Lemon-Berry Bundles

Oh yes! It's a party in your mouth with this delicious bit of goodness. It all started with a friend Julie, who made Apple Dumplings for our Thanksgiving Bible Study fellowship. I have to admit, I didn't try them, although everyone raved on and on. My dear friend, Jen, made them the other night using Julie's recipe and would not stop talking about them. Then, Jen convinced our friend Jason to have his wife Candace make them. So, then Jen and Jason were both raving on and on. So, I caved. I made the Apple Dumplings on Tuesday and OH. MY. GOSH. If I were Catholic, I would've gone to confession, they were that sinfully good.

I could not stop thinking about them. The sugary goodness at the bottom of the pan, the ice cream melted on top, the delightful apple cinnamon flavor. Am I making your mouth water? So, I decided to create my own version, using the same basic recipe but adding a bit of "Jenny" to it. It's a party in your mouth for sure, and a wonderful new spin on an already-perfect dessert. I call mine Lemon-Berry Bundles.

48 blackberries
2 sticks butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 sm can Mountain Dew or 1/2 can of 12 oz. can
juice from 1 small lemon
2 cans crescent rolls
1.5 cups sugar
cinnamon

Roll 3 blackberries in each crescent roll. Place in a 9x13 buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla and lemon juice, stir, and pour over the rolled blackberries. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top. Then go to confession - quickly!!!

Juana Enchiladas!

Last night, I created and perfected what I now call JUANA ENCHILADAS! The name Juana Enchiladas comes from my high school Spanish name. My sophmore year, my Spanish teacher gave us all Spanish names, mine became Juana. Since I took Spanish all throughout high school and college the name stuck amongst my Spanish classmates and friends. I love so much about the Spanish culture so the name has so much love behind it. I hope you enjoy the food as much I enjoyed making it into my own creation.

Juana Enchiladas:
8 corn tortillas
1 lb ground beef
1/2 small onion
1 can (15 oz) Tomato sauce
Shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese
Shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp hot cayenne pepper (2 tsp if you like it extra hot!)
1 tsp chili powder

Preheat oven to 350. Ground the beef and saute the chopped/diced onion in the same pan until cooked. Put the beef/onion mixture in a medium bowl and add 1 tsp tomato sauce and a handful of Sharp Cheddar cheese and mix well. Place the tortillas in a paper towel and warm in microwave for 40 seconds. Spoon the beef mixture into each tortilla, roll and place in a 9 x 13 baking dish with seam side down. For the sauce, mix the remainder of the tomato sauce, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and chili powder. If there is any leftover beef mix, I add that to the sauce as well. Pour the sauce over the tortillas in the baking dish. Sprinkle as much Monterrey Jack cheese as you like to cover the top of the enchiladas. I don't measure, I just coat it (you can never have too much cheese in my opinion) until it looks pretty. Then place in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Sometimes, I add some shredded lettuce as a garnish once it comes out of the oven, but not every time.

Feliz comiendo!