Baked Tortilla Beef Stack

Hi there! I’m cookiemother2 and as my username suggests, I love to cook! I’d like to share with you some of my cooking favourites, and from now on I’ll be doing a monthly ‘column’ in Mmmm….smells good!

So, this is my first installment of a recipe that works in my family. I’m also happy to chat with anyone in this forum about these recipes, and will ask you all if you have recipes that work well for you. For example, right now, my garden is producing zucchini’s & I’m looking for any zucchini recipe, but especially a zucchini chocolate cake recipe, especially if you’ve used it & it’s worked! ;-)

Most of my recipes do come from cookbooks and/or celebrity chefs; but I like to add my own touches. For the record, if I have found a recipe somewhere else and copied it in this forum, I will always give credit to the chef/author.* I type the recipe as is, then tell you what or how I would change things. My policy at home is that when I first make a new recipe, I try to make it exactly as it is written just so I know how it should be. Then I play with it.

Now, let's talk about January's dish! If I give DH a menu choice of 3 dishes, one of them being this, he always choses this one! My girls don't eat a lot at tea time, but always have seconds of this one! It's one of those dishes you have to have 2nds of, even if you're full. I make this in my large lasagna dish, more often when we have guests, and rarely have to make dinner the next night, because we have so many leftovers! I’m planning to substitute grated zucchini for the spinach next time (surprise, surprise!) It’s a bit like lasagna, but refreshingly different. I’d love to talk one day about people’s different versions of lasagna!

Baked Tortilla Beef Stack
Serves 6-8
Preparation 20 minutes
Cooking 40 minutes

1 Tbs oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1kg extra lean beef mince
600g jar Old El Paso Thick’n’Chunky Salsa
35 g sachet Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Mix
240g pack Old El Paso 6 Burrito Tortillas
450g frozen spinach, thawed
1 cup grated tasty cheese
Green salad, to serve

~ Preheat oven to 200. Heat oil in a large heavy-based pan. Cook onion until tender, then add mince and cook until well browned. Add 2/3 of the Thick ‘n’ Chunky Salsa and sprinkle Taco Seasoning Mix over meat. Stir, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
~ Brush a 29cm X 23cm lasagna-type dish with oil. Place a little of the meat sauce in the base, top with Burrito Tortillas, then layer more meat sauce, spinach and Tortillas. Continue layering, ending with Tortillas. Spread remaining Salsa over Tortillas.
~ Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Serve with a green salad.

Hint: Use 2 tortillas per layer; cut in half and place the cut (straight) sides against the edges of the dish

My notes:
• The dish I use is larger (35 X 29cm) and it works fine, but I could use more tortillas than they suggest, that’s all
• I use boxes of frozen spinach, my veggie garden prowess hasn’t stretched to growing that yet, so I just use 2 boxes, I think it works out to 500g, it works fine for us…
• Because the dish I use is larger, I don’t measure my grated cheese, just use as much or as little as I want.
• I often forget to do the layer of salsa under the cheese, but without enough tortillas, it’s already melting into one form of sauce or another…
• I’m planning to try cutting spinach out & putting in either grated, or finely sliced (think blade on a food processor) carrot & zucchini next time… Maybe grated carrot & sliced zucchini, as the carrot will take longer to cook. Hey, I could add the grated carrot to the mince mix, make sure it cooks! Now I’m thinkin’! ;-)

Enjoy, and please let me know what you think!

* This recipe is from a double sided magazine extra, one side is called Fabulous Easy & Delicious Recipes, Modern Mexican, Fresh & casual meal ideas to make Mexican easy. The other side is called Fresh Italian Discover fresh & contemporary ideas with Latina and it’s printed by General Mills Australia.

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Cookiemother2
"Bubble" born 2 July 2007.

Huey's original warm chicken salad

Hello! Here we are again, this is installment number two! I love this recipe, it is just so very delicious, and goes off really well every single time you serve it! Think about the fresh, juicy burst of corn on the cob, the way the potatoes absorb a bit of the bacon flavour, the way the chicken absorbs the marinade, then so does the lettuce, potato and everything else when you use the reserved marinade as a dressing. Oh, this is so yummy! My mouth is watering describing it! This is definitely going on my menu this week!

When I gave you baked Mexican tortilla stack last month, I wrote the recipe as is, then added my own notes at the end. This time I’ve left the notes right next to the ingredients or method they apply to. My theory is it’s less confusing, less of your eyes jumping up and down, but, as usual I’m open to comments and suggestions! BTW, in my language ‘tsp’ means teaspoon and Tbs means tablespoon.

Huey’s Original Warm Chicken Salad
Serves 4-6
Preparation 20 minutes
Cooking 40 minutes

Ingredients:
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 heaped tspn sambal oelek (chili in a jar)
1 garlic clove, crushed
Freshly ground salt & pepper
A splash of soy sauce (this needs to be more than I first thought, start with a Tbs, and add more if you think it needs it)
2-3 skinless chicken breasts
8 cooked baby potatoes, halved
2 corn cobs, cooked & cut into thick slices
4 rindless bacon rashers
1 large handful mixed lettuces
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved

~ Whisk together vegetable oil, sambal oelek, crushed garlic clove, salt & pepper, and the soy sauce in a bowl. Set aside one third. (I often forget to do this, which is a pain, because you have to either ad lib a bit or do some maths to make ‘not too much’ dressing…)
~ Preheat BBQ
~ Toss Chicken breasts in marinade and leave for 30 minutes, turning once or twice. (I slice them first, then they don’t take as long – or aren’t as difficult to cook all the way thru!)
~ Put chicken breasts on barbie along with potatoes and corn.
~ Cook, turning regularly, adding bacon towards the end. (make sure potatoes soak up some of those yummy bacon juices!)
~ Slice chicken (I do this before marinating, as mentioned before) and bacon and toss along with lettuces, tomatoes, potatoes and corn.
~ Add reserved marinade to taste and serve in a large bowl with plenty of crusty bread on the side.

As usual, I’d love to know what you do to make this yours! Enjoy!

* This recipe is from Iain Hewitson’s recipe book called Huey’s Greatest Hits

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Cookiemother2
"Bubble" born 2 July 2007.

Vegetable Lasagna

This is another favourite in our household! It is another 'bulk food, budget friendly' meal, like the mexican beef stack, but if that were it's only selling point, I wouldn't be making it over and over again like I do! It's cheesy, veggie goodness no-one in my family turns down, and hubby relishes having leftovers for lunch at work the next day. This one is another dish that my kids eat the whole bowl of. Have fun playing with the veggie combinations to suit your tastes!


Vegetable Lasagna
Source: Australian Woman's Weekly - MURRAY WILTON, 2GB

Serving size: Serves 8
Cooking time: More than 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 x 400g tin tomatoes
1 x large jar pasta sauce
1 tub tomato paste
¼ pumpkin, peeled & sliced (I think this is ¼ of a butternut pumpkin, but I use at least half!)
2 potatoes, peeled & sliced
3 carrots, peeled & sliced
250g frozen peas
250g frozen corn
1 sweet potato, peeled & sliced
1 block frozen spinach
200g button mushrooms, sliced
80g butter
80g plain flour
1 litre milk
2 handfuls of parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, crushed
500g cheddar tasty cheese, grated
Approximately 5 lasagne sheets
METHOD

Preheat oven to moderate (180°C or 160°C fan-forced). Heat oil in a large, deep pan.

Fry the onion and add the garlic. When fragrant add the tomatoes, sauce and the tomato paste. Stir to combine.

Add the pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, peas, corn, sweet potato, spinach and mushrooms. Stir through the vegetables until well combined. Simmer until just tender, approximately 35-45 minutes.

Meanwhile make the white sauce. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over a gentle heat. Add flour; stirring to combine. Gradually add milk, stirring continuously. Add parmesan cheese, garlic and 2 handfuls of cheddar cheese. Stir to combine and melt cheeses, set aside. Add extra milk or some water if the sauce is too thick.

To assemble the lasagne, place a layer of the vegetable mixture in the base of a large rectangular baking dish, followed by the white sauce and lasagne sheets. You will create approximately 2-3 layers.

Sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese over the top of the dish and bake for 45 minutes in a moderate oven. Serve with a green salad.

Cookiemother’s notes:
Either this makes so very much more veggie mix than you need, or I musn’t use enough of the mix in the lasagna, as I always have left over veggie mix. This doesn’t need to be a problem! I have found a few uses for it! Because the dish itself comes out so big, I usually freeze the leftover mix before I give it a new life, otherwise it all starts to seem a bit déjà vu -ish!
Ideas:
1. Throw it thru the blender, pop it in a saucepan, add stock, and there we have soup
2. Throw it thru the blender, pop it in a saucepan, add more tomato pasta sauce, boil some pasta, and serve as a pasta dish
3. Reheat in a saucepan with butter, use as topping on baked potatoes
4. Make another, but smaller lasagna to share with a neighbour, or a friend who has a flu or just had a baby!

You can blitz the veggie mix before you put it in the lasagne if it makes it any easier for you, for whatever reason it can help with some kids if they don't know what they're eating, even some adults would rather not know how many veggies you're getting into them!

Of course, as usual, if you come up with other suggestions as to what to do with the veggie mix, or the lasagne in general, please share with us all!

As always, enjoy!

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Cookiemother2
"Bubble" born 2 July 2007.

Liam Neeson's Yummo Irish Stew

Ok, so it's getting cold and wet, and I'm loving anything that can go in my slow cooker. This is my all time favourite winter meal, I just can't tell you how much I love it, except to say: I dream about it in summer! To serve for guests the only thing I do different is add lots of "warmed in the oven" crusty bread to soak up those "too good to waste" juices. If you've added too much liquid (easy to do if you use a 'normal' recipe in the slow cooker) don't stress, it's absolutely fantastic mixed into mashed potato the next night! ohhh, I want to make this right now! BTW I had to give you a green icon for the Irish effect...

Liam Neeson’s Yummo Irish Stew
Australian Good Taste (Sorry, I don't know what issue!)
Serves 4
Preparation time 10-15 mins
Cooking time 50-55 mins

No true Irishman can refuse a steaming serving of this classic one pot meal…

20g butter
800g boned lamb shoulder, trimmed and cut into 3cm cubes
1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and sliced
750 mls beef stock
400g chat potatoes, halved
250g carrots, thickly sliced
¼ bunch thyme
½ cup fresh parsley leaves
300 mls thickened cream

Heat butter in heavy casserole over high heat. Cook the lamb in 2 batches until browned on all sides. Add spring onions and cook over medium to high heat for 3 minutes. Add the stock and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes, Stir vigorously using a wooden spoon to break up the potato. Add the carrot and thyme sprigs and simmer for 10-15 mins or until the carrot is tender. Stir in the cream and parsley and serve…

Enjoy!

Cookiemother's tips: I find that it’s better to use a lower heat & cook it slower, the meat will be more tender. Great with crusty bread rolls, heated in the oven ready to sop up the juices. Talk to your local friendly butcher (not the Supermarket one, but a dedicated butcher, who will give good service because he/she cares about your repeat custom) about what you’re doing & he or she will tell you what sort of lamb to use…

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Cookiemother2
"Bubble" born 2 July 2007.

Huey's recipes

This made my day!

It's a link to the old (in SA it's old, anyway) BiLo website, with 80 of Huey's recipes!!!! Just thought I'd share in case someone else got half as excited as I did!

Have fun!

http://www.bilo.com.au/lets_cook/dat...pg&pg=676&ct=9

Spinach Risotto

Hello again! Long time no post, I know...

I was talking to a friend recently about what we're feeding our 9 months olds, and I mentioned pumpkin risotto & spinach risotto. I thought I'd share spinach one with you, and if you want pumpkin (it's far more straightforward than this one!) let me know. I also saw a pressure cooker risotto recipe this week, just ask if you're interested!

Risotto con spinaci
Rice with spinach
Serves 4; Preparation: 20 minutes;
Cooking: 25 minutes; Level of difficulty: Medium
3 Tbs butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, cleaned and chopped
1 leek, cleaned & sliced (white part only)
200g fresh spinach, cleaned, cooked, squeezed dry and finely chopped (C: I use a 250g pack of frozen spinach)
350g Arborio rice
1.2l boiling vegetable or beef stock (C: I use chicken or vegetarian "chicken style" stock)
Salt & pepper
Nutmeg (optional)
4 Tbs freshly grated parmesan cheese
(C: I add cubes of extra butter at the end)
(C: Adding toasted pine nuts or almonds at the end is really nice, too.)

Wine: a dry white (Valcalepio Bianco) (C: hey, I'm just quoting the book!)

Variations:

Just for you, I’ve copied this exactly as it is in the book (which I normally give credit to, but I've had it so long I have no idea where it's from - so sorry!), but added my own comments (C: looking like this in brackets and grey) but if you want it exactly as I do it, add more parmesan, and more butter at the first & final stages. It’s really not as complicated as I’ve made it look with all my detail focused additions; hope you have fun giving it a go!