how a kitchen appliance earns its keep

Since settling into its new home on my kitchen counter, my new Cuisinart has earned its keep by getting used on a regular basis. So far with it I have made:

• Cantaloupe Soup. I couldn't wait for warmer weather to try it, and cantaloupes went on sale, so I made some the other night for dinner. I think, though, that I'll share the recipe when I make it again this summer. So hang tight because it'll be worth the wait.
• Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. It was good, but this recipe still needs some tweaking. I will share it when I get it right.
• I had a hey day grating cheese. It was pretty glorious, if I may say so.
• I crushed cookies to make Oreo Truffles, and crackers to make Butter Cracker Chicken Nuggets (I used Town House crackers, halved the recipe, and didn't double dip the chicken, and it turned out just fine). Both were delicious.
• Chocolate Malted Milkshakes (no recipe, just throw all the good stuff in the jar and blend it up!) and the old standby Provo High foods class Smoothies (basically just milk, yogurt, a little sugar, a little vanilla, and fruit of your choice). I don't think I need to tell you that these were also delicious.
• Today I pureed some butternut squash and apples to make baby food for Caleb. It turns out that there is a food he doesn't so much care for: apples. I guess they're a little too tart for his tastes.

Last night's dinner, however, which required the use of the food processor, takes the cake. My friend, Erin, introduced me to a recipe of NieNie's called Mexican Lasagna. And, oh, it was to die for. Here is her recipe; my alterations will follow.

Mexican Lasagna

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
4 scallions, coarsely chopped
1 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
10 oz fresh baby spinach
nonstick cooking spray
8 (6") corn tortillas
1 (15.5 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup prepared salsa
8 oz pepper jack cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 425. In a food processor, combine cilantro, scallions, salt, and pepper with as much spinach as will fit; pulse, adding remaining spinach in batches, until coarsely chopped. Coat an 8" square baking dish with cooking spray. Lay 4 tortillas in bottom of dish, overlapping slightly. Layer with half of beans, salsa, spinach mixture, and cheese; repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with cheese and pressing gently. Cover dish with foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until bubbling, 25-30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until golden, 15-20 minutes. Cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

I got a little impatient with the whole spinach chopping process, so I actually only chopped up maybe 7 oz worth. It turned out to be plenty, though. Also, I can't find pinto beans at my grocery store, so I used pink beans instead and they worked just fine. I rarely have good experiences cooking with corn tortillas, so I decided to use flour. And furthermore, I decided to make them myself using the last bit of a White Wings tortilla mix. It really didn't take a lot of extra time, but it was certainly worth every bit of extra effort.

I served it with tortilla chips and a slightly altered version of my friend Kristie's amazing guacamole recipe (1-2 avocados, 4 oz cream cheese, 1/2 cup salsa, whipped together in the food processor). My avocado's were a little overripe, so the guacamole looked pretty suspicious, but you wouldn't know it to taste it.

So if you're in the mood for an easy south-of-the-border dish for dinner some night, this one comes highly recommended by me.