Black Bean and Corn Green Chile Enchilada Casserole

I found a really delicious nacho recipe a few weeks ago so I decided to expand on it and make it into enchilada casserole.











1TB Olive or avocado oil
2 cups fresh or frozen corn(defrosted if frozen)
1 small onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

1 medium jalapeno, deseeded and chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
7 oz fire roasted green chilies
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
Juice and zest of 1 lime, divided

1/2 cup sour cream
2 TB mayo


28 oz can green chile enchilada sauce
8 oz Monterrey or pepper jack cheese, shredded
10-12 large flour tortilla , cut in quarters
Cotija cheese
Cilantro

Heat oil in a deep pan over medium heat. Add corn and onion and cook until tender and fragrant. Season with salt and pepper.










Remove from heat add jalapeno, red bell, green chiles and black beans, toss with 2 TB lime juice.












Combine sour cream, mayo, remaining lime juice and zest. Set aside.











Pour about 1/3 cup enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.











Layer with tortillas to cover the bottom.











Spread 1/3 of the bean mixture, 1/3 of the sour cream mix and 1/3 of the shredded cheese. Pour about 1/4 of the remaining enchilada sauce and spread evenly. Repeat layers 2 more times.











Top with one last layer of tortillas, the last of the enchilada sauce, Cotija and cilantro.










Cover with foil and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more until it measures at least 165 in the center.....

Remove from oven , recover  loosely with foil and allow to set for 15 minutes.







Slice and enjoy with sour cream, guac, more jalapenos.....whatever you desire!!





The leftovers freeze BEAUTIFULLY!

Chocolate Strawberry Banana Bread

We are on a little vacation and we are going to visit my elderly grandparents. I wanted to bring them a nice treat. I had a ton of bananas to use up and strawberries....and cocoa......delicious!!




This made me 3 good sized loaves. You could probably halve the recipe and get 2 smaller loaves.






3 2/3 cups flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1 1/2 tsps baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temp
4 eggs
6 bananas, mashed (about 3 cups)
6 oz plain greek yogurt
1 TB vanilla
2 cups strawberries, diced and dusted with flour


Preheat oven to 350 and grease 3 loaf pans.

In a bowl mix flour, cocoa, soda and salt. Set aside

In a mixer bowl mix butter and sugar until well combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well between each.

Add in mashed bananas, yogurt and vanilla. Mix well.

Slowly add in flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time. When it is well incorporated gently fold in dusted berries.




Divide batter among the pans.

Bake 45-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.








Cool 20 minutes in pans, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

Savory French Toast Club Casserole

My kids wanted to do Monte Cristos or Club Sandwiches for dinner last night. Since it was Taekwondo night, I preferred to have something I could make ahead of time and throw in the oven. I started thinking of my overnight french toast casserole and thought it would be easy to modify for a Savory dish. This turned out to be perfect. I got it all ready to go in the morning, then tossed it in the oven when we were ready.








10 -1 inch slices sturdy Italian Bread (French Bread works too)
8 slices quality white or sour dough bread, cubed

6 oz Sliced Honey Ham, diced
6 oz Sliced Turkey Breast, diced
6 oz bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded cheese(your preference, I used pepper jack)
1 large tomato, sliced

8 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped chives
salt and pepper to taste
dash of hot sauce to taste


garlic powder
fresh grated parmesan cheese

Grease a 9 x 13 casserole dish and  layer in the cubed white or sour dough bread.












On top of that layer the ham, turkey, bacon,














Then add the cheese and  the tomato slices.










Press the 10 slices of Italian bread on top.












In a bowl whisk the eggs, milk, mustard, chives, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Mix thoroughly.












Carefully pour over the Italian bread (go slow to allow for absorption, so it doesn't pour over the edges! When each slice is doused well pour the remaining between the slices of bread.

Top with a light dusting of garlic powder and a healthy sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. I also did a few more turns of the pepper mill on top too.





Spray a sheet of foil with cooking spray and cover the pan tightly (spray side down ;) )

Allow to sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours, longer is better.

Remove from fridge 15-20  minutes prior to baking.

Preheat oven to 350

Bake covered for 45 minutes, uncover and bake 15 minutes more until golden brown and bubbly!






Allow to sit for a few minutes before slicing.

This photo shows it cold this  morning and it was DELICIOUS like this! I think this would make a great brunch sandwich!

Pancake Breakfast Pockets

I wanted to make breakfast hot pockets. I decided to modify my "McGriddle" pancake and make it thicker and more bread like so I can make it into a pocket.











Dough:

2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 cup buttermilk, warmed to 110-115
3TB  brown or maple sugar
2 TB butter, melted
1 egg
3 cups flour
1/3 cup maple crystals (See bottom of McGriddle's Recipe)



Filling:
8 eggs
3 TB milk
8 links sausage, cooked and sliced*
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

* you can use bacon, diced ham, bulk sausage, meatless, or veggie crumbles if you want to sub


Dough:

In a stand mixer mix milk with sugar, add yeast and stir gently. Allow yeast to become foamy for 5-10 minutes.
Add butter and egg, mix well.

Slowly add flour changing to a dough hook about 1/2 way through. Add remaining flour and allow to knead for 5 minutes adding in crystals in the last minute of kneading.

Place in a greased bowl, cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes.

Divide dough into 10 pieces.



Whisk eggs and milk together until pale yellow, add to a greased skillet heated over medium low,









Cook and stir gently every few minutes but don't OVER stir..... cooking LOW AND SLOW is the way to go for good scrambled eggs.










When the eggs are almost done, add sliced sausage(or what ever meat you are using) and cheese, toss together gently.











Preheat oven to 350.
On a floured surface roll each dough piece into a 6 inch circle.











Add about 1/3 cup of the filling, fold over and seal the edges well.












Transfer to a greased baking sheet and repeat with remaining ingredients














Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown, allow to cool completely, wrap well and freeze.

To reheat, wrap in a slightly damp paper towel and heat in 1 minute increments until hot!

Zucchini Bread or Muffins (Gluten Free or Regular)

Zucchini AND Back to School Season!! Once again I have an abundance of zukes. The kids love zucchini bread so here we are...... In muffin form they freeze well and are easy to pull out for some school morning breakfast or after school snack! (Bread form freezes well too of course)






1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup corn starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum

OR

3 cups all purpose flour


2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves


2 TB flax meal
1/4 cup water
3 cups shredded zucchini(squeeze out excess moisture before measuring)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 TB pure vanilla extract

Grease bottoms only of muffin tins(I got 20 standard size muffins) or 2 loaf pans and preheat oven to 350.

In a bowl combine all the flour/starch ingredients with the soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. Whisk well and set aside.










In a small bowl combine flax meal with water, mix together and set aside to gel up a bit.




In a mixer bowl add shredded zucchini, sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla. Add gelled up flax/water. Mix well.









Add the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time, when it is all incorporated mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.










Scoop by scant 1/4 cup into muffin tins or split evenly between loaf pans
















Bake in preheated oven 20-30 minutes for muffins, 50-60 minutes for loaves until a toothpick comes out clean

Allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes, remove from pans and cool completely.

I line my muffins up on a baking sheet and freeze for 3 hours, then transfer to a freezer bag.

Copycat "Veggie Medley" Veggie Burgers

I had these while visiting family years ago. This particular flavor was the only one from the Gardenburger Brand that I could have because they have no mushrooms(I can't handle mushrooms in excess, gives me a bad tummy ache). I am not a huge fan of frozen burgers anymore so I thought I would make my own LOL, plus I can leave out the wheat gluten and a few other unnecessary ingredients.
I served them on gluten free flat bread rounds. Recipe HERE.




1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup rolled oats*
1/2 cup cooked lentils
1/4 cup ground flax

1 cup chopped broccoli
1 cup chopped carrots
1 small onion, chopped fine
3/4 cup corn kernels
1/2 cup green bell peppers**
1/2 cup red bell peppers**
1 clove garlic, minced
** you can do any combo of colors for the bell peppers you like, orange and yellow are great too!

1 TB olive oil

2 TB soy sauce or Bragg's Amino for gluten free
1 TB parsley
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp cane sugar dissolved 1 tsp water (doesnt have to be completly dissolved)
salt and pepper to taste

Place the oats in a blender and whirl them for a few seconds to chop them, but be careful not to turn it into flour!*
* make sure they are certified GF if needed and you can use a heaping 3/4 cup quick oats in place of this step if you like.

Combine cooked rice, oats, lentils and flax. Set aside










Combine all the veggies in a food processor and pulse until well chopped.

In a large pan heat 1 TB olive oil over medium heat. Add veggies and cook until just tender.







Add the rice mixture, all the veggies and the seasonings back to the food processor and pulse until paste like but still has some chunks...





Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.









Preheat a large electric griddle to 325 and oil it WELL
(Griddle is easiest to do the entire batch, you could do them in sections in a pan on the stove top too)

With damp hands(to prevent sticking, re-wet as needed) shape into patties (I used about 1/3 cup full at a time) and place on the heated griddle.









Grill for 10-15 minutes and gently flip. Bake another 10 minutes until nicely browned.











Serve immediately, I topped mine with onion, spinach, banana peppers, mayo and mustard
 or cool completely and wrap for freezing.

When reheating I suggest cooking in a well oiled pan over medium heat for 5 -7 minutes, flip and cook 5-6 more.