Fiesta Brunch Casserole

This is one of those special breakfasts. The fat content is much higher than most breakfasts so it should be restricted to only once or twice a month max. Unless you have a heart condition, it's OK to enjoy in moderation. That being said, it is loaded with peppers and flavor. Adapted from Barbara Pool Fenzl's "Savor the Southwest", it is a taste of this region of the country. 

One of the best parts of this meal is the fact you can do almost all the work the night before and get all the oohhs and aaahhhs in the morning and even in a family of six, there are always left-overs!

Fiesta Brunch Casserole

1 tbsp butter, melted

5 whole wheat tortillas

12 oz breakfast sausage

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 orange bell pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno chili, stemmed, seeds removed and minced

8 eggs

1/3 C fat free milk

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 C freshly grated Monterey Jack

Cilantro leaves (garnish)

Salsa (optional)

Brush inside of 8-inch springform pan with melted butter. Center first tortila at bottom of the pan. Arrange remaining tortillas around pan, overlapping tortillas and letting about two inches hang over top. Place pan on baking sheet.

If baking now, preheat over to 350 degrees.

In a heavy skillet, cook sausage. When browned, quickly remove with slotted spoon and rinse under cold water until water is clear (this removes some fat). Place back in skillet with bell peppers until soft. Add garlic and jalepano. Cook approximately 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and spread mixture over tortillas, pressing tortillas to sides of the pan.

Whisk eggs, milk, salt and chili powder. Cook in the same skillet you cooked the sausage (this adds extra flavor to eggs and saves washing time for you!). Cook until the eggs just start to set--they become slightly firm but not quite ready to serve.  Remove from heat. It should look like this:

Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese over the sausage mixture. Cover this with the eggs and top with the rest of the cheese. Fold tortillas over like a tart. (At this point, you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.)

Bake for 30 minutes until warmed through and cheese is golden. Let stand 5 minutes and then run a knife between the tortillas and pan. Release the pan sides. Garnish with cilantro and bring to table with salsa.

Chicken Fajitas with Walnut and Cilantro Pesto

We have been enjoying leftovers the past few days so I’m sorry I have not posted in a few days. Today we are going to enjoy a tried and true health favorite--boneless, skinless chicken breast. Chicken is so versatile and it’s great to keep a few frozen chicken breasts in the freezer (for no more than 4 weeks of course!). If you can try and always get free range chicken without the hormones--organic chicken is best but these can be hard to come by and sometimes get pricey. I personally love chicken because there are so many options--chicken is a like a blank canvas and you can make it into just about any type of dish you are craving.
Tonight, we’ll Tex-Mex with fajitas. I am using an indoor grill so I can also grill the veggies at the same place as the chicken. If using an outdoor grill, you can fry the veggies in a bit of olive oil inside or pack them in a foil packet with a touch of olive oil and place over grill. The pesto recipe that follows is not essential for the dish but it really gives the fajitas an extra pop!

Chicken Fajitas

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
2-3 bell peppers (red, yellow and green, pref.), sliced in ribbons
1 onion (Videlia is sweeter for kids), sliced in ribbons
1 zucchini, sliced in ribbons
3 large carrots, sliced in ribbons
3 large Portabella mushrooms, sliced lengthwise
6 whole wheat tortillas
Walnut and Cilantro Pesto (recipe follows)

Heat grill. Rub spices and salt and pepper into chicken breast; if breast is organic/free range, rub a bit of olive oil in the breast as well (this types of chicken tends to be a bit more tougher because the muscles are more developed).
Place on hot grill until cooked through--juices will run clear; this is approximately five minutes per side but may vary based on how thick the meat is. You can use a meat thermometer; it will register at 165 degrees.
Place meat on plate and cover with aluminum foil to rest.
Grill veggies until you get nice char marks and everything is ‘soft’.
Slice the chicken in thin diagonal strips.
Heat the tortillas.
Slather pesto on tortilla and fill with desired amount of toppings.


Walnut and Cilantro Pesto

1/2 c packed cilantro
1/2 c basil leaves
1/2 walnuts (lightly toasted in oven at 350 for 5 minutes)
1/2 c Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 clove of garlic (minced)
1 tsp Thai chili paste
drizzle of honey
Juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Combine all ingredients in food processor until smooth. If not smooth enough, add more olive oil. Taste and adjust spices based on your preference. Store in airtight container.

Three Bean Vegetarian Chili

This is from a recipe I adopted from Eille Krieger on “Healthy Appetite” on the Foodnetwork. If you’d like to see the original recipe, click http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_33901,00.html. I made most of the changes based on my family preferences and on some of the reviews of the recipe I got on the site--esp. the fire roasted tomatoes! If you’ve never tired Bocca, I strongly encourage you to give it a shot--there are 13 grams of protein, 1/2 gram fat and NO sugar; it tastes great too!

Three-Bean Chili
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced (1 cup)
5 baby carrots, diced (1/2 cup)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 package Bocca Meatless Crumbles (1 lb.)
1 (28-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes (suggest Muir Glen)
2 cups water
1/2 small can chilpote (adobo) sauce) (other half reserved)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15.5-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15.5-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
cheddar cheese

Heat the oil in large pot or Dutch oven over moderate heat. Add the garlic , bell pepper and carrots, cover and cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the cumin and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the Bocca crumbles and cook until no longer frozen. Stir in the tomatoes, water, chipotle sauce, oregano and salt and pepper. Cook, partially covered, stirring from time to time, for 30 minutes. Stir in the beans and continue cooking, partially covered, 20 minutes longer. If you feel the flavor is not strong enough at this point, slowly add more chilpote sauce by teaspoon amounts. If it is too hot, add a bit more cumin. Keep in mind, the cheese will cut down the heat. At this point you can simmer and leave on a low burner for up to 4 hours (if you plan on doing this, be sure to check on it occasionally to make sure it doesn’t dry out--you can always add a bit of water. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve with a sprinkling of grated cheddar cheese (we prefer sharp).
Because of the heat, I like to serve a sweet side dish. Because we already had butternut squash with lunch, we decided on sliced apples topped with cinnamon and raw sugar (lots of cinnamon, little sugar).

Beans are an awesome source of protein with little fat and for some reason babies in particular love them!