Ole! Mexican Casserole

In this episode, Darling Dilemma finds herself sharing another recipe & going into shock about it!

Mexican casserole is my son's other favorite meal, and who could blame him? It is pretty much just very fancy nachos!  He just rolled his eyes at me & asked if I was 'seriously blogging about Mexican casserole,' but some friends have requested the recipe (maybe just to tease me & get to me write another recipe blog??)!

Mexican Casserole (vegetarian)
Ingredients:

• Charras corn tortillas (these are basically large, flat, baked nacho chips)
• refried beans
• chili *optional + if you aren't vegetarian, you could always add meat in here
• taco sauce or salsa (not necessary but I like it)
• cheddar cheese
• broccoli
• red peppers  *feel free to add whatever other veggies you want... onions, mushrooms.. whatever you have or are in the mood for

Casserole dish * I find a deep one works great, unfortunately mine broke so I am using my lasagna one.  Works well too, I just like a deeper serving with more layers... just a preference.

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. I start by putting a thin coating of sauce or salsa. This casserole (as most), tends to stick to the bottom of the pan & I find a little sauce down there helps it lift out a bit easier

3. spread a layer of refriend beans onto the large chips & lay over the bottom of the dish.  You can be messy, sloppy, hurried.. its all going to be okay. You will often find that a few/many/lots of the large chips are broken, this doesn't really matter as I usually smoosh the whole casserole down to make it fit in the dish... hehe
4. toss some of those veggies on top of the layer... then cover lightly in grated cheese.
5. repeat layers.  I either alternate layers of refriend beans, with layers of the chili, or I add a little chili to each layer *if you want salsa... throw some on whenever you want. As much, or as little as you like.  I'm easy with the rules.
6. top layer - I usually skip beans or chili off the top layer & just load it up with the veggies & cheese, like nachos!

7. bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees. **In the vegetarian version, basically you just want the cheese to melt & the beans to heat... if you are adding meat to this, you may have to adjust how long it cooks
8. For the last 5 minutes I like to turn the oven to broil so the top layer of cheese gets really browned, bubbly & crispy
9. Its ready!! I like to serve with a salad & a side of my homemade salsa (shoot.. did I just set myself for another recipe blog???)

Girl Least Likely To Post a Recipe

Yup. Me.
I really am, or rather, really thought I was, very unlikely to post a recipe.  It is not that I don't like recipe posting... it is that I don't like cooking. 
I'm not that good at it.  I don't like how it completely destroys any resemblance to clean I had going on in the kitchen, I don't like the amount of dirty dishes it creates & I definitely don't like going to the grocery store, which I inevitably have to do either before, or after, cooking.
I can cook. I mean I have a few good healthy things I can make & my son loves.  And my husband has a couple things he can make that we love (notice I left out the healthy part there), and so we defiantly do okay in the meals department, but I am still least likely to post a recipe.... except... I am about to.
Bean Balls.
Everyone asks what they are & once I tell them, they want to try them/make them/invite themselves over for some. I figure if I post the recipe once, I can refer everyone here the next time I make them & the questions rise once again.
So what are they? I can tell you, they are not a meatball replacement for vegetarians, like many think.  They are a high protein, plenty of fibre, ball of deliciousness.  They are my son's favorite thing for dinner (and also his favorite thing to take cold the next day in his lunch).  I really can't think of an equivalent for a carnivore... unless it is a burger & the bun is included inside the patty.
Also they should probably be renamed Tofu Balls, since my mother decided to change my aunt's recipe and use tofu instead of the soaked soy beans... but since kids will never eat something called Tofu Balls, lets stick to Bean Balls.

Bean Balls

Basically it is 3 equal parts of

• firm or extra firm tofu pureed in food processor (I have based this recipe on 1 package of tofu and it makes approx. 24 balls)
• a veg mix of celery, carrot, onion & beet (usually more beet & carrot) finely chopped in the food processor (too finely chopped & they lack texture... but you can experiment)
• bread crumbs. I like to use my own from spelt bread or kamut... but any kind is fine

Mix all 3 in a large bowl with wooden spoon.
Add LOTS of sage, thyme, and LOTS Worcestershire sauce, for flavouring(the last time I made these I didn't use nearly enough of the sauce, and well they were still nice & healthy, they lacked something).

Lastly, add approx. 1.5 cups of cheddar cheese &

2 eggs (for binding)

My mom says bake at 375 for 45minutes, but she has a kick ass convection oven... it is usually more like 45 minutes at 400 or 425, and I like to flip them part way.

This is by no means an exact recipe... I find cooking at 400 for 60 min gives me a crunchier ball which my guys like. They also like more cheese, but my mother likes less... If I am low on beets, I make up with carrots... so try out variations, they tend to still work out every time!
 
So if you make these - let me know! I want to know how yours turned out, if you experimented & what you thought!

*disclaimer - this recipe isn't even close to being mine, made by me at all, or even altered to be made better, by me*