Turkey Spinach Enchiladas Recipe

I made these for supper the night before last. They turned out pretty well except I think next time I will add cilantro to the mixture as well. They must have been a hit because it was a big pan full and they were all gone the next day!

Turkey/Spinach Enchiladas

Oil for frying tortillas
12-14 corn tortillas
2tsp. oil
1 1/2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups cooked, chopped turkey
2 cans undiluted cream of chicken soup
1 tsp. comino
2 capfuls Zaaschila Guacamole and Serrano salsa (or more)
Pepper Jack cheese about 2 cups shredded
Extra chopped onion (optional)

Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet. When oil is hot, dip corn tortillas, one at a time in the oil, about a minute on each side until each tortilla is cooked and flexible, but not crispy at all. Heat 12-14 tortillas and set aside to drain and cool on paper towel.

Wash and chop 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves and set aside. Chop about 1/2 cup onion and set aside.

Put about 2 tsp. oil in hot skillet then add the fresh spinach and onion. Stir till spinach is wilted. Add 2 cups cooked chopped turkey. Add 2 cans undiluted cream of chicken soup, 1 tsp. comino, and 2 capfuls of Zaaschila Guacamole and Serrano salsa (if you dont want to get that, then probably any green salsa or some chopped serranos according to taste). Cook and stir until hot and bubbly.

Assemble enchiladas. Place a tortilla at the end of a large baking pan, add large spoonful of turkey/spinach mixture and some shredded pepper jack (or other cheese) and roll up, seam side down. Repeat with each tortilla until they are all done and you have made a row of enchiladas. Sprinkle any leftover filling over top of enchiladas. Chop a little more onion if desired and sprinkle over the top of all the enchiladas and sprinkle shredded cheese over all.

Place in 375F oven for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Baked Steak Recipe

This recipe was standard fare at our home growing up and so it always brings back good memories of sitting around the table with my Mom and Dad and sister and two brothers.

We almost always served this with mashed potatoes and green beans, which can of course be "from scratch" or if you are rushed for time you could always make the instant mashed potatoes and heat up a can of green beans. Either way, I think you will really enjoy this version of baked steak, even though there are many out there, and consider it a "keeper".

Baked Steak
2 lbs round steak
salt, pepper
1/4 cup flour
3 Tbs oil
1 can tomato paste (6 ounce)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp sugar
1 onion peeled and sliced
1 bell pepper, seed and sliced
Cut steak into pieces (serving size) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Coat with flour, then brown meat in skillet with hot oil. Do not cook through. Remove and place meat in large casserole dish.
In pan, mix drippings and 1 can tomato paste.,1 1/2 cups water, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, 1/2 clove garlic, one bay leaf, 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/4 tsp sugar, all together to make a sauce. Stir with whisk and set aside.  Arrange onion rings and bell pepper rings over meat. Pour sauce over meat, onions and bell pepper slices. Cover and bake at 350°F for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Slow Cooker Sausage Breakfast Casserole

 

I found this recipe on a facebook page called Fun Recipes. It looks pretty good and I wanted to share it and make it "pin-able" for Pinterest so I thought I would post it here.
 



Slow Cooker Sausage Breakfast Casserole

1 pkg. (26-32 ounces) frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 pkg. Jimmy Dean® Hearty Original Sausage Crumbles
2 cup (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained
6 green onions, sliced
12 eggs
1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
1. Spray a 6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Layer 1/2 of the potatoes on the bottom of slow cooker.

2. Top with half of the sausage, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, sun dried tomatoes and green onion. Repeat layering.

3. Beat eggs, milk salt and pepper in large bowl with a wire whisk until well blended.

4. Pour evenly over potato-sausage mixture.

5. Cook on low setting for 8 hours or on high setting for 4 hours or until eggs are set.

Notes
Substitute 1 cup chopped fresh tomato for sun dried tomatoes, if desired.

Substitute 1 pkg. Regular Flavor Jimmy Dean® Pork Sausage Roll, cooked, crumbled for Jimmy Dean® Hearty Original Sausage Crumbles.

Real Barbecue

Today we stopped at a local barbecue place to eat. It was pretty good I guess, but I have often noticed that the barbecue you get at restaurants never tastes as good as the smell of the smoke that comes from the pits where they cook the meat. I mentioned this to hubby and he said that is because they don't smoke the meat long enough.

My Mama used to make better barbecue than these clowns in the restaurants make and she had only a makeshift barbecue pit that consisted of metal barrel - cut in half - for the stand, a huge black cast iron kettle for the barbecue pit sitting on top the half barrel, and an old oven rack resting on top of the kettle for the grate.

From that set up she cooked many an outstanding steak and chicken that were much better than anything I have tasted in the restaurants.

It would be Saturdays like this usually that Mom would barbecue and she would sit out in the back yard in a lawn chair, next to that pit, with barbecue tongs in one hand and book in the other and reading, while she waited for the steak or chicken to finish.

When it was done Mom would make this barbecue sauce. It was the best! I always liked this recipe so much more than store bought sauce!

Palo Pinto Barbecue Sauce

3 TBS margarine
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 cup catsup
1 cup water
1/3 cup lemon juice
4 TBS molasses
2 tsp salt
2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 TBS Worcestershire

Saute onions in margarine until limp, add remaining ingredients and heat and stir until well blended. Simmer 10 minutes. Add sugar if too tart or lemon juice if too sweet. If she was going to barbecue chicken, she would make this ahead of time so she could brush the chicken with it towards the end of the cooking time.

Barbie Doll Pancakes

Last night I was thinking about how much kids like things like the "silly" and the "offbeat" and was remembering how my daughter used to love her "Barbie Doll" pancakes.

Barbie Doll pancakes came to be when I was making pancakes one morning and my daughter was standing on a stool at a safe distance, watching.

I poured the batter for one of the pancakes and as I finished, a small amount dripped away from the normal sized pancake, forming it's own tiny pancake. My daughter saw that and being that she liked all things tiny, she said "I want that one, I want that tiny pancake."

Sensing something big, I made lots more tiny pancakes, all about the size of a penny, and made the comment that they were about the size that a Barbie Doll would eat, and so Barbie Doll pancakes were born. From then on when I made pancakes, my daughter had to have her tiny, Barbie Doll pancakes even though everyone else had the normal sized pancakes.

It takes so little to do something just a bit offbeat and out of the ordinary and yet it can make all the difference to a child and make all the difference in whether they will be encouraged to eat their meal!

Below is my regular standby pancake recipe. Sometimes I change it up a bit by adding fruit or vanilla or mashed sweet potatoes etc. *note when I add sweet potatoes I double the baking powder and throw in an extra egg.

Light Buttermilk Pancakes

1 cup flour

1Tbs sugar

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg, beaten

Combine dry ingredients. Combine the remaining ingredients and add to dry mixture. Stir just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Bake on hot griddle that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Use more cooking spray as needed. Cook one side until pancake starts to bubble then flip once to cook other side.

* buttermilk substitute - 1 Tbs vinegar and fill remaining one cup measure with milk to replace buttermilk.

*I keep pancakes in one of my glass pie plates in oven set on low to keep them warm. I just stack them up in the pie plate as I cook them.

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

I am really in the mood to make cookies this week but as of yet have not had time to do it. For now I will post a few of my favorite cookie recipes and maybe this weekend actually get to do some baking. This is a favorite recipe. I love anything good and easy and this fits both criteria! Oddly enough these cookies DO NOT require flour and yes the do come out just fine! :-)

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Mix ingredients together. Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet. If you prefer, shape into balls and pat down with fork for a more traditional look. Bake at 375*F for 10 minutes (Believe it or not there is no flour in this recipe)

Christmas Rocks - No Bake Cookies

This no bake cookie recipe is one that came to me through my son's kindergarten teacher. She served them at their Christmas party that year and I asked for the recipe. I love the orange-y flavor of the cookie and the fact that it is no bake. I have let kids help with this one over the years.

Christmas Rocks

Combine:
1 pound powdered sugar
1 stick margarine
1 six ounce can frozen orange juice
1 cup chopped pecans (chopped fairly small)
1 pound vanilla wafers, crushed (note- I open the bag of cookies to let out the air and then tape the open end and use my rolling pen to crush the cookies while they are still inside the bag)

Mix all of the above. Roll into balls then roll into shredded coconut.
Yield 96 cookies

Frugal Menus and Recipes

We all know that grocery prices are going up. I normally am a pretty frugal shopper but lately have been re-doubling my efforts and looking for ways to combat the ever climbing prices.

I thought I might start sharing some of the menus and recipes I come up with during the week, thinking that for one thing, my kids might read this and benefit from this and others may benefit too.

The following menus are a partial list because quite honestly, I can't remember what we had before Wednesday.

Wednesday Night Supper:
**Potato Cheese Soup
Saltine Crackers

Thursday Night Supper:
**Chili Topped **Cornbread (with shredded cheese and chopped green onion)
Raw broccoli florets and ranch dressing (used the great value brand dressing)

Friday Night Supper:
**Mackerel Croquettes
Macaroni and Cheese (great value brand)
Steamed Zucchini (.78 lb)

THE RECIPES:

**POTATO CHEESE SOUP
In a 4 quart pot melt 4 tablespoons butter and add:
2/3 cup onion, chopped (or teaspoon onion powder)
3 stalks celery, washed and chopped small
After onion and celery has cooked a couple minutes add:
6 Large Potatoes, diced
3 cans chicken broth and 2 cans water
Let potatoes boil till tender
Add:
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste (I use 1 tsp)
Stir in 1 1/2 cups cubed velveeta and stir till melted.
Add 1 cup half and half and remove from heat and serve
Note - It makes a big pot but is really good so they will go through it fast!

**CHILI
saute 1/4 onion and 2 cloves chopped garlic in frying pan sprayed with cooking spray

Add:
3/4 pound ground beef (save a little here by reducing meat by 1/4 pound, In many dishes you will never miss it!)

Add:
1 can 15 ounce Ranch style beans
2 cans 8 ounce tomato sauce
package chili seasoning (store brand)

Heat and stir on low heat 15 minutes


**CORNBREAD
2 cups cornmeal
2 cups flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
3 cups milk
Mix well and pour into 9x12 pan sprayed with cooking spray or coated with oil. Cook at 425*F for 25 minutes.


**MACKEREL CROQUETTES
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 can drained, deboned mackerel or salmon
1 teaspoon cajun seasoning (optional)
2 chopped green onions (optional)

Mix together. Form six patties and fry in VERY small amount of oil. All you need is enough oil to coat bottom of skillet.

Blackeyed Pea - Mushroom Soup

I tried something new this weekend with the black-eyed peas that my 3 1/2 year old grandson helped me pick. The family all really liked this recipe and so I think it is a "keeper".

First I have to say it was pure joy watching my grandson take so much interest in the garden and I was amazed to see him sit still long enough to help shell the peas! I REALLY didn't expect that!

To cook the peas, I started out pretty much as usual,

Spray 4 quart pot with cooking spray
toss in a handful of cubed ham and saute about one minute
add sorted and rinsed black eyed peas (approx 2 cups)
add 1/2 seeded jalapeno or other pepper, chopped (optional)
turn up heat to med. high and let cook till peas are tender and liquid has cooked down to about half
add salt to taste (about 1 tsp)
stir in 1 can undiluted cream of mushroom soup and cook on low heat 5 minutes, stir with whisk to make sure the mushroom soup blends well

I served the Black Eyed Peas "a la mushroom"  with a side dish of collard greens and homemade cornbread.
*Those who don't care for mushrooms but want to try something similar might use cream of potato soup. I haven't tried that but if you do, let me know how it worked!

Banana Pudding (A Good Old Fashioned Recipe)

This recipe was standard fare in my house when I was growing up. I credit it to my Dad mainly because when my parents got married he was the primary cook until my mom learned. The story was told that when Dad asked her before they married, if she could cook, she replied "Sure, I can open a can as good as anybody else!"

Banana Pudding

3 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
3 Tbs flour
3 cups milk

Combine sugar and flour, add beaten egg yolks and milk, cook until thick, add 2 tsp vanilla. Pour over sliced bananas and vanilla wafers which have been layered in a large bowl. Top with Meringue made from 3 beaten egg whites to which ¼ c. sugar has been slowly added until stiff peaks form. Make sure to spread meringue to edges of bowl to seal. Put in oven at 350*F till meringue is golden brown.