Cheesy Beef Enchiladas

After not cooking anything for a few weeks, I decided to make enchiladas. Rather than the traditional enchilada sauce, I chose to make it with a fiesta cheese sauce. The final product was very good, and very filling.

Cheesy Beef Enchiladas:
1 lb ground beef
1 can Fiesta Cheese soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup salsa (your choice of flavor and heat)
2 green bell peppers
garlic salt
chili powder
oregano
1 cup rice
5-8 tortillas
2-4 cups of shredded cheese (a mexican blend works well)
olive oil

Preheat Oven to 350. heat some olive oil in a large skillet. Saute the bell peppers. When the peppers are close to being done, add the beef and brown it. Add the garlic salt, chili powder, and oregano. While beef is browning, cook the rice (follow the directions on the package). When the beef is browned, add the cans of soup and one can of water. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir occasionally while the beef-cheese mixture thickens. When the rice is done and the sauce is thickened, take the tortillas and microwave them until they are soft (usually about 1 minute for 5). Pour a small amount of the sauce into a casserole dish to coat the bottom slightly. Fill each tortilla with rice and the beef-cheese sauce. Roll them all and put them in the casserole dish. If there is any sauce left, pour it over the top. Pour the shredded cheese over the top to cover the enchiladas. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20-30 minutes.

Serve immediately

Side dishes recommended: tossed salad with tortilla chip pieces and a salsa dressing, refried or black beans, corn

Greek Lemon Rice Soup

Today I made a really delicious and easy soup that I think you all might enjoy. If you've ever ordered the lemon soup at a Greek restaurant, this should taste very familiar. It was quick, easy, and cheap.

Greek Lemon-Rice Soup

3 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup uncooked rice
2 eggs
4 tablespoons lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Bring the chicken broth to boil in a medium saucepan. Add the rice, and reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer until the rice is tender. This step should take 20 minutes or so. While this is cooking, beat the eggs and the lemon together in another bowl. When the rice is finished, take 1 cup of the broth, add it to the egg/lemon mixture, and mix together. Add the mixture back into the soup SLOWLY, stirring while you do. Heat up over medium heat, but don't let it boil. If it boils, the eggs will feel more like egg-drop soup. When the soup is hot, pour into bowls and serve immediately.

This is a good lunch, or dinner for someone on a budget. You can adjust the lemon juice to suit your tastes, and you can add shredded chicken to the soup if you so desire. Serve with a side Greek salad.

White Chicken Chili

Sometimes it's really hard to get a well balanced meal, especially if it requires using more than one pot to make. This chicken chili recipe is really delicious, and also pretty easy to make.

Enjoy:


White Chicken Chili:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
1 white onion, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
seasonings: see below for ideas
2 cans White Northern Beans
2 cups chicken stock
2 bayleaves
2 tablespoons olive oil

Seasoning ideas: feel free to use any or all of the following: garlic salt, chili powder, thyme, paprika, oregano.

Rub down the diced chicken with your seasonings. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion, celery and bell peppers until the onions are just softening. Add the chicken and cook until very little pink remains. Add the beans, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Reduce heat to low and let the entire thing simmer for 40 minutes to an hour. Serve hot.

Serving over white rice or pasta is a good way to add some carbs.

11/4/09: Tilapia and Clam Chowder Sauce

One of the staples I try to always have on hand is a bag of frozen, breaded Tilapia. By itself, Tilapia isn't the most spectacular of fishes, but it is mild, easy to cook, and easy to spice up.

This week, I made a sauce for it out of clam chowder and some other ingredients:

Clam Chowder Sauce:

1 large can chunky new england clam chowder (Campbells hearty soups or chunky soups works well here)

1 cup shredded cheese (I use an italian cheese blend, but anything will work depending on the flavor you like)

Worcestershire Sauce to taste

Hot Sauce to taste

Garlic salt to taste

Pour the clam chowder, the garlic salt, Worcestershire Sauce and Hot Sauce into a saucepan, and heat over medium heat until warm. Add the cheese, and stir. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer until the cheese is completely melted into the sauce.

Prepare this a few minutes before the Tilapia is finished, and then spoon the sauce over the fish.

Side Dish Recommendations: Peas, pasta with garlic and olive oil, green beans in oil and vinegar

WELCOME

Hello World.

Welcome to my blog: Collegiate Cooking.

As a poor college student, I often have to scrounge the kitchen for food, and over the course of the last few months I have gotten very good at cooking things with random ingredients on hand. So, in an attempt to help the poor souls who live away from home and don't know how to cook, I have started this blog.

I will post recipes and tips that I have discovered over the course of my time in college, and hopefully some of you will be able to make use of them.

I hope you enjoy it

Chris