Southwestern Egg Rolls

I made these for our New Year's Eve celebration.  I found them on Pinterest and have been wanting to try them for a while.  These were easy to make and really delicious.  The flavors were really good and I was able to throw them in a freezer bag for good eats later on.

My plan for these is to incorporate them into Mexican nights and freeze batches for easy weekend meals.  I also think these would be great to make if you're bringing a meal to someone.

I served these with guacamole and salsa for dipping. 

Southwestern Egg Rolls:
(Emily Bites)

Ingredients:
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 scallions, chopped
1 (4 oz) can of green chiles, drained
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
24 egg roll wrappers (1 package)


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly mist two baking sheets with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the egg roll wrappers and stir to thoroughly combine.

Pour some water into a small dish and set aside. On a flat surface, place an egg roll wrapper, corner facing toward you (like a diamond) and put ¼ cup of the mixture from the bowl on the center of the wrapper. Spread the mixture in a horizontal line from the left corner to the right corner of the wonton wrapper, leaving ½ inch or so of space on each side. Fold the bottom corner closest to you up over the ingredients and give it a 90 degree roll. Fold the side corners in and tuck them as you give the filled section another 90 degree roll. Dip your finger in the dish or reserved water and lightly wet the edges of the remaining top corner of the wrapper. Finish rolling the filled egg roll over the wet corner so that it adheres. Place wrapped egg roll onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

When all of the egg rolls are wrapped and on the baking sheets, lightly mist the tops with cooking spray. Bake for 14-15 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until the wrappers are golden brown. Serve with salsa for dipping.

Chicken enchiladas with Chili-Yogurt Sauce

It's Mexican night!  It's our favorite night of the week.  This is another Pinterest recipe find.  (I'm so glad that website was invented)

I made some changes to the original recipe to cut a couple of calories and use what I had at home.  The Greek yogurt worked really well in this.  I really didn't feel like I was missing out  

Chicken enchiladas with Chili-Yogurt Sauce:

(inspired from Joyful Momma's Kitchen)

10 soft taco shells (I used whole wheat)
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 jalapeno, diced
1 small onion, diced (or 1/2 a large onion)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
2 tablespoons hot sauce
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup greek yogurt
1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika


To make the shredded chicken:


Place a package of chicken breasts in a crock pot.  Add 1 teaspoon cumin, paprika, chili powder, and garlic power.  Cover with water and cook on low for 8+ hours.  Remove chicken from water and shred with a fork or tongs.


To make enchilidas:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 pan with non stick spray.  Mix the shredded chicken, corn, diced jalapeno, onion, hot sauce, and 1 cup of shredded cheese.  Fill and roll up in tortillas and place in pan, seam side down.

(I had some extra chicken/corn mixture so I just plopped it on top)

















In a sauce pan melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook about 1 minute, until a light golden brown color.  Add the chicken broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly, stirring occasionally. 

Add the Greek yogurt, chilies, and spices.  Keep stirring until everything has come together and is warm.  Do not let the mixture come to a boil, it will cause the dairy to curdle. 

Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

Mexican Lasagna

It's Meatless Monday!!

I made Mexican Lasagna this week and it was delicious!  I was a little nervous going into it because I was kind of winging this one.  I didn't really do much research and used it as an excuse to clean out the refrigerator.  It worked out.

Mexican Lasagna:

12 corn tortillas
1 can reduced sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can reduced sodium pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1 large bell pepper, diced
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 red onion, diced
1 cup fat free salsa
1-2 cups reduced fat shredded Mexican blend cheese


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut each tortilla in half and layer 6 halves in a casserole dish or lasagna pan.  Top with a third of the beans, corn, onion, bell pepper, salsa, and cheese. 

Continue layering the ingredients.


Bake for 30-45 minutes or until everything is hot and the cheese has melted.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek Yogurt.

Corn Cakes

This is another recipe I found through Pinterest.  It came from Annie's Eats and it is delicious.  When I told Mr. T what we were having for dinner that night he kind of raised one eyebrow but went along with it.  Once he tried them he was sold and even asked me to make them again one night.

These were easy to make and delicious!  I served them with salsa this time but I think these would be fantastic with black beans as well.

Corn Cakes with Tomato Avocado Relish:
(adapted from Annie's Eats)

Ingredients:
3 large ears of corn, shucked
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal
¼ cup red onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons skim milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
Canola or vegetable oil, for frying

Directions:

Cut the corn kernels off of the cobs and place in a large bowl.  Place 2 cups of the corn kernels in a food processor and pulse until the corn is slightly pureed but still chunky.  Add the corn puree mixture back into the bowl with the remaining corn kernels.  Add the flour, cornmeal, onion, garlic powder, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir to mix well.  Add the eggs, milk, and olive oil.  Stir to combine.

Place a large skillet over medium heat.  Add just enough oil to barely cover the bottom of the pan and heat until sizzling hot.  Scoop the batter into the skillet a heaping tablespoon at a time, cooking the cakes in batches of 4 or 5 so that they are not touching.  Fry 1-2 minutes per side, until golden brown.  Transfer the cooked cakes to a wire rack and repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve topped with salsa and sour cream.

Corn Bread

I made chili the other night and decided that cornbread would be the perfect "side dish" to go with it.  I probably have a million cornbread recipes in all of the cookbooks on my shelf but most of them have never even heard of the word "diet".

I have this crazy old Weight Watchers cookbook and decided to pull it off the shelf and see what it had to offer.  I found this recipe and decided to give it a try.  The preparation was simple and while it's not a true southern corn bread it was delicious with my bowl of chili.

Corn Bread:
(adapted from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook- PP+ 3)

1 1/4 cups yellow cornbread
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3 teaspoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
1 egg
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4-1 cup frozen corn kernels

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray an 8x8 pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Add the corn, cheese, milk, and egg.  Mix everything together and pour into the pan.

Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.  Cool on a rack for about 10 minutes, serve warm.

Mexican Chicken Soup

It's been cold and rainy here which makes me want soup.  Mr. T and I have both been sick so I decided to make something easy.  Thank you Mr. Crock-Pot inventor!  This was really easy and I think it turned out pretty well.

Mexican Chicken Soup:

3-4 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can of reduced sodium black beans
8 oz frozen corn (about half a bag)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 can fat free chicken broth
1 white onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash Chipotle

Combine everything in the crock pot.  Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours.  About 30 minutes before serving take the chicken breast out and chop into bite size pieces.  Add back into the crock pot and let cook for an additional 30 minutes.


Garnish with some additional fresh cilantro.

Crab and Corn Chowder

I've been holding onto some awesome shrimp stock.  I have been wanting to make crab and corn chowder but i've been trying to hold off until the weather cools off some.  I just can't enjoy a bowl of soup when it's 99 degrees outside.

This recipe came out of one of my Disney cookbooks.  It was the first time I've ever made it.  I did make some changes.  The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of dill and some Pernod.  I don't like dill and I had to Google Pernod.  It's a liquor that has a licorice flavor, which I can't stand.  I decided to leave them out.

Crab and Corn Chowder:
(Disney Chefs)

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
1 cup finely diced potatoes
1 cup finely diced carrots
1/2 pound lump crabmeat, picked over
1/2 cup corn kernels, preferably fresh
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup clan or seafood broth
2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions

Directions:

In a 4 or 5-quart Dutch oven, heat the heavy cream, half-and-half, and milk to a simmer over medium heat.

Add the potatoes, carrots, crabmeat, corn, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are softened.

Whisk the water and the cornstarch together in a small bowl. Add the cornstarch mixture and the clam broth to the cream mixture and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute, or until thickened.

Just before serving, stir in the scallions.

Sweet Corn Bread

I made BBQ Beef the other night and decided that it would be nice to have some cornbread to go with it.  I like sweet cornbread and since I was making it I decided to go with that!  (So there!)

In my quest to find some good cornbread recipes I ended up on the Tasty Kitchen website, which is run by the The Pioneer Woman.  This was easy to make and the only thing I had to buy was the can of creamed corn.  I call that a win.  Mr. T enjoyed it too (as you can see by the missing corner).

Sweet Cornbread:
(Tasty Kitchen- asweetpeachef)

Ingredients:
1 cup All-purpose Flour
1 cup Yellow Cornmeal
½ cup Granulated Sugar
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
2-½ teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 whole Egg
1 cup Milk
1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
½ cup Creamed Corn


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan and set aside.

Combine dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and salt) in a large mixing bowl. In a separate, smaller mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients (egg, milk, oil and creamed corn). Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Be careful not to over-mix.

Bake 20-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick or knife to the center of the cornbread comes out clean.

Confetti Corn Salad

Before Mr. T and I got married we had a bridal shower (I guess I should say I had a bridal shower, I think he went out with some friends and got wings).  One of the gifts I got was a cook book from my cousin Kristi.  She got it from the Junior League of Pensacola.  It's full of amazing recipes and invitation ideas for about a dozen different party themes.  I recommend it to anyone looking to add to their cookbook collection.

Spanish Confetti Corn Toss:
(adapted from: Invitation Only:Artful Entertaining Southern Style)

2 (16-ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
½ cup chopped purple onion
1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
¼ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin


Combine the corn, beans, tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro in a large bowl and mix gently. Combine the vegetable oil, lime juice, chili powder, and cumin in a small bowl and mix well. Add to the vegetable mixture and mix gently. Chill, covered, for 3 hours or longer. Garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs and tortilla chips.

In the summer I think it would be nice to use fresh corn.  It just depends on what time of year it is and what you have available where you live.