Chilaquile Casserole

Alexis officially gets credit for exposing me to chilaquiles from her post here on RFL, but the first time I actually ate them was at Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe in Emeryville (across from PIXAR). They are delicious and I crave them all the time. So I was pretty ecstatic when I found a recipe for a casserole version in one of Mollie Katzen's books - Still Life With Menu. It's super simple and easy to improvise on. Don't be afraid of the casserole, either. I've nostalgically come to love them in the last year, even though I hated them as a kid. So throw on an apron and whip this tasty dinner/breakfast/lunch/midnight snack up!

What's in it

12 corn tortillas

2 4oz cans chopped green chiles

3 C grated jack cheese

salt and pepper

4 eggs

2 C buttermilk

Optional additions

1-2 C pinto beans

1-2 C corn

1/2 lb firm tofu, cut in thin slices

1 C chopped and sauted onion

1 small zucchini cubed and sauted

How it's made

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter a 9x13-inch pan.

Tear 6 tortillas into bite sized pieces and layer on the bottom of the pan. Distribute half the chiles and half the cheese on top (and any additional ingredients).

Tear the rest of the tortillas and sprinkle on top, then follow with the remaining cheese and chiles, etc.

Beat the eggs and buttermilk with the salt and pepper and pour on top of the casserole.

Bake for 35 minutes uncovered. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Golden Beet Salad

What can I say - I LOVE beets!

When I find a recipe for beets, I must try it. While eating this salad, I realized it is the perfect substitute for fruit salad in the winter months, and it is beautiful. It is inspired from a recipe in Mollie Katzens book 'Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without'. I made it for Thanksgiving dinner, expecting to be the only one eating it, but it was surprisingly popular. I still have some leftovers that are quite tasty.

What's in it

2 bunches golden beets (any color would do, as long as it's not the dark purple)

6 mandarins, plus or minus

3 Tbls raspberry or cider vinegar

1 leek

salt to taste

How it's made

Pre heat oven to 450 degrees. Trim the greens off the beets. Divide beets into two groups, wrapping each group in foil, with a few tablespoons water tossed in. Roast them on a cookie sheet or baking dish up to an hour, until beets are tender enough to pierce with a fork. If you are not up for roasting, you can use this recipe to cook the beets.

Allow beets to cool, cut each end off, then take a spoon and peel off the skins. Cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Place beets in a bowl and immediately toss with vinegar and salt to keep their color.

While beets are cooking, peel the mandarins, and pull into their sections. Remove all the white pulp from the fruit. Cut each section in half, crosswise, with kitchen scissors, and add to bowl with beets.

Thinly slice leek, and add to bowl with mandarins and beets. Cover and marinate for a minimum 2 hours and up to a day. You may reserve some of the leek to add before serving, since the leeks will turn orange (the color of the beets), overnight in the fridge.

I have only made this once, but I imagine apple cubes, dried cranberries, or halved grapes would be a great addition to this salad.

Enchanted Broccoli Forest

This one comes from the cookbook by Mollie Katzen named for this recipe. Leann and I made it for dinner last week, and it was delicious! Of course, I love broccoli, so it is perfect in my mind. I'm always wary of casseroles, but this one has a fun twist.

What's in it

1 1lb bunch broccoli

1 Tbl butter or oil

1 C chopped onion

salt to taste

1 clove minced garlic

2 Tbl lemon juice

6 C cooked brown rice

pepper and cayenne to taste

2 tsp dill

3 tsp mint

1/4 C fresh parsley, minced

1-2 C packed shredded cheese

How it's made

Time the bottoms off the broccoli, and cut stalks into spears, however you like. Cook them in a steamer until bright green and just tender. Rinse with cold water.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

Melt the butter/oil in a skillet. Add onion and salt and saute until onion softens. Add garlic and lemon juice, and saute for about 2 minutes. Stir in the rice, seasonings, and cheese. Spread this mixture in the baking pan.

Arrange the broccoli spears upright in the pan like a forest of broccoli. Drizzle with melted butter (mixed with lemon juice if you'd like). Cover with foil and bake until heated through (20 minutes). Serve right away.