Is there anything better than only using one pot or pan to make an entire meal? I think not. I made this for our Cinco de Mayo buffet.

I’m using a couple of my favorite seasoning blends from Trader Joe’s. Don’t worry if you don’t have them, there are suggested substitutions you can use instead.

One Skillet Mexican Beef, Bean, and Rice Casserole

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• 1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
• 1 small jalapeño, cored, seeded and minced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Trader Joe’s Chile Lime Seasoning Blend (or chili powder)
• 1 teaspoon Trader Joe’s Everything but the Elote Seasoning Blend (or ground cumin)
• 1 cup white rice
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 can refried black beans
• 1 can pinto beans, with liquid
• 1 can Ro*Tel diced tomatoes with green chilies, with juices
• 1 cup frozen (thawed) corn kernels
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

• Garnish suggestions: thinly sliced green onions, diced red onion, shredded lettuce, sliced mini peppers, sour cream, salsa, etc.

Heat a large skillet and add the oil, when oil is hot add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeño and garlic and sauté until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add the ground beef and cook until the beef is browned, stir in the taco seasoning and the two Trader Joe’s seasoning blends.

Getting back into the swing of it, blogging-wise, has been harder than I ever imagined it would be. Since I missed it so much, I thought I’d fall right back into the rhythm. Um, not so much!

I want to blame it on the holidays. Thanksgiving, out-of-town family, Christmas, even more family from out-of-town, New Year’s, and more family have made it hard to want to sit down at the computer and “work.” But that’s really not it. I blogged religiously for more than 5 years, through every major holiday and life event, so I can not claim that the season is the issue.

I’m just out of the habit, and until I get back on track, posts will be spotty. I’m now prepared for that reality and I hope that you’ll stick with me through this transition.

Marissa & Jeff drove back to Austin on Saturday. They had flown in two weeks ago but drove back so they could take all their wedding and wedding shower gifts. They made it back in record time, arriving home, safe and sound, by mid-morning on Sunday.

On Friday night, for their last dinner at home, I made a pan of super-easy and super-yummy tamale enchiladas. So yummy, in fact, that I couldn’t get a photo of the pan before they were all but gone!

I bought the tamales from a young woman who was selling them at Connor’s apartment building. She had two adorable little ones in-tow, so how could I say no?  I bought a dozen green chile-chicken tamales and a dozen red chile-pork tamales. I should say, that’s what I thought I bought, she accidentally gave me only six green chile (1 bag) and a dozen and a half (3 bags) of red chile.

A few nights before, we enjoyed 6 of the green and 6 of the red, served in the traditional style. That was nice, but to my taste, tamales are a bit dry. So serving the remaining dozen red chile tamales enchilada-style was way more fun!

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I was inspired to make chilaquiles for Easter brunch after learning about them at FnB, a fabulous new restaurant in downtown Scottsdale, (click here for link) where Chef Charleen Badman traditionally makes them on weekends for the late-night crowd.

Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican dish. Typically, corn tortillas cut in quarters and lightly fried are the basis of the dish. Red or green sauce is poured over the tortilla triangles, called “totopos.” Scrambled eggs and/or shredded chicken are sometimes added. The dish is topped with queso fresco and crèma.  Usually, chilaquiles are eaten at breakfast or brunch. This makes them a popular recipe to use leftover or stale tortillas.

I’ll be using two of my favorite “convenience” items – 3 garlic cubes (purchased at Trader Joe’s) and 4 chipotle cubes(homemade using empty garlic cube trays – see this previous post on how to do so).  You can too, or just follow the recipe for the “traditional” method of peeling and mincing.

Marissa, Sloane, and Connor in the shade at Easter Brunch

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Soup and salad… the two of the most versatile parts of any meal. Or complete meals all by themselves. I’ve previously mentioned my deep admiration for soup. My husband, Dave, on the other hand, has those same feelings for salad. Given the choice, he would take salad over soup about 90% of the time. I’ll take soup over salad 99.9% of the time when it is under 100 degrees here in sunny AZ. But once the thermostat hits the century mark, I turn my back on my favorite child. I feel like a traitor. And considering that it reaches 100 degrees an average of 106 days a year here, that’s nearly a third of the year I give up on my beloved soup. So I need a backup plan!

Currently, on this blog, I have 13 soups and only 10 true salads. What do I consider a “true” salad? One that has lettuce or greens as the primary player; not just a tart on a bed of greens used to “fancy it up” or a salad with fruit only, or quinoa laying on a little bit of spinach. But a Real Salad with lettuce! So soup is currently winning the war, I mean the race! Unfortunately, salad is gaining ground with this entry, and with the dog days of summer only a couple of months away… I need to make more soup!

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It is “birthday week” around here. Marissa’s was yesterday, and today is Blake’s 12 birthday!  Blake is one of three sons of our very best friends in the world! His parents are Dr. Jeffrey and Jennifer Markett, who live in St. Charles, Illinois. Jeff is my husband’s best friend from college. He was our best man and is godfather to both Marissa and Connor. Jennifer is my best friend, whom I just adore… more on her tomorrow… Until then, Happy Birthday Blakey! We Love YOU!

In Blake’s honor, today we have a seven-layer dip that I’ve never seen a kid turn their nose up at. Use this recipe as a guide, you can add in or sub out so many great ingredients; such as shredded lettuce, roasted red pepper strips, chopped jalapenos, sliced black olives, and chopped tomatoes, etc.  In the picture below, I assembled the dish with a cut-away, so you can see the layers.  Then I just filled it all in after snapping the photo, don’t want you to think I served it this way! 🙂
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