Cheesy Broccoli Orzo

I'm usually not very creative when it comes to side dishes.  Typically I'll throw a quick salad together or heat up some green beans and call it good.  That gets boring day after day, let me tell you.  This cheesy broccoli orzo was a nice change of pace from my typical side dishes, and one that I will definitely be making more often.

Cheesy Broccoli Orzo

What you need:

1 cup orzo

1 head broccoli, chopped

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup milk

Salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

Add orzo to large pot of boiling water.  After a few minutes add the chopped broccoli in with the orzo. Cook until the broccoli and orzo is tender.  Drain well and return the broccoli/orzo to the pot.  Mix in the cheese and milk and stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  I didn't add any salt because the cheese made it plenty salty, but I added a bit of pepper.  At this point you could also add 1-2 tablespoons of butter to make it taste a little more rich but it's definitely not necessary.

This was so good, and even easier than throwing together a salad!  This will be making an appearance in my regular side dish rotation.  Next time I might add in some toasted pine nuts for some added texture.  You could also make this with rice, or any other shape pasta that you have on hand and it would be just as delicious.  If you make it with rice I would cook the broccoli separately and mix it together after they are both cooked.

I served this for dinner with salmon and brussels sprouts, and then I ate the leftovers for lunch for the next few days.  Delicious!

Tex Mex Enchiladas

Tex Mex enchiladas are not to be confused with authentic Mexican enchiladas.  Tex Mex enchiladas have a chili gravy sauce instead of the traditional red sauce.  Cole happens to love Tex Mex enchiladas, and I had never made homemade enchiladas prior to making these, (and then I proceeded to make them twice within something ridiculous like 4 days) so I decided to try it out.  For some reason I thought that these would be difficult to make.  I guess because you have to roll them up?  I don't know, I'm weird.  Risotto doesn't intimidate me but rolling cheese up in a tortilla does.  Some things you just can't explain.  Anyway, these Tex Mex enchiladas are super easy to make and come together really quickly.  I made them on a weeknight and we were eating by 7:30 (and I don't get home until 6:45 usually).

Tex Mex Enchiladas

What you need:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 flour

2 cups liquid (water, beef stock, chicken stock, etc.)

1 medium onion

1/2 teaspoon black pepper 

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

1 teaspoon powdered garlic 

2 teaspoon ground cumin 

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons chili power

8 corn tortillas

Shredded cheddar cheese

What you do:

Heat oil over medium-high heat and whisk in flour

Let flour/oil mixture cook until it turns light brown 

Mix in all the spices 

Add the liquid (I used chicken stock).  Let the sauce thicken up a bit.  

Put some of the chili gravy on the bottom of a greased glass baking dish.  Meanwhile, heat up the tortillas to make them

Put some cheese and onion in the middle of each tortilla.  

Roll them up and place them seam side down in the baking dish. 

Top with remaining gravy, onion and cheese.  Bake at 450* for 10 minutes, until the cheese is nice and melty.