Creamy Burrito Casserole

Easy mexican themed dish that can be as hot as you'd prefer with addition of hot sauce or hot refried beans rather than original ones.

I've prepared this in a square dish or round one and served like a pie.  Some changes I made to this were to use low sodium taco seasoning and use a mixture of light mozza and cheddar cheese.  I've ripped up the tortillas and layered them that way for a better fit in a square baking dish.  I've only ever used 3-4 tortillas rather than 6 it calls for.

1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning
6 large flour tortillas
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
2-3 cups shredded taco cheese or cheddar cheese  

1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
4 ounces sour cream
jarred hot sauce, if desired to spice it up

Brown ground meat/turkey and onion; drain.
Add taco seasoning and stir in refried beans.
Mix soup and sour cream in a separate bowl.
Spread 1/2 sour cream mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish.
Tear up 3 tortillas and spread over sour cream mixture.
Put 1/2 the meat bean mixture over that.
Add a layer of cheese.
You could put some hot sauce on this now.
Repeat the layers.
Sprinkle cheese over the top and bake, uncovered, at 350°F for 20-30 minutes.

Chicken Lasagna

Crap.  I took a picture of my pretty, assembled lasagnas with the blogger app on my phone but when I came on her to finish the post, I accidentally deleted it...then blogger quickly saved it.  So sorry, but it's gone...next time.

To finish off my meals for the February meal swap, I assembled the chicken lasagnas tonight.  I had cooked and diced the boneless chicken breasts last night while the chili was cooking so tonight, I just had to shred cheeses and put them all together.  They look pretty delicious, although I can not boast this as a 'low fat' recipe with all the cheese and canned soup! I have never made chicken lasagna before so I googled around for a highly rated recipe and this was what I came up with.  I did use low fat versions of the soups, sour cream, mayo and cheddar cheese, so hopefully that helps a bit with the calories/fat content!

I decided not to cook precook the lasagna before freezing.  At our last gathering, we discussed how it takes almost as long to reheat it thoroughly as it does to cook it, so it might be just as well to freeze it uncooked.  I was a little hesitant about how the oven ready lasagna noodles would freeze (I always use them!!) but google tells me it shouldn't pose any issues. We'll have to wait for the reviews on this one.

Many of the reviewers of this recipe suggested the onions taste better if they are cooked, so I sauteed them in a bit of olive oil before assembling.

Confessional time: I just realized I used 1/2 cup of mayo rather than 1/4 cup and I didn't have garlic salt, so I used garlic powder!  Hopefully shouldn't impact the taste too much...I figure there is probably enough salt in here with the canned soups anyway.

9 uncooked lasagna noodles

1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of

chicken soup

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream

of mushroom soup

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

4 cups chopped cooked chicken breast

4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. In a medium bowl, combine chicken soup, mushroom soup, onion, Parmesan cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise and garlic salt.In a 9x13 inch baking dish, layer 1/3 of the noodles, soup mixture, chicken and cheese; repeat 3 times, ending with cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.

White Chili

Tonight I made up 5 batches of White Chili, or I'm Dreaming of a White Chili as it is called in the Eat, Shrink & Be Merry cookbook by the Podleski sisters. 

While I was cooking tonight I had an interesting reflection.  Each month, when I get ready to make my next round of bulk meals I get a little bit excited.  Once the recipes are chosen and we are off on our own to enjoy the meals that we've made, I start looking forward to the next round of bulk cooking.  I particularly enjoy bulk grocery shopping.  There is something very satisfying about buying 10 large cans of white kidney beans or 24 chicken breasts, I'm not sure what it is exactly...but I feel like I must be doing something important when my cart is filled with all these wonderful and massive amounts of ingredients!  Then I come home and can't wait for my family to leave the kitchen so I can get started.  Generally there is music or TV in the background and occasionally, a sip of wine...and then I merrily start cutting, washing and stirring and planning how I will carry out my task.  I tend to double recipes and try not to venture into tripling or quadrupling (if that's a word) because I'm scared it will throw off the consistency of some of the recipes and plus - my math stinks! So the first doubled batch usually goes quite smoothly.  While that one is cooking or simmering, I prep for the next round....and this is when I start getting tired.  So very tired of chopping, of being on my feet and of doing sinkfuls of dishes as I try to keep the mess to a minimum! Then I start questioning why I even decided to do this in the first place, when the evening is so short and I'm so tired! Round 2 is never as much fun as round 1 but at least the end comes into sight, so I carry on...but the excitement dulls and I really just want to be done so I can go and relax!  This happens every single time.

So here is the first of two recipes that I am making for February's swap.  Sorry for the lack of pictures lately, I'll try to do better at that!

I'm Dreaming of A White Chili

2 tsp. olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (roughly 1.5 lbs) cut into 1" cubes
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 cup diced celery
2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp each ground cumin & dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground coriander 
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 can (14 oz./385 mL) evaporated 2% milk
2 cans (19 oz./540 mL) navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (4.5 oz./127 mL) chopped green chilies
1/2 tsp each salt and ground white or black pepper
1/4 tsp  cayenne pepper
1 cup light sour cream
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese and chopped green onions for garnish, if desired.

1. Heat olive oil in a large, non-stick soup pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring/flipping constantly, until no longer pink. Add onions, celery, and garlic. Cook and stir for another 4-5 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften.

2. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, and coriander. Mix well and cook for 1 more minute. Add flour and stir until chicken is well coated. Stir in broth and evaporated milk. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

3. Add navy beans, green chilies, salt, pepper and cayenne to chicken mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and cilantro. Ladle chili into serving bowls and top with cheese and green onions, if desired.

I did not add the sour cream or cilantro.  I have read so much about sour cream/cream cheesing not freezing well and it sort of acts as more of a garnish (after the soup is cooked and removed from heat) so I think I will leave that to the receivers to add themselves.

And for the vegetarian in our group, I used portebello mushroom caps instead of chicken and vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.  I sampled a taste and seemed pretty good - but I will have to let their family give the final review!

Greek Shepherd's Pie

Greek Shepherd's Pie (Shepherdopoulos Pie)
from Looneyspoons by Janet and Greta Podleski

4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup skim milk or buttermilk
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced onions
1 egg white
1 TBSP ketchup
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 large tomato, sliced thinly
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Swiss cheese (1 oz)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (1 oz)
1/2 10-oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well. Add milk and salt. Mash until smooth; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine beef, bread crumbs, onions, egg white, ketchup, garlic, and black pepper. Mix well (using hands works best). Pat beef mixture over bottom and up sides of a 9" pie plate.

Layer tomato slices over beef. Sprinkle oregano over tomatoes. Spread Swiss cheese and feta cheese over tomatoes. Top cheese with chopped spinach. Spoon mashed potatoes over spinach. Spread evenly, leaving a 1" border around edges. (Meat and potatoes should not touch.) Smooth top.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve.

Serves 4-6.

Per serving (based on 6 servings): 339 cals, 9.6 g fat, 21.9 g protein

January Update & Pie Crust Recipe

We met last night for our first meal swap of the New Year.  It was surprisingly easy for us to pick a date that seemed to work for everyone this month...I guess with the post-Christmas rush over and everybody's freezers running low, we were all game to get together ASAP!  So this month we swapped: black bean soup, chicken casserole, beef stew, chicken enchiladas, meatloaf, chili, macaroni & cheese, calzones and lasagna.  We also spent some time seeing if we could devise some categories that we could use to guide our selections each month, rather than randomly choosing various meals.  We came up with 9 categories and each person will make a recipe that meets the criteria for that category.  Based on our family preferences and interest, we came up with: 1) lasagna 2) soup or stew 3) chili or chowder 4) chicken/fish casserole 5) beef casserole 6) pizza or calzone 7) deep dish pie (shephard, pot) 8) an ethnic dish (i.e. mexican, indian) and 9) pasta dish.  We'll see how this works in the months to come! We also talked about the possibility of not precooking every meal as some require just as much time to reheat as to cook, so we may experiment with this a bit this month as well.  We also agreed that rather than bringing copies of our recipes for each member, we will use this blog to share recipes...so hopefully we will see much more activity here in the weeks and months to come! 

I have been requested by the group to share the pie crust recipe that I used for last month's chicken pot pie.  My sister gave me this recipe many years ago (not sure where she got it) and it truly is no fail.  I've been successfully using it for many years and it turns out great every time.

NEVER FAIL PIE CRUST

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup margarine

1 tsp salt

3 cups flour

1/2 cup cold water

Cream shortening and margarine until well blended.  Add dry ingredients.  Mix well.  Add water.  Chill in fridge until a nice, handling compound.  Roll bottom crust a little thicker if using for pie.  This makes a large dough and could be used for two pies.  It can also be frozen and thawed for later use.