Shredded Beef Enchiladas (w/ leftover pot-roast)

(about) 2 lb Chuck roast leftovers
1-2 Tblsp olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced green chili
1-2 Tblsp chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 Tblsp cumin
1-2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 -1 can beef broth
1 pkg tortillas (corn or flour)
1 can Red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Heat oil in deep skillet.  Sauté onions and garlic until iridescent.  Meanwhile shred pot roast and add to onions and garlic.  Add seasoning and green chills, while stirring meat mixture.  Pour in beef both, and deglaze the pot.  let simmer.

Grease 9x13 casserole dish.  Roll 3/4 cup meat mixture in each tortilla and place seam side down.  Pour enchilada sauce over stuffed tortillas and top with cheese.

Bake until cheese is melted.  Top with sour cream and olives.

Skinny Taco Dip

click here.

Caramel Apple Cider

My recipe for the exchange came from OBB
Get it HERE

Homemade Graham Crackers

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup honey

1. Mix dry ingredients together and set aside
2. In a separate bowl mix together the melted butter and honey
3. Add honey/butter mixture to dry ingredients, stir until combined
4. Drop mixture onto cookie sheet and roll out, making sure the edges reach the sides of the cookie sheet
5. Bake for 8 -10 minutes @ 400 degrees, cut quickly-right out of the oven.
*Christy Schmauss' recipe*

Easy ravioli

I like the cheese ravioli from Costco, but any frozen ravioli would do.

1 can hunts pasta sauce (I buy it at the case lot sale)
Ravioli
mozzerella cheese
parmesan cheese

Put the ravioli in a pyrex baking dish and cover with sauce. Bake at 350 for about 20 min then add the cheeses, bake for another 10 min. Ta da! So easy:)

Tiffany's Famous Chicken Pot Pie

2 Frozen deep dish pie crusts (bake for 5 minutes at 450°F) 
2 top pie crusts
6 Tablespoons butter
6 Tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup half and half
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups chopped or shredded chicken (cooked)
½ onion, chopped
¼ cup frozen peas, thawed
¾ cup frozen carrots, thawed
¾ cup celery, chopped
2/3 cup potatoes, cut into bite size pieces


Cream Sauce:
Cook together into a paste the 6 tablespoons butter and 6 tablespoons
flour until the color is light brown – DO NOT BURN; whisk in 2 cups of 
chicken broth slowly.  Cook until thickened.  Add 1 cup half and half;
let thicken; take off heat; add salt and pepper.  Sauce will thicken
more as it sits.

Vegetable Filling:
Chop potatoes into bite size pieces; boil until done, but not mushy. 
Add celery into water with potatoes for a few minutes; drain potatoes
& celery.  Saute onions until translucent.  Place potatoes & celery
back into pot; add peas, carrots, & onions. 

Mix together the cream sauce, vegetable filling, and chicken.  Divide
the mixture evenly into 2 pies.  Place a top crust onto the pot pies;
cut slits on the top of crust for ventilation.  Brush the top of crust 
with 1 beaten egg.  Bake at 450°F for 35-40 minutes for until golden
brown.

To Freeze:
Before baking, place pot pie in freezer.  Once frozen, cover pot pie with aluminum
foil and place in zip lock bag.

Chicken Chili

Tiffany tried this recipe and really liked it. Am I correct Tiff? It's a family fav. 1 onion, chopped (I actually don't use a whole onion, maybe half) 2T. oil bottled green salsa (1-2 cups)(use less if your kids don't like it hot) 2 cans corn (i used frozen) 2 cans white beans (northern beans) 2 cans chicken broth 4 cups chicken, cooked and shredded 2T. lime juice 1 t. ground cumin dash of chili powder 1/2 t. ground pepper cheese fritos In a large saucepan cook onion in oil. After it is carmelized a little bit, add the green salsa. Heat for about 3 minutes. Then I just threw everything in the crockpot and put it on high for about 4 hours. Serve with cheese and fritos on top.

Sweet N' Sour Chicken

This was one of my FAVORITE recipes that my mom made when I was younger. I still make it! It's really easy, it just takes a while in the oven so you have to plan ahead, which I'm realllly bad at. 1 1/2 cups ketchup 1/3 cup soy sauce 1 tsp. salt 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 cup vinegar 2 1/2 TBSPN cornstarch Mix all the ingredients together and pour over chicken in a 9x13 pan. Cover with foil. Bake for 2 hours @ 350*. Serve over rice.

Jell-O Popcorn

Per Sheri's request. ***NOTE that this recipe looks a lot more complicated than it really is. It's easy and oh so delish! This is from Our Best Bites. 8 cups popped popcorn 1/4 C butter (that’s half a stick) 3 T light corn syrup (honey is a good substitute) 1/2 C sugar 1 3.5oz box jello, any flavor (not the sugar free kind) Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a jelly roll pan with foil or parchment. If using foil, spray lightly with non-stick spray and set aside. Place popcorn in an extra large mixing bowl. Place butter and syrup in a sauce pan on medium heat. Stir until butter is melted. Add sugar and Jello and stir to combine. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat so it just simmers. Continue simmering for 5 minutes. You’ll start off with a mixture that’s sometimes thick (depending on the flavor, see note at end) and as it cooks the sugar will dissolve and it will become a little more liquid-ish. After the sugar mixture simmers for 5 minutes, immediately pour over popcorn in bowl. Be careful, it’s super hot!! Mix right away and keep stirring so everything gets well coated. Spread mixture onto prepared pan and spread out evenly. Pop in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes. I’ve noticed that some flavors of jello have more mix than others (kind of like my discovery about different brands/flavors of cake mix noted in this post). For example, the strawberry is usually much thicker than the lime. If you notice this, you might want to bake the mixture for a few minutes longer to make sure it gets cooked all the way. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool to room temp. Then break into pieces and enjoy! You can certainly eat this un-baked as well and it’s just soft and gooey, but definitely bake it if you’re going to pack it up for giving, or serve it as party food so it will be light and crunchy.

Caramel Popcorn

This is a family favorite that my mom has been making my whole life.

1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. corn syrup
1/2 t. vanilla
1 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. sweetened condensed milk
3/4 c. popcorn, popped

In saucepan, combine butter, sugar and corn syrup.  Stir well and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Stir in sweetened condensed milk; simmer, stirring constantly for 5 minutes.  Stir in vanilla.  Pour over popcorn and stir to coat.

Italian Salsa

2 cans rotel tomatoes with green chilis
3 diced avocados (I do 4)
1 small white onion, diced
1 can white corn, drained
1 can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 pkg Good Seasons italian dressing made up (I substitute water for the oil)

Combine all ingredients and serve with chips.

Biscoff Stuffed White Chocolate Chip Cookies

from picky-palate.com

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

2 cups Biscoff Spread

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with a silpat liner or parchment paper.

2. In a stand or electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla beating until well combined.

3. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with white chips until just combined.

4. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart. With your thumb, press into each cookie making a little well for the Biscoff. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop about 1 tablespoon Biscoff into each pressed cookie. Place another scoop of cookie dough on top and press edges gently. Biscoff will not be completly enclosed and will be visible around edges. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until edges are just golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Best served with a tall glass of milk.

Makes 24 large cookies

ham and cheeese sliders

I served this for my bunco crew and it was a hit.

24 good white dinner rolls

24 pieces good honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup miracle whip

Poppy seed sauce
1 Tablespoon poppyseeds
1 1/2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tablespoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip. Spread onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. You do not have to use all of the sauce! Just use enough to cover the tops. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes or until tops are slightly brown and crispy. Serve warm.

** sandwiches can be assembled a day ahead and kept in the fridge ready to bake.

Hells Yeah Broccoli

I'm not kidding when I say that I eat this stuff like candy...so tasty but super healthy!

2 large bunches broccoli
olive oil
salt n pepper
4 garlic cloves minced
1 lemon
parmesan cheese

Take 4 to 5 pounds of broccoli (I just got two large bunches), cut into florets (but relatively big ones.) 

Dry them THOROUGHLY. That is, if you wash them. I saw an episode of Julia Child cooking with Jacques Pepin once when Pepin revealed he doesn’t wash a chicken before putting it in a hot oven: “The heat kills all the germs,” he said in his French accent. “If bacteria could survive that oven, it deserves to kill me.” By that logic, then, I didn’t wash my broccoli; I wanted it to get crispy and brown. If you’re nervous, though, just wash and dry it obsessively.

Now, it’s easy. Put the broccoli on a cookie sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. (She says 5 Tbs olive oil, 1 1/2 tsps kosher salt, 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, but I just eyeballed it.) Now add 4 garlic cloves that are peeled and sliced and toss them in too.

Roast in the oven 400* 20 to 25 minutes, until “crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.”
I shook the pan around a bit as it went, but not sure that’s necessary.

When it’s done, take it out of the oven–and here’s where it gets really good–zest a lemon over the broccoli, squeeze the lemon juice over the broccoli, and 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

recipe found here

Sonic's Cherry Lime-ade

1 can frozen limeade concentrate,

1- 2 liter bottle Sprite,

Juice from 1 10 oz jar cherries

Simply put it all together.. tough huh?

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

did you see this recipe on Our Best Bites?

i am eating them right now and they are nigh unto corn nuts. super good.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

·         1 cup margarine or butter

·         1 cup white sugar

·         1/2  cup brown sugar, loosely packed

·         2 eggs

·         2 teaspoons vanilla extract

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         2/3 cup cocoa powder

·         3/4 teaspoon baking soda

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

·         1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
m&ms for the top (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Press M&Ms onto the tops.

Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Spiced Apple Bread

Spiced Apple Bread

1 1/2 cups applesauce
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 apple, peeled and chopped (optional)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease 2 8x4 loaf pans.

In large bowl, combine applesauce, sugar, oil, eggs and milk; beat well.  In separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt.  Add the dry to the wet and stir until smooth.  Fold in the pecans and apples.  Pour batter into prepared pans and sprinkle the tops with brown sugar.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 mins, or until toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I have to write this down now. I just made this up today and it turned out reallllly good. I did not measure anything, I was just grabbing and dumping so the measurements I post are just guesses.

I had some pre cooked chicken already in the fridge and just went from there.

Place all these in a crock pot:
2-3 cooked/shredded chicken breasts
2- 10 oz cans green enchilada sauce
1 can chicken broth
2 cups water
1 small can green chilies
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 Tbs minced garlic
2 teas onion powder
1 teas salt
1 teas pepper
2 teas cumin
1 teas chili powder
Give all these ingredients a stir
Then add:
10ish oz frozen corn
1 handful of chopped cilantro

Cook on low for 7ish hours.
Top with tortilla chips and cheese!
Trevor and I LOVED it!

Whole Wheat Bread

Whole Wheat Bread 

1 1/3 cups warm water
1 heaping Tablespoon yeast
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons oil (more if you prefer)
3 1/2 cups (appx) whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground white wheat, but the stuff in the bag is prob fine)
1 teaspoon salt
1 heaping Tablespoon gluten  (optional)
1/2 Tablespoon dough conditioner (optional)

Combine water, yeast, sugar, and oil in the Kitchenaid.  Add 2 1/2 cups of the flour, the salt, gluten, and dough conditioner, and start mixing on speed 2.  When it's well combined, add the rest of the flour slowly and watch the bowl, when the very middle of the bottom comes clean as it mixes, you have enough flour. (I usually use about 3 1/2 cups total.  Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on the weather.)

Let the mixer knead on speed 2 for about 7 minutes.  (You may need to knead a little longer if you don't use the added gluten and dough conditioner. I use the window test, pull off a tiny chunk and stretch it gently between your fingers, if it forms a see-through-ish window before tearing, you have kneaded enough.)  Turn out and shape into loaf, put in greased pan.  Let rise in a warm place (I use a slightly warmed oven) for about 25 minutes, then preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crust looks nice and brown on the top and sides.  (I use a long skinny pan like the store loaves, and I bake for 23 minutes.  Probably longer cook time in a fatter loaf pan.)

Turn out immediately to cool on wire rack, butter the top.  It's best if eaten within the first two days.

Ranch Packet Potatoes

I just made this up the other day, and my family LOVED it. They were sad I didn't make more. And this is as easy as it gets.

*Cut up some red potatoes, into bite sized pieces. The smaller they are, they crispier they get. YUM.

*Throw potatoes in a large Ziplock. Toss in a little olive oil to coat all potatoes...maybe 1-2 tablespoons. Shake bag.

*Toss in the contents of one of those powder Ranch packets. Shake, shake, shake until all those potatoes are coated with the oil/ranch goodness.

*Place those potatoes in a foil lined (give that foil a teeny spritz of non-stick spray so potatoes don't stick to the foil) baking dish.

*Bake in a 400 degree oven until desired tenderness/crispness is reached. I think I baked mine for about 45 minutes, taking them out to turn once.

Thin Mint Truffles

Recipe from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

INGREDIENTS

9 oz box of Thin Mints
4 oz (1/2 block) cream cheese, softened
Dark chocolate almond bark or dark chocolate candy melts
Nonpareils

Crush the Thin Mints very finely. You can do this by placing them in a large Ziploc bag and rolling them with a rolling pin, or use your food processor, which is what I did.

Once they are crushed, pour them in a large bowl and add the cream cheese. I would like to say that you can just mix it up with a wooden spoon, but if you want to do things properly you are going to have to get your hands involved. Squish them up real good until it’s thoroughly combined and the cream cheese is no longer visible.

Roll into 1 inch balls, place on a wax paper lined baking sheet, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Melt almond bark or candy melts and using a toothpick, dip truffles completely and twirl to allow the excess to drip off. Place back on lined baking sheet and sprinkle with nonpareils before set. Refrigerate until firm.

*Makes about 24 truffles.

Lindsay's notes:  mine didn't quite make 24 truffles, but I think I made them bigger than 1 inch balls.  Also, Walmart's knock off thin mints are a 10 oz box, where as GS Thin Mints are 9 oz.  I didn't add any more cream cheese, but next time I'd add just a little bit more.  Some of the truffles were a little bit more dry and crumbled when I dipped them in the candy melts.

This is Walmart's version of Thin Mints: