Category: dinner

Black Bean & Chicken Verde Enchilada Bake.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

Or as I like to call them, “Shelby’s Enchilada’s”. My friend, Shelby , posted about these enchiladas a few weeks ago and I immediately saved them to Pinterest knowing that they would be an easy Taco Tuesday meal for us to make on repeat. I love that the chicken can be made in the crockpot, it uses simple store bought green ingredients, and my kids can help with the assembly.

Those are things I always look for when it comes to weeknight meals. It needs to take less than 20 minutes to put together, and I should be able to involve the kids in some way. I’m not saying that they help with dinner every night, but most nights, one or more of them will stop their play to come to the kitchen while I’m working on dinner and I like to be able to offer them a job. It helps them take some responsibility in our family meal, pride in helping, and connection with me for even just a few minutes during the rush of getting home and getting dinner on the table. Not an easy feat! For this meal, they were able to help mix the enchilada sauce and sour cream, they shredded the cheese with our (beloved) rotary grater, and they helped to layer the enchilada ingredients in our pan. Making this reminds me a lot of making lasagna. It’s layered in just the same way!

I wasn’t really expecting a ton out of these enchiladas, but they were just so good. My husband had thirds – and that’s how I really really knew that I needed to get these down on “paper” to make again soon. You can find the original recipe here if you like. I’m sharing as I made them. Only a few changes from the original! Note that I used less chicken and only did two layers of tortillas to make a smaller batch. The original called for three cups of chicken and three layers of tortillas. I used a can of beans to make the meal go further and to save a bit on the meal. Beans are cheaper than chicken.

Chicken Verde Enchilada Bake

2-3 cooked chicken breasts, shredded- you can make in the crock pot, or just buy a rotisserie chicken!
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup sour cream
1 28 oz can green enchilada sauce, mild or medium
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
12 corn tortillas
cilantro, chopped – to garnish
optional: corn chips, tortilla chips, avocado, tajin, salsa verde to top

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Warm chicken broth in small frying pan for tortillas.
  3. Mix the enchilada sauce and sour cream. Stir until well blended.
  4. Mix the shredded chicken and black beans.
  5. Spread a thin layer of the enchilada mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Use tongs to hold a tortilla in the broth for a few seconds. Then place tortilla in the 9 x 13 pan, four in all for that layer.
  6. Next, sprinkle half of the chicken and black bean mixture over the tortillas. Then add half of the enchilada mixture over the chicken. Add half of the cheese.
  7. Add another layer of four slightly soaked tortillas. Add the rest of the chicken and black beans. Add the rest of the enchilada mixture and cheese.
  8. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Broil for 3-4 minutes if you like a crispy cheese topper. Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting. Top with desired amount of chopped cilantro. Spoon into bowls, add your favorite toppers (or eat as is) and enjoy!

Warm Grain and Vegetable Bowl.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

If you are in need of a simple and nourishing meal that warms you up from your insides out, you’ve found it here. I found this recipe in Ina Garten’s Go To Dinners (everything in it has been amazing so far), and it’s one that is going to be in heavy rotation at our house. I’m writing the recipe as I made it, which differs from the original. And of course, as always, you can make it your own by using different vegetables and grains, but you really should make the dressing as is. That’s what makes it all so very good. Now, please excuse me while I go add all of this to our shopping cart for next week.

Warm Vegetable and Grain Bowl

1 cup quinoa
Salt and pepper
1/2 red onion, cut into 8 wedges through the stem
1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, diced (I used a frozen bag for ease)
1/2 pound carrots, scrubbed and cut into sticks
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 oz greens such as spinach, kale, arugula or a mix
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans
creamy goat cheese, thickly sliced

For the dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Make quinoa according to package instructions, set aside.
  3. Combine the onion, butternut squash, and carrots on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and toss. Spread the vegetables out in one layer and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing once halfway through until all the vegetables are tender.
  4. Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl with a whisk, or in a jar with a lid. Set aside.
  5. In a large salad bowl, combine your greens, cranberries, and toasted nuts (I just toast them in a cast iron skillet over medium for a couple minutes until they smell nutty and are golden brown. Watch them closely so they don’t burn.) Pour a little bit on your greens and toss.
  6. Serve the salad into your bowls, add quinoa, the goat cheese to taste and roasted vegetables on top. Drizzle a little more vinaigrette on top and season with salt if needed.
  7. Serve warm and inhale the whole thing.

Creamy, Lemony, Garlicky Pasta for Spring.

~ emetroka ~ 1 Comment

When you hear the word Spring, what do you think of first? My answer: Lemon. Second answer: Daffodils. I’ll save the daffodils for another day, but the color, the smell, the feelings I get when I close my eyes and taste lemons – it just screams Spring. Don’t you think? I could admittedly go for lemon at any time of year. Lemon bars, lemon cake, lemon tart, lemon poppyseed bread, lemonade, yes, even lemon butter popcorn. Give them all to me. But especially around this time of year, I really crave everything lemon. I made this pasta on Sunday night, and I didn’t really know how much the lemon would come through, but it ended up being so very good. Different than Alfredo or Mac and Cheese, yummier than Pasta al Limone. The lemon makes it zippy and fresh. The perfect meal for a lovely evening in Spring. I highly recommend grilling chicken and trimmed asparagus (wrapped up into foil a foil packet, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper) and adding that to your bowl too as we did. And if you needed any more convincing – even my kids ate this one.

Creamy Lemon Garlic Pasta

1 pound angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
zest and juice of one lemon
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
chopped/torn parsley, to garnish

  1. Fill a large pot of water and add a few pinches of salt. Bring to boil, add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and set aside.
  2. Heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute until golden. Add wine and cook until the wine has reduced by half. Add butter, and whisk until melted. Sprinkle in flour and cook, whisking constantly until incorporated. Pour in chicken stock, heavy cream, parmesan, salt and pepper. Turn heat to high, bringing liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring often until it begins to thicken ~10 minutes or so.
  3. Remove from heat, stir in lemon zest and juice. Add pasta, mixing into sauce with tongs until all strands are coated. Serve, topping with grilled chicken, fresh parmesan, and parsley.

Cozy and Bright Red Lentil Soup.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

A soup that I crave year round, but crave in these quiet, cozy weeks between holidays most of all. It’s healthy, hearty, and bright. Basically it’s fall sunshine in a bowl.

Red lentil soup

Olive oil
1 white onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
5 cloves minced garlic
8 cups veggie or chicken stock
2 cups red lentils
1 cup corn
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon curry powder
zest and juice of 1 lemon
salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or other soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrots and sauté until the onions are soft and translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 1 more minute or so, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the stock, lentils, corn, cumin, curry powder. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Then cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are completely tender.

At this point, you can either blend the soup or not. I always do using an immersion blender, but you could use a regular blender too. Or just eat it as is! All equally yum.

Next, stir in the lemon zest and juice until combined. Taste and season the soup with a generous pinch or two of salt (I prefer Kosher) and black pepper.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon, grind of pepper, sprinkling of shaved warm, and a couple slices of fresh sourdough.

Cozy Soups for Soup Szn.

~ emetroka ~ 2 Comments

I know, I know. It’s only mid-August, but once school starts, it’s basically soup season, right? I think part of these feelings must stem from how absolutely frigid they keep my school library. I need a warm little meal packed from home on my lunch break while wrapped in a cozy sweater more than ever. Maybe if I were still out in the wild world, and not tucked away in my windowless, season-less arctic tundra of a library, I’d be munching on tomato sandwiches, lettuce wraps, and peaches with burrata cheese and sprigs of basil as most are wont to do in mid-August. I used to be a Children’s Librarian at an amazing public library down here and one of my co-workers would pack herself soup for lunch no matter the season and I kind of love that. Feels very librarian-y. I’m not so extreme as to cut all other meals out of my life once school starts, but I do like making soup on the weekends. It’s one of those foods that tastes even better the next day, and you know I’ve been thinking about getting my sourdough starter revived too. There’s nothing that goes together so well as soup and a crusty boule of sourdough. I thought I would share some of my favorite soups and a few that I’m thinking of trying this season just in case you are in the mood for soup too.

Lemon-y Lentil Soup. One of my all time favorites. Make SURE you get red lentils, They break down in such a way that makes this soup so thick and delightful. Brown and green lentils keep their form too much for this one.

Classic Chili. We make our first batch of chili a big event. It’s an opening day of football tradition. Don’t skip the fixings. My husband makes the BEST chili and I’ll have to get him to type it up one of these days, but this one looks pretty similar. We always top with cheddar cheese, red onion diced tiny, corn chips, and sometimes sour cream if it’s a spicy batch.

Pasta e Fagioli. Ok you guys, I have a recipe that I’ve always used for this (my husband I took a cooking class in our early days of marriage and the chef taught us how to make this soup!), but early in my instagram days an Italian girl messaged me that what I was making was so far from a true Pasta e Fagioli that it couldn’t even be called that. And then she sent me a link to this very complicated looking recipe, and so I’ve never talked about this soup again on my account. Ha! Maybe I’ll get the courage to share my recipe again, but for now – try the one I’m linking now. It looks simple and yummy.

Country Potato Soup. (Pictured above) Obviously this is the magnolia recipe from Joanna Gaines and it’s soooo good. I dream about it every year when the 70’s hit.

Street Corn Chowder. I just made this over the weekend, and it’s as good as I remember. You can use frozen corn instead of corn on the cob and this makes it a year round option.

Soups I want to make this Fall:

Tell me your favorite soup for soup season in the comments! I’m going to make it a season of soup!! And if you too are making it a soup season – this is our favorite dutch oven. I use it for sourdough and every soup we make! In other cozy news. I want this, this and this.