The Best Baked Creamed Spinach

I have never had any of this left over after dinner... this recipe is delicious!

Ingredients:

2 lb of fresh spinach
1 ½ cups of milk (or, if you're without Cups I use two mug fulls of milk)
1 cup of cheese, grated (mozarella and parmesean work beautifully)
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
A pinch of Salt, Pepper, and Nutmeg

(Optional- 1 clove minced garlic)

Preparation Instructions:

Trim and wash 2 lb of fresh spinach (a giant bag of spinach... the more the merrier)
Cook until the Spinach wilts
Allow to cool, then squeeze out excess water (really important for the recipe!)
In a saucepan, melt the butter; then add the flour.
Stir until the flour browns (3-4 minutes)
Add the milk; then bring to a boil, stirring constantly
Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Cook for about 5-6 minutes (stirring constantly)
Combine the sauce with the spinach and ½ of grated cheese.
Spoon into a baking dish, then top with the other ½ cup of grated cheddar.

Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 20 minutes- until the cheese turns brown

Molly's Vegan Stuffing

The secret is the mushrooms- which substitute for gizzards.

Ingredients:

• 10 cups 1/2 inch bread cubes from fresh bread (I used 2 day old baguettes)
  
• 2 Tbsp - 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
  
• 2-3 Cloves Garlic, minced
  
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped celery (3-4 stalks)
• 1 cup Mushrooms, quartered
  
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 - 3 cups vegetable stock OR 3 c. water + 2 veggie bouillon cubes

Stuffing Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil a large shallow casserole dish
2. Toast bread cubes in a large baking sheet in the oven until golden brown. Set aside in a large bowl
3. Turn oven down to 350 degrees F
4. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Sauté onions, garlic, and celery until soft
5. Using a rubber spatula, transfer the veggie mixture to the bowl of bread crumbs
6. Add parsley, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper
7. Stir until until everything is well mixed
8. Gradually add 2 cups vegetable stock and stir until it is absorbed. Add more stock if necessary, the mixture should be moist and clump together, but not soggy
9. Bake covered in a shallow casserole or baking dish for 25 minutes
10. Optional: Uncover and bake another 15 minutes to form a crusty top

Jenjen's Garlic Bread

This is the best garlic bread- no contest.

1/4 c. Olive Oil... or, 3 tbs butter & 3 tbs Olive Oil
4-5 cloves Garlic
Baguette- white bread works best

Finely chop garlic cloves and put in a pan with the oil. Heat up oil and garlic on medium until cloves are barely turning brown. Turn off oil, and allow garlic to cook in the boiling oil- it will turn a light golden-brown color.

Slice bread into small slices, and dip each piece into the oil & garlic mixture- make sure to get the garlic pieces on the bread, it's the best part!

Toast the oiled bread in the oven for about 10 minutes- or, until brown.

Serve, enjoy!

Erin's Enchiladas

My method of cooking involves putting as many veggies in the recipe as possible. Keep that in mind with this Enchilada recipe... lots of Taquerias will put in a couple of onions, or maybe a chile or two but very few will add as many Fajita Vegetables as I like to do.

Enchilada Sauce (from a can, or from my recipe)
Tortillas (8-12)
Cheese
Beans
Vegetables
Meat

Garnish: Sour Cream, Hot Sauce, Salsa, Avocado, Cilantro

Cook beans, vegetables, and any meat (chicken, pork, or beef are traditional) on the stove. Preheat the oven to 350 F or 175 C
In a 9x13 in baking pan put tortillas with beans, veggies, and meat mixture. (Roll each tortilla and put as many in the pan as you can). Drizzle each tortilla with Enchilada Sauce and Cheese.

Bake 20 minutes at 350 F (175 C)
Cool 10 minutes
Serve with Sour Cream, Hot Sauce, Salsa, Avocado, Cilantro garnishes (or really whatever you think sounds good).

Serves 4-5

Roasted Tomato Salsa

This is a basic, and extremely delicious salsa recipe. You can substitute different peppers (Anaheim for Jalapeno for example), or even Mangoes for Tomatoes... it is entirely up to you.

3 Ripe Tomatoes
3-5 cloves of Garlic (unpeeled)
1 large Red or White Onion (cut into quarters)
1-2 Peppers (depending on variety, and how spicy you want it)
Lime Juice
Cliantro (fresh if available)
Olive Oil

Set the oven to 200C or 350 F. Put tomatoes, garlic, onion, and pepper into a dish and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for about 15 minutes, and reduce the heat... you can cook for up to 45 minutes. When the tomato skins blister and crack, you should take the dish out of the oven and allow to cool. Peel skin from tomato, garlic, onion, and pepper (NOTE: wash your hands with COLD water and soap after wards... or wear gloves for this part)
Finely chop all ingredients (tomatoes, pepper, onion, garlic, fresh cilantro) and put in a bowl with the juice of 1 lime.
Allow the salsa to set for about an hour, and enjoy!

Burritos- Lunch or Dinner

This is my favorite thing to eat for dinner- mmm burritos. I will refer to other recipes in this blog so kindly follow the link to Fajita Vegetables when I mention it (or do your own thing.... I don't care- just let me know if it turns out good!)

Heat up some beans
Heat up some Fajita Vegetables
Heat up a tortilla (microwave no more than 15 seconds or flip a stack in a frying pan)
Grate Cheese, Cut up an Avocado
Pull out some Salsa or hot sauce
Pull out some Sour Cream

Add a spoonfull of each to your burrito in this order:

Beans, Veggies, Meat, Cheese, Sour Cream, Avocado, Salsa

Tuck ends of the tortilla up, and roll into a burrito shape... ENJOY!

Fajita Vegetables

I use this recipe every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I want vegetables like this in burritos, fajitas, enchiladas, even eggs. You can make one serving (using 1/2 vegetables) or 16 servings (using a lot of vegetables!) It really just depends on what you want to make.

If you want to cook this recipe with meat, start with cubes of chicken, steak, tofu... I find it easiest to cook the protein separate from the vegetables.

Usually I use five or six vegetables. Zucchini, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Peppers, Onions, & Garlic... but you can add anything that you think sounds good. If you are cooking for one-two cut use half of a vegetable... if you are cooking for more use your judgment.

1. Chop all of your vegetables, but separate them by cooking time.

Tomatoes & Onions go in first ( cook 3-5 minutes before adding Peppers)
Peppers second (cook 2-3 minutes before adding Garlic, Zucchini, Mushrooms)
Garlic, Zucchini, Mushrooms third (cook 5-7 minutes with everything)

2. As you add in Veggies stir occasionally to keep from burning in your pan.
3. Season with salt, pepper, chili powder, cinnamon, hot sauce..... etc.

Fake Refried Beans

Everybody needs beans in their burritos- even Fajitas are served with a side of beans. Usually I am lazy (okay, always) and I buy a can or two of beans to cook down to refried beans status. I'll include a recipe for cooking beans, but only for the sake of being thorough.

Different beans will require a different cooking time, so please follow a link to this chart.... or just wing it. Beans are finished when they smoosh easily between your fingers.

Soaking your beans will cut the cooking time down dramatically, so I advise that you soak your beans over night. Take clean, dry beans and cover them in water for 6-8 hours.

Beans require a 3:1 ratio when cooking (or, if you didn't soak them 4:1)

When I made Black Beans I used:
1 cup of beans
3 cups of water
dash of salt
dash of pepper

Cook for 45 minutes - 1 hour (until they are soft)

OR you can be lazy and pick up the recipe from here:
Pinto, Black, or Kidney beans are the best for Mexican food

1-2 Cans of Beans
1/2 small carrot (finely chopped)
OR
1 Green Onion (finely chopped)
1 cup Beer or Water
Olive Oil

Open 1-2 cans of Beans. Rinse several times with water to get the 'canned' taste off, set aside. Add carrot or onion to olive oil and cook for a minute or two (until it starts to smell good). Add beans and liquid (beer or water)- you only need enough to keep the beans moist. Cook for about 15 minutes smashing them as you stir- be sure the beans are not too soupy or too dry.

If your beans have too much liquid: cook it off, or drain into the sink
If your beans have too little: slowly add beer/ water until you have the proper consistency

Tortillas- Flour

I am still trying to perfect my tortilla recipe, but here is the best one I have found. Please keep in mind that this recipe does not have preservatives so they are best made fresh on the spot- and I found that you need to be very careful with how much oil you use. Tortillas are a very straight forward recipe- and this is the reason I was so offended to see how expensive they are in the Croatian market! (8 cost as much as steak)

"Authentic" Mexican Flour Tortillas

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 cup shortening (or vegetable oil)
  
• 3/4 cup hot water

Directions

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly mix in oil/ shortening/ lard. If the mixture looks more floury than crumbly, add just one or two more tablespoons of oil/ shortening/ lard until it is crumbly. Add about 3/4 cup hot water to the mixture, or just enough to make the ingredients look moist.

With your hand or a large fork, knead the mixture making sure to rub the dough against the sides of the large mixing bowl to gather any clinging dough. If the dough still sticks to the side of the bowl, add a couple more tablespoons of flour until the dough forms a soft round shape.

Cover the dough ball with a dish towel and let it rest for about an hour

Pull the dough apart into 10-12 little balls. Roll each ball with a rolling pin to about 1/8 inch thickness.

Place each tortilla on a medium hot cast iron skillet. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until the tortilla does not look doughy- it should fluff up a little bit on each side.

NOTE: You will not need to add oil to the recipe, as this one calls for a LOT. Also, the hardest part of keeping tortillas fresh is holding in the moisture. As you cook each tortilla cover the pile with a dish towel to keep them insulated.

The Sauces- Enchilada Sauce

You can usually buy Enchilada Sauce at the grocery store, but sometimes it's just not available- and it is an easy sauce to make!

(Red) Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (a little goes a long way)
  
• 2 cups water (500 mL)
  
• 1 8 ounce can tomato paste (250 mL)
  
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cube chicken bouillon
  

Preparation:

Heat the oil, flour and chili powder together in a large pot over medium heat. Allow to cook for a minute or two (until the flour starts to turn brown).

Add the remaining ingredients (cumin, cayenne, water, bouillon, tomato paste, garlic, onion, salt) and bring to a slow boil. Stir well to combine all the ingredients, the tomato paste & bouillon should completely dissolve. Allow to cook for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more spices as desired.

The sauce will thicken as the water cooks off, it should be about the consistency of tomato sauce