I love Mexican food and I love casseroles, so why not combine my two favorite things? This recipe has come to the rescue. It was pretty simple to make – chop some onion, brown the hamburger, add some chopped jalapenos, add some cans of black beans, corn, and tomatoes, and then put them in a casserole. I think the most confusing parts for me was putting in the tortillas, but I quickly learned why – even though the wrapper clearly said 8, I ended up with 9. I seriously counted them at least 5 times. Wow. I did do my normal thing and substituted sour cream for plain greek yogurt for the middle layer. And, I most definitely added too many jalapenos. If even my knight in shining armor mentions that it’s a bit hot you know it was a few peppers too many. However, I still liked it. I may have liked it better if there was some tomato sauce or something to make it less dry.

Ingredients

• 1 lb extra lean lean ground beef, (drained or rinsed)
• 1⁄2 cup onion, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup canned jalapeno pepper, slices, chopped
• 2 cup fresh tomato, chopped (or 15 oz can diced canned tomatoes)
• 15 oz can corn, kernels drained
• 15 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 1⁄4 oz package taco seasoning mix
• 8 corn tortilla
• 3⁄4 cup nonfat sour cream
• 1⁄3 cup reduced-fat Mexican cheese, blend, shredded
• 1⁄3 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped, to taste (less or more)

1. Brown ground beef and chopped onions in large skillet; brown 10 to 12 minutes or until thoroughly cooked, stirring constantly. Drain well and rinse with warm water to remove all fat; return beef/onions to skillet.
2.  Add corn, black beans, tomatoes, chilies/jalapenos and taco seasoning mix; mix well. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile spray 12×8-inch (2-quart) baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut each tortilla in half; place 8 halves in bottom of sprayed baking dish, overlapping slightly.
4. Spoon half of beef mixture evenly over tortillas. Spoon sour cream over beef mixture; spread evenly. Top with remaining 8 tortilla halves and remaining beef mixture. (Cover tightly with foil & Freeze for later OR cook as directed below…).
5. (Thaw overnight if frozen) Heat oven to 350ºF. Bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cheese. Cover; let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with fresh chopped lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, black olives, etc.

Step 1 – Open the cans and mix all the ingredients in the pan.

Step 2 – Line the casserole dish with tortillas and verify if there is indeed 8 or 9 in your package.

Step 3 – Add the meat and then the sour cream or greek yogurt to the topping. (Then add another row of tortillas and meat mixture.)

Step 4: EAT!! (After you cook it, of course. Oh, and then add cheese and parsley.)

Do you want to try the best chicken salad ever? And, one that is super easy to make? Of course you do, even if you don’t realize it yet. I decided to make this for lunch a few of the days this week. I used to think I didn’t like celery – now I realize you just mix it in with other things so you don’t taste it. Now, I’m not really sure if you’re supposed to chop the grapes up like I did, but I actually really like it this way. It had the right amount of crunch with the perfect consistency. This will now be a staple lunch for me during the week. Per the recipe it’s a “skinny” version. Whatever it is, it takes delicious! (Sorry I don’t have a picture of it mixed together, or on one of my delicious sandwiches. I’ll add one once I make some more!)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup chopped grapes
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
• 3/4 cup reduced-fat miracle whip
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder

1. In a large bowl, mix chicken, celery, chopped grapes, and green onion.
2.  In a small bowl, mix together miracle whip, salt, black pepper, and onion powder.
3.  Cover chicken mixture with dressing and stir until well mixed.
4. Cover and chill chicken salad until ready to serve.

On Sunday, around lunchtime, I put our dinner into the crock pot to cook while we shopped. When we got home, exhausted, we had this tasty meal to enjoy. Does life get any better than that?

What is the weird black stuff you get on cilantro? No worries, I picked it out.

This recipe is super, duper simple and ridiculously tasty. The prep time was maybe 10 minutes. Maybe. And that was probably because I talking or dancing or something while I was cooking. Not because it takes very long. You literally chop up the cilantro and jalapenos. One thing that wasn’t super clear on the recipe was if you should use 4-6 chicken breasts or 4-6 chicken breast halves (meaning 2 or 3 breasts). To be safe I put in 3 chicken breasts, but I decided to put a crazy spin on it and cut them into quarters. (GASP!) Now, I don’t know if our consistency was correct or how it was meant to eat, but we like to make things up as we go. We decided to cook some rice to put with it, along with some tortillas and plain greek yogurt that we like to pretend is sour cream (and tastes absolutely no different, I swear!). The dish was amazing and the perfect amount of spice to make your lips feel botoxed, but still be able to eat it. And the best part? Leftovers!

Ingredients:

• One 24-ounce jar medium or mild salsa
• Juice from one lime
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• One 1.25-oz. package taco seasoning
• 2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (optional)
• 3 boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces (completely defrosted) 

1. Mix together in the slow cooker and coat chicken with the salsa mixture.

2. Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours.

Step 1 – Put it all in the crock pot

Step 2 – Eat it!!