Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna!!

I made this for dinner tonight. Totally winged it as we had a whole boatload of beans to use!! My husband ate it, and that says a lot, as he is a super picky eater! It was delicious, if I may say so myself!

Ingredients:
Corn Tortillas* (6 for a smaller dish, 12 for a large one)
Pinto beans* (prepared according to directions on previous post) i imagine it would also work well with black beans
1/2 Red Bell Pepper*
1/2 Green Bell Pepper*
6-10 bulbs of Green Onions*
3-5 diced tomatoes* (to save time, you can use canned, but it wont be available on WIC)
1 bag of frozen corn*
1 can of green chiles
1 can of enchilada sauce
1 lb of colby jack cheese* grated

1. dice bell pepper, onions, and tomatoes. put into a large bowl with corn and chiles and mix with a large spatula, folding in so that veggies are fairly evenly distributed among the mixture
2. cut tortillas into wide strips (I cut mine into thirds)
3. begin layering your "lasagna" - i started with beans because they are nice and sticky and stay where you put them. from there i built it in this order: tortilla strips, veggies, cheese, enchilada sauce, tortilla strips, beans, cheese
4. cook at 350F for 40-50 minutes

Easy, delicious, and quite economical ;)

Since i only made a half-recipe, i only used about half of my veggies, which means...SOUP day!!! My friends <3 my soup :) my husband, not so much, but he's picky, like i said :) I always make a big batch and give some away!

avocado and hummus panini!

This has been my sandwich of the week!

2 slices of bread*
3-4 slices of avocado*
1-2 slices of cheese (we like colby jack)*
hummus (i've been eating plain, and roasted red pepper)
mustard


layer ingredients onto your bread and dribble mustard on top - i use a pretty thick layer of hummus and a good amount of cheese, but i like a hearty sandwich. i've been nuking it in the microwave but you could also put on a sandwich press or in a skillet. this is a great meat-free sandwich loaded with protein and good fats for pregnant and nursing moms!

Quickie Quesadilla

my son gets this for lunch on a regular basis!


*2 corn tortillas
*WIC-approved cheese of your choice (we use cheddar or colby jack)
*spinach leaves
*bell peppers

layer slices of cheese, raw spinach leaves, and diced bell pepper pieces between 2 tortillas. microwave for about 30 seconds or until cheese melts. cut into appropriately sized pieces and serve!

Crockpot Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

*a handful of grape tomatoes (or any tomatoes will do)
*3 carrots
*black beans
*brown rice
*cheese - your choice - i used colby jack and cheddar
*1 clove of garlic
*1 green onion
*1.5 bell peppers
chicken broth or vegetable broth - or bouillon cubes - or water!
*frozen corn or fresh corn cut off the cob
*corn tortillas

all amounts are approximate, depending on your preference and how much soup you need to make!

seasonings:
parsley
cumin
chili powder
black pepper
paprika

***if you dont want to invest in a full bottle of cumin or chili powder, a packet of taco seasoning makes a great inexpensive substitute! (but really, you will save money in the long run just buying the seasonings themselves - and also save on strange chemicals - ha - i swear, check the ingredients!)

1. if you are using WIC approved dried beans, you will need to make those ahead of time. do it overnight in your crock pot and they will be ready to go the next day!
2. dice carrots, bell pepper, and green onion - add to beans or broth in the crockpot
3. if you or someone you are cooking for is squeamish about garlic, drop in the whole, peeled clove. otherwise feel free to crush it first.
4. add seasonings - i wasn't too precise here. just season to taste - a sprinkle of parsley, a dash of paprika, a good bit of black pepper. for the chili powder and cumin i used one of my son's baby spoons to measure - two spoonfuls of cumin, four of chili powder
5. cook on high for 2-3 hours
6. add in tomatoes, beans (if not already in), frozen corn, and cooked rice (optional). cook on high for another 2-3 hours.
7. just before serving the soup, cut corn tortillas into strips and lay out on a cookie sheet. bake at 450 for 5-7 minutes making sure not to over-cook.
8. serve this soup topped with shredded cheese and tortilla strips. if you dropped in a whole clove of garlic, remember to fish it out first and hide the evidence ;)



warning about this recipe - if you use regular tomatoes, dice them (obviously). if you use cherry/grape tomatoes, you might want to half them - i left mine whole and got a nice burst of scalding hot tomato seeds/juice on my tongue when i took a bite! oops! what will also work is if you have a can of diced or whole tomatoes or halves. add them a little later on though as they are already cooked, you dont want them to dissolve completely. also i dont think canned produce is covered on WIC?

Tomato Mozzarella "Panini" Sandwiches

artisan bread - or english muffins (we used whole wheat)
*mozzarella cheese
*tomatoes
*loose leaf spinach
sun-dried tomato pesto

**if you want to make your own pesto spread, it can be done using some home-sun-dried (or oven-dried) tomatoes and a bit of olive oil. the tomatoes, of course, can be purchased with WIC! but you can also just use store-bought :)


1. if you want your bread toasted, do that while slicing tomatoes and mozarella
2. spread pesto sauce onto bread, then layer it with mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes, spinach leaves, and more cheese! if desired...hahaha
3. at this point, you can either grill it in a skillet with a bit of butter (or without), pop it into a toaster oven, put it on a sandwich press, etc. - its up to you - but since this is my quick and easy lunch, i just nuke it for 30 sec in the microwave!! divine!

to make this even faster, keep your tomato slices on a plate in the fridge ready to go at sandwich time! (my tummy is soooo growling now!)