I went through my recipe binders yesterday in search of this recipe which, to my chagrin, I’ve made several times but have not yet posted here. I have a bunch of tortillas on hand, a jar of salsa that I opened a while ago, some pre-cooked chicken breasts in the freezer, and some cilantro leftover from the
guacamole that I made the other day. All in all, the makings of a tortilla casserole.
So what is a tortilla casserole, you ask? Think Mexican lasagna, where all the noodles are replaced with tortillas, sauce is replaced with a pinto bean/salsa mixture, and the cheese is Cheddar instead of mozzarella. Sound delicious? That’s because it is. And not only is it tasty, but it also easily serves 6-8 people, so it’s a dish that could serve a small crowd or a meal with enough leftovers to tide my hubby and me over for several days. Additionally, like lasagna, it’s also versatile. Vegetarian? No problem – just omit the meat. Hate cilantro? That’s fine – just omit it.
You did buy these tortillas, right? In case you haven’t heard, they’re ahhhhhhmazing.
tortilla casserole
www.allrecipes.com
2 (15-oz) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup salsa, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 (15-oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
7 flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups chopped cooked chicken, steak, and/or pork (optional)
additional salsa, sour cream, and guacamole for serving
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mash pinto beans. Stir in 3/4 cup salsa and garlic.
In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup salsa, cilantro, black beans, and tomatoes.
Place 1 tortilla in an oven safe dish. Spread 3/4 cup pinto bean mixture over tortilla to within 1/2 inch of edge. Top with 1/4 cup cheese.
Add another tortilla. Spread with 2/3 cup black bean mixture and top with 1/4 cup cheese.
Repeat layering twice, adding meat to these layers if using.
Cover with remaining tortilla and top that with remaining pinto bean mixture and cheese.
Cover casserole with a lightly greased sheet of aluminum foil (the grease keeps the cheese from sticking to the foil). Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.
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Tags: 60 min or less · beef · chicken · pork · vegetarian
Here I go again, telling you how to spend your money. I am a first born and a bossy one at that, so I’m just living into my predestined personality profile. Do this, buy that. My husband loves being married to me.
Even if you aren’t an avid cook, you should own colored measuring spoons. Because I cook a lot, I have four sets of measuring spoons, and these are the ones I use the most often. When tossed amidst all the other junk in my kitchen drawer, I can easily spot the famous 1/4 teaspoon spice spoon (dark orange) or the tablespoon (bright green) without having to root around and check the lettering to make sure I’m not adding 1/2 tablespoon of salt to my recipe instead of the teaspoon that the recipe calls for.
I can’t remember where I picked up my particular spoons, but Amazon has a simliar set. Bummer that they don’t offer free shipping on these! Bed, Bath, and Beyond has something in the same vein as mine. I think mine are cooler, but hey. Not everyone can be as cool as me. :)
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Tags: kitchen gadgets
Because I like you, I will let you in on a little known fact about me: One of my all time favorite books is Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. This book changed my life. I have read it twice and intend to keep reading it. It’s amazing. Haven’t read it? Order it here.
What does this have to do with chocolate chip zucchini muffins, you ask? Kingsolver lives in a rural part of North Carolina where neighbors are so friendly that no one locks their doors. Except, that is, during zucchini season. Suddenly, everyone is a suspect. If you forget and leave a car door unlocked while at church, you are sure to find a bag of zucchini in your front seat when you head home. And if you step out to the grocery store and forget to double lock the front door of your house, there is no telling how much zucchini you might find when you return. Even if you locked the door and unwittingly left the windows unlocked, then you were a fool – who says zucchini has to enter through the door?.
Kingsolver refuses to waste food, so when her already overflowing zucchini patch is augmented with her neighbors’ zucchini, she goes to town coming up with creative ways to use them. And don’t we all? One can only eat so much grilled, sauteed, or steamed squash, so someone brilliant came up with the idea of shredding it and putting it in breads and cakes. Kingsolver even includes a recipe for zucchini chocolate chip cookies! Now you’re speaking to my heart!
These zucchini muffins taste nothing like zucchini, but they do help use up some of those extra squash laying around. This recipe is chock full of chocolatey goodness. As always, if you are not a chocolate person, sub out some or all of the chocolate for walnuts. It won’t be as good, but obviously if you aren’t a chocolate person, you don’t really appreciate the good things in life anyway. :)
If you’re brave enough to turn on your oven right now, then this is a great excuse to do so. And if you aren’t brave enough to turn on the oven in this heat, then do what I did!
chocolate chip zucchini muffins
adapted from www.foodnetwork.com
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (I used 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup applesauce for a healthier slant… after all, we’re using zucchini here, folks. We are obviously trying to be healthy. :) )
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 1/2 cups bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp orange zest
Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Grease a regular 12-cup muffin pan. If you have two, grease both.
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, chocolate chips, and orange zest. Stir in sifted ingredients.
Pour into prepared muffin cups, filling until 2/3 full.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. If using both muffin trays, half way through the cooking time, swap the muffin pans top to bottom and rotate each of them so that the side that was facing the front now faces the back. Remove muffins from pans and cool for 5 minutes before removing the muffins to a wire rack.
Try to resist the temptation to eat these immediately. They taste best if you let them cool completely before serving.
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Tags: 60 min or less · dessert · vegetarian
