Mexican Lasagna

I'm thinking about Chicken Pot Pie for next week and maybe something in the slow cooker. I hope this recipe is more kid friendly than some of my others so that the moms of picky eaters can try this one! My husband says it's like eating nachos with a fork. Although it tastes like you are eating nachos, I assure you that it is much less fattening and also healthier! Except for the onion and turkey, I got all of the other ingredients for this at ALDI and spent maybe $4.50. This whole casserole cost me around $8 to make. Not bad!

Mexican Lasagna-serves 8
1 package ground turkey
1 onion chopped
2 packages taco seasoning mix
2 cans black beans drained
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies drained
2 cups corn (canned or frozen) drained
corn tortillas
2 cups grated monterey jack (or cheddar) cheese
chopped green onions and sour cream for garnish is optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat skillet over medium heat.  Cook turkey and onions together until onions are soft and turkey is no longer pink.  Drain. Add 2/3 cups of water to turkey along with the 2 packages of seasoning mix. Let mixture simmer for 5 minutes until some of the water is cooked out. Stir in beans, tomatoes and corn. In a VERY LARGE casserole dish (or 2 small) pour in half of turkey vegetable mixture and top with a layer of corn tortillas. Sprinkle the tortillas with one cup of the cheese. Repeat. Cover with foil that has been sprayed with PAM (so that the cheese doesn't melt and stick to foil) and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 10 minutes. You can make this ahead of time and refrigerate. If cooking the casserole from the fridge, add 15 minutes of cooking time.

turkey, onion and seasonings

out of the oven!

Italian Sausage and Artichoke Soup

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Italian Sausage and Artichoke Soup -Sorry for the blurry picture. My camera is on its last leg. This is a very easy recipe that was shared with me by a friend. I made a few minor adjustments to it such as adding some beans. We had the soup with cornbread. It was tasty, healthy, easy and filling; what more could you ask for! Later this week, Mexican Lasagna aka Taco Casserole.  If you have any recipes that you want to share, please email me!

1 16oz. package Italian sausage (Johnsonville is really good)

2 14oz. cans artichoke hearts

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes with juice (or 2 14 oz cans)

1 14 oz can white beans drained (great northern beans) optional

2 packages Lipton's onion soup mix

6 cups of water

2 tsp. of Italian seasoning or a tsp each of oregano and basil

 

Brown sausage into soup pot. Drain, crumble and add back to pot. Cut artichokes into small pieces and add to pot. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer. Season to taste. Done!

 

Cornbread- if you are looking for a great cornbread recipe, this is it!

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1 cup self rising corn meal

1/2 cup flour

1 stick butter-melted and cooled

1/4 tsp salt if you used unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 375.  whisk together all ingredients. Pour into a 10 inch iron skillet or 6 inch skillets. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I am not positive about the cooking time and my oven isn't very accurate so I suggest checking on it every 5 minutes after it's been in for 20 minutes.

Greek Chicken Roll-ups with Spinach Orzo Salad

Be sure to check out "This Week's Deals" for a great deal on a parenting magazine!  Also, before I get started on my recipe, I wanted to remind everyone that I am not a professional food stylist (as if you couldn't tell) but nor am I making an effort to make my food look as good as it could be.  I am taking a picture of our actual dinner before serving it to my family.  I could take the time to chop up some herbs and garnish all of my dishes to make them look fancy but I'm not going to do anything differently just because I'm blogging about it. I'm trying to keep it real sort of speak.
I mentioned that my freezer is overloaded with ground turkey so I am going to make Taco Casserole next week where I substitute turkey for ground beef and also the Italian Sausage and Artichoke Soup recipe that Meredith Kilgore shared with me. I will also post an awesome Cornbread Recipe that comes from Lynn Smith (my friend Carolyn's mother-in-law) that is delicious but not surprising when you see how much butter is in it! I'm looking forward to a great weekend of football! See you next week...

Greek Chicken Roll-ups with Spinach Orzo Salad- These are a knock off of the yummy roll-ups from Zoe's and a good way to use up some chicken when you see it on sale!  Incidentally, Ken's salad dressings are BOGO at Publix right now if you want a good deal on Greek Salad dressing. The orzo salad has a ton of spinach in it along with tomatoes so I'd say that it's a pretty healthy and easy side dish.

Roll-ups-makes about 7

3 chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
Greek salad dressing
4 oz feta cheese
small flour tortillas (fajita size)

Marinate the chicken pieces in1/2 cup of dressing for 2 hours.  Over medium high heat saute the chicken pieces until no longer pink.  Fill tortillas with chicken and feta and roll up tightly.  Brush the tops of the roll-ups and also the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil. Bake uncovered at 300 degrees for 15 minutes or until tortillas are slightly crispy.

Spinach Orzo Salad
1/2 lb orzo pasta
1/2 bag fresh spinach wilted in a pan with a little water then drained and chopped 
3/4 cup Greek Salad dressing

look at all of this healthy spinach

1 can petite diced tomatoes-drained
1/3 cup chopped scallions (green part only)
1/2 cup pitted and chopped Kalamata olives
4 ounces feta cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions.  While the pasta is still hot, toss with the dressing.  Stir in all other ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add more dressing before serving if needed.

Turkey Stroganoff

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I had to change my menu plan for this week after I went to COSTCO, bought a 4 pack of ground turkey and came home to realize that I still had 2 packages in the freezer. Oops! In the interest of using up some of this surplus, I thought that it would be best to make a turkey dish this week so I came up with a recipe for Ground Turkey Stroganoff.  As promised, I will make Greek Chicken Roll-Ups with a Warm Orzo Salad later this week but will save the Italian Sausage and Artichoke Soup for next week along with Turkey Taco Casserole. Be prepared for a lot of recipes using ground turkey in the coming weeks! FYI, Piggly Wiggly's Italian Sausage is on sale right now so I picked up a package and will save it for next week's recipe.

Turkey Stroganoff- I found a rather fancy recipe for Beef Stroganoff that called for red wine, wild mushrooms, sherry, fresh thyme, dry mustard and fresh parsley for garnish (which I will admit would have make for a prettier dish than the one that i photographed!) and sort of dumbed it down in order to cut the cost and also to save time. I'm sure that it would be delicious but during the week, I'm just trying to keep things as simple as possible. I also cut the calories by eliminating the butter, substituting light sour cream for regular and using 25% less sour cream than the recipe called for.  I think that it turned out just fine and my husband gave it a thumbs up as well. This recipe makes a ton so it would even feed a family of 6 (meredith) although I don't know if kids eat this kind of thing now a days.

1 lb egg noodles cooked according to package directions
1 package ground turkey browned and drained
1 large yellow onion halved and thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic minced
3 cups of beef broth
1 lb of mushrooms (any kind) sliced
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups light sour cream
4 tbsp flour 
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large pot or dutch oven to medium high heat, add olive oil and saute onions until soft about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and cook another minute.    Add the stock and deglaze the pan and let the stock and bring to a simmer.   Add in the mushrooms and turkey, stir to combine, cover, reduce heat to low and let cook for an hour, stirring occasionally.  In a small bowl, whisk together the Worcestershire sauce, sour cream and flour. When ready to serve, stir in the sour cream mixture. Increase heat to med-high and simmer for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce. Serve over hot noodles.

Chicken Pesto Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust

Pizza is a great way to use up things in your fridge or to stretch your meal when you only have a little of something left over.  I mentioned that I cooked two extra pieces of chicken earlier in the week to use on our pizza last night. Pizza is also a super fast dinner to make.  I started making my own crust so that it would be a little healthier.  I don't like the pre-baked crusts and i've never seen a raw pizza dough that comes in whole wheat.  I will admit that regular pizza dough has a better texture than whole wheat and I will also admit that the last time that I bought a ball of Publix pizza dough my husband commented that it was the best crust that i had made in a long time! I can't remember if a fessed up to him that I didn't make it myself. Making your own crust isn't difficult but you can skip this step and just buy one from Publix (in the bakery section) for a little over $2.  However, if you're like me and feel guilty about eating too much white flour then try out this recipe. I made green pea pesto as the base of the pizza because i think it goes better with chicken that marinara sauce.  If you are a person that can't stand peas (cathy) then you can simply substitute a package of frozen spinach that has been thawed and drained.  The Green Pea Pesto recipe can be found on an earlier blog post. Try topping your pizza with slices of smoked provolone instead of mozzarella.  It melts just as well and has a slightly stronger flavor.  We also topped our pizza with carmelized onions (on my half!) and some reduced fat feta in addition to the chicken and pesto.

before cooking

finished product

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust-this recipe makes enough for one large and one small pizza, one extra large pizza or 2 medium pizzas.  I made Wade a small personal toddler friendly pizza and then a large for Reg and I which was more than enough!

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for dusting

before rising

after rising

Directions

Combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water; stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a food processor add the flour, salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and pulse to combine mixture. Turn the processor on and slowly add the water/yeast until the dough starts to come together into a ball. Get a feel for the dough by squeezing a small amount together: if it's crumbly, add more water; if it's sticky, add more flour - 1 tablespoon at a time.

 Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times; kneading until it's smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a round and place in a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in the fridge for several hours up to overnight until doubled in size.
Once the dough is domed and spongy, turn it out onto a pizza pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray or oiled. Roll and stretch the dough into whatever shape works best!
Preheat oven as hot as it will go (500 to 550). Top with your favorite flavors. bake for 8 to 12 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp. Watch carefully so that it doesn't burn. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Creamy Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas

Today I made it easier to comment on my posts.  You no longer have to create an account or fill out anything.  Hope this helps.  Please feel free to share a recipe with me or any advice you have that would improve the blog or a specific recipe.  Remember that i'm still new to this so go easy on me!

The boneless skinless chicken breasts are a good price at Piggly Wiggly so I bought a family pack and decided to make these enchiladas.  I cooked two extra pieces of chicken and will make use them to make a chicken pesto pizza later in the week. I will also include the recipe for my whole wheat pizza crust along with some tips about making homemade pizza.  I still had some left over pieces of chicken from the pack so I threw those in the freezer and will use them next week when I make a knock off of Zoe's Greek Chicken Roll-ups with a Spinach and Feta Orzo Salad. Meredith Kilgore shared a recipe with me for an Italian Sausage and Artichoke soup that looks really yummy but very simple so I think that I will try that next week also.

Creamy Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas- This recipe is SUPER easy, SUPER good and kid friendly.  It also has a ton of spinach in it so that's not bad either. I adapted it from a recipe in the Food for Thought cookbook which is delicious but has heavy cream, cream cheese AND grated cheese in it! That is just too indulgent to have for a week night meal. Not to mention it doesn't have any vegetables in it so I added in the spinach.   I served this with Spanish rice that I added a can of diced tomatoes and a can of black beans to just to get in some extra vegetables into our meal.

Makes 6 or 7 enchiladas

4 medium to large boneless skinless chicken breasts (salt, pepper and bake at 350 for 25 min)
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 cans diced green chilis
1 -8 oz package light cream cheese softened
1/2 tsp salt
Flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 300.  Chop cooked chicken breast into bite size pieces.  In a large bowl combine chicken and remaining ingredients.  Fill tortillas with mixture and put side by side into a rectangular casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

tortilla filling mixture

finished product

Roasted Root Vegetables and Free Music!

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"Roasted Root Vegetables" may sound a little more fancy than it really is.  I have been making this dish for years and everyone is always complimentary.  However, I can't take credit for it because it comes on the back of the Lipton Onion Soup mix box. You can do this recipe with just potatoes or any combination.  I used carrots, potatoes and onion.  If you've never had roasted carrots before, you need to give it a try.  Everyone in my family loves them and Reg and Wade aren't big vegetable eaters. We had this dish last night along side some grilled chicken. Next Monday's recipe will be Creamy Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas so stay tuned!

Roasted Root Vegetables 
3 cups potato (any variety) cut into bite size chunks
1/2 bag of baby carrots

before cooking

1/2 large onion chopped
1 packet onion soup mix
1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Combine soup mix and oil in a small bowl and stir to combine. Place vegetables on baking sheet and toss with oil mixture. Cook for 20 minutes. Take veggies out and give them a stir and continue cooking for 15 to 20 more minutes till vegetables are beginning to brown.

after roasting

Turkey Spaghetti

We are having grilled chicken later this week because I bought some bone-in chicken breasts yesterday and because the weather is beautiful and perfect for grilling.  I will put the chicken in a brine today and we may smoke them on the grill tomorrow night.  The side dishes we will have with our chicken will be cheese tortellini with spinach pesto and roasted root vegetables. I will include these recipes later this week. Next week's recipe will be Creamy Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas a Thomas household favorite so be sure to check back!

Turkey Spaghetti- All I can say about this dish is that it's chock full of veggies and still qualifies as comfort food.  The picture isn't the prettiest but that's casseroles for you.  I used whole wheat spaghetti, and the low fat versions of the cream cheese and soup to make it a little healthier. This recipe makes a ton so definitely plan on left overs! Serve with a green salad for a complete meal.

1 box spaghetti cooked according to package directions
1.25 lb ground turkey browned and drained
1 green pepper diced

sauteed peppers and onion

1 yellow pepper diced
1 red pepper diced
1 onion diced
1 package light cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 cup chicken broth (water optional)
1 tsp salt
Shredded cheddar or breadcrumbs for topping casserole

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. After cooking the turkey meat, set it aside in a large bowl. Saute the diced veggies in the same pan until soft approximately 10 minutes. Turn off heat and add the cream cheese and cream of chicken soup and stir until combined.  Add in tomatoes, broth and salt. Pour mixture into bowl with turkey.  Add noodles and toss until noodles are coated with sauce.  Pour into LARGE baking dish.  Top with cheese or breadcrumbs. Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and continue cooking for 5 or 10 minutes to brown the topping.

sauce mixture 

finished product