Black Bean and Tortilla Bake

I've made this a few times and we really enjoy it. In fact, I just finished prepping it for our dinner tonight and will just pop it in the oven 30 minutes before we're ready to eat.

I think it's a great meatless meal. However, if you have a husband who MUST have meat with every dinner, I think you could add chicken and it would taste really good. This meal also makes for great leftovers (if you have any left over...)

1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce- I use a 15 oz can, I actually can't see how 8 oz would be nearly enough sauce)
1 (16 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
salt and pepper
12 soft corn tortillas
8 ounces low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded, reserve 2 tablespoons

Preheat oven to 350* F.
Spray a large skillet with cooking spray.
Add garlic, onions, tomato, green onion, cumin, and chili powder.
Cook on medium heat until onion is tender.
Add tomato sauce and cook 5 minutes more.
Stir in beans, cilantro, salt and pepper.
Spray a 9 inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
Layer 4 tortillas, 1/3 cheese, and 1/3 of the bean mixture; repeat 2 more times.

Top with reserved 2 tablespoons of cheese.
Bake 20 minutes, covered, then 10 minutes uncovered or until bubbly.

Tomato Basil Pasta

If you have a garden and are wondering what to do with all those tomatoes, this is a winner. We've had it twice in the last week and it's a hit. I don't have a recipe, I just kind of throw it together, which is one thing I love about it, I also love that it tastes so yummy and costs so little!

1 lb of your favorite pasta (I like it with spaghetti)
4-6 cups diced tomatoes (a mix of varieties works great)
2-4 cloves garlic, diced
2-4 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1/4-1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2-3/4 cup shredded pecorino romano cheese (again, I like the Kirkland)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in salted water. After you start the water for the pasta, add the olive oil to a large sautee pan over medium heat. Once it is hot, add garlic and tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook until tomatoes are falling apart and liquid from tomatoes has gone down by 1/3-1/2 (about 10-15 minutes). Toss with hot pasta and basil and half of the cheese. Use remaining cheese to top individual servings. Enjoy!

Strawberry Buttermilk Gelato

This is another Cooking Light recipe (I know, I love Cooking Light:)). We tried it yesterday and it was delicious...so, run out and get some strawberries before it's too late and give it a try. *If you don't have an ice cream freezer, come borrow mine!

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
5 cups quartered strawberries (about 4 pints)
2 cups low-fat buttermilk

Preparation:
Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour into a large bowl; cool completely.
Place strawberries in a blender, and process until smooth. Add strawberry purée and buttermilk to sugar syrup; stir to combine.
Pour the strawberry mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Yield
8 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 134, FAT 0.8g (sat 0.3g,mono 0.2g,poly 0.1g); IRON 0.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 1mg; CALCIUM 48mg; CARBOHYDRATE 31.7g; SODIUM 17mg; PROTEIN 1.6g; FIBER 1.7g

Easy Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I don't have an actual recipe for this so bear with me.

1 yellow or white cake mix with all ingredients it needs (on the box) to make the cake
1 can pineapple slices
butter/margarine
brown sugar

(when mixing the cake mix and it asks for water...use the pineapple juice from the canned pineapple first. So, if it says 1 cup water and you only have like 3/4 cup pineapple juice use that and then just add 1/4 cup water.)

Preheat the oven to whatever degree it says on the cake mix box. Put some butter in the bottom of the pan and put it in the oven to melt while you mix the other ingredients.
Take it out when it is melted and cover the bottom of the pan with brown sugar. I don't have a specific measurement for the butter or the brown sugar because I usually put a TON! Do it to your liking. ( a lot is good!).

Put the pineapple in the bottom of the pan.

Pour the cake mix on top of the pineapple/butter/brown sugar and bake for the time it says on the cake mix box. I usually watch just to make sure. It will be a little brown and sometimes brown around the edges from the butter, but you can do a toothpick test to be sure.

I love it warm...so I cut and serve as soon as possible out of the oven.
I never flip the cake onto another surface or anything...why? It's upside-down already! That makes it right-side up! It's delicious no matter what.

Enjoy!

two fresh Avocado Salsas

Morgans Salsa:

2-3 avocados (diced)
6 Roma tomatoes (diced)
1 small can of corn (or fresh off the cob but you will have to cook it first)
1 can black beans
1/2 onion (finely chopped)
garlic salt (to taste)
Italian dressing (to taste)

*My sister in law made this at our last family dinner and it was delicious with some corn chips.

My usual avocado salsa:

2-3 avocados (diced)
6 Roma tomatoes (diced)
a handful of cilanto (chopped)
3 green onions (thinly sliced)
2-3 limes (squeeze juice, to taste)
finely chopped garlic (to taste)
1 small can corn
1 jalapeno (finely chopped and seeded)
salt (to taste)

*I use this recipe for lots of things...chips, salads, enchiladas, tacos, whatever sounds good! Also, the picture above is the last batch of salsa I made with some of our tomatoes from our garden (not Romas) and some from the Herfels garden. It turned out really good and I didn't use corn, avocados or green onions ( I used a Vidalia onion instead) so it's a versatile recipe.

Pesto-Ranch Chicken Salad

My cousin made this one last week at our reunion and she just threw it together without measuring, so I'm going to give it my best guess. It was so yummy!

1 lb farfalle (bowties) pasta, cooked and rinsed
1/2 cup fresh or store-bought pesto
1/2 16 oz bottle light ranch dressing
aprox. 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (can use rotisserie)
1 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 cup pine nuts (even better if you toast them first)
aprox. 1 1/2-2 cups frozen peas
aprox. 1/2-1 cup craisins (optional)

Combine the dressing and the pesto in medium bowl. Place all ingredients in very large bowl and stir to combine. Makes a great meal on a bed of lettuce.