Enchilada Lasagna

1 1/2-2 pounds ground meat (or equivalent in shredded chicken, or textured tofu, sauteed mushrooms would work too)
18 soft corn tortillas, taco size (the small ones)
1 Large can (~28oz) Enchilada Sauce (I like Las Palmas red (good for kids, mild flavor) or green)
3 cups shredded cheese (Mexican blend works well, or you can use one smaller bag cheddar, one monterey jack)
1/4-1/2 red onion, chopped (optional)

Seasonings for the meat:
Use either a package of taco seasoning or

1/4 Cup Salsa (whatever you have in the fridge)
Hot sauce to taste (I like Tapatio, and use about 5 hearty shakes of the bottle)
Salt (shake a light covering over the pan)
Pepper (grind until you're happy)
Crushed/chopped garlic (optional, 1-2 cloves)
1/4-1/2 Cup water to dissolve salsa, etc. into the pan and meat

If you are going to cook chicken (2-3 large breasts or equivalent in dark/light meat) and then shred, add
1 can tomato sauce
and omit the water (don't use taco seasoning)

Brown/cook the meat, draining any excess liquid.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease or PAM the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish.

Pour a bit of the enchilada sauce (ES) in the bottom to cover lightly.

Layer, overlapping, six tortillas into the bottom of the pan.
Apply a layer of meat for even coverage.
Top with an even layer of cheese to cover. (Insert sprinkling of onions here, if desired -- not so great with kids.)

Add six more tortillas, and cover with some of the ES, spreading out with the back of a large spoon (or spatula, whatevs).
Repeat meat and cheese layer.

Top with final six tortillas and remainder of enchilada sauce. Cover with a light layer of cheese (enough that it doesn't burn in the oven, but not so much that it's thick and goopy -- you want to see the edges of the tortillas and some sauce along the outside edges of the pan).

Bake for about 20 minutes (heated through) and the the dish is bubbling and cheese is melted.

Leftover meat and cheese can be used for taco night, burritos, etc.

You can do a version with black or pinto beans as part of the layers, but be careful that the layers don't get too thick, or you will overfill the pan.

Serve with [black beans and corn] Jennifer's Black Beans and Green Chiles and Mexican rice on the side.

Serves 6-12, depending on hunger, age/sex of guests, and pie slice size.

Let's all give VDog a hand for that tasty recipe! *a roar of applause from the crowd is heard*

Tuna Salad

3/4 C fat free Italian Dressing
1 can cannellini beans (though any white beans will do)
1 can (6 oz) albacore tuna
1/2 C sliced green onions
1/2 c chopped red pepper

Mix all ingredients together and serve over a bed of lettuce.

Heather sent this recipe. She has served it at several past playgroups. This recipe is certainly NOT the reason our playgroup no longer exists!

Easy Broccoli Quiche

This recipe is brought to you by Lisa from Sweet Home Alabama! Sorry it took me so long to post it, Lisa!

2 cups milk
4 eggs
¾ cup Bisquick
¼ cup butter, softened
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 (10 ounce) package chopped frozen broccoli*, thawed and drained
1 cup cubed cooked ham*
8 ounces shredded cheddar* cheese

*I also like using Spinach and Bacon with Swiss Cheese
(you can be really creative and throw in whatever you like)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Lightly grease a 10 inch casserole dish
In a large bowl, beat together eggs, Bisquick, butter and Parmesan cheese. (Batter will be lumpy)
Stir in broccoli, ham and cheddar cheese.
Pour into casserole dish.
Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes, until eggs are set and top is golden brown.
Enjoy!

This is definitely not figure friendly but good for breakfast or brunch on a cold day! I serve with fresh fruit to counter the richness of this dish.

Traditional Southern Shrimp Boil

3-4 lbs of fresh shrimp
2 packages of Zatarain's shrimp boil
5 lbs of red potatoes, cut in half or quartered, depending on size
12 half ears of corn (we always use frozen)
2 packages smoked sausage cut into 3 inch pieces (we use 1 package of regular smoked sausage and 1 package of cajun smoked sausage, Conecuh brand)
Cocktail sauce

In a 5 gallon pot, fill about halfway full with water and bring to a boil. Add 1 seasoning pouch, add vegetables and sausage and cover. Cook until potatoes are done, approximately 10 minutes. Shut the heat off and remove the vegetables and sausage. Bring water back to a boil and add second seasoning pouch. Add shrimp and cook 3 minutes, shut off heat. Allow shrimp to soak for 5 minutes, covered. Pull shrimp out of water. Serve with cocktail sauce.

Serves 4-6 adults.

Related Recipes: Cocktail Sauce

Three Cheese Eggplant Bake

1 medium to large eggplant
1/4 C Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 3/4 C Ricotta Cheese
1 1/2 C Mozzarella Cheese, shredded. 1/2 C reserved for topping
1/4 C Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Marinara Sauce (see recipe)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two cookie sheets with cooking spray. Cut skin off of eggplant and slice lengthwise into 1/8 inch strips. (Don't worry if you end up with short pieces of eggplant, you can combine these pieces together later.) Place the eggplant strips on cookie sheets and drizzle olive oil evenly over each piece. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 10 minutes, change positions of the cookie sheets (top to bottom/bottom to top shelf.) Bake an additional 5 minutes.

While the eggplant is baking, begin the marinara sauce and make the cheese filling. To make the filling, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses.

Spray an 11 X 7 casserole dish with cooking spray. Place 2-3 TB of filling at the end of each eggplant slice and roll up. Combine the smaller eggplant slices to make longer strips if needed. Place each roll-up in casserole dish. Spoon marinara sauce over each. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 C of mozzarella cheese over casserole. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Serves 2-6, depending on your side dish. If you serve with pasta (which I don't because of my carb-phobic husband), this dish goes further.

Related Recipes: Marinara Sauce

Spicy Honey-Glazed Chicken

Another delicious contribution from Impostor Mom...This recipe reminded me of the sauce on the Asian Almond Shrimp at Zea.

1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp frozen OJ concentrate
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, more or less to taste
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp olive oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro, chopped (optional*)
green onions, chopped (optional)
slivered almonds (optional)**

In a small bowl, combine honey, orange juice, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

In a skillet, heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add chicken, salt and pepper to taste, and brown, about 4 minutes per side.

Add honey mixture to the skillet and cook, turning to throughly coat the chicken. Cook 2 more minutes or until sauce begins to thicken.

To serve, place chicken on plate, spoon sauce over the top and sprinkle with cilantro,green onions, and slivered almonds.

Serves 6

*My husband didn't like the cilantro, so I suppose it's optional. I liked it MUCH better WITH the cilantro.
**I added slivered almonds to the original recipe.
***I'm going to try this sauce with grilled shrimp.

Technorati Tags: recipe, chicken, spicy, easy recipe, zea restaurant, cilantro

Taco Bake

1 lb. of ground beef or turkey
1 can of Condensed tomato soup OR 1 can of red enchilada sauce*
1 C of salsa
1/2 C of milk
6 flour tortillas or 8 corn-tortillas** cut into 1 inch pieces
2 C of shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese (reserve about 1/2 C for sprinkling on top of casserole)
chopped onion to taste
Optional add ins: chopped black olives, chopped green chilies, drained black beans, chopped jalapenos.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook meat and onions together in a skillet. Add remaining ingredients, then spoon into a 2 pt. shallow baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Add reserved cheese, bake another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream.

*I prefer this recipe with enchilada sauce.
**I think the corn tortillas are better in this recipe.

Technorati tags: Easy Recipe, Main Dish, Mexican, recipe

Impostor Mom's Mama's Roast Beef

Impostor Mom submitted this spectacular recipe. It's especially wonderful since it requires the crock pot and cooking with my crock pot makes me happier than you can imagine. The remaining half of the bottle of red wine also made me happier than you can imagine.

1 Beef Roast (Any cut, as big as you need for your family)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pack onion soup mix
1/2 bottle of red wine

Place Roast in a crock pot. Mix onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup. Spread on top of Roast. Pour wine in crock pot until it is just about at the top of the roast. Cook for 8-10 hours.

Note from Impostor Mom: I use the leftover roast beef for hash. That's roast beef, potatoes and onions cooked on the stove in oil. I use whatever onions and potatoes I have on hand and sometimes I throw in some mushrooms. You have to lay out the mixture on paper towels when its done cooking to let the grease drain off or it's really greasy. We eat it with ketchup on it. The other meal is using the gravy. I put the gravy, another can of cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms, and some more red wine in the crock pot with beef stew meat. I let that cook all day and when I get home I make egg noodles. About 1/2 an hour before dinner I stir an entire container of sour cream into the meat mixture then stir the egg noodles in with the beef in the crock pot. That's my beef stroganoff.

Technorati Tags: Roast, Crock Pot, Easy Recipe, Slow Cooker

Baked Chicken That Will Knock Your Socks Off

Whole Chicken, trimmed of fat, rinsed, and patted dry
1/4 C of Olive Oil OR 1/2 stick of butter, melted*
1/3 C Lemon Juice (I use the stuff out of the bottle, don't judge me.)
2 tsp Dried Thyme
1 tsp Dried Oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Put chicken in dish, breast side up, tuck the wings under the body. Combine all the ingredients and pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and a half, or until thigh meat registers 170 degrees.

Serves 2 starving adults

*Butter makes it taste better, but you can feel your arteries clogging when you're eating butter laden chicken.

Chicken Fajitas

4 Chicken Breasts, trimmed of fat, rinsed, and patted dry
1/2 white or yellow onion, cut into large chunks that can be cooked on an outdoor grill
1 green pepper, cut in half with seeds and stem removed

Marinate the above ingredients for 4-24 hours in the following:

1/2 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 C White Vinegar
Juice of 1 lime
1 clove of garlic, smashed
1/2 tsp cumin
Dash of red pepper (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook chicken, onion, and green pepper on the grill for approximately 20 minutes*, or until chicken has reached 180 degrees. Watch for flare-ups, the olive oil likes to try and catch fire. Slice the chicken, onion, and pepper into strips. Serve on warm tortillas, or over a bed of lettuce with sour cream, salsa, and shredded cheese.**

Serves 3-4 adults

*If it's raining and I can't use the grill, I have cooked the ingredients in the marinade in a large skillet on the stove. It's not as good as being cooked on the grill, but it works in a pinch.

**I usually serve this meal with Black Beans and Green Chiles.

Related Recipes
Chicken Fajita Breakfast Casserole
Black Beans and Green Chiles

Technorati Tags: Low Carb, Mexican, Salad, Recipes