Enchilada Casserole

I found this recipe through a forum but not on Pampered Chef, although it is a recipe apparantly found in the 29 Minutes to Dinner cookbook.  Really easy and quick meal!

1 lb lean ground beef (the leaner the better since you don't drain off the fat!)
1 tbsp Southwestern Seasoning Mix (or taco seasoning)
1/4 tsp salt (add amount to preference, I eye-balled it)
1-10 oz can enchilada sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup medium thick and chunky salsa
12 yellow corn tortillas
1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro, divided
1 cup shredded Colby & Monterey Jack cheese blend, divided
sour cream and lime wedges (optional)

Combine beef, seasoning mix, and salt in 10" skillet; cook over medium-high heat 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink.  Add enchilada sauce, water, and salsa; bring to a simmer and remove from heat.

As beef mixture cooks, place tortillas in a stack and cut into 1 inch pieces (easiest using a pizza cutter!).  Snip cilantro using Kitchen Shears. 

Arrange half of the tortillas evenly over bottom of the Deep Covered Baker; top with half of the beef mixture, half of the cheese, and sprinkle 2 tbsp of the cilantro over cheese.  Repeat with the tortillas, beef and cheese.

Microwave on high 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Garnish with remaining cilantro. 

Serve with sour cream and lime wedges if desired.

Grilled Chicken Penne al Fresco

MSuper easy and fairly inexpensive! Another Pampered Chef one.

4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes (I used grape)
3 cups uncooked mezze penne pasta (I used plain penne)
3 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup dry white wine (I used chardonnay)
1/2 tsp each salt and coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves, divided
1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/4 cup packed - I used from the can)
2 cups diced grilled chicken breasts (easiest to grill before starting)

Spray Deep Covered Baker with olive oil using Kitchen Spritzer (I used can spray canola oil the first time I made this and spread coconut oil the second). Slice garlic into baker using Garlic Slicer (I smashed gloves with knife and cut into small pieces). Add tomatoes.

Cover; microwave on high 4-5 minutes or until tomatoes begin to burst (mine burst pretty quick so I just let it go the full 5 minutes), stirring after 2 minutes.

Crush tomatoes using Mix 'n Chop (if you don't have this, its a great tool!). Add pasta, broth, wine, salt, and black pepper.

Return baker to microwave; cover and microwave on high 16-18 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring after 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, coarsely chop basil with Chef's Knife. Reserve 2 tablespoons for garnish. Grate cheese using Rotary Grater.

Carefully remove baker from microwave and remove lid, lifting away from you. Add remaining basil, cheese, and chicken to baker; mix well.

Garnish with reserved basil, additional Parmesan cheese and black pepper, if desired.

** I made the mistake of using dried basil leaves, estimating the amount but I used WAY to much! I just used what I had left, which was probably about 1/4 cup, but if I were to use dried again I'd probably just sprinkle some on until it looked good! Next time I make this, I will just get fresh basil leaves.

Other notes:
If you don't want to use wine, 3/4 cup chicken broth can be substituted.

Any tube-shaped pasta requiring 9-11 minutes cook time, such as penne or rigatoni, can be substituted for the mezze penne pasta.

**update 10/5/14: this time I used cooking wine and fresh basil, great flavor!  I chopped the basil up in a kitchenaid chopper, pretty easy.  Again, too much basil for my taste so I just sprinkled it in until it looked good instead of measuring.  I'm not sure how much garlic I used the first time but today I only used 2 cloves and it was great. Three might have worked but I think 4 would have been too much.  I also used a full box of penne (more than 3 cups) and it was fine.