I can't spell it but it sure tasted good!

My friend Barb was at my house a few weeks ago, and saw the Mother Of All Zucchinis sitting on my kitchen counter. Obviously, she was slightly curious as to what I thought I was going to do with such a large specimen. And frankly, I was not sure myself......

I had already tried grilled zucchini and had a large supply of grated zucchini tucked into the freezer, ready for zucchini-bread-making. I had diced another one, in preparation for use in soups and stirfry......but I was stumped when it came to using up this overly-large zucchini. My family could only take so much.

That is when Barb told me about some dish her family always makes (which I cannot pronounce and she cannot spell, so we will just call it "Yummy Mexican Zucchini Dish") from here on out.
It was a very simple recipe........

"Yummy Mexican Zucchini Dish"

--ground beef
--zucchini, diced (I cut out the center part because it was stringy)
--frozen corn (1 bag)
--1 tomato, finely diced
--salt, pepper, garlic to taste

Cook the meat first, until brown. Drain. Season and add zucchini, cook until soft. Add corn and tomatoes--cover and let the flavors simmer together for about 15 minutes over low heat.

And there you have it--Yummy Mexican Zucchini Dish! I made it one night when I was going to be gone for dinner, and I came home to NO LEFTOVERS. My family devoured it! So if you have gigantic zucchinis sitting around, with no purpose in life, this is a good way to make them feel needed...... ;-)

Ole!

We eat lots of refried beans. I buy a huge can from Costco, and it lasts us for a month. My kids love them, so I make bean burritos for them. My husband and I enjoy bean dip (with all the toppings--cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, olives).

The only thing that bothers me about store-bought refried beans: the amount of preservatives that I know are in them! And since I am on a DIY, non-preservative kick, this thought does not appeal to me at all.

I planned on looking for a good homemade refried bean recipe, and I stumbled across this one tonight. It looks delicious! I am going to be trying it soon.....I will let you know how it turns out.

Do you make refried beans at home? If so, share your recipe and tips!

I'd like to introduce you to my friend Hominy

My family is very good about trying new foods. In fact, we eat such a variety that they really are not surprised by much.

Except ethnic foods.

Because of our tight budget, I am not good about looking outside of the normal grocery store fare, to cook ethnic dishes for my family. I don't add many different ingredients, besides the normal fruits and veggies and grain products that are common in American cooking. So, they are not keen on "weird foods", as they call them. Hopefully we are never called to be missionaries in a foreign land.....they might waste away to nothing. ;-)

Therefore, when I found a recipe for chicken tortilla soup and excitedly made it, it was not met with as much enthusiasm as I had. Because it had HOMINY in it.

(Heaven forbid.....)

I grew up eating hominy. We lived in Idaho when I was little, and it was a pretty common staple in grocery stores. So I thought nothing of adding it to this soup....in fact, I was excited for a reason to use it! My family was NOT excited.

It looked delicious when I served it, and I was able to eat my fill (for once!) due to my family's lack of enthusiasm. And this recipe made enough for two meals, so I served it over rice the next night, which seemed to help a little. I guess rice disguises hominy? Who knows......


Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 t. olive oil
2 zucchini, cut into small cubes
1 can (29 oz) crushed tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth
1 can (15 oz) white hominy
1 1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. cayenne pepper (I left this out)
1 deli rotisserie chicken, meat pulled off and shredded (I used 2 cooked chicken breasts)
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Optional toppings: sliced avocados, tortilla chips, shredded cheese, fresh limes, sour cream

1. Heat oil in a stockpot. Add the zucchini and saute for 2 minutes.

2. Add the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, hominy, cumin, cayenne pepper and shredded chicken. Heat to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir in a handful of chopped cilantro just before serving.

3. To serve, place a handful of tortilla chips in the bottom of a soup bowl. Ladle hot soup over the tortilla chips. Add a generous squeeze of lime and top with additional toppings, if desired. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Serves 4 to 6.

I'm just makin' it up as I go.....

I was supposed to bring a meal to church last night, to help out a family with a new baby.

The only problem: I was out of money and time. What to make??!!

Since I have begun shopping frugally at Costco, there are several items that I ALWAYS have on hand.......refried beans, corn tortillas, shredded cheese and sour cream. Plus we have a whole freezer full of organic ground beef, thanks to some generous friends.

I decided to create an enchilada casserole out of these ingredients. I had seen recipes for that dish before, but I couldn't find a good one on-line. So I went to the store and grabbed a big can of enchilada sauce and a small can of mild green chiles. And then I created my own recipe!
Here it is.....

Enchilada Casserole
(This recipe makes 2 9x13 pans. You can freeze one for later or to give away.)

1 lb. ground beef (free :-)
1 small can green chiles ($0.89)
1/4 onion, chopped finely ($0.25)
1 (28 oz.) can red enchilada sauce ($2.29)
24 corn tortillas ($0.50)
1 1/2 cups sour cream ($0.75)
2 cups shredded cheese ($1.40)
2 cups refried beans ($0.40)

1. Cook ground beef. Drain. Saute onions until soft--add meat and green chiles. Cook about 5 minutes.
2. Add 2 cups enchilada sauce and simmer together for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, spread beans on each tortilla.
1st layer: Place 4 tortillas, alternately, on bottom of greased 9x13 pan. Spoon 1/4 meat/sauce mixture over tortillas. Dollop sour cream over the meat. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese.
2nd layer: Place 4 more tortillas over 1st layer. Add 1/4 more meat mixture, more sour cream.
For final layer: Place 4 tortillas on top of 2nd layer. Pour 1/2 cup enchilada sauce over top--sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese.

(Repeat this process for 2nd pan. Cover and freeze.)

4. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with additional sour cream for topping.
Add rice and a tossed salad and you are good to go!

Cost: $6.48 for 2 main dishes!