Cheesy Turkey Enchiladas

Please forgive me, Mom, for calling these 'enchiladas' when they are closer to a Taco Bell-like abomination of 'gringo' food. They sure are tasty though. Traditional enchiladas are made with fried corn tortillas, dipped in sauce, then filled with ground beef or chicken, and topped with cheese and onions. My mother made some fine enchiladas. My version is made with flour tortillas, ground turkey, canned sauce, and a whole lot of cheese. But, after their meaty-cheesy-goodness seduces you,  you won't care what they are called.

Start by browning (and when I say browning, I really mean completely cooking) a pound of ground turkey. Then you will need: a packet of McCormick's Cheesy Taco Mix, milk, dried onion flakes (or fresh onion), enchilada sauce, cheese, and flour tortillas

After the turkey is cooked, add the onion flakes--or cook the fresh onion with the turkey

Then the Cheesy Taco seasoning

Then the milk

I rummaged through my fridge to find 3 bags with just a handful of grated cheese, add them to the pot

You want a sticky, stringy consistency (aka, meaty-cheesy-goodness)

Spray the baking dish with oil, and pour in enough enchilada sauce to completely coat the bottom of the pan. My kids are sissies, so I used mild sauce

Fill the tortillas with the meaty-cheesy-goodness

Roll them up, and fill the dish

Coat the rolled enchiladas with more sauce, any extra meat, and more cheese. More cheese! If you want to stop here and put this in the freezer for another night, it freezes beautifully. Just let it defrost in the fridge for a day or so, then let it come up to room temp for a few hours before heating in the oven

Pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes. Serve some fresh veggies as an appetizer. Then you won't have to harangue anyone about eating their broccoli, and you'll probably eat less of the meaty-cheesy-goodness

I recommend putting a try under your baking dish

Makes a great dinner, and plenty of leftovers

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground Turkey
• 1 packet McCormick's Cheesy Taco Mix
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/4 cup dried Onion flakes
• 15 oz can Mild Enchilada Sauce
• 2 cups Cheese, divided
• 8-10 Flour Tortillas

Directions:

1. Cook ground turkey with onion flakes, add taco seasoning and milk. Stir in 1 cup cheese
2. Spray baking dish with oil, coat bottom of dish with enchilada sauce. Fill tortillas with meat, roll them up, and fill baking dish. Coat enchiladas with more sauce, any extra meat, and the remaining cheese
3.  Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbling

Five-Star Oatmeal Raisin Pecan Cookies

This is a recipe I've been tweaking for the last five years. Since I've perfected it, I haven't shared it with anyone. In fact, when my boss asked me for the recipe, I brought her some frozen cookie dough instead. This recipe is my baby. It originally started out as a basic oatmeal cookie with dried cherries. The Captain complained, so the cherries were switched out for raisins, various nuts were experimented with, pecans were voted the best. It's taken dozens of trials to get the right ratios--so here it is!

You'll need: Butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, oats, pecans, and raisins.

Btw, I doubled the recipe and made an irresponsible amount of cookie dough, don't be intimidated by the pictures. Cream the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated white sugar

 Add the eggs--large is the standard size for all baking recipes 

Stir until smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract and the almond extract

 Add the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon, and mix until completely combined--don't forget to scrape the bowl every now and then

 Add the raisins

 And the pecans--we like big pieces of pecan, so I just tear them in half as I add them to the measuring cup

Mix it well, then add the flour--to avoid a flour cloud, start and stop the mixer repeatedly until it starts to combine

It looks good, but don't eat it yet (raw eggs = salmonella)

Carefully mix in the oats--I've tried standard vs instant oats, they all seem to work fine; quick oats are what we keep on hand.

Same mixing concept as the flour--short bursts until it is all combined (unless you don't mind cleaning oatmeal explosions off the counter...). If you're doing this by hand use a sturdy utensil--its pretty thick

An ungodly amount of cookie dough, right? You can flash freeze it on a cookie sheet

After about 20 minutes, move them to a zip lock bag, they will keep in the freezer for months

Now you can enjoy a freshly-baked cookie whenever you want

 Chill the dough for about 20 minutes before baking

These delicious cookies will be slightly crispy on the edges, and moist and chewy in the center

The almond extract is the secret ingredient that highlights the raisins and the pecans

Best of all, since they have oats (high fiber), eggs (protein), nuts (omega 3s), cinnamon (heart healthy) and raisins (fruit), you can eat them for breakfast! Totally healthy, right? Well, maybe not, but after trying them you will be convinced by almost any excuse. They are that good.

Five-Star Oatmeal Raisin Pecan Cookies

Ingredients: Makes 3-4 dozen cookies

• 1 cup Salted Butter
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar
• 2 large Eggs
• 1 1/2 Tbs Vanilla Extract 
• 1/2 Tbs Almond Extract
• 1 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Tbs Cinnamon
• 1 cup Pecans
• 1 cup Raisins
• 3 cups Oats

 Directions: 

1. Cream together butter, sugars, and eggs. Add vanilla and almond extracts, beat until smooth
2. Mix in salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add raisins and pecans, mix until well combined
3. Stir in flour, then oats
4. Chill dough for at least 20 minutes before baking
5. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes

Mostacholi

My mom loved to cook to watch cooking shows. Paula Dean, Rachael Ray, and The Barefoot Contessa were her favorites. She would watch attentively and furiously copy down recipes onto little scraps of paper she fished out of the nearest trashcan. Every now and then I find a new 'recipe' of hers, written on half a discarded envelope, tucked into her address book (beats me, she was weird). I treasure all these little scraps; although, I don't actually remember her cooking any of these things. Most of her 'recipes' are just a random list of ingredients, no measurements, no title, and hardly any instructions.

Today I'll be sharing her Mostacholi--this one is special, I don't have a written recipe for it. I learned how to make it by watching her and helping her in the kitchen. 

Start with a pound of ground meat. Cook it thoroughly with some diced onions, then add a can of diced tomatoes

Now for the spices: Garlic, oregano, seasoning salt, and Italian seasoning

Like I mentioned before, I don't use a recipe with actual measurements. Add some garlic

 Then the spices

Then a few sliced olives

Now some Parmesan cheese--add enough to thicken up the consistency, making it a bit 'sticky'

Measure out your dry pasta to fit your baking dish

Cook the pasta-- take it out just a minute before its done

Drain it and return to the oiled baking dish

Spread the meat on top--btw, I've made this using ground turkey, it works nicely 

Sprinkle on some mozzarella cheese

 And a few olives

If you're looking for a meal that holds up for freezing, stop right here. The unbaked casserole keeps in the freezer for a couple months. Just defrost in the fridge for a day and let it come up to room temp for a couple  hours before putting it in a hot oven (to prevent your dish from cracking). Put it in the oven for about half an hour, or until golden and bubbly

Ok, not this golden. Mine is just a bit burned. After the timer went off, I turned on the broiler to make it pretty, but I lost track of time--oops. Sorry, Mom. 

Serve it with a side of veggies and a salad.

Ingredients: These are approximations, add more or less according to your preferences

• 1 pound Ground meat
• 2 Tbs diced Onions
• 1 can diced Tomatoes
• 2 tsp diced Garlic
• 2 tsp Seasoning salt
• 2 tsp Oregano
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning 
• 1 cup sliced Olives, divided
• 1/2 c Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups Mozzarella cheese
• Pasta

Directions:

1. Cook ground meat thoroughly with diced onions
2. Add in canned tomatoes, garlic, seasoning salt, oregano, Italian seasonings and most of the sliced olives
3. Mix in Parmesan cheese 
4. Cook pasta, remove just a minute before done
5. Put pasta in an oiled baking dish
6. Spread meat on top of pasta
7. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, and top with remaining olives
8. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes