Today I’m revealing my first ever Secret Recipe Club recipe! I am enamored with the idea of this project. Essentially, those of us who have signed up to be in the SRC are assigned another blog at random to cook from and post about. I was so eager to receive my first SRC assignment that I started making recipes from Gorgeous Gourmet almost immediately. I settled on sharing these tortillas with you because they are a fun change from what I usually post about.

Here are my thoughts on tortillas. First off, never, ever buy tortillas from your grocery store unless there someone sitting there making them by hand and putting them in a paper bag for you to eat immediately. Store bought tortillas are impossibly old by the time you eat them for dinner and not very tasty at all. The best ever store-bought tortillas are sold as un-cooked tortillas. Live near a Costco? You’re in luck! Check in the refrigerator section and pick up a package! Toss half in the freezer and keep the other half in your fridge. Want a fresh tortilla? Just warm a skillet on the stove until a small pat of butter melts and plop in a tortilla. Thirty seconds to a minute later, you have a tasty, fresh, delicious tortilla that you can eat plain, fill with cheese, or use in this amazing tortilla casserole.

When my hubby invited a slew of men over to the house the other night, I knew I had to get out or get swallowed up in the testosterone. I posted a plea on facebook asking for someone to shelter me for the evening. My sweet friend Laura invited me for dinner at her house and I was able to hold her new 3 week old baby for hours. It was an amazing time of food and chatting. And baby holding. Did I mention I got to hold her baby? Because I did. And she’s cute.

Dinner was quesadillas. I had read about an interesting quesadilla twist on 101cookbooks.com. Unlike about 99% of the US population, I don’t love cheese. A little melted here and there is fine, but do I need it oozing out of every meal? No siree. Quesadillas are a quick and easy snack for you cheese lovers, but if you don’t stuff them with a ton of cheese, they really don’t fill you up. 101cookbooks suggests forming the quesadilla around a cooked egg. The egg provides substance and protein and helps make the quesadilla “fuller.” And for you cheese lovers, have no fear. There’s still plenty of room for lots of cheese. Laura had already grated some cheese and combined it with beans and corn for her quesadilla filling. I married her idea with the 101 cookbooks idea and added a handful of cilantro and here it is: quesadillas with a twist.

quesadillas with a twist

with the help of 101cookbooks.com and my friend Laura Dahl

cheese mixture (this makes lots – refrigerate the leftovers):

1 tsp bacon grease, lard, or butter
1 cup corn (thawed if frozen, rinsed if from a can)
4 cups of shredded cheese (I prefer a mixture of sharp cheddar and something that melts well like Jarlsberg or Monterey Jack)
1 cup black beans, rinsed
1/4 cup cilantro (optional)

eggy quesadilla mixture – if you are serving a group, simply repeat the steps below until everyone is satisfied)

1 egg
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp bacon grease, lard, or buter
1 corn tortilla

garnish

guacamole, salsa, and lime to taste

In a skillet over medium heat, cook bacon grease until hot. Add corn and toast, stirring often, until kernels start to turn golden brown. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, combine the cheese, beans, cilantro, and cooled corn. Set aside.

Scramble one egg in a medium bowl. Add salt to scrambled egg mixture and stir well. Heat bacon grease in a non-stick griddle or cast iron pan over medium heat until melted. Add scrambled egg mixture, let cook for 15 seconds. Place tortilla on top of the egg. Continue to cook for about 15 more seconds, or until the egg is lightly browned on the bottom. Flip the egg and tortilla all at once so that the egg is on top of the tortilla.

Immediately place a few tablespoons of the cheese mixture on one side of the tortilla and fold the tortilla in half. Cook for about 30-60 seconds, until cheese mixture starts to melt. Flip the quesadilla and cook on the second side for 30-60 seconds until the cheese is completely melted. Continue to cook longer if you prefer a browned quesadilla.

Serve with guacamole, salsa, and lime to taste.

There is nothing special about the recipe for  these little treats. These muffins are simply portable (and cute!) scrambled eggs! I like to serve them with these tortillas and a bit of salsa. They make a great offering for a holiday meal when you want to serve something tasty for breakfast but don’t want to add even more work to your already busy day in the kitchen. In case you know of any holidays coming up… Let me know if you do.

These would also be perfect for a special occasion brunch with friends and certainly are better than many of those other egg casseroles that are often served!

scrambled egg muffins

(Make your scrambled egg muffins using the same ingredient proportions that you would use for scrambled eggs.)

6-8 eggs
1/4 lb sausage, removed from casings and divided into small pieces (optional)
1/2 – 1 onion, chopped
1/2 – 1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
mushrooms, green onions, or any other favorite vegetables or greens
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 350.

In a skillet, saute your sausage (if using) and vegetables until sausage is cooked. Let cool slightly.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add the sauteed mixture to the eggs and stir well to combine. Salt to taste.

Generously coat a muffin pan with cooking spray or butter. Divide the egg mixture among the muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full. Top each “muffin” with shredded cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins are golden brown.

My goal for this food blog is not simply to introduce you to new recipes.I am here to convert you to my way of life completely. Are you ready?

(Read this out loud in a hypnotic voice. If you are at work, you may want to omit the out loud part. It could get you some strange looks.) You are getting sleepy. You are getting verrrrry sleepy. Your eyes are heavy. You are getting huuuuungry. You want a snaaaaack. You want something amaaaaazing. You waaaaant something deliiiiicious, something that bloooows you away. You want tortillas.

–Wait? What?

Shhh! Stop asking questions! You’re supposed to be hypnotized! Sheesh. But, yes: tortillas.

Just check out these photos and then, once you’ve wiped the drool off your keyboard, read on to find out where to buy these.

world’s best tortillas

To make these extra special, melt a little butter or margarine in a pan. Once melted, throw in an uncooked tortilla.

Heat the pan on medium high and it’ll start to bubble.

Flip it and it’ll bubble even more.

When spotted brown on both sides, remove from pan. I recommend eating it plain because it’s just that delicious. But if you just must, you can also fill it with all kinds of goodies. For instance, you could use them when making burritos or wraps. My lunch today was tortillas wrapped with Dubliner cheese, leftover roasted broccoli, and ham.

By the way, we use tilapia instead of cod and have had great results. I’ve never served it with cabbage (greens – also overrated). If you have some on hand, Pico de Gallo also makes a delicious topping even though it’s not included in the original recipe.

fish tacos

White sauce:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced capers
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/2 – 1  teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, depending on personal tastes

Batter

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup beer

For frying:

• 1 quart oil for frying
• 1 pound cod fillets, cut into 2 to 3 ounce portions
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1/2 medium head cabbage, finely shredded

Thaw your fish and, if necessary, cut into 3-4″ strips.

Make the white sauce by combining all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, corn starch, baking powder, and salt for the batter.

In a separate bowl, combine the beer and egg.

Mix the beer mixture into the flour mixture just until a few lumps remain. Coat the fish in the batter.

Heat oil in large frying pan over high heat until wavy and then reduce heat to medium. Working in small batches, carefully drop battered fish into the oil and cook until browned on one side.

Once golden on one side, flip the fish and cook until the second side is golden and fish is cooked through.

When cooked, place on a paper towel lined wire rack and blot top with another paper towel to remove excess grease.

While fish is cooking, heat corn tortillas on a pan on the stove until warm.

Serve while fish is still hot. Layer tortillas with white sauce, fish, and extra lime. Enjoy!

If you make this soup with vegetarian chicken broth (yes, such a thing exists ) and omit the chicken, then it’s completely vegetarian. I haven’t tried it with vegetable broth, but I’m sure it would be fine.

No matter which way you make it, I guarantee you’ll love it. I have doubled or tripled this and served it for baby showers and wedding showers. It’s a great make-ahead dish that people can tailor to their own tastes. But don’t wait for a special occasion! Just make a pot for dinner!

tortilla soup

soup

1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup diced onion
1 1/2 tbsp minced seeded jalapeno pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
3 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tbsp cumin
8 cups chicken broth

toppings

4 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch strips
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about one pound)
1 cup diced avocado
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fresh cilantro

First, prep those ingredients for the soup. This soup will be pureed at the end, so don’t worry too much about the size of the chunks.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add 1-inch tortilla pieces; cook 2 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Add the onion, jalapeno, and garlic; saute 3 minutes.

Add tomato paste and tomatoes; bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes.

Stir in cumin and broth. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until reduced to 8 cups.

At this point, if you’re not rushed for time, let your soup cool for a bit. It makes blending it so much easier if you do. Otherwise, the steam in the soup makes it “jump” out of your blender or food processor.

Puree soup using an immersion blender in small batches in your food processor. Return pureed soup to stove and cook over medium-low heat until thoroughly heated.

While the soup is reheating, prep your toppings. For the tortilla crisps, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place tortilla pieces on a sheet pan so that they are not overlapping. Cook for about 7 minutes, or until browned and crispy.

Ladle hot soup into bowls. Add the toppings and eat immediately!

I’m a big fan of vegetarian burritos (I’ll post a favorite recipe at a later date), but my hubby is a man who likes his meat. <<insert manly grunts here>> This recipe is my compromise. It has the meatiness that he likes but still meets my requirement of being healthy and tasty.

Ground turkey burritos are one of my fall back meals when I can’t think of anything to serve for dinner. While the list of ingredients may look long, it’s actually a 45 minute meal, start to finish, and it makes enough for us to eat them for several days. Phew… fewer meals to plan.

If you are intimidated by the amount of filling that this makes, use what you need and freeze the rest in smaller portions for later meals!

As with most Mexican food, you can alter this to your own personal tastes. My recipe is loosely based on this recipe incorporating some of the changes that were suggested by other reviewers.

turkey burritos

for the filling

1 pound ground turkey
1 can whole kernel corn, drained (or cut some off the cob!)
small onion, diced
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/3 cup medium salsa
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp onion powder

extras & toppings

several 10-inch flour tortillas
refried beans
spanish rice
sour cream
salsa
fresh tomatoes
guacamole
cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat your oven to 350.

In a large skillet, over medium heat, brown the ground turkey and onions until turkey is fully cooked.

Stir in the corn, tomato sauce, salsa, and spices. Let simmer until it’s the consistency that you like, 5 to 15 minutes.

If you are using the world’s best flour tortillas, pre-cook them. Place a layer of cheese in the middle of your tortillas and top with meat mixture. If you are using the rice and beans, add those now. Fold the tortillas in thirds and secure with a toothpick.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until tortillas are golden brown. Serve immediately with the toppings of your choice.

I was in the mood for something easy, new, and yet somehow familiar the night I got back from the county fair. I had spent 8 hours in 100 degree heat and was in no mood to come up with something fantastic and creative. And given that my food consumption for the day included funnel cake and shaved ice with syrup over the top, dinner needed to be healthy and filling. Oh, and oven use was also a no-no. Given all these restrictions, I found a recipe that my mom clipped out of a magazine years ago and tweaked it so that it would meet all my requirements. Easy chicken and rice wraps were born. Healthy, filling, and somehow homey, these hit the spot.

Just to be clear, this recipe is designed to be tweaked to your own tastes. If you don’t like something, take it out. If you love it, add some more. For example, if you had some olives or corn laying around, you could add that if you wanted. And it would be easy enough to make vegetarian – all those rice and beans are filling enough if you prefer to ditch the chicken. This recipe is all about YOU!

easy chicken and rice wrap

3/4 cup of uncooked brown rice (or 1 to 1.5 cups cooked brown rice)
2-3 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 to 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed (I only used about 1 cup of beans… I’ll save the rest for another use)
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 to 2/3 cup shredded cilantro
1.25 oz (one package) taco seasoning mix
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
sour cream and salsa and additional tomatoes, optional
4 large flour tortillas

Cook the brown rice according to the package directions.

While the rice is cooking, combine the tomatoes, jalapeno, chicken, beans, corn, cilantro and taco seasoning mix in a pan and heat through.

Add the rice and mix well.

Layer tortillas with cheese, rice mixture, sour cream, and salsa. Fold and eat!