Amy's Mexican Casserole

I went to Whole Foods the other day and was browsing the frozen food aisle for some ideas for a quick lunch for work. I decided to pick this up because it looked good (and it was on sale). When I first took it out, it looked tiny. After 5 minutes in the microwave, it smelled great! I was getting hungrier by the second. The casserole is basically layers of masa (the cornmeal mixture that's used in tamales), with corn, black beans, cheese and enchilada sauce. Even though it looked small, it filled me up and was really tasty! The textures and flavors were very good for a frozen meal. I will definitely be getting this again.
Nutrition Info: 370 Calories, 16 grams of fat, 12 grams of protein

South Beach Food & Wine Festival

The day I had been waiting for finally arrived! The Grand Tasting for the South Beach Food & Wine Festival. My sister, friends & I were ready for a day of food network stars, great food and amazing wines. Our first stop at Noon was Tent A, where we saw Tyler Florence cook up a delicious pizza with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, sausage, and arugula.



Then we ventured around looking for something to whet our appetites before the Grand Tasting opened at 1:00 pm. The Delta Lounge had great pomegranate martinis and the Publix Tent had sushi, cheese, and Moet Chandon. There was also a great station with chocolate fondue. Right before the Grand Tasting we headed back to Tent A to see Paula Deen, my idol! She looked great, and so did her son Bobby...In a perfect world I would marry Bobby then Paula could be my mother in law.



Now to the Grand Tasting! It seemed even bigger than last year (if that's even possible?). We got to try so many delicious foods and wine. Some of the food highlights were lobster bisque, spicy cocktail shrimp, and a mini meatball sandwich. Some great wines were the Grgich Hills Cab and Beam Estates Pinot Noir. Also, the Belvedere booth made an awesome vanilla martini.

All in all, it was such a fun event. I hope I get to return next year!

Magic Bullet Expirement: Tuna Salad

So tonight I used my new Magic Bullet to make Tuna Salad. They make it look easy in the infomercial, right? I read the "Pulse & Tap technique" for making chicken salad, and decided to try it out on Tuna. Well...it didn't work out so well. The tuna near the bottom came out like a paste, and the top remained basically unscathed. It looked really unappetizing (though it did taste like tuna), so I won't put up the picture of the finished product. I think the Magic Bullet works best for drinks/sauces/soups, but I'll keep trying it out!

Magic Bullet Expirement: Tomato Soup

I got a Magic Bullet Blender for Christmas but I still had yet to try it out until last night. What a great tool! I was hungry, so I didn't really read the directions vwey well, but the tomato soup came out creamy & delicious. Plus, the clean up was really easy. I would highly recommend it, especially if you're cooking for one (like me!)

Tomato Soup Recipe:
2/3 cup Homemade Tomato Sauce (or a great, jarred marinara)
2/3 cup Chicken Stock (I use Imagine, which is really good)
4 tbsp Half & Half
Combine all the ingredients, then blend in Magic Bullet until smooth. Then heat in Microwave for about 2 minutes. Garnish with Fresh Parmesan. It makes 2 side servings or one big one.

I'm in the Pillsbury Bake-Off

One thing I’m very excited about is competing in the Pillsbury Bake-Off this year. This was the 1st cooking contest I had ever submitted a recipe to, and I’m so lucky to have been chosen as one of the finalists! As a finalist, I’ll be competing with 99 others for the grand prize of $1,000,000 (plus GE appliances) in Dallas April 13 - 15.

My recipe is called Blue Cheesy Prosciutto Appetizer Pizza. It’s in the Entertaining Appetizer category. It’s tasty and very easy to make.

Please go to Pillsbury Bake-Off Site to view my recipe and make sure to vote for America’s Favorite Recipe!