What's Cookin' Sunday

This week, I was a little short on funds, so I wanted to cook a couple things that I already had most of the ingredients for.  Thank goodness I have a decent supply of ingredients.  I knew I had enough ingredients to make some form of beef curry (5 lbs of cubed beef chuck in the freezer, spices galore, tomato paste), I just had to buy some unsalted beef stock to add to it and voila!  I had decided earlier last week that I wanted to make my healthier version of my mom's Mexican enchilada casserole.  I used ground turkey instead of beef (I already had 1 lb in the freezer, just needed to buy 1 more).  Tortillas weren't expensive, plus some cheese and sliced olives.  I already had the spices and low sodium kidney beans.  So, here's those recipes!

I got these tortillas at Sam's Club.  they have 8 grams each of fiber and protein,
flaxseed oil and only 100 calories per tortilla!

 

MOM'S ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

Ingredients:
• 2 lbs lean (93%) ground turkey
• 2 cans low sodium kidney beans
• 1 large can no salt added tomato sauce
• 8 whole wheat tortillas (I used the Santa Fe Tortilla Company whole wheat tortillas)
• 1 medium or larger onion, chopped
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 4 cups 2% milk fat Mexican four cheese blend shredded cheese
• 1 small can sliced olives

Directions:
• brown turkey with chopped onions in a large skillet. 
• stir in beans, tomato sauce and chili powder and let simmer.
• warm tortillas in microwave.
• line up tortillas in a 9x13 baking dish (as pictured above) and fill with a handful of shredded cheese each.  roll up the tortillas (as pictured above).
• pour meat-bean mixture on top of rolled up cheese-filled tortillas.  spread remaining cheese on top and sprinkle with the sliced olives.

I had previously posted another version of this recipe back in September.  If you're curious how this recipe would be with beef instead of turkey, here's the recipe with nutritional info...it's a big difference.

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MADRAS BEEF CURRY

Ingredients:
• 4 tbsp ground coriander
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp chili powder (optional)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tsp grated ginger
• 5 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups unsalted beef stock
• 2 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes

Directions:
•combine coriander, cumin, turmeric, pepper, chili powder, garlic, ginger and lemon juice in a bowl to form a paste.  set aside.
• heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat.  add the beef.  cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, or until browned.  transfer to a bowl.
• reduce heat to medium.  add spice paste.  cook for 1 minute.  return beef to saucepan.  cook, stirring, for 1 minute, or until meat is coated with paste.  add tomato paste and stock.  bring to a boil.  reduce heat to low.  cover.  cook for 1 hr 15 min, or until beef is tender.
• remove lid.  cook, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes, or until sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. 

**I will be serving this with a serving of my Restaurant-Style Indian Rice.  You can find that recipe here.

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I'm mixing up my snacks this week.  No melba toast and hummus.  No yogurt.  This week it's all about the veggies and fruit.  I got grapes for the fruit.  I got brussels sprouts and carrots that I'm going to coat with olive oil, season and roast.  I also got some mini sweet peppers.  So, here's what I did with the roasting of the brussels sprouts and the carrots.

I seasoned the brussels sprouts with Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime, some black pepper and a little sea salt.  I started with 2 lbs of raw brussels sprouts.

For the carrots, I peeled them, cut them in half and then quartered them to make little sticks.  I sprayed them with olive oil and seasoned them with cumin and black pepper.  I started with 3 pounds of raw carrots.