Black bean spinach enchilada recipe

This is Black Been Spinach Enchiladas and we all LOVE these.  I have made these several times.  The kids sure do make cooking fun for me.  Thank you kids!!


BLACK BEAN SPINACH ENCHILADAS

Ingredients:
(for the sauce)
3 cups vegetable broth
1/4 C tomato paste
1/4 C flour
2 T olive oil
2 t cumin
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t chili powder
salt/pepper

(for enchiladas)
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 C corn (I used frozen, thawed)
6 oz fresh baby spinach
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/3 C cilantro, chopped
2 t cumin
3 C shredded cheese
(I add diced cooked chicken)
8 tortilla shells

DIRECTIONS
Make the sauce: in a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add tomato paste, flour, 2 t cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder.  Cook 1 minute, whisking.  Whisk in broth, bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer and cook until slightly thickened about 8 minutes.  Salt/pepper to taste, and set aside.

Saute the spinach in olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until slightly wilted.
In a large bowl, combine beans, 2 cups cheese, diced cooked chicken, spinach, corn, green onions, 2 t cumin, and cilantro.
Preheat oven to 375.  Lightly spray a 9x13 inch baking dish, and pour a small amount of the sauce to coat the bottom.
Generously fill tortillas with mixture, toll up tightly with ends tucked in, and place seam side down in dish.
Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas, coating evenly.  Sprinkle 1 C cheese on top.  Bake about 30 minutes, and garnish with cilantro and/or green onions (optional).

Youth Conference

 Ahhh, Youth Conference.  This was a very fun one.  The Reid Ranch that we stayed at had tons to do and the kids had plenty of free time to do it.  In addition to swimming, Derek played baseball, foosball, there was horseback riding, hiking, archery, basketball, a lake to go boating, and so much more.

 This is Derek with Brother Roger Muir.  He is in the Bishopbric.  He is a great example and a wonderful father figure to all the kids.

 Here is Hannah and her good friend, Ryland.

 Having a great time together.

 It is great to have such powerful people for Derek to look up to and have a great time with.  Here they are getting ready for S'mores and a camp fire with a professional Cowboy story teller, and camp fire songs.

 just some shots of the lodge that we stayed at to give an idea of how huge this place was.  It was very nice accommodations.

 This was such a nice huge porch to sit out on and enjoy the breathtaking views!

 What a wonderful group of people.  I was so glad to have shared it with my kids!

 Derek of course enjoying more pictures

 This is Barbara and her daughter, Alie and of course my other son, Sam.

On our way home.  Alie, Ryland, Hannah, me, Misty, Barbara, Melissa, and Mele

We had a wonderful time.

Dinner with the missionaries

We love to have the missionaries over for dinner.  These first photos are not the important ones but it was a fabulous dinner so I wanted to include some pictures of the food.  We had honey lime enchiladas from a great recipe resource of the Six Sisters.  We also had 2 bean Mexican salad up on the top middle, homemade salsa, refried beans and key lime pie! YUM!    I am so grateful for the internet.  It has helped me out a lot to find yummy foods to make.

 This is Elder Wenner.  He has been one of our favorites, hands down.  He is so funny and is so much fun to have around.  He was a great example to all of us of how to have fun and love the gospel.

 He had just taken a "hot spice" challenge, so we gave him something for his poor stomach.  He laughed and smiled through it all.

 Derek having fun with Elder Carey.

Wonderful simple times, the best kind.

Gooey lemon bars recipe SO GOOD!!!!

Well, it's always fun to find a new recipe that everyone loves especially if it is a desert one.  But, it comes with an element of danger!  I wasn't even going to try this recipe because it had a cake box  in the recipe.  Was I ever in heaven.  Unfortunately.  I could eat the entire pan!  I have been getting recipes from a cook book and web site of a group of awesome cooks that call themselves "Six Sisters".  They make easy delicious meals.  I love also that they are all sisters and an added bonus is that they are LDS.  I love the family feeling that I get from them.  I think from now on though, these food pictures need to include my awesome kids who are so appreciative of my cookin'! 

Here is the recipe:

CRUST:
1 (18.25-oz.) box lemon cake mix
1/2 cup butter
1 egg, slightly beaten

FILLING/FROSTING
2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
3 to 4 T butter, softened
1 1/2 T lemon juice
3 to 5 drops yellow food coloring
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine crust ingredients and mix with fork.  Press down in a 9x13-inch pan with greased bottom.  Set aside.

For filling, mix powdered sugar and butter with a hand mixer.  Add enough lemon juice to form the consistency of thick frosting.  Fold in cream cheese and yellow food coloring.  Set aside 1 C to spread on top after baking.  Be sure not to skip this step!  Add eggs to remaining frosting mixture and beat until fluffy.  Spread on top of cake mix in the pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes.  Watch carefully so it doesn't over-bake.  Let cool completely and then spread reserved frosting mixture on top.

Makes 20 bars, or makes 1 bar depending on if you eat like me or not. :)

Chocolate Highland Cookie Bars recipe, a Yummy, dangerous

Ok, this was a recipe that I actually got from a book. It was a Joane Fluke Hannah Swenson Mystery.  I'll include the recipe here:

CHOCOLATE HIGHLANDER COOKIE BARS

 Ingredients:

Shortbread:
1 C softened butter (2 sticks, 1 1/2 pound)
1/2 C powdered sugar (make sure there's no big lumps
1/4 t salt
 2 C flour

Chocolate top:
4 beaten eggs
1 C melted butter, cooled to room temp. (2 sticks, 1/2 pound)
1 C white sugar
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 C flour
2 1/2 C chocolate chips (measure before they're melted

1/3 C powdered (confectioner's) sugar to sprinkle on top of the desert

FIRST STEP:
Cream butter with 1/2 C powdered sugar and salt.  Add flour and mix well.  Pat it in a greased 9-inch by 13-inch pan with your fingers. (That's a standard cake pan.)

Bake at 350 degrees F.  for 15 min.  That makes the shortbread crust.  Remove from the oven.  (Don't turn off the oven!)


SECOND STEP:
Mix eggs with melted butter and white sugar.  Add baking powder, salt, and flour, and mix thoroughly.  (A hand mixer will do the job if you are tired of stirring.)  I used a hand mixer for the whole thing.

Melt the chocolate chips in a small double boiler, a pan over hot water on the stove, or nuke them for 3 minutes in the microwave on high.  (be sure to stir, chips may maintain their shape even after they're melted.)

Add the melted chocolate chips to your bowl and mix thoroughly.

Pour this mixture on top of the pan you just baked and make sure it covers all of the shortbread crust.  Stick it back in the oven and bake it for another 25 minutes.  Remove it from the oven and sprinkle on additional powdered sugar.

Let it cool thoroughly to set up.  Then cut into brownie size bars.