Tex Mex NY Style

How's that for a blog post title?

I'm under deadline this week, so the other night my daughter and I decided to have dinner out. I'd been writing hard all day and was happy for the break (and not to have to cook). She had a few days in a row off work and was getting restless.

There's a TexMex place in my neighborhood that I've been wanting to try (even though it's been here a long time, I hadn't managed yet!), so we went to The Santa Fe Grill.


At this point, I'm thinking how little I know about this stuff. Why is it called Santa Fe if they serve Tex Mex?  Mindy???? Yoo hoooo. Help, please.

To be fair, the restaurant calls it southwestern food. It's the Yelp reviewers who call it Tex Mex.

But who cares. The food was great.

Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a photo.

My daughter ordered Steak Quesadilla and I had a Cheese Enchilada. Both came with rice and refried beans. Yum!

I could easily have gorged myself on it, but I decided I'd rather save the leftovers.

But then I nibbled more, so there really wasn't much for leftovers. I needed to come up with something to add to it for dinner.

One other menu item was a roasted vegetable quesadilla. That gave me an idea.

So, tonight, I roasted some zucchini (yellow and green) and mushrooms. I already had some broccoli that I had roasted with garlic, so I threw that in and dusted the whole thing with Parmesan.

I bought a bag of soft corn tortillas and heated them in the pan before loading with the roasted vegetables.

Here's where I confess to the big oopsie.

When I was buying my veggies, I bought a container of shredded cheese.
When I got home from the store,  I forgot about the cheddar cheese - for hours in really hot weather.

I'm on deadline. I was not taking any chances with yucky cheese.

So we went a little international with the Parmesan and some Mozzarella that I had on hand.
Trust me, it was good.

You'll be able to tell what I did from the photos, but basically I heated the tortillas, smothered them in pre-roasted vegetables. covered with cheese, and baked until the cheese was gooey.


I doubt this was authentic anything, but it was so delicious!

Final product along with the leftovers.

It's a good day to go vegetarian

I don't know how many of you are (or WERE) Grey's Anatomy fans, but folks got a shock when the main heartthrob of the show, played by Patrick Dempsey, was killed off. One of the most quoted lines of the show was, "it's a beautiful day to save lives." The line stuck with me because I thought it was obvious foreshadowing. I just didn't know it was foreshadowing for my diet. Ack!

Following my heart cath recently, I thought all was good. No need for stents. The doctor mentioned "one little problem" to discuss when I came in but ManO just heard no stent and I was loopy. All I remembered hearing was the nurses saying, "you can't beat genetics."

Turns out I have a 40% narrowing thanks to plaque in one of the branches of my heart arteries. I am very thankful it was found. But it wasn't what was causing my chest pain. Esophageal spasms are the culprit. But because of that coincidental pain, they found the silent time bomb just waiting to be 100%. I had time to do something about it. Ack! But PTL!

In order to keep cholesterol plaque at bay, reduce acid reflux, and lose weight, I decided it was a good day to save a life and go vegetarian. Thanks to a lot of wise counsel on Facebook, here from Kav and friends sending me cookbooks, it's easier than I expected.


I've had to withdraw from meat slowly as Kav advised. It's also really important not to go to just salads. The transition is doomed with just lettuce. You need enough protein, good fat (like olive oil or nuts), and carbs to keep you energized.You also can't go the other way.  You can gain weight as a   vegetarian because folks often still eat too much sugar and processed flour.

One of my first big experiments was for Cinco De Mayo. No day is worse for me. A day when wheat and corn products are in the forefront, everyone is having fun but me. This year was even worse. I couldn't find rice tortillas and there was the whole meat problem. But I cobbled together a solution.

Spring rolls saved the day and saved me carbs. Rice tortillas are 24 grams of carb. Spring roll wraps? SEVEN. So what began as a problem turned into a great lo-carb solution.Then the whole meat thing. That was a fairly easy solve thanks to ManO. I was just going to make spinach and cheese enchiladas with beans on the side. He suggested I add them in in order to make it seem like he got his meat. Another great solution and it let ManO feel like he had some say in the process.

It was rather ironic I used Italian marinara, Irish cheddar, Vietnamese spring roll wrappers and American veggies to celebrate a holiday that began when the Mexican Army beat the French.

I know you are wondering about the cheese. We'll see how it goes but I need to get extra calcium right now. Life is a challenge. But as I told a friend, if it came down to it, I'd rather have books than meat, books than meals. Make the meal pretty and I can survive.

AND I've lost almost ten pounds at a very safe clip so far without feeling starved.

Here's the recipe in easy steps:

Cinco de Mayo Enchiladas

1 package baby spinach
1/2 sweet onion
1 can pinto beans
1 package spring roll wrappers
1 lb or less cheddar cheese
1 cup and a half garlic spaghetti sauce or one can enchilada sauce
Cumin
Salt
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

     
Step 1: Saute onion in a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Cook down spinach in onion/oil mixture until wilted.

Step 2: Rinse beans then add to veggies. Set aside.


Step 3: Following directions on spring roll wrapper package, wet the wrappers one at a time.

Step 4: Fill with two heaping spoonsful (see picture) of veggie mixture.

Step 5: Top with a sprinkling of cheese and fold/roll as directed. Save remaining cheese for topping.

Step 6: Set rolls in olive oil greased 9x13 pan.

Step 7: Brush tops of rolls with olive oil.  Bake for 25 minutes at 350 until slightly browned. Remove from oven.

Step 8:  Pour enchilada sauce or combined marinara sauce, salt and cumin (to taste) over rolls. Top with cheese and put back in the oven another 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted. 

Step 9: Serve with a tablespoon of light sour cream and shredded lettuce.

So, have you ever tried to go vegetarian? What prompted the experience or what keeps you from going meatless? Any advice for newbies?

Happy New Year!!!! (Easy enchilada soup and the UGLY TRUTH)

Hellooooo, everybody!! Happy, happy New Year!! I loved 2013 (like really, really loved it) but I am even more excited by 2014! It's time for planning ahead, dreaming big dreams and making all those awesome resolutions. 

(First of all, I promise not to use so many exclamation points. Unless I'm really, really excited. *ahem*)

Let's get to today's recipe and then I'll drop the ugly truth on you. 

What's that, you say? You're not aware of the ugly truth??

Well, it's all around us, including in this recipe (and I don't mean the chicken, Kav!) and sometimes we have to smudge a few of those sharp lines to make the world a bit happier. Are you with me? No? Well, let me start and maybe you'll catch up on the way.

Behold. Shiny enameled stock pot. The cast iron stock pot left a HUGE rust ring on my lovely, vintage sink so it went to a good friend. (Something about leaving the bottom a bit wet and setting it on the white enamel. Whatever it was, it kills me that this sink has lasted a long, long time and I was the one to mark it up. UGH. Ugly truth, right there.)

 Apparently, enameled pots will NOT harm the pretty vintage sink. 

Unless I drop it. 

Which I won't.

 So, ingredients needed: one big bag of chicken breasts (fresh or frozen, but since this is a quick meal, the bag came out of the freezer). Corn tortillas. Cheddar cheese. Enchilada sauce.
You can make this with red sauce but I've never really liked red enchiladas.

Fill your stock pot half full of water. Add the sauce. Add the chicken. Turn it on high. (Sorry these pictures are so dark. It's winter. I need a sun lamp for my food pics.)

 Boil the chicken.

 Add ten to 12 corn tortillas. Let them boil with the chicken and stir a bit so they're in fairly large pieces. Ovoid over-stirring. That would make enchilada mush, which is still tasty but rather icky looking.

 Add about five or six thick slices of cheddar cheese and let that melt into the soup. This gives it a really nice, creamy flavor.

 Remove the chicken and chop into small pieces. Now is a good time to taste for salt, pepper, etc. I usually add a bit of salt and some cumin powder. MMMMMMM.....

 Turn the oven on broil. Cover the top of the soup with thick slices of cheddar cheese. I saw this recipe with Pepper Jack cheese and it looked GORGEOUS. But I don't like Pepper Jack. Put the stock pot in the oven (make sure it's oven safe, of course).

 After 3 minutes or so on broil, pull the pot from the oven. The cheese should be melted very nicely over the top and a bit crunchy. Think onion soup. Think lasagna. Think enchiladas...

Now, here's where the ugly truth comes in. I could just pop this on the table and everyone could  serve themselves, but you know I'm a FOOL for ramekins. I love how they provide a bit of portion control (all that late night writing and eating and writing and eating has not been kind to my rear end). 

But the recipe I saw had the ramekins put in the oven on broil, so they cooked separately.

 Two problems with that:
One- I don't want to clean off the baked-on cheese from a bunch of tiny ramekins. Nobody got time for that.
Two- the ramekins would be incredibly hot. I have toddlers (okay, and older kids who grab their food without thinking) so I avoid handing out 300F serving dishes.
 Here we'll blur those rough edges of truth and make a little happy in our world. Nothing dishonest, just... easier.
Dip the soup from under the layer of cheese and add a bit to every dish. Then, using a knife, cut a bit of the cheddar and lay it on top. Ta-DAH! Baked enchilada soup and nobody is going to the ER. It's still plenty hot, but not enough to hurt you.

 I added a bit of green onion to mine. A friend put corn in hers. The flavor is really amazing and if I had time, I think I might want to experiment. But as it is, I'm sticking with what I know...

 Now, the only ugly truth (cleaning up) involved here will be with this baby. And since I've made this dish three times now in this enameled pot, I'm confident in saying I won't be scrubbing for hours. Not even ten minutes. One dish dinner! Great for a crowd and it keeps well in the fridge. Leftovers!

And now, time for some more of the UGLY TRUTH. This is one of our closets, disemboweled. The innards of the little boys' closet was so tangled and so jumbled that nobody even knew what was in there. Sometime in May, my husband "sorted" part of the laundry room and "stored" things in this closet.
Yeah... Scare quotes and all.
Disaster.
 (And yes, I realize it's January, but what can I say? I've been too busy to deal with the closet problem. Until now.. Now is the time of reckoning...)

 One day, I'd had enough! (Specifically, Sunday evening.) We took everything from the closet and sorted it out. Bicycle helmets stayed, but girl backpacks from ten years ago? Out. Booster seat from 7 years ago? Out. Hallowe'en costumes for little girls when I've had only boys for the last ten years? Out.
You get the idea.

 Also, this ancient old house had 'do it yourself' closets made by the previous owner/builder. Note the awesome paneling. This was all over the house when we bought it 12 years ago. I think this is the last remnant. The closet doors never worked right. EVER.
(P.S. Like my home made light switch covers? One Lego magazine, one layer of mod podge. La voila! Lego light switch cover that made little boys squee with happiness.)

So, everything out. (Sorry, this pic is pre-clean up. Before we swept and scrubbed. Gross, eh?) In preparation for the new carpet in this room, I've got a new plan for this closet. No more ugly truth behind closet doors. No more heaven-knows-what in this space.

Ready??

Here's the plan:

A reading nook!!

You can find a hundred ideas like it on Pinterest here. Go check it out and see what I mean. And next week I will update on our progress! The little people are VERY excited to have their own reading space. We have bookshelves in every room, and they have two in their room, but THIS will be fun. I'm letting the kids decide among themselves what sort of design it will be. So far, I'm hearing a lot of dragons and castles and Legos. We shall see!

 Have a wonderful start to your NEW YEAR!!! I've partied hardy over on Seekerville last night for their New Year's Eve party so I'm going to need a nap.

But first, we're going to open our 'Good Things Jar', which we've been filling of all the wonderful things that have happened this year. We started January 1st 2013, and we'll open it today! We'll read each slip and applaud every small success, rejoice over every blessing, and reminisce over every good memory. 

From my family to yours, may this year bring peace and joy! Happy New Year!

Tex-Mex on the Menu - Amazing Enchiladas!

I don't know about you, but every once in a while, I just need a good Mexican fix. I'm talking the food variety, not some guy named Jose. So today  we're serving up some good old fashioned Tex-Mex in the YB. Some yummy enchiladas that'll have you wanting more.

Since I'm a blond, I'm going to break this into segments. Sometimes I can only concentrate on one thing at a time.

So let's start with the sauce. You're going to need:

• 2 - 15 oz. cans of red enchilada sauce (you can get mild, medium or spicy. Or mix it up like I did, one can of mild, and one can of medium)
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (yes, I have two cups measured out, but I didn't use it all:-)
• 1 tablespoon canola/vegetable/olive oil
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons (or there abouts) chopped cilantro

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk together. I know, it doesn't look like much, does it? Let this cook for a minute or so, continuing to whisk.

 

Now pour in your red sauce, the broth, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. (If you're wondering what those green specks are, it's the cilantro. You're supposed to add it later, but I forgot)

Now we're going to move on the meat part of our filling. For this, you're going to need:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 - 4 oz. cans diced green chilies
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large skillet or dutch oven, brown ground beef and onion. Remove from heat. Drain fat and add chilies and salt. Stir and set aside.

 

 

In a small skillet over medium heat, try 12-14 corn tortillas in canola/vegetable oil, just until soft.

 

Then drain on a paper towel lined baking sheet.

Preheat your over to 350 degrees and spread about a 1/2 to 3/4 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.

 

Now we're ready to assemble. We have our meat mixture, some chopped green onions (not only do these add flavor, they add a nice textural element), and some grated cheese (I used a combination of sharp cheddar and Monterrey Jack. You can also add some black olives or whatever tickles your fancy.

One at a time, dip your tortillas into the remaining sauce mixture and set them on a plate.

 



Now layer on some of the meat mixture (since my tortillas were small, they couldn't handle more than a heaping tablespoon), green onions, and a nice topping of shredded cheese.

 

Roll the tortilla around the filling and place seam side down in the sauce-lined baking pan. Repeat until you're out of tortillas or filling.

If you haven't already, stir the cilantro into the sauce and pour over enchiladas.

Then top with a layer of cheese.

Bake 20 minutes or until bubbly.



 

Yes, this recipe takes a little bit of time, but it's not difficult. And, of course, I forgot to take a pic of the finished product. All because I was so eager to eat it. (Hey, at least I'm honest)

 

As I'm fond of saying, the green chilies are not hot, so if you use a mild enchilada sauce, you won't have to worry about the heat.

 

This is probably one of my husband's favorite recipes. Of course, he likes to add jalapenos to his portion. Gets it from his father, who used to have every kind of hot sauce known to man lining his dinner table. Fortunately, my guy isn't that bad.



 

Do you have particular food or ethnic group of food that you have to have on a regular basis? I mean, like if you haven't had it in a couple of weeks, you really start craving it? If so, what might that be?

 

We've been enjoying some remarkably unseasonable weather in Texas these past couple of days. Highs only in the 70s with wet stuff falling from the sky. Can't complain about that. Especially when we were 103 on Saturday!