Tex-Mex Beef Enchiladas

This one was lifted straight from this website: 

http://www.marthastewart.com/313621/tex-mex-beef-enchiladas

My freezer group made it - just had it tonight - it was awesome.  She also made it with shredded chicken. She also didn't roll the enchiladas, she just put them on top and made it like a casserole.  I'm a fan!  You need to double it  to make one for a freezer meal and one to eat tonight! 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 small chipotle chile in adobo, minced, plus 1 tablespoon sauce (from a small can)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 corn tortillas (6-inch)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Make sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil over medium. Add flour and cook, whisking occasionally, 1 minute. Add broth, chili powder, chipotle and adobo sauce, and 3/4 cup water; bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat, and simmer until lightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
2. Make filling: In a 10-inch nonstick skillet, heat remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add onion, garlic, and beef; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until cooked through, about 8 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (If freezing, don't place any sauce in baking dish.) Spoon 1/4 cup sauce in bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Set aside. Make enchiladas: Stack tortillas; wrap in foil, and warm in oven, 10 minutes. Fill each with a heaping 1/4 cup beef mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese; tightly roll up.
4. Raise oven heat to 450 degrees. Arrange enchiladas, seam side down, in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, until hot and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve garnished with cilantro and, if desired, a green salad.

Limeade

Timon made this one today!  Duncan loves this stuff!


Juice from 12 limes (we squeeze them into the blender & then use the rinds for cleaning the disposal)
1 - 2 cups agave, sugar, sucanat or your sweetner of choice - TO TASTE
1/2 blender full of ice
water to fill up blender (2 inches from the top)

Blend up and serve!
You can also make this with strawberries  - we call that one strawberry water.

Katie's French Bread

In memory of a since moved neighbor - Katie Prestwich.  You can make this recipe in your food processor or a mixer.  I always find that it requires some additional kneeding to blend the last bits of flour.  It makes 2 loves - which you can eat hot or freeze for later (cooked). 

1 1/8 cup of warm water
1 1/2 T sugar
1/2 T salt
1 T yeast
2 cups of flour + 1 & 1/2 cup flour
2 T butter

STEP ONE: combine top 4 ingredients & let fizz for 5- 10 minutes until the foam is 1/4 to 1/2 inch tall
STEP TWO: 2 cups of flour with yeast mixture & mix for a long time
STEP THREE: kneed in 2 T butter & 1 1/2 cup of flour
STEP FOUR: put in buttered bowl, cover and let rise for 30 minutes
STEP FIVE: divide into 2 balls and let rest for 5 minutes
STEP SIX: roll into a rectangle and roll up from the long end
STEP SEVEN: place on a cookie sheet, cover and let rise until double  (30 min)
STEP EIGHT: cook at 350 for 18-20 minutes (Kristi's Oven = 16 minutes)

To get them to look hard and artisan, use the steam method in my artisan bread recipe; lightly dust with flour before baking and cut pattern.

Michael's Oatmeal Chocolate Milkshake

Ingredients:
Drumstick IceCream (can also use vanilla)
Chocolate Syrup (thank you Hershey's)
1/2 cup of oats
1 cup of milk

Use enough ice cream to fill-up the blender.  And be prepared to have a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie in a shake!  Thank you Michael for you debut!

Apple Crisp

modified from CPK Cookbook


Apple Crisp Topping
1/2 cup (1 stick ) unsalted butter, chilled
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting

Apple Mixture
I usually make this ahead during the fall and freeze it a wintery day
3 1/2 lbs granny smith apples (or really you  can use any apples you like)
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

STEP ONE: peel and core apples and cut them into 1/8th inch crescent shape slices.
STEP TWO: toss apple slices, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, vanilla extract
STEP THREE: make topping by generously dusting a surface with flour.  Put the butter on the flour-dusted surface, and cut butter in to small dices pieces and turn the pieces in the flour to coat them.
STEP FOUR: In a bowl toss the butter dice, brown sugar, slat and the 1 1/3 cups of flour; do not over blend.
STEP FIVE: transfer the apple mixture to a 2-quart rectangular glass baking dish
STEP SIX: grab a handful of the topping mixture and squeeze tightly to compress it into a solid clump; then hold compressed topping over the baking dish and crumble it by hand into small 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces strewn over the top of the apples.
STEP SEVEN: bake at 325 for about 2 hours (unless you precooked the apples).  If it browns before apples are soft cover with foil to prevent burning.  If you precooked apples - takes about 20 minutes to melt and brown the top.

Fresh Pear Sauce

Ingredients:

6 cups pears (peeled, cored, diced)
1/2 c. water
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice

Mix all ingredients in medium saucepan.  Bring to boil.  Lower temperature to medium and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until fruit is tender.  Puree in blender.  Garnish with cinnamon.

Cheesy Biscuits

Johny's garlic spread & seasoning (Costco seasoning aisle)

2 cups of Bisquick
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or any other cheese combination you choose
(asiago is really good, so is half swiss half cheddar)
1/4 cup of grated shredded cheese

heat oven to 400 degrees
mix up into dough/balls
bake 8 to 10 minutes

melt 1 butter and brush on tops of cooked biscuits
brush on with the seasoning