Huevos Rancheros Casserole

Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Casserole

You can choose to bake or fry the tortillas before assembling this casserole to crisp them up, or you can use them as is. You could also substitute tortilla chips if you have some needing to be used up. As listed this recipe makes an 8x8 pan and serves 4-6 people. Double the recipe if using a 9x13 dish and feeding a larger crowd. I like this dish better with refried beans, but using black beans is a little more authentic to a traditional huevos rancheros. This is great for brunch, lunch or breakfast for dinner.

-8 corn tortillas cut or torn into bite sized pieces

-1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce

-1 (15oz can) black beans (rinsed) or refried beans

-1/2 c cheddar cheese, shredded

-9 eggs

-toppings of your choice; hot sauce, cilantro, sour cream, avocado, more cheese etc.

Grease an 8x8 casserole dish. cover bottom of the pan  with the torn tortillas. Pour half the can of enchilada sauce over the tortillas. Spread the beans over the tortilla/ sauce layer. Top with the cheese. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce on top. (At this point you could refrigerate the casserole overnight if desired). Break the eggs one at a time and slowly slide them onto the top of the dish. Bake at 400 until the whites are set, about 20 minutes. Serve with toppings of your choice.

Vegan Gumbo

Vegan Gumbo

I whipped up this vegan twist on my go to gumbo recipe in honor of celebrating Mardis Gras today. Serve the gumbo over rice and with your favorite toppings.

-1/4 cup canola oil

-1/2 cup flour

-1 onion, diced

-4 stalks celery, diced

-2 bell peppers, diced (any color combination)

-4 cups vegetable broth

-1 (29 oz) can diced tomatoes

-1 (15 oz) can corn, drained

-2 bay leaves

-1 tsp Cajun seasoning (such as Tony's)

-1 tsp thyme

-2 cups frozen okra

-1/2 Tbsp file powder

-2 Tbsp hot sauce

-cooked rice

- desired toppings such as parsley, scallions and/ or hot sauce

Before you start cooking the roux make sure that you have all of the ingredients chopped and ready to go. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the roux turns a chocolate brown color, turning the heat down to medium around the time that it reaches the color of peanut butter. This whole process should take around 10 minutes. Once the roux is chocolate brown remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Place the pot back over medium heat and add the diced onion, celery and bell peppers, sautéing and stirring for about 5 minutes. Add the broth, diced tomatoes with their juices, drained corn, bay leaves, Cajun seasoning and thyme. Bring the gumbo to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low. Add the okra and simmer 10 minutes. Remove the gumbo from heat and stir in the file powder and hot sauce. Serve over rice with your toppings of choice.

Indian Spiced Quinoa with Sweet Potatoes and Chickpeas

Indian Spiced Quinoa with Sweet Potatoes and Chickpeas

We've been eating a whole lot of quinoa lately. Jeremy loves the texture and I tend to eat vegetarian most weeknights so I enjoy the nutrition and protein richness of quinoa.

-1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions

-2 Tbsp olive oil

-1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks

-1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-2 Tbsp garam masala

-1/2 tsp cumin

-1/4 tsp cayenne

-1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes

-1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp pepper

-1 Tbsp brown sugar

-juice of 1/2 lemon

-2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in medium pot over medium heat. Add sweet potatoes, cooking stirring often until they are almost tender (about 10 minutes). Reduce heat to medium low and add ginger, garlic, garam masala, cumin and cayenne. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, salt, pepper and sugar. Simmer for 10 minutes until flavors have combined and sweet potatoes are tender. Remove from heat, stir in quinoa, lemon juice and cilantro and mix well and serve.

Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa Casserole

(unfortunately I failed to take a picture of the finished product so this unbaked pic will have to do)

Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa Casserole

This has all of the comforting flavors of a classic casserole but the added nutrition of using quinoa instead of rice.

-1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions

-2 cups broccoli cut into bite sized pieces and steamed until it has just begun to soften

-2 Tbsp butter

-2 Tbsp flour

-1 cup chicken broth

-1 cup milk

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp pepper

-1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided use

Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Whisk in the broth, milk, salt and pepper and simmer stirring often until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of the cheddar, stirring until completely melted. In a large bowl stir together the cooked quinoa, steamed broccoli and cheese sauce. Spread the mixture into a greased 8x8 casserole.Top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes and serve.

Chocolate Pound Cake

Chocolate Pound Cake

This past weekend was the birthday of a dear friend and said friend apparently loves her mother-in-law's chocolate pound cake. Her hubby got me the recipe so that I could make it to surprise her. This cake turned out great. I was quite temped to top it with a glaze, ice cream, whipped cream or strawberries but my friend's husband assured me that his mom serves it plain, as is. Apparently she does dust it with powdered sugar sometimes, which would add to a pretty presentation, but is completely unnecessary for flavor purposes.

-1 1/2 cups butter, softened
-3 cups sugar
-5 eggs
-1 cup milk
-1/2 cup cocoa powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-3 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1 Tbsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Sift the dry ingredients 3 times (I cheated and just whisked them together in a bowl). Add the dry ingredient mixture to the butter/ sugar/ eggs mixture about a cup at a time, alternating with half of the milk. Once everything is combined mix on low for 2 minutes. Add vanilla and mix to incorporate. Pour into a greased and floured bundt or tube pan and bake at 325 for 80 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (I had to bake it for at least an extra 10 minutes). Allow cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Migas

Migas

This is my lightened up version of this classic Tex-Mex breakfast. It's great for breakfast, lunch or a light dinner. Serve with beans and assorted taco style toppings. We have at least one breakfast for dinner a week since they are so quick, easy, inexpensive and yummy.

-1 Tbsp butter

-1/2 red onion, diced

-1/2 bell pepper, diced

-3 roma tomatoes, diced

-4 corn tortillas chopped into bite-sized pieces

-8 eggs

-1/4 cup milk

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp pepper

-2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

-(optional) 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or cotija cheese

-assorted toppings; sour cream, hot sauce, avocado...

Melt the butter in a medium to large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper, saute until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and tortillas, stir, reduce heat to medium low. Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture into the pan, gently folding the eggs and veggies while they cook. Once eggs are cooked and no longer runny stir in cilantro and top with cheese (if using). Serve with  desired toppings and sides.