Taquito Casserole

My dad got this recipe from somewhere...perhaps the back of a box of taquitos. Anyway, it's a great recipe and lately I've made it a few times.



Ingredients:
1 box of unthawed taquitos (you need about 30)
28 oz can refried beans
20 oz can enchilada sauce
4 oz can chopped olives
4 oz can chopped green chiles
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 cups of shredded cheese


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.




First, chop the green onions. Use the white and green parts. I love this photo. I love green onions! Hey, win-win!




Put the refried beans, green onions, olives, and green chiles into a microwave-safe bowl. Stir everything up so it's all happy together. Microwave for about 3-4 minutes, stirring halfway through.




Meanwhile, spray a 9x13 casserole pan with nonstick cooking spray. Lay down some taquitos.




Drizzle about half of the enchilada sauce over the taquitos.




Put half of the refried bean mixture over the taquitos.




Spread half of the cheese over the refried beans.




Repeat layers! Cover with foil and cook for about 50-60 minutes, or until hot. Cover with remaining cheese and put back into the oven until the cheese is melted.




This is pure comfort food. It's like enchiladas without all that pesky rolling! Add salsa, sour cream, and guacamole for a religious experience.

Taquito casserole is so great. Aside from the cooking, it really doesn't take much active time at all. You can use the taquitos that are corn or flour tortillas. I like both.

And now my stomach is grumbling. Maybe there are some leftovers still left in the refrigerator...

White Chili

I think I have perfected my white chili recipe. You can use cooked turkey or chicken in this recipe. I opted for turkey as I made one yesterday and we had leftover meat. The taste is so delicious and, apparently, gravity really likes this as well as the floor claimed two bowls and the counter tried to get its share as well! Oops! At least it makes a fair amount so it still fed the family.

Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
2 15.5 ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups cooked chicken or turkey, cubed
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 4 ounce can diced green chiles, undrained
1 14.5 ounce can fat-free chicken broth
3/4 can of water
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded lowfat Monterey Jack cheese



In a dutch oven or stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once it is hot, add the onions and the garlic.





Stir the onions and garlic frequently, until softened. This will take about 5 minutes. Next, add the can of green chiles.



Stir in the spices.



Stir the mixture until everything is coated and softened, about 2 minutes.



Add the chopped turkey (or chicken).



Next, add the chicken broth.



Bring the tomatoes to the party!



To extend the recipe a bit I add about 3/4 of a can of water.



Add the rinsed and drained beans.



Finally, add the mashed beans.



Stir everything together and bring to a boil.



Let the chili simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. After the time is up, add 4 ounces of reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese. Add it a few handfuls at a time, stirring while you add it so it doesn't clump all together.



Serve. You can garnish with sour cream and green onions like I did here. You can also put crumbled chips, cilantro, more Jack cheese, jalapeños, or, well, just about anything you'd like on top of this chili.



This was so delicious and easy, especially for a weeknight meal. The kids all loved it, even the preschooler!

Spanish Rice with Soy Chorizo

A few months ago there was a clearance on chorizo at the grocery store. Despite my best intentions, I took a peek at the ingredients. Ever since then I have wanted to try the soy version. I often like the soy versions of meats. Yves Ground Round is a good thing in my house for lasagna, spaghetti, etc. I like making Taco Soup with soy "hamburger" instead of the real thing. It was with that spirit, then, that I picked up the soy chorizo from Trader Joe's the other night. Instead of just making eggs I wanted to make something a bit more substantial. Launching off the spanish rice I made a while back, I decided to make that and add the chorizo for more of a main dish feel.

Spanish Rice with Soy Chorizo

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 cups vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 14 1/2-oz. can whole tomatoes, undrained
1/2 tsp. saffron
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. thyme
16 oz. soy chorizo, casings removed and crumbled


Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery. Sauté for 5 minutes, or until onion is transparent.

Add the rice; stir so it is coated with oil. Add the broth and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 35 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the tomato juice, the cut up tomatoes, the saffron, paprika, thyme, chorizo and stir. Cover and simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes longer.

Ingredients:



The stars of this meal are saffron (try Trader Joe's for affordable saffron) and a smoky Spanish paprika. My friend gave me this tin *cough*a few years ago*cough* and it is wonderfully smoky and still full of flavor.



Dice up the celery.



Dice up the onion.



Heat up the olive oil. It's a little more than 1 tablespoon but that's all right...



Once the oil is nice and hot, add the celery and onion to the pan.



After the onion is transparent and the vegetables are soft, it's time to add the rice. Stir the rice around so it's all coated with oil. I kept it in the pan for a couple of minutes prior to adding the broth.



Now add the broth. This was actually homemade turkey broth because I didn't have vegetable broth on hand but I didn't worry since no actual vegetarians were fed during this meal. If you have actual vegetarians you definitely want to be sure to use vegetable broth.



Drop the bay leaf in, cover, turn the heat to low, and simmer for about 35 minutes. You don't need to disturb it; just let the rice cook.



When it's getting close to the 35 minute mark, get your spices together. Pour some saffron in your hand and admire it for a little bit.



Take the casings off the soy chorizo. This is very important!!



After the rice has been cooking for 35 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients. First, the spices go in.



Next, drain the tomato liquid into the pan.



After that has been drained take kitchen shears or a knife and cut up the tomatoes.



Add the chorizo and stir. Cover it and let it cook for about 15 minutes more, or until the rice is tender.

Serve with sour cream (it is a little on the spicy side!).



This was delicious! Everyone except the preschooler and me had seconds. I was surprised my middle child loved it but he did! Mr. Mary Cooks, for his second helping, put the rice mixture into a tortilla and said he liked it that way.

I'm happy this was a hit and I'll definitely make this again. I think the Spanish rice was great, too, and a good keeper for a rice dish from scratch vs. out of a box. Sure, it takes a little more time but it is so worth it because you know what your family is getting.

Sunday Dinner

So tonight I went with a Mexican/Southwestern type of feel to dinner. I had gotten pork shoulder out and suddenly got a craving for my mom's chile verde. Let me go on record as saying I know (and she knows) it's not real nor authentic chile verde. Nevertheless, it is so delicious and easy I knew I had to make it myself and teach you all how to make it as well.

First, though, let's start with homemade Spanish rice. This needs a little tweaking since it was a bit bland but still I feel a personal victory since it didn't come out of a box!

I put about a tablespoon into a pan.



Drain some stewed tomatoes. Put the juice into a measuring cup.



After the oil has heated up, put a cup and a half of brown rice into the pot.



Stir it and let it heat for a few minutes. Then add the tomatoes.



Stir them around and break up the tomatoes.



Now add the liquid. It should measure about 2 cups. Come to think of it, I think the juicy tomatoes saved my butt since it should have been about 3 cups of liquid total. Anyway, add your liquid.



Stir, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for about 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, it's time to make the chile verde. Ingredients: 2 lbs. or so pork shoulder, one 14.5 oz. can whole tomatoes, one 4 oz. can green chiles, oregano, garlic powder, one half onion, sliced.



Slice your onions. You can use a whole one of a half onion. We had half so that's what I used.



Cut the pork shoulder into about 1.5" or 2" cubes. You'll want to trim as much of the fat off as possible.



Put it in a pan with the heat on medium-high. Add about 2 tablespoons of oregano.



Next, add about a half tablespoon of garlic powder. Maybe more, maybe less; it depends on taste.



Stir it around so all the pieces have a good amount of oregano and garlic on them.



Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes. Reserve the juice in case you need it later.



Break the tomatoes up with your hands.



Back to the pork, it is time to add the onions.



It was looking a bit dry so I added a little bit of the tomato juice.



Next, I added the tomatoes.



Finally, I added the diced green chiles (undrained).



Stir everything so it's blended, lower the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the pork is cooked. If you have more time, you could definitely let it simmer away for an hour or so I'm sure.



After about 20 minutes or so, this is what the pork looks like.



The Spanish rice is done now. Doesn't it look delicious?



Serve with tortillas, refried beans, and salad. It was a delicious dinner!



The chile verde is just as I remember from my childhood.