Mexican Picadillo

This post is a recipe I use from : My Cocina, My Kitchen

**I've modified this recipe in blue for our taste, but the original recipe is fantastic also. You can click the link above for the original recipe and more pictures.

Ingredients:

1lb lean ground beef  (1.5 lbs)

2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2inch cubes  (I use more potatoes- like 5)

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced fine 

1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced fine  (I use more red   pepper)

1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced fine 

Add as needed ADOBO all purpose seasoning

2 tablespoon canola oil (Olive Oil)

1 teaspoon salt (Not needed if using ADOBO)

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground coarse ground black pepper 

1 teaspoon fresh ground cumin (I don't use this)

1 cup beef stock (2 cups beef stock)

1/2 cup cilantro (Not used)

2 large tomatoes, cored, peeled, and cut into 1/2inch pieces (1 tomato)

Directions:

Heat a large skillet and, when hot, add the oil. Add the ground beef, crumbling as you put it in the skillet.

When lightly browned, add the onions, red bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic, and all the spices. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, and then add the diced potatoes.

Add beef stock, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, put into a bowl and serve over Spanish rice or with hot flour tortillas.

Mom's Pot Roast

Mom's Pot Roast
by Judy Giordano

Chuck Roast, Rump Roast-any kind of “tough” meat 3.4 lbs.

Slice pockets (4-6 pockets) into meat and insert garlic cloves.

Spread Crisco and butter on the bottom of a roasting pan (the combination with prevent burning).

Sprinkle meat with flour, salt & pepper and place it in the pan with the Crisco/butter mix.

In a 375 Degree F oven, brown the meat on all sides.

Cut up potatoes, carrots & onions.

After meat is browned add ¼-1/2 Cup beef broth and all of the veggies to the pan.

Place cover on the pan & turn oven down to 350 Degrees F and let cook for a couple of hours, turning the meat once.

Remove meat and veggies from the pan leaving the juices to make the gravy.

Place pan with the juices on the stove and add some corn starch, season to taste.

Bring the juices to a boil until desired consistency.

Enjoy.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

Blueberry Crumb Cake 

by Judy Giordano

Cake:

¼ Cup Butter  
2 Cups Flour

¾ Cup Sugar 
2 teasp. Baking Powder

1 Egg  
½ teasp. Salt

½ to ¾ Cup Milk  
2 Cups Blueberries

Crumb Topping:

½ teasp Cinnamon      ½ Cup Sugar      ¼ Cup Soft Butter

½ Cup Sugar                1/3 Cup Flour

Mix Butter to soften, add in sugar and egg-mix well (approx. 2 minutes).

Combine dry ingredients (for cake) and add to mixer in small amounts alternating with the milk.

Stir in the blueberries.

Combine the Crumb Topping ingredients and sprinkle over cake batter.

Bake in a greased 8x8x2 pan @ 350 degrees F for 50 minutes.

Cap'n Crunch Chocolate Walnut cookies

Cap’n Crunch chocolate chip cookies

1 Cup Butter (2 sticks)

½ Cup Brown Sugar

2 Large Eggs

2 teasp Vanilla extract

3 ½ Cups Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Cup Walnuts – chopped

4 Cups Cap’n Crunch Cereal

¼ Cup Semi-sweet chocolate morsels or to your liking

Mix butter, eggs, sugar & vanilla.

Blend in dry ingredients, stir into moist ingredients. 

Stir in Cap’n Crunch, nuts, and semi-sweet cho. chips.

Using a Tablespoon or larger drop onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. 

Press each cookie down slightly.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes or until nicely browned.

Stacked Chicken Enchiladas

The best I have ever had!
This Chicken Enchilada Casserole ("Stacked" Chicken Enchilada) comes from the Gimmesomeoven website.  AWESOME!
I made just a few changes to the recipe and will be marked with ** for you.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole (a.k.a. "Stacked" Chicken Enchiladas)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Yield: About 8 servings

Ingredients

• 3 cups red enchilada sauce Click for Enchilada sauce recipe  **I used 1 3/4 cans of OldElpaso mild Enchilada Sauce**  Will make her homemade recipe next time but this still came out good with the canned sauce. 
• 16 corn tortillas, halved
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• **1 (16 ounce) bag of frozen sweet kernel corn, cooked**
• **1 package of FLAV-R-PAC Baja Roasted corn blend
• 6 scallions (green onions), thinly sliced
• 4 cups (about 1.5 pounds) shredded cooked chicken **I grilled my chicken breasts**
• 3 cups shredded Monterrey Jack or Mexican blend cheese
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
• 1/2 cup loosely-packed chopped fresh cilantro (optional)  **I don't like cilantro so I just left it out.

Method

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Pour about 3/4 cup enchilada sauce in the baking dish, and spread until the bottom of the dish is coated. Top with a layer of about 8 tortilla halves so that the entire dish is covered. Sprinkle evenly with about 1 cup black beans, 1/2 cup corn (**used the Baja corn blend for this layer) and a fourth of the green onions. Then sprinkle with a heaping cup of the chicken, and about 3/4 cup shredded cheese.

Repeat with a second layer of tortillas, then sauce, then beans, corn (**used the sweet kernel corn for this layer**), green onions, chicken, and cheese. Then a final layer of tortillas, sauce, beans, corn, green onions, chicken and cheese. Then conclude with a final layer of tortillas and sauce (reserving about 3/4 cup of cheese to add partway through baking).

Cover the pan with aluminum foil, then bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan and remove aluminum foil. Sprinkle the top of the enchiladas evenly with the remaining 3/4 cup of cheese, then return to the oven (uncovered) and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Remove pan, and sprinkle with avocado, cilantro **Optional**, and remaining green onions. Serve warm.  I drizzled sour cream over each serving-Yum !  Even my 5 year old loves this :)

Steel Cut Oats

Apple Cinnamon Steel-Cut Oatmeal

In the Crock-pot

Ingredients

·         4 apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

·         3 cups Vanilla Silk milk (or regular milk)

·         3 cups water (or can mix ½ apple juice)

·         2 cups uncooked steel-cut oats

·         4 tablespoons brown sugar

·         3-4 tablespoons butter (optional)

·         1-2  teaspoons cinnamon or apple pie spice

Directions

Coat inside of 3-1/2 quart (or larger) slow cooker with cooking spray.

Add all ingredients to slow cooker.

Stir, cover  and cook on low for approx. 5 hours (slow cooker times can vary).

Store leftovers in refrigerator. YUM!

I've modified this recipe, the original can be found here  www.TheYummyLife.com/recipes/105

Fruitcake

Festive Fruitcake

By:  Joan Hadden (2014)

1 Cup Butter (softened)

1 Cup Sugar

3 Eggs, separated

2 Tablespoons Lemon extract

1 ½ Cups all-purpose Flour

1 ¼ Cups Golden Raisins

1 ¼ Cups red & green candied Cherries, halved

1 ½ Cups chopped candied Pineapple

2 Cups whole Pecans

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar & egg yolks.  Add lemon extract; mix well.  Gradually add flour.

Fold in fruit & nuts.

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form then fold into batter & mix well.

Spoon into a greased 10” greased tube pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake @ 200 degrees F for 1 ½ hours.

Increase heat to 250 degrees F & bake for 1 hour.

Increase heat to 300 degrees F & bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven & cool completely in the pan.

Seriously, it's a great recipe-try it!

Adult Grilled Cheese

Grilled Brie w/ Fig spread on Sourdough

Can you say Yum!   All you will need is:

Some Brie (I would suggest keeping the rind on) and slice up a few a pieces with a mandolin
fig spread -I use Dalmatia Fig Spread
Sourdough bread
Butter

That't it!

Now go make your grilled cheese and let me know how you like it.

Black Beans & Yellow Rice

Black Beans & Yellow Rice
by Kerri Bussell

¼ Cup Olive Oil

1 Large onion (chopped fine)

1 Green Pepper (chopped fine)

1 Tablespoon Oregano

3-16 oz cans of Black beans (I used 2 flavored & 1 plain)

6 cloves of garlic (minced)

¾ Cup Chicken Broth

1 ½ Tablespoon Vinegar

1 Teaspoon Sugar

Smoked sausage as desired (I used 2 packages) Cut into ¼ “slices

In a large pot add Olive Oil & render the fat of the Sausage, then add in the onion and green pepper.  sauté until the onions & peppers are soft.  Add the 3 cans of black beans, garlic, oregano, vinegar & sugar to this pot.  The final addition is the Chicken Broth (add to your liking).

Make up a pouch of Vigo Yellow rice and serve the black beans over it………Yummmmo!

Whole Wheat Carrot Crunchies

Whole Wheat Carrot Crunchies

*Great Dane tasted & approved

5 Cups Whole wheat flour

4 Cups Oatmeal

¾ Cups Egg whites

2 Cups Chicken broth

2 Cups Carrots (cooked til soft)

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F

Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray.

Mash the carrots and set aside to cool (I kept mine on the chunky side which was a big hit with Meadow)

In a large bowl combine the above ingredients, adding the carrots in last and mix well.  This combination will be soft, if too soft to handle add more flour.

Turn out mixture onto a floured surface, kneed a few times then roll out to ½ to ¾” thick.

Cut with cookie cutter and place in a greased cookie sheet.

Bake @ 350 degrees F for 30 minutes then flip the bones and cook for another 30 minutes.

Turn off oven and let the bones remain in the oven for another 30-40 minutes or until hard.

Hawaiian Sweet roll Sliders

Hawaiian Sweet Roll Sliders

1 pkg of 12 Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

½ - 1 whole onion, minced or grated

1 stick of butter

2 Tbsp Dijon or spicy brown mustard

2-3 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 tsp poppy seeds

½-3/4 pound shaved ham

8-9 slices of swiss cheese

---

Melt butter in small skillet and add onions. Combine mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and poppy seeds into onions and butter. Simmer for several minutes.

Slice rolls as a group length wise and place bottoms in an aluminum foil lined 13“ x 9” pan

Spread 3/4 of onion mixture on roll bottoms, followed by the ham and cheese slices

 Spread the remaining onion mixture over the top.

 Top with the roll tops.

 Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate till ready to bake

Bake covered with foil for 20 minutes on 350 degrees

Coconut Crazy Pie

Coconut Crazy Pie

                              a Bisquick recipe

2 Cups milk

¾ C Sugar

½ C Bisquick

½ Stick Butter

4 Eggs

1 ½ tesap. Vanilla

1 (heaping) Cup Coconut flakes

Mix ALL ingredients in the blender on high for 5 mintues.

Pour into greased pie plate (9 or 10”)

Bake @ 350Degrees F for 50-55 minutes

That’s it! Enjoy.

(pics soon, this pie went quick!)

Banana Bundt Cake

Banana Bundt Cake

½ Cup Butter (softened)
1 ½ Cups Sugar
1 ½ Cups Mashed Bananas (about 3)
2 Eggs
1 teasp. Vanilla
2 Cups Flour
1 teasp. Baking Soda
½ Cup Sour cream
½ teasp. Salt

Cream butter; add sugar.
Add in eggs and vanilla beat til fluffy then add in bananas.
In separate bowl mix flour, soda and salt then add slowly to the banana mixture. Mix until blended then add sour cream slowly and blend will –careful not to over mix.
Spread into a greased 8 cup Bundt pan.
Bake @ 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.
Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Oatmeal Walnut Cookies

Crispy, Chewy Oatmeal Walnut Cookies

1 c. butter, room temperature
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 c. quick-cooking rolled oats
1 c. walnut pieces
Handfull of Craisins if desired

Combine dry ingredients; set aside. Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add vanilla and eggs and mix until well combined. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in oats and walnuts. Bake at 350 degrees on greased or lined cookie sheets 10-12 minutes

*add more Oats for a thicker more dense cookie.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

2 sheets Frozen Puff Pastry (I used Pepperidge Farm brand) Thawed
1 egg, beaten
1 tblsp. water

2 cups cooked chicken, diced in to cubes
1/3 Cup Butter
2/3 Cup Flour
1 large carton Chicken broth
½ Cup Half & Half
1 small Onion, chopped fine
1 sm package Carrots (cooked and sliced)
1 Cup frozen peas (thawed and cooked)

While your pastry sheets are thawing you can make your filling:

In a medium sized saucepan make a roux with the flour and butter.
Add chicken broth a little at a time while stirring to make a thick gravy consistency then add in ½ cup of half and half to thin out the sauce a bit.
** Make sure you cook down the flour before adding the chicken broth or you will taste the flour in your sauce.

In a small pan sauté the onions til clear then add them to the roux. Add the remaining chicken, carrots & peas. This is now your sauce/gravy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place the sauce/gravy in a 2 quart casserole dish.
Take 1 sheet of the thawed puff pastry and place it horizontal on your dish then take the 2nd sheet and place that one vertical on your casserole. Trim off excess pastry and crimp edges with a fork.

Wisk 1 egg with a tablespoon of water in a small bowl then egg wash your puff pastry before placing it in the oven.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Madeleines

Madeleines

From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

15 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
3/4 cup cake flour ( not self-rising)
1 1/2 pinches table salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 grated lemons, zest of
1 1/2 to taste confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°. Butter and lightly flour madeleine pan.

In medium bowl, whisk both flours and salt together.

In bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat eggs and sugar together.

Add vanilla and lemon zest, then flour mixture; beat until just combined.

On low speed, pour in melted butter in a steady stream; mix until incorporated.
Spoon rounded tablespoon batter into each form.

Bake 5 minutes; reduce oven to 350°; bake until golden, 8 to 10 minutes more.

Let cool slightly; remove from pan.

Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve.

Chocolate Cupcakes, Joy of Cooking

Chocolate Cupcakes:

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 cup boiling hot water

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly butter, or line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl stir until smooth the boiling hot water and the cocoa powder. Let cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Then in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated. Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16-20 minutes or until risen, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing.

Orzo Fluff

½ lb. Orzo (pasta) Cooked according to directions & drained
2 Eggs, beaten
3 Tblsp. Flour
1 ½ Cups Sugar
20 oz. can of chunk Pineapple, drained with the liquid reserved
1 jar Maraschino cherries, drained-discard liquid
1 can Mandarin oranges, drained – discard liquid
16 oz tub of Cool whip

Mix sugar & flour together, add eggs & pineapple juice-stir well & cook over medium heat until thickened.
Add cooked Orzo & fruits to mixture.
Place in refrigerator overnight.
In the morning mix Cool Whip into mixture & enjoy!

Mom's Cheese Cake

Cheese Cake

Judy Giordano

*Excuse the cell phone picture, it was all I could do to get a shot before the cake was all gone!

2 Cups Ricotta Cheese
16 oz. Cream Cheese
4 Eggs
1 Cup Sugar
2 Teasp. Vanilla


Beat all of the above together for 10 minutes or until smooth.
Pour into baked Graham Cracker shell.
Bake @ 350 Degrees F for 40 minutes, then turn oven off & leave in for another ½ hour to 45 minutes.
Then open oven door & leave in for another ½ hour.

Once cooled, top with Cherries or Blueberries.

Use a 9” or 10” Spring form pan.

Graham Cracker Crust

1 & 1/4 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/3 Cup Butter-melted
¼ Cup Sugar
Mix the above together and press into the bottom of a spring form pan.

Bake @ 375 degrees F for approx 8 minutes.

Thank you

Tonight I was looking around my blog and found a stats tab.......guess with new blogger they have added a few goodies that I never paid much attention to before. Well, I found that I actually have a following!!! Yes, me!! So thank you for sharing & linking up to me, I hope you have enjoyed making some recipes from my site.

Chicken Soup

Just like mom used to make!

Chicken Soup

1 Chicken (raw) most of you know this but trust me...not everyone does :)
3 med onions diced fine
5-6 stalks of celery
carrots-as many as you like (cut into small bit sized slices/chunks) I use approx 4 cups
3 - 32 oz boxes of chicken broth
pastina /alphabets or any other small pasta -approx 1 cup uncooked. You can add more as desired.


In one large pot add all of the above ingredients making sure you use enough chicken broth to completely cover the chicken (add more or use less-which ever works depending on the size of your chicken and pot.

On Medium High, cook this for approx 45 minutes or until chicken falls off the bones.

Remove Chicken from the pot, debone and place all of the chicken bits and pieces back into the pot with the onions, carrots and celery.

On medium heat add in your pasta.

Soup is done when pasta is soft.
Serve with warm French bread............. Comfort food at it's finest!

Old Fashioned Bread Pudding with Vanilla Rum Custard Sauce

Old Fashioned Bread Pudding

4 Cups leftover Bread-torn in to bite sized pieces (pack bread to make a solid 4 cups)
2 Cups Milk (I used 1 cup milk & 1 cup cream)
4 Tablespoons Butter
½ Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
½ Cup raisins
Scant handful Craisins

Preheat oven 350Degrees F
· Place bread in a buttered baking dish (1.5 quart) and set aside.
· Scald milk and butter.
· In large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, salt, cinnamon, raisins & craisins.
· Stir some of the scalded milk into the egg mixture then gradually add the entire milk mixture to the eggs, stirring constantly.
· Pour over the bread.

Bake in a water bath.
350 Degrees F for 45 minutes
or until a knife inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean.

Serve warm with Vanilla-Rum Custard Sauce

Vanilla-Rum Custard Sauce

· 6 large Egg yolks
· 6 Tablespoons Sugar
· 1 Cup Heavy Cream
· 1 Cup Milk
· 1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract
· 3 Tablespoons Rum
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks & sugar for about 3 minutes.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat cream and milk over medium heat until bubbles form around the edge. Slowly whisk cream mixture into yolk mixture; pour back into saucepan. Heat over medium low, add in vanilla and Rum stirring constantly, until sauce coats the back of a spoon, 3-4 minutes or 170 degrees F.

Moussaka

Moussaka (My way)

2 tablespoons butter

2 onions, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

2 pounds ground lamb or ground beef

2 (16 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese or Colby Jack

4 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

· Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a large casserole dish.

· Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute onions and parsley until onion is soft and translucent. Increase heat, add lamb, and cook until evenly brown. Drain excess fat, and set aside.

· In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Chop tomatoes, and mix well with seasonings. Set aside.

· In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Whisk together milk and egg, then gradually whisk into flour mixture. Cook, stirring constantly until thick and smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in grated cheese.

· In casserole dish, place 1/3 of potato slices on the bottom, covering as well as possible. Top with half of meat mixture followed by half of tomato mixture. Repeat layers, ending with a layer of potatoes. Spread cheese sauce evenly over the top.

· Cover, and bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove cover, and bake 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.