Flat Enchiladas

Brown 6 TBS. shortening and 5 rounded TBS. flour
Add 3-4 coups water.  Bring to a boil.
Add 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce.  Bring to a boil again

Add:
1 tsp. salt
2 TBS. sugar
2 TBS. chili powder
2 TBS. vinegar
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2-1 tsp. cumin
pepper

Layer friend corn tortillas (just slightly fry the tortillas to make them soft) with sauce and cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Top with a fried egg.

Buttermilk Banana Bread

• This is my favorite banana bread.  It comes out white, not brown-flecked.  Recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.   
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• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed bananas (I use about 3 average sized bananas)
• 4 tablespoons buttermilk (here is a guide for making your own buttermilk)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1. Grease and flour 1 large loaf pan (9 1/4 X 5 1/4-inch) or whatever combination of pans you'd like (several commenters have said this recipe works great made into muffins or smaller loaf pans).

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, bananas, buttermilk and vanilla until the batter is well mixed. Add in the flour, baking powder, salt and soda. Mix until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

NOTE:  I made this into muffins and then dipped them in melted butter and then cinnamon and sugar while they were still hot.  YUMMY!

Meyer Lemon Curd

Ingredients:

3 to 4 medium Meyer Lemons (about 1 lb.)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

Preparation:

Finely grate enough zest from lemons to measure 2 teaspoons and squeeze enough juice to measure 1/2 cup. Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a metal bowl and add butter. Set bowl over a saucepan of simmer water and cook, whisking. Once mixture gets warm, add the butter in 4 additions, whisking well after each until incorporated. Continue whisking until thickened and smooth and an instant read thermometer registers 160 degrees F. This can take anywhere from 6 to 15 minutes (depending on how well your bowl is conducting heat). Force curd through a fine sieve set into another bowl. Serve warm or cover surface of curd with plastic wrap and cool completely.

*Of course you can make this recipe with regular lemons as well. In that case increase the sugar to 3/4 cup. This curd will keep well covered in the refrigerator for about 1 week.

Lemon Berry Tart

Ingredients:
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed but still cold
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/3 cup lemon curd (recipe here or buy it in the store)
1 pint raspberries
1/4 cup good seedless raspberry jam, warmed
Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:
For the tart: Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat. Unfold the thawed out puff pastry on a lightly flour dusted area and gently roll into a 10x11 inch rectangle. Carefully transfer to your baking sheet.

Brush edges with a little bit of water and fold over all 4 sides to create a lip. Using a fork, poke holes all over the center of your tart. Gently brush the entire tart with an egg wash and sprinkle about 2 tsp. of sugar over the center. Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully with the back of a spoon press the center back down if it has puffed. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

For the filling: In a bowl combine softened cream cheese and powdered sugar. Mix with a hand-mixer or by hand until smooth and the sugar is well incorporated. Add the heavy cream and mix for about 1 minute. Fold in the lemon curd. 

To assemble the tart: Carefully spread your lemon cheesecake mixture over the center of your cooled tart crust. Arrange berries decoratively over the curd and drizzle with the warmed jam. Dust the tart with powdered sugar.

Notes: This tart is best made and eaten on the same day. You can prepare the tart along with the cheesecake filling ahead of time. Refrigerate the filling and assemble the tart right before eating.

Lime Cilantro Pork Tacos

1 lb. pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into thin strips

¼ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. freshly grounded black pepper

2 tsp. olive oil (or veg oil)

1 ½ cups thinly sliced onions

½ cup green pepper, chopped

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

½ cup fat free, less sodium chicken broth

½ cup chopped plum tomato

3 TBS. chopped cilantro

2 ½ TBS. fresh lime juice

8 (6 inch) flour tortillas

Heat in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper.  Add oil to pan.  Add pork, and sauté 4 minutes or until browned.  Remove pork from pan, place in bowl.  Add onion and jalapeno to pan, sauté 5 minutes or until tender.  Add broth; reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Stir in tomato, and simmer 2 minutes.

Return pork and accumulated juices to pan.  Stir in cilantro and lime juice; cook 1 minute or until pork is done.

Heat tortillas according to package directions.  Spoon ½ cup pork mixture into each tortilla; roll up.

Browning the pork improves its color, and the browned bits enrich the sauce’s flavor, increase the amount of jalapeno pepper if you enjoy spicy foods.  Serve with lime wedges.

Total Time: 30 minutes

Quick Tip: To make the pork tenderloin easier to cut into thin strips, partially freeze it first.