Tamale Casserole

I already know that I'm going to make this again VERY soon! This tastes pretty damn near just like an actual tamale! And it only took 30 minutes (and like an actual 30 minutes... not the kind of 30 minutes that those professional cooks say, when in reality it actually takes double that time!) and well, minus the meat though. But that's what the crock pot is for!

All you need is your favorite meat, shredded, and this:

2 cups shredded cheese

an 8.5 oz box corn muffin mix

1/3 cup milk

1 egg

14 oz can cream-style corn

4 oz can green chilis

1 tsp cumin

salt & pepper

also a can of enchilada sauce 

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix the muffin mix, milk, egg, corn, chilis, cumin, and salt & pepper, and HALF the bag of cheese (about 1 cup) and pour into a sprayed 13x9 pan. 

Bake for 15 minutes.

After the first round in the oven, poke the "cornbread" and pour the enchilada sauce over all the holes, top with your desired shredded meat (chicken, pork, or beef) and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese.

** for the pork, I used a pork tenderloin and cooked it in the crock pot all day with simply root beer :) Also, I was able to shred the meat during the first round in the oven... major time saver!

Toss back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

Top with sour cream, for sure! 

P.S. I also just got the husband approved, "this is good babe!"

Burrito Bowl w/Chipotle Sauce

Wow! It's been over a month since I've blogged a meal!? And I had no excuse because it was summer vacation... hmm... well I'm quite disappointed in myself. 

Hopefully this easy burrito bowl will make up for it!

For the Bowl:

rice

salsa

tomatoes

onions

corn

black beans

lettuce

cheese

(and anything else you can think of!)

I've yet to find the perfect Spanish rice recipe (although I did skim through one earlier on Facebook that I might use next time!) However, for this, I simply made white rice in my handy dandy rice cooker, and mixed in salsa, corn, tomatoes, and onions. 

Then, for the homemade chipotle sauce, all you need is a Magic Bullet or a small blender and:

1/2 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream 

1 tsp adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)

2 gloves garlic

juice from 1 lime

dash of cumin 

Throw it all in the mixer, and that's it!

I'm kind of a baby when it comes to spice, so you can actually throw a chipotle pepper in there... I couldn't hang though. 

I made guacamole and had chips with this meal! Can't wait for the hubby to get home so he can try it out!

Taco Pie

This is a perfect meal for a family of 4-6... it's a fun twist on taco night!

You'll need:

1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
6 flour tortillas
1 lb ground beef 
1 onion
1 red pepper, chopped
1 small can green chilies 
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C cheddar cheese

1. Brush a 9" pie plate with olive oil, and spread 1 spoonful of the diced tomatoes on the bottom. Then place 4 tortillas so that it creates the bottom layer (they will overlap.)

2. Now cook the meat mixture! In a large skillet, brown the beef, and add the onion, pepper, and chilies. Drain the fat, and add the chili powder and cinnamon (I know, cinnamon?) Then stir in half of the remaining tomatoes, and cook for about 2 minutes. Pour onto tortillas in pie plate. 

3. Cut the remaining tortillas into strips, and layer over the pie. 

4. Sprinkle with cheese, and the rest of the tomatoes.

5. Bake at 400 degrees, uncovers, for about 20-25 minutes. 

Top with cilantro for that extra touch! Serve with sour cream/guacamole! 

Cobb Salad with a Garlic Herb Vinaigrette

Just a slight twist on the traditional Cobb...


For the Salad

lettuce
chicken
bacon
blue cheese
tomato
green onion
avocado










Garlic Herb Vinaigrette Dressing

3/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1/4 C apple cider vinegar
1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 tsp sugar
1 big or 2 small garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper

Homemade French Fries

These were actually pretty easy... Slightly time consuming, but worth it! And the whole bowl of fries was only ONE potato!

All you need is:
1 russet potato
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp garlic salt
1 tsp onion powder 
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika 
Water
Vegetable oil 

First, peel the  potato. Slice into french fry pieces and soak in water.

Sift the flour, garlic salt, onion power, salt and paprika. Add water until it's a batter consistency.

Heat oil in a nonstick skillet. I used my electric skillet and I had the temperature set at 375°. Coat them in the flour batter, and set them in hot oil, NOT TOUCHING. Once there browned, set them on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. :)

Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken Sandwiches

Craving something sweet? Try these Hawaiian chicken sandwiches! :)

You'll need:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 Tbsp honey

4 garlic gloves, minced

1 can crushed pineapple with juice

juice from 1 lime

Combine all these, and pour over chicken breasts in the slow cooker

Shred chicken in big pieces once cooked. Place on rolls.

I had these with shredded lettuce, cilantro, and onion.

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is not your typical chocolate chip cookie :) the steps are slightly different, and it requires separating one egg yoke (i know, difficult right?) but as long as you've got cornstarch on hand, and the patience to chill the dough either all day, or overnight... you're golden! Golden brown... like the cookies will be! ;)

Ok, enough chit chat... let's get started. Here's what you'll need:

2 & 1/4 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 & 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt

3/4 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C white sugar
3/4 C unsalted butter, melted
1 egg + 1 egg yoke
1 Tbsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips
(I've used both milk chocolate chips, and jumbo semi-sweet chips... use jumbo semi-sweet chocolate chips for sure!) 

You'll need one large bowl, and 1 medium bowl for this... and NO HAND MIXER! :)

In the large bowl, sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt.) 

In the medium bowl, melt the butter. Then add the sugars, and whisk.

Add the whole egg, and then 1 egg yoke, whisk. Then add the vanilla. Whisk. 

So you've got the dry, and the wet. Pour the wet sugar mixture into the flour mixture.

Stir with a wooden spoon.

It'll turn to dough eventually ;) Then fold in the chocolate chips.

Now, the hard part. CHILL THE DOUGH... for at least 3 hours, but I chill it overnight. 

Now, the dough gets very hard in the chilling process, so I take the dough out at least a few hours before I want to form the balls. (See, I told you, patience is needed) This cookie sheet shown is a 16 x 12. So as you can see, they are big balls of dough! About the size of a lime maybe... 2-3 Tbsp of dough. 

Then the key to making them LOOK like bakery cookies (because they will taste like them!) is placing a few chocolate chips on top of the raw dough before putting in the oven. 

The temp for these delicious cookies is 325, at about 10-11 minutes. You cant them SLIGHTLY browned when pulled out.

This recipe makes about 16 bakery style cookies!