Back to Normal....Whatever Normal May Be

Things are back to normal here at A Day in the Life on the Farm.  Frank went back into the office.  I went to the library, visited Mom, went to the Food Pantry, hit the grocery store, prepped dinner, cleared space in the basement for our first Yoga class of the year, did yoga, ate, showered and now....finally....I am spending some time with you, my dear reader.

Let's start at the very beginning...a very good place to start.  I should become a song writer LOL. Am I the only one who thinks in song lyrics all the time??  Please say you do too.

Ok, I digress.

I had to go to the library to renew my Cook the Books selection for this month because December was very busy and the book does not call to me when I put it down so it sat, forgotten, on my hearth for the most part.  Thankfully, I have until February 2nd before the post is due.

Then I took went and saw Mom. Last week when we were there we noticed Mom's dresser drawer was broken so we brought it home and Frank fixed it.  I put her drawer back and then found Mom and her "gang" watching old Lawrence Welk reruns.  When we saw Mom on Saturday we noticed that her front bottom tooth was very loose.  The dentist was not in on the weekend so I thought I was taking her to the dentist this morning but the tooth was gone.  Mom's not in any pain and it looks like the tooth came out cleanly so unless it starts bothering her there is no sense in a dentist visit.  We watched Lawrence Welk for a while, singing and clapping and then I continued on my errands.

Dinner tonight for Meatless Monday or I guess it could also be Mexican Monday came from another edition of BHG.  This was a limited edition with a pink ribbon in support of breast cancer that my daughter, Amy got me as a gift in 2005.

I adapted the recipe slightly.  First I reduced the recipe in half as it was for 8 main course servings. The recipe called for green bell pepper and I used red and yellow bell peppers. The recipe called for black and/or kidney beans and I used a tribean blend that contained black/kidney/northern beans. And instead of Monterey Jack cheese, I used a Mexican blend.

Tortilla Black Bean Casserole

adapted from BHG New Cookbook, Limited Edition

1 onion, chopped

1/2 c. chopped sweet peppers

1 (14 1/2) oz. can. diced tomatoes

1/3 c. green salsa

1 t. cumin

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (15 oz) can tribean mixture, drained and rinsed

6 (6") corn tortillas

1 c. shredded Mexican blend cheese

diced tomatoes 

shredded lettuce

sliced avocado

sour cream

In a large skillet combine the onion, peppers, tomatoes, salsa, cumin and garlic.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.  Stir in the beans.

Spread 1/3 of the bean mixture in the bottom of an 8x8" baking pan. Top with 3 of the tortillas, overlapping as necessary and 1/2 of the cheese. Add another 1/3 of the bean mixture and top with the remaining tortillas. Cover with remaining beans and cheese. Bake uncovered at 350* for half an hour or until heated through.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Garnish with the tomatoes, lettuce, avocado and sour cream.  Print Recipe