Mexican Lasagna

The Shopping List:

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 2 cups of chopped onions
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups green pepper, chopped
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup salsa
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 (15 ounce) can mixed beans (or any variety you like, black or kidney work well) drained and rinsed
• 12 (6 inch) tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 small plum tomatoes, diced
• 1/3 cup green onion, chopped

Cooking It all Up:

Spray a large saucespan with no-stick spray. Brown beef or turkey.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add onions, garlic, and green pepper. Cook and stir over medium heat until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, salsa, and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.

Stir in beans. Remove from heat.
Spray a 13X9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Spread 1/3 of the mixture over the bottom. Cover with half the tortillas (0verlapping as needed), and half the cheese.

Spoon another 1/3 of mixture on top of cheese, followed by remaining tortillas, and last of the bean mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Cover and bake for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with tomato and green onions.

If desired serve with sour cream.

Chicks Note: You could make this a vegetarian meal by omitting the meat and adding an extra 15 oz can of beans!

Pasta Salad with Evoo and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Spring time is here; we had an amazing weekend weather-wise and they are calling for even more incredible weather this upcoming weekend – unusually high temperatures of 22 and 24!! I am SO excited; but I don’t want to get my hopes up too high until I’m actually lying on the deck enjoying every moment!
Here is a nice and light pasta salad – that goes well alone or as a side. It’s perfect to take as leftovers in your lunch as well.

Ingredients:

¾ cup of EVOO
¼ cup balsamic vinaigrette
2 Tablespoons dried oregano
1 Tablespoon parsley
1 Teaspoon basil
1Tablespoon Parmesan
1 clove crushed garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste

Pasta of your choice; we had Rotini on hand;
Veggies of your choice; I used grape tomatoes, green pepper, red onion, and carrots. Cucumber is always good in pasta salad as well.
6 slices of bacon chopped.



(Chicken or shrimp would be a good addition as well if you were making it as a meal.)

Directions:

Cook pasta – let it cool while you make the dressing and chop the veggies; Mix everything together in a bowl; chill in the refrigerator and it is ready to serve.


Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

This is a great Spring/Summer picnic food - on the deck with the family; goes wonderfully with sweet potatoe fries and salads!

Ingredients:

Pork Shoulder or Pork Roast (shoulder’s tend to be cheaper)
12 oz Root Beer
16 oz Favourite BBQ Sauce

Directions:

Place the pork into your slow cooker with the root beer and cook on low for 4-6 hours depending on the size of your shoulder/roast. Your going to cook it until it pulls apart and separates easily;


Then once it is cooked enough, drain the root beer from the slow cooker. Put your meat on a plate and pull apart the pork; and then put it back in the slow cooker – still cooking it on low and add your BBQ sauce. Cook this mixture for another hour; you can keep the pork in the sauce for as long as you like, but the longer you do the more candied the pork will become…soaking up the BBQ sauce; at this point your pork is already cooked, so an hour should be enough time.

When it’s finished, you can serve it on a toasted bun, and make pulled pork tacos with the leftovers!



Suggestion: Use a BBQ sauce that isn’t too sweet - as the root beer adds a sweetness to the meat already, I suggest a smokey mesquite sauce.