Mexican Ranchero Casserole

Every sunday I generally spend the day in the kitchen prepping and cooking a dish that I portion up for weekday lunches. I've been growing tired of all my regular rotation items (Baked Beef Ziti, Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Chili, etc) and was trying to come up with something a little bit different.

BINGO!

This is an incredibly simple dish with LOTS of flavour!! You could easily sub the ranchero sauce for enchilada sauce, salsa verde or anything else that has a strong flavour.

I just ate the first round of it a few minutes ago and it has an awesome creamy texture that balances well with the spicy sauce.

INGREDIENTS

1 lbs extra lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
10 oz can ranchero sauce
1 small can of chillies in adobo sauce, chopped (these can make it quite spicy so adjust to your own taste)
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Pillsbury biscuits, cut into quarters
1 cup shredded cheese (I used mozzarella and cheddar)

DIRECTIONS
1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2.    Brown turkey and onions in a large skillet or sauté pan.
3.    Add the ranchero sauce, tomato sauce, chillies and black beans and stir to combine. Stir the biscuit pieces into the meat mixture.
4.    Transfer the entire mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread out evenly. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Here's a pic before the cheese was added

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 6-7
WW Points - 7
Calories - 307
Carbs - 34g
Fat - 6g
Protein - 32g
Fiber - 4g

Taco Salad

So I just realized that tomorrow (March 7th) will be the one year anniversary of this blog. How fitting since the first entry was Tacos and this entry is a Taco Salad.

Its no secret that I am not a fan of a salad as a meal but this managed to slip under my radar. I was thinking back to how much I enjoyed the leftovers of last years tacos, in a salad form.

I sauteed some ground beef with onions, green peppers, tomatoes and taco seasoning. I added a little bit of ketchup in to moisten everything up a bit. Than i layered lettuce, shredded cheese, corn, salsa and the hot beef mixture. It was very filling and really good.

Chicken Enchiladas

I figured out what to do with the leftover chicken. I shredded it up and made chicken enchiladas (another first). I served it with some refried beans and cut up veggies. The veggies are so boring but I buy them and then have to think of every possible way to eat them, otherwise they go bad in the fridge. So, we end up eating a lot of raw veggies on their own.

It was a good dinner and I was pleased with the end result. Which is good because we ended up with enough to feed a family of 4 for a week. I really enjoy the whole process of cooking. Thinking of what you want to eat, researching various recipes and adding my own ideas, shopping for the ingredients and than preparing the meal. I completely appreciate that some people hate this entire process (Clutterbuck, for example) but not me!

After browsing allrecipes (which is the best recipe site ever. Lots of pictures and reviews) and looking at several different enchilada recipes, this is what I did:

1. Shred the remaining chicken and set aside
2. Finely chop a green pepper, onion, 2 jalepenos and garlic
3. Saute veggies in a pan until soft
4. Add chicken, sour cream, fresh oregano, cumin, chili powder, pepper, cheddar cheese
5. Cook until cheese melts, add Salsa
6. Roll mixture up in tortillas and place in a pan
7. Cover with red enchilada sauce and remaining cheese
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes

:) Guess what we're having for dinner tonight

Taco Salad

Took the leftovers from yesterdays tacos: meat, onions, tomatoes, salsa, cheese, added a bunch of lettuce and the remaining shells (crunched up)...put them all in a Tupperware container and enjoyed it for lunch at work today. Taco Salad, just like that. Should have taken a pic but was too hungry....just imagine all the stuff in the last pic in one bowl and you've got the idea.

Definitely a success!

Why didn't I think of this sooner

While this blog probably won't be shared with many people (most likely just you mom), this is going to be my new attempt to document successful (a.k.a to be made again) and unsuccessful (pretty self explanatory) meals consumed in the Smart-Clutterbuck household.

So, without further ado.....

After a day of enjoying the unseasonal warm weather on Queen street with the puppy, we have now settled into watch the tube (the Oscars are on but not here). After I finish this inaugural post I plan to get to work on dinner, which will be....

Beef Tacos (Old El Paso of course) with salsa, guacamole, sauteed onions, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and some shredded romaine.

We're also enjoying a nice bottle of Italian Pinot Grigio (VOGA). It was a gift from Clutterbuck for Valentines Day.

Pictures to come.....