Chilaquiles ~ Mexican Crispy Tortilla Casserole

When I read Daisy Martinez's cookbook Daisy Cooks!, I hear her sweet voice in my head narrating to me. And because of this, it's one of the most entertaining cookbooks I've ever read. Have you ever seen her on TV? She is a lively persona with a friendly approachable demeanor. She'll win you over for sure.

 I've always been intrigued by her recipe for Chicken and Crispy Tortilla Casserole with Tomatillo Sauce "Chilaquiles" especially since she proclaims that the reader will be so happy with the recipe that they will want to send her flowers. I guess I owe her a nice bouquet of roses.

I simplified the recipe and this is more of a method/technique then it is a proper recipe. Don't be dismayed by the vagueness of the ingredient amounts. It'll be okay, I promise.

Ingredients:

A stack of 6 inch corn tortillas cut into 2-inch strips
canola oil

shredded rotisserie chicken

2 12 oz cans of mild Salsa Verde

A bag of shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cut a short stalk of corn tortillas into 2-inch strips. Cut more as you need them. Heat up a skillet with about 1/2 inch of canola oil. Daisy suggests test the oil by dipping a corner of one tortilla strip to see if the oil sizzles. If it does so immediately and with a fury, your oil is hot enough for frying.

Fry your strips in small batches and set aside on paper towels. Do not fry them until the get brown, just until they get golden. Also, flip them over quickly so that they lie flat. If you wait to long, they'll start to curl, making it difficult to layer them.

Grease a casserole dish with cooking spray. Layer the bottom with fried tortilla strips until covered.

Add shredded chicken to the top of the layer of tortilla strips.

Cover the top of the shredded chicken with some Salsa Verde.

Sprinkle shredded Monterey Jack cheese on top. Repeat the process once.

Once you have the two layers done, cover the top of the casserole with plenty of fried tortilla chips. Cover with the remaining Salsa Verde and Monterey Jack Cheese.

Cook for 35 minutes in your oven until the top gets nice and brown. Let cool for a few minutes then serve hot. Do not cover with aluminum foil otherwise the casserole with get soggy.

This is a very unique recipe that I think everyone should try!

Casserole

Portobello Mushroom Lasagna Rolls with Bertolli's Arrabiata Sauce

Can you recall the last time you had a lasagna in which the sauce was the rock star? Not the pasta, not the cheese, not the fillings, but the sauce? Unless it was a special non-tomato sauce, chances are you don't notice it. Chances are, the sauce was part of the big picture but didn't stand out from the rest of the ingredients.

When Bertolli and Foodbuzz sent me a jar of Bertolli's Arrabiata Sauce, I wanted to make sure that whatever I made with it, the sauce would get center stage. Sure, I could try to make some really complex recipe with a long laundry list of ingredient. However, I wanted to keep it simple.

Bertolli's Arrabiata sauce is slightly spicy and contains red peppers for an added dimension of flavor.

So how to I make this excellent sauce stand out? Complement it with other ingredients that support it but don't overtake it. Portobello mushrooms have a nice meaty flavor and can serve as a healthy alternative to ground beef. Mushrooms naturally take on any flavors that surround it and give a nice textural element to whatever it's in. I kept the Ricotta filling plain. Ricotta, egg and salt. That's it. I had contemplated using smoked mozarella but opted to go with regular shredded mozarella so as not to compete with the spiciness of the Arrabiata sauce. This is now my favorite lasagna. It even beats my mother's classic mushroom & beef lasagna, which I was literally raised on. I highly encourage you to try this dish out.

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You'll need a whole jar of Bertolli's Arrabiata sauce for this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 portobello mushroom caps, sliced and chopped
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup of Bertolli's Arrabiata sauce

2 cups of ricotta cheese
1 egg beaten
salt to taste

package of lasagna noodles

1/2 cup of Bertolli's Arrabiata sauce*
to coat bottom of casserole dish

rest of the jar of Bertolli's Arrabiata sauce
2 cups of shredded mozarella cheese

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Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Heat up a large pot of water until it's at a rolling boil. Cook your lasagna noodles according to package directions (or until al dente). Fish out noodles and add them to a large bowl of cold water. This will stop them from cooking, keep from them sticking together and make them cooler to handle.

Heat a skillet with some light olive oil. When the oil starts to sizzle, add your portobello mushrooms, onions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until they start to soften. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the 1/2 cup of Bertolli's Arrabiata sauce and heat through. Set mixture aside to cool.

Mix your ricotta cheese, egg and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Take your casserole dish and smother the bottom with 1/2 cup of Bertolli's Arrabiata sauce. This will help prevent the rolls from sticking to the bottom.

To create the rolls. Lay out a lasagna noodle. At one end of the noodle, add a spoonful of the portobello mushroom mixture. Then add a spoonful of the ricotta mixture on top of the mushroom mixture. Carefully roll the lasagna noodle, tucking in the mixture as you go. Roll until you have a nice bundle.

Add your rolls to your casserole dish, making sure that the end of the noodle is facing down so that your roll doesn't unravel. Keep adding your rolls until the casserole dish is packed. Depending on the size of your casserole dish, you may have extra noodles, mushroom mixture and ricotta mixture.

Cover the rolls evenly with the remaining Arrabiata sauce. Then sprinkle your mozarella cheese on top.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil (don't seal) and cook in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for 15 more minutes or until the cheese on top gets nice and bubbly. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes and serve.

The rolls make individual portions and make the lasagna easier to serve. I like to sprinkle some extra mozarella on top while it's still hot. This dish is even better as re-heated leftovers the next day.

I Haz Crockpot ~ Turkey and Wild Rice Casserole

You may be surprised to find out that I'm a picky eater, especially with the variety of recipes I have posted here. I'm not your traditional picky eater. You know the type. That person won't touch anything green, won't eat a piece of meat that looks like it's part of the original animals, gags at the sight of mushrooms, and who's favorite meal is something super bland like white meat chicken and pasta. I have my foods that I avoid. For example, I don't like cooked red onions and I am vehemently opposed to eating salmon and veal. But otherwise I'm very adventurous. I've tried everything from octopus to goat. My pickiness stems from my tastebuds being super persnickety about whatever touches my palate at any given time. I get bored very quickly and I have to keep my palate and my appetite entertained. So variety for me is key.

I wanted to try something I hadn't made before and something I could make in my crockpot. Lo and beold: Turkey and Wild Rice Casserole.

Ingredients:

4 slices of bacon cut into big pieces
2 pounds of Turkey Tenderloins cut into chunks
3 carrots chopped
1 onion chopped
4 stalks from the heart of the celery chopped
1 6oz package of Near Est Long Grain & Wild Rice Original
(do NOT use flavor packet)
1 10.75 oz can of condensed cream of chicken soup
2-1/2 cups of water
salt and pepper to taste

You'll need a Crockpot and a large skillet for this recipe. It makes 6 servings.

In a large skillet, cook bacon until somewhat crisp.

Cut your turkey tenderloins into chunks. You can do smaller chunks than what is shown above. Season with salt.

Chop your celery hearts, carrots and onions. Set aside.

Once bacon is cooked, add turkey tenderloins and vegetables. Sautee at high heat until the turkey starts to brown.

Add the mixture to your Crockpot. Season with salt and pepper.

Add your can of cream of chicken soup and 2-1/2 cups of water to the crockpot.

Stir in long grain and wild rice (do NOT use the flavor packet) and set Crockpot to 4 hours (or High). 3-1/2 hours in, shred the turkey with two forks then let cook for the last 1/2 hour.

Serve hot or at room temperature. Enjoy!