Recipes

I had been in a dinner rut as of late and these 2 recipes have inspired me to keep trying new things! I'd love to hear of any more recipe ideas from my readers (all 3 of you...)!

2 new ones to share. Well, one old-ish one from a previous post that was unreadable, and one truly new one:

Tortellini Florentine Soup

1 9 oz pkg refrigerated 3 cheese tortellini
2 14 oz cans of reduced sodium chicken broth
1 10 oz container refrigerated light Alfredo pasta sauce
2 cups shredded chicken
1/2 c oil packed dried tomato strips, drained
3 c. lightly packed fresh baby spinach
1 oz. Parmesan cheese, shaved or shredded

1. In a 4 qt Dutch oven cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. In the same Dutch oven combine broth and Alfredo sauce. Stir in chicken and tomato strips. heat just to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes.
3. Add cooked tortellini and spinach to mixture. Cook for 1-2 minutes to heat through and wilt spinach. To serve, sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

It says that this serves 6 (maybe for a light lunch), but I doubled the recipe for dinner for 7 with 2 lunch portions left over. Super easy for a party - not much prep at all.
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Tortilla and Black Bean Pie (I think I'll call it Mexican lasagna)
from Martha's Everyday Food Cookbook

4 flour tortillas (10 inch)
1 T canola oil
1 large onion diced
1 jalapeno chili, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
12 oz beer or 1 1/2 c. water
1 pkg frozen corn (10 oz)
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
2 1/2 c. shredded cheese (8 oz)
Sour cream, salsa and tortilla chips for serving

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trim the tortillas to fit a 9 inch spring form pan. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, jalapeno, garlic, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the beans and beer to the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the corn and scallions and remove from heat.
4. Fit a trimmed tortilla in the bottom of the spring form pan; layer with 1/4 of the bean mixture and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat 3 times using 1 cup of cheese for the top layer. Bake until hot and the cheese is melted about 20-25 minutes. Unmold the pie; sprinkle with the scallions, slice into wedges, serve immediately with sour cream and salsa. You can assemble ahead of time, and bake just before serving (I assembled it at home and brought it to Andy's brother's apartment to bake it).

This served 6 of us for a football lunch with a little left over. I used a 9 inch cake pan, because I don't have a spring form pan, and I also substituted 3 cooked, shredded chicken breasts with powdered taco seasoning for the corn, and used canned jalapenos.