Luby's Cafeteria Cheese Enchiladas With Chili Sauce

Luby's Cafe has locations in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Many of their recipes can be found online and this one is my favorite. This dish freezes well too.

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 cups beef broth
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans whole canned tomatoes
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup water
15 -20 corn tortillas vegetable oil, enough to cover bottom of skillet
6 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup shredded American cheese

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To make sauce, brown ground beef in a large saucepan or dutch oven along with the onions, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Drain meat on paper towels.
Return meat to saucepan and add broth, tomatoes, chili powder, paprika and cumin.
Mix well, breaking up tomatoes with a spoon.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for one hour.
In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water until cornstarch is completely dissolved.
Gradually add the cornstarch mixture to the chili sauce, stirring constantly.
Continue cooking sauce for about 5 more minutes.
For enchiladas, heat oven to 350°F.
Heat about 1/2-inch vegetable oil in a small skillet, until hot but not smoking.
Quickly fry each tortilla in hot oil to soften, about 2-4 seconds on each side; drain on paper towels.
In a large bowl, combine Cheddar cheese and onions.
Mix well.
Spoon 1/3 cup cheese mixture down the center of each warm tortilla.
Roll up and place seam side down into two 11X7-inch baking dishes.
Top enchiladas with chili sauce.
Cover each dish with foil.
Bake for 10 minutes or until hot.
Remove foil.
Sprinkle with american cheese and continue baking 2 minutes or until cheese melts

Bubby's Twice Baked Potatoes

The chipotle cheddar cheese give these tots a little kick. If you can’t find it you could use pepperjack. I like to make a big batch and freeze them. They heat up great in the microwave when thawed.

4 large baking potatoes
1/2 pound bacon
4 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon salt
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
4 oz american cheese slices, torn up
4 oz chipotle cheddar cheese slices, torn up
4 teaspoon dry bread crumbs

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Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Use a fork to pierce the potato skins.
Bake the potatoes unwrapped for about 1 hour, or until soft, in the preheated oven.
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
Over medium-low heat melt the butter in a large saucepan.
Combine onion, garlic powder, pepper, chives and salt. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft.
Slice open the baked potatoes and, keeping the skins intact, scoop the insides into a medium bowl. Transfer the onion mixture to the bowl.
Mix in the sour cream, american and chipotle cheddar cheese and continue mixing until all ingredients are well blended.
Using a large spoon, fill the potato skins with the mixture. Top with bread crumbs, the shredded cheddar cheese and bacon.
Return the potatoes to the preheated oven and continue baking for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the filling is slightly brown.

Spaghetti Salad

I'd forgotten all about this salad until I spied a bottle of Salad Supreme at the store. I'm making it tomorrow with colored rotini!

1# cooked spaghetti noodles or your choice of pasta
10 oz zesty Italian dressing
1 package cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 bottle McCormick’s Salad Supreme Seasoning
1 can pitted black olives, sliced
1 large can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large cucumber, cut up

Mix all in large bowl. Chill at least 1 hour before serving.

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Cream Gravy

This has been a favorite recipe of mine for over 38 years. The gravy is so good you'll find other dishes to use it in.

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

8 oz  deli swiss cheese slices
6 oz deli ham slices
3 T flour
1 tsp paprika
6 T butter
1 c water
1 chicken bouillion cube
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 T cornstarch
Hot rice

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Pound chicken breasts to make large cutlets. Top with ham and cheese. Fold breast over filling and secure with toothpicks. Combine flour and paprika and coat chicken well. In melted butter cook chicken to brown on both sides. Add water and bouillion and heat to boiling. Reduce to low heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Remove from pan and remove toothpicks. In a bowl combine cornstarch and cream. Blend slowing into simmer pan juices and blend til thick and smooth.

Chile Verde

This recipe was taken from the 2005 issue of Cooking Light by Chef Tracy DeJardin. This is just so good!

Chile Verde

This vibrant chile is even better the next day after the flavors marry. Make it ahead and store in the refrigerator up to two days. Serve with lime wedges and fresh cilantro. To freeze, let the chile cool to room temperature, then put into an airtight container and freeze up to two months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

• YIELD: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 1/3 cups)
• COURSE: Main Dishes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups chopped onion
• 2 pounds small tomatillos, husks and stems removed and quartered
• 1 pound Anaheim or poblano chiles (about 4 medium), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Preparation

Heat canola oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the pork evenly with salt and pepper. Place flour in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add pork to bag; seal. Shake to coat. Add pork to pan, and sauté 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove pork from the pan.
Add onion, tomatillos, chiles, and garlic to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Add pork, water, and remaining ingredients to pan; bring to a simmer. Cook 2 hours or until pork is tender, stirring occasionally.

Sausage Gravy

1 pound pork sausage
3 T lard or bacon grease
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper

View full recipeBrown sausage on med heat until no pink remains. With slotted spoon remove sausage leaving grease in the pan. Add lard or bacon grease in pan, scraping up any bits of sausage on the pan. Add flour. With wire whisk stir constantly and let the flour thicken. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly until thickened. Add salt, pepper and sausage. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Serve atop hot biscuits with a few scrambled eggs and hash browns with gravy on everything! I will post the biscuit recipe also.

I also add a few drops of Gravy Master because I like my gravy a little on the brown side.

Oy Vey it's been a long time since my last post. I can only attribute my lack of motivation on sheer laziness and being completely mental! I'll try to do better. What I need is a really big snow storm to get me excited.