Chicken and Tomatillo Tacos

I know it's been awhile since I've posted. Turns out I had a baby and moved to a new city and apparently those events take up quite a bit of time. =) But, after the meals stopped coming and filling our freezer, I had to start cooking again and seriously...I missed it!! I'm realizing little tricks that make certain meals easier, and when the baby is down for a nap in the afternoon, I can make dinner and just reheat it. Which is what I did for this tasty dish. So easy and so tasty. It might become a taco tuesday staple in the Benson house. Here's what you need:

6 Tomatillos (blackened on the grill)
1 Serano (blackened on grill)
Olive Oil
1/2 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 lime (juiced)
2 Tbsp Honey
1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
corn torillas
queso fresco

Okay, here's the thing. I did not make this according to the directions, mainly because I was not about to fire up the grill by myself just to blacken these little peppers. I tried to do it over the stove top and it was a sight for sore eyes...kept dropping the peppers, ect. Anyways...all that to say, I'm sure it would have been lovely all blackened and toasty, but I didn't make it like that and it still turned out delish. So...best of luck to you whichever road you go down. For the shredded chicken, I just put it in a crockpot all day and shred it, but you could easily buy a rotisserie chicken and go from there. AND, not spicy enough for us. I'm going to add a jalapeno to the mix next time to kick it up a notch.

1) Put tomatillos, serrano, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and honey in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
2)Pour mixture into a medium sized pan and add chicken, heating it through. AND, you're done!
See how you could leave the salsa in the fridge all afternoon and not heat it until it's time for dinner? Loved it.

How easy is that?? Put it on some corn tortillas and add the queso fresco. (Don't leave this out, it's sooo good!) Top with some extra cilantro or lime juice if you want.

And, perhaps a nice margarita would finish the deal? =) Happy Cooking!

Gourmet Mac 'n' Cheese

Today's recipe is courtesy of my dear friend Sweet Jules. We often swap recipes, which works out great for both of us. I made a couple changes though Jule, just so you know. ;) I've been wanting to try this dish forever, since I'm a true lover of all things mac 'n' cheese, and it did not let me down! Side note before you start, prep everything first!!! I did not do this, and it was pure chaos in my kitchen and not a pretty sight to behold. So, I'll try to lay it out how I wish I had prepped for it. =) Aside from the bacon and tomatoes, this was the original recipe I received. When I made it, I added a little more of everything to make a slightly larger dish. I wasn't exact in my measurements and it turned out great. I don't know how you go wrong with these delicious cheeses. I hope it works for you! Happy Cooking!

4 Tbsp butter

5 pieces of bacon, crumbled

2 small tomatoes, sliced

1 cup panko bread crumbs

2 3/4 cups whole milk (I used 2%)

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/16 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

2 1/4 cups of cheese mix (I used mild cheddar and jack)

1 cup gruyere, grated

1/2 cup gouda, grated

1/2 lb elbow macaroni

Preheat oven to 375 and butter a casserole dish and set aside. Then...grate all your cheeses! Set aside in one bowl 1 1/2 cups of cheddar mix, 3/4 cup gruyere and 1/4 cup of the gouda. In another bowl keep the remaining cheeses. Prepare dry ingredients salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne and set these all aside in a small bowl. Then melt 1 Tbsp of butter, toss with the bread crumbs and set aside. Cook bacon, set aside to cool, once cooled, crumble it up! Start boiling water for your macaroni and cook it according to package directions. While that is cooking, heat milk in microwave for 3 minutes. In a large saucepan melt 3 Tbsp of butter. When that bubbles, add flour and cook for one minute. Slowly add mik to butter/flour mixture, whisking constantly until mixture bubbles and becomes thick. Remove from heat and stir in the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne. Then add the larger cheese mixture and crumbled bacon. Stir until well mixed and set aside. (Taste it at this point, if it needs a little extra salt or pepper don't be afraid to doctor it up to suit your taste buds!) Add cheese sauce to the macaroni and transfer to casserole dish. Top with remaining cheeses, sliced tomatoes and panko bread crumb mixture. Bake until brown on top about 20-30 minutes and enjoy! It was sooooo tasty!

Mexican Lasagna

Tonight we made Mexican Lasagna. Consensus was that it was a tasty dish for sure, and we would make it again. There was so much leftover which is handy for my lunches this week! It took roughly 15 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to bake. You will need the following:

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey (beef or chicken)

1/2 chopped onion

1 can corn

1 can black beans

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin

corn tortillas

salt to taste

2 1/2 cups shredded mexican cheese

2 green onions

Evoo

Preheat oven to 400. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Add evoo, chopped onion, turkey, cumin and chili powder; brown for 5-7 minutes. Once meat is browned, add beans, tomatoes and corn. At this point, I could tell it wasn't going to be spicy enough for us. Shocker, I know. =) I then added about 2 tsp of Jalapeno Pepper Hot Sauce from Trader Joes. It stepped it up a notch. If I had a small can of jalapenos, I would have added those. Anything to spice it up! In a large baking dish, coat with evoo. Layer tortillas, meat mixture and cheese. Top with diced green onions, bake for 15 minutes. I topped mine with sour cream, but you could really top it with whatever you wanted--guacamole, salsa, crushed tortilla chips for some crunch-- be creative and enjoy!

Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells

This was super tasty! It's a little more time consuming than I originally thought, but it's really worth it, and pretty simple to make. For the pasta sauce, I took two jars of pre-made sauce and added a bunch of herbs and of course a ton of crushed red pepper to help spice things up! I didn't have any fresh parsley, so I used dried parsley instead. It makes quite a bit, so it's great for leftovers!!! Enjoy!

1 12oz box jumbo pasta shells

Olive oil

1/2 diced yellow onion

3 cloves crushed garlic

1 lb turkey

salt

pepper

2 jars marinated artichokes

15 oz ricotta cheese

3/4 cup parmesan

2 eggs slightly beaten

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella

5 cups Arrabbiata sauce

-Boil pasta for about 4-5 minutes, remove from heat and let cool.

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees

-In a large skillet heat olive oil, onions, and garlic for about three minutes, then add turkey and cook until browned. Season with salt and pepper, add artichokes, remove from heat and let cool.

-After slightly cooled, add basil, parsley, salt, pepper, ricotta cheese and eggs.

-Pour 1 cup of arrabbiata sauce on bottom of 9"x 13" pan

-Stuff shells with turkey mixture, filling pan with stuffed shells.

-Top with sauce and mozzarella cheese

-Bake for 20 minutes

Chipotle Sloppy Joes

So, I've decided to start to venture out into the blogging world. I'm pretty excited about it. Not that I expect this to be Julie and Julia style, but I love to cook and I wanted a place to share new recipes. If my husband gives it a thumbs up, I'll blog it. This week I have three new recipes, so I'll let you know how they go. Enjoy the recipes to come and please let me know if you try it a different way or adapt it to fit your taste buds!!! We loved this dish! It only takes about 20 minutes to make...so it was super easy. The only thing I would change would be to add more chiles. It was just mildly spicy, and well...we love things on the ultra spicy scale. =)

2 1/2 cups sliced vidalia onion

1 can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

1 lb ground beef (or turkey)

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 80z. can tomato sauce

4 whole wheat hamburger buns

1) Heat small skillet on medium-high heat. Add a little evoo (or cooking spray) and add onion to pan. Cover and cook 8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

2)Remove 2 tsp of adobo sauce and 2 chipotle chiles; chopped. (Add more for a spicier kick!) Reserve remaining chiles for another time.

3) Heat larger skillet over medium-high heat. Coat with evoo or cooking spray; add chopped green bell pepper. Saute for 2-3 minutes, add ground beef. Cook until browned or starts to crumble. Stir in chiles, adobo sauce, tomato paste, salt, cumin, and tomato sauce. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Spoon 1/2 cup of sloppy joes over whole wheat bun and top with onions!