Spicy Black Bean Enchiladas

This is a pretty quick and easy enchilada recipe. I've tweaked a few things to make it a little more our style.
Recipe:
8 flour tortillas *I highly recommend the uncooked tortillas*
2 15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 pkg enchilada seasoning
2/3 c water (this wasn't quite enough, I think I'd go closer to 3/4)
1 10 oz can enchilada seasoning- we like medium, if you can handle the heat!
1 c sour cream
shredded cheese- the pepper jack I used turned out really good, but use whatever you have or like

In skillet, mix water and seasoning packet, then stir in the beans. Let that simmer til the sauce thickens and beans are tender. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of sour cream.
Assemble the enchiladas by spreading 2 T enchilada sauce on the tortilla, 1/4 c bean mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Roll and put in greased 9x13, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining 7 tortillas. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top of rolled tortillas.
Cover and bake for 15 minutes at 375. Uncover and sprinkle the top with cheese, bake an additional 5 minutes. Serve with remaining sour cream.

**This is a great dish to make ahead and then refrigerate until you are ready to eat. Just add an additional 10 minutes of baking time to warm through!

Teriyaki Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This is an easy crock pot dinner that only requires a few ingredients. I think I got it from some magazine, but I don't really remember. It's been too long.

Start with a pork roast. Top it with some diced onions, teriyaki sauce and pineapple juice.

After it has cooked all day, pull the roast out and shred it.

Top it with some pineapple slices, served on buns and served with garden fresh veggies.

Perfect summer meal.

Recipe:

3 lbs pork shoulder roast (or whatever is on sale)

1 c finely diced onion

1 c teriyaki sauce, divided (if you can find low sodium, use it)

1/2 c unsweetend pineapple juice (I use the juice from the can of slices, and just save the slices)

3 T flour

sliced pineapple

Place the roast in the crock pot with onions. Pour over 1/2 c teriyaki sauce and pineapple juice. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. About 45 minutes before you are ready to eat, pull the roast out onto a plate. Mix the remaining 1/2 c sauce with the flour and whisk it into the crock pot. Cover and cook that on high for 30-40 minutes allowing the juices to thicken. Shred the meat and return to the crock pot to warm it through. Serve on buns, topped with pineapple slices.

Corn Salsa

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law and it is always a hit. I made it the other night for a get-together and everyone wanted the recipe! It's great for this time of year when tomatoes are in season.

(Sorry, this was taken after the event)

Corn Salsa:

3-5 tomatoes

2 c frozen corn (or fresh if you are that ambitious)

1 bunch of cilantro

1 bunch of green onions

1 can black beans- drained and rinsed

1 pkt dry Italian seasoning

1/2 c apple cider vinegar

1/4 c oil

Put tomatoes, cilantro and onions in a food processor, each seperately scraping into a bowl when finished. Mix with corn and beans. Mix vinegar, oil and seasoning in processor and stir into salsa. Chill at least one hour before serving.

Tomato and Artichoke Spaghetti

Just tried this from the Pioneer Woman's site and loved it! It went together really quickly and has basic, simple ingredients. Go HERE for pics and recipe.

Simmered Chinese Chicken

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Jenny, and she got it from her mother-in-law, Mary, and I don't know where she got it from. We took a family trip to visit them in Oregon, and Jenny made this for us. It was really good, and goes together really quickly. The original recipe calls for chicken thighs. I rarely cook recipes that serve each person a full piece of chicken. It's less expensive to cut up a few breasts or tenders. So if I can adjust the recipe, I do, and that's what I did here. The thighs are delicious, but take a little longer to cook. The pieces brown up and cook in just a few minutes. You could do either, they are both good!Recipe:
-1 T oil
-chicken thighs, enough for your family, or a couple chicken breasts or tenders, diced into bite size pieces
1/3 c soy sauce
1/3 c brown sugar
1/2 c water
1 T ketchup
1/4 c apple juice
dash of red pepper
1 clove of crushed garlic
2 T cornstarch mixed into 2 T water (if using thighs, wait to add this until the end)
If using thighs, skin and trim them if needed. Heat oil in skillet. Brown chicken in oil, on both sides.
Mix all the other ingredients and pour over chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover, cooking for 35-45 min for thighs, turning the chicken twice. For pieces, leave uncovered and cook 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking.
If using thighs, remove the chicken and add cornstarch mixture to thicken juices, then pour over chicken. If you did pieces and mixed it in the beginning, the juices will have already thickened.
Top with sesame seeds and serve over rice.

Perfect Sugar Cookies

This is my mom's recipe and a family favorite. Actually, a favorite of anyone that tries them. They are also my go-to holiday cookie (if you can't tell). If there's a holiday, we usually have an excuse to make these cookies.

Recipe:
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 c margarine
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 c buttermilk (you can make you own by mixing 1 T lemon juice into milk and letting it sit and curdle for 5 minutes)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
6 c flour (this isn't exact, add 5 and then check the consistency of your dough)

Cream sugars, margarine, eggs, vanilla and milk. Add sifted dry ingredients until you get a stiff dough. Don't add too much flour! Refrigerate the dough for several hours or overnight. Roll out on a floured surface and cut into shapes. Bake on greased cookie sheet for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Then frost and decorate. Have fun!

Pasta and Alfredo Casserole Style

You can't really call this fettucine alfredo, because I wouldn't use fettucine. Besides that noodles are hard for kids, a noodle isn't great for this dish.

Kev's grandma was making this one day when I went over to cut hair. She was just sort of inventing it as she went along and I took the idea and tried it out too. It turned out pretty good and the kids seem to like it too, which is always a bonus.

I've tried all sorts of sauces and all work, but so far, homemade is my favorite. I really like this one by Shirley J, but you have to have their universal mix. So any recipe you have will work, and you can do jar alfredo, it just isn't quite as good.

Boil pasta, but make sure it isn't too soft. Then mix with sauce. I like to add chopped canadian bacon or ham, and crumbled bacon would be great too. You could also throw veggies in. I was going to add small pieces of cauliflower, so the kids couldn't tell, but so they'd get some vegetable nutrition, but that will have to be next time.

Put what you've combined into a 9x13 and then I top mine with seasoned bread crumbs. You could also just grate fresh parmesan on top, or both. Bake for 20 or so minutes at 350.

I like to make this early in the day and then put it in my fridge until dinner time. If you do this, bake it for closer to 35-40 minutes. You can also eat it without baking. We've done that and it is really good and creamy.