Monday, June 30, 2014

Ranch Cubed Potatoes

Ingredients

2 to 3lbs cubed potatoes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 packet ranch seasoning mix

Directions

Preheat oven to 450.

Cube potatoes and put in large bowl. Pour oil over top and toss to coat. Pour ranch packet on top of that and toss to coat.

Spread onto shallow baking pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes.

Taco Grilled Cheese

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
Frozen potato crowns (about 24)
8 slices American cheese
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
butter (for spreading)
8 slices white bread

Directions
                   
Step 1: In a medium skillet over medium high heat, brown ground beef. Drain off any excess liquid and stir in the package of taco seasoning and ¾ cup of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes (or until the ground beef is fully cooked), stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cook the potato browns by either baking them in the oven or deep frying them according to package directions. Drain on paper towels (if deep frying).

Step 2: Pre-heat a skillet to medium high heat. Spread butter over one side of a slice of bread. Place butter side down into the skillet. Top with 2 slices American cheese, taco meat, potato crowns, and shredded Mexican cheese blend. Butter an additional slice of bread on one side and place it butter side up on top of the sandwich.

Step 3: Cook in the skillet until lightly browned on the bottom and flip over. Continue cooking until the other side has browned and the cheese has melted. Repeat with remaining sandwiches.

Healthy Mexican Casserole

INGREDIENTS

2 red bell peppers
2 green bell peppers
1 jalapeno or 2 chipotle peppers (optional - just for more kick)
½ red onion
2 cups frozen corn
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoon cumin
salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon is a good ballpark measure)
2 cups Mexican cheese (mine was a Sargento blend)
18-20 corn tortillas
1 can refried beans
2 cups red enchilada sauce
cilantro, guacamole, or sour cream for garnishments.

INSTRUCTIONS

Roast the veggies: Dice the peppers and mince the onions. Heat a large nonstick skillet with NO oil over high heat. Add the onion and peppers, sprinkle with chili and cumin, and do not stir. This allows the peppers to roast and brown on the outside. After a few minutes, give the pan a shake or stir and let the peppers sit again for a few more minutes without stirring. Remove and set aside. Repeat the roasting process with the corn, sprinkling with chili and cumin, removing from the heat when browned and roasted on the outside. Sprinkle the roasted veggies with a little bit of salt and toss to coat.

Prep the ingredients: Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tortillas into thin strips. Put the refried beans in a bowl and mix with a little bit of water to make them easier to spread.

Assemble: Spread a little bit of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Layer in order: half of the tortilla strips, ALL the beans, half of the veggies, half of the sauce, half of the cheese. Cover with the other half of the tortilla strips, veggies, sauce, and cheese.
Bake: Cover with foil (I usually spray mine with cooking spray) and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted. Serve with guacamole, fresh cilantro, sour cream, or anything in the world that you want.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

One Pot Chili Mac & Cheese

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 onion, diced
8 ounces ground beef
4 cups chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup canned white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
10 ounces elbows pasta
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion and ground beef, and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.

Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, beans, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a simmer and stir in pasta. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 13-15 minutes.
Remove from heat. Top with cheese and cover until melted, about 2 minutes.
Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin pan with non stick spray.
Stir together flour, salt, baking powder and chocolate chips in a large bowl. Combine milk, eggs, sugar, peanut butter and oil in a separate bowl; combine ingredients until just moistened. Do not over beat.

Fill 18 muffin tins. Top with a few chocolate chips. Bake for 14 minutes.

Tin Foil Hobo Dinner

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups carrots, thinly sliced
1 onion, diced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Worcestershire sauce
BBQ sauce
Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Use a large square piece of aluminum foil for each tin foil dinner.  Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.  Separate ground beef into 4 equal patties and place in the center of each piece of foil.  Divide potatoes, carrots, and onion evenly between all 4 dinners and place on top of meat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste.  Pour a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce on top of each dinner and fold foil up tightly around the entire meal.  Cook on a grill on medium-high heat or an open fire for 25-30 minutes, or until vegetables and meat are cooked through.  Open foil carefully and top with BBQ sauce and shredded cheese.

Firecracker Chicken

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup canola oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt
pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten
Sauce:
⅓ cup buffalo sauce (if you like more heat use hot sauce, like Frank’s brand)
1¼ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.

In separate bowls, place cornstarch and slightly beaten eggs. Dip chicken into cornstarch then coat in egg mixture. I have also found that you can put the cornstarch in a gallon sized bag and shake the chicken to coat.

Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken until browned. Place the chicken in a 9 x 13 greased baking dish.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, buffalo sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, water, salt and red pepper flakes. Pour over chicken and bake for 1 hour.
I stirred the chicken every 15 minutes so that it coated them in the sauce.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Grilled Veggie Burritos

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 cups Long Grain Rice
4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
2 whole Limes, Juiced And Zested
1/4 cup Chopped Cilantro
2 whole Zucchini, Cut Into Slices Lengthwise
1 whole Yellow Squash, Cut Into Slices Lengthwise
2 ears Corn, Leaves And Silk Removed
Olive Oil For Brushing
Salt For Sprinkling
1 can Seasoned Black Beans (15 Ounce Can)
6 whole Burrito-sized Flour Tortillas
1 whole Small Onion, Finely Chopped
2 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
1 cup Grated Monterey Jack Cheese
Optional Toppings: Salsa, Sour Cream, Guacamole, Extra Cilantro, Hot Sauce

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add rice and stir around for 2 minutes. Pour in chicken broth and the juice and zest of 1 lime. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20-25 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. Stir in the juice and zest from the remaining lime, then stir in the cilantro. Set aside.

Brush zucchini and squash slices, along with the ears of corn, with olive oil.

Sprinkle with salt. Grill them on a grill pan, a charcoal grill, or saute them in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, turning them halfway through. Remove when the veggies have great color on the outside.

Set aside to cool, then dice them.

Heat the beans in a small saucepan until hot.

Warm the tortillas in the microwave for 30 seconds.

To assemble the burritos, lay out each tortilla on your work surface. Spoon on rice, then beans, then sprinkle on plenty of grilled veggies. Top with chopped onion, tomato, cheese, and any other toppings you'd like. Spoon salsa all across the top. Tuck in the sides, then roll the burrito up as tightly as you can. Cut in half and chow down!

Monday, June 2, 2014

Enchiladas

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces ground beef
1 (4.5-ounce) can diced green chiles
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup canned corn kernels, drained
1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/4 cups Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
12 (6-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
1 Roma tomato, diced

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Pour 1 cup enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish; set aside.

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add ground beef, green chiles, salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.

In a large bowl, combine beef, corn, beans, 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese.

To assemble the enchiladas, lay tortilla on a flat surface and spoon 1/4 cup of the beef mixture in the center. Roll the tortilla and place seam side down onto prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and beef mixture. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheeses.
Place into oven and bake until bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro, avocado and tomato, if desired.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Homemade Chocolate Cream Pie

Ingredients:

½ c. cocoa
¼ cup cornstarch/or arrowroot powder (or ½ c. all purpose flour)
3 egg yolks
1 ½ c. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
2 c. milk

Directions:

Mix cocoa, cornstarch, beaten egg yolks; sugar and salt, then add milk gradually, while stirring in a pot over med-high heat. Cook until thick, beating it smooth. Cream pies take some time to thicken, so stir... and stir (10-15 min). Using a heavy bottom pan really helps. Just keep it up until it thickens. Pour into a pre-baked pie shell. Put in the fridge to chill, add whipped cream if you like, Or use the left over egg whites for a meringue topping!

Easy Pie Crust

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 1/3 cups Shortening
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
1/2 cup Water
6 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour

Directions:

Combine the 2 1/2 cups flour, shortening, and salt, in a bowl and blend with a fork until it forms pea sized crumbs. In a small container with a lid combine 6 Tablespoons flour and 1/2 cup water and shake until combined.

Pour onto the shortening mixture and gently combine. Be GENTLE. The more you work the dough the tougher it gets. Form into a ball and lay on a floured surface. 

Cut into 4 pieces. You will have enough dough for the top and bottom of 2 pies. Take one of the quarters and roll it into a ball and then flatten it with your palm. Flour the top and start rolling from the middle, turning a quarter turn with each roll. 

Don’t hesitate to sprinkle your surface or the top of your dough with more flour so it doesn’t stick. When it is about 12 inches in diameter place the dough over the rolling pin and lay onto your pie dish.
For one pie crust cut and crimp the edges and and poke holes in the bottom with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. 

For a double crust, put in the filling before cutting the edge of the bottom crust. Water you fingers and wet the edge of the bottom crust slightly. Place on the top crust, cut the extra and crimp the dough all the way around. Make steam holes in the top, sprinkle with sugar, and bake at 375 degrees on a metal cookie sheet(it helps to cook the bottom crust), for 50-60 minutes. The crust should be slightly browned and the filling should be bubbling through the steam holes.