Enchilada Veggie Pizza

From Two Peas and Their Pod

This is a great, easy, rummage the fridge/pantry meal. Plus everyone gets to make their own, so it's fun! You basically just throw whatever veggies/beans you want on to a tortilla with some enchilada sauce and cheese, throw it in the oven, and, voila, pizza! Mark enjoyed 1 3/4 pizzas, 1 1/4 for me, 1/2 for Clara, and 0 for Tyler. Yeah, Tyler has been having picky issues as of late - dang those horrific threes! Also, I bet it wouldn't be bad sans cheese for you vegans out there.

I'll list all the things I've thought of and asterisk the ones we used. I think it will be different every time based on what's in my fridge/pantry.

Ingredients:
*Flour tortillas
*Red enchilada sauce
*Shredded cheese
*Black beans
Refried beans
*Bell pepper, chopped
*onion, chopped
*Green onion, minced
*Tomato, chopped
Olives
Cilantro
*Corn
Sour cream/Greek yogurt
Salsa
Avocado

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil or Pam (I have this awesome spritzer thing that I got at costco. I fill it with olive oil and that's my new "Pam.") Place tortillas on cookie sheet and place in the oven. Take out when they are browning and puffing up.

Now it's time to make your pizza! Spread some enchilada sauce on your tortilla, sprinkle on some cheese, and then go to town with toppings. When you have created your masterpiece stick it back in the oven for a few more minutes to warm everything up and melt the cheese.

Note: On the website she sautes her veggies first. I didn't feel like doing that, but you can if you want.

Black Bean and Spinach Enchiladas

From The Garden Grazer

Another great vegetarian enchilada recipe! Even has a homemade red sauce recipe that was great and I'll probably use it regularly.

The Sauce:

3 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup tomato paste1/4 cup all purpose flour2 Tbsp. olive oil2 tsp. cumin1/4 tsp. garlic powder1/4 tsp. onion powder1/4 tsp. chili powder


Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in tomato paste, flour, and spices. Stir around for a bit. Whisk in broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer for about 10 minutes, until slightly thickened.

The Enchiladas:

15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups corn (I used frozen, thawed)
6 oz. fresh baby spinach (I doubled this since it shrinks so much)
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
Shredded cheese blend
tortillas

Saute the spinach in olive oil over medium heat until slightly wilted. (It happens FAST!)
In a large bowl, combine beans, spinach, corn, green onions, cumin, and cilantro.
Preheat oven to 375. 
Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and pour a small amount of the sauce in the bottom.
Spoon mixture into tortillas, sprinkle on cheese, and roll up tightly.
Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Sprinkle cheese on top.
Bake about 20 minutes. Switch to broiler at the end to get the top nice and crispy.

Cowboy Caviar

This is the best chip dip ever! I make it like once every other week or so. It's pretty healthy so I don't feel bad eating the majority of it all by myself, although Mark surely eats his share. And it's SUPER simple. I made it for a game night with friends and they downed it in minutes. THey all wanted the recipe and have already made it for themselves a time or two. Yes, this recipe is a winner and its vegan too! I usually half the recipe when I make it for just us at home.

2 avocados, chopped
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 green onions, chopped - only green part
half a bunch cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
1 packet dry Italian Dressing
Tortilla chipst

Mix and voila!

Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango

This recipe is from my Plenty Cookbook that I got for Christmas. I made it last night and it was soo good. This is from a vegetarian cookbook. This version has no tofu or meat substitutes of any kind, but he does say you could add chicken or tofu and that it would be great. I didn't think it needed it.

Recipe:
1/2 cup rice vinegar
3 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 fresh red chile, finely chopped
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
grated zest and juice of 1 lime
1 cup sunflower oil
2 eggplants, cut into 3/4-inch dice
8 to 9 oz soba noodles (we could only find regular yakisoba noodles so we used those)
1 large ripe mango, cut into strips
1 2/3 cup basil leaves, chopped ( didn't actually measure out herbs seemed like a ton)
2 1/2 cups cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced

1) In a small saucepan gently warm the vinegar, sugar and salt for up to 1 minute, just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the garlic, chile, and sesame oil. Allow to cool, then add the lime zest and juice.
2) Heat up the sunflower oil in a large pan and shallow-fry the eggplant in three or four batches. Once golden brown remove to a colander, sprinkle liberally with salt and leave there to drain.
3) Cook the noodles in plenty of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally. They should take 5 to 8 minutes to become tender but still al dente. Drain and rinse well under running cold water. Shake off as much of the excess water as possible, then leave to dry on a dish towel.
4) In a mixing bowl toss the noodles with the dressing, mango, eggplant, half of the herbs and the onion. You can now leave this aside for 1 to 2 hours. When ready to serve add the rest of the herbs and mix well, then pile on a plate or in a bowl!

Fiesta Lime Rice

From Skinny Taste

Ok all you new and newly returned vegans out there. I found this recipe and decided to give it a go. If you've ever been to Chipotle it tastes kind of like their burrito bowl sans meat. We did eat ours with some yummy rotisserie chicken, but you don't have to. It's perfectly filling and nutritious all on its own. It would probably taste great on a tortilla too - Mark actually preferred his burrito style with some salsa and Greek yogurt.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups rice, cooked (I used brown rice)
3/4-1 cup black beans, drained
3/4 cup corn (canned or frozen, doesn't matter)
1 tomato, chopped
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1-2 scallions, chopped (I didn't have any so I just chopped up a bit of sweet onion and it was fine)
1/3 bell pepper, chopped (optional)
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
salt
Any toppings: avocado, cheese, meat, salsa, greek yogurt, tortilla, etc

Cook rice, chop all ingredients, dump in a bowl, and mix. Couldn't get much easier than that.

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

The other day, at Disneyland, we walked by a restaurant near Pirates of the Caribbean and it smelled divine! Mark decided to look it up and it seemed that restaurant's speciality was Monte Cristo Sandwiches. Mark then made it his personal mission to find the recipe online and to have it for dinner. Thanks to pinterest, he found it and we had it for dinner last night. It definitely isn't healthy and it definitely isn't something I'll make on a regular basis, but it is a fun treat every once in a while. It's kind of a cross between breakfast and dinner and would be a fun, fancy breakfast for a special day. I doubled the recipe, but I'll post the original.

Ingredients:
1 Pepperidge Farm Frozen Puff Pastry
8 slices of Black Forest Ham
4 slices swiss cheese
1 egg
1 tbsp water
powdered sugar
maple syrup, jam, dijon mustard

Directions
Preheat oven to 400
Beat egg and water in a bowl
Unfold pastry and on a floured surface roll out into a 12x12 inch square (it doesn't really require too much rolling and you need plenty of flour because it sticks!)
Cut into four 6 inch squares and brush egg mixture onto edges
Place 2 slices of ham and one slice of cheese near one corner of each square
Fold each square over, corner to corner, to form a triangle and press edges together
Brush each pastry with egg mixture and place on baking sheet
Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with either maple syrup, jam, or dijon mustard

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Flautas

From Peas and Crayons

This was really good! It was a winner with Mark and I'm pretty sure Tyler and Clara liked it too. A good veggie dish!

Ingredients:

9 corn tortillas
1 cup of black beans
1 cup mexi-corn [corn + colorful red/green peppers!] (I didn't have this so I just used regular canned corn and then added some chopped peppers to it)
1 small/medium sweet potato
1/4 cup of diced white, yellow, or red onion
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried or fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes [optional]
2oz cream cheese, room temperature [optional] (didn't use it)
4-6 ounces of grated cheese
1 heaping tablespoon [or two!] of taco sauce, enchilada sauce, or salsa (I used red enchilada sauce and more than a tablespoon. Just keep tasting until you get the flavor you want).
salt and pepper to taste
all-natural olive oil spray or plain oil


Directions: (She had a lot of good tips so I'm basically just giving her directions verbatim)

-Pre-heat your oven to 425F.  
-Poke a few holes in your sweet potato, wrap it in a slightly damp paper towel, and microwave on high for about 6-8 minutes.  
-While you wait, combine corn/peppers/onion with your black beans, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, cayenne, and taco sauce/salsa.  
-In a separate bowl mix your cheeses.  Add the sweet potato [minus the skin] to the rest of your veggies and mix thoroughly.  Add salt, pepper, and any additional seasoning or sauce to taste.
-Next wrap your corn tortillas in a damp paper towel, followed by a dry paper towel, and microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Follow it up with an additional 30 seconds.  The goal here is to steam the tortillas so they roll into perfect flautas without breaking or cracking (This worked great! I think I did 4 or so at a time) 
-Spray or rub one side of the tortilla with oil and add "line" of veggie filling to the center of the "dry side" of the tortilla, about 1-inch thick.  Top it off with a layer of cheese and roll the tortilla. -Place on a wire baking/cooling rack and seal with a toothpick, if needed.  
-Give them one more spritz of olive oil to get them extra crispy and set on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.  
-Bake on the middle rack, at 425F, for 15 minutes.  At the end, set to broil on HIGH for just under a minute to crisp the tortillas into a perfectly golden, crunchy shell.

Tuscan Soup

This is DEEEEEELICIOUS!! Our friends made it for us once and ever since Mark's been on my back to get the recipe. Yes, you read that right, MARK wanted the recipe and that man never likes soup.  Then I made it while mom and Jim were here and they wanted the recipe. The other great thing: it's SUPER easy and pretty fast.

Ingredients:
-1lb spicy (hot) sausage
-3/4 c chopped onion
-1 slice bacon (or 2 tbsp bacon bits) (optional - I don't use it)
-1/2 tsp minced garlic
-1 quart water
-2 tbsp chicken bullion
-4-5 medium russet potatoes
-2 c (or more) chopped Kale (it looks like a lot, but it shrinks down tons. Next time I will use more.
-1 cup half and half (or heavy cream)

Directions:

-Chop everything ahead of time. Peel and chop potatoes into bite size pieces, dice onion and garlic, and chop kale. You can leave the kale in fairly large pieces, like you're preparing a salad.
-Heat a bit of EVOO in a large stock pot and saute onion and bacon until onion becomes translucent.   --Add garlic and saute for another minute or so.
-Add chopped potatoes, water, and bullion and simmer about 15-20 minutes until potatoes are tender.
-While it's simmering, brown sausage.
-When potatoes are tender add sausage, kale, and cream and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve with crusty bread or rolls. The left overs are great too!

Fluffy, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

From Apple a Day

Confession: I don't (or I should say didn't) like chocolate chip cookies. They always turned out flat and crunchy and just not that good. I've tried so many recipes that claim to be fluffy, but they never worked. That is until I tried this recipe. These were the yummiest, fluffiest, chewiest chocolate chip cookies I have ever eaten in my entire life! I will definitely make these again! So you should try them post haste!

I didn't change anything from her recipe so I will just post what she did.

Ingredients: 

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened (I left it out on the counter all day)

3/4 c. brown sugar, packed

1/4 c. granulated sugar 

1 egg 

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 c. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. cornstarch (surprising ingredient that maybe gives it the fluff?)

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 c. chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate chips)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  In your mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

3.  Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.

4.  Using a tablespoon, drop dough onto a baking sheet.  Don't flatten - just leave in the rounded shape. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  (The tops will not brown, but do NOT cook longer than ten minutes. I cooked mine about 9 min)

5.  Place on cooling rack to cool.  Makes approximately 3 dozen. 

Veggie Enchilada Casserole

I have been trying to find a good and easy veggie enchilada casserole that both my kids and my other kid (aka Mark) will eat. I finally created one using a combination of a recipe I found on Aggie's Kitchen, a recipe I found on 100 Days of Real Food, and my own brain. YAY victory!

Ingredients:

• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can black beans (low sodium)
• 1 can corn
• salsa of your choice (don't use picante..yucky. Use real salsa)
• half of an onion or so
• 1 small-medium green bell pepper (or whatever color) 
• a few cloves of garlic
• shredded cheese
• 9 medium sized tortillas
• 1 10 oz can of red enchilada sauce (use a bigger can if you want it more saucy)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Rinse and drain pinto beans. Place in food processor and add a couple heaping spoonfuls of salsa. Process until a refried bean consistency.

3. Rinse black beans and corn and set aside

4. Chop onion, pepper, and garlic and saute in EVOO.

5. Pour a bit of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a greased casserole dish and lay out first layer of tortillas (I highly recommend going to 100 Days of Real Food to check out how he lays out his tortillas. It's genius! No more cutting tortillas into a million strips!)

6. Now layer on the pinto bean mixture, black beans, corn, saute mix, cheese, and sauce. Put more tortillas on and do it again. Put more tortillas on and top with sauce and cheese. So got that? That's 2 layers of veggies/beans, 3 layers of tortillas, and 3 layers of sauce and cheese.

7. Cover with foil and cook for about 35-40 minutes or less (I just kept it in until Mark came home) a half and hour is probably fine. Take off the foil and cook a few minutes more to crunchify the top. 

8. Serve as is or with avocados and plain greek yogurt. 

  

French Dip Sandwiches in a Crockpot

From Confections of a Foodie Bride

If you are craving a big, meaty, warm sandwich this is a great recipe and it's so easy, especially since its in the crockpot all day. Perfect for a cold day and perfect for a get together. We made this Monday and had a bunch of friends over. I doubled the recipe and it easily served 8 adults and a few kids with a tiny bit of left overs (granted some of the man adults ate more than one). Everyone raved about it!


Ingredients: (I doubled this recipe - this is the original)

• 1 medium yellow onion (I used a sweet onion - no prob)

• 3/4 cup beef broth/stock (Make sure to get  low sodium. If you can't find that, don't salt your meat, or at least go easy on the salt. I used regular sodium and salted my meat and it was a bit salty.)

• 1/4 cup soy sauce (go low sodium on this too)

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1 Tbsp creole mustard (I just used some dijon with a bit of ketchup)

• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

• ~3lb chuck roast

• salt

• pepper

• 6-8 sandwich rolls, split (I used the french sandwich rolls you get in a bag - they look like subs)

• 6-8 slices of provolone or swiss cheese

Instructions

1. Slice the onion into 1/4-inch rounds. Place them in the bottom of the crockpot.
2. Add beef broth, water, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mustard/ketchup, and garlic to the crockpot. Just drop a dollup of mustard and ketchup in the liquid between a few onion rounds.
3. Salt and pepper both sides of the roast and place on top of the onions. (remember my salty warning)
4. Cook on low 6-8 hours until beef is fall-apart tender
5. Transfer the roast to a cutting board or bowl and shred. While the meat is out you can skim the fat off the top of the liquid - I didn't - too much work. 
6. Return the roast to the crockpot - switch the crockpot to warm. 
7. Before you eat heat the broiler. Make your sandwich by spooning some meat onto the bread, add some cheese, and broil open faced for a few minutes until cheese is melty and bread is slightly toasted.
8. Serve with small bowls of the au jus.

cuuuteeee

Here's a cute picture of Eva. You are WELCOME! :)

Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca

I did take a picture of this, but my computer won't let me download it for some very annoying reason. Just imagine mine looks as good as the picture in the recipe. Because it totally did... Regardless, it was very delicious and a lot quicker than I thought it would be. Came together in like 10 minutes. So on a night you're not feeling like cooking this is a good option.

What you need:
-Chicken cutlets or whatever type of chicken you want to use
-Sage leaves
-Prosciutto
-Chicken broth
-Lemon Juice
-Cornstarch
-Olive oil

All you do is put the sage leaves on top of the chicken. Wrap it in a piece of prosciutto to hold the leaves on. Cook it in a little olive oil in a pan on medium. Take them out and then combine lemon juice, chicken broth, cornstarch, and a little olive oil. Cook unit boiling and slightly thickened. Spoon that on top of the chicken and you're done! Very tasty!

Here's the real recipe: Yummy chicken

Beet and Citrus Quinoa Salad

 

       You can find the real recipe here!

       I did it a little differently though. I went to three grocery stores and none of them had blood oranges or kumquats....so I just used regular oranges and tangerines. It still tasted excellent though! I also added feta cheese which isn't in the recipe, but was an excellent addition. Set aside some time to cook the beets though. Those suckers really take time. Basic gist though...avocado, beets, orange-like fruit, quinoa, and a yummy dressing mixed in. Verrrry tasty!

Using excel for meal planning

Pretty random post. Not actually a recipe, but I just thought I'd share how I recently started doing meal planning that's easy for me. This way you don't have to keep the recipe bookmarked or saved or anything. The link takes you right to it, and you can also make a table that tracks calorie amounts and sums them all up. It can also highlight which meals have the most, or which days have the lowest so you know when to eat a lighter or heavier lunch. Lots of cool stuff. Anyway, here is a little pic of what I've been doing. Holler if you have any interest.