Full Swing

School and our fall schedules are in full swing:

Baby girl has been very patient driving her sisters to and from school and their activities

When she's at home with Mama, we play dress up and blocks.

We made another trip to the beach to enjoy this extremely hot September weather.

Big sister is loving soccer - the gear, the practice, the games and her teammates.

I have to admit that getting dinner on the table on nights when we have soccer practice or have been out all day doing stuff is challenging.  I tried the demo at Trader Joe's the other day and came across an awesome cheater version of enchiladas that was an instant hit with my kids.  That doesn't happen too often!  You use frozen taquitos (without defrosting) and bake them with enchilada sauce and cheese.  We had carrot sticks and Mexican rice with it and it was dinner in about 20-25 minutes.  Middle liked helping me pour the sauce, sprinkle the cheese, and place the olives.  Trader Joe's has black bean taquitos, chicken, and beef - something for everyone!

Trader Joe's "Enchiladas" (serves 4)

1 container of frozen taquitos from Trader Joe's 

1 bottle of Enchilada sauce

1-2 cups shredded cheese

1/2 can of sliced olives

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray (or olive oil spray).  Put taquitos in a single row in the pan.  Pour enchilada sauce over the top.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese and top with sliced olives.

Bake for 15 minutes or until bubbly and melty.  The taquitos will soften up in the baking.  

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

These enchiladas are delicious - a favorite meal around here and something I often make for company.  If you don't like the canned enchilada sauce, a good salsa verde works well in place of it.  You can adjust the ingredients to your liking (more spice, no onions, etc).

Bec's Chicken Enchiladas (serves 4-6)

3 cups of chopped cooked chicken (I often use a rotisserie chicken)
1-2 cups shredded cheese (monterey jack, a mexican blend)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. sour cream
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles (or jalapenos if you want it spicier)
1/3 c. cilantro, chopped
1/3 c. green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
8 (8 in.) flour or corn tortillas.
1 10 oz. can green enchilada sauce

Stir together all ingredients except tortillas and enchilada sauce. If you're using flour tortillas, you can spread a big spoonful of chicken mixture in the middle of each tortilla and roll up. If you're using corn, heat them in a hot skillet or in the microwave briefly until soft.  Then, spread a spoonful of the chicken mixture in the middle and roll it up.  Place tortillas, seam side down, in a 9x 13 pan lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Top with enchilada sauce and some of the cheese. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Enchilada Verde Casserole

My favorite kind of enchiladas are the ones my mom makes - chicken verde with a sour cream sauce and lots of cheese.  I used to ask her to make it for my birthday and it's always so good!  The other day I had some leftover ingredients in the refrigerator and as I drove home from a solo trip to Disneyland with the girls (not a great idea when you're 8 months pregnant but we had fun anyways) I came up with the idea to make this green enchilada casserole. The point was not to go to the grocery store (standing in one more line would probably have killed me) and still serve my family dinner.  Mission accomplished!

Enchilada Verde Casserole (serves 4)

1/2 pound ground turkey

1/2 cup canned corn (drained

1/2 of a medium red onion, diced

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup cooked brown rice (you can buy it cooked from TJs)

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. paprika

chipotle powder, to taste (or other favorite chile spice)

salt & pepper

olive oil

6-10 corn tortillas, cut in half

2 cups green enchilada sauce (I used about half of a 28oz can)

2-3 cups shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Brown the ground turkey with the red onion; drain off any liquid.  Add a little olive oil, the garlic and corn.  Stir and sauté for a few minutes until heated through.  Add the brown rice and seasonings.  Stir together.  If it seems really dry, you can add a little more olive oil.  Remove from heat.

In a 2 quart pan, cover the bottom by placing 2 or 3 corn tortillas, overlapping to fit.  Sprinkle a fourth of the cheese evenly over the tortillas and then a third of the turkey mixture.  Cover with a thin layer of enchilada sauce and then more tortillas.  Repeat for 2 more layers.  End with tortillas, sauce, and cheese on top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and the casserole is hot in the center.  Let it set for about 5 minutes before cutting into it. 

Enchilada Casserole

How can it possibly be July already?  We're still away but I wanted to share this recipe that I made before we left for vacation.

I always make my enchiladas with green sauce and chicken.  I have a bunch of variations on those enchiladas and enchilada casseroles but this was something a little new:  beef and red sauce.  It was pretty good.  My girls are a little leery of casseroles but managed a couple of bites.  There aren't a lot of ingredients and it's super easy to make!  You can make it ahead of time and refrigerate it (for up to a few days) but if you do that, add an extra 15 minutes or so to the baking time (or thaw it out first).

Beef Enchilada Casserole (6-8 servings)
adapted from Sunset 9/02

1.5 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 T minced garlic
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 (29oz) can red enchilada sauce
salt
12 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded jack or cheddar cheese
chopped fresh cilantro


In a large skillet over high heat, stir beef, onion, garlic, oregano, and cumin until beef is browned, about  4 minutes. Stir in 1 cup enchilada sauce. Add salt to taste.

Meanwhile, cut tortillas in half. Arrange a fourth of the halves evenly over the bottom of a shallow 3-quart casserole, overlapping to fit. Sprinkle a fourth of the cheese evenly over the tortillas, then top with a third of the beef mixture and a fourth of the remaining enchilada sauce, spreading each level. Repeat to make two more layers of tortillas, cheese, beef mixture, and sauce; top with another layer of tortillas and sauce, then cheese.

Bake in a 425° regular oven until cheese is melted and casserole is hot in the center, 18 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Theresa's Enchiladas

My sister Theresa has great ideas for new recipes and creative ways to use the produce that she gets in her CSA. Recently, she was telling me about these Butternut Squash Enchiladas and I had to learn more. Here are the recipes, some photos, and her notes:

Butternut Squash Enchiladas

Tomatilla Sauce

For the enchiladas I also put some black beans in the filling and used a mexican cheese mix instead of the monterey jack/mozzarella recommended. I just didn't want to put mozzarella in enchiladas.



It was good, pretty easy, and parts or all of it can be prepared ahead of time. It made a lot, although I'm not entirely sure how much squash I had. I'm not good at estimating weights. I used 2 small/medium squash. And the squash baked in a little less than an hour. We had so much I froze some enchiladas... I'll let you know how that tastes when we eat it.





I've never made my own tomatilla sauce and now I'm especially motivated to give it a try - both of these recipes look awesome!

My "go-to" meal

If I've brought you dinner because you had a baby, had surgery, or for some other reason, it was probably these enchiladas. They're my go to when I have to make food for someone else, especially when I want a dish that doesn't have to go into the oven right away (you can refrigerate these for several days or you can make the filling ahead of time and roll later if it's easier).

A long time ago I found a recipe called "weeknight enchiladas" that was the original version of these but I've made so many changes over the years that this is more my recipe than anything else. Tonight, they hit the spot and I served them with spanish rice. Baby girl even liked the filling and ate almost a whole enchilada (I made hers without jalapenos and she was a fan of the "beanas").

Chicken Enchiladas (serves 4-6)

3 cups of chopped cooked chicken (I often use a rotisserie chicken)
1-2 cups shredded cheese (monterey jack, a mexican blend)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. sour cream
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles (or jalapenos if you want it spicier)
1/3 c. cilantro, chopped
1/3 c. green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
8 (8 in.) flour tortillas
1 10 oz. can green enchilada sauce

Stir together all ingredients except tortillas and enchilada sauce. Spread a big spoonful of chicken mixture in the middle of each tortilla and roll up. Place tortillas, seam side down, in a 9x 13 pan lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Top with enchilada sauce and some of the cheese. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.

* You can leave out the black beans if you don't like them. Lately, I've been skipping the onions. You can adjust the amounts of cheese to your liking and use cayenne, red pepper flakes, or jalapenos to make them spicier. Last night I used white corn tortillas instead of flour but they can break apart when they're rolled in the pan and don't look as pretty. The recipe filled 10 corn tortillas with a little left over.