Cheesy Saucy Enchiladas!

Ahhhhhhhhh! Mexican food! Who doesn't love it?! These days, the popularity of Mexican food is at its peak. And it is so easy to prepare, results are always absolutely awesome!

I thought, hmmmmmm, what to make? And right away, thought of enchiladas popped up. They are so versatile and so monkey proof! Anyone can make it, seriously! So enchiladas it is. So here it is, my version of cheesy enchiladas served with lots of sour cream, slices of avocado and hot, fiery salsa. A little taste of heaven!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey
1 onion
Garlic cloves to taste
2 cups mixed chopped peppers
3 cups Texmex cheese
1 bottle hot salsa
8 oz. enchilada sauce
1 jalapeno, chopped finely
1 pack taco seasoning
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
8 medium tortillas

How to do:

Cook onions and garlic until soft. Add turkey, cook till no longer pink. Add peppers, jalapeno, taco seasoning, oregano and cilantro and cook till well done. Pre heat the oven to 400° F. Spread the enchilada sauce in a thick bottomed 13X9 baking pan. Warm tortillas per package directions. Fill each tortilla with turkey mixture, 2 tbsp of cheese and roll up. Place in a baking pan, seam side down. Prepare all tortillas and spread half a bottle of salsa on top of them. Sprinkle with more cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Relishing tuh-mah-toes!

I love tomatoes. I remember when I was a child, mom used to slice the tomatoes, sprinkle salt and freshly ground pepper and give to me and my sister for a snack! That was totally lip smacking! In winter months, mom would make us red hot soup from tomatoes with Monaco crackers. That still makes my mouth water! Upon my move to Canada, I was introduced to the Insalata Caprese! Mmmmm! So good and so satisfying! I still remember the look and the taste of the salad I had in Venice. Nice and juicy tomatoes, thick slices of fresh buffalo mozzarella and fresh sweet smelling basil. It was heavenly.

I picked up grape tomatoes from the grocery store last weekend. I plopped some fresh ones in my mouth and boy! they were so sweet. I added a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, a little salt and pepper, tossed the tomatoes and voila! I had delish tomato salad ready to go with my pita chips. Again, pita chips is NOT rocket science! Just slice the pitas, bake them in hot oven till nice and golden brown and there you go! I sometimes sprinkle pitas with olive oil, garlic powder, ground pepper etc. But with these tomatoes, I decided to go plain. I absolutely cherished the walk down memory lane!

Luck O' the Irish!

Wednesday, March 17th was St. Patrick's day. Perfect time to make the Shepherd's Pie and Irish Soda bread. Pure soul food!

Both dishes were very quick and simple and were put together in no time! I had the luck of the Irish on my side when I took a few short cuts and let my oven do the rest of the work for me!

Warmer temperatures, longer days, bright sunlight, no white stuff in sight and more green stuff springing out - shows the triumphant return of Spring! Why shouldn't one celebrate with comfort foods?!

Irish Soda Bread:

Whether or not you're Irish, this classic quick bread brings great aroma to your kitchen and equally great taste to your dining table! Have it with a good spread of light butter. It was similar to biscuits, with way too less fat!

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons margarine(I used Becel), softened
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup raisins
3/4 cup or more buttermilk

How to:
Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease cookie sheet.
Cut margarine into flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl, using pastry blender( or crisscrossing 2 knives), until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in raisins and just enough buttermilk so dough leaves side of bowl.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Shape into round loaf, about 6 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on cookie sheet. Cut an X shape(Why the "X" shape? Legend is that this cross is meant to scare away evil spirits. Spooky!) about 1/2 inch deep through loaf with floured knife.
Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with margarine, softened.
Serve with blobs of butter on it!

Shepherd's Pie
An equally easy, one pot dish that can satisfy any palate.

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground meat
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 medium each red and green pepper, chopped
1 chopped Jalapeno pepper
1 Pack of instant mashed potatoes
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup milk
2 tbsp.butter
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

How to:
Cook ground meat and 1/4 cup of the onions in an oven proof sauce pot over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until meat is brown; drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce, 3/4 cup of the corn and the peppers. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low to keep warm.
Meanwhile, cook potatoes as directed on package for 4 servings, using 1 pouch Potatoes and Seasoning, hot water, milk and butter. Stir in remaining onions and corn; let stand 5 minutes.
Spoon potatoes onto center of meat mixture, leaving 2 1/2- to 3-inch rim around edge of skillet; sprinkle cheese over potatoes and meat mixture. Broil until a beautiful golden crust is formed.

Enjoy with the Soda bread!

Better Than Take Out!

We all love pizza, don't we?! Especially kids. They can have pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner! My son is no exception. He loves his pizza.


The other day I had some leftover bhatura dough which turned into this! An ooey gooey cheese N pepperoni pizza for my son! With some of the left over marinara sauce(I freeze the home made marinara) to put together a quick snack in no time.

Paneer Jalfrezi

Another fast and delish Indian dish! Paneer Jalfrezi that is. I like homemade paneer as opposed to the store bought. Every now and then the grocery stores have paneer on sale which is really inexpensive compared to the process of making paneer at home but somehow, store bought paneer lacks that zing! I make slabs of paneer, slice or cube them, fry them mostly and freeze them in separate zip lock bags.


Recently, I have started to broil the paneer cubes instead of deep frying them. I guess it does save a lot of calories and time. All I have to do for this dish is to prep my other veggies like peppers, onions, ginger and toss them together for a quick stir-fry.


Here is how I did this.


Sauté onions till translucent. Stir fry julienned peppers, green chilies and ginger, with some tomato paste. Add garlic paste, salt, pepper, turmeric, coriander powders to taste and presto! A delicious and nutritious meal ready to savor. I made square masala parathas to go with this dish. Can't rave enough about it!

Quick and easy Keema Karahi

I have been using a lot of minced meat lately. It has been on sale for a while at my grocery store. It is very versatile as well. Normally I would make keema with peas and fried potatoes with lots of hard boiled eggs. But this time I wanted to keep it plain and simple, and of course equally delectable! So I made Keema Karahi, using lots of green onions.

Pair flavorful and spicy keema with plain parathas for a superfast and delicious meal in minutes.

Keema Karahi

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground meat
5 green onions, chopped
1 cup canned, diced tomaotes
5 chopped green chillies
2 tbsp. ginger,chopped
4-6 big cloves garlic, grated
Salt to taste
1 tbsp cayenne powder
A pinch of turmeric
1/2 cup of canola oil

How to:

1) Heat the oil and add garlic, ginger, salt, cayenne powder and turmeric and ground meat. Fry for a few minutes over medium heat till dry.
2) Add green onions, coriander leaves(optional), green chillies, and tomatoes.
4) Cook for another five minutes in covered pot and serve, sprinkled with chopped green pepper for color.

Bible and us!

Got some nice thoughts through an email from my cousin in India. So true!

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several time a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.

And no drop calls!

Trust in the Lord and *ASAP (Always Say A Prayer)

Have a blessed and wonderful day!