Shredded Beef Enchiladas

As you can see, I was on a Mexican food kick this week, and I thoroughly enjoyed every tasty minute of it! Sometimes, you just gotta give in to your cravings! In fact, I think I feel a pasta craving moving in, so I'll probably be posting pasta in a few days! But, I must share these Shredded Beef Enchiladas with you first as they are so delicious and addictive! The most time consuming part of this recipe is cooking the roast. But, I did mine in the crock pot, so I did not have to really watch it closely, so that was a big help! However, I did brown the roast, with spices, on top of the stove, and then placed the roast in the crock pot and cooked on low for about 6-8 hours. I actually did this 1 day ahead of making the enchiladas, but you of course can do this all in 1 day. So, I sprinkled the roast with spices, browned it in a large pan in some oil, and then transferred said roast to a slow-cooker. I then finely chopped 1 onion and 2-3 large cloves of garlic and threw them in with the roast, along with some broth. Cook until very tender and roast pulls apart easily. Then, you want to shred meat and add some canned green chilies to the meat.

I broke the meat apart in chunks and then shredded it. I also added black beans and cheese to the meat mixture, but I forgot to take a picture of it, so visualize that part in your mind, OK? Next, I took some corn tortillas and fried them in a little oil and drained them on paper towels. Then, I took the meat filling and spread on the tortillas and rolled them and placed in a baking dish that had enchilada sauce in it.

See, I've got a slit in one. My tongs tore a couple of the tortillas, but that won't hurt if the tear is small. So, roll up all the enchiladas nicely in a row, and then spoon some more sauce over each one. And of course, we need more cheese on these babies! I used a cheddar and jack cheese on the top because that's what I had. Use the cheese of your choice here.

Bake in oven for about 25 minutes and you are ready for an appetite pleasing feast that your family will love! By using the crock pot, I did not have to check the oven every so often to make sure there was enough liquid in the pan. But, you can do it either way, because they work equally well. So let's make this palate pleasing dish now, and your taste buds will thank you!

SHREDDED BEEF ENCHILADAS

For the beef, you'll need 1 chuck or round roast( I used a 2 1/2 pound roast)

chili powder

salt and pepper

cumin

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1-2 cups of beef broth or water

1-2 canned of chopped chili peppers

1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, for filling

corn tortillas, I used about 24 ( have extra in case some tear too badly to use)

enchilada sauce, canned or homemade ( I wimped out and used about a 28 ounce size can, sorry!)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed, if desired

2-3 more cups of shredded cheese for the topping ( I used Cheddar and Monterrey Jack)

Liberally sprinkle roast with salt, pepper, chili powder,and a little cumin. In a large dutch oven over medium heat, brown roast quickly in 2 tablespoon of oil. Don't let meat burn! Place the roast in a crock pot with the diced onion and the garlic. Add about 1 cup of beef broth or even water, and cover pot and cook on low until very tender and meat shreds easily, about 6 hours, or up to 8 hours, depending on size of roast. I used a 3 pound roast. When roast is done, remove meat to a bowl or plate and cool for a few minutes. Skim the onions and garlic out of the pot and add to the roast. Taking 2 forks, shred the roast into bite size pieces and if the meat is dry add some of the cooking liquid to the meat. You want the meat to be moist but not sloppy. Add the drained ,canned chili peppers and the cheese to the meat mixture and stir. Taste to see if you need to add more seasonings.

For tortillas: In a small skillet over medium heat, add oil to about 1/4 inch depth. When oil is hot, add 1 tortilla at a time to skillet. When tortilla starts to puff, turn over with tongs, and then remove tortilla to paper towel lined pan to drain. Continue with rest of tortillas.

To assemble these enchiladas, you'll need 2 9x13 inch baking pans. Place 3/4 cup of enchilada sauce in each pan to cover the bottom. Taking a tortilla, place a couple of spoonfuls of meat mixture along the tortilla and roll up. Place enchilada into pan and repeat. I fill the tortillas fairly full, but you must be able to wrap them some to contain the filling. After enchiladas are all rolled, spoon more enchilada sauce over the tops and add the rest of the cheese. Place pans in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for about 25 minutes, until bubbly. Remove and let cool 5 minutes or so before serving. Enjoy! Serve with Tex Mex Rice and a salad, and maybe some Guacamole and chips!

If this recipe is too large for what you need, you can adjust this by using 2 cups shredded beef and 1/2 can of beans and that would be enough for 1 pan of enchiladas. However, I like having the extra for leftovers the next day, or they can be frozen. This may seem time consuming, but these enchiladas are worth the effort when your having that Mexican food craving that just won't go away! What are you craving?

Tex-Mex Rice and Family, Friends and Food, and Adopt a Blogger#3

My family loves Tex-Mex and Mexican food, so it seems like I make it every week, even if it's just taco salad. When I need rice, I make this recipe that is very versatile, so that you can change some of the ingredients and have anew dish, but the basic recipe is still there. For instance, I used a poblano pepper and 2 Roma tomatoes in this, but you could change to red and green bell peppers, or use jalapeno peppers, or even stir in some meat or black beans and corn. It's very flavorful and a great accompaniment to my Chili Tortilla Bake or my Quesadilla's or, the Baked Pork Shoulder for Carnitas. So, let's make this, OK?
TEX-MEX RICE
1 cup white rice
2 cups chicken broth
2T. oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1 medium poblano pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely diced,
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2-1 tsp. kosher salt, or sea salt
In a large sauce pan add 1 tablespoon oil and heat to medium heat. Add the onion, pepper and garlic and saute for a couple on minutes just until slightly softened. Add the chili powder, cumin, rice and the other tablespoon of oil and stir until the spices are very fragrant and the rice is glossy and coated with oil, about 2 minutes. Do not scorch the rice and spices. To the pan add the chicken broth, tomatoes and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover pan and cook on low for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let rice set for 5-10 minutes. When ready fluff rice with a fork and enjoy with your favorite Tex-Mex dishes! Top with cilantro is desired.

Now, for some exciting news! I have been adopted! No, I'm not getting new parents, I'm in the Adopt a Blogger #3, the mentoring program that was started by Kristen at Dine and Dish. There are 114 new and experienced bloggers taking part in it this time around! I want to thank Kristen for including me as one of the "newbies" up for adoption. She has put a lot of work into this program, and here she is, expecting her 4th child any day now! I have been adopted by Patsy from Family Friends and Food, a wonderful blogger who has lots of yummy looking recipes that I am wanting to try, and she also has info on food products and her favorite cooking gadgets. She's been blogging for a couple of years and has a beautiful blog that I hope all of you will check out! I am really looking forward to getting to know Patsy and learn some tidbits that will help me to improve my blog. And, Patsy, thank you, in advance, for your help. I really appreciate it!
Now, my question. When you were a new blogger, did you have a mentor that helped you out, or did you have to learn on your own?

Pineapple Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (a.k.a. Mexican Fruit Cake)

After a couple of days of my computer not working very well, I'm finally able to post, I hope so anyway! I hope that you all are having a wonderful weekend and enjoying your favorite meals. I spent Saturday working in the garden, so today it was nice to have lunch at our church, where there was a nice Tex-Mex dinner being held! This was a fundraiser to send the kids to kids camp this summer. My contribution to the dinner was a Pineapple Sheet Cake, which is a recipe that I got from my Mother, and is a favorite anywhere I take it. It is also the easiest cake recipe I have! It's also a very moist, dense cake topped with my favorite Cream Cheese Frosting, which is so addictive and rich and even sinful! I don't know how long the recipe has been around, but it is a favorite of many that I know, so let's make it, OK? It can be made in a 9x13 cake pan , or a jelly roll pan, which is what I used for this one. It does equally well in either one.

Pineapple Sheet Cake ( a.k.a. Mexican Fruit Cake)

Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan or a 11x15 inch jelly roll pan. This cake is acidic because of the whole can of pineapple, so I normally make it in a glass 9x13. But it's your choice.

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. You will need;

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2tsp. baking soda

2 large eggs, beaten

1 large can crushed pineapple with juice (20 ounce)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts ( I use pecans)

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar and soda. Add remaining ingredients and mix batter well. (Do not use electric mixer). The batter may bubble a bit because of the juice reacting with the soda. Pour batter into prepared pan and place in oven. A 9x13 pan will take about35-40 minutes to bake . A 11x15 inch pan will take about25 minutes. The cake gets really brown while baking so don't be alarmed. My picture didn't turn out for that. Remove from oven. Frost cake while warm.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

1 stick butter, softened (1/2 cup)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup chopped nuts

In a deep bowl, with electric mixer, beat all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Frost cake while warm. I usually don't add the nuts to the frosting, I sprinkle them on top of the frosting, but it's your choice. If possible, let cake cool before digging in! Oh, it's hard, especially if you lick that frosting off of your fingers! It's just so yummy and it gets really moist the longer you have it. After the first day, I usually keep it in the fridge. So give it a try, it's great for company too!See that creamy frosting? It's calling your name! What's your favorite cake to make?

Sauteed Vegetables (or, what's lurking in your fridge?)

Earlier, I was going through the fridge to see what veggies were left from last weeks trip to the store. I found a zucchini, a yellow squash, 8 asparagus spears, 1/2 red bell pepper, some red onion and some other stuff that wouldn't work with this dish. I wanted to do a quick vegetable saute where all the ingredients would cook for the same amount of time and these did great!Add 1 T. olive oil to a medium hot skillet and add both squashes, which have been thinly sliced, and the asparagus which has been sliced in 1 inch lengths. Then , I added some sliced onion, bell pepper, and 1 minced garlic. I had to add 1 more T. of olive oil to keep things from sticking. I used a spatula to turn the veggies often so they would cook uniformly. I added kosher salt and some black peeper, to taste. I forgot to add the thyme, but it still tasted wonderful! This is a great way to use up small amounts of vegetables when the weather is warm, or anytime, for that matter. In cold weather, I make soup. This was enough for 3-4 servings. It was great for lunch

for my husband and I, with some leftover chicken. I just cooked the veggies until they were to the tender-crisp stage and all the vegetables managed to get done at the same time, so this only took about 10 minutes. This is fast food at it's best! Plus, it's healthy! Hope every one's having a great week!

Springtime Macaroni Salad with Peas

I am so glad that spring is finally here! The flowering Dogwood and Redbud trees have been so beautiful and I'm thankful that they didn't freeze with all of our late freeze warnings. This week is supposed to hit 80 degrees a few days, so it's time to bring out warm weather foods! Yeah! I have been making this Springtime Macaroni Salad with Peas for so many years, that I don't even remember where it came from for sure! I think it may have originated with my Grandmother, as I do remember eating macaroni salad at her house, but my memory is a little fuzzy as to the details. I enjoy this salad because I use either fresh or frozen peas, not the mushy ones from the can, along with fresh carrots, celery, bell pepper, onion and cucumber. It's a great salad to serve with a sandwich, or you could add some diced ham and have a main dish salad, if desired.

SPRING TIME MACARONI SALAD with PEAS

2 cups macaroni or small shell pasta ( I use the high fiber macaroni)

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen small green peas ( thawed, if using frozen), uncooked

1 rib celery, diced

1/2 bell pepper, diced

1/2 of a small cucumber, diced

1 thin carrot, peeled and sliced

2-3 T of diced red onion, or green onions( scallions)

1/2- 3/4 cup of mayo, (I use regular, but low fat works well too)

2 tsp. Dijon mustard, or to taste

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. celery seed

2 tsp. sugar, if desired

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot of boiling, salted, water, cook the macaroni for the least amount of time on package directions. When done, drain macaroni in a colander and rinse with cold water. Drain well. Add macaroni to a large bowl along with the other vegetables. Mix mayo, mustard, vinegar and seasonings together in a small bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed, and then pour dressing over the salad ingredients, mixing well. Chill until ready to serve. I find that if I'm serving the salad the next day, that I have to add more mayo, as the macaroni soaks up the dressing, as pasta typically does. But this is an easy, flavorful salad that is great alone, or served with anything from sandwiches to barbecue! The sweet flavor of the peas and the crispness of the other vegetables makes it a great warm weather salad, plus, it's very economical to make.
This is one of the few dishes that I use peas in. Do you make macaroni salad?

Ham and Asparagus Quiche

This last week, I had some leftover ham after our Easter meal, so I decided to make a quiche with some of it. I hadn't made one in quite awhile, so I began looking to see if I had the right ingredients, or if I would need to go to the store first. I decided to use what cheese I had at home, which would be cheddar cheese instead of Swiss, but that sounded good to me! I didn't have a prepared crust, so I made one and prebaked it for about 10 minutes, and let it cool while preparing the rest of the filling. I used some steamed asparagus and fresh herbs also.

After the crust was cool, I first sprinkled some preshredded cheddar jack into the crust,and then topped it with a cup of diced ham and some cooked asparagus cut in about 1 inch lengths. I added some sauteed onion next, and then I mixed my eggs and some half and half together really well. To the eggs, I added parsley, chives, salt and pepper, and poured it in the pan.

I placed some asparagus spears on top just for decoration and popped this baby in the oven for about 50-55 minutes, as this is a large quiche. When done, let it rest for 20 minutes or so before delving into it. It was so delicious, even if it didn't have Swiss cheese. The cheddar was great with the ham and asparagus and I loved the fresh herbs in it. My husband loved it and was more than happy to eat it, which was great, as I was wondering why I had made such a large quiche? This recipe will fill a 10 inch deep dish pie pan. You may make your own crust or buy a premade crust from the store. So, let's make some quiche!

Ham and Asparagus Quiche

1 baked 10", deep dish pie shell, cooled

1 1/2 cups cheese, Cheddar, Swiss, parm, or cheese of your choice

1 cup diced, cooked ham

1/4 cup diced, cooked onion, if desired

1 cup cooked asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces

5 large eggs, beaten

2 cups half and half, or you may use half milk and half heavy cream

1 T. chopped flat leaf parsley

1 T. chopped chives

salt and pepper to taste

Using a fork, prick the bottom of a 10 inch, deep dish, pie shell and then bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes and remove to a rack to cool. REDUCE heat to 350 degrees. After crust has cooled, add the cheese, then the ham and onion if using, and then the asparagus. Next, mix the eggs and half and half together. Stir in the herbs and salt and pepper and pour over the asparagus. Add some asparagus spears on top, if desired. Transfer the pie to a baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50-55 minutes until done. Quiche will puff up when done and when given a shake the filling will not jiggle. You can test it, if desired, by inserting a knife in the middle and it will come out clean when it's done. Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing. Enjoy! Do you like quiche?

Pomegranate Tea

Don't you love all the flavors of tea that you can get when you go out to eat? There's a flavor for every mood that you could ever be in! So, today when I was pondering what to make next with the pomegranate juice that the folks from Pom Wonderful sent me, I remembered the wonderful Pomegranate Tea that I'd had a couple of months a go at a restaurant. So, I decided to try making my own. My husband and I love it! Even my kids thought it was good, but they would have preferred that I had left out the orange slices. Personally, I really enjoyed the subtle citrus flavor from the orange slices. In fact, I kept sipping it while trying to get a good picture, so the glass was never quite full! I added some sugar to the tea, but of course you can opt to leave it out, or use artificial sweetener, whatever your preference here. We felt so healthy drinking all of the antidoxidants in this delicious tea! Let's make this real quick so you can have some too!

POMEGRANATE TEA
6 cups cold water
1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
2 family size tea bags( I used Lipton, but it's your choice)
1/2-1 cup sugar
about 2 cups ice
fresh orange slices, if desired
In a sauce pan bring water to a boil and remove from heat. Add the 2 tea bags and steep for about 10 minutes. Add the 1/2 cup sugar, if using, stir until dissolved, and let tea cool off if you are going to pour it in a glass pitcher. When tea has cooled, pour it in a pitcher, add the pomegranate juice, orange slices and the ice. Pour some into an ice filled glass, sip slowly, and enjoy! It' a treat for yourself or a great tea to serve to guests. This is an addictive tea, be warned! Do you like sugar in your tea, and if so how much?