Breakfast Quesadillas

This morning hubby ask for "something Mexican" for breakfast.  Looking over the contents of the fridge, I noticed lots of possibilities.  However, having not used my quesadilla maker for a while, I thought this might be just the ticket!

I chopped up some onion, jalapeno, and some Jimmy Dean turkey sausage.  

Saute until the vegies are tender.

Get the rest of the ingredients ready.  The salsa, sour cream, and avacado will be garnish!

We like to use whole wheat tortillas!

Here's the quesadilla maker that was a gift from our daughter, Nickole!

Top a tortilla with some cojack cheese and the sausage mixture.

Place another tortilla on top and close the lid.

Meantime, break a couple of eggs into a non-stick skillet.

A bonus of living in a small town, we get farm fresh eggs from our 

next door neighbors for $1.50 a dozen!

The finished product, sprinkled with some cilantro.

Enjoy friends!!

Torta Tex-Icana

We like, like, like Tex-Mex food! So for brunch today, I made this layered casserole.  

The recipe comes from one of my very favorite cookbooks,

"The Border Cookbook, Authentic Home Cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico."

Get all of the ingredients ready.  Roasted green chiles, sweet red peppers, zucchini, onion, green onion, garlic, cheddar cheese, eggs, milk, and whole wheat tortillas.

Here's the exact recipe and a photo of all the ingredients prepped.  

By prepping everything in advance, the torta comes together in a snap.

3/4 C chopped roasted green chile.  (We grow, roast, and freeze our own Anaheim peppers.)
2 or 3 small sweet red bell peppers
1 C grated zucchini (No need to peel it.)
1/4 C chopped onion
3 or 4 green onions, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
4 eggs beaten with 1/4 C milk
1 to 2 tsp. ground cumin
3 to 4 Tbl grated cheddar cheese
sea salt and ground pepper
whole wheat tortilla

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Warm a tablespoon of light olive oil in a saute' pan.  

Add the onion, garlic, and red bell peppers.  Saute for about 5 minutes.

Next add the grated zucchini.

Add the peeled, seeded, and chopped green chiles.  

You could substitute canned chopped green chiles.

Mix it all up and saute' for another 5 minutes until veggies are soft and the liquid has been absorbed.  

Line a casserole dish with foil, spray with non-stick cooking spray, 

place a whole wheat tortilla in the bottom of the dish.

Top the tortilla with the vegetable mixture, and spread it around evenly.

Beat together the eggs, milk, cumin, salt, and pepper and pour over the veg mixture.

Bake the casserole at 350 F. for 20-30 minutes until puffed, golden brown, and lightly set in the center.  Allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.  

Eat it hot or warm.  Serve with salsa and guacamole.

Here's the cookbook I mentioned earlier.

Enjoy friends!  This is yum, Yum, YUM.

With only one whole wheat tortilla in the entire dish,

this is quite a low-carb treat.

Chicken Enchiladas

If Tyler Florence (from the Food Network) can use rotisserie chicken for his enchiladas, so can I!  So, tonight I used a lot of shortcuts, but the end result was delish.

Gather up all the ingredients--shortcuts!  Shredded chicken from a purchased rotisserie chicken, canned chopped green chiles, canned salsa verde, and some whole wheat flour tortillas.  Corn tortillas can be used as well, but I find that they fall apart and kind of crumble in the end product.  Seasonings include smoked paprika, chili powder, and cumin.

Shredded chicken, chopped green chilies, and seasonings go into the bowl.

Mix it up and then add some shredded cojack cheese.

Line an aluminum baking pan with foil for easy clean up.  Then pour in a can of the salsa verde.

Heat a skillet on medium heat.  Drizzle in a little oil, and when it's hot cook the flour tortillas one by one until they are warm and soft.  This can be done in the microwave as well, but I like doing it in the skillet with a little oil.

Time to fill and roll the enchiladas.  Place a tortilla in the baking pan, add a couple of heaping tablespoons of the chicken filling and get ready to rock and roll.

As the enchilada is rolled up, drag it through the salsa verde for extra flavor.

Keep rolling until the baking pan is filled up and the enchiladas are lined up like little soldiers!  Pour some more salsa verde down the center of the enchiladas, then add some grated cheese.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes.

Get some toppings ready, not necessary, but nice!  Salsa, sour cream, and shredded lettuce.

When the enchiladas are hot, remove the cover and turn on the broiler to get the cheese all bubbly. Get 'em out and get ready to eat.  I made Homestyle Spanish rice for a side dish.  (November 2011 blog).

Serve and enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers Tex-Mex Style

These peppers mix it up in a different way.  Serve them with tortilla chips and salsa.  

Gather all the players:  ground beef, green peppers, canned tomatoes (from our garden last summer), chicken broth, and rice.  Dice some celery and onions!

Start with making the rice.  Add a little oil in the sauce pan. Get the seasonings ready.  Today I used salt, pepper, chili powder, cilantro, chipotle pepper powder. I also like like like cumin, but darn I'm out and it is Christmas Day so no going to the grocery store!

Measure 1/2 cup of long grain rice.

Saute the celery and onions until tender.

Next add the 1/2 cup of rice and the seasonings to taste.

Add 2 - 3 whole tomatoes, and 1 cup of chicken broth. Stir it up!  Bring to a boil, put the lid on the saucepan, reduce the heat and slowly simmer for 20 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, brown 1/2 pound of ground beef, drain well.  Grate some cheese.  This is cojack, try not to use the pre-grated variety -- this is much fresher.  Cut the tops off the peppers, clean out the seeds and veins, cut 'em in half, and put 'em in the casserole dish.

MMM the rice is done.  (Sorry, this photo did not come out very clear!)

Get ready to stuff!  Mix the browned ground beef with the cooked rice.

Stuff away.  Add all of the rice/beef mixture into the casserole.  Pile it on!

Top with a little cheese, cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Remove the foil add some more cheese and let it bake another 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly!  

Bubbly goodness!

Get ready to eat!  yum, Yum, and YUM!

Chips and salsa on the side!  Today the only chips available were these little ones, you really need the big ones to scoop up all that goodness!

Enjoy, friends!