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Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding
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Thursday, April 1, 2010
Meatloaf - Spicy with a side of sass!
I am not usually a big meatloaf fan, and it is not something I have tried to cook before. I am a huge lover of green chilies, and I tend to put them into as many recipes as I can. That being said...I bet you can guess what I added to my meatloaf that added the perfect kick!
I didn't know where to start with how to make meatloaf, so I researched meatloaf recipes. I decided to use Paula Deen's Old Fashioned Meatloaf as a base, and then I tweaked it. I wanted to add the green chilies and also garlic. I was surprised hers didn't call for that. I also left out the bell pepper she used, namely because I didn't have one. I just used more onion instead. My ingredients list was:
For the Meatloaf
3/4 pound of ground beef
1/2 pound of ground pork (Publix sells these mix together already in their meat department)
1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of garlic (It was a heaping teaspoon)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 lightly beaten egg
1 can of Rotel Tomatoes with Green Chilies - drained
1/2 cup of quick-cooking oats
Topping
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of mustard
1/3 cup of ketchup
Preheat the oven to 375 and lightly spray your baking dish.
Mix all of the meatloaf ingredients together in a bowl. Take the mix and put it in your baking dish and shape into a loaf form. Then, mix together your topping ingredients and spread on the loaf.
Pop it into the oven and cook for about 1 hour. Mine cooked for an hour and ten minutes.
Take it out of the oven and enjoy! We had ours with some garlic mash potatoes and it was perfect. This recipe has a bit of a kick to it, but in the best possible way! This will definitely be made at our house over and over again.
I didn't know where to start with how to make meatloaf, so I researched meatloaf recipes. I decided to use Paula Deen's Old Fashioned Meatloaf as a base, and then I tweaked it. I wanted to add the green chilies and also garlic. I was surprised hers didn't call for that. I also left out the bell pepper she used, namely because I didn't have one. I just used more onion instead. My ingredients list was:
For the Meatloaf
3/4 pound of ground beef
1/2 pound of ground pork (Publix sells these mix together already in their meat department)
1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of garlic (It was a heaping teaspoon)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 lightly beaten egg
1 can of Rotel Tomatoes with Green Chilies - drained
1/2 cup of quick-cooking oats
Topping
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of mustard
1/3 cup of ketchup
Preheat the oven to 375 and lightly spray your baking dish.
Mix all of the meatloaf ingredients together in a bowl. Take the mix and put it in your baking dish and shape into a loaf form. Then, mix together your topping ingredients and spread on the loaf.
Pop it into the oven and cook for about 1 hour. Mine cooked for an hour and ten minutes.
Take it out of the oven and enjoy! We had ours with some garlic mash potatoes and it was perfect. This recipe has a bit of a kick to it, but in the best possible way! This will definitely be made at our house over and over again.
Labels:
green chilies,
ground beef,
meatloaf
Monday, March 15, 2010
Taco Bake
Kraft Taco Bake
1 pkg (14 oz) Kraft (or any really) Macaroni and Cheese Dinner
1 lb ground beef
1/8 cup chopped onions
1 pkg taco seasoning
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup of chunky salsa
Heat the oven to 400F. Prepare the mac and cheese dinner as directed on package. While that is cooking, saute your onions in a LITTLE bit of butter or oil. When translucent, add meat and cook until no more pink shows. Drain out the fat and move back to heat and add taco seasoning until mixed in well, remove from heat. Stir the sour cream in to the mac & cheese, spoon 1/2 of this mixture in to a 8 in square baking dish. Top with a layer of the meat, then 1 cup of the cheese, and finally the rest of the mac; cover with foil. Bake for 15 minutes, take out and top with salsa (or not if you're like my husband) and then cheese on top of that. Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Enjoy! It's really quite easy!
Labels:
Hamburger,
Mexican Food
Monday, March 8, 2010
Chicken and Dumplings
So, I had been wanting to try to make chicken and dumplings for some time now...namely because I had never had them before. They sounded interesting, so I thought, why not. Plus, Jacob got really excited when I mentioned making them.
Since I didn't know what they should taste like, I read a bunch of different recipies and decided on two that I thought sounded good...so I took a little from this and a little from that, and BAM! Chicken and dumplings. Here is what I did. (Please excuse the picture quality...they were taken with my iPhone...)
For the chicken portion, I used this recipe from Baking Bites.
Ingredients:
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
40-oz chicken stock
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
3-4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
**I also added some Italian seasoning to it and it was YUM!
And for the Buttermilk-Chive Dumplings, I used a recipe from Tyler Florence, which I found here. Note, I didn't have chives, so I used dried parsley. That was a good decision... Also, this could be cut down by a fourth. I didn't know that before I started, but I had a bit left and also had some huge dumplings.
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup chopped chives (or parsley)
1 cup buttermilk
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Once the chicken is brought to a boil, you can start dropping in spoonfuls of the dumplings. My pot wasn't really wide enough, so they ended up touching and cooking. Guess what. It wasn't the end of the world! I let them sit in there with the lid on for about 13 minutes. Next time I would make my spoonfuls a bit smaller, but like I said, they were still delicious!
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Since I didn't know what they should taste like, I read a bunch of different recipies and decided on two that I thought sounded good...so I took a little from this and a little from that, and BAM! Chicken and dumplings. Here is what I did. (Please excuse the picture quality...they were taken with my iPhone...)
For the chicken portion, I used this recipe from Baking Bites.
Ingredients:
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
40-oz chicken stock
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
3-4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
**I also added some Italian seasoning to it and it was YUM!
And for the Buttermilk-Chive Dumplings, I used a recipe from Tyler Florence, which I found here. Note, I didn't have chives, so I used dried parsley. That was a good decision... Also, this could be cut down by a fourth. I didn't know that before I started, but I had a bit left and also had some huge dumplings.
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup chopped chives (or parsley)
1 cup buttermilk
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To make the dumplings: Take the dry ingredients and sift them into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and chives/parsley. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together until it's a cake batter like consistency.
It's good to have a helper around to clean up the floor behind you as you go....
It's good to have a helper around to clean up the floor behind you as you go....
To make the chicken portion, all you do is heat up a large pot or dutch oven and add the celery, carrots and onions. Leave them in there for about 5 minutes while they sweat it out. Then throw in the garlic and leave it along for another couple minutes. Add in the chicken stock, salt, pepper, thyme, (Italian seasoning if you so choose) and chicken to the pot (remember, the chicken should be cooked and shredded already. Mine was still pretty frozen when I pulled it out of the fridge, so I cubed it and then boiled it and it worked just fine. It was also super quick!) Bring this to a boil.
Once the chicken is brought to a boil, you can start dropping in spoonfuls of the dumplings. My pot wasn't really wide enough, so they ended up touching and cooking. Guess what. It wasn't the end of the world! I let them sit in there with the lid on for about 13 minutes. Next time I would make my spoonfuls a bit smaller, but like I said, they were still delicious!
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So maybe my dumplings looked a bit more like biscuits than dumplings, but that's ok. They were great, and the chicken portion was YUM!! I have actually thought about taking it and turning it into a chicken soup recipe. Jacob agreed, he really enjoyed it!
Conclusion: If this is what chicken and dumplings are all about, I'm sad I have gone this long without them!! I will definitely be making this again.
Conclusion: If this is what chicken and dumplings are all about, I'm sad I have gone this long without them!! I will definitely be making this again.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Sausage Dip
One of mine and Ashley's trademark dips for parties has become... dun, dun, dun... THE SAUSAGE DIP. Everyone loves it. I mean EVERYONE. And well, it's pretty much expected of us now. SO... we thought we'd share so we're not always the only ones making it! Here's the recipe. Enjoy!
Sausage Dip
1/2 and onion (or about a 1/2 cup pre-chopped frozen onions)
2 lbs Jimmy Dean sausage
4 tomatoes diced OR 2 (16 oz) cans of diced tomatoes
8 0z of chopped green chilies
Saute the onions in butter (there's that butter again) until golden brown...not burnt. Stir in sausage and cook thoroughly. Add tomatoes and chilies.
8 oz cream cheese
16 oz sour cream
Melt cream cheese and sour cream in a crock pot. Add the sausage mixture. (You can even add this before the cream cheese is totally melted, because it will help in the melting process.) Cook thoroughly stirring often to melt all the cheese!
Don't forget to take what my dad calls, a scritch (small taste) often and eat with your fave tortilla chips!
Sausage Dip
1/2 and onion (or about a 1/2 cup pre-chopped frozen onions)
2 lbs Jimmy Dean sausage
4 tomatoes diced OR 2 (16 oz) cans of diced tomatoes
8 0z of chopped green chilies
Saute the onions in butter (there's that butter again) until golden brown...not burnt. Stir in sausage and cook thoroughly. Add tomatoes and chilies.
8 oz cream cheese
16 oz sour cream
Melt cream cheese and sour cream in a crock pot. Add the sausage mixture. (You can even add this before the cream cheese is totally melted, because it will help in the melting process.) Cook thoroughly stirring often to melt all the cheese!
Don't forget to take what my dad calls, a scritch (small taste) often and eat with your fave tortilla chips!
Labels:
cream cheese,
dips,
party food,
sausage
Monday, March 1, 2010
Creamy Chicken Enchiladas with Red Sauce
First, the Sauce: 2 tbsp vegetable oil 2 tbsp flour 2 tbsp chili powder 1/2 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 2 cups water (warmer is better) 1 8 oz (or 12 or 6... I haven't found an 8 oz can yet, but if you have gold star for you) can of tomato paste 1 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp salt *secret ingredient 1/2-1 tsp SUGAR! Depending on your liking
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Labels:
Enchiladas,
Mexican Food
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