Tex Mex Comfort Food

Hey Rachel
My go-to comfort food is Mexican, and with the Northeast looking as if it's going to be blasted this week with its third snowstorm in as many weeks, I just might have to make this tasty meal. Oh, wait, no I can't because I'm still on my detoxing food plan. Argh. Somehow stir-fried veggies with wild rice is just not going to cut it.

But I digress. This Tex Mex dish is an easy weeknight meal and includes, if you're feeling very pressed for time or lazy, a rotisserie chicken if you want. It will be our little secret.

I'm not sure why Tex Mex is so comforting to me. I'm sure it has something to do with the carbs and cheese. Now that's a combination I can get behind. :)

Anyway, do me a favor and make it this week and send vicarious warm, cozy thoughts from CA, where it is, as you annoyingly like to remind me, 60 degrees and mostly sunny.
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In the meantime, I'd love to hear from some readers. Do you have favorite comfort food when the weather outside is frightful? If so, what is it? Do you go for sweets? Carbs? Salt? And why does the weather make some of us (I can't be the only one can I???) feel like eating certain kinds of food?

Quesadilla Pie
serves 4-6

ingredients
1 10 ounce can of green or red enchilada sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 8-inch tortillas
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, plus extra for the top
1 3-4 pound rotisserie chicken shredded OR (for the ambitious) 3 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 zucchini, quartered and thinly sliced
1 cup salsa

method
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
If you're not using a rotisserie chicken, saute the chicken slices in a skillet with a little olive oil and some chili powder, salt and pepper to taste.
In a small bowl combine the enchilada sauce and cream. Spoon 1/4 cup of the sauce mixture into the bottom of a shallow 2-quart caserole. Top with 1 tortilla and a third of the cheese, chicken, onion and zucchini. Place a tortilla on top and repeat twice more to form a total of 3 layers. Top with the remaining tortilla, sauce and cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes more. Slice into wedges and enjoy!

The I-Don't-Want-to-Cook-But-I-Have-to Dinner

Janet here: Much as I enjoy cooking, there are certainly days when I walk in the house, exhausted, and all I want is for dinner to magically appear. And while I love, love, love my man, Peter, with the exception of going out to dinner (we don't live in a take-out or deliver-in area, sadly), if I don't cook it, we don't eat. It's one reason why I find a man who cooks so hot — only in my mind of course.

Anyway, it's good to have a couple of go-to, fast recipes for days like these. This one from Ellie Krieger's So Easy is just that. If you have pasta and frozen shrimp on hand, all you've got to do is add a little basil and a tomato and you are good to go.

What's your I-Don't-Want-to-Cook-But-I-Have-To dinner?

Garlic-basil Shrimp
serves 4

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 pounds large shrimp (20-25 per pound) peeled and deveined (I keep a pound frozen in my freezer all the time just for nights like this.)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
3/4 cup dry white whine
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup finely-chopped fresh basil (I used dried and it was fine)
3 cups cooked orzo pasta

Method
Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet until not but not smoking. Add the shrimp and cook, turning once, until just cooked, about 2 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the oil and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the wine and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Stire in the tomatoes and basil and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Return the shrimp to the pan and cook until just heated through. Serve with the orzo.

Added idea: a little crumbled feta works very well with this combination.

Rachel here: Oh, fast dinner. On those days that feel interminable, dinner can feel like the last great mountain to climb before release. As I head into my last few weeks of school, I anticipate more and more of those (in addition to feeling more and more exhausted as this baby grows). Anyway, I keep vowing to make a big batch of pasta sauce (because homemade pasta sauce is far superior to store-bought) to have on hand for evenings such as this but, alas, it hasn't happened yet. And so, this week I've turned to my tried-and-true friend, the quesadilla. See my take on this quick and easy staple here. How do you navigate this type of evening?