Mex-Tal Stuffed Shells

Does your family often argue over the dinner menu? The dish I have here today will cover the fight for both Mexican and Italian in one easy dish. I have always been afraid of trying to produce the perfect stuffed shell. Good thing for this recipe! The ooey-goodness of the melted cheeses and sauce cover any flaws that happen when you fill up the shells.

(See, you can't see that a shell was split in half while being stuffed!)

15 Jumbo Pasta Shells

1lb Ground Beef

1 (10 ounce) can Enchilada Sauce

8 oz Tomato Sauce

1 teaspoon Minced Garlic

¼ teaspoon Dried Oregano

1/2 teaspoon Dried Basil

¼ teaspoon Ground Cumin

½ cup Refried Black Beans

1/8 teaspoon Cayenne

1 cup shredded Italian Blend (or Mexican Blend) cheese

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain and set aside. In a large skillet over medium heat brown ground beef until no longer pink. Drain any excess fat. Stir in garlic, oregano, basil, and cumin. Stir in 1/2 can of the enchilada sauce. Stir in refried beans. Set aside.

3. Fill each cooked pasta shell with the beef mixture. Coat an 11 x 7 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and pour the remaining can of enchilada sauce with can filled with water evenly over the bottom.

 Place each shell into the bottom of the dish. Pour the tomato sauce over the tops of the shells. Sprinkle with cayenne over top.

4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. During the last few minutes of cooking, uncover and sprinkle the tops of the shells with Colby-jack cheese. 

Bake until the cheese has melted. Let rest 5 minutes before digging in.

Unfried Chicken Chimmies!

Campbell's has many interesting recipes that one can normally whip up with whatever you have on hand. Granted, we sometimes have to improvise here and there when it comes to certain ingredients we have on hand. When I came across this dish, it practically screamed my name. It was something I could work around my allergies as well as something my hunny would like.

This recipe serves between 4 and 6 and can easily be stretched by adding more rice to feed a larger family.

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 pkt Taco Seasoning
1 cup Chicken Broth (Low-Sodium)
1 Cup Water
1 cup uncooked Instant White Rice
10 Green Olives, diced
2 cups cubed cooked Chicken
1 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
4-6 Flour Tortillas (10-inch)
1 cup Spinach, fresh and chopped
1/2 cup Tomato, diced (Optional Garnish)
Sour Cream (Optional Garnish)

1) In pot with lid, cook the rice in the water and chicken broth.

2) In a large saucepan, heat the soup and taco seasoning over medium heat to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add the rice, olives and chicken and stir to incorporate. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

3) Meanwhile, spray large skillet with olive oil spray and bring to a medium heat.

4) Sprinkle cheese on tortilla then layer with spinach and chicken mixture. Roll the tortillas around the chicken mixture. Place in skillet, edge side down first, and grill about 3 minutes on each side, making sure not to let it burn.

5) Move to platter and let sit 3-4 minutes before slicing them in half. Serve garnished with diced tomato and sour cream.

Tex-Mex Lasagna

Ohhh lala! How wonderful is this?!? I found this recipe over at Mom's Who Think and thought, I could do this! With all my allergies, this is something I could work with. My hunny loves Mexican food and normally only gets it on the rare chance we eat in town. I feel bad not having it here, but I am really really allergic to all peppers and onion. Pretty much takes care of all Mexican foods. This is why I have learned to improvise in all my cooking. And THIS dish allows for it! Follow the pictures to see how he was able to get everything he likes and I was able to eat without fear!

I had to separate the dish in half. On his side I placed the onion and jalapeno. My side had the black beans. And on top, I marked which side was which so I didn't make the horrible mistake of biting into his piece! You can find how it was laid out in Figure 2.

This dish is so easy too. It makes 4-6 servings and can be prepped early in the day so when you get home, all you have to do is to pop it into the oven!

6 Flour Tortillas
16oz Tomato Sauce
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Cayenne
15oz can Black Beans, drained
15oz can Whole Kernal Corn, drained
1/2 cup Chopped Spinach
2 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
8-10 Jalapino slices (pickled)
1/2 cup Black Olives, sliced
1/2 cup White Onion, chopped.
Sour Cream
Salsa

1) Pre-heat oven to 400. Prepare a 3 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

2) Cut tortillas in half. Using four halves, line the bottom of the dish, cut sides to edges.

(Figure 1)

In medium bowl blend the tomato suace with the cumin and cayenne.

3) Spread 1/3 of the sauce and on the bottom then 1/2 of each in the following order: spinach, onion, beans, corn, jalapino, olives, and onion using only 1/3 of the cheese.

(Figure 2)

Then repeat with tortillas and the rest. On the last 4 tortillas, spread the remaining sauce on the tortillas topped by the cheese.

(Figure 3)

 Cover with foil and bake 35-40 minutes, until it has cooked through. In the last 15 minutes, remove foil so it gets bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

(Figure 4)

4) Top with Sour Cream and Salsa.

Queso Burritos

Just because I live out in the middle of nowhere, where the town seems to be stuck in the 1800s, doesn't mean I don't get into a rush from time to time. I drive about 80 miles round trip to get my grocery shopping done each week. By the time I drag all the bags up the side of our mountain, I'm pretty wore out and don't want to think about dinner. It was one of those days I came up with this recipe. Its quick, easy, small clean up and delicious! The following recipe serves 2 but its really easy to expand for bigger families.

Frozen Burritos (any variety)
Lettuce, chopped (any variety but Romaine has the best color for this)
Tomatoes, chopped (enough to sprinkle over the top)
Onions, chopped (optional)
Jar of Queso Cheese Dip (any variety)

1) Preheat oven to burrito package directions. Line casserole dish in foil (for easy clean up) and spray with Pam.

2) Place burritos in pan, side by side, cover with queso. Bake according to package directions. Make a small slit in center of center burrito and check for doneness. Their just not so good when you bite into something frozen.

3) Gently pull them out using a spatula and lay on top of chopped lettuce. Sprinkle tomatoes and onion over top and serve.