King Ranch Chicken Casserole

I made this recipe in two different glass 8x8 casserole dishes to accommodate vegetarians and meat eaters.

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 T butter
2 onions, chopped fine
1 jalapeño chile, seeds and ribs removed, then minced
1 T cumin
2 (10-oz) cans Ro-tel tomatoes (or one 14.5oz can diced tomatoes and one 4-oz can drained chopped green chiles)
1 can black beans, drained
5 T flour
1 cup half and half
3 cups veggie broth (or can use chicken broth if not needing to accommodate vegetarians)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pound Monterey jack cheese, shredded
2 cups Fritos corn chips, crushed

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Lay the tortillas on two baking sheets covered in parchment, lightly coat both sides with cooking spray, and bake until slightly crisp and browned, about 10 minutes.  Roast chicken breasts until lightly browned.

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onions, chiles, and cumin until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.  Add the tomatoes with their juice and the drained black beans and cook until most of liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes.

During this time, start breaking up the tortillas into bite-sized pieces.  Chop the chicken into small pieces.

Stir in the flour and cook 1 minute.  Add the half and half and broth, bring to a simmer, and cook until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.  Off the heat, add the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spray the two casserole dishes with cooking spray.  Scatter half the tortilla pieces in the bottom of the dishes.  Spoon half of the filling evenly over the tortillas (will be about 2-3 cups in each).  In the chicken dish, add the chopped chicken in one layer.  Scatter the remaining tortilla pieces over the filling, then top with the remaining filling.

Bake until the filling is bubbling, about 15 minutes.  Sprinkle the Fritos evenly over the top and bake until the Fritos are lightly browned, about 10 minutes.  Cool the casserole 10 minutes.  Serve.

Things you can do ahead of time: The casserole can be assembled through step 3 and refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 1 day.

When ready to bake, remove the plastic, cover the casserole with foil, and bake until the filling is bubbling, about 30 minutes.

Remove the foil, top with the crushed Fritos, and proceed as directed with the rest of step 4.

Twice baked potatoes with greens

6 medium russet potatoes

1 T olive oil
1 T butter
2 large leeks, cleaned and chopped

1.5 bags (7.5oz total) of Trader Joe's Power to the Greens (mix of baby kale, baby spinach, and baby chard), chopped into small pieces
2.5 cups gruyere, grated
1.25 cups sour cream

4 scallions, chopped

4 slices bacon (raw or cooked)
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 400°F.

Cook potatoes the first time: Gently scrub potatoes but do not peel. Pierce each 3x with a fork.  Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced in center with a fork. Leave oven on.

While potatoes cook (or after they are done depending on oven space), bake bacon in oven.  Flip and blot halfway for maximum crispness.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil and butter.  Once butter is melted, add chopped leeks and cook about 8-10 minutes until softened but not brown.  Add chopped greens and cook until soft and wilted.  Add to a large bowl.

Prepare potatoes: When potatoes are cool enough to handle, halve lengthwise and scoop out all but the last 1/4-inch thickness of skin and potato (essentially, you want to leave a shell inside for stability) and add potato filling to the bowl with leeks and greens. Mash potatoes, leeks and greens together until smooth. Stir in the sour cream, 3/4 of cheese, scallions, and more salt and pepper than you think you’ll need. Arrange the potato shells on a baking sheet.  Heap filling in prepared potato skins and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 of cheese. 

Bake potatoes a second time: For 20-25 minutes, until bronzed and crisp on top.

Creamy rice pudding

1 T butter
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup uncooked long-grain jasmine rice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt


1) Add the butter, almonds, and rice to a medium to large pot and heat over medium. Cook and stir the rice and almonds in the melted butter for 1-2 minutes, or until they begin to smell toasty.

2) Add the cinnamon and nutmeg to the pot and continue to stir and cook for 30-60 seconds more.

3) Add the milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt to the pot and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to come up to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

4) Once simmering, turn the heat down to medium-low. Continue to simmer the rice without a lid, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes, or until the rice is very soft and the mixture has thickened considerably. The pudding will thicken further as it cools.

5) Serve the rice pudding warm or refrigerate and serve cold the next day.

Green beans almondine

20 oz frozen or fresh green beans
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
2 cloves of garlic
1 T packed brown sugar
2 T lemon juice
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
salt and pepper


Sauté green beans in olive oil and butter, adding garlic and brown sugar after a few minutes.  Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on toasted almonds (can toast in the microwave).

Blueberry bran muffins

5 oz All-Bran Original cereal
1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
3 oz brown sugar
3 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (spray measuring spoon first so you get the full amount)
6 T avocado oil
two 5.3 oz containers Greek yogurt
1/4 cup water
1.5 cups frozen wild blueberries


1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place muffin liners in tins (makes about 15 muffins).

2) Process half the bran cereal in a blender until finely ground. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to combine; set aside.

3) Whisk eggs, brown sugar, molasses, and vanilla. Add avocado oil and whisk to combine; add yogurt and water and whisk. Stir in cereal and unprocessed cereal; let mixture sit until cereal is evenly moistened, about 5 minutes.

4) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently mix with a rubber spatula until batter is combined and evenly moistened. Do not overmix. Gently add blueberries to batter and spoon about 1/3 cup into each muffin cup.

5) Bake until toothpick inserted into center of muffins comes out clean, about 16-18 mins.

Simple lemon salmon

extra large piece of salmon

2 T melted butter

3 T lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Place the salmon skin side down on the foil.  Mix melted butter and lemon juice and generously apply 2/3 of the mixture to the top of the salmon.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Brush the remaining butter/lemon mixture on the salmon.  Broil on high for about 3 minutes until the salmon is golden brown. Sprinkle on salt just before serving.

Whole grain muesli pancakes

2 cups milk

4 tsp lemon juice

6 oz plus 3T no sugar added muesli

150g white whole wheat flour

2 T brown sugar

2.25 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

3 T melted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

avocado oil


1) Whisk lemon juice and milk together in medium bowl; set aside while preparing other ingredients.

2) Process 6oz muesli in the blender until finely ground, about 1 min; transfer to large bowl. Add remaining 3 tablespoons unground muesli, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix to combine.

3) Whisk eggs, melted butter, and vanilla into milk until combined.  Pour liquid mixture into bowl with dry ingredients and mix gently. Do not overmix. Allow batter to sit while the pan heats.

4) Heat a nonstick electric skillet to 325 degrees. Add avocado oil and brush to coat skillet bottom evenly. Cook pancakes until golden brown on each side and serve with jam.