Cheesy Taco Casserole

Taco Casserole from Pillsbury

Look at the cheesy goodness. This dish is so good and a great way to stretch out a family meal. We had enough leftovers for lunch the next day plus it was rather inexpensive to make.

Ingredients
1 package refridgerated biscuits
olives sliced
cheddar and mozzerella cheese grated
1 lb hamburger meat
whatever veggies you want - mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes
1 packet taco seasoning (or make your own)
1 cup hot sauce or salsa

*Preheat oven to 350
*Cut biscuits into smaller pieces to fit into dish and coat with hot sauce or salsa
* Sprinkle half the cheeses over top with the olives
*Bake in the oven for 15 to 18 minutes
* While baking - saute the onions and veggies in a pan until cooked
* Add the hamburger and brown until done
* Add the seasoning
* Pour over the top of the cheesy biscuits
* Add another layer of cheese
*Bake another 8 minutes or until cheese is bubbly

Serve immediately



Yum

Pioneer Woman's Stovetop Macraroni and Cheese

I keep seeing this over and over on different blogs. The pictures make me want to drool. Seriously. I usually eat mac and cheese out of a little box and the one time I made homemade macaroni and cheese it was not so creamy - but still good. This looked so creamy, that I knew the next one I'd try would be this one.

Ingredients
4 cups dried macaroni
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 heaping teaspoons dry mustard
1 egg, beaten
1 pound cheese, grated (I used half cheddar and half monterey jack)
1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt (more to taste)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Cook macaroni in a pot until done
Drain and set aside
In a large pot, melt butter and add flour in gradually
Stir together for five minutes
Pour in milk and mustard and stir until smooth
Cook until the sauce thickens
Reduce heat and stir in the egg until smooth
Add cheese and stir until melted
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the macaroni into the sauce and stir to combine

Serve immediately

or you could top it with cheese and bake it, but really serve immediately.

Italian Pepper Pasta with homemade sauce

Macaroni Grill used to have a sausage and pepper pasta. I would order it all the time. It came with peppers, onions, chicken, feta cheese in a spicy tomato sauce or Arrabbiata Sauce.

The sauce is very easy to make on your own. It takes very few ingredients and what you are left with is a delicious dish.

Ingredients
Red bell pepper - chopped
Onion - chopped
Spaghetti - cooked

Sauce from Epicurious.com
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 14 1/2-ounce cans petite diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used a chardonnay)
1 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Saute onion and garlic with red pepper flakes. Add the bell pepper
Add the tomatoes with juice and the wine bring to a boil
Turn down the heat and simmer about 10 minutes or until it thickens
Season with salt and pepper to taste

Add to pasta and toss with feta cheese.

Pioneer Woman's Potato Bundles

I have wanted to make this since I saw it because it seems like an easy clean up version of oven fries. I love oven fries. So when we were getting ready to make tri-tip again, I made these. It seems like half a potato works well portion wise and it seems like so much more than just a potato sitting on your plate. We had bought two big potatoes and it seemed like we really only needed to use one for the two of us. What a great way to stretch the groceries out.

Pioneer Woman's Potato Bundles

Russet potatoes - cut into chunks
Yellow or white onion - cut into chunks
Butter
Heavy cream
Salt
Paprika
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced parsley

Place a peace of foil down and add a handful of potatoes and onions
Top with a slice of butter
Pour some heavy cream on top
Add the spices - salt, pepper, paprika and parsley
Fold into pouches and place on a baking sheet
Bake at 375 for 45 minutes

This is a really great recipe because it is so interchangeable - you could add some peppers, tomatoes, cheese, any spices you want really and it would turn out fabulous.

Mario Batali Spaghetti Sauce

I saw this on the shelf at the store and I had no idea that he made spaghetti sauce. However it looked good. There were three kinds, we chose Tomato Basil. Its made with san marzano tomatoes and fresh basil. It looked really chunky and good. So I decided to give it a try.

I made it with a package of Trader Joe's linguine, grilled chicken breasts and mushrooms. I sprinkled some shaved parmesan on top. I think it came together really good.

I also made some cheesy garlic bread to go with it. Except this time instead of slicing the bread, I just cut the loaf in half and baked it that way. It came out really good. I think it was less maintence that way.

Two new things to try

I love food blogs and I've been seeing a lot of posts about these two things:



Peanut Butter & Co's Dark Chocolate Dreams
(basically chocolate and peanut butter in a jar! yum!)

and

Barney Butter (or Almond Butter)

I grabbed both to try out and definetly worth it. Both were really good.

I think the chocolate peanut butter was really really really good. Like a peanut butter cup in a jar. Peanut butter cups are my favorite candy ever. I think having this in the house is dangerous.
The almond butter - well tasted like peanut butter - but apparently its better for you with more vitamins and minerals.

Moist Yellow Cake

I made these for Aaron's birthday. I've been wanting to make yellow cake for awhile because its my favorite cake. Aaron likes really any cake thats not chocolate. He doesn't mind chocolate frosting though as long as there isn't a lot of it. The cake was soft and moist. I would definetly make it again.

Ingredients
3 cups cake flour
1 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line two cupcake pans with liners

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. With a mixer cream the butter and suger. Add the eggs one at a time.

4. Reduce the mixer speed. Stir vanilla into the buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.

5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans.

6. Center the pans onto the lower third of the oven and let bake 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I used this frosting and some store bought sprinkles.

I think they came out great.
The recipe was from epicurious.com

Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

I had some fresh blueberries sitting in my fridge that I didn't know what to do with. I've been wanting to make a coffee cake for awhile since my husband loves coffee cake. So I decided to find a recipe for a coffee cake to make. So I went to my favorite recipe hunting ground - recipezaar and found one that looked good.

Ingredients

Cake
1 cup blueberries
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

Streusel
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened

Combine the blueberries and 2 T flour;
toss gently and set aside.

Combine 1/2 cup butter, 2 cups flour,
2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 cup sugar
and 3/4 cup milk in a large bowl.

Beat 2 minutes at medium speed with an electric mixer.

Add egg; beat one minute.

Fold in blueberries.

Spread batter evenly in a greased and floured 9-inch square pan.

Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon in a bowl;

cut in 1/4 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Spread this mixture over the batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Slow Cooker Frijoles a la Charra

I made these for Aaron's birthday to go with some chicken enchiladas I was making. These were really easy and the flavor was really complex. There was a lot going on. It was kind of smoky and spicy. They were good. A lot of prep work, but really not a lot to do once it was all in the pot.

Ingredients
1 pound dry pinto beans
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound bacon, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 fresh tomatoes, diced
1 (3.5 ounce) can sliced jalapeno peppers
1 (12 fluid ounce) can beer
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro


Place pinto beans in a slow cooker, and completely cover with water.

Mix in garlic and salt. Cover, and cook 1 hour on High.

Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium high heat until evenly brown, but still tender.

Drain about half the fat. Place onion in the skillet, and cook until tender.

Mix in tomatoes and jalapenos, and cook until heated through.

Transfer to the slow cooker, stirring into the beans.

Cover slow cooker, and continue cooking 4 hours on Low.

Mix in the beer and cilantro about 30 minutes before the end of the cook time.

Tasty Trader Joe's Lunch

We went to Trader Joe's yesterday and I was excited that we were actually on our way home, so we could get some things from the refridgerated section and freezer section. I picked up some Thai Shrimp Gyoza and edamame. I made some up for a quick lunch and it was really good. Especially since it was ready in only 8 minutes.

I love fruit stands

Local fruit stands are all over around where I live. There is one not too far from where I live, but we hardly ever go by it because its more towards the country. Its called the Fruit Bowl. They have gelato and a restaurant. However the fruit is really good there. You can buy it by the flat or the bucket.
We were driving by on the way back from lunch at one of our favorite country restaurants and decided to stop.

We picked up the best cataloupe for only $1.50. Yum!

Do you shop local farmers markets/fruit stands? You should definetly give it a try.

Simple Tangy Steak Marinade

Let me show you one of my favorite marinades for steak

Lets start with two juicy steaks

Add the juice of 1 lemon



Lots of crushed peppercorns



and lots of garlic put through a garlic press.. lots of garlic



It doesn't need long to marinade because of the lemon juice maybe 30 - 45 minutes

Grill and serve

Yummy!

Slow Cooker Barbeque Shredded Beef

Sometimes you need something you can just throw in the slow cooker and know it will be good. I was a little worried about making this because of the root beer. I've never really cooked with soda before so I was a little uneasy about the outcome.

It was good. It gave the meat a little sweetness. It definetly made it easy to shred. The only thing was as it cooked down, I didnt have more to add, so I just added water. Which was fine. It might have been sweeter if I had more - but i actually thought this came out just fine.

My husband actually ate his whole sandwich and half of mine. Then took the rest to work the next day for lunch. I guess he liked it.

Ingredients
1 pot roast (whatever size you want)
1 can of root beer (we used a 20 ounce bottle)
salt and pepper
1 bottle of barbeque sauce (whatever kind you like - we like sweet baby rays)

1. Turn the crockpot on low and put the pot roast in
2. salt and pepper the meat
3. add the bottle of root beer
4. cover and let cook for 7.5 hours on low
5. drain the pot roast
6. put back in slow cooker
7. Add bottle of barbeque sauce and let simmer for 30 minutes
8. dish up and serve. We ate ours on buns - but however you like it is fine

Trader Joe's Product Rave: Trader Ming's Soyaki Marinade

I've been eyeing this for weeks at the store. It looks so good with the sesame seeds floating in it. You can see the ginger too. It has to be good...

and it is. Its not that sweet. For sweetness, I guess you would have to go for Island Soyaki which has the additional of Pineapple Juice. I almost got that one instead but I thought it might be too sweet. I think the soy sauce cuts the sweetness that traditional teriyaki sauces have. The addition of the ginger was really good.

I marinaded chicken in it for about an hour, grilled it up and served it with white rice and voila a quick and easy meal.

Corn Quesadillas

If you read my blog you know that we love mexican food. So when I saw this on a menu at a restaurant I knew it was something I wanted to try to duplicate at home.

It really couldn't be simplier and its really tasty. Its nice to have a veggie option that my husband will eat. I think the sweetness of the corn and the creaminess of the cheese really made this something I would make again.

I love new twists on old favorites.

Ingredients
1 large flour tortilla

kernel corn off the cob
1 handful of cilantro

diced tomatoes

black beans

diced red peppers

diced jalepenos

diced onions

monterey jack cheese

butter

1. butter one side of a tortilla and place in a non stick pan over medium heat

2. add cheese and allow to melt a bit
3. Add corn, cilantro, red peppers, jalepenos, and onions.

4. fold over and serve with black bean salsa

Sugar Cookies

Super Soft Sugar Cookies

I got this recipe from the Crisco container. I was really surprised how soft and moist they turned out. I don't really cook with Crisco a lot. Some of my cookies have came out a little flat, so I decided to give crisco a try. I think they came out perfect.

Definetly something I would make again.

Crisco Recipe

1/2 c. Butter flavored Crisco
1 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk

Cream Crisco, sugar, egg and extract.
Add combined dry ingredients alternately with milk.
Chill 1 hour.

Roll into balls and flatten onto a cookie sheet

Bake at 400 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes

Pioneer Woman's Pasta ala Marlboro Man

or aka Meatloaf Pasta because thats what the sauce tasted like.. it was delicious. Very meaty, I think next time I'll make it with a smaller pasta like penne. It was good though.

I love meatloaf, My husband does not. I think this is the sneaky way of getting the flavor I love in something he will eat. mwahaha.

Pasta alla Marlboro Man
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 generous teaspoon ground thyme
2 14-ounce cans whole tomatoes
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
1 1/2 to 2 pounds rigatoni

Heat olive oil in large skillet or pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook a couple of minutes, until starting to turn translucent. Add garlic and stir, cooking 1 minute, making sure not to brown the garlic.
Add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain most of excess fat.
Add salt, pepper, and ground thyme. Stir to combine.
Dump in canned tomatoes with their juice. Stir, reduce heat to low, and cover pot. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring a couple of times.

Uncover the pot and cook an additional 30 minutes.
Add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese before serving

Cook rigatoni according to package directions—don’t overcook! Drain and place individual portions into bowls.
Stir in 1/4 to 1/2 cup grated Parmesan into the sauce. Check and adjust seasonings. Ladle sauce over cooked pasta, sprinkle with more Parmesan, and serve.

Bobby Flay's Homemade Texas Toast

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cloves garlic, pureed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 loaf good white bread, cut into 1-inch thick slices
1/2 cup mozzerella cheese
italian seasoning

Directions
Mix together the butter and garlic in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Brush both sides of the bread with the butter and place in the oven. Bake the bread for 1 to 2 minutes per side until lightly golden brown. Sprinkle with cheese and italian seasoning and broil until melted.

Chicken Romano

Awhile back my friend Jennifer and I went to the cheesecake factory because she had never been. I had Chicken Romano because the people next to me were having it and it looked good. They subbed the tomato sauce on the spaghetti for white sauce .. so I did too. Why not.

It was very good. I vowed to make it again at home and Jenn and I sat there and tried to figure out how. panko bread crumbs - she said and I agreed. Until I found a recipe online - and it said nothing about panko. So I did threw some panko in with the flour to give it some crunch..like we remembered and I thought it turned out perfect. I could be wrong. Maybe I should go again to make sure :)

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons romano cheese
salt and pepper
1 egg
2 teaspoons water

Directions
1. Whisk together the egg, and the water.

2. Pound out chicken breasts to, at most, 1/2 inch thick.

3. Season the flour with salt and pepper, and coat the chicken lightly. Sprinkle with panko bread crumbs

4. Then dip in egg, and cover with shredded Romano.

5. Place in frying pan on medium high, with a little bit of oil.

6. Cook until golden brown.

As for the pasta, its regular spaghetti with a white sauce.

Basic white sauce:

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Melt butter in a sauce pan and whisk in flour and salt until smooth. Gradually stir in cold milk, cooking over direct heat and stirring constantly until sauce boils; reduce heat slightly and continue to stir until sauce becomes smooth and thick. When sauce thickens, simmer for an additional 10 minutes over very low heat, stirring occasionally.
Stir carefully to avoid lumps. If sauce becomes lumpy, use a stick blender or rotary beater to blend out lumps or else press through a sieve. Wondra flour may be used to great advantage since this flour does not have a tendency to lump.

garnished it all with some more sprinkled cheese and served it. It was really good!

Spicy Carne Asada Tacos

Aaron's Spicy Carne Asada Tacos

My husband loves tacos from the taco trucks.. so much that he actually made this recipe up for quick at home taco truck tacos...

Ingredients

1 lb carne asada cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup tarasco
2 tbs chili powder
1 tbs red chili flakes
1 red chili - diced
1 cup cilantro - chopped
1/2 cup onions -chopped
1 cup pico de gallo
1/2 lb monterey jack

directions
1. Saute carne asada in a pan season with the spices and the tarasco and let cook until done
2. throw peppers in at the last minute and saute a bit
3. Garnish with pico de gallo, monterey jack, onions and cilantro and serve.