Superfood Quinoa Bowl (with sweet potatoes and popped black beans)

INGREDIENTS

• • 12 oz sweet potatoes
  • olive oil
  • 1 oz sunflower seeds
  • 1 oz pepitas
  • 1 C quinoa
  • 2 lemons
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 boxes or cans black beans
  • 1/2 oz fresh cilantro
  • 4 roma tomatoes
  • 2 jalapeno peppers
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 2/3 C plain yogurt
  • 4 oz spinach

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INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Halve the sweet potatoes lengthways, rub with a little oil, sea salt and black pepper, then place cut-side down on a baking sheet. Roast for around 30 minutes or until soft.
  2. Toast the sunflower seeds and pipettes in a large dry saucepan over a medium heat until golden and tip into a bowl.
  3. Place the quinoa in a strainer and rinse under cold running water. Tip the quinoa into the saucepan. Cover with 4 C boiling salted water, place over a medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook for 20 minutes or until tender, then drain well. Tip back into the pan, season to taste, finely grate in half the zest of 1 lemon, squeeze in the juice, then cover.
  4. Thinly slice the garlic. Heat a splash of olive oil in a pan over a medium heat, add the garlic and smoked paprika, then cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden.
  5. Drain and add the beans, then cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, or until popped and crispy.
  6. Pick and roughly chop the cilantro leaves, roughly chop the tomatoes and place into a small mixing bowl. Finely chop and add the jalapeños, along with a splash of extra virgin olive oil, then season to taste.
  7. Spoon the yogurt into a small bowl. Finely grate in half the zest from the remaining lemon, squeeze in the juice and season lightly.
  8. Divide the quinoa between your plates and top with a sweet potato half, cut-side up. Serve the beans on top, add a dollop of yogurt, drizzle over the tomato and jalapeño salsa and sprinkle over the toasted seeds.
  9. Dress the spinach in the remaining lemony yogurt and serve on the side.

Roasted Cauliflower and Squash Tacos

• Vegetable Filling

  • 10 oz. Cauliflower Florets
  • 8 oz. Butternut Squash
  • 1 tsp Cumin
  • 1 tsp Chili Flakes
  • Honey
  • 1 tsp Chili Powder

• Yogurt Crema

• 0.25 ounce Parsley
• 1 Lime
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1/3 C Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream
• 4 tsp Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper
• 6 Flour or Corn Tortillas
• 1/2 C Feta Cheese

Wash and dry all produce. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place cauliflower on one baking sheet and squash on another. Sprinkle chili powder and cumin evenly over both baking sheets. Drizzle squash with 2 tsp honey and as much of the chili flakes as you’d like.

Toss cauliflower and squash with a large drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Put baking sheets in oven and roast until veggies are golden brown and tender, 20-25 minutes, tossing once halfway through.

Finely chop parsley. Cut lime into wedges, reserving 2 wedges for serving. Mince 1/4 tsp garlic.

In a medium bowl, combine 1/3 cup yogurt (we sent more), minced garlic, half the parsley, and a few squeezes of lime (to taste). Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1 TBSP water to thin out crema.

With 5 minutes left to go on veggies, wrap tortillas in foil and place in oven to warm.

Spread each tortilla with yogurt crema and top with cauliflower, squash, feta cheese, and a sprinkle of parsley. Plate tacos and serve with a lime wedge for squeezing.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

2 pkg frozen broccoli (but of course, fresh is better

2 ½ C diced cooked chicken

2 cans cream of chicken soup

Cook 2 pkg frozen broccoli according to directions.  Drain and cool.  Put in bottom of 9x11 glass baking dish.  Place over broccoli about 2 ½ C diced cooked chicken.  Sauce: 2 cans cream of chicken soup, ¾ C mayo, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 2/3 tsp curry powder, cooked carrots.  Pour sauce over chicken.  Sprinkle top with ½ C grated cheddar cheese.  Mix ½ C bread crumbs with 1 Tbsp melted butter and sprinkle over mixture.  Bake 30 min at 350.

Eggplant Gratin with Ricotta Custard and Parmesan

A Crescent Dragonwagon recipe.  Shelley and mom have both raved about this when I've made it in the past, so here it is.

It sounds fancy, but it's really not.  And there are some simplifications you can do if you want to save time.  I'll type it up as written and then say my simplifications at the end.

Cooking spray
2 medium-large eggplants, thinly sliced and soaked in salt water for 15 minutes
1/2 C stale but not crisp-dry breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley
1 tsp olive oil
3 oz. neufshatel reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
2 tsp cornstarch or arrowroot
1/2 C evaporated skim milk
Several gratings of fresh nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 lb. ricotta salata, crumbled
8-10 fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 C Basic Wintertime Italian Tomato Sauce (recipe to follow)
2 oz. (about 1/2 C) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1.  Preheat the oven to 375.
2.  Spray a jelly-roll pan and a medium gratin dish or casserole with cooking spray.  Set aside.
3.  Rinse the salt water off the eggplant slices under cold running water.  Pat dry.  Lay the eggplant out on the prepared jelly-roll pan.  Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake until softened, about 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and set aside.
4.  Combine the breadcrumbs with the garlic, parsley, and oil in a food processor.  Buzz, pulsing as needed, until the garlic and parsley are finely minced.  Transfer the crumb mixture to a small bowl and set aside.
5.  Without washing the food processor, make the binding custard:  Combine the neufchatel, egg, cornstarch, and 2 tablespoons of the evaporated skim milk in the food processor.  Pulse until the mixture is failry smooth, pausing from time to time to scrape down the sides.  With the motor running, pour in the remaining evaporated skim milk.  Season to taste with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.  Add the crumbled ricotta salata and pulse to just combine.  Do not puree, as you want chunks of ricotta salata remaining in the mixture.
6.  Line the bottom of the prepared gratin dish with about half of the eggplant.  Tear up the basil and scatter it over the eggplant.  Top with the tomato sauce.  Add another layer of eggplant, then pour the binding custard over it.  Sprinkle the Parmesan over the custard, then cover with the breadcrumb mixture.  Bake until the crumbs are golden brown and crisp, about 30 minutes.

Note: Ricotta salata is a pleasing, mild cheese, firm enough to slice, pure white, amiable, with a bit more salty bite to it than creamy fresh ricotta.  It's not easy to find in northwest Arkansas, so I occasionally fake it with my Ricotta Sorta-Salata, made by creaming together 1 C part-skim ricotta, 2 oz. feta cheese, and 1 oz. neufchatel reduced-fat cream cheese in the food processor.  Not authentic, but it does the trick.


Okay, here are my simplifications:

Obviously it's best and tastiest to do it as written.  It's also the most expensive and time consuming.  So sometimes I do any or all of the following to save time:

-use half a jar of marinara/tomato/pasta sauce instead of making my own.
-use ground nutmeg instead of fresh.
-use canned breadcrumbs.
-use regular cream cheese if I don't have the lower fat neufchatel on hand.
-make the Ricotta Sorta-Salata; I've done it without the feta when I didn't have that, and it turned out fine.
-I think I left out all but 2 Tbsp of the evaporated milk on accident one time, and it still tasted good.
-sometimes I don't bother spraying the pans or covering the eggplant with foil, and I've never had a problem.  One thing I always do, though, is soak the eggplant in the salt water and rinse.  This draws out the bitterness of the eggplant.

Green Chili Zucchini Enchiladas

I got this recipe from a friend of mine in California. She hosted a baby shower for another friend in the ward. Instead of bringing baby gifts, we all brought an ingredient and made a few freezer meals together. I haven't personally frozen these, but I'm sure they'd be fine.

In my experience, this makes a little more than can actually fit in a single 9 x 13 pan.


Green Chili Zucchini Enchiladas 


8 tortillas Enchilada filling:

2 Tbsp oil
 2 cups cooked rice
1 onion, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1/4 c. chopped cilantro (plus extra for garnish on top if desired)
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste


Green chili sauce:

3 T. butter
1 tsp garlic
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cups milk
 3 tbsp flour
1 tsp vegetable or chicken bouillon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 can diced green chilies
1 cup grated monterey jack or cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil over medium heat and sauté onion, red pepper, and squash until tender. In a bowl mix all filling ingredients including cooked onion and squash. In a saucepan melt butter and then add garlic and onion and cook until onion is translucent. Remove pan from heat and stir in flour. Return to burner and drizzle in milk, stirring continuously until mixture thickens. When all milk has been incorporated, add bouillon, salt, cumin, coriander and green chilies.

Grease a 9×13 baking pan, place 1/2-3/4 cup of filling in each tortilla and roll up. It’s best if you wilt each tortilla in oil or steam to soften. Place filled tortillas in prepared baking pan seam side down. Once baking dish is filled cover with green chili sauce and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and garnish as desired.

Vegetable Enchiladas (adapted from Martha Stewart)

2 T olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 can (14 1/2 oz) reduced sodium vegetable broth
some canned green chile enchilada sauce, to taste (my addition)
coarse salt and ground pepper
3 cups grated pepper jack cheese (12 oz)
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 box (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 box (10 oz) frozen corn kernels, thawed (I used a can, drained)
6 green onions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
16 corn tortillas (6-inch)

Sauce:
In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium.  Add 1 tsp cumin, flour, and tomato paste; cook, whisking, 1 minute.  Whisk in broth and 3/4 cup water; bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 5-8 minutes.  (I thought the sauce was too bland, so I added some canned green chile enchilada sauce to this mixture.  I probably used about 2/3-3/4 cup.  You don't want it to be too runny, but it definitely needs a bit more flavor).  Season with salt and pepper, set aside.

Filling:
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups cheese, beans, spinach, corn, the whites of the green onions, and remaining 1 tsp cumin; season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400.  Spray or lightly oil two 8-inch squre baking dishes; set aside.  Stack tortillas, wrap in damp paper towels, microwave on high for 1 minute.  Top each tortilla with a heaping 1/3 cup filling, roll up tightly and arrange, seam side down, in prepared baking dishes.

Dividing evenly, sprinkle enchiladas with remaining 1 cup cheese, and top with sauce.  Bake, uncovered, 15-20 minutes.  Cool 5 minutes; serve garnished with green parts of green onions.

some online comments to consider:  some people liked adding chipotle Tabasco sauce, or an enchilada sauce packet to the sauce, or using green chile enchilada sauce instead of this sauce.  Some said to bake and then freeze in portions, but the sauce doesn't warm up nicely.  You could freeze the enchiladas, then thaw them and bake with freshly made sauce.

Creamy Caprese Pasta

this recipe comes from howsweeteats.com

1 pound whole wheat pasta (noodles such as penne work best)

1 cup of your favorite pasta/tomato sauce

1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese + more for garnish

4 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes

1 pint of grape tomatoes (I cut some in half and left some whole)

1 bunch of fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Boil water and cook pasta according to directions.

While pasta is cooking, heat tomato sauce over low heat in a large saucepan. Once warm, stir in heavy cream and grated parmesan. Once pasta is done cooking, drain and dump into the sauce, mixing to coat and turning off heat. Fold in mozzarella cubes and tomatoes, then chop 3-4 fresh basil leaves and add them in too. Once combined, spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and pour the entire pasta mixture into the dish. Top with fresh mozzarella rounds. Bake for 25 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbly.

Top with additional fresh basil and grated cheese. Serve with garlic bread. You can also add in chicken, steak or seafood for some protein.

Comments: 

I used regular penne noodles since some reviewers said they didn't like the texture of the wheat.  Reviewers say to double the sauce and cheese but leave the cream as is.  I doubled the pasta sauce and the mozzarella, but not the cream, parmesan or tomatoes.  And we used Maren and Brent's homemade pasta sauce.  Reviewers also wanted more basil, so I think I did about 1.5 times what it calls for.  Next time I would not use the grilled chicken that we added, but maybe try some Italian sausage for those who don't want vegetarian.  I would also add more mozzarella rounds to the top than what I used.

Country Captain

One 2-3 pound frying chicken
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 Tblspns butter
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup finely diced onion
1/3 cup finely diced green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 Tbspn curry powder
1/2 tspn crumbled dried thyme
One 16 oz can stewed tomatoes, with liquid
3 Tbspn dried currants
Blanched toasted almonds

Cut chicken into small pieces.  Wash and pat dry, coat
with a mixture of the flour, slat, and pepper.  Heat
the butter and oil in a large skillet; brown the
chicken on all sides.  Remove chicken and add the
onion, green pepper, garlic, curry powder, and thyme
to skillet.  Stir over low heat to loosen the browned
particles.  Add the stewed tomatoes.  Return the
chicken to the skillet, skin side up.  Cover and cook
slowly until tender, 20-30 minutes.  Stir the currants
into the sauce.  Serve accompanied by almonds.
Serve over egg noodles or pasta.

Notes - 
When I made it the other night I used two boneless
skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks and then
cooked them as suggested.  I might use three or for
breasts next time.
As per your Mother's wise advice regarding sauce, be
it any kind, make three times as much as it says.  The
recipe is meant to present the chicken as the main
feature of the meal with a bit of sauce over it.  When
Susie made it she thought the "serve leftover sauce
with noodles" advice sounded better, so that's how I
make it too.

Enjoy.


p.s. from Jessica
These instructions are from Susie via email sent to me 23 February 2008, with further notes I added in an email to Maren on 10 March 2008.  That's just two days after little Jonah turned five years old.  He is approaching nine this coming March.  Time rules us all.
The first time I had this dish I was lost in the divine deliciousness of it.  The ingredients are simple and few, but the flavor is unique and powerful.  I have made this several times when we have company and plan to serve this to the lucky missionaries tonight.  
Love and miss you all.

Marybeth's Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 cups chicken broth
10 oz. frozen green peas
4 cups cubed cooked chicken

Dumplings:
2 cups Bisquick
2 tsp. dried basil
2/3 cup milk

In a large saucepan, saute onion, celery and garlic in butter until tender. Add flour, sugar, salt, basil, and pepper; cook a couple of minutes to cook the flour. Add broth. Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat. Add peas and cook a few min, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken. Pour into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. For dumplings, combine Bisquick and basil in bowl. Stir in milk with a fork until moistened. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto casserole (12 dumplings). Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cover and bake 10 minutes more or until dumplings are done. Serves 6 to 8.

My notes: I think I quadruple all the wet ingredients and that might make just a little too much, which I put in an 8 x 8 pan. If you follow the recipe as written, you'll have a lot of biscuit and not much of the soupy stuff. Experiment to see how you like it, but I would at least triple the wet stuff. If I were closely guarding the family exchecquer, I might experiment with more broth and make it more soup-like and serve it in soup bowls. But if you want it how I have done it, quadruple the wet stuff.

Wait a minute. . . don't I add cooked carrots to the wet stuff? I think I do. And you will want to cut back on those peas. Quadruple everything BUT the peas. And add carrots. Then see if you think it can handle some more peas.

Cheddar Chicken

I got this recipe from my friend Lori's recipe blog, and even though I don't eat chicken, everyone I've ever made this for loves it. Tender, juicy, and flavorful (or so they tell me, since I don't think I've tasted it). And it's a piece of CAKE.

Credit: Lori Frost {adapted from a recipe by Jane Walsh}

Ingredients:

20 buttery crackers {ie Club}, crushed to make about 3/4 cup
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I usually do 8-10 chicken tenderloins instead of breasts; Kevin liked it better because you get more bites with the crispy cheesiness that way)
4 T butter, melted

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the crackers, cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper.
2. Dip chicken breasts in the melted butter, then in the cracker mixture. Coat well. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet.
3. Top with all the remaining cracker mixture and drizzle with the remaining butter. Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is golden and cooked through.

Crunchy Beef Casserole

2 cups corkscrew macaroni (rotini) but you can use a different shape
1 pound ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 tsp. seasoned salt
14 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
3/4 cup chopped green pepper (I think I only had red so I used that)
1 can french-fried onions

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a casserole dish.

Cook macaroni as directed on the package; drain. Brown beef in large skillet until no longer pink. Drain the fat. Combine all ingredients except the french-fried onions and spoon into casserole dish. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover, top with the french-fried onions, and bake for 5 minutes longer.

This is the other casserole recipe Katie and Jess wanted. Again, another B. But easy to take to someone when they need a meal. Cheap and not too bad tasting.

Kathy's Country Casserole

2 cups small shell pasta, cooked and drained
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, cooked and drained
2 cps shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup french-fried onions
2 cups shredded chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. black pepper (use a bit less)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350. Combine everything in a large bown, reserving half the cheese and half of the onions for topping later.

Spoon into 9 x 13 greased pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Top with the remaining french fried onions and cheese and bake until the cheese is melted, about 5 more minutes.

Katie and Jess wanted this recipe so I posted it here. I'd give it a B -- not wonderful but easy and something you could take to someone when they need a dinner.

Taco Treat

Taco Treat

Maxine Rear

Serves 4-6

1 lb ground beef

1 chopped onion

2 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp salt

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 6 oz can tomato paste

3 cups water (hot)

3 cups cooked rice

Corn chips

Shredded lettuce

Tomato cubes

Chopped ripe olives

Chopped green onion

Avocado

Shredded jack cheese

Cook rice as directed.  Takes about 30 min.  The same time (almost) brown meat and onion.  Add garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt, tomato sauce and paste, and water.  Simmer 30 minutes, stir occasionally.  Then add rice.

On plate, put corn chips and then top with mixture  Add other toppings as desired.

Chicken Breast Supreme

12 half boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 c flour

2.5 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

1/4 c butter

2 tsp cornstarch

1.5 c half and half

1/4 c sherry

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 c swiss cheese grated

.5 c parsley, chopped

Mix flour, salt, and paprika in a bowl. Coat chicken in flour mixture. (Mom finds that it actually requires much more of the flour mixture than the recipe calls for.) Brown chicken in butter (again, usually requiring more butter than called for). Add a 1/4 c water and sherry and simmer 30 minutes covered. (Mom never uses the water: just enough sherry - again, more than called for - to keep the bottom of the pan moist so the chicken doesn't dry out or get overly brown.) Remove chicken from pan and arrange in 9x13 freezer and oven dish. Mix cornstarch in 1/4 c cream, stir into drippings. Cook over low heat, stirring. Gradually stir in remaining cream, zest (which mom has never used but it would be extra lemony if you did), and lemon juice. Cook until thick. Pour over chicken and freeze. Defrost. Bake, covered, 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, bake a few minutes more to melt cheese. Garnish with parsley (Mom has never used the parsley but thinks it's a good idea to make the dish more attractive).

Serves 12

Obviously you can leave out the freezing part if you want to eat it immediately, but it's good to know that this makes a great freezer dish. When making it you could make two pans, one for dinner that night and one to freeze for a future date. Yum. I'm making it tonight and my tummy is rumbling just thinking about it.

Spicy Lasagna Recipe (with vegetarian option)

Spicy Lasagna

1 lb ground spicy Italian sausage (I used mild Italian sausage for the non-spicy lasagna)

1 qt Brent's pasta sauce or other prepared pasta sauce (I actually used a bit more than a qt, so have two bottles on hand, but you can get by with just one)

1 lg container ricotta cheese

A bunch of dried basil

2 eggs

18 lasagna noodles

shredded mozzarella cheese

Boil lasagna noodles until al dente. While the noodles are cooking, brown the sausage. Once the sausage is cooked, pour in the pasta sauce and let simmer for a while. Mix ricotta cheese with eggs and basil. Use a tiny bit of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Then layer 6 noodles (this will require some significant overlapping, which I do because I like my lasagna heavy on the noodles, so you could use 5 noodles instead and still have plenty of coverage), 1/3 the cheese mixture, then 1/3 the sauce. It's better to be a little skimpy on the sauce on the first two layers so that you have plenty for the top layer. Repeat layering two more times. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes. Let it cool completely. Store it in the fridge until you are ready for it's second baking, just before you serve. For second baking, put it in a 300 oven for about an hour or until warmed through. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on the top about 20 minutes before it's done. Let cheese get bubbly and brown. (The second baking is what makes the lasagna really good, so be sure to not omit that step.)

For the vegetarian version:

omit the sausage

slice a couple of medium sized summer squashes.

Put squash on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with garlic salt and thyme. Roast in a 350 oven for 10-15 minutes. Add a squash layer between the cheese and sauce layers.

That's it.

-Maren

Beef Tamale Pie

Beef Tamale Pie

1 T vegetable oil

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 medium onion, minced

1 medium jalapeno chile, seeds and ribs removed, chile minced*

salt

2 T chili powder

4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press

1 T tomato paste

1 t dried oregano

1 t cumin

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1   28 oz. can diced tomatoes**

1   15.5 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

1   1/4 cups frozen corn (do not thaw)

8  oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)

1/4  cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced ***

4 t juice from 2 limes****

ground black pepper

1 recipe homemade cornbread topping (recipe follows)

1.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until shimmering.  Add the beef and cook, breaking up large clumps of meat with a wooden spoon, until it is no longer pink.  Stir in the onion, jalameno, and 1 t salt and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes.  Stir in the chili powder, garlic, tomato paste, oregano, cumin, and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2.  Stir in the diced tomatoes with their juices, scraping up any browned bits.  Off the heat, stir in the black beans, corn, cheese, cilantro, and lime juice and season with salt and pepper to tasste.

3.  Transfer the beef mixture to a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.  Spread the cornmeal topping evenly over the filling, pushing it to the edges of the baking dish.

4.  To store:  wrap the dish tightly with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray and then foil and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

5.  To serve:  adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Unwrap the dish.  If refrigerated, bake, uncovered, until the filling is bubbly and the crust is baked through and golden, 50 to 60 minutes.  If frozen, unwrap the dish and let the casserole sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while the oven heats, then cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crust is baked through and golden, 50 to 60 minutes longer.

To serve right away:  bake, uncovered, as directed in step 5, reducing the baking time to 45 minutes.

* I was surprised to learn that I have a reaction to cutting up the jalapeno.  It kind of hurts my throat and makes me cough.  I buy packs of 100 rubber gloves (throw away kind, but I reuse them) and always wear them when I mince a jalapeno.  Then wash your hands with the gloves on before you reuse them.  I once made the mistake of not doing this, and I touched my eye with an unwashed finger and it stung badly for a long time.

** I always buzz my tomatoes in the food processor before adding them to a dish.  I don't totally puree them, but almost do.  I don't like big chunks of tomato in things, and I've found that even the petite diced are too big of pieces for my taste.

*** I hate cilantro and never use it.  Sometimes I substitute fresh or dried parsley in a smaller amount.

**** I always try to have that frozen lemon juice in my freezer, and I just use that in place of lime.

Homemade Cornbread topping

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

6 T sugar

2 t baking powder

3/4 t salt

1/4 t baking soda

1 C buttermilk

8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

1.  Whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda together in a large bowl.

2.  In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, butter, and eggs together.  Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture until uniform.  Use as directed in Beef Tamale Pie.

-Mom

Black Bean Soup

Black Bean Soup

10 slices bacon (preferably smoked)

2 medium onions, chopped

6 garlic cloves, pressed

1 (14.5 oz) can reduced-sodium chicken broth (I use chicken base)

1.5 cups canned crushed tomatoes

2 T ketchup

2 t Worcestershire sauce

1 T chili powder

4 (15.5 oz) can black beans, drained but not rinsed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch cilantro

juice of 1/2 lime

Thinly sliced scallions for garnish

Sour cream for garnish

Grated cheddar for garnish

Put the bacon into a large heavy pot and place it over medium heat. Cook until it starts to give up its fat, about 4 minutes. Stir in the onions and cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent. (If you don't want to use bacon, I'd just saute the onions in a little olive oil, and then add some liquid smoke when you add the rest of the ingredients.) Stir in the garlic and cook until you can smell it, about 1 minute. Add the broth, tomatoes, ketchup, Worcestershire (and liquid smoke if you're using it.), and chili powder. Stir in the beans, turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the soup is bubbling gently and cook 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

Meanwhile, pick off all the thick stems from the cilantro. Wash it and shake dry. Chop the cilantro coarsely and stir it into the soup when it has been simmering 10 minutes. Cook until the soup is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lime juice. Serve with the garnishes.

Let me know how you like it!

-Maren