Neil's New Favorite

Anyone who loves to cook needs to be married to someone like my husband Neil.  He will eat anything I put in front of him, not because he's one of those shovel-it-in-eating-machines, but because he's willing to try anything.  The best thing though is that he is always appreciative.  Don't get me wrong...I don't cook because I want praise and compliments.  But it does feel great to know that he appreciates my efforts. And I'll admit that cooking is MY hobby, but I love seeing Neil and our daughter enjoy what I prepare.

The other day I was flipping through my favorite cookbook of all time and my eyes came to rest on a chimichanga recipe.  I had all the ingredients on hand so I decided to give it a go.  And I really liked that they are baked rather than fried.  I love the concept of the chimi but I rarely order them in restaurants because that fried tortilla always seems so heavy and dense to me.  Baking them really appealed to me. 

I will never try to take credit for someone else's recipe or act like it's my own.  Credit where credit is due.  This is the work of a lady named Nicole.  Click here to get her recipe. The only thing I did differently was using cheddar simply because I didn't have Monterrey Jack. I presented this to Neil and he went crazy over it.  He even went so far as to say it's one of the best things I've made lately. 

What a gorgeous green!

 

Yummy filling simmering

 

Finished product. Y'all know I'm not a pro photographer!

Since there are only 3 of us, I prepared all of the chimichangas and wrapped the extras in foil and into the freezer they went. See that simple salad in the photo?  Well, that's another great recipe from this book. It's called "Casa dressing." Super simple but incredibly great tasting.  The lime and cumin give it a Mexican flair and it takes no time to whip up.  Try these recipes out and let me know your thoughts. 

 disfrute de su comida!

Cooking is good for the soul(s)

I love to cook.  It started in high school.  French club, I think.  My school's French club hosted a "French cafe" each year but all it offered was croissants and other pastries.  When I became French club president, I reasoned "hey, it's either a cafe or it's not..." Therefore, I pulled out my mom's International cookbook, selected a savory crepe recipe, a quiche, a side dish (I can't really remember now but I think it was some preparation of green beans) and a dessert.  My club divided up into teams for cooking, loaded my parents' microwave into my '74 Volkswagen and set up a real cafe in the courtyard.  We sold lunch plates and made a killing.  

Here I am a "few" years later and I've been cooking ever since.  I enjoy it.  I like it for many reasons...it's therapeutic for me, I like to take care of others through food and I really, really like to try to  impress my husband.  And then there's our daughter, who I want to feed healthily and have her develop a sophisticated palate.  We're well on the way with that, thank God.

Unfortunately, one of our friends was recently found to have cancer.  She is young and healthy, has a beautiful one year old baby and a husband who loves her.  She's been started on chemo right away and is on medical leave.  She is in good hands... 

I wanted to prepare something that they could keep in the freezer and just pop in the oven on those days when she doesn't feel well and her husband doesn't want to fool with the kitchen. I decided to go with The Pioneer Woman's lasagna rolls. I really love her site and so many of her recipes are just awesome.  I made enough for 4 meals for our friends and one for us. I had leftover filling and a little bit of sauce, so I stuffed some shells for our dinner.

So, on to the lasagna...

Getting all the ingredients ready to rock & roll

 

I am an herb-chopping machine

This is about 2 lbs of hamburger and chopped onion

The sauce is simmering away.  Smells divine!

Since these are rolled, you must cook them first

Spread the ricotta/parmesan mixture on the noodle

Roll 'em up!

Four rolls will fit in a standard size loaf pan

Look at all these...from ONE recipe!

Everything is better with cheese on top

Using up the leftover filling & sauce for our dinner

Stuffed shells ready for the oven

Call me an old Southern girl but food is what I do when someone has a problem.  Making these dishes was fun for me and I felt really happy about the possibility that these lasagnas might make life a little easier for our friends as they go through this tough time.  Food is more than fuel for the body. That's what I think anyway.