"Enchilagnas"

A "lasagna" with a Mexican twist is an "enchilagna!" I layer the ingredients for enchiladas into a lasagna-like dish to save a few minutes of rolling time. :) I make enchiladas often so I can roll 'em up pretty fast, but I was cooking for a group of eight and wanted to whip together a quick casserole dish. The "enchilagnas" were perfect and my friends ate it up! :)

I got this recipe six years ago when my friend brought me a meal after having Son #2. I was active in MOMS Club and received meals every other day for two weeks. That was AWESOME because I was exhausted from caring for my 3 yr old and newborn son and the last thing I wanted to do was make dinner at the end of a busy day. I asked DP for her recipe because the dinner she brought was tasty. My boys and I made GREAT friends through MOMS Club and we have wonderful memories from our park days, outings and holiday activities. Look into a local chapter if you have little ones. You'll love it!  

Ok, so this is an easy recipe and one that comes together quickly. I'm all about quick and easy as those are the best meals for busy people. Check it out!

Layers of goodness.

The whole "enchilagna" with guacamole, black bean/corn dip, cilantro lime rice, chipotle salsa and chips. YUH-UH-UMMMMM!

"Enchilagnas"

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground turkey (or ground beef)
• 1 med. green pepper, chopped
• 1 med. red pepper, chopped
• 1 med. onion, chopped
• 16 oz chunky salsa
• 1 can- 14.5 oz diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can- 15 oz corn (I omit if I'm serving my black bean/corn dip.)
• 6 soft taco size flour tortillas (You can use 12 corn tortillas if you prefer.)
• 1-2 c sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

optional toppings:

• black olives, sliced
• jalapenos, sliced
• onions, chopped
• cilantro, chopped
• hot sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Cook turkey in large skillet. Drain when almost cooked through. Add peppers and onions to meat and cook another 5-6 mins or till veggies have softened.
3. Stir in salsa, tomatoes and corn and bring to boil.
4. In 13x9" dish, spoon 1 c meat mixture onto bottom of dish. Top with 3 flour tortillas to cover top of meat mixture. If using corn tortillas, you will cover meat with 6 corn tortillas across the top.
5. Spoon half remaining meat mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle cheese across mixture. I do a thin layer.
6. Top with remaining 3 flour tortillas (or 6 corn tortillas) and meat mixture. Cover with foil.
7. Bake 25-30 mins. Remove from oven, uncover, sprinkle with some more cheese (more or less to taste) and put back in oven for add'l 5 mins or till cheese has melted. Let stand 5 mins before serving.

Source: Adapted from friend, DP.

TIP: You can make this dish a day in advance of serving. Prepare everything above to Step #6 then cover and refrigerate. To serve, bake covered at 375F for 45-50 mins or till heated through. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese (I like a thin layer but lay on the cheese if you like it cheesy.) Put back in oven for add'l 5 mins or till cheese has melted. Let stand 5 mins before serving.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

My boys LOVE pasta with ground turkey marinara sauce. I wasn't in the mood for pasta and wanted to make something different with the ground turkey that was in my fridge. I was happy to find a post for cheesy sloppy joes. The only time I've eaten a sloppy joe was at a friend's house when I was little. I remember loving the sauce and the messiness of it all. I love tomatoes and all things ketchupy so I'm surprised I didn't make these sooner. 

I made homemade rolls for the sloppy joes and a cheese sauce to top it off. My fam gobbled these up! I'll definitely make these again soon. This was easy to prepare and delicious, too!

Delicious.

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Cheese Sauce

Yield: 4-5 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 4 hamburger buns (I made rolls)
• cheese sauce (recipe below...optional)

sauce:

• 1- 14.5 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 tbs white wine vinegar
• 1 tbs worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tbs garlic, minced
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix sauce ingredients and set aside.
2. Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat. Cook onions and ground turkey until cooked through. 
3. Add sauce mixture to skillet and stir well. Bring to boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 mins or till sauce reduces to a thick consistency.
4. While meat/sauce mixture is simmering, make cheese sauce. See recipe below...
5. Scoop sloppy joe mixture onto bun, top with cheese sauce and serve with salad. ENJOY!

Source: Life's Ambrosia

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The cheese sauce was yummy and a nice addition to the sloppy joes. This cheese sauce would also be great over chicken or as a dip with veggies. Good stuff! Because the sauce was creamy and white, Hubby was a little worried about what it was composed of. I told him it was cauliflower cheese and the boys played along. It was fun to watch him sniff the cheese repeatedly and try small tastes off his fork. He is NOT a cauliflower fan, and though this cheese sauce had no cauliflower in it whatsoever, he was wary of what was in it. The next time I make this, I will try adding a little pureed cauliflower in lieu of cream cheese. It'd probably be the same consistency and be a healthier alternative to the cheese sauce. :) I'll update this post when I make the real cauliflower cheese sauce. Muwahahahhahaha!

Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs butter
• 1 c milk
• 1 tbs flour
• 2 oz cream cheese
• 3 c shredded cheddar cheese (I used 2 c jack cheese)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In sauce pan, melt butter over med heat till melted. Then whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 mins.
2. Add milk and stir well.
3. Add cream cheese and cheddar cheese and cook until melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Keep warm over low heat until ready to eat.

Source: Adapted from Life's Ambrosia

Curry Meatballs

I love curry. Spicy, mild, Indian, Thai, Japanese curry...it's all good! I love spicy curry, but because I want my boys to eat what I make, I can't make my dishes too spicy. These turned out pretty good but would recommend making a sauce to go with it. Next time, I'll make a side of curry sauce or serve with Sweet Chili Sauce. Yum.

My fam LOVED this!

I ate four meatballs...Hubby and my boys ate the rest!
We enjoyed this with a side of rice, orange bell peppers and a salad. :)

Curry Turkey Meatballs

Yield: 20+ turkey meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey (or ground beef)
• 1/2 med red onion (used brown onion)
• 2-4 tsp curry powder (or Madras curry)
• 1/2 - 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tbs garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 c panko bread crumbs
• 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In large bowl, combine all ingredients (except for olive oil). Mix until mixed well.
3. Roll into 20+ meatballs. I used Pampered Chef's Medium Scoop to make the meatballs. 
4. Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat. Cook in batches till browned on all sides. Transfer to baking dish and bake for 15-20 mins or till cooked through. ENJOY!

Source: Adapted from Life's Ambrosia.

Swedish Meatballs

It must've been my trip to IKEA because I had Swedish Meatballs on the brain. I don't even remember the last time I ate Swedish Meatballs so to crave them suddenly was a bit odd. As far as I know, the only place that serves them is IKEA and I was not about to do another trip up there. 

I had ground turkey so I rolled my own "meatballs" for the first time. I usually have Costco's frozen Italian Meatballs in my freezer for quick dinners, but since I'm out, I made turkey "meatballs" instead. They were tasty!

My very first "meatballs." They turned out pretty good.

We LOVE sauce!

I drizzled some sauce on the pasta, too. YUMMY!

Swedish Meatballs

Yield: 6-8 servings (or ~24 "meat" balls)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 c bread crumbs (I used panko)
• 1/4 c milk
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 tbs garlic, minced
• 1 tbs ginger, minced (It's not a typical swedish meatball ingredient, but I had it so I added it.)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

sauce:

• 1 tbs butter
• 1/8 c flour
• 1/2 tbs garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 c chicken stock
• 1/2 c heavy cream (I used half and half)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine panko and milk. Set aside.
2. In large skillet, heat a little oil and saute onions, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper for 3-4 mins. Set aside when cooked through.
3. In stand mixer bowl, combine turkey, bread crumb/milk mixture and sauteed veggies. 
4. Form 1 oz sized balls. You'll probably make about 24.
5. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
6. In same onion skillet, heat a little oil over med-high heat. Cook "meatballs" in batches until browned on all sides. Transfer to baking sheet.
7. Bake for 18-20 mins or until cooked through.
8. While "meatballs" are baking, prepare sauce. Use same skillet, melt butter, add flour and whisk together for 2-3 mins. Add remaining ingredients and continue to whisk to ensure flour does not clump up. Simmer until you get desired sauce consistency. The longer the simmer, the thicker the sauce.
9. Add meatballs to sauce, stir gently and simmer for 3-4 mins. Serve immediately. 

Source: Adapted from food is luv.