Mastering the Basics: French Toast

French toast seems so simple, yet I seem to have issues with it. I didn’t eat French toast much growing up, we were a pancake household, and I rarely order it when I’m out to eat (I blame the horrible so-called French toast at the restaurant I worked at in college – it ruined me). So sometimes I forget French toast even exists.

But we like to have breakfast for dinner fairly often since we never really get to make a real breakfast in the morning. And after a few weeks my waffle maker starts begging for a vacation and I just don’t want another pancake but I also don’t quite want an omelet and I’m stuck wondering what to have until my brain goes – French toast! Yes!

So I searched some blogs and allrecipes and determined the basic French toast formula and a little while later we had some delicious French toast for dinner. The consensus that night was that French toast is muy bueno (no hablo frances!) and will definitely be making many appearances at our house from now on.

 

French Toast

From allrecipes.com

Ingredients

6 Bread Slices (thick slices work best)

2 Eggs

2/3 Cups Milk

1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Directions

Whisk together all ingredients except bread in a large, wide pan (rectangular Tupperware works great).

Heat a skillet over medium high hear. Lightly spray with no-stick spray.

Place bread into the egg mixture and allow to sit for a few seconds before flipping over to allow the other side to soak up the mixture.

Place in the hot skillet and cook until golden brown. Flip and cook the other side until golden as well.

Serve warm with your favorite toppings (syrup or fruit with whipped cream are awesome!). You can give a quick dusting of powdered sugar if you wish.

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats–Week 5 Rice Krispies Treats

 

Welcome to Week 5 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats blog event hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic! Check out the links in the hop below and head over to Meal Planning Magic to learn more about joining in the fun!

This week I picked a really easy but much-loved recipe – Rice Krispies Treats. These are a favorite of mine because of how quick and versatile they are while also being incredibly tasty. I used pumpkin spice marshmallows for these but they are also awesome with classic marshmallows. Last year around Christmas I found French Vanilla and Gingerbread flavored marshmallows as well and I imagine either of those would be fantastic too.

One of the great things about Rice Krispies Treats is that you can make these while something else is baking since they don’t need to go in the oven and they don’t take very long to make. Then you can just put the pan aside and move on to something else with one more thing marked off your to-do list. Gotta love that!

And I’ve found that these treats are always a hit. They are a popular item in gift baskets, always seem to disappear from dessert tables, and are always one of the first things gone from bake sales. So clearly I’m not the only one that loves these.

I had never had pumpkin spice marshmallows and though I thought they were a bit different at first I did really like them. They taste a lot like the pumpkin spice kisses. These would be a big hit for Thanksgiving too I think, especially with kids!

I’ve never frozen Rice Krispies Treats before but the Rice Krispies Treat web site says you can freeze them by cutting them and placing them in an airtight container with wax paper between each layer. They will freeze well for up to 6 weeks and just need to sit out for at least 15 minutes before serving. This makes them an even better treat for the holidays I think!

Rice Krispies Treats

From ricekrispies.com

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons Butter

1 Package Marshmallows, regular size

6 Cups Rice Krispies cereal

Directions

Melt the butter in a large pot over low heat. Once melted add in the marshmallows and stir until they are totally melted.

Remove the pot from the heat and add the cereal. Stir to coat completely.

Pat the mixture into a 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed liberally with non-stick spray. Allow the treats to cool. Cut and enjoy!

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats Week 2–Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Welcome to Week 2 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats blog event hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic! There were so many great recipes last week and I can’t wait to see what everyone made for this week! Check out the links in the hop below and head over to Meal Planning Magic to learn more about joining in the fun!

This week I decided to make chocolate chip granola bars. Yes, granola bars. I realize that these are by no means a traditional Christmas treat but I think they would be a great item to give away at the holidays. First of all, these aren’t your traditional crunchy granola bar. They’re more like a dense oatmeal cookie (if you’ve ever bought those oatmeal to go bar things these sort of remind a little bit of those). But these are sweet, especially with the chocolate chips thrown in.
These also freeze great and would be a breeze to add to a gift basket or bag. To freeze just wrap each bar in some plastic wrap and then place in a sealable bag or container and put in the freezer. You can then just add the wrapped bars to a cute little bag (Wilton makes great holiday themed bags for cookies and candy) or stack and tie together with a pretty bow. Presto! A perfectly gift-able item.
These bars are also great because, as we all know, after all the eating that happens from Thanksgiving until the end of the year it would be nice to have something available that was both homemade and not totally horrible for you.
Outside of the holidays these are a great item to make as well. They come together incredibly quickly – I’m talking not even 10 minutes. And the bake time isn’t much longer. You can make these without any crazy ingredients (I had everything on hand already). Plus, I eat a lot of granola bars, they’re my go to snack at work and while out and about, so it was nice to have something so familiar to reach for but in an even better version because I knew exactly what I was eating. Considering how expensive store bought granola bars can be and all the packaging waste they create these are such a great alternative.
I will definitely be making these a lot – for the holidays and all year round.

Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola Bars
From: The Frugal Girl
Ingredients
2 Cups Quick Oats
1 Cup AP Flour
1/2 Cup brown sugar, packed (can use 1/4 cup to 3/4 cup to make the bars more or less sweet)
1 Cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Honey
1 Egg
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch pan very liberally.
In a large bowl mix together the first 6 ingredients.
In a small bowl mix together the last 4 ingredients.
Pour the wet ingredients over the oat mixture in the large bowl. Stir until it is completely mixed.
Pour the mixture into the greased pan and spread it evenly over the pan using your spoon or spatula (or hands!).
Bake at 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool. Once completely cool cut into desired size. If freezing or gifting wrap each bar individually. If not freezing or gifting you can store these in an air-tight container on the counter.
Check out the Frugal Girl’s site for variations including an oatmeal raisin version and using wheat germ in this recip.e

Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bar

So this recipe comes from one of my favorite blogs: Peas and Thank You. I think Mama Pea is hilarious and I’m totally jealous of her awesome looking kitchen and incredible photography skills. Not to mention her adorable daughters. And even though we aren’t vegan her recipe posts still make my mouth water.

These granola bars are her healthy makeover of Quaker granola bars. I love chewy granola bars and go through phases where I' eat them all the time. I also frequently buy them for Doug’s lunch. But I’m trying to watch our intake of HFCS and sadly my beloved granola bars include HFCS. But Mama Pea’s don’t. This makes me very happy.

Mama Pea’s bars are vegan and mine are not. This is because I can’t find vegan versions of two ingredients here. One is vegan butter. I’ve used Earth Balance before and really like it but when I went to make these bars I discovered that I was out and a trip to the store showed that they no longer carry this. Boo! The other ingredient is the chocolate chips. I’ve checked every store in town and no one has vegan chips. Double boo! And I actually got lucky with the brown rice syrup. I can’t get it here but I did finally find it at the food co-op and hour away. Oh and I also cannot find brown rice cereal here so I had to use regular rice cereal. But if you can find all these ingredients you can make these just like Mama Pea.

I thought these bars were incredible and they held up really well. I wrapped them individually in plastic wrap and stored them in a zip lock bag in the fridge since it was really humid here when I made them. They last a week no problem. Definitely give these a try. They are really tasty and come together in no time.

Crispy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

From Peas and Thank You

2 Cups Old-fashioned Oats

2 Cups (Brown) Rice Crispy Cereal

1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Cup Brown Rice Syrup

1 Tablespoon Margarine (vegan or regular)

1/4 Cup Sugar

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips (non-dairy optional)

Preheat over to 325 degrees, Spray an 8 x8 pan.

Combine oats, cereal, flour, and baking soda.

In a small saucepan heat brown rice syrup, margarine, sugar, vanilla, and salt slowly over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir constantly. Allow to thicken slightly and then remove from heat. Let cool slightly.

Pour the mixture from the sauce pan over the cereal and oat mixture and stir to evenly cover. Then pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Press the mixture down lightly.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. The bars will become crispier the longer they bake.

Cool completely before cutting.

PW's Sleepin' In Omelette

I was slightly afraid of this recipe.... and it's all because of the cream cheese. You see, cream cheese and I have a strained relationship. It's one of those foods that I used to be convinced that I hated. I thought it was the devil in creamy white form. Then one day I tried strawberry cream cheese, that got me over the texture - so now I'm just working on accepting it in it's natural form, mainly by using it in recipes. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to just smear it on a bagel and eat it plain ::shudder::

But this recipe seemed like a good place to try cream cheese... although I was a little skeptical. I wasn't sure what it would be like baked and mixed with eggs. And, truth be told, it wasn't bad. I liked the lite sour taste it provided throughout the dish and the texture actually worked really well with the eggs and the bread. I will definitely be more open to this once hated dairy item in the future.

I did make a few changes to this from how the Pioneer Woman does it. For the bread in this I used a bag of wheat dinner rolls that I found on the bakery clearance shelf at Wal-Mart. I could not find onion rolls anywhere and I figured this was a great place to use some already slightly stale rolls. I think they worked really well, although I think the onion rolls would have provided a little extra flavor. I also left out the chives that PW calls for, I don't really care for them. And I cut the butter back to 1 stick, I think it's plenty. And I left out the dash of cayenne because I didn't have any.

We actually ate this in waves. We both had some, and it was delicious, and then a couple hours later had a tiny bit more (we had this on a lazy weekend). And it was so incredibly good a few hours later. But then I had a little more the next day and was not too impressed, it was kind of soggy and lost it's omph. So if you're only making this for two people you might consider halving the recipe.

Sleepin' In Omlette

Adapted From The Pioneer Woman

6 Wheat Rolls

1 Cup Shredded Cheese

1 Stick of Butter

10 Eggs

2 Cups Milk

1/2 Teaspoon Dry Mustard

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Spray a 9x13 pan. Tear rolls into pieces and place in pan, cover with shredded cheese. Cut or tear cream cheese into small chunks and place in pan. Cut the butter into small chunks and place it in the pan too. Mix everything else together and pour over the items in the pan.

Cover and put it in the fridge over night. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and bake for 25 minutes, covered. Then remove cover, crank oven to 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

I adore this dish. From the second I saw this recipe on the cooking board I frequent (it's a very popular recipe there) I knew I had to try it. Doug and I love Mexican food and salsa, chicken, and cheese are some of our favorite ingredients. Not to mention the very strong love I have for my crockpot. So this recipe was made for me.

This is probably one of the easiest recipes ever. I literally throw everything in the crockpot in about 2 minutes, turn it on, and I'm done. And if I can manage this at 6 am anyone can do it.

This also is excellent as leftovers, I think it's one of those recipes that gets better the next day, and it makes quite a bit. I love making this and having it for lunches for the next few days.

Also, I'm breaking one of my own rules here and am posting this without pictures. I swear I took one but I think maybe the camera ate it. So I figure I'll post this now and next time I make it I'll get a picture and add it.

Salsa Chicken

Adapted. I don't know where this originated, so let me know if you do!

4-6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts - Fresh or Frozen (I buy a bag of frozen breasts from the grocery store when on sale and throw the whole bag in still frozen)

1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 Cup Salsa of Choice (I use mild)

1 Packet Taco Seasoning (I have a big container of it and just sprinkle it over the chicken)

Taco Shells, Nacho Chips, or Rice to put this on and your favorite taco toppings. I put this into shells and top with Sour Cream and Shredded Cheese.

Place chicken in bottom of crockpot.

Cover with taco seasoning.

Combine soup and salsa, spread over chicken.

Cook on low for about 7 hours or until chicken is done. I usually cook this for 8+ hours while I'm at work and it's always perfect. Just make sure your chicken is fully cooked since crockpots cook differently.

Shred chicken - I use two forks to tear apart the pieces until they resemble what a BBQ pulled pork sandwich looks like. Stir to make sure the chicken is well coated in the sauce.

Eat however you like.

Tater Tot Casserole

So I have two confessions with this recipe.

The first is that I'm so late in posting this that we actually ate this when it was cold out. And it was a perfect meal for a cold night. I'm sure it's probably just as good now, but I haven't made it in about 3 months (at least).

And second, I have to confess my inspiration for making this. It's the Duggar family. You probably know who they are. Parents Jim Bob and Michelle and their 18 kids (and one daughter-in-law and one grandbaby-bun-in-the-oven), who live in Arkansas. They had a number of specials on TLC and now have a regular 30 minute show (18 Kids and Counting). Plus, and this is part two of this confession, they have a book out(The Duggars: 20 and Counting), and I just read it last week.

I find the Duggars pretty interesting. I'm not totally sure why that is. I don't think I have a lot in common with them really. But I could totally see myself hanging out with some of those Duggar girls, maybe they could even give me some hair pointers. But whatever it is I get sucked into that show. As a matter of fact I got sucked into the two episodes on this past Tuesday when I was packing. Luckily Doug doesn't know who the Duggars are, because I'm pretty sure that he'd make fun of me if he did.

Anyway, it was the Duggars who inspired me to make this meal. They talk about it on one of their specials, apparently it is a very popular meal amongst the family and I can see why. It sounds really good (to me at least). So when Doug came home one day and said that a coworker had been eating tater tot casserole and it smelled good I knew I needed to make this.

I should address that, yes, this has Cream of soup in it. Like I've said before, this doesn't really bother me. We eat things with it very rarely and I always make sure to get the low sodium/fat kind. Plus I'm pretty sure there are worse things out there for you than this.

Also, this reheats incredibly well. I was really impressed with this as leftovers. And it makes a lot, so you will have leftovers! Enjoy!

Tater Tot Casserole

Inspired by the Duggar Family

1 Pound Ground Turkey

2 Small Cans Cream of Chicken Soup*

2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 Small Bag Frozen Tater Tots

Preheat oven to 35o degrees.

Brown turkey, season to preference (I usually use some garlic powder and season salt).

Combine turkey, 3/4 cup of cheese, and soup in a large bowl, stir well. Place mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 pan, spread to cover the whole pan.

Cover mixture with bag of tater tots (still frozen).

Follow directions on the tater tot bag for how long to cook.

Add remaining shredded cheese and place back into oven until cheese melts.

Let sit for a minute to cool (it gets really hot!), serve and enjoy.

*You could also do one can of Cream of Chicken and one can Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Cheese.

A Quick Chicken and Dumpling

I feel I must admit this: I used to be a Jessica Simpson fan. There, I feel better now. When she first came out I ate up every song she put out. I Wanna Love You Forever? Screeched along at the top of my lungs. Where You Are? Voted for the video on TRL.... a lot.

But I outgrew my Jessica Simpson phase. You can only laugh along with stupid questions for so long, attempt to sing along to high, warbly notes so many times. So I was a little hesitant when I saw that this chicken and dumpling recipe was from her. Seriously? Ms. Is This Chicken or Fish was cooking on Ms. I Do So Many Shows I Have No Voice's show? Alrighty.

But yet it kept getting rave reviews and it did sound good, so I decided to give it a try.

And I'm so glad I did! This recipe is quick, super easy, and pretty economical. And the leftovers are incredible. I highly recommend this recipe to anyone after a tasty, comforting recipe for a cold night. I promise, it's good!

Jessica Simpson's Chicken and Dumplings

From: The Rachael Ray Show

3 Containers Crescent Rolls

1 Small Rotisserie Chicken, skin off and off the bone

1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 Cup Chicken Broth

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll out and separate the cans of rolls. Put a small amount of chicken in a crescent, roll up, press end into roll and place seam side down in 9 x 13 pan. Repeat until all chicken is used.

Cut up rest of rolls into strips and set aside.

Mix the 2 cans of soup and broth, pour evenly over the chicken and crescents.

Place strips over the mixture to make a crust.

Cook until top is brown and mixture is bubbly and tender, around 30 minutes.

Vegetable Soup

Growing up I never really liked vegetable soup, mainly because I didn't really like vegetables. But now that I'm older, and had really good vegetable soup a few times, I actually have started to like it. And even more surprisingly, I've even started to crave it. So when Doug mentioned that it sounded good to him too I decided that it was time I try my hand at this classic dish.

I found a recipe that sounded really good on Sweet Savory Southern and decided to run with it. The only changes I made to this recipe was to double it and add a half cup of water to get the consistency that I wanted. This was because I wanted a slightly thinner consistency, but you can add as much or as little as you want to hit your perfect consistency. Doubling this gave us the perfect amount for dinner and a few days of leftovers.

This soup is perfect for a nice cold day like the ones we've been having recently, so give it a try!

Vegetable Soup

Source: Sweet Savory Southern

1/2 large white onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

8 oz beef broth

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup water

2 1/2-3 cups mixed vegetables I used 2 small bags of frozen peas, carrots, corn, and green beans

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add chopped onion and cook for about 5 min. Add beef broth and canned tomatoes. Next add the mixed vegetables. Add seasonings and stir to combine. Add water to achieve desired consistency. Cover and simmer on low for about 35-45 min, stirring occasionally.

These are the directions for a single batch (except for the note about the vegetables). I doubled this.

A Diner Meal

I love diners. They are so much fun to eat at, even though they are hard to find. There is a great 50s diner in Branson, Missouri, that I've been to with my parents, but that's kind of a long drive for a diner meal. Enter this alternative meal.

As soon as I saw this recipe on delish.com I knew I had to make them. First of all, I've heard some great things about Katie Lee Joel's recipes and, second, the picture looked incredible. These were incredibly easy to make, cheap to buy all the ingredients for, and so tasty. I will definitely be making them again. A great thing about these is that you can tweak the recipe for your tastes. You can add or subtract ingredients from the burger mixture and change up the toppings so they resemble your favorite burger. That is the sign of a great recipe to me.

These fries are also incredibly easy. We've made these a few times since we first ordered them as an appetizer at Outback Steakhouse when we were trying to use up a gift card. They are incredibly decadent and overkill but they are so good. You could also switch these up buy using different types of fries (even homemade fries would be awesome here) or a different mixture of cheese (I'm thinking Mexican Blend Cheese could be great here). They are also great because you can make as much or as little as you want by increasing the amounts. These would make a great item for a Superbowl party, a game night, or even just a lazy meal at home.

Cheese and Bacon Fries

Inspired by Outback Steakhouse Appetizer

Ingredients

1 Small Bag of Frozen French Fries Type of your choice (I used spicy)

2 Cups Shredded Cheese

1 Cup Crumbled Cooked Bacon

Bake fries as directed on bag (or for your homemade fries recipe). Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese and bacon. Return to 350 degree oven for about 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Cheeseburgers

Adapted from: Katie Lee Joel as seen on delish.com

Ingredients:
1 Lb Ground Beef

1 Egg Beaten Lightly

1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder

1 Tsp Pepper

Butter

12 Slices Wheat Bread

12 Slices Cheese

Mix the ground beef, egg, garlic powder, and pepper together. Form into thin patties (mine made 6 patties) and cook in a heated skillet until done. When burgers are done remove from pan and allow to drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile butter one side of each piece of bread.

Wipe out the skillet and lay down brown, butter side down. Layer cheese, a patty, cheese and another piece of bread, butter size up.

Cook until the bread is toasted.

ETTB: Chili

This is another recipe from Doug's awesome mom that he was excited for me to make and I was rather nervous to try. The way that Doug's family thinks of chili is a lot different than how my family makes chili. Their version of chili is sweet with no kick, while my mom's chili is the only thing she adds any heat to (granted it's very little heat). I love both versions though, they each fill a different craving.

This recipe gets it's sweetness from a bit of sugar, but you could easily add some heat by adding spices or using a spicy chili bean. One thing I love about this recipe is that it can be made in the slow cooker. I love to throw this on in the morning and let is cook all day. Another great thing about this recipe is that you can easily make more to accommodate a crowd or make leftovers. In our opinion chili is one of those foods that is usually better the next day. To increase this you would just add more cans of beans and add more juice to reach your preferred sauce level.

I'm entering this recipe into Elly's (of Elly Says Opa) Eat to the Beat. When I was in middle school a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go to a Foo Fighters/Red Hot Chili Peppers concert with her. At the time, I can't believe I'm admitting this, I was way more into boy bands and pop princesses then I was rock bands. But of course I wanted to seem cool so I said I'd go. Flash forward to the concert: everyone else is singing along, screaming out the names of their favorite band members. I'm sitting there going "wow, these guys are really cool. Who knew?" I'm happy to say that night started my transformation into a well rounded music fan. From then on I've been a fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

This is particularly good since Doug is such a big fan of music. He loves every type of music there is (give him a type and I bet he can name at least one band in that area that he likes). He was actually pretty jealous when he learned that I had seen the peppers in concert (especially now that the band is on a break). Doug and I have definitely bonded over musicians, especially in the early years of our relationship. D is a great musician and I love to listen to him play, even though he swears up and down that he can't play chili pepper songs. Whenever I make chili I start to think about this incredible band and start to hum their songs. This time I was humming "Under the Bridge" since I've recently heard that on the radio. So, that's why I'm submitting it to Elly's awesome event.

Chili

By: Debbie, my mother-in-law

Ingredients:

2 lbs Ground Beef

1 Medium Onion

1 Can Kidney Beans

1 Can Chili Beans

2 Large Cans Tomato Juice

2 Tbsp Sugar

Direction:

Cut the onion into small pieces, brown with the ground beef.

Add beef and all other ingredients together in large pot, stock pot, or slow cooker.

Cover with lid and allow to simmer for 2-3 hours.

Great topped with crackers and a little cheese.

This makes a small to medium batch. You can play with the amounts of beans and juice to reach your preferred consistency.

You Want What Now?

First let me say that I have debated for a while now whether to post this or not, it's an incredibly simple recipe for something that doesn't look that pretty or sound that appetizing. But then I remembered the fact that it took me a while to find this recipe and that it wasn't on any of the blogs in my Google Reader (maybe there's a reason for that). So, with Doug's encouragement, I thought "why not" and here we are.

When Doug first mentioned that Shit on a Shingle (SOS) sounded good to him I kind of thought he had lost his mind. Really? A dish that military men joke about and that is the butt (haha) of many comedian's jokes sounds appealing? But then he told me about how he used to eat this with his grandpa and I understood, since there are foods I associate with both of my grandfathers (circus peanuts for one, ice cream for the other). So I agreed to make this meal for him and set about to look for a recipe. I started with my usual source, the awesome blogs I follow in GR, but had no luck. So then I turned to Google, and after lots of searching found this recipe (the first one to get Doug's approval).

I was a little anxious making this actually, since I've never made any type of gravy or cream sauce, so I was a little worried I'd mess that part up (either burn it or have it just taste like flour). But it actually came out really well. I made this just for Doug but did try a bite and it was actually pretty good. He ate it over some whole wheat toast and said it was really great. So, if you are so inclined, give this a try. It's way better than the name implies.

Shit on a Shingle (or Creamy Chipped Beef)

Source: Food Rules

4½ oz. dried beef

2 cups milk

2 tbs. butter

¼ cup flour

Salt and pepper

6 slices bread

Melt butter in pan, add dried beef. Cook 2-3 minutes to brown. Add flour and mix with dried beef . Add milk (reserve ¼ cup for later), salt & pepper. Bring to boil. Add remaining milk to thin to your desired likeness. Serve over toast or waffles.

I Fell in to a Melting Ring of Tacos

I love looking at blogs to get ideas for new, interesting dinner items to break up our usual routines. So I get really happy when I discover that one of my cooking friends has a blog going. So I was doubly happy when I saw that my friend Maci had a food blog and that it was full of incredibly yummy looking dishes. This is my first attempt at making something off her blog, but I'm sure it won't be my last.

This taco ring was so easy to make but tasted so good. I used ground turkey, which I'm still pretty new to and I like having easy places to use it (but you could totally use ground beef instead). The one issue I had with this had absolutely nothing to do with the recipe: the stupid crescent rolls didn't want to roll out right, needless to say I will be sticking to Pillsbury from now on, saving a few cents was so not worth the headache the rolls gave me.

This is an incredibly easy and tasty meal that I totally recommend for a quick, weeknight meal. It will definitely be making more appearances in our dinner rotation. And check out Maci's blog, it's great!

Taco Ring

As seen on My Yummy Goodness

Ingredients:

2 packages refrigerated, ready to bake crescent rolls (8 rolls each)

1 pound ground turkey

1 pack taco seasoning

lettuce, sour cream, salsa and cheese for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

To make the filling: in a skillet, brown turkey and add taco seasoning. Follow directions on seasoning packet, using slightly less water than called for.

To make the crust: open one pack of crescent rolls and separate. Lay the crescent rolls in a circle around the pan, narrow side pointing out. You want to do this so that the angled side of the crescent roll is going the same direction around the pan (i.e. if your first roll has the angled side on the right, then continue laying the rolls so that the angled side is on the right each time). When you are finished, it will look like a sun.

Open the second pack of crescent rolls and separate. Lay one crescent roll, still with the narrow end pointing out, in between two of the previous crescent rolls. Line up the bottom of this roll with the bottom of the first layer of rolls (it will be on top of the first layer). You just want to make sure that the pointy end of this one is in the middle of two pointy ends of the previous ones. Continue until all the rolls are laid out.

Using a spoon, carefully add the meat to the wide part of the crescent rolls.

Once the meat has been added, fold the narrow end of the crescent rolls over the meat.

At this point, you can tear the narrow ends and tuck the top of the crescent roll into the bottom of the roll. Using the extra ends you've torn off, cover any open spots you may have between rolls.

Bake until the crescent rolls are a light golden brown.

Lightly sprinkle with cheese (just a small amount) and return to oven until cheese is melted and toasty.

Serve with all your favorite taco toppings.

The Meal That Made Me a Keeper

Well, maybe not really, but I'm pretty sure it helped. I made these incredible enchiladas for the first time more than two years ago and they are still one of our favorite meals. I love them because, though I've been trying to work on improving my eating habits, these don't have anything in them that I have ever avoided. Doug loves them because they are a delicious Mexican food item. We both love Mexican food but do not go out for it very often anymore, for one because it can get expensive and, two, because I can make these at home.

I found this original recipe on allrecipes.com and have tweaked it slightly to make it exactly what we like. I love this recipe because it is easy and fast to throw together, relatively inexpensive, and makes incredible leftovers the next day (we usually double this to ensure a few days' worth of leftovers.) So try these, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Chicken Enchiladas

Adapted from allrecipes.com

4 cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese You can also use the Mexican cheese mix
1-2 Tablespoons Taco or Fajita Seasoning
1 (12 ounce) package flour tortillas
1 (8 ounce) jar salsa for eating

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Shred the cooked (and seasoned) chicken breast meat, and place in a large bowl. Mix in sour cream and shredded shredded cheese (retain about a 1/2 cup for topping). Place a heaping spoonful of the mixture in each tortilla, roll up, and place rolled tortillas seam-side down in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes, remove and add remaining cheese on top.
Bake for another 8-10 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Impossibly Yummy

I'll admit it: I use Bisquick. I use it for pancakes, cheesy garlic biscuits, and this cheeseburger pie. Go ahead and judge if you must, I don't mind. I like Bisquick. It is a great way to make things quickly, easily, and on a budget. We buy the big box from Sam's and it lasts us quite a while. I first made this recipe when I still lived with my parents and was amazed at how easy it was. This is one of the recipes off the back of the box and, according to the Betty Crocker site, is one of the most requested recipes for the company.

This is a great item to make on a night when you want something quick and easy but still warm and filling. When I made this I actually cooked my hamburger the night before so that I could quickly mix this up and throw it in the oven when I got home. I also doubled the recipe to make two pies so that we could get a couple of lunches out of it, it really reheats very well. So, if you can handle using Bisquick (and I'm sure you can) you should give this a try, it really is great.

Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie

From: Bettycrocker.com (also on the Bisquick box)

1 Pound Lean (at least 80%) Ground Beef
1 Large Onion, chopped (1 cup)
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese (4 oz)
1/2 Cup Original Bisquick® Mix
1 Cup Milk
2 Eggs

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray.
In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in salt. Spread in pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese.
In small bowl, stir remaining ingredients with fork or wire whisk until blended. Pour into pie plate.
Bake about 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Like a Bat Out of Hell

I think Meatloaf gets a bad rap. No, not the singer. I mean the food, that brown loaf so commonly made fun of as being a staple of horrible lunchrooms and fifties kitchens. I love meatloaf. I think that stems from the fact that we didn't have it all the time when I was growing up. My mom made meatloaf for special meals only, such as birthdays, anniversaries, good grades, etc. And yes, I do remember requesting meatloaf one or two times for my birthday meal growing up (hey, I never said I was a normal kid).

My mom's meatloaf is incredibly simple: meat, bread crumbs, eggs. Worcester sauce, and ketchup are the basic ingredients (no onions in my parent's household, much to Doug's dismay, but sometimes a little onion powder). So I based my recipe off of this, with just a few tweaks for our taste (no onions this time but I am sure I will have to give in eventually). I really recommend taking this recipe and changing it to please your tastes. Maybe you like onions in your meatloaf, maybe you hate Worcester sauce. Do whatever you want to make this taste good to you. We owe it to meatloaf to give it a chance to shed it's horrible reputation.

Meatloaf

By me (Adapted from my mom, Connie)

2 Pounds Ground Beef

2 Eggs

1 Cup Bread Crumbs

1 Teaspoon Garlic (I have a jar of minced garlic (yes, gasp!) but you could add however many cloves make you happy)

1 Teaspoon Season Salt

3 Shakes of Worcester Sauce

2 Shakes of Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon Steak Sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray pan with non stick spray (I use a roasting pan with the tray in it).

Mix all ingredients together. Form into a log or loaf shape and put into pan.

Shake a little more Worcester sauce and steak sauce on top if desired.

Bake at 350 for about 1 hour or until completely cooked.

This can be eaten with ketchup or steak sauce if desired. I think this is even better the next day for lunch.

The Great Exchange

The cooking board I frequent does a recipe exchange every few months, I did one last year around Christmas but hadn't done one since. So when the last one's roundup was posted I decided to do it. And I'm glad I did! The recipe I got is for a great veggie chicken rice casserole. It was really easy to put together and tasted great, especially today when I had some of the leftovers for lunch. This was the perfect thing for a cool, windy night like we had last night. And it is great because it makes a lot, which means a lot of leftovers, which I love. This is a simple recipe that doesn't call for any outrageous ingredients, which is a great thing. Try this one out on a cool fall evening, you won't be disappointed.

Veggie Chicken Rice Casserole

Source: allrecipes.com

2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup

1 whole cooked chicken, cut into pieces (the person who sent this to me likes to buy the rotisserie chickens from Sam's or Walmart; I used a couple chicken breasts that I had previously baked, shredded and frozen)

1 pkg. frozen mixed veggies, thawed and steamed

2 c cooked rice

2/3 c water

1/2 c crushed Ritz crackers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the soup, chicken, cooked veggies, cooked rice and water. Mix well and spread mixture in a 9x13" baking dish. Sprinkle crushed cracker crumbs on top and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes, then serve.

I'm a Copycat: Chicken Quesadillas like the ones at Applebees

When my friend Sarah and I go shopping you can almost guarantee that we will eat lunch at Applebees. We do not have one in the towns we both live in, so the only time we can eat there is when we go 45 minutes north to shop. So last weekend we took a road trip with her daughter to buy her Halloween costume and stuff for her totally awesome Disney Princess-themed 4th birthday party. So, of course, we had to go to Applebees since we had not been there is forever. We both have our usual meal choices, so usually menus aren't needed, however this time Sarah asked if I wanted an appetizer because she was starving (chasing a 3 year-old will do that to you). So of course, not wanting the driver to starve to death, I said yes and we began the agonizing process of trying to pick something.

We ended up getting the Chicken Quesadillas, and oh my are they good. They come out on this huge platter with giant dollops of salsa, sour cream, and shredded lettuce in the center of the plate. Surrounding that are these cute, triangular shaped tortillas stuffed with chicken, pico de gallo, cheese, and bacon. They were so good that I was wishing I hadn't ordered anything else so that I could just eat these. So after shopping till we dropped that day I ran home to look for a copycat recipe on the Internet and found this one that is perfect on Recipe Czaar. It tastes almost exactly like what Applebees serves and is really great dipped in salsa and sour cream (I can loose the lettuce, it seemed out of place to me). These are a great, quick meal (especially if you precook the chicken like I did).

Let me stop here to say that these are not exactly healthy. These have a fairly high calorie count on Recipe Czaar and it is really easy to eat a lot of these. However, I think that the occasional splurge is alright, but I definitely will not be making these every night. It is possible to make them a little better though, you could use turkey bacon, whole wheat tortillas, and low fat cheese and sour cream. But as a rare meal, these are an excellent treat.

This recipe makes one quesadilla, so multiply everything by the number you want to make. I made 5 total and had some leftover.

Chicken Quesadillas Recipe (Similar to those at Applebees)
From: Recipe Czaar

1 quesadilla
2 slices lean bacon (sliced into 1/2" pieces)
2 flour tortillas (8" diameter)
softened butter (softened for lightly spreading on tortilla shells)
1 tablespoon pico de gallo
1/4 cup shredded colby-monterery jack cheese
salsa and sour cream for dipping
2 cooked chicken breasts, cut into strips I shredded mine
Slice bacon and fry until bacon starts to turn crisp but not hard and brittle.
Remove from pan, drain bacon and set aside.
Spread butter lightly on one side of the flour tortilla shell.
Place buttered side of shell down, into a non-stick fry pan that has been preheated on medium heat.
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of bacon over entire shell, then add 1 tablespoon Pico de gallo, and 1/4 cup shredded Colby/Monterey Jack cheese over the bacon.
Add pieces of the cooked chicken.
Place the second flour shell on top of fixings, buttered side up.
Cook for about one- two minutes just long enough to heat the inside ingredients and then carefully flip the quesadilla on the other side and finish cooking.
The quesadilla should be heated through but not browned.
Remove quesadilla and place on a serving dish and cut into individual triangle serving pieces.
Serve quesadillas with your favorite guacamole sour cream, and picante sauce.

A Quick, Budget Friendly Meal

So it has been a while since I last posted. I've been fighting off a cold which has made cooking and being on the computer seem unappealing. But I am finally feeling better and am now pretty backed up on blog updates. So keep an eye out for some tasty items coming up, including my entry to Eat to the Beat and another birthday cake.

But first here is this tasty treat that Doug and I had for dinner not too long ago: nachos! I love nachos but had never made them at home before. They are so great: really easy, affordable, and you can add whatever you want to them. We kept these pretty simple but next time I may get more to put on them. One great thing about these is a last minute move by Doug. When it came time to add the water and taco seasoning to the ground beef (yes we use taco seasoning, we have a big container of it actually) instead of adding water he added beer! At first I was a little skeptical, but it added this awesome depth of flavor to the meat. It was just Budweiser that he added, though I think any beer would work as long as it wasn't one of the ones that has a different flavor to it (I'm pretty Blue Moon wouldn't work, it would taste weird). I'm not really a beer fan even, but I thought it was a great flavor.

This entry also sees the addition of a new tag for this blog. With money being so tight for many people there have been a lot of posts over on WC for budget friendly meals. So with that in mind I am creating a Budget Friendly tag, and I plan to go back eventually and add it to past items. That way I can easily point out these recipes to friends and they will be easy to find on here.

There isn't really a recipe for these nachos, just add whatever you would like to a pile of chips and you are good. You could do chicken or refried beans instead of the beef and your choice of vegetables, cheese, and toppings to make these truly yours.

What we used:

Nacho chips

Mexican Shredded Cheese

Ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning and beer

Salsa

Sour Cream

I realize that isn't the best picture, but nachos are hard to make look good for the camera :)

Trying My Hand at NOLA Cooking: Red Beans and Rice

D and I both take our lunch to work 5 days at week, which means that the same old standbys get really old really quick. To counteract this I've been trying to make a large batch of something on Sunday that at least one of us can eat for a few days. To counteract the boring same old lunch ideas I've been trying to find recipes for new dishes that I may not have made. This recipe, for red beans and rice, was recommended by a friend of mine on the What's Cooking board. It is from the blog Culinary Infatuation (which is written by Ally) and is actually for a healthier version of this classic New Orleans dish (hence why it was also in Joelen's NOLA blog event: which has some really tasty looking dishes).

I had never even had red beans and rice before, so I was a little intimidated making it. But it turns out I had nothing to worry about. This dish was incredibly easy to make and I actually found myself having fun making it. Not to mention it made the house smell really good! I had a little bit of an issue with finding some of the ingredients, some I could not find where I do my shopping (probably has something to do with where I live). I could not find turkey sausage at my store so mine is a little less healthy because I ended up using regular sausage. I didn't buy the hot sauce (I forgot to write it on my grocery list) but D said it was good without it, and I left out the celery, I just cannot make myself like this vegetable. I did buy Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning and I'm glad I did, it is really good! We've put it on chicken as well and it is really tasty.

This made a lot, but it was really good and D said it reheated pretty well for quite a few days. I definitely recommend this recipe, either my not-quite-so-healthy version or Ally's healthier version.

Red Beans and Rice

Source: Culinary Infatuation

Ally says this makes 6 large servings, which is about what I had.

2 cups rice (I used white rice, Ally used brown rice)
2 cans dark red kidney beans drained and rinsed
1 cup bell pepper (I used green but any color will do)
1 medium onion finely diced
1 cup diced celery (I omitted)
3 garlic cloves minced
1 Tbs. canola oil (I used vegetable)
1 bay leaf
1 Tbs. fresh chopped parsley
1 link turkey smoked sausage chopped into half moons (I used regular sausage)
5 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth/stock
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 Tbs (or more to taste) Tony Chachere's creole seasoning (I stuck with 1 Tbs because I was not familiar with the taste, next time I will use a bit more)
cayenne pepper to taste

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add canola oil. Add onions, peppers and celery (The Cajun Trinity) and saute about 5 minutes. Add sausage and saute about 3 minutes more. Add rice and garlic and stir occasionally for about 3-5 minutes until rice is toasted. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. When pot comes to a boil reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer 35 minutes. Uncover and mash some of the beans with a potato masher or a large spoon so mixture gets creamy. Cook uncovered for about 10-15 more minutes. Serve with pepper sauce.