Chile Relleno Casserole

A neighbor gave us some fresh green chiles and we were craving Chile Rellenos...but not enough to do the work to make them.  This casserole is close enough and yummy!  Another from Allrecipes with changes as recommended by reviewers.

Ingredients

• 2 (7 ounce) cans whole green chile peppers, drained and chopped
• 8 ounces shredded cheese (use monterey jack, mexican cheese, cheddar, a mix of any of them)
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 can enchilada sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Lay half of the chilies evenly in bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the Jack and Cheddar cheeses, and cover with remaining chilies. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, and flour, and pour over the top of the chilies.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, pour tomato sauce evenly over the top, and continue baking another 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining Jack and Cheddar cheeses, and serve.

Easy Peach Cobbler

This is taken from Allrecipes, with changes and comments from the comments on that website.  First, the link to the original recipe.  Now the better recipe:

• 12 fresh peaches, pitted and sliced or 2-32 oz. cans sliced peaches
• 1 cup water           }
• 1 cup white sugar   } or 1 c. peach juice from cans
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package white/yellow cake mix
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Spread peach slices evenly into a 9x13 inch baking dish. If using canned peach juice, pour 1 cup of it over peach slices. If using fresh peaches, combine water and sugar in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve, then pour mixture over peaches. Sprinkle cinnamon over peach slices.
3. Cream together the cream cheese and cake mix. Spread mixture over peaches then drizzle on the butter or margarine.  Another option is to cream the unmelted butter in with the cream cheese and cake mix.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, until golden.

*Skip the extra sugar if your peaches are already sweet (most fresh ones are if they're ripe and ALL canned peaches are sweet enough). If you're using another fruit, like blackberries or raspberries, then you'd need the extra sugar. Remember, the cake mix has sugar, too. 


*Cream the cheese and cake mix together with a pastry cutter or a couple forks until it resembles a crumbly granola-type consistency. 


*Melt the butter and pour it over with the liquid (use less liquid if your fruit is really juicy!) Alternately, cream the butter in with the cheese and cake mix (see above). 


*Cinnamon is not always appropriate if you are using this with a different fruit. Other options that might sound better to you are nutmeg, vanilla bean specks or vanilla-flavored sugar.


*For a crunchy bonus, sprinkle the top with sliced almonds before baking.

Carrot Rice Pilaf

 The kids have a program at school called Cooking With Kids and they learn how to cook food from all over the world.  I don't really think the name of this recipe does it justice.  What I need to call it is:  Rice for those who don't like rice.  Or something else like Yummy rice.  We make this all the time, and I don't like rice!  It goes great with Hawaiian Haystacks, by the way.  And I think for this recipe, you really need to stick with basmati.  It is a fragrant rice and the way it cooks up is just wonderful.  Give it a try!

1 1/2 c. basmati rice
2 T. butter
3/4 c. grated carrot
3 1/2 c. water
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 t. salt

Put the rice into a bowl with cool water.  Swirl the rice around and then pour off the water.  Repeat this process 2 or 3 times, until the water is clear.

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the rice and grated carrots and saute for 2 minutes.  Add the water, cinnamon stick, and salt.  Bring to a boil, uncovered, for 2 minutes.  Reduce the head to medium-low and cover.  Cook the rice for about 20 minutes, until all of the liquid has been absorbed.  Remove from heat.  Let the rice rest for 10 minutes before serving.  It says 4 to 6 servings, but this makes a lot of rice and you'll have leftovers for sure!

Bettie's Bread Sticks

Warning.  These are not low fat.  But they sure are yummy!

1 1/2 c. warm water
2 T sugar
1 T yeast
3 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c butter or marg.

Dissolve sugar and yeast in water.  Mix in flour & salt.  Knead for 3 minutes on well floured board.  Let rest for 10 min.  Roll out into a rectangle about the size of a cookie sheet.  Cut into 24 sticks.  Melt butter and pour into a cookie sheet.  Dip each bread stick and cover both sides with butter.  Sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesan cheese.  Let rise for 20-30 minutes.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Easy Chicken Fajita soup

First, here's the link: Fajita soup recipe on allrecipes.  And here is my variation:

Ingredients

• 2-3 large precooked mesquite chicken breasts (from Sam's Club)
• 1 (1.27 ounce) packet fajita seasoning
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 orange bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 large onion, cut into thin strips
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
• 2 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth (half a carton of broth)
• chopped green chile to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 
  
• For garnish:
• chopped fresh cilantro
• chopped avocado
• sour cream
• fresh lime wedges
• tortilla chips

Directions

1. Follow package directions to warm up chicken, then cut into strips.  Put in large pot and sprinkle fajita seasoning over the chicken and stir well to coat. Add the bell pepper and onion to the seasoned chicken. Stir and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
2. Pour the fire roasted tomatoes, black beans, and chicken broth into the pot with the chicken and vegetables. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Season the soup with green chile, salt, and pepper to taste before serving.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 143 | Total Fat: 5.5g | Cholesterol: 24mg

Oh man.  This is the best soup we've ever had.  We hope you like it too!

Cake that doesn't fall apart

Ever since we moved here to the high desert (7000 ft) I haven't been able to make a cake that would stay together and not crumble when I tried to take it out of the pan.  Well, after perusing the internet, I found this from the Cake Mix Doctor:

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain German chocolate cake mix
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs


To make the buttermilk, you mix 4 t. lemon juice with enough milk to make 1 1/4 c and let it sit for 5 minutes.  Just blend all the ingredients on low for 5 min, scrape down the bowl, and then on medium for 2 minutes.  Bake at 350 until cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan (I used 2 9-inch round pans) and top springs back.  Take out and cool for 5 minutes then run a knife around the edges and take out the cake.  It is just how I like it: moist and doesn't break when I flip the layer over with my hands.  Thanks cake mix doctor!  Now to try it with other flavors.  I assume it will work.  The only drawback with using the german chocolate is that I think the milk make the color lighter than water would.  But it's still yummo!

Paula Deen's Chicken Noodle Soup

The name of this is The Lady's Chicken Noodle Soup.  It sounds heavenly...especially now that I think the cold is here to stay.  Here's the recipe, slightly modified by Jessica Sprague, a scrapbooker like me looking for more ways to simplify cooking.

• 1 rotisserie chicken
• 2 32-oz boxes of chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cups sliced carrots
• 2 cups sliced celery
• 2 1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 cup grated Parmesan, optional
• 3/4 cup heavy cream, optional
• Seasoning salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Bring the stock and the water to a boil, add carrots and onion, cook for 3 minutes. Add celery and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes. Add egg noodles and cook according to directions on package.

While the noodles cook, remove the skin from the chicken and shred the chicken breasts finely. When noodles are done, add chicken, parsley, and rosemary. Add Parmesan and cream, if using. Cook for another 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning, if needed, by adding seasoning salt and pepper. Enjoy along with a nice hot crusty loaf of French bread.