Tamales Moreno

I seriously have just had the best tamales of my life!

Tamales Moreno is forever ingrained in my heart.

It's small.
It's hole-in-the-wall.
It just backs my opinion that some of the best food is served in the dirtiest and shadiest of all places.

If you live in the Denver area, do yourself a favor and go get some.

It was worth the drive for me and the kids. I cried once over the deliciousness of the complimentary tamale and bunuelos we snacked on while waiting for our order. I cried a second time on the way home realizing that between the kids and I, we had already eaten more than a quarter of the tamales we ordered and was distraught that I didn't order more.

Dear Tamales Moreno,

Do not fret. We will be back. You are now considered part of our tamale-loving family.

Sincerely,
The Tamale Addicts

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

1 small onion, chopped
2 T. butter/margarine
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. sour cream
1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies
8 chicken breast halves, cooked and chopped
12 corn tortillas
1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese

Saute onion in butter in a large skillet. Stir in soups, sour cream, green chilies and chicken. Set aside.

Spray a 9x13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Layer 1/2 of broken tortillas, chicken mixture and cheese in dish. Repeat. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Notes:

- We usually halve this recipe, simply because we STILL don't have a full-sized oven and are left to use our little toaster oven. When halving the recipe, I just omit of the mushroom soup. We're not big mushroom fans anyways.

- I usually like to use sharp cheddar cheese. You can use less cheese and still get super cheddar flavor.

Taco Soup

And for the main course of the evening...

Taco Soup (from the kitchen of Paula Deen)

Here are the few changes we made (and it's a good thing we did, because all the ingredients probably wouldn't fit in our 4 qt. crockpot).

1. We went with less beef (probably about a 1.5 lbs.)
2. 1/2 the amount of onions
3. Only 1 can of pinto beans
4. Replaced kidney beans with black beans
5. Used Italian tomatoes instead of Mexican (couldn't find them in Target)
6. No olives

I'm sure this would pare down nicely for less people.

One more note: Close all your bedroom doors! This soup can have a pretty meaty smell...yummy...but meaty.

Albondigas Soup

We love this soup three ways:
1. from 3 Margaritas
2. from Auntie Barbara
3. this way:

Grandma Salazar's Albondigas Soup

This is a Cooking Light recipe, so when it gives you the directions on cooking the meatballs, it uses cooking spray. I found this to be a complete mess b/c the meatballs kept sticking to the pan. I gave up and just used veggie oil and ended up completely satisfied.

By the way, this is not a quick meal...so plan ahead.