Enchilada Quinoa Casserole

True or False...I should just make this a mexican food blog? Sorry for the similar recipes lately but I warned you that I L-O-V-E mexican food. Plus, I had leftover ingredients from the flautas I made on Thursday. Sometimes you just need to work with what you got!

I have to admit..I've never been a huge fan of quinoa. I've always found it kinda tasteless and boring. Its probably because I only make it when I'm on a diet and diet food just makes me sad. I've never had quinoa with enchilada sauce though, and now I'm kinda in love with it. The enchilada sauce, chiles, and everything else gave it so much flavor. Crazy goodness! Who would have thought quinoa could taste so good?!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce (I used green sauce because its my favorite)
• 1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles, drained 
• 1/2 cup canned corn
• 1/2 cup pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 cups shredded taco cheese
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 tomato, diced

Recipe:

• Cook quinoa according to the package instructions; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray.
• In a large bowl, combine quinoa, enchilada sauce, green chiles, corn, pinto beans, cilantro, cumin and chili powder.  Stir in 1 cup of the cheese.
• Pour quinoa mixture into the prepared baking dish. 
• Bake for 20 minutes. Top with remaining cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and melted. 
• Garnish with diced tomato and avocado

Overnight French Toast Casserole

Hi strangers. Yes, I know its been over a month...I missed you too. This breakfast recipe is LIFE. So yummy and delicious. I'm already planning on making it for Christmas morning which is 9 months from now... That in itself must tell you its delicious considering I'm planning a meal 9 months in advance. The nutmeg and cinnamon makes the kitchen smell like the holidays. Of course that didn't stop me from making it on the first day of spring! It is too yummy to pass up. This recipe is definitely going down in the books.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 Loaf Bread, cut into cubes (I used italian bread and some baguette I had left over...)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 5 eggs
• 1 ½ cup milk

Recipe:

Melt the butter and pour into the bottom of a 13 x 9 in pan.  Mix the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl.  Whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla in another bowl.  Layer the bottom of the pan with half of the bread.  Sprinkle half of the sugar mixture over the bread.  Layer the second half of the bread.  Sprinkle the rest of the sugar mixture on top. Pour the egg mixture over the bread.  Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.  The next morning, take off the foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

One Pot Vegetarian Chili

This is quite possibly the easiest chili recipe EVER. Sometimes my best meals result from being too lazy to go to the grocery store and trying to cook something based on the things I already have in my kitchen. I haven't been to the grocery store in a few days so I was only working with canned food and things in my freezer. Thankfully, I came up with this chili and it was pretty yummy!

Ingredients:

• Bag of frozen onions and peppers (bought in the frozen food aisle)
• Taco seasoning packet (have 2 of the packets on hand just in case you need some more flavor)
• Corn Starch
• Can of corn (15 oz)
• Can of black beans (15oz)
• Can of pinto beans (15oz)

 Recipe:

• Spray a deep pan with pam and place on medium to high heat
• Pour in about 3/4 of the frozen onions and peppers
• While the onions and peppers are defrosting, rinse the black beans and pinto beans in a strainer
• Pour the beans into the pan with the onions and peppers
• Pour the entire can of corn into the pan including the liquid
• It should look liquidy at this point but thats good!
• Sprinkle in the taco seasoning and let the mixture boil for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
• In a small dish, mix a tablespoon of corn starch into water
• Pour corn starch mixture into the pan, stirring frequently
• If the corn starch does not thicken the chili to your liking then you can add some more!
• Serve with your favorite chili toppings

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Any yet again...another 2 weeks go by without a new post. So much for posting regularly. You can thank Sarah for this post who kindly mentioned that she was sick of signing into the blog and seeing brown sugar glazed kielbasa. In response to peer pressure, I decided to take a break from outlining and studying to get this new post up. 

This is a regular at our house especially since the cold weather has started. It's a super easy recipe. I can put all the ingredients in the slow cooker before class and come home to a ready meal. Another plus is that it usually lasts us two plus nights (making it a great recipe for those crazy busy weeks). I make this recipe with ground turkey to make it a healthy meal. It doesn't lack in flavor at all by doing so...even ask the boyfriend who is pro-beef.

Ingredients:

• McCormick Slow Cooker Chili Seasoning Mix (found in the spice aisle)
• 2 1bs of turkey
• 2 (14-1/2 oz) cans of diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 large pepper, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• your favorite toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, chips

Recipe:

• Ground turkey in a large skillet, drain fat
• Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Stir until well mixed
• Cook 8 hours on low, or 4 hours on high.

Quinoa Avocado Salad

This is a simple summer salad AND delicious. Not much more to say other than that.

If you like this, check out my other quinoa avocado salad here!

Adapted From: Wegmans

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa 
• 1-1/2 cup corn
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup green onion
• 2 diced tomatoes
• 2 avocados, peeled, pitted and cubed 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• Lemon Vinigrette
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• 1 lemon

Recipe:

• Cook quinoa as directed
• Mix together quinoa, corn, cilantro, green onion and tomatoes
• Wisk olive oil, thyme, parsley, garlic, and lemon juice together to make lemon vinigrette
• Fold in avocado and lemon vinagrette to quinoa mixture
• Season with salt and pepper