Vegetarian Tex Mex Casserole

So a craving for ground crumbles took over me this week and I bought a bunch of bags of the Boca variety while at publix this week. Too bad they werent on bogo. I decided I was going to make this casserole, some vegetarian cincinatti chili, and who knows what else. So anyhow, we made this last night. The boys tore it up. And I thoroughly got my craving satisfied. Here is the recipe I came up with - try it, enjoy it, share it, mod it.. :)

• veggie crumbles
• rigatoni
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1/2 vidalia onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• frozen corn
• 1 can black beans
• a little cheddar
• rotel
• chili pepper
• red pepper (or berbere if you are a berbere addict like me)
• salt and pepper

1. boil pasta and set aside
2. pre-heat oven to 350
3. in a pan saute the garlic and onions in evoo until onion is translucent
4. add crumbles, corn, rotel, and black beans until heated thoroughly
5. add soup and spices and cook until warm
6. mix pasta into pan
7. move to casserole and sprinkle a little bit of cheddar over the top
8. cook in oven for 12-16 minutes depending on your oven
9. Enjoy!

Crunchy Bean Tacos

Looking for a healthier version of mexican for my husband I came across this recipe and figured I would give it a try. Not only did the man and the boy scarf these down but they scarfed down any leftovers immediately for the next lunch both days I made them this week.

• corn tortillas
• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 red onion chopped
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp paprika
• a handful of chopped fresh cilantro
• shredded mexican cheese
• 1 avocado
• hot sauce
• salsa
• sour cream

1. Mix beans, onions, spices, cilantro a dash of evoo and any other seasoning you would like in a bowl
2. Heat some evoo in pan
3. Place 1 or 2 tortillas at a time in the pan to heat for a moment then put mixture, and cheese on half the tortilla, use a spatula to fold
4. Heat on each side until browned
5. Remove from heat and serve with avocado, hot sauce, salsa and sour cream

Vegetarian Mexican Stuffed Shells

I found this recipe for a meat version on Pinterest a long time ago and finally got around to cooking it tonight. With the taste still in my mouth and trying to keep up the willpower to leave the leftovers in the fridge... I will hereby record this amazing mouthwatering, cheese flowing, flavor popping recipe below... as my husband said "you made both your boys happy tonight".

• 1 package veggie crumbles (can be replaced with ground beef)
• 1 T taco seasoning
• 1 cup water
• 4 oz creamcheese
• 16 jumpo pasta shells
• 1 jar salsa
• taco sauce
• 2 cups mexican cheese
• 2 green onions
• sour cream
• black olives

1. preheat to 350
2. cook crumbles in a pan with taco seasoning and water
3. once it is cooked well, add creamcheese and simmer until it melts
4. set meat aside to cool
5. cook pasta and drain
6. coat bottom of glass baking dish with salsa
7. take each shell in your hand, fill with meat mixture and line up in baking dish
8. pour taco sauce over shells
9. cover dish with aluminum foil
10. bake for 30 minutes
11. remove from oven
12. fill shells with cheese
13. return to oven uncovered and bake for 10-15 more minutes
14. remove from oven and cover with green onions and black olives
15. place a few on a plate with some sour cream and shredded cheese
16. enjoy and try not to eat the whole pan

Taco Seasoning (without MSG)

I am making a mexican meal tonight and wanted to premake the taco seasoning. While I have some packets in the fridge I  have a slight sensitivity to msg and really would prefer to not put any of it in my son's body if I can avoid it. I didn't have the same ingredients as the recipe called for so this is my version...

Oh I should mention - in the future I will not leave my son alone with his lunch (tadiq leftovers) while I make taco seasoning - lest I return to the table and find my dog with a tadiq fur coat, my son covered in tadiq and a new dining room carpet of tadiq.... apparently my son and my dog had a food fight.

• 4T chili powder
• 3T + 1t paprika
• 3T turmeric
• 1T + 1t ground chives
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• 1/4 t ground cayenne pepper

1. Mix ingredients
2. Add 2 heaping T of seasoning + 1 C water to 1 lb meat

BLT Burrito - A twist on a bacon lettuce tomato sandwich

So this morning my handsome son ate 1 bowl of oatmeal, 1 banana, 3 pieces of bacon, half an apple and was still hungry. So, I decided to get creative. I wanted to make sure this last meal filled him up but wanted also to do something different for him. He was in his seat asking for a sandwich or more bacon. So instantly I thought BLT - but this boy is not crazy about sandwiches with lettuce or tomatoes. However, he does love cheese roll ups, so I decided to get a little fun and make him a BLT burrito. He is in his seat slurping away and licking his fingers so I think I was successful. And I think if I ate bacon I would probably be loving it as well.

• whole wheat tortilla
• shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 slices bacon
• a handful of baby spinach
• hot sauce - or tomato sauce if you will if your kid can't handle the spice :)

1. First I microwaves the bacon for two minutes, though I probably could have gone a little lower since I was cooking it again anyhow
2. I filled a row of cheese on the bottom of the tortilla
3. covered it with spinach
4. place the two pieces of bacon on top
5. added a little more cheese to hold it all in
6. rolled up the tortilla (i usually put a tiny smidge of cheese in the last bit of the roll to "glue" it together
7. Microwave for 45 seconds
8. watch your son inhale it

Good stuff - I hope you bacon lovers enjoy :)

Mexican Mac N Cheese

 

I wanted to make something fun tonight to both impress my husband and also knock one more thing off my pinterest recipe board that I needed to make. I managed to twist ingredients to suit our likes and I can't begin to tell you how yummy this was. We made one with sausage and one with vegetarian veggie crumbles. Can you tell which is which? If so comment below :)

• 1 box rigatoni
• 1 package pork sausage or veggie crumbles
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 jar pineapple salsa
• 4 cups mexican shredded cheese
• green chiles
• chopped cilantro
• 1 ugly tomato
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 short velveeta stick

1. preheat oven to 350
2. boil the pasta and set aside
3. saute onion, garlic, and sausage/crumbles until onions are soft and clear and meat is done
4. once meat combo is done (drain grease if pork) and then add salsa and mix well
5. layer glass baking dish with pasta, meat, cheese
6. melt velveeta in chunks with a couple tablespoons of butter (optional)
7. pour velveeta on top of final baking dish product (optional)
8. scatter green chiles on top (optional)
9. bake 20 minutes (or until it is bubbling)
10. place sliced tomatos, cilantro, and any other toppings you would like (olives/?) on top
11. serve and enjoy!

Corn & Zuc Fresh Tacos

I was looking for some new recipes and put a couple I found together and came up with this Corn and Zucchini Taco recipe. Enjoy and share it with those you love...

• tofu
• corn
• black beans
• onions
• tomatoes
• whole wheat taco shells
• mango salsa
• light shredded cheese

1. Saute the onions and tofu in 1T evoo in nonstick pan
2. add in the corn, beans, tomatoes, and spices like cilantro, oregano and basil and mix well
3. Throw the mixture on a heated taco shell, add salsa and cheese
4. Serve and Enjoy :)

Spicy Baked Plantain Chips

The sweetest boy in the world happens to enjoy a potato chip here and there. With the mischievous grin as he knowingly opens a bag of chips in front of me raising an eyebrow to see if I complain... and I always do. So in my crusade against the trend of diabetes in his family I try to keep him and myself on a healthier diet. In keeping with that - here is the next attempt I made, my failures, and success. :)

• Green plantains 2/3
• cajun spice
• berbere
• salt & pepper
• evoo

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Prepare baking pans greased with evoo/something lowcal
3. Use a knife to peel the plantain. When I read this direction in multiple recipes I laughed and said - well Ill just peel it like a banana. Giggling at my own naivety I grabbed a small knife and started peeling away after my failed attempt at finger peeling.
4. After you have peeled your plantain getting down to the fruit of it, go ahead and slice it. While I started paper thin I started chunking them up a bit realizing it would need some oomph to get a real crunch, and the thin but thick ones did turn out best in the end, and most like the plantain chips I have bought in a store.
5. After your slices are sliced, throw them in a bowl with a splash og evoo, and spicing to your liking. I tried some with honey and splenda and some with spicy peppers and such. Mix with your hands.
6. Throw the slices on the baking pan. They can touch but make sure they don't overlap.
7. Keep a close eye here. Cook until the edges brown. Can vary but should be about 8-16 minutes depending on the thickness of your slice.
8. Remove and let cool and harden.
9. Serve immediately or throw in a bag, they will save for a couple days.

Enchiladas

This is another of our favorites. It is a heavy meal but goes for many leftovers.


Ingredients

• tortillas
• enchilada sauce
• cheese
• veggie meat/beans/chicken/groundbeef
• evoo
• cream cheese
• sour cream
• onions

Steps

1. Cook the tortillas by sauteeing them in a frying pan for only a brief moment each until they puff up a little
2. Place the tortilla into a pan with enchilada sauce in it and coat well
3. Put into casserole dish
4. Fill with cheese, meat, onions, and a smidge of cream cheese
5. Roll up
6. Repeat with other tortillas until you are done
7. Cover with Enchilada sauce, cheese, and onions
8. Heat in oven at 375 for about 20 minutes, but keep an eye on it
9. Serve with sour cream scoop to cool
10. Enjoy