Time to Eat Enchiladas!

Monday night I decided it was time to try a new recipe I had found - Black Bean Enchiladas. It was incredibly easy to make and tasted as wonderful as it smelled! After posting this picture of it on Facebook, I received several requests for the recipe. So, here it is!



Ingredients:

Olive Oil
1 Medium White Onion, Chopped
1 t. Ground Cumin
1 C. Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers Niblets Frozen Corn, Thawed
3/4 C. Old El Paso Thick 'n Chunky Medium Salsa
15 oz. can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
Monterey Jack Shredded Cheese
10 Corn Tortillas (6 inch)
1 can (10 oz) Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large skillet, heat oil (about 1-2 T.) in medium heat. Add cumin and onion and cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until onion is tender.
3. Add corn, salsa, beans and 1 cup of cheese.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Heat tortillas in the microwave until they are warm and soft - need to be very soft to prevent the tortilla from breaking.
6. Spread approximately 1/4 cup of bean mixture on tortilla. Then roll tortilla up and place seam down in the baking dish.
7. Spread the remaining bean mixture evenly over the top of the enchiladas, then cover with enchilada sauce.
8. Top with shredded cheese.
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.

That's it! It's an easy, easy recipe to make. If you are a meat lover like my husband then you can do like I did and mix about 1/2 pound of ground meat to the bean mixture. I also added 1/2 can of green verde enchilada sauce in addition to the regular enchilada sauce. Enjoy!

Fried Taters with Hotdogs and Fish Tacos

I'm so excited right now! It is half past midnight and I'm up baking cookies for my hubby to take out on location tomorrow. Why does this excite me? Well, because I love to bake, and when Beau was working for the frac company here I would always make yummy treats for him to take so he and the rest of the crew could have something to snack on for the rest of the day. When Beau changed jobs that stopped because he was so far away. Now that he's back I am able to start doing this again - although I have to wait for big jobs to come up so there are plenty of guys to help him eat all the goodies. Okay, so that's why I'm excited.

Now, baking cookies has absolutely nothing to do with the title of this blog post. That's because it's not tied together in any way, shape or form - except for the fact that they both have to do with cooking. Okay - so tonight for dinner I made a new recipe from The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook - Fish Tacos. And, to go with it, I decided to make fried taters with hotdogs. I know, the main dish was healthy whereas the side isn't...I'm not sure about you but I think that makes a balanced meal. Actually, the reason I decided on fried taters with hotdogs is because I needed something my 2 1/2 year old would eat - or at least have an interest in eating. You will be happy to know that it worked! He loved the dish!

In response to the inquiries I had about the recipe on facebook, I have decided to include both recipes in this post in case you are looking for something new and unique to cook for your family at dinnertime!

Fish Tacos

Ingredients:
Mini Tortillas
1 lb. Fish, thawed (Your choice - I used Tilipia)
Seasoning of Your Choice (I used Creole Seasoning)
Olive Oil
Coleslaw with Orange-Cilantro Vinaigrette (See Below)
Fresh Pico de Gallo or salsa (Optinal)

Directions:
1. Lightly coat both sides of fish fillets with olive oil and season.
2.Lightly coat a skillet with olive oil and heat until oil sizzles.
3. Add fish fillet to hot skillet and cook - usually a total of 5 minutes is good (remember to turn fish every now and then).
4.Once fish is cooked chop into smaller pieces and place in a dish on the side.
5. Spread coleslaw with orange-cilantro vinaigrette onto a mini tortilla, top with cooked fish and pico de gallo.
6. Enjoy!

Coleslaw with Orange-Cilantro Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
1 Bag of Coleslaw (with green cabbage, red onion and carrots)
1/4 c. fat-free plain yogurt
1/2 c. light mayonnaise
1/4 c. 100% orange juice
3 T. white vingar
1 1/2 t. honey
1/3 c. freshly chopped cilantro
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a bowl mix yogurt, mayonnaise, orange juice, vinegar and honey.
2. Mix in the bag of coleslaw and cilantro.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Refrigerate at least 3 hours - or to speed the process (like I did) you can place in the freezer for a shorter amount of time.
5. Serve and enjoy. This will stay good in the frige for 2-3 days.

Fried Taters with Hotdogs

Ingredients:
4 Average Sized Potatoes, peeled (can be any kind - russet, new potatoes, red potatoes, etc..)
3 Hotdogs, cut into small pieces
Olive Oil

Directions:
1. Pour ample amount of olive oil into skillet and heat until it sizzles.
2. Slice the potatoes into very thin slices - then cut slices into quarters.
3. Once the oil is heated, add the potatoes.
4. Turn the potatoes over every now and then.
5. Once the potatoes begin to brown on both sides, add the hotdogs.
5. Cook until the potatoes are soft and brown and the hotdogs are cooked through.
6. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy these recipes. Please remember the first two were originally taken from The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook. I took the pleasure of amending these to fit my personal needs. This basically means I found a way to make it simpler. The last recipe is one that has been passed down from my mother to me - and I have a feeling it is a pretty common dish in Oklahoma!

2 New Food Favs!

Okay, so I know that summertime is the time when we all (yes, I am too) go on a diet, and many of us don't like to discuss food while we're dieting. Well, I'm doing it anyways! Mainly because I've found two great healthy food choices for those of us who are dieting!

The first, I actually found a while back but the more I eat it, the more I love it! This is the Healthy Choice All Natural Entrees. The one I actually had today was the Portabella Spinach Parmesan. These yummy meals have no preservatives in them and are made with extra virgin olive oil, thus eliminating partially hydrogenated oils! Another great fact is that the pasta is whole grain pasta which provides me fiber. Oh, and the meal I ate today only had 270 calories with 5 grams of fiber, 12 grams of protein and only 2 grams of sugar!

 Okay, so the next great food find I have for you was discovered last night while I was evaluating the new Greek Yogurt at WalMart. The Greek Yogurt is actually pretty good, but I found another kind of yogurt I thought I'd share with you. This is the new Fiber One Yogurt! Maybe it's been out for a while, I don't know because my yogurt consumption comes and goes in stages - right now I happen to be on a yogurt kick. So if you happen to have already discovered this, then feel free to quit reading. Anyways, the reason I'm pretty excited about this yogurt is that it has 5 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar and 3 grams of protein...but, the best part is it only has 50 calories! So, it makes great breakfast or even a perfect light snack!

So, there you have it. My two new favorite diet foods for summer! They're both easy and quick and can be eaten without a sense of guilt. Plus, they're healthy and actually taste great! If you haven't tried them, then you should give them a chance next time you walk by them at the grocery store.