My enchiladas

Enchiladas are not something I ate growing up, but my kids LOVE them! We usually use a mild prepared variety of sauce from the grocery store, but one night I promised enchiladas and we had no sauce. I found this recipe in my Betty Crocker Cookbook, used the same technique I usually do and was surprised at how similar the finished product was to the rich, creamy not too-spicy concoction we were used to. Oh! And I know exactly what's in them.

I like this recipe so much, I'm working on a recipe to can the sauce in bulk. (More on that when I get it right.)

1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, diced (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese + a handful
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
2 whole green chilies, chopped (I use the canned ones)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 can (13-15 ounces) tomato sauce
About 8 flour tortillas

Part 1: Brown the meat and onions.

Brown the ground beef and onions and drain.

Part 2: Make the sauce

Heat bell pepper, water, chili power, oregano, cumin, chillies, garlic and tomato sauce to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. If you prefer a smooth sauce (vs. slightly chunky) remove from heat and puree in a blender or in the pot with an immersion blender. Don't mind the chunks? Skip the blending.

 Part 3: Make the filling


Combine the ground beef mixture, sour cream, cheese, parsley, pepper and 1 cup sauce. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the mixture into each tortilla and roll.

Part 4: Bring it all together

Place the filled tortillas into a greased 9 x 13 (ish) baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over all, and sprinkle with an extra handful (or two) of cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Cheat Chicken Soup (aka, my daughter is sick and I have neither time nor a can!)

To me, homemade chicken soup is something that should take time. Probably something that should only be made on a weekend, when I have that much time.

(Am I the only person whose ideas about soup means they are only eating canned soup?)

Tonight, my little girl wasn't feeling well. I offered her soup, thinking there was a can in the pantry. *sigh.* No can. Now what? Well, I had my trusty chicken soup base, a chicken breast, noodles and veggies. That's soup - right?

So I tried it. And it worked! Better than the canned stuff even - though, not as good as mom's.

10 cups chicken stock or soup base*
1 large (or two medium) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 stalk celery, including leaves, chopped
1 bag (12-16 oz) frozen soup vegetables**
1 1/2 cups dried pasta (your favorite variety, I had elbow macaroni - and if you don't like THIS many noodles, use less.)

Begin by adding the cubed chicken breast and celery to the stock. Bring to a boil. Add the soup vegetables, bring back to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook until it's tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

* I always keep a soup base mix in a my pantry. It's a cross between a powder and a paste. You can certainly use boullion cubes or canned or refrigerated chicken stock. Feel free to use a low-sodium version as well. I found it fascinating that my full-salt mix had less salt than the "healthy" canned soup.

** I just happened to have an actual bag of "soup vegetables" in the freezer. (99 cents on sale - score!) You could really use any bag of frozen veggies that includes veggies you like in soup.

Cabbage and bacon

Cabbage seems like such an "old" vegetable to me. I grow it to make egg rolls and always have extra that I'm not sure what to do with. Enter a quick web search, and I found an "old" recipe. One that some of the seniors in my life assure me, their mothers made them. Depending on how long you cook the cabbage, it's a bit crunchy and yet soft with a burst of acid (in a good way.)

I have to admit, I like the recipe so much, I've taken to (gasp!) buying cabbage at the grocery store.

Half head of cabbage

3-5 slices of bacon

1/2 of a medium onion

vinegar

salt

pepper

Core and slice the cabbage into wedges no more than an inch wide. Dice the onion. Slice the bacon into slightly larger than bite size pieces. Add the bacon to a large saute pan over medium to medium-high heat. Let the bacon render (cook down) for a minute or two and add the onions. When the bacon just starts to turn brown, add the cabbage. Then, stir every few minutes for about 15-20 minutes. 

Season with salt and pepper, stir well. Just before serving, add a splash of  vinegar and stir. 

I prefer to serve with vinegar on the side.