Enchiladas

From Cook's Country (America's Test Kitchen). I rarely do all the work for the beef ones, but I do like the sauce. You can see my faster chicken version underneath.

Beef Enchiladas
1 1/4 lbs top blade steaks, trimmed
salt
1T veggie oil
2 onions, chopped (I use less)
3 garlic cloves, minced
3T chili powder
2t coriander
2t cumin
1t sugar
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1/2c water
2c shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
1/3c chopped fresh cilantro
1/4c canned pickled jalapenos, chopped (I skip this)
tortillas

-Pat meat dry, brown in hot oil in dutch oven at medium-high heat on both sides, about 6 min. Transfer to plate.
-add onions to oil and cook until golden, about 5 min. Combine the garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, sugar, and 1t salt in a small bowl, then stir mixture into the pot. Cook until fragrant, about 1 min. Add the tomato sauce and water and bring to a boil. Return the meat and juices to the pot, cover, and reduce heat to low, gently simmer until the meat is tender and can be broken apart with a wooden spoon, abut 1.5 hrs.
-Strain the beef mixture over a medium bowl, breaking the meat into small pieces, reserve the sauce. Transfer the meat to a bowl and mix with 1c cheese, cilantro and jalapenos.
-Spread 3/4c sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. Spread 1/3c beef mixture in a tortilla, roll and place in baking dish seam side down. Repeat. And again. And some more. Pour the sauce on top, coat evenly. Sprinkle remaining cup of cheese on top, cover with foil, bake at 350 for 20-25 min until heated through. Remove foil and brown slightly, 5-10min. Yummmmm.

***Chicken version
Replace the steaks with 2c cooked, cubed chicken breasts, 1-2c cooked rice and a can of refried beans. Make the sauce as listed, beginning with the onions and skipping the long cooking step. Mix some of the sauce with the chicken, rice, beans and cheese. Proceed as directed.

I like to serve it with:
Cilantro-Lime Sour Cream
Process 1c sour cream, 1/4c chopped fresh cilantro, 1t grated fresh lime zest, 1/4t pepper, 1/8t salt in a food processor until smooth.

Green Monster Mayhem

L'Anita piqued my curiosity about these, so we gave them a try tonight. My girls licked their cups clean. Give it a whirl-

Blueberry-Banana Green Monster Smoothie
Ingredients:
2-3 cups organic spinach
1-1.25 cups milk (your choice of cow’s milk, soy, hemp, almond, rice, etc)
1 tablespoon flax (optional)
1 banana
1/2 cup blueberries
ice
Directions:
Place the ingredients into the blender and blend like a mad person! Pour into a fancy glass and gulp down the delicious antioxidants. There’s no better way to start your day!

You can find the original blog here and check out L'Anita's review here.

Moroccan Chicken

Gluten Free Success! My family ate seconds and asked for more.

Brown in 1T olive oil over medium-high heat:
8 chicken thighs, bone in, skin off, salt & peppered to taste

Remove to a platter. Saute:
1c chopped onion
2c carrots, in 1/2 inch chunks

Sprinkle on & stir:
2t paprika
1T fresh gingerroot, grated (I used 1t dried)
1/4t turmeric
1/4t cinnamon

Add:
3T lemon juice
1c chicken broth
1T brown sugar

Return chicken to the pan, bring broth to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 min, or until chicken is fork tender and cooked through. Stir in 1 15oz can of garbanzo beans (drained), if desired, and heat through about 5 min. Serve over brown rice or couscous.

Turkey Enchiladas

1 1/4 c. frozen corn, thawed
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 c. fresh cilantro leaves
1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper
Combine the above ingredients in a food processor; cover and pulse until blended.

3/4 lb. ground turkey
1/3 c. chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T. olive oil
3/4 c. salsa
1 T. cornmeal
2 t. chili pwdr
1 1/2 t. dried oregano
1/8 t. salt and 1/8 t. pepper
6 flour tortillas (8 in) warmed
1 1/4 c. shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided
1/4 c. sliced ripe olives

In a large skillet, cook the turkey, onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Remove from heat; stir in salsa, cornmeal and seasonings. Spoon 1/3 c. turkey mixture down the center of each tortilla; top with 2 T. cheese. Roll up and place seam down in greased 11x7 or 9x13 dish. Spoon corn mixture over the top; sprinkle with olives and remaining cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover, bake 5-10 minutes or until heated through.

We all loved this. I omitted the oil, used cornmeal mix instead of cornmeal (because that's what I had) and I made the corn mixture ahead of time, so it was a pretty easy meal to put together.