Enchilade Fiesta!

We've had a recent tragedy here in our happy neighborhood.....our local Tex-Mex restaurant has closed.  Gasp, oh no! Some of you non-city dwellers might be thinking, "So what?! You live in NYC, you have tons of options." And, you would be right BUT you just don't really understand unless you've been faced with walking 10 blocks in a freezing, driving rain for a measly enchilada and cheap margarita.  So, I've decided that instead of torturing myself with a painful walk, I'll just figure out how to make my favorites at home so that we won't miss feel the loss quite so much.  Thus, I bring you today's recipe for low-fat turkey, black bean and corn enchiladas. We had ours with chips & salsa, Mexican beer and salad (I accidentally bought the Asian salad so our dinner was Mexican-Asian fusion, oops).

Dinner came out great and we had a nice little mid-week fiesta plus we've also got a freezer full of margarita concentrate so I'm seriously considering inviting the neighbors and charging admission to our living room.

Turkey, Black Bean & Corn Enchiladas

1 turkey tenderloins, cooked and shredded

1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce

1 15 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 15 oz can corn, drained

1 4.5 can chopped green chiles

8 6 inch corn tortillas

1 c. low-fat Mexican style cheese

Low-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt, to taste

1 avocado, chopped

1. Mix shredded turkey with black beans, corn and chiles.  Can be made in advance and stored in fridge overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 7 x 11 inch casserole dish.  Wrap tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave for 30 seconds or until warm.
3. Assemble enchiladas by putting a heaping spoonful of turkey mixture on the side of tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and place in casserole dish seam side down.
4. Pour sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining ½ cup of cheese.  Cover with foil and bake until bubbly (about 45 minutes). Garnish with sliced avocado and lowfat sour cream or Greek yogurt if desired.

Then do your Casa Bonita happy dance:

 
image via examiner.com

Retro Baked Hot Dogs

We just got back from vacation, yay vacation! We went on a cruise and had a great time. We got sunburned on the beach, drank mai tais, made fun of the onboard entertainment (while secretly enjoying every minute) and watched for dolphins from our balcony. Most of all though we just spent time together which is a special treat for two busy people with very different work schedules. Here's a very awkward picture of me enjoying our fun vacation, I think I was mid sentence or something and um, don't mind my fantastic tan.

Now we're back to regular life (ugh), and will be heading back to work soon (double blah). I was smart enough to clean out the fridge before we left so that we didn't come home to the lovely scent of old milk but my awesome planning meant the dinner pickins' were pretty slim. On a side note, this thoughtful bit of planning also lead to the great oj debate of '11 when I accidentally threw out the orange juice minutes before my main squeeze went to pour himself a glass....oops. I'm still hearing about it and doubt the jokes about throwing out the juice will stop anytime soon.

Anywho I'm trying to avoid ordering take-out all the time sooooo tonight I'll be looting what's left of the fridge to make a childhood favorite....baked hot dogs and soup.The recipe for this one came from one of the first cookbooks I got as a child (either Betty Crocker or Better Homes & Gardens Junior, although I can't remember which at the moment) so I've creatively named this one Retro Baked Hot Dogs and that's about as good as it gets with vacation brain, enjoy!

Retro Baked Hot Dogs

4 hot dogs

4 pieces of bread

8 toothpicks

Butter or margarine

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
2. Cut slits down the length of the hot dogs.
3. Butter the bread and place buttered side down on the cookie sheet.  Place the slit hot dogs diagonally across the bread, then fold the buttered side up and secure with toothpicks (creating a little “tent” with the hot dogs nestled in the middle).
4. Bake the hot dogs in the oven for about 20 -25 minutes or until bread is golden brown.

*Note: some people add a piece of cheese between the bread and the hot dogs before baking.  I like to think that by leaving out the cheese, I'm making it healthier....please let me have these small comforts.

Still lazy - this time with roast beef!

My days are long, there are meetings to worry about, laundry, gym, Hoarders, the inevitable post Hoarders cleaning spree, Jersey Shore....well, you get the idea.  So you might be wondering, where does dinner fit into this packed schedule of trashy TV? Well ladies and gents, I present you with my all time favorite kitchen appliance:

That's right, the lowly slow cooker has found a place of honor in this metropolitan kitchen. No joke, if I had a car it would have an I heart crockpots bumper sticker. Because really, who doesn't want to come home to a delicious and healthy dinner after a full day of stuff and things? Plus I found out I can throw frozen protein in there directly from the freezer......genius! I'm not ashamed to admit that I own 4 of  them, viva la slow cooker!

Anyway enough about my unhealthy obsession, let's get down to business with a classic Sunday roast from my childhood adapted for my favorite appliance.  Interesting side note on this one, I hated sandwiches when I was a kid (seriously, what kid hates sandwiches) so my Mom would give me straight up roast beef cubes in a plastic baggie. No bread, no cheese, just plain old roast beef because I was a weird kid.  It's amazing that I ever managed to become a relatively well adjusted adult.  Still working out some kinks on that well adjusted adult thing though so no promises.

Slow cooker Roast Beef
Beef Roast (pretty much anything will do, mine was a frozen 3 1/2 lb top round roast)
1 10.75 oz can mushroom soup
1 14.5 oz can beef broth
1 packet onion soup mix

Place roast directly in slow cooker (frozen is fine, no need to defrost just let it cook a little longer). Whisk together the three soups and pour over the beef.  Cook on low for 10-12 hours.

French Sweet Potatoes
2 sweet potatoes, cubed
3 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp mustard
1 tsp herbs de provence
1 tsp rosemary
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix together mustard, olive oil and seasonings, toss with potatoes to coat. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes, tossing stirring halfway through.