Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Taco Pasta

May 22, 2013

My daughter packed the leftover bean alfredo and some strawberries for lunch today. My son packed the leftover smoked sausage, leftover pasta (I had extra without alfredo on it), and half an orange. My hubby packed leftover fajitas. I was spoiled at a friend's house. She had a pampered chef party and I filled my face with tons of delicious food. I tried a few new things and I can't wait to make them. But that is for another day...

I've been trying to branch out our meals. It feels like we eat a lot of wraps, tacos, burgers, etc since we became vegetarian. I decided that tonight would be a comfort food. What is more comforting than a nice warm casserole? I sauteed some yellow and red onion and garlic in olive oil. I stirred in half a can of pink beans (and smashed them) and one cup of black beans (that I had frozen). I threw in a handful of green and red peppers (frozen from the farmer's market). I had an aha moment and got a bag of corn out of the freezer (from farmer's market). I took two pint jars of my home canned salsa and put them through the food processor. I stirred it in to the bean mixture. I mixed in some cooked veggie spiral pasta. I topped it with a little cheddar and mexican mix cheese. I baked the casserole at 350 just until the cheese was all nice and melted. We put our casserole on a bed of lettuce. Not a ton. This isn't a salad; just a nice bit for crunch. We then topped it with fresh tomatoes, avocado, sour cream, cilantro, and jalapenos. For a side, I asked my son to make a fruit salad. Tomorrow is grocery shopping day. Fruit salad is a fun way to have us eat up the random leftover fruit. He added in pineapple, cantaloupe, raspberries, banana, and grapes.

What did we all think of my taco creation? My son said it was a little spicy. It didn't stop him from having two helpings! My daughter liked it. Her second helping was just a pile of leftover black beans. I loved it. I think this dish will become a regular and definitely one that we serve for company. My hubby thought it was really good. He said spice is nice. Ha. He was happy I had fresh jalapenos for him to add.

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