Vegetarian Enchiladas

Source: Me - a re-creation of a dinner served to me by a good friend, Mel Jensen

Ingredients:
1 large can diced tomatoes (we prefer the kind with Mexican spices)
1 can corn (drained)
1 can dark red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 small can green chilies
1 cup cottage cheese
1-2 cups shredded colby jack cheese (divided)
1 can olives (drained and diced)
1 large can enchilada sauce
about 8 flour tortillas or 15 corn tortillas

Instructions:
In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, corn, kidney beans, black beans, chilies, cottage cheese, and about 1/2 of the shredded cheese to make the filling. Pour a small amount of enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9x13" casserole dish - use just enough to create a thin layer that covers the bottom of the pan.

Coat both sides of a tortilla with enchilada sauce. Spoon about a cup of the filling across the center of tortilla then roll. Place enchilada into prepared pan. Continue with remaining filling and tortillas. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over enchiladas and top with cheese and olives.

Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes or until heated through.

Top with sour cream, shredded lettuce, and diced tomatoes to serve (if desired).

Notes:
This is a fantastic food storage recipe! I usually speed up the prep process by layering the tortillas, enchilada sauce, filling, and cheese into a casserole dish instead of rolling into individual enchiladas.

Funky Noodles

Source: my momma

Ingredients:
1/2 head thinly sliced cabbage
1 diced onion
6 sliced carrots (mine weren't very big ... and I like carrots)
1 bunch chopped broccoli and/or cauliflower
oil for stir frying
1-2 cups cooked, cubed or shredded chicken
4 packages oriental flavored ramen noodles (or 2 oriental, 1 shrimp, and 1 chicken ... if that's what you have ;)
soy sauce to taste

Directions:
Cook noodles according to package directions, reserve seasoning packets.  Drain noodles.  Stir fry cabbage, onion, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower in wok with small amount of oil.  When cabbage is limp but still a little crispy, add chicken, noodles, seasoning packets, and soy sauce.  Toss to mix.  Cook until chicken is heated through then serve (with additional soy sauce, if desired).  (If served as a side dish, rather than main course, chicken can be left out.)

Notes:
We had a Relief Society activity-during-the-week last week where we gathered into little groups to discuss/brainstorm/share ideas for quick, easy, healthy, cheap meal ideas and grocery shopping tips.  I shared Funky Noodles, which turned out to be quite the hit of an idea.  So I thought I'd share it with you, too.

I don't know where this recipe really comes from.  I thought my mom just made it up.  She said she thought it came from one of my home-ec class creations.  Anyway, it's good.  Maybe not completely authentic Chinese, but tasty nonetheless.   And easy.  And pretty cheap.  Really you can use any type of Ramen and any vegetables you have/prefer.  (I've made it a few times without cabbage simply because I didn't have any.  But the cabbage really is great, in my not-so-humble opinion.)  This recipe is so versatile ... just scale it to your needs/wants (I usually make about half this recipe for just me and the mister, but for a larger crowd, you'll want more).  Also, I don't always use all of the seasoning packets ... sometimes it's just too much for my taste.  So add a couple, stir it around, and taste it to see where you're at.

Banana-Chocolate Chip Bars

Source: Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

Servings: 36
Prep Time: 20 min.
Bake Time: 25 min.
Total Time: 45 min.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
• 2/3 c. granulated sugar
• 2/3 c. packed brown sugar
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 egg
• 1 c. mashed bananas (2 to 3 medium)
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 6-oz package (1 c.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2/3 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Grease a 15x10x1-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl beat the butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt; beat until combined. Beat in the egg, bananas, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in the remaining flour. Stir in the chocolate chips and, if desired, nuts.
2. Spread in the prepared baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven about 25 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Comments:

Did you know that Walmart sells more bananas than any other single item? It's true! Anyway, our little Wihongi family of four definitely contributes to that statistic. . .Kage inhales them, and it's the only fruit Dray will eat.

Anyway, despite our boys' high banana consumption, we still manage to have a few that reach over-ripe-ness. We make so much banana cake, banana bread, and banana muffins with these mushy, leftover bananas, I wanted to try something else. I never seem to go wrong with a recipe from my trusty Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, so I tried this one. Instant hit! The Peterson family (our cousins) loved these so much, Api and Hera actually asked for these bars for their birthday "cake"! So, after typing up the recipe for them, I figured it would be good to post here as well.

Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Source: Rachael Ray

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 15 min.

Cook Time: 10 min.

Total Time: 25 min.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups, 4 handfuls, fresh shiitake mushrooms (I just used regular fresh mushrooms)
• 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds thin cut chicken breast or chicken tenders
• 2 tablespoons light colored oil, such as vegetable oil or peanut oil
• Coarse salt and coarse black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 inch ginger root, finely chopped or grated, optional
• 1 orange, zested
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced small
• 1 small tin, 6 to 8 ounces, sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons hoisin, Chinese barbecue sauce, available on Asian foods aisle of market
• 1/2 large head iceberg lettuce, core removed, head quartered
• Wedges of navel orange -- platter garnish

Directions:

1. Remove tough stems from mushrooms and brush with damp towel to clean, Slice mushrooms. Chop chicken into small pieces.
2. Preheat a large skillet or wok to high.
3. Add oil to hot pan. Add chicken to the pan and sear meat by stir frying a minute or two.
4. Add mushrooms and cook another minute or two. Add salt and pepper to season, then garlic and ginger. Cook a minute more.
5. Grate zest into pan, add bell pepper bits, chopped water chestnuts and scallions. Cook another minute, continuing to stir fry mixture.
6. Add hoisin Chinese barbecue sauce and toss to coat the mixture evenly.
7. Transfer the hot chopped barbecued chicken to serving platter and pile the quartered wedges of crisp iceberg lettuce along side. Add wedged oranges to platter to garnish.
8. To eat, pile spoonfuls into lettuce leaves, wrapping lettuce around fillings and squeeze an orange wedge over.

Comments:

Scott and I were craving something light (and low-carb!) the other day, and lettuce wraps sounded like the perfect thing! We made our Thai Glazed Chicken Lettuce Wraps, but wanted to experiment with another recipe for a little variety. This Chinese recipe was really good, sweet with the hoisin sauce and citrusy with the orange zest, but overall, I think I like the flavor of the Thai recipe a little better. Still really yummy and healthy, though!

(Side note on Thai lettuce wrap recipe: I was able to find Thai fish sauce in the Asian section at the grocery store, so I used it in the recipe this time around. I was really worried when I gagged after sniffing the bottle, but surprisingly, just the one tablespoon of the stuff made ALL the difference in the world. . .I liked the recipe before, but this was SO much better! The fish sauce balanced out the basil really well and gave it that distinct Thai flavor.)

Chicken Mango Salsa Soup

Source: Sherryl Cowley, CTE & Foods Teacher at Hillcrest Junior High School

Servings: A lot! (It serves about 15-20 people)
Total Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 jar Mango Peach Salsa (Costco)
• 1 jar Jack's Special Salsa (Costco)
• ¼ c. olive oil
• 1 ½ t. cumin
• 2 ½ qts. (80 oz.) chicken broth (large containers)
• 4-5 12.5 oz. cans chicken breast (Costco), drained and chopped up a bit; or cook 5-6 chicken breasts, chop up
• 1 lg. pkg. frozen corn, partially thawed, or 3 cans orm, drained

Directions:

1. In a large pot, combine both salsas and olive oil.
2. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add cumin, chicken broth, chopped chicken breasts, and corn.
4. Bring all ingredients to a low boil, stirring as it heats up. Simmer for a while. Like any soup, it is better if you make it ahead of time!
5. Serve and have bowls of the following for toppings: shredded cheese, corn chips, sour cream, chopped cilantro, chopped avacado, etc.

Comments:

Okay, this might be a first for The Bistro. . .neither Scott nor I have tried this soup! So why am I posting it? At Hillcrest's "Souper Bowl" (their soup party to celebrate the Super Bowl. . .I'm sure you got that), Sherryl Cowley's Chicken Mango Salsa Soup was by far the unanimous favorite. Poor Scott was dealing with naughty kids all day and didn't even get to sample any soups, and I obviously wasn't there to try any. (However, having taught down the hall from Sherryl's foods lab for years, I've been the recipient of many, many delicious tidbits of hers!) Anyway, Scott heard how good it was and made sure to snatch the recipe from Sherryl. We can't wait to try it. . .looks like we'll have to sneak into Costco with someone who has a membership. (Mom?)

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

Source: Utah Deal Diva

Ingredients:
2 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk**
1 1/2 cups water**
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (we just used regular mustard, and probably more like 2 tsp.)
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

**Can substitute 1 can {12 oz} evaporated milk and 2 cups water for the 2 cups milk and 1 1/2 cups water.

Directions:
In a large saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk in flour and salt. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and water.

Add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 15 minutes.

In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. {Don't let this step deter you from making the soup! Blending it is really easy and so worth the extra 3 minutes. The most annoying part are the added dishes!}

Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally.

Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Serve soup with remaining cheese as a garnish.

Notes: I'll admit, I was quite intrigued by this recipe when I first saw it, but I was also a little scared. No need to worry, however. It was so easy! And so yummy! Almost the consistency of cream of wheat, it was definitely unique, but not too weird. And I loved the tiny kick that came from the pepper jack cheese. We want to try using the cauliflower base for other kinds of soups like broccoli cheddar or clam chowder. Try it! (P.S. The Utah Deal Diva has step-by-step picture instructions. I don't. Also, I know I need to work on my food-photography skills. All in due time. ;)

Cookies 'n' Creme Brownies

Source: Our friend Betty C.

(C stands for Crocker. The recipe was on the back of the brownie mix we just happened to find in our cupboard on a lazy Sunday afternoon!)

Ingredients:

1 box Betty Crocker fudge brownie mix

water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on brownie mix box:

1/4 cup water*

2/3 cup vegetable oil*

2 eggs

1 2/3 cup creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (aka Oreos! -- we used about a row and a half from the package), divided

1/2 container Betty Crocker Rich and Creamy vanilla or chocolate frosting (2/3 cup) (we used the whipped vanilla kind -- again, it's what we had in the pantry)

*we altered these amounts according to the high altitude (3500-6500 feet) directions so we added 1/3 cup water and 1/3 cup oil plus 3 Tablespoons flour.

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F. Make brownies as directed for 13 x 9-inch pan - except stir 1 cup cookie crumbs into batter. (So, stir brownie mix, water, oil, eggs (and flour, if high altitude), and cookie crumbs in medium bowl until well blended. Spread in pan (glass or metal) that has been greased on the bottom. Bake 24-26 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean.) Cool completely. Frost with frosting. Sprinkle with remaining oreo crumbs. Store tightly covered. (That is, if you have any left to store!)

Notes:

I debated about whether I should even post this as a "recipe" since everything pretty much came from a box, a can or a cookie package. But then I knew that there were some chocolate lovers who read this blog and I figured I'd at least share. :) Let me just say that the mutual sweet tooth that Gregg and I both got this afternoon was completely satisfied after delighting ourselves with this treat. Yum.