Spinach and Black Bean Enchiladas

Spinach and black bean enchiladas...major hit! Packed with spinach and black beans make this a good, nutritous meal. Hearty, healthy and homey all at the same time. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
10-12 small flour or corn tortillas
10 oz. package of chopped frozen spinach (thaw and pat dry)
15 oz. can black beans, drained
14.5 oz. can Rotel (or any can of diced tomatoes and green chiles)
19 oz. can of Green enchilada sauce
3 cups of shredded monterey jack cheese
1 cup of Ricotta cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced



Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and get out 9x13 inch baking pan.
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, cook for a few minutes until fragrant, not brown. Stir in spinach and cook for about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the ricotta cheese, sour cream and 1 cup of the monterey jack cheese.
In a skillet over medium heat, warm the tortillas one at a time until flexible (about 15 seconds).
Spoon about 1/4 cup of the spinach mixture onto the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in the 9x13 inch baking dish. Poor enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle the remaining cup of Monterey Jack cheese.
Bake for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven, until sauce is bubbling and cheese is lightly browned at the edges.

Tahini Bowl

WOW! This dish is soooooo good! So easy, so tasty and so healthy. Do yourself a favor and make this for dinner. Tonight! The following is the recipe the way I was given it (no idea what it is called by the way, someone posted it on Facebook). Under that will be the way I made it and I'm pretty sure I like my way a little better. BTW, kids loved it too!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup tahini sauce
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup kale, chopped
1 teaspoon parsley, finely chopped (optional)
brown rice
black beans (1 can)

Directions:
In a food processor or mortar and pestle, combine garlic and tahini sauce and salt. In a bowl whisk the lemon juice and sesame oil then add the tahini mixture to the bowl and mix. Pour over a big bowl of brown rice, black beans and raw, chopped kale. Top with some parsley and dig in!

*The Jo Way:
Bought my Tahini sauce from Trader Joe's (near the hummus) since the grocery store only sells Tahini paste. Tahini paste is not the same thing and if you don't live by a Trader Joe's or store that sells Tahini SAUCE then there are plenty of recipes on-line for actual Tahini sauce that are simple. Trust me, it makes a difference and you need the sauce not the plain paste. I've tried it with the paste and the consistency was like peanut butter and not that great. I don't have a mortar and pestle or a food processor, only a blender and a Magic Bullet. I used our Bullet and added way more garlic then recipe calls for, about half the amount of tahini sauce (I probably used about 1/4 cup of tahini sauce), 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 diced jalapeno (didn't give the jalapeno mixture to the kids) and mixed in the bullet. Then for the lemon mixture I used 1/2 cup instead of 1/4 cup of lemon. Really good meatless meal. My husband even told me he wouldn't mind eating it 2 nights in a row if we have leftovers. :)

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

100% without a doubt the best homemade macaroni and cheese recipe you will ever eat. The mix of cheeses give it a gourmet taste w/out taking away from the OG goodness of good ol' Mac and Cheese. This recipe has been tried and tested by some of the biggest food lover's I know. Another recipe from the kitchen of my bestie Elishia. I made it a couple times last winter and the entire family was happy. I normally only crave something like this when it's cold outside but I resurrected it for my step-dad's birthday since I'm pretty sure Mac and Cheese is one of his favorite foods ever. My sister-in-law made this recently for a friend's birthday also and served it with ribs. Great idea and great pairing! I think I'll make that combo next.

Ingredients:
2 cups elbow macaroni
1/4 cup oil
1 stick of butter or margarine cut into pieces
1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes (or substitute 1/2 the Velveeta with a blend of grated sharp cheddar cheese, Jarlsberg and jalapeno cheese)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/16 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 egg
1 cup milk + a little more milk
1 (8oz.) bag shredded sharp Cheddar (2 cups)
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Directions:
1. In a large pot, add 6 cups of water and 1/4 cup of oil. Bring to a boil. Cook macaroni in boiling water, approximately 9 minutes, until tender.
2. Slice butter and drop into crock pot. Turn crock pot on to melt butter while cooking pasta.
3. Drain macaroni, but do not rinse it. Place in slow cooker.
4. Add cubed Velveeta or grated cheese. Mix gently.
5. Mix egg, milk, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. If you like it spicy you can add 1/4 tsp. of Tabasco sauce to egg mixture. Pour over macaroni. Add additional milk if necessary, to come up to 1" from the top of the macaroni. Don't cover the macaroni with milk!
6. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over top of macaroni.
7. Sprinkle top of cheese with 1/4 cup of bread crumbs.
8. Cook 4 hours on Low or 2 hours on High.
9. 6-10 servings.

Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches with Sherry Vinaigrette and Manchego on Ciabatta

A Bobby Flay Boy Meets Grill masterpiece! This grilled veggie sandwich makes for a meal that is summery and so satisfying! This is more of a Shea specialty because of the grill work required but I'm working on that. Our 3 year old couldn't get enough of this meal so it is also pretty kid friendly once sliced.

Ingredients:
3 Japanese eggplants, sliced in half lengthwise
3 red bell peppers
1 red onion, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 large beefsteak tomato, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
extra virgin olive oil or canola oil for grilling
salt and pepper
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves plus 2 to 3 tablespoons torn leaves, for garnish
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling bread
1 loaf of ciabatta, sliced in lengthwise
Sherry Vinaigrette, recipe follows
8 slices Manchego cheese

Directions:
Heat grill to high. Brush eggplant, peppers, onion and tomato slices with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill eggplant, tomato and onion on both sides until slightly charred and just cooked through. Grill peppers on all sides until charred, remove from the grill, place in a brown paper bag and let rest for 10 minutes. Remove skin from the peppers and cute into 1-inch slices. Cut the eggplant, tomato and onion into large dice.
Whisk garlic, 1/4 cup chopped parsley and 1/2 cup olive oil together in a large bowl. Add the cut vegetables to the bowl and let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Drizzle cut sides of ciabatta with 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and grill cut side down for 1 to 2 minutes. Brush grilled bread with some Sherry Vinaigrette and then layer on the mixed vegetables and Manchego. Drizzle with more vinaigrette and top with torn parsley. Place other piece of bread on top, wrap sandwich in foil and place on grill with 2 foil wrapped bricks on top (we've never done the brick part, never had the bricks laying around) for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from grill and foil and cut sandwich crosswise into 2-inch thick slices.

Sherry Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup aged sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
salt and pepper

Whisk all ingredients together in medium bowl. Season to taste, with salt and pepper.

Tilapia Soft Tacos with Chipotle Yogurt Sauce

The touch of cinnamon in this soft taco recipe, is really what makes the difference. Fish tacos always remind me of summer, I love them. We had these last night for Taco Tuesday. Delicioso!

Ingredients:
Mission Low Carb-Soft Taco size flour tortillas
1 lb. tilapia fillets
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cloves of garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
shredded cabbage

Chipotle Yogurt Sauce:
2 cans chipotle peppers in adobe sauce (minced and seeded)
1 cup Greek Yogurt, plain

Directions:
Mix the chipotle yogurt sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
In a skillet set on medium-high heat add the 7 ingredients from the olive oil to the cilantro. Saute for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, add the tilapia and cover. Cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until fish is done. Tilapia does not take long. Add in lime juice and cook for an additional 1 minute. Heat the tortillas on the stove burner, add cabbage, fish, top with chipotle yogurt. Serve alone or with a side of black beans.

Authentic Pasta Carbonara

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! This is most definitely my favorite pasta dish of all time. It's so simple with only a few ingredients but it can be tricky. When it is done right, you end up with a delicious and flavorful pasta that is light yet salty and dense at the same time. This recipe comes from Cathe Laurie on the Virtue web-site. Photos are also courtesy of Virtue. I tried taking my own but with our horrible apartment lighting and my point and shoot camera, the pasta was just looking funky.

Ingredients:

1/2 box of spaghetti

Hunk of pancetta or thick cut bacon (I use the Trader Joe's Pancetta that is already cut into little matchstick size square pieces)

Extra virgin olive oil

2 eggs

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (love the nutty flavor of this cheese-one of our staples for pasta)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chopped Italian parsley to top, optional

Directions:

Put the pasta into a pot of lightly salted, boiling water.

Cut the pancetta into quarter-inch matchsticks and place into a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon or 2 of olive oil.

While the pancetta and spaghetti is cooking, break the eggs into a mixing bowl. Add half a handful of freshly grated Parm.-Reggiano and a pinch or two of black pepper. Beat the mixture together, just enough to combine everything evenly.

Since the pancetta will only take about 5-10 minutes to brown nicely, turn down the heat to low until you're ready to assemble the dish. Once the spaghetti is cooked, strain it and add to the egg mixture. Add a small handful of cheese and toss the mixture well with a couple of forks until the spaghetti is coated.

Immediately turn the heat back up on the pancetta for 30 seconds, until it's sizzling, then pour off half the fat. Add the pancetta and remaining fat onto the pasta and sprinkle with more cheese, and some pepper. Let it sit for about 30 seconds before mixing; if the pancetta is too hot, the sauce won't blend well.

Serve in a clean bowl. Traditionally, the bowl that the pasta was mixed in is served to your guest. This is the "originale", which has the good stuff at the bottom and is considered a special blessing!

Shrimp Tacos with Citrus Cabbage Slaw

A new favorite of mine! I've made this 3 times in the last month. The recipe comes from the kitchen of my friend Neda who came across it in Real Simple magazine. It is fresh, healthy and nothing short of delicious!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons of sour cream (I usually have lowfat plain yogurt so I use that for substitute)

kosher salt and black pepper

1/4 cabbage, shredded

1 cup of corn kernels, toasted (you can use from the can, fresh or Trader Joe's has frozen roasted corn in a bag that is good)

1 jalepeno, seeded and chopped (I would say this is optional)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb. of peeled and deveined shrimp

8 small flour tortillas



Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together orange juice, lime juice and sour cream (or yogurt), 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Add the cabbage, corn and jalepeno and toss to combine. Let sit for about 10 minutes, tossing occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.

Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and cook until opaque throughout (about 3 minutes).

Serve the shrimp with the tortillas and the slaw!

Chinese Chicken Salad with Ramen Noodles!

Who doesn't like ramen noodles? This salad is always a crowd pleaser and is also a good/easy pot luck go-to. The recipe has been around for awhile so it's nothing new under the sun but I recently remembered it and have made it twice this month (once for dinner at home and once for a pot luck). Easy. Refreshing. Delicious.

Ingredients:

1 Bag of Shredded Iceberg Lettuce

1/2 head of cabbage, shredded

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded

2 bags of ramen noodles (oriental flavor-blue package), crushed

1 large bunch of green onions, chopped

1 package of sunflower seeds

1 package of slivered almonds (I used the brand Almond Accents usually found in the produce section)

1 Cup of vegetable oil

5 Tblsp. of rice vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

2 flavor packets from Ramen noodles (set aside for dressing mixture)

Directions:

Combine the shredded chicken, chopped green onions, lettuce and cabbage, sunflower seeds and slivered almonds into large salad bowl. Crush the ramen noodles then open and toss with the salad. Set aside the flavor packets for the dressing.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar and flavor packets from the ramen noodle packages.

Pour over salad, toss and enjoy!

Easiest Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is a great fall/winter recipe. Since we've finally been having some cold weather and rainy days, I've been feeling like eating some warm soup. I remembered my friend Carly had made some delicious tortilla soup a few years ago at her Tupperware party. I sent her a text and she sent me the recipe right over. I didn't realize it would be this easy! My family was very happy with this recipe so I'm positive I'll be making this again and again.

2 Cans of Corn

2 Cans of Rotell diced tomatos with chillis

2 Cans of Ranch Style Beans with jalepenos

2 Cans of Chicken Broth

2 Cans of Cream of Chicken soup

1 rotisserie chicken

tortilla chips

shredded cheese (I use reduced fat mexican style)

light sour cream

Add all 10 cans to a large pot or crock pot (DO NOT DRAIN ANY OF THE CANS) and stir. Pull all the meat off the rotisserie chicken and add to the pot. Stir and heat! Serve in a bowl then add chips, shredded cheese and sour cream to your liking. Enjoy!

*Don't forget the Tapatio!*

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

This has become a staple in our home. I've been making it for a couple of years now, 1ST getting the idea from a girl at work. It is an Atkins diet recipe so it is low in carbs and healthy! We like spicy in our house so I usually add a jalapeno to spice it up but it is just as delicious with out.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 roasted red peppers, chopped

1 Jalapeno (optional)
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced sodium chicken broth, plus 1/2 can water
2/3 cup heavy cream
Salt and black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, onion, and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes, until vegetables are softened. Add roasted peppers and stock. Bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer 5 minutes. Pure soup in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return soup to saucepan; stir in cream. Heat gently. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Parmesan before serving.

Cheesey Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients

2 pounds ground turkey
1 cup milk
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 pound Colby cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup ketchup (optional)

1 small onion (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
In a bowl, mix the turkey, milk, bread crumbs, and eggs by hand. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the cheese cubes into the mixture. Transfer to a loaf pan, and top with ketchup.
Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C).

Poppyseed Chicken

This is a dish that is easy and good to make for pot lucks, funerals, etc. I made it for my sister-in-law after she had baby Mia and they loved it. It is such a good comfort food.

Ingredients:

2 or 3 chicken breasts, boiled and cut in small pieces
1 16 oz sour cream2 cans cream of chicken
2 tbls of poppyseeds (I don't measure - I just shake a ton in)
1 roll of Ritz crackers
1 stick of butter
white rice

Directions:

Mix the first 4 ingredients and put in a baking dish. Cover with crushed up ritz crackers. Melt a stick of butter and pour on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350. Serve over rice.

The Best Tacos!

Since this is my first official post on my recipe blog, it is only appropriate that I start out with my famous tacos (passed down from my mom). These tacos have always been my favorite and every time I make them, they are a hit! People always ask what the secret is to make these and the answer is HOMEMADE taco shells and La Victoria's green taco sauce, mmm!

Ingredients:

ground beef or ground turkey (a little more healthy and just as good)

Lawry's Taco Seasoning packet

White corn tortillas

sour cream

tomatoes

shredded cheese

lettuce (if you want)

La Victoria's Green Taco Sauce (you can get this in mild if you don't like spicy)

Directions:

Brown the meat and cook according to the directions on the seasoning packet (very easy). Set aside and make taco shells. To make the taco shells, heat vegetable oil in a frying pan. With tongs, place tortilla into hot oil. With the tongs hold the tortilla into a taco shape and fry one side at a time until golden brown and crisp. You can also make homemade tortilla chips this way too by cutting the tortillas into triangles then frying. I'm telling you it makes all the difference in the world! Place the tortillas onto a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the extra oil, let cool and then fill your taco to your liking!