last summer's tomatoes and peppers. Yum.

Saturday: I have a big project planned, so I won't cook. If we don't have leftovers, we'll order pizza or eat sandwiches. I could also make spaghetti sauce in the crock pot from some romas I have in the freezer, but we'll see.

I was thinking yesterday about my Facebook photos of yummy things I've made, accompanied by photos and recipes. Just to encourage you, my cooking doesn't always turn out. Yesterday, I overcooked the chicken I was making for the family; it was too dry. And the dressing I chose for our salad wasn't quite right. We'll eat it up, because I don't like to waste things, but trial-and-error isn't always satisfying. We are, however, nourished. And warm. And together.

And for that, I'm grateful.

A week of recipes

Sara Miller inspired me by posting her family's recipes for the week. I know she has a great schedule for planning each week by theming her evenings (chicken, beef, pasta, etc.). My plan revolves around our activities. I like leftovers Sunday after church, so I cook accordingly on Saturday. I teach Tuesday and Thursdays, so not only am I tired, I rarely get home in time to prep much of anything.

But largely, my food prep revolves around what produce we have on hand from The Produce Gathering.

I don't like to let anything from my $15 basket go to waste, and I never know what I'm going to get. So on Saturday, I see what is most fragile and try to use that first. I buy a basket every other week, so the more sturdy foods can wait until week two. Eating this way has revolutionized my kitchen. Cooking is still an adventure (produce days feel like Mission Impossible, "these vegetables, should you choose to accept them..."), but I plan based on what I have, not what I see on the internet when I'm imagining I have all the time in the world for new, potentially complicated, super-healthy recipes.

Sunday: Rotini with eggplant, adapted from Smitten Kitchen, Baked Orzo with Eggplant. I cooked my pasta in advance (needed to use up the rotini), fried the eggplant in coconut oil, and added 3/4 cup ricotta (also needing to be used up) in addition to the other cheeses. Served with salad.

Monday: Sausage, carmelized fennel, smashed potato skillet, found here. I will carmelize the rest of my fennel for lunches or snacks, because I want this exotic vegetable taken care of.

Tuesday: Mac & cheese, steamed broccoli. Several choices here: I can make a crockpot recipe for the mac and cheese, use the terrible blue box, or try this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. It takes an hour and a half before serving, but it's not complicated. I can either reserve energy, knowing I am making it for dinner, or do it Monday night and just reheat.

Wednesday: I am probably making Sara's UnStuffed Pepper Skillet, but I also have a very good recipe for sausage stuffed peppers. Probably won't chose sausage two days in a week, but it is my go-to stuffed pepper recipe, from Kalyn's Kitchen.

Thursday: Something leftover...easy dinner.

Friday: Burgers and salad (or Hot German potato salad, depending on what's left in the frig). I have several recipes for burgers in a new cookbook, or I might keep it simple and have my husband fire up the grill, should the weather still be spring-like.

Saturday: Enchiladas, using Mexican chicken from the freezer, some roasted green onions, and maybe spinach. I top mine with salsa, so they are very easy. I also have some leftover chipoltes in adobe sauce, from last week's burritos, which are way too hot for me. I'll sneak the remaining ones into my husband's enchiladas...and mark them with toothpicks, so I don't accidentally eat them! Too hot for me. The enchiladas will make leftovers for Sunday; I might need to buy the spinach. Sometime on Saturday, I'll also make chocolate zucchini cake.

If you feel intimidated, know that this menu plan is a little ambitious for me. I want to use the eggplant and fennel, so I will push myself early in the week, but then I fall back on recipes I know. I juiced all the citrus, except the tangerines, which will go into lunch boxes. The bananas will similarly get consumed or mashed into banana bread.

Bon appetit!