Enchilada Casserole

Enchilada Casserole
This recipe comes from my mom. Originally, it called for chicken instead of beef, and while this is really good, too, we prefer the beef version. This is one of my husband's very favorite suppers. If I want lunch the next day, I have to get it out before he sits down, or he will eat the entire thing.

OK, OK, so this isn't new. I have had it before. Many times. But it's May. And in teacher-world, that means chaos coupled with low motivation (both me and my students). At this point, I am just glad that we aren't eating at Sonic again tonight.


Brown hamburger and remove excess grease. Add chiles, soup and enchilada sauce; heat through.
Add half of the beef mixture to a 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the shredded cheese. Add a layer of tortillas to cover.

Spread the refried beans to the edge of the tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the shredded cheese.

Add another layer of tortillas. Spoon the remaining beef mixture on top and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
Click here for Printable Recipe

Enchilada Casserole
1 pound ground beef
1 can chopped green chiles
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 can refried beans
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
flour tortillas

Brown hamburger and remove excess grease. Add chiles, soup and enchilada sauce; heat through. Add half of the beef mixture to a 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the shredded cheese. Add a layer of tortillas to cover. Spread the refried beans to the edge of the tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the shredded cheese. Add another layer of tortillas. Spoon the remaining beef mixture on top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

Beef Stew

There are a lot of things I like to add to beef stew that I did not, simply because I did not have them on hand. The weather turned cold again today. I am having a difficult time believing that May will begin on Friday, when it feels like it is snowing on me.

So I got home from practice early tonight to find The Girl's soccer game cancelled (thank Heavens) and everyone hungry. I found a package of frozen stew meat in the freezer and went to work.

Add 1 pound of stew meat to 3 cups of water, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. The meat I had came directly from the freezer, since I wasn't planning on even being home, let alone cook supper.

I cooked this for about 45 minutes, until the beef wasn't pink anymore. And I broke up the frozen chunks.

Add in your choice of veggies. I didn't have any onion, although I swear I bought one on my last trip to the grocery store. I also like cabbage in my stew, but again, didn't have any. So I added in carrots (about 1 cup) and potatoes (4 medium gold). Some people add celery to their dishes. Not me.

Let the carrots and potatoes cook for about 20 minutes and then add in 1 can of diced tomatoes.

Even though the cooking time for this is way more than I normally spend on a week night, beef stew was the perfect supper for a cold spring evening.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Beef Stew
1 lb Stew Meat
3 Cups Water
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
4 Medium Potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 Cup Carrots, sliced
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
Add water, beef and seasonings to a large kettle. Cook on medium heat until beef is no longer pink, about 45 minutes. Add potatoes, carrots and tomatoes. Continue cooking until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Add more water if necessary.

April Fool's

"Your sock is untied!" Apparently, my daughter spent most of April Fool's Day harassing her classmates with that little gem. She loves this day.

In honor of this , I made an April Fool's supper. I know, I had to skip Tuesday this week because of scheduling conflicts and just overall feeling glum. I really need spring to get here.

Any hoo, I started out with April Fool's Berry Soda from Taste of Home. My kids don't generally care for jello, but I made it with 1 1/2 cups of 7Up in place of some of the water and it went over well. Prepare jello as directed and let it sit in the fridge for a couple hours so it just begins to set up.
Stir in your fruit. I used blueberries and pineapple. I was going to add in some mandarin oranges, but my son ate the entire can before I could. Use what you like.Pour into clear cups. Add in straws. Put in the fridge and wait for it to set up. I actually made this the night before so it would for sure be ready to go.


I'm not sure the boy really appreciated it.
For the actual dinner, I made the Meatloaf Cake. I think this idea came from Taste of Home as well.

Mix up your favorite meatloaf recipe. Bake in a round pan. I only used half a recipe, but could have easily gotten away with the full since everyone loved this so much.

Cool the meatloaf and drain off the grease. Invert onto a plate. Spread smooth mashed potatoes just like you would frosting on a cake.
Add in decorations with mustard and ketchup. I was going to make shapes out of pickles, but ran out of energy at this point. I am not good at decorating things. It really bothers me that I didn't get my circle design centered. The kids loved it anyway.
For 'dessert', we had Pizza Cake, again inspired by Taste of Home.

Mix up a cake mix (or from scratch, that just doesn't happen during the school year for me).
Pour into two 9 inch round pans.
Bake at in a 350 degree oven until golden brown. I only used one of the cakes for supper tonight. DD is having a friend over this weekend and we are going to try Cake Pops when they get cranky.
While it is baking, measure out 1 cup of white frosting (again, not from scratch in my house). Add red food coloring. I used an entire tube of Betty Crocker Gel Food Colors and it still didn't come out as red as I would have liked. Oh well.
I put it on the cake anyway.
And then covered it with 1 square of grated white chocolate.
I didn't have Fruit Rollups. I had Fruit by the Foot, which is much thinner. So I made little tiny 'pepperoni' by using my daughters mood ring. Turned out cute, didn't it :) DD is standing right here watching me type...apparently it wasn't HER mood ring, but one of her friends from school. Gotta give credit where credit is due.

This supper was an overwhelming success. DD inhaled the meatloaf even though it was covered in mashed potatoes, which she claims to hate. This will definitely become a tradition in our home and I am already starting to think about what to do next year.

The Meatloaf Cake
What you'll need:

• Two round cake pans
• Your favorite meatloaf recipe
• Mashed potatoes
• Ketchup
• Cherry tomatoes

Prepare your favorite meatloaf recipe as you normally would, but, before baking, divide the mixture into the two round cake pans and pat it flat. Bake as usual, but shorten the cooking time (these thinner meatloaves won't take nearly as long to cook). While the meatloaf is in the oven, make a batch of mashed potatoes, adding a little extra milk to them and whipping them with an electric beater until they are fluffy and spreadable. When the meatloaves are done, invert one of them onto a round plate. Cover the meat with a thick, even layer of mashed potatoes. Place the other meatloaf on top of the potato layer, and finish frosting the "cake" with the remaining potatoes. Garnish with halved cherry tomatoes to look like cherries. Just before serving, decorate the top of your cake with ketchup. Write a personalized message, or just a simple "Happy April Fools' Day!"

April Fool's Berry Sodas
2 packages (3 ounces each) strawberry gelatin
3/4 cup sliced fresh strawberries
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
3/4 cup fresh blueberries
Prepare gelatin according to package directions. Refrigerate until partially set, about 2 hours. Stir in berries. Pour into six tall drink or soda glasses. Insert a straw into each glass. Refrigerate until set. Yield: 6 servings

Pizza Cake
1 package (18-1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix
1 cup vanilla frosting
Red liquid or paste food coloring
3 squares (1 ounce each) white baking chocolate, grated
2 strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups
Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour the batter into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pan.
Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Place each cake on a 10-in. serving platter. Combine the frosting and food coloring; spread over the top of each cake to within 1/2 in. of edges. Sprinkle with grated chocolate for cheese. Unroll Fruit Roll-Ups; use a 1-1/2 in. round cutter to cut into circles for pepperoni. Arrange on cakes. Yield: 2 cakes (6-8 servings each).