Friday, August 5, 2011

Crock-pot Pork Chops and Taters

I haven't blogged for a while..... It's summer, it's hot, and I don't feel like cooking!!  That is why I LOVE my crock-pot. This is a recipe I found in a crock-pot recipe book. I chose it because it only had a few ingredients, and it ended up being one of my favorite recipes, even tho I am not generally a pork fan.




 Crock-Pot Pork Chops and Taters

 6-8 boneless pork chops
3-4 (ish) pounds of potatoes ( I like to use either red or yellow potatoes)
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
Pepper to taste

~ Just throw everything in your crock-pot and cook 6 hours on low. YUM!
~ If you really aren't a fan of pork, chicken can be substituted. Still YUM!!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Taco Seasoning

I've always bought packaged taco seasoning, and would not be happy when I wanted tacos and didn't have any. Then one day I decided to make some of my own, just to see. I will NEVER buy taco seasoning again! Homemade is so much better, and SO much cheaper!!



Taco Seasoning

2 tablespoons chili powder
5 teaspoons paprika
4 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons onion powder
2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
Salt to taste

This makes enough for about 3 pounds of ground hamburger.  Add about 1/3 cup of water and enjoy!

Pair this with fresh salsa, and you are in taco heaven!! :)

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Cheater Fish Tacos with Chipotle Mayo

I am not a big fist eater. At all. I will however eat fish sticks, and breaded fillets (like Long John Silvers!). Hubby saw a commercial for frozen fish fillets, and they said they would be great for fish tacos! Hmm I thought, that would be something different. So I bought some frozen beer battered fish fillets, baked them and used them for fish tacos.

Usually this wouldn't warrant a whole post, however, I discovered a little magic to add to these tacos....

Back up about a month ago. Hubby and I went out to eat at Granite City. I ordered shrimp tacos. I don't know why I did this. I don't like shrimp that much, but they sounded good so I ordered them. They were so good! They came with this sauce that was amazing. I didn't really know what it was, but I was determined to duplicate it.

  Then I forgot about it........
Until Tuesday night. I was looking for a sauce to put on my fish tacos. I searched fish tacos on Allrecipes.com, and was looking thru the posts and came across a Chipotle Mayo sauce. I thought that is sounded good so I tried it.

Chipotle Mayo Sauce

First buy one of these


1/2 c. mayo
2 peppers
1 T. adobo sauce
1/4 cayenne pepper

Put in blender and pulse until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to use.



Long story short. It tasted almost exactly like the stuff at Granite City! WHOOO HOOO!!
 

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Chicken and Spinach Pasta (Even the kids love it!)

If you are looking for a yummy way to get your kids (or yourself) to eat spinach, this is it! We love this recipe. The very first time I made it, my sweet Hubby said, "I would totally order this in a restaurant!" That is a big compliment to me. I was a bit weary of it at first because it seems like a ton of spinach, and you can totally see it in there, but the kids didn't complain once! YAY!

Chicken and Spinach Pasta
6 T. olive oil
6 cloves of garlic; minced
1/2 t. crushed red pepper
3 boneless, skinless, chicken breast; cubed
salt and pepper
1 lb. penne pasta (I use whole wheat)
5 oz fresh spinach
1 T. basil
6 T. lemon juice
Parmesan cheese


*Heat oil, garlic and crushed red pepper in a small bowl in the microwave for about 1 minuet.

* Pour 1-2 T. of the flavored oil into a skillet. Cook chicken on med. heat until done. Salt and pepper to taste.
Add spinach, cook until wilted, about a minuet. Don't worry, it looks like a lot, but it really cooks down!
 See....... :)

Meanwhile, cook your pasta and drain well, and return to pot.
*Add chicken to pasta along with basil, lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese.
*Stir in the rest of the flavored oil. Toss until well combined.
See all the steamy yummy-ness!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

BBQ Chicken Pizza

This is a pseudo knock-off of Minsky's BBQ Chicken Pizza. My friend told me once to order it, and have them put cream cheese on it. It sounded questionable, but I did and LOVED it.

BBQ Chicken Pizza
2 c. shredded chicken
2 c. BBQ sauce (I use KC Masterpiece original)
1/2 c. cilantro ; chopped
1/4 red onion ; chopped
2 c. mozzarella cheese
cream cheese
pizza crust of your choice

I like to put chicken and bbq sauce in the crock pot and let it cook for several hours.
Spread cream cheese on pizza crust.
Top with cilantro
 Spread chicken and BBQ mixture
 Top with cheese and bake!  YUM!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Salsa Verde

Salsa Verde

2 lbs tomatillos; shucked and washed
1/2 red onion; cut cup
1 Anaheim pepper; halved, washed and seeded
1/2 jalapeno pepper (or whole); halved, washed and seeded
1/2 c chicken broth
 t. salt
1/4 t. sugar
1/2 c. fresh cilantro (or more if you like)

Preheat broiler. Place tomatillos, onion and peppers on foil and broil until they start to blacken, then turn over (carefully!) and roast until the other side starts to blacken. The tomatillos should be soft. Transfer all to blender, plus all juices. Add broth, salt, sugar and cilantro and blend up until salsa consistency. Enjoy!





Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Yum Yum. I made these last night for dinner and they were a HUGE hit. They are one of my favorite new recipes that I have tried lately. They will definitely be thrown in rotation.


Creamy Chicken Taquitos


1/3 cup (3 oz.) cream cheese; softened
1/4 cup green salsa
1 T lime juice
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
3 Tb chopped cilantro
2 cups rotisserie chicken
1 cup grated pepperjack cheese
Flour tortillas


Mix together cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, and spices in a bowl. Pour over chicken. Add cheese and cilantro. Mix all together and spread in tortillas. Roll and spray lightly with cooking spray (I used butter flavor)
Bake 15 minuets @ 425.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Italian Beef Roast

From my Mother-In-Law. Oh so yummy!!


Italian Beef Roast
2-3 lb roast (the cheaper the better)
1 packet of ZESTY Italian dressing mix (make sure it's zesty or it won't taste right)
1 jar of pepperoncini, juice too
1 can of beef broth (I use the lower sodium because of the whole jar of peppers)

Throw all of this in the crock pot on low in the morning and it will be ready for supper time. I take out the peppers and toss them and open a new jar to have with my sandwich. NUMMY I serve it on Italian bread.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Forewarning ~ This is NOT healthy!! :)

I have made this a few times recently for people, and then been begged for the recipe. :)

1 package of cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I use sharp cheddar)
1 cup of Franks Red Hot
1 cup of ranch dressing
2 large cans of chicken (you know, the stuff that somehow still smells like tuna???)

Throw it all in the crock pot and wait for the cream cheese and cheddar to get all melty and ENJOY!!! Great with Tortilla chips or even in a tortilla shell as a roll up.

Fresh Salsa

Fresh Salsa

1 lb tomatoes; cored and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper; finely chopped
3 cloves garlic; finely chopped
1/2 red onion; finely chopped (are you noticing a pattern here??)
1 cup of cilantro; finely chopped (I LOVE cilantro, so I use more)
3 T. lime juice
1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste.

If you didn't chop it finely enough, you could always throw it in the food processor. :)

Photobucket

One Skillet Lasagna

I never used to like lasagna, and I couldn't figure out why. I love pasta. I love red sauce. So what's the deal with lasagna. Then I finally figured out that it's because I don't like the cheese on top. I don't like cheese when it's been baked and starts to brown and you pick it up and like the whole thing comes with it. ICK! (Although it doesn't bother me with pizza?? Man I am a strange duck!)

Then, I found a recipe from The Pioneer Woman. It is FULL of cheese, however its all under the sauce. Brilliant!! I love lasagna now! It's so cheesy and melty and good. There are a few things I do differently, but you get the basics. It. Is. So. Good!

I will admit, that I am a lasagna cheater. I almost always use oven ready noodles. Why? Because I was interested once and tried it and found that I couldn't really tell the difference, so why not save me a step. Anyhoo.... I found a recipe for One Skillet Lasagna. It is a faster version of lasagna and you only dirty one pan. Whooo hooo! The recipe specifically recommends to NOT use oven ready noodles, but I did because that is all I had. I thought it turned out just fine, and everyone wanted seconds!

One Skillet Lasagna

oil for saute
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1/2 t. salt
1 lb. ground hamburger (or any meat of your choosing)
10 lasagna noodles broken into pieces (uncooked)
3 cans of whole tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 1/2 t basil
1 1/2 t. oregano
pepper to taste
1/2 c. mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. Ricotta cheese

Place tomatoes in a blender and pulse for a few seconds.
Heat oil. Add onion and salt, satue until softened. Add garlic and red pepper flakes. Add meat and brown. (I recommend using lean meat, so that no draining is necessary so you don't lose all that yummy goodness.)

After meat is browned, place broken noodles on top. Pour tomatoes on top. Add basil, oregano and pepper. Cover and simmer 20 minuets or so until noodles are cooked. Add mossarella and Parmesan cheese. Stir gently until melted. Add ricotta cover to let it melt. Serve and Enjoy!