Easy Mexican Lasagna Wednesday, Jul 11 2012 

Beef and Main Dishes and Recipes , , , AnneJisca 7:15 am

Today, I bring you yet another recipe by Kaillie Fagan! I appreciate the several recipes she has submitted to be published here. They look easy, and yummy! This summer is a busy time for my family and I, and it’s great to post a few recipes by someone else. 🙂

Easy Mexican Lasagna

9 tortillas
1 lb ground beef
2 cups of shredded cheese
1 can of black beans (drained and rinced)
2 cups of strained diced tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp salt and oregano
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped finely
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup salsa

Heat oven to 350F. Spray rectangular baking dish. Cut 6 of the tortillas in half, and then 3 in 2 inch strips.

In a small saucepan,bring strained tomotoes, garlic,salt, oregano, and chili powder to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

In a large non stick frying pan cook ground beef. Strain it and set aside.

Add oil to frying pan, cook onion until softened (3-4 minutes). Add black beans and corn. Return beef to frying pan. Stir one cup of salsa. Mix it well.

Place the tortillas in a way that the bottom on the pan is covered (should take 2 tortilla and 3 strips). Top with ¼ of the cheese and half of the meet mixture. Repeat tortilla layer, cheese and meat mixture. Top with remaining tortilla and salsa. Sprinkle remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, until cheese is melted. Slice and serve with sour cream.

 

Fajita Meat Seasoning Friday, Jan 27 2012 

Chicken and Misc and Recipes , , , , AnneJisca 7:57 am

Photo Credit

On Wednesday I shared my homemade Taco Meat seasoning. Today, I want to share my homemade Fajita seasoning. I use this one when we eat chicken/turkey tortillas. If I’m out, I just use my taco meat seasoning, but this one adds a nice flavour to chicken. 🙂

Fajita Meat Seasoning

3 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp chicken powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cumin

Mix all together. This equals 3 store-bought packages. Simply sprinkle some to taste on top of your cooked chicken chunks. Add a little bit of water, and simmer until most of the liquid has cooked away. You’ll be left with a slightly ‘saucey’ fajita meat!

 

Taco Meat Seasoning Wednesday, Jan 25 2012 

Beef and Misc and Recipes , , , AnneJisca 7:47 am

I love homemade anything. Same goes with taco seasoning! I never bought it when we first got married because it didn’t fit our student budget. One day I had tortillas at a friend’s house, seasoned with taco meat seasoning… oh! It tasted like heaven compared to plain old ground beef thrown in a tortilla. 😉

Then I noticed that MSG triggers some of my frequent headaches/migraines, and most taco seasonings in the store contain MSG. Thankfully, I found a homemade recipe for taco seasoning that I love!

I mix up this batch, put it in a labelled container and it’s as easy to use as an envelope of store-bought taco seasoning! Yum!

Try it out in the above pictured Taco Lettuce Wrap! Yum!

Taco Meat Seasoning

1 1/2 Tbsp corn starch
4 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp dry minced onion
1/2 tsp beef bouillon powder
1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Mix all ingredients together. When ready to use, sprinkle some to taste on top of cooked ground beef, add a little bit of water, simmer until most of the liquid has cooked away. You’ll be left with a slightly ‘saucey’ taco meat!

 

Taco Lettuce Wrap Monday, Jan 2 2012 

Beef and Chicken and Main Dishes and Recipes and Vegetarian , , , AnneJisca 7:34 am

I was browsing Pinterest the other day, and came across a recipe for Turkey Taco Lettuce. Basically, instead of using a taco shell, or a tortilla, you use whole lettuce leaves to hold your taco toppings.

What a great idea for reduced calories! Plus, I never buy taco shells, and seldom buy tortillas, because they are pricey up here. Once in a while I get around to making homemade tortillas though, and that’s always a treat! Why did I never think of using lettuce leaves?

That same night, we have taco lettuce wraps! It was very yummy. 🙂

Carefully spread a leaf or two of lettuce, add whatever toppings you want, wrap and eat! Of course, it still makes a bit of a mess, it still ends up falling on the plate, but that happens even with tacho shells and tortillas! 🙂

Toppings I’ve used on tacos:
Ground Beef, seasoned with a homemade taco seasoning
Turkey pieces, seasoned with a homemade fajita seasoning
Beans, any kind works!
Lentils
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Peppers
Mushrooms
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Salsa
Sour Cream
Thousand Island
Cheese

What toppings do you like on tacos/tortillas?

 

Homemade wheat (or spelt) tortillas Thursday, Jul 14 2011 

Breads and Recipes and Spelt and Wheat and Whole Grains and With-a-twist , , , AnneJisca 7:30 am


My friend Glenda taught me how to make tortillas. She’s much better at making them (better shapes!), but nonetheless, we sure love them around here. No matter how odd the shape! Tortillas, burritos, breakfast tortillas, fajitas. quesadillas, or enchiladas are all great ways to eat these! With where I live, buying them is out of question for our food budget, so we only eat them when I make them. We loooove them. 🙂

Wheat (or spelt) Tortillas

3 cups wheat or spelt flour
1 cup white flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup oil
1 1/2 cup warm milk

Mix dry ingredients. Add oil, and mix until crumbly. Add milk, mix until soft ball forms (add more flour if dough is still too sticky). Cover with a towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Divide into 12-16 balls of dough (or more if you want smaller tortillas). Roll to 1/8″ thin, you may need to flour your countertop so they do not stick when removed. Transfer to warm frying pan, on medium heat.

After about 30 seconds, flip over.

Make sure not to overcook them or they will get crunchy. If some of them do, make tortilla chips with them, quesadilla, or use them in enchiladas! 🙂 No waste!! Once cooked on both sides, place in between a towel so they remain soft while they cool.

 

Et voilà! Enjoy them! They are so good, and with so many uses. No wonder they disappear so quickly around here. 🙂

 

My attempt at corn tortillas! Tuesday, Jul 5 2011 

Family , , AnneJisca 7:08 am

Yesterday, my husband and I attempted to make corn tortillas using masa corn flour. It did not work well at all! They taste funny, my husband ended up being the one to roll and cook them. They just didn’t turn out thin, nor like tortillas, nor could they be rolled right.

So my question is: how do you make good corn tortillas?! My attempt was using the recipe on the bag, combining just masa flour with water. Any tips or advice would be appreciated! I want to master this! 😀