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.

Snickers Salad

Mmmm... creamy, sweet with bursts of tartness. So simple, yet so yummy.

2 small containers (or one large) whipped topping.
1 small package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 granny smith apples
3 Snickers candy bars

Gently combine whipped topping and pudding mix.
Chop apples and candy bars into small pieces. Fold apples and candy bars into topping.
Eat!

Grown up grilled garlic toast

One of my favorite places at the grocery store is the day-old bread rack. For just a dollar, I can find clear signals about what I should have for dinner tonight.

In the summertime, if wide French Bread loaves are on the rack, they're mine and they're on my grill in this somewhat sophisticated manner. It's garlic toast with cheese, so my kids eat it, but it's also smoky and and ever so slightly sharp from the Parmesan.

12 oz of French Bread (NOT baguettes) cut into 1-inch slices
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
3 tsp garlic powder (divided)
1 tsp parsley
1 stick of butter, melted
1.5 cups shredded "orange" cheese (cheddar, colby, etc)

In a medium bowl, mix the Parmesan cheese and garlic powder well. Add the parsley, stirring again. Add the shredded cheese. Use your hands to mix it all together. Set aside.

Add 1 tsp of garlic powder to the melted butter and stir well. Brush both sides of each piece of bread with the melted garlic butter.

Exit the kitchen and head to the grill. 

Make sure your grill grates are hot, heating them using a low flame (a grill temp of about 200 degrees). Toast the first side until just golden brown. Flip. Turn the burners off. Top with cheese. Close the grill cover. Wait until cheese is melty. 

Cake in a Cup

Hot chocolate? A latte? No! It's cake

My husband has more will power than anyone I know. It's August. His chocolate Easter bunny? Still in the cupboard.

When I make a dessert, he and the kids each eat one piece and the the rest goes into my mouth over the course of the next day or so. So good for my tummy, so bad for my thighs.

This recipe helps with that. No, it's not high culture, but it's light, delicately spongy and truly diet-friendly. Thanks to Mare at work for sharing it with me.

For the mix:
1 box Angel food cake mix
1 box cake mix, any flavor*

Mix the contents of both mixes together and store in an airtight container.

For the cake:
1/3 cup of the mix

My kids REALLY like this, though I do not condone stealing!

3 tbsps water

Add the mix and water to a coffee mug. Stir until well blended. Microwave on high for 1 minute (since microwaves and coffee cups vary, it make take a little longer)

Top with whipped cream, ice cream, frosting or nothing at all. The center will be hot, so if you're going to feed to the kiddos, let it cool a bit.

* The angel food mix lightens the flavor of the other cake mix, so consider using something like a devil's food for a chocolate.

Red Rhubarb Gelatin Salad

I love this stuff. It's layers of salty crunch and sweet cream enveloping a tangy gelatin layer. This recipe is a conglomeration of two other recipes  - one from The Joy of Rhubarb and the other I've already shared. It's a great way to use rhubarb and still get the decadence of the creamy and crunchy layers from the original raspberry version.

Gelatin layer:
6 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 6-ounce (large) package of cherry or strawberry gelatin (sugar free is fine too)
Optional: 1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries (do not thaw)

Creamy layer:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz whipped topping
1  - 1/14 cups sugar (taste)

Pretzel layer:
3/4 cup melted butter
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups hand-crushed pretzels 


Coat a 9x 13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Combine rhubarb, sugar and water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently, until rhubarb is tender (8 min). Stir in dry gelatin. Pour hot mixture into prepared pan. Gently drop strawberries on top. Refrigerate until set.

Meanwhile, mix pretzels, melted butter and 2 tablespoons sugar. Spread into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Stir loose from the pan and let cool.

Combine cream cheese, whipped topping and sugar with hand mixer at medium speed. Spread mixture over set gelatin and chill again for at least 30 minutes, or until ready to serve.

Just prior to serving, top with pretzels.