Enchilada Casserole with Spicy Black Beans

I got this recipe out of my Cooking Light magazine. I love Cooking Light and always find several recipes in each issue that I want to try, but this was my first time trying any recipes out of that magazine. It turned out great and we all loved it. I seeded the jalapeno in the beans so the boys could have this for dinner also.

Enchilada Casserole with Spicy Black Beans modified from Cooking Light magazine

1lb ground sirloin
1 chopped onion
1 tbsp butter
1 clove minced garlic
1 1/2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup beef broth (I used 1 beef bullioun cube with 1 cup boiling water)
1 tbsp taco seasoning (40% less sodium)
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce (no salt added)
4 (8 inch) whole wheat tortillas
1/3 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used a blend I found called "authentic hispanic cheese")

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and onion to pan; cook until no longer pink. Drain
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic; saute 1 minute. Sprinkle with flour; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add broth, taco seasoning, and tomato sauce to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 1/2 cups tomato mixture to beef mixture; reserve 1/2 cup tomato mixture.
4. Place 1 tortilla in a 9 inch pie plate. Top with 1 cup beef mixture. Repeat layers, ending with tortilla. Spread reserved tomatoe mixture over tortilla. Top with cheese. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Cool slightly. Cut into 4 wedges.

Spicy Black Beans
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add 1 cup chopped red bell pepper and 1 minced jalapeno pepper, saute 4 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 (15oz) can rinsed and drained organic no-salt-added black beans. Cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro.

Recipes

I tried a couple new recipes from Pinterest this week. The first recipe was a crockpot breakfast casserole. I thought this would be perfect on Christmas morning, you put it on the night before and then it's ready when you wake up. Greg and I both liked it, but I wouldn't make it for just any weekend breakfast. I'd only make it if we had company because it makes a ton.

Source: alattewithotta.blogspot.com via Samantha on Pinterest

The second recipe I tried was a crock pot macaroni and cheese. I really wanted to find a homemade macaroni and cheese recipe to start having as part of Thanksgiving and Christmas. This was perfect! It's made in the crock pot, so it doesn't take up any space in the oven or on top of the stove, it makes a ton, and it was delicious. This is another thing I wouldn't make unless we had guests because it just makes way too much.

Source: lifeinthegreenhouse.com via Samantha on Pinterest

And last, I made Paula Deen's "Not Yo Mamma's Banana Pudding". I've been wanting to try a banana pudding recipe, and I've been seeing this one floating around several different blogs, so I decided to go ahead and try it. Every blog I read said that they didn't use the pepperidge farms cookies that the recipe calls for and instead used vanilla wafers, so I did too. This was really good, it doesn't say to let it sit overnight, but it really needs too. This recipe was really inexpensive and easy to make.

Source: pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com via Samantha on Pinterest

Next week, I have some healthier recipes planned that I found, like one for baked pickles. Mmmm...

Recipes

Lately, I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest. I love it! It's my favorite thing to do when the boys are sleeping. I use it to find great ideas on how to turn the basement into the ultimate playroom, get fun outfit inspriration, household tips, cute ideas for pictures, craft ideas, etc. I've also found that it's a great way to find and store my favorite recipes. I love trying new recipes, especially any that involve fresh vegetables from our garden. I try and blog all my recipes so I have an easy way to go back and see what we've tried and liked. Since the pictures from Pinterest are better than what I took, I'm going to use them along with a link to each website for the full recipe.


ROASTED TOMATOES WITH FETA & SHRIMP

This roasted tomato dish was amazing! We served it over angel hair pasta with a slice of crusty bread and it was delicious. I cooked the shrimp way too long, so they ended up being tough, but the tomatoes were so yummy. I could actually do without the shrimp next time I make it.

Source: realsimple.com via Samantha on Pinterest

JALAPENO POPPER GRILLED CHEESE
Greg and I both loved this recipe. It was simple and delicious. We used fresh jalapenos from our garden and it was SPICY!

Source: beckybakes.net via Samantha on Pinterest

CILANTRO LIME RICE
This recipe is from Gina's Skinny Recipes. It's a website full of delicious weight watcher recipes. This recipe is actually a skinny version of Chipotle's rice. Chipotle is one of my favorite restaurants, so I knew I had to try it. I loved it.

Source: skinnytaste.com via Samantha on Pinterest

FRUIT SALSA WITH CINNAMON CHIPS
Don't let the word "salsa" confuse you, there's no onions, cilantro, etc. in this recipe, it's basically fruit salad that's cut up small so it's easy to dip it. I didn't make the chips like the recipe called for, I just used Stacy's Pita chips in Cinnamon and Sugar. Next time, I'd like to make my own chips though.

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via Samantha on Pinterest

CAKE BATTER BALLS
These are bad news. They are so easy to make and so delicious. They taste just like cake batter. It's easy to eat a million of them because they're so tasty. Greg and I ate way too many of these things. From now on, I'll only make it if we're having company or if I reduce the recipe so it doesn't make as much.

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via Samantha on Pinterest

We got the ingredients to make these two recipes this weekend. I'm excited to try them. The first is Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese--how can it possibly be bad?

Source: grilledcheesesocial.com via Samantha on Pinterest

I don't even know if Greg's aware that I'm making this red onion, cucumber, and tomato salad. He probably won't like it, he's not a big fan of raw onions. But, I love stuff like this. Yummy, cold salads are perfect for summer. I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

Source: jennysteffens.blogspot.com via Samantha on Pinterest

So, there's the recipes I've been trying lately. I know I've been pretty bad about blogging lately. It's beed busy around here. I don't see Evan and Carter slowing down anytime soon, so I'm just trying to keep up. Two active boys make for one tired momma. I've been meaning to do a "week in the life of" post. I really wanted to do one every couple of months since they were born so I could look back and see how much things have changed, but I haven't done it. I'm going to try and document my life for the next two weeks by blogging daily about our day and routine. It'll be super boring for anybody who reads my blog, but I want to look back and be able to see what a typical day was like for us at this age. Hopefully, I can do it every so often so I can compare how different our days are as they get older.

Skillet Sesame Asparagus

Here's another asparagus recipe that I tried last week. Easy, delicious, and healthy!

Skillet Sesame Asparagus

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1.5 inch pieces
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon sesame seeds

1. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium high heat; sauté asparagus 2 minutes. Add water to pan; cover and cook 2 minutes
2. Combine soy sauce and garlic powder; add to pan, and cook, uncovered, 1 to 2 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Sprinkle sesame seeds over asparagus and cook for 30 seconds.

Garlic Roasted Asparagus

As I mentioned in an earlier post, it's asparagus season. Greg & I picked some up at Sam's Club and I wanted to try a few new asparagus recipes this weekend. Tonight we had Garlic Roasted Asparagus. It was so simple and healthy. I served it with Creamy Italian Chicken.

Garlic Roasted Asparagus

* 1 lb fresh asparagus spears
* Olive oil-flavored cooking spray
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Snap off tough ends of asparagus, and place on a jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray. Coat asparagus with cooking spray, and sprinkle with garlic salt.
3. Bake at 450 for 8 minutes.

If you've never cooked with asparagus, here's a quck and easy tip that I learned from watching Rachel Ray. Take one asparagus and snap off the end, then take the bunch and line up with the spear that you snapped off, take a knife and cut the ends off all the others in one easy motion. It's much faster than snapping each spear individually.

Marinated Asparagus

This recipe really makes plain old asparagus taste great. It tasted so fresh and delicious. We will definitely be having this again. The only bad thing is it has to marinate for 8 hours, so it's something you have to plan ahead for.

Marinated Asparagus
Points: 2
Servings: 6

Ingredients:
* 8 cups hot water
* 1 1/2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
* 1 (2oz) jar diced pimiento, undrained
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
* 3 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper



1. Bring 8 cups water to boil in a Dutch oven; add asparagus, and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove asparagus with a slotted spoon. Plunge into ice water; drain. Pat asparagus dry with paper towls. Place in a large zip-top plastic bag.
2. Combine oil and next 9 ingredients ina small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour marinade over asparagus in bag. Seal bad, and refrigerate 8 hours.
3. Transfer asparagus to a serving dish; drizzle remaining marinade over asparagus.



I got this recipe out of WW 20 Minute Recipes

Broccoli with Garlic and Ginger

I served this dish with the Bacon and Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo that I posted yesterday. It's so delicious and only has one point.


Broccoli with Garlic & Ginger
Points: 1
Servings: 4

Ingredients
* 1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
* 1 tablespoon less-sodium soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
* 2 teaspoons cornstarch
* 2 teaspoons canola oil
* 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
* 2 garlic gloves, minced
* 4 cups broccoli florets
* 1/4 cup water



1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk; set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic: saute 1 minute or until lightly browned. Add broccoli, and saute 5 minute or until crisp-tender. Stir in broth mixture. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time; cook until liquid evaporates, stirring frequently. Serve immediately.



I got this from Weight Watchers 20 minute Recipes.