Category: Weekday

Refried Beans Enchilada Casserole

​Refried Beans Enchilada Casserole with pico de gallo salsa… Yummy dinner and leftovers.

Ingredients:

2-14oz cans of your favorite enchilada sauce

8 Large flour tortillas, cut in half

2-14oz cans of your favorite refried beans

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1 large white onion, diced

1 cup black olives, sliced

1-14oz can corn, drained

1-14oz can diced tomatoes, or 3 fresh roma tomatoes, diced

2 tablespoons cumin

1/4 teaspoon chile powder

Your favorite pico or other chunky salsa

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Pour one can of enchilada sauce bottom of 9×13 glass baking dish.

3. On medium heat in pot, water saute onion, bell pepper, garlic for 5 minutes, then add refriedbeans, cumin, corn, tomatoes, chile powder and heat through- about 5 minutes

4. Place 4 tortilla halves with flat edge against sides of dish. Ladle 2 cups of bean mixture and spread over tortillas. 

5. Repeat 3 times.

Note: For vegetarian option, sprinkle 1 cup Mexican cheese blend on top of bean mixture at each layer.

6. Add last layer of tortillas, then pour other can of enchilada sauce over top. Sprinkle #olives. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes.

Serve with heaping scoop of pico de gallo salsa or other garnish. Pairs well with greensalad and vinaigrette salad dressing. Makes great left overs too! 

Optional garnishes:

  • Sourcream
  • Cilantro
  • Guacamole
  • Avocado slices

I’ll see you at the table!

Recipe: Stuffed Bell Pepper and Steamed Asparagus

17438080_494117124045466_2501886692655366144_nHealthy veggie based meal: stuffed bell pepper and steamed asparagus.
Ingredients:
4 yellow bell peppers, tops cut out and seeds rinsed out
1 package of saffron rice, prepared per package directions
1 roma tomato, small dice
1 zucchini, small dice
1 small yellow onion, small dice
3 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Olive oil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cook saffron rice per package directions
3. On medium heat, saute onion and zucchini in olive oil or water for 5 minutes, then add tomato and garlic and saute for 1 minute.
4. Add cooked rice, parsley to zucchini mixture and stir to combine. Using a tablespoon, scoop rice mixture into bell peppers.

Note: You can use other bell peppers, but I prefer the mild, sweeter flavor of yellow.
5. Place 4 stuffed bell peppers into 8×8 glass baking dish. Add water around the outside of peppers, 1/3 the way up the pepper.
Note: If you’re preparing ahead of time, store in refrigerator for up to 2 days, covered in plastic wrap. Add water when ready to bake.

6. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, or until the skin of peppers begins to wrinkle. If your peppers are really thick, you may need 5-10 more minutes. Better to over bake than under bake.
7. Serve with steamed asparagus.

For a more robust meal, serve with crusty bread and large green salad.
I’ll see you at the table!

Dirty Rice with Kielbasa and Broccoli

What would life be without rice?! It comes in many different varieties and goes with just about everything.

I usually prefer to cook basmati rice as a side dish, but having a box of ready to cook mix is really helpful for weekday meals. When I purchase these boxed rices, I often get the bigger size so that we have left overs for lunch. Here’s a quick weeknight meal suggestion.

Ingredients:

  • Kielbasa (I usually get the low sodium), cut into 1/4″ inch rounds
  • 1 box Zatarain’s Dirty Rice
  • 1 head of broccoli, small pieces
  • Olive oil

Directions:

1. Large skillet heated on medium, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Heat the kielbasa for about 5 minutes to get some nice color and crispiness. Set aside cooked kielbasa.

2. Using same pan, cook Dirty Rice based on instructions.

3. During the last 5 minutes of cooking rice, add in the broccoli and kielbasa. Stir to mix together, replace lid and finish cooking last few minutes. Add about 1/4 cup water if needed, but there should be enough steam in the dish to cook the broccoli.

Veggie Notes:

  • You can omit the kielbasa all together, or add in veggie sausage.
  • In addition to broccoli, I like other veggies in this dish like diced bell peppers, white or yellow onion. Best to sauté first so the onion loses it’s bitterness. In my book, the more veggies the better!

Dish goes great with a leafy green salad too. Enjoy!

I’ll see you at the table!

Easy Chicken Tika Masala for Dinner

Working full time out of the house and raising a family has it’s own challenges. One of those challenges is meal preparation. Wherever I can cut corners to save on time – but still provide healthy and yummy food – I take those opportunities! This dinner is super easy to make because the hardest part of making the Chicken Tika Masala is already prepared for you. I’ve made Tika Masala from scratch before – several hours of prep and cook time – but my family loves this ready-made version from Costco more… win for Costco!

For an easy dinner for 4 people (2 adults, 2 teenagers) try this menu for Easy Chicken Tika Masala:

Sukhi’s Chicken Tika Masala from Costco
Basmati rice
Stonefire mini naan from Costco
Vegetable
1 cup cilantro, rough chop for garnish

 

Directions:

1. Use your rice cooker to prepare 1.5 uncooked rice.

2. While the rice is cooking, start a pot of water to boil. Once boiling, carefully drop in one of the bags of Sukhi’s Chicken Tika Masala. Don’t open the bag, keep it sealed to boil. You can start from frozen if you forgot to take out of the freezer earlier, it’ll just take a few minutes longer. I usually let it boil for about 8-10 minutes. You can microwave the Tika too, but I try to avoid microwaving food as much as possible so that it’s not rubbery. The boiling doesn’t take that long anyhow.

3. Prepare your vegetables while the Tika Masala is boiling. We prefer steamed broccoli or roasted Brussels sprouts. You can make a green salad too, but with this yummy masala sauce, I think you’ll enjoy having some warm veggies to dip into it.

4. The Stonefire Mini Naan is a great way to enjoy the Tika Masala. Keep it in the fridge to last longer. Just as you’re about to eat, toast the mini naan to heat it up. Stack on a plate to keep warm. Be careful, the bread will be hot out of the toaster.

 

To put on the table:

1. Put cooked rice in big bowl with serving spoon.

2. Carefully remove the Tika Masala package from the boiling water. Cut the edge with scissors and pour into a serving bowl – careful of splatters because it’ll be hot from the boiling water. Provide serving spoon.

3. Veggies in a bowl with a serving spoon.

4. Fresh chopped cilantro in a small bowl as a garnish for the Tika. This adds a wonderful extra layer of flavor.

5. Plate of toasted naan.

To plate from the table:

Each person will want a heaping scoop of basmati rice, then scoop the Tika Masala on the rice – add a sprinkle of cilantro! Scoop of veggies on the side of the rice. Break off a third the naan and scoop up some of the Tika Masala sauce, chicken and rice. Yum!

Leftovers make for a great work lunch the next day… if you have any left overs. Enjoy!

I’ll see you at the table!

 

Salsa Chicken and Rice Bake

I love easy to prepare dishes that are full of flavor. In our house, anything Mexican is pretty popular, so this dish was and easy success.

Original recipe from TipHero.
Serves 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients:
– 1 cup uncooked basmati rice, rinsed
– 1 can corn kernels, drained
– 1-15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (Jen’s Note: Omit if your breast feeding and beans don’t work well with baby)
– 1-16-ounce jar salsa
– 1 cup chicken broth
– 1-½ teaspoons ground cayenne pepper (Jen’s Note: Omit for less spice)
– 1 teaspoon oregano
– ½ teaspoon salt
– ¼ teaspoon black pepper
– 2 large chicken breasts (about 1-1/2 pounds), thawed (Jen’s Note: Cut in half length wise)
– 1 cup shredded cheese blend
– 2 green onions, sliced

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. In an 8-inch-by-8-inch baking dish, add the rice, black beans, corn, salsa, chicken broth, chili powder and oregano. Stir to combine. (Jen’s Note: Or, use a 8×11″ dish and you can add a third chicken breast)
  3. Cut the chicken breasts into 2 pieces and submerge into the liquid in the baking dish as far as possible.
  4. Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour, until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.
  5. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven and bake just until the cheese has melted.
  6. Top with green onions and serve.

Jen’s Note: We like to have garnishes like sour cream, cilantro, lime, hot sauce, so have those on hand to enhance the dish. Serve with green salad for a great, easy, week day meal!

I’ll see you at the table!