Super Bean Burritos

I got this recipe from melskitchencafe.com.  It's a great food website, so check it out.

1 cup brown or white rice (or 2 cups already cooked rice)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed, finely diced (can substitute 1 can of green chiles)
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cans (15 oz. each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed (or use 1 can pinto beans, 1 can black beans)
1 1/2 cups water
1 (10 oz) package frozen corn or 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
6 green onions, white and green parts finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

16 burrito-sized (10-inch) flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Cook rice; set aside. Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, jalapeno and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and golden, being careful not to let the garlic burn. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring for 1 minute.

Add one can of beans and mash gently in the pan (a potato masher or fork works great here). Add the second can of beans and the water and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 10-12 minutes, being careful not to let the mixture stick to the bottom of the pot. Add corn; cook to heat through, 2-3 minutes. Stir in onion and garlic powders. Remove from heat; stir in green onions and cooked rice.

Heat tortillas in microwave for about 30-45 seconds or until all are warmed through.

Fill each tortilla with about 2/3 cup bean and rice mixture and 1/4 cup cheese on one side of tortilla. Fold, and hold in sides. Starting from filled end, holding sides in as you work, tightly roll into a bundle. Place on a baking sheet, seam side down, and prepare remaining burritos.

Serve warm immediately, with salsa and sour cream if desired — or, to freeze for later consumption, wrap each burrito in plastic wrap and then foil.  Good for 2 months.

* I added left over shredded pork I had.  To make the pork, cook 2 lbs pork roast, 1 cup salsa, and 1 cup brown sugar in a crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.  Shred.

To reheat from frozen:
Remove plastic wrap from the burrito. Poke holes in the top several times with a fork. Microwave on high for two minutes. Gently poke a few more holes in the burrito and microwave for another minute. Be careful as the burrito will be piping hot!

Chicken & Pasta

Ingredients:

-Chicken breast--cubed

-Cooked pasta. Rotini or penne is good

-Cherry tomatoes-- cut in half

-Diced onion

-Italian Bread Crumbs

-Olive oil

-Italian seasoning

-Italian salad dressing

-Any other veggies you wanna throw in, broccoli, mushrooms, whatever

Directions:

1.If you want you can marinate the chicken in italian salad dressing and italian seasoning for an hour before cooking it. 

2. Put the chicken, tomatoes, onion and whatever other veggies you want in a casserole dish. 

3. Drizzle olive oil and mix with hands until coated. 

4.Add breadcrumbs and mix more.

5. Cook in the oven at 350* until the chicken is cooked all the way.

6. Once the chicken is done add the cooked pasta and mix it all together.

7. Top with cheese and bake until cheese is melted. 

Hope you like it!

Sloppy Joes

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. vinegar
3 T. worchestershire sauce
1 T. mustard
1 c. catsup
1/2 c. water

Brown hamburger and onion in pan. Add other ingredients and simmer about one hour to let flavors mix and for sauce to thicken.

When frozen, give them time to thaw, then heat and enjoy on tasty buns.

Shepherds Pie Recipe

Here is the link to my shepherds pie recipe: http://brianandnadia.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-favorite-show.html I tweaked it a little. I added peas, did mashed potatoes instead of sweet potatoes, used one can of regular corn and one cup of creamed corn and I did breadcrumbs on top. But really whatever works. Hope you liked it. See you all next month!

Mac+Cheese

Ingredients
2 cups macaroni pasta
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup milk
1 cup half & half
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2  cup provolone cheese, grated
1/2 cup asiago cheese, grated
Bread crumbs, 
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Boil  pasta in salted water until half-cooked, about 5 minutes. Strain and set aside.
2. Heat a sauce pan on medium heat add milk, half & half.
3. Bring to a slow boil, then turn the heat to low.
4. add the three cheeses, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Grease a baking dish with butter and pre-heat oven to 350. In a big bowl combine pasta and cheese sauce, and mix to coat every noodle. Pour mac & cheese into the greased baking dish, and sprinkle liberally with bread crumbs. Bake 40 minutes. If you're freezing the dish don't put the bread crumbs on until you're actually gonna bake/eat.

Hope you liked it!

Apricot Chicken

1 pkg onion soup mix

1 8oz bottle Russian dressing

10 oz apricot preserves

2.5 lbs boneless chicken (breasts, thighs, tenders - whatever)

Cooked sticky rice

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish or I use a pyrex glass bowl so the chicken cooks in the sauce more. Dump soup mix, dressing, and preserves into bowl. Whisk together well. Add chicken (I recommend cutting the breasts into smaller {tender size} pieces). Stir to coat the chicken. Cover with foil. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken pieces). Serve over a bed of sticky (sushi) rice.

Homemade Pizza

Favorite Pizza Crust
1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (not hot!)
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
3/4 cup cold water

Dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand for 10 minutes.  In mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, olive oil, honey, and cold water.  Add yeast mixture and kneed with dough hook or by hand for 5 minutes.  Form into a ball and place in oiled bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise about 1 hour.

Divide dough in half and shape each half into a 12" round.  Prebake crusts for 10 minutes at 450 degrees before adding toppings.  After topping pizza, bake again for 10-12 minutes.  (If pizza is frozen, it may need up to 20 minutes depending on your oven.  Just keep an eye on it to not let it get too brown.)

Pizza Sauce
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 tablespoon ground oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground paprika

In a medium bowl, mix together sauce and paste until smooth.  Add remaining ingredients.  Spread on pizza dough, cover with cheese and toppings of your choice.

Effortless Ice Cream Sandwiches

 

Ok here is what you need:

Anna's Cookies (the ones I used are pictured above but really you can use any kind)

Ice Cream of your choice

A mixer

A cookie sheet

A freezer

  

Steps:

1. Take the ice cream and toss it in your mixer to soften it. but not too long or it will get too melt-y.

2. Using a small spatula CAREFULLY but quickly spread the ice cream on the crackers and make a sandwich.

3. Freeze them on a cookie sheet overnight (or shove them directly in your mouth) Freezing them makes the cookies softer and the ice cream more firm.

4. (optional) if you feel like being extra fancy you can roll them in sprinkles, chocolate shavings, mini M&M's etc.

Here are some combos using the different Anna's cookies:

Mint ice cream and mint chocolate cookies

Lemon ice cream with ginger cookies

Chocolate peanut butter ice cream on almond cookies

Vanilla ice cream with orange flavored cookies

 

Chili Verde

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 pounds boneless pork roast, trimmed of as much fat as possible
Salt and pepper for seasoning roast
2 yellow onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely minced or crushed
1 (15 oz.) can green enchilada sauce
2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chiles
2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 beef bouillon cube (or 1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon black pepper
Several dashes of green Tabasco, depending on how spicy you like it

Cut the roast into 3-4 large chunks. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper on all sides. In a large heavy pot, heat the oil over medium heat until the oil is shimmering and hot. Add the pork, being careful not to crowd the pot (brown the pork in shifts, if needed). Brown the pork on all sides until golden and well-browned, about 30 seconds to a minute on each side. Leave the roast in the pot and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often. Place the pork and garlic and onions in the slow cooker (read below for oven-roasting method). Stir in the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours. After the roast has cooked for the allotted time, remove the roast. Shred it into bite-size pieces and set aside, covered with foil to keep warm. Pour the remaining liquid and ingredients from the slow cooker into a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil on the stove, and simmer vigoriously over medium-low or medium heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking or burning, until the mixture considerably reduced and thickened. Add the pork roast and sauce back to the slow cooker. Stir to coat the pork with the sauce. Turn the crockpot to low or high and allow the pork to heat through again. Serve as tacos, nachos, enchiladas, burritos, or salads.

Serves 8-10

Oven-roasting Instructions: When beginning the recipe, make sure to use an oven-safe pot for the browning (such as a large enameled cast-iron pot). Follow the recipe up until the point of adding the pork to the slow cooker. Instead, keep the pork in the oven-safe pot. Add in all the other recipe ingredients plus 1/2 cup water. Stir to combine. Cover the pot and cook in the oven at 300 degrees for 3-4 hours. When finished cooking, remove the roast as directed in the above instructions. Follow the recipe to reduce the sauce.

Sweet and sour chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken
4 chicken breasts, cut in cubes
can pineapple chunks (save juice)
one garlic clove, minced
1/4 Cup soy sauce
l teaspoon ginger
1-2 carrots cut in small pieces
1 green pepper cut in pieces
Add all ingredients together in a ziploc bag. Freeze. When ready to cook. Add to saucepan and allow to simmer 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Cook rice to go with the meal.

Lentil Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion chopped
3 carrots grated or cut in small pieces
¾ teaspoon marjoram
1 28 oz. can tomatoes
7 cups beef, chicken or vegetarian/vegetable broth
1 ½ cups dried lentils
1 Cup alphabet noodles or leave out

In skillet or large saucepan saute onions and carrots in 2 tablespoons olive oil until tender. In blender puree tomatoes with their juice and add to saucepan. Add broth, onion mixture and lentils together. Cook on medium-low covered for one hour or until lentils are tender. Season with salt, pepper and parsley if desired. Allow to cool and pour into freezer containers.

Chicken Enchiladas

Here is the official recipe for the chicken enchiladas. I kind of eyeballed everything so my measurements were a little off. You can use rotissere chicken if you'd like. I just grilled some chicken with olive oil and spices.

8 oz. light sour cream
8 oz. shredded jack and Colby cheese, divided
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
1/2 cup favorite salsa, divided
1 tsp. cumin
1 small can mild, diced green chilies
10 6-inch corn tortillas
1 can green mild enchilada sauce

Mix 1 cup sour cream, chicken, 1 cup cheese, salsa, diced
chilies, and spices.

Warm tortillas in microwave or in a little oil on a fry pan to soften.

After tortillas cool slightly, assemble enchiladas. Pat each tortilla
between paper towels to absorb oil. Spoon about ¼ cup of chicken
mixture down the center of each tortilla and roll up. Place seam side
down in 13x9” baking pan (sprayed with Pam). Top with enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
Serve with sour cream, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes and olives.

Lasagna

INGREDIENTS: (Note: I don't actually use measurements when cooking--these are estimates)

1 package no boil lasagna noodles
1 lb. lean hamburger meat
30 oz. bottled spaghetti sauce
24 oz. Rocotta Cheese

1 egg

Parsley

Oregeno

Basil

Salt
10 oz. Shredded Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese

 

THE PREPPING:
Brown hamburger meat in a large pot or frying pan.
Mix meat and sauce together in a large bowl--set aside.
In separate bowl mix together egg, ricotta and herbs.

THE ASSEMBLING:
Put a bit of sauce in 9 x 13 inch pan and spread. (you can also make mini ones in loaf pans--as seen in the picture)
Layer the noodles in the bottom of the pan
Cover with meat
Put a dollop of cheese mixture on each noodle cover with meat.
Continue layering top with mozzarella and parmigiana cheese

THE BAKING:
Cover with tin foil, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Take off tin foil and bake 15 minutes more.
Let cool for 20 minutes.
Eat with delight!

Do-Ahead Lasagna Logs

Hi Lades! It was great to meet you all this afternoon; of course, after I got home and started looking through more cook books, I found lots more recipes, so next time I will bring my A-game! haha

Prep Time: 30 mins
Ready to Serve: 40 mins
Servings: 8  [although, looking back, 8 servings probably feeds 2.5 adults...]

Ingredients:
8 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 egg
1 container [12oz] low-fat cottage cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
2 cups purchased tomato pasta sauce

Directions:
1. Fill saucepan half full with water. Heat the water over med-high heat until it is boiling.
2. Set lasagna noodles in boiling water. Return to boil, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, crack egg into a medium bowl. Beat lightly. Stir in cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Add basil leaves.
4. Drain noodles when they reach desired consistency.
5. Spread each noodle equally with cheese mixture. [I used one small cookie scoop to scoop up the ingredients, and spread them out - probably about 2.5-3 scoops per lasagna noodle.] Leave some space at the short end of the noodle. Roll up noodles tightly toward the unfilled end.
6. Wrap each lasagna log with plastic wrap. Put the logs in the refrigerator or freezer until thoroughly chilled.
7. To cook one lasagna log, take the log out of the fridge or freezer and remove the plastic wrap. Put it with the seam side down in a microwavable bowl. Cover the bowl with waxed paper.

Fridge Directions: If you refrigerated your lasagna roll, microwave it on High for 1-2 mins or until the cheese starts to melt at the end. Carefully remove the waxed paper. Pour 1/4 cup pasta sauce over the lasagna roll. Microwave on High another 20-30 seconds or until it is heated through.
Freezer Directions: If you froze your lasagna roll, microwave it on Low for 1-2 mins first until it is thawed out, then reheat per the above [fridge] directions.

Nutrition Information: Calories 240 - Total Fat 7g - Sodium 620 mg - Total Carbs 29g - Sugars 7g - Protein 15g

Source: "Pillsbury Everyday Family Suppers 2007" 

-Krista Hollingshaus

Labels!

As the blog grows with recipes, please make sure to label your post. Use as many labels as you'd like, the more you label, the easier to find a recipe. For example, if you're making Spaghetti, labels like: noodles, pasta, tomato, Italian, ground beef, and sauce would all be helpful in finding the recipe later.

Minestrone Soup

Serves 8

1 lb. mild bulk sausage
6 cups water
2 beef bullion cubes
1 onion, chopped
2 large carrots, sliced thin
2 large celery ribs, diced
1 can (28 oz.) tomatoes, pureed
2 cans (8 oz. each) tomato sauce
1 T. dried parsley flakes or 3 T. fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp. sweet basil
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 can (16 oz.) garbanzo beans, drained
1 can (16 oz.) cut green beans, drained
1 cup macaroni, uncooked

Brown pork sausage in heavy skillet, drain. Dissolve bullion cubes in water.
Add sausage, onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes, tomato sauce, parsley and
seasonings. Simmer, covered for 6 hours. Thirty minutes before serving
time, add garbanzo beans, green beans and noodles. Simmer until noodles
are tender.

(If you want to freeze part of the soup, take that portion out of pot before
cooking noodles, which become mushy when frozen.)

When frozen, unthaw and bring soup to a boil.  Add macaroni noodles, cover, and simmer until noodles are tender.