ARUGULA SALAD WITH WHITE BEANS AND BACON

This salad is a copycat of my favorite salad from a neighborhood deli.  The exact description from their menu: arugula, pastina, cannellini beans, smokey bacon, walnuts, parmesan cheese, sherry vinaigrette.  I always order it without walnuts, because I firmly believe that nuts and fruit have no place in salads.  Also, I couldn't find a sherry vinaigrette anywhere, so regular balsamic took over dressing duty.  And finally, I realized I had a perfectly ripe avocado ready to be used, and everyone knows bacon and avocado are best friends, so I threw that on there after taking pictures.  The avocado was amazing and I highly recommend you also use one.

The lineup.  I baked the bacon, method here.

How cute is this little pasta?  Reminds me of couscous. 

This salad makes me so happy.

Ingredients

Arugula
Acini di pepe, cooked and cooled (or any tiny, pearled pasta)
Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Bacon, cooked and broken into bite sized pieces
Shaved parmesan cheese
Avocado
Balsamic vinaigrette, or any vinaigrette

Toss arugula in bowl with dressing.  Plate the arugula, then top with remaining ingredients.  Season entire salad with salt and fresh cracked pepper.  Vary amounts of ingredients based on your preferences!

BAKED TACO CASSEROLE

I've been seeing lots of recipes floating around online for baked tacos.  You fill your taco shells with cooked meat, beans and cheese, then stand them up in a casserole dish and bake them.  Then you add your cold toppings.  Sounds fabulously easy!  I headed to the store and found these super cool shells:

I was looking forward to super stuffing them with delicious filling!  I opened the box like an excited child on Christmas morning, and this is what I found:

Christmas is RUINED!  I was faced with a few options: cry, go to the store for more shells, or be an innovator.  Crying is for babies.  The store was filled with people stocking up on toilet paper, milk and bread for the snowstorm.  Only one option left.  My uncle had actually just texted earlier that day to let me know about a little enchilada casserole he whipped up.  He had tons of enchilada filling, sauce and cheese, but not enough stamina to roll all those enchis.  Instead, he layered it in a baking dish and said the results were outstanding.  Thanks for the inspiration, Uncle Dave!

First, brown and crumble a pound of ground beef.  Add an undrained can of chili beans, a cup of salsa and a packet of taco seasoning.

Medium heat gives the perfect kick!

Simmer the meat mixture until the liquid reduces, about 10 minutes.

Before

After

You want it to be a little liquidy, so the taco shells don't stay completely hard and crunchy.  I've had casseroles with flour tortillas, which turn into a gooey mushy layer.  Corn tortillas are good, but kind of disintegrate in the liquid.  Taco shells seem like the happy medium!  Time to layer.  Broken shells, meat mixture, cheese, repeat.

Ingredients

1 lb extra lean ground beef (or turkey)
1 can medium heat chili beans
1 packet taco seasoning
1 cup salsa
1 box taco shells
2 cups shredded cheddar (or mexican blend or whatever you'd like!)
sour cream, salsa, lettuce, toppings!

Preheat oven to 350.  Brown and crumble ground beef.  Add undrained beans, taco seasoning, and salsa.  Simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, until mixture has thickened.  Remove from heat.  Break taco shells and place about half on bottom of 8x8 baking dish.  Add half of meat mixture and spread to cover evenly.  Sprinkle on one cup of cheese.  Repeat layers.  Cover with foil and bake for about 25 minutes.  Uncover and broil for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is perfectly browned and melty.  Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then cut into 4 pieces.  Serve with salsa, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

Disclaimer:  I may have seemed incredibly optimistic throughout the ordeal of a ruined baked tacos recipe.  This is why:

My cooking partner for the evening.

THE BEST 7 LAYER BEAN DIP

When I was a child, my genius family had the ultimate epiphany: Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner are the SAME MEAL.  Eating the same holiday meal only a month apart didn't bring much excitement to our lives, so we had to come up with a solution.  Embracing our Mexican heritage, we decided to start the tradition of Mexican Christmas.  Did I mention that in addition to being geniuses, we are also trailblazers?  Anyway, my very non-Mexican mother’s contribution every year is the incredibly authentic cornerstone of Mexican cuisine, 7 layer dip!  I’ve tweaked her classic recipe over the years and have taken over her Christmas appetizer duty, so she can focus on her true love, BAKING CHRISTMAS COOKIES!  Seriously, this dip is so good that I’m pretty sure my sister-in-law married my brother just so she could enjoy it annually.  Hi, Lindsay, xoxo!

Doesn't this just scream Christmas?!

Now listen, I know there are a lot of 7 layer dips out there, but this one is just slightly more delicious.   Most people don’t realize there IS a solution to those thick bean dips that always break your chips.  COOK THE BEANS!  Trust me on this one.  I made the dip for my friend Tara’s baby shower and she could not stop commenting that there was just something about it that made it slightly better than when she makes it.  We went through our methods/recipes step by step and finally figured out that when she makes it, she just opens the cans of beans and plops them in the dish.  Nope, gotta cook em!  Better texture AND color.  Trust.

The secret ingredient.  Sour cream mixed with taco seasoning.  I could just eat this with a spoon and be happy.

Ingredients:
1 can refried beans, 16 oz (use regular, fat free, vegetarian, with green chiles, etc.)
1 container sour cream, 16 oz (don't use light or fat free; it won't taste the same)
1 packet taco seasoning (Old El Paso is delicious)
Guacamole, about 12 oz (make it or buy it!)
1 jar Chi Chis thick and chunky salsa, medium heat
2-3 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
Shredded lettuce (iceberg is best)
Chopped tomatoes
Extra salsa, if desired

Heat your beans in a saucepot on the stove, or even in a bowl in the microwave.  Stir constantly and you will notice your beans become a lovely, velvety smooth consistency in no time. Let your beans cool on the counter, giving them a stir from time to time to let that heat escape.  Or, if you’re impatient like me, you can stick them in the fridge for a quicker cool down.

Once beans are room temp, evenly spread them in the bottom of an 8x8 dish.  Pour on the salsa and spread it evenly.  Sprinkle on your first layer of cheese.  Layer on the guacamole, smoothing very carefully with a butter knife or the back of a spoon so you don’t disturb the cheese.  In a small bowl, mix the taco seasoning and sour cream.  Spoon this over the guac, spreading evenly as you go.  Now add another layer of cheese.  Top with lettuce, chopped tomatoes and a little extra salsa if you’re feeling wild.  Serve immediately, or refrigerate for about an hour first.

A few notes: use a very chunky salsa, or use a slotted spoon when adding the salsa layer.  You don't want it to get watery.  Also, I did not use fresh tomatoes in this batch because it's December and the tomatoes at the grocery store looked sad.  That's usually the top layer.  My friend, Krysta, is GF so I used Old El Paso taco seasoning and their original refried beans, Daisy sour cream, and Chi Chis salsa.  Just read labels and this can easily be GF or even vegetarian.  Just gotta get vegetarian refried beans.

Layer 1: beans

Layer 2: salsa

Layer 3: cheese

Layer 4: guac.  I'd just used my inhaler, so my shaky hands made this blurry!  Nerd alert.

Layer 5: taco seasoned sour cream

cheese (repeat layer, doesn't count!)

Layer 6: shredded lettuce

Layer 7: salsa/tomatoes

WHITE BEAN CHICKEN CHILI

It's now December, which means it is officially chili weather.  Yes, it was 60 degrees outside today, and the high tomorrow is 67.  Whatevs, I made chili, and it was GOOD.

My sister stopped by for dinner, and after finishing her meal commented, "Wow.  That had a lot of great flavor.  I was expecting it to taste really boring!"  I guess her prior experiences with white chicken chili were not so great.  Sister, you are WELCOME!

Now, white bean chicken chili can be broth based, or it can be a thicker, stew like chili.  I went for the latter with this recipe.  If you'd like it to be more brothy, read the detailed instructions.  Here we go!

First, cook chicken and break into smaller pieces.  Add diced onions and seasonings.

Next, pour in stock, chiles and drained beans, then cover.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for 25 minutes.  If you'd like a less liquidy chili, simmer uncovered.

After 25 minutes of simmering, your chili may look like this:

That was a bit too brothy for my taste, so I added refried beans.  It sounds weird but it really binds it up, and both people I served this meal to tonight didn't believe there were refried beans in it!  I've added anywhere from 1/4 a can to the entire thing, depending on how much I wanted the chili to thicken up.  I used the entire can this time.

 

Perfect.  Thank you, refried beans!

These rolls were SO GOOD with some melted butter brushed on top before baking.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 onion, diced
3 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (less or more, depending on your spice preference)
2 cans chopped green chiles, 4 ounces, undrained
26 ounces chicken stock
4 cans white cannellini beans, 15.5 ounces each, drained and rinsed
1 can refried beans

Heat olive oil in large stockpot over medium heat.  Add chicken and diced onion.  Break chicken into smaller pieces as it cooks, until it is no longer pink.  Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne.  Stir and cook for about 2 minutes.  Pour in chiles, chicken stock and white beans.  Cover and simmer for about 25 minutes.  For a less brothy chili, simmer uncovered.  To thicken chili, add refried beans by the spoonful, stirring constantly as it simmers.  Top with shredded cheese, sour cream and/or hot sauce.

MEATY MEXICAN RAVIOLI

This is a recipe you can throw together when you have no idea what to make, and/or are short on time.  It uses ingredients that are low cost, shelf stable and usually already in your kitchen.  The olives are optional, since there's usually a clear divide between lovers and haters.  The flavor of olives can really overpower this if you're not a fan.

First, boil a bag of frozen beef ravioli.  If you want this meal to be vegetarian, choose a cheese or veggie filled pasta.

Brown a pound of ground turkey (or beef or chicken or Boca crumbles, whatever you like) then pour in enchilada sauce, salsa (I used the store brand with black beans and corn), sliced olives and drained black beans.  You could even use a plain, non chunky salsa to make this kid friendly.  Simmer while the ravioli cooks.

When ravioli is done, scoop using a small strainer (I'm lazy and didn't want to drain the entire thing over the sink with a larger colander) into the meat mixture.

Add cheese and stir.  Now, I know I'm always demanding you to use freshly grated cheddar cheese.  I am so tired of shredding and really not in the mood to do dishes.  I purchased shredded cheddar.  Please don't tell anyone.  It's lactose free!!!

This is a delicious, hearty and comforting meal.  Feel free to mix it up by going meatless, using different cheeses, or kick it up a notch and use spicy enchilada sauce and/or salsa.

Ingredients

1 bag frozen beef ravioli, 25 oz
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 can red enchilada sauce, 16 oz
1 jar salsa, 16 oz
1 can black beans, 15.5 oz, drained
1 small can sliced olives, drained (if you choose to omit the olives, you may want to add salt for additional flavor)
2 cups shredded cheddar

Boil ravioli according to package directions.  Meanwhile, brown ground beef in large nonstick skillet.  Drain off any fat if necessary, then add enchilada sauce, salsa, black beans and olives.  Simmer over low heat until ravioli is done.  Add drained ravioli to meat mixture, along with shredded cheese.  Gently stir until combined.  Serve with extra cheese, if desired.

CHILI

I've never made chili before.  I know, that's a shocking declaration from a professional chef such as myself.  I enjoy all types of chili: white chicken, beef, veggie, spicy, Hard Times Cincinnati, beany, etc.  I decided it was time to finally make my own, so I did some research and decided I just didn't LOVE any recipes, so I made one up.  I think it resembles Wendy's chili a bit, but is also just a simple meaty and hearty chili.  And dare I say, healthy?  It was super delicious and I feel comfortable using the L word now.  As with all chili, the longer you cook it, the better it tastes.  I cooked it 9 hours overnight then left it on warm for a few hours before serving.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
3 cans petite diced tomatoes (I like Hunt's) undrained
2 cans Bush's Chili Seasoned Beans (medium heat) undrained
1 can light red kidney beans undrained
1-2 cups diced onion
1 cup diced green peppers
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons cumin
2-3 teaspoons fresh minced garlic
Tabasco sauce, chipotle smoked flavor, to taste (I used about 8-10 splashes)
salt to taste

Brown ground beef and pork in skillet, crumbling it as you go.  Stir in salt to flavor the meat, then drain off any liquid.  Pour in crockpot and add remaining ingredients.  Stir, cover and cook on low for about 8-9 hours.  Keep on warm setting until ready to serve.  Serve with cheese, sour cream, additional hot sauce and chips.