Think Fast Meal: Chilaquiles

Warning

This is not a meal for your weekly meal plan. This is one of those throw-together kinds of meals. You know, the one when you wake up famished and the only thing in your fridge are leftovers from taco night. Or when you’ve spent the entire day playing outside and you have no idea what to make for dinner. Chilaquiles was created as a way to use up leftover stale tortillas and is typically eaten for breakfast or brunch. This is one of those meals that surprises you in its simplicity—and in its deliciousness—and is a fantastic way to use some of those tomatoes you canned last summer.

Ingredients

• That bag of tortilla chip crumbs cluttering your counter

• The handful of rotisserie chicken you don’t know what to do with (or black beans, or leftover taco meat, or roasted veggies. seriously, whatever is staring at you from the refrigerator shelves)

• 1 jar of tomatoes with chiles that you canned in the summer (or enchilada sauce, or taco sauce, or even salsa will do)

• 1/2 cup of water (or 1/2 cup broth)

• 1 spoonful of better than bouillon (leave out if using broth)

• Whatever fresh ingredients you have in your fridge to use as toppings

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°.

2. Heat a cast-iron skillet on your stove. I used an 8-incher for 2 people. If you’re feeding more than 2, you’ll want a bigger skillet, and you’ll want to double the ingredients.

3. Pour tomatoes, water, and bouillon into your hot skillet. Bring it to a boil and let simmer for 3-5 minutes to thicken up

4. Put tortilla crumbs into the skillet and stir slightly to mix. You want most of your chips a little on the soggy side. I know it sounds gross, but trust me. The flavor is astounding in the end.

5. Throw your leftovers on top. Sprinkle some shredded cheese on it if you’d like.

6. Put it in the oven and let it bake for 15-20 minutes, or until everything is warm and your cheese is melted.

7. Take it out of the oven, divide onto plates, and let people dig in. I like to put shredded cabbage, radishes, cilantro on top if I have them in the fridge. If I don’t, then I just eat it as is.

Note

If you want an extra boost of protein, top it with a fried egg. I’m lazy about breakfast so I eat it sans egg, but my husband isn’t lazy, so he goes the extra mile. The egg does make for a very pretty picture.

Summer Week Five

The last several weeks have been full of fun activities and lots of visitors. When I went to the farm yesterday to pick up my share, I allowed myself to sit in an old worn adirondack chair in the backyard and just soak in the sunshine and the scenery. As cars flew by on the road just in front of the farmstand, a field sparrow landed right next to my feet and I was filled with an overwhelming sense of peace and gratitude for this space. In a world that feels hectic, this farm is a piece of home for us here, and I’m forever grateful.

It’s typically around the end of July that I find myself in the kitchen nonstop, full of joy in my heart and flour on my butt. We had family visiting last week, so we ate out more than usual and I have a good chunk of last week’s share still hanging out in my fridge. We have a new fridge coming on Thursday, so my challenge for this week is to clear as much out as possible before then. This morning I’ve already tackled Blueberry Sourdough Muffins, Charred Corn Crepes, and Chocolate Zucchini Cake.

You’ll notice I didn’t include any preserving notes this week. I’ll include a big section on preserving next week, to help you store all that squash and cucumber that I know is beginning to roll in. For now, I hope you’ll spend the week enjoying the food on your counters. I know I am!

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Summer Week 5: What’s in Season

carrots (with greens), zucchini, yellow squash, pattypan squash, kale, lettuce, pickling cucumbers, salad cucumbers, cauliflower, corn, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, beets

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Meal Ideas for the Week

Breakfasts

I’m going to try out these Lemon squash muffins this week. I think they’d be a great quick breakfast or a snack to go.

I used some blueberries and some throwaway sourdough starter to make these Blueberry Sourdough Muffins this morning. I love the addition of cornmeal and these will be great to pop into kiddo lunchboxes.

We also made these Charred Corn Crepes this morning and I have to say they are my new favorite crepe recipe. I may have them every Saturday between now and the end of corn season. I filled one with zucchini butter and leftover charred corn from last night’s tacos. David put eggs and cheese in his. The girls had nutella in theirs. You really can’t go wrong with anything in a crepe.

Lunches

We ate out entirely too much last week so the lettuce in my fridge is multiplying. It’s basically going to be nothing but salad for lunch this week. And considering we got 26 cucumbers in yesterday’s pickup, there won’t be a meal without a cucumber on the side this week. Maybe I’ll make some tiny cucumber sandwiches and throw a tea party!

I do want to make this Corn Bacon Hash for Sunday brunch after church tomorrow while we still have a few ears of fresh corn in the fridge.

Dinners

I made very few of the meals I had planned for last week, which made my meal planning super easy for this week. Tonight we’re having this Grilled Chicken Salad with Tarragon. I made the dressing and pesto weeks ago when I had fresh tarragon and parsley and threw it in the freezer. I’m so excited to finally eat it tonight.

Tomorrow we have vegetarian friends coming over, so I’m going to make Buffalo Cauliflower and Carrot Fries. The likelihood of the kids eating that is very small, so I’m going to make these zucchini fritters too.

Our week is busy with kid activities, so I’m trying to plan fast and easy meals. This Spaghetti with Zucchini Butter looks fantastic, and super easy to throw together quickly. I’ll spend some time tomorrow making pasta with my carrot greens.

Sheet pan meals have become one of my favorite things, so I think I’ll try this Sheet Pan Chicken with Cauliflower and Carrots.

Pattypan squash is perfect for stuffing. These Chicken Enchilada Squash look so good. And since I haven’t made this Herb-Squash Pasta Bake yet, I’ll put it on the plan for later in the week.

Snacks & Treats

I made a double batch of this Zucchini Chocolate Cake. One to eat now, and one to put in the freezer for winter. It is a favorite, and I don’t think I can ever have too much of it.

I want to try this Carrot Hummus this week and see if my kids will eat it the way they eat store-bought hummus. I have tried hummus recipes before but so far, they only like what we buy at the store.

This radish dip is one of my favorite snacks of all time. I half the amount of garlic and add some basil. We have some friends coming this afternoon and will put it out with a veggie plate and some crackers.

Happy summer eating my friends!

Spring Week Four

We received word that our Summer Share will start in two weeks, so I’m starting to get excited (and prepared) for lots of strawberries to kick off the season.

We’re leaving for vacation this weekend, and instead of taking our farm share with us, we gifted it to my dear friend Kelli. She graciously sent me this photo and a list of what she picked up, so I can share it with you today! I’m not doing my typical meal planning this week, but I hope you’ll find some inspiration for your own planning in the recipes below.

Spring Week 4

1 head lettuce
1 bag spinach
1 bunch asparagus
1 bunch radishes
1 bunch pak choi

Recipes to Try

Lettuce

This Cobb Salad was my favorite meal from last week. I made a bed of lettuce and topped it with boiled egg, bacon, leftover rotisserie chicken, sliced cucumber, and slow-roasted tomatoes from last summer’s freezer stash. The trick to making a salad that my kids will eat is to put everything we all like on the plate, and put the extras on the side. For this one, I put croutons, cheese (blue cheese for me, parmesan for the fam), yellow bell pepper (for the littlest who doesn’t love salad), and spring onions on the side.

Spinach

Taco Torte is one of my favorite easy ways to use a bag of spinach. And if you find yourself lucky enough to live in a place where strawberries are already plentiful (we’re a couple of weeks away yet), this Spinach Strawberry Salad is one of my favorite salads of all time. I prefer blue cheese or goat cheese over feta.

Asparagus

I think I’ve shared this recipe with you before, but Spring Minestrone Soup is an incredible way to hide asparagus this week. My family was not excited about eating asparagus again this week, but they couldn’t even tell it was in this soup! The ginger broth is amazing in and of itself. I left out the pasta, subbing in some cooked beans instead, and used Spinach in place of kale.

My friend Kelli says she’ll roast the asparagus and make salmon cakes to go with it. She never uses a recipe (how DO people do that?!) but this one looks so scrumptious.

Radishes

I love to eat radishes raw right off the bundle, and they are terrific in salad. This Grilled Chicken Salad with Radishes and Tarragon Pesto was one of my favorite salad recipes last summer.

And friends, please don’t get rid of your radish greens! They make delicious pesto. If you aren’t a fan of pesto, blanch them for 2 minutes and freeze them. In the winter you can pull them out and make pasta from them, and your kids will have no idea they are eating radish greens!

Pak Choi

Want to know a secret about produce? Pak Choi and Bok Choy are the same thing! It’s also called White Chinese Cabbage and is in the same family as cabbage and broccoli. It goes wonderfully on a sheet-pan meal, and this Sheet-Pan Scallion Chicken with Bok Choy is a delightful way to use it. This is another idea (although I haven’t made this one) and I’m sure vegetarians can sub tofu in place of the chicken. Or just add more veggies to your pan.

Happy Spring eating my friends! I’ll be back next week with the final Spring pickup before our very large summer share kicks off.

Did you know I send out a Monthly Newsletter? I include a new essay especially for subscribers, include book recommendations, recipes to try, and a few of my other favorite things from the month. You can check out the latest issue here, and subscribe to get the next one in your inbox.