Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Taco Tuesday

Man i heart Mexican food! 

okay so.... actually I love being a "white person pretending to eat mexican food" So.... in truth I love taco's, burrito's & quesadilla's. Here lately I have been in love with my muffin pan. It seems like as long as whatever I cook comes in the form of a cupcake or muffin, then the kids will gobble it up. Its totally a win-win. Mommy wins because it is totally built-in portion control and the kids love it because everything is cooler "mini-sized". So tonight we had "Taco Cupcakes".

They were so simple and so yummy! Here ya go. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Turkey
4 tbsp Taco Seasoning (or a mixture of cumin, granulated garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, chili powder)
1 cup water

12 corn tortillas (the small tostada size)
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 lb Sharp Cheddar Cheese (Tillamook is my fav)



Toppings: (Totally your preference on this!)
Spring Mix with Spinach
Diced Roma Tomatoes
Sour Cream
Salsa
Jalapenos
Black Olives

Directions:
Oven Ready
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Brown ground turkey in pan with taco seasoning. Add water and let simmer for 5 minutes.
Grease muffin pan
Cut tortillas into 4ths and line the muffin pan with tortillas
Spoon the following into mixture: ground turkey, black beans & salsa
Top with cheddar cheese
Bake for 10 minutes (or until cheese is browned & bubbly)
Remove from pan & add toppings to taste!



This was so easy & so yummy! I think it would be prefect for a party! :)



Thursday, February 23, 2012

Best Cupcakes Ever

Today has been a tough one on this lady so the last thing I needed was to have to cook a complicated dinner. Luckily for me, on the menu tonight was "Meatloaf Cupcakes". This was one of the easiest dinners I have made in a long while and seriously could make a girl have to start attend Overeaters' Anonymous because I could not stop eating these. This recipe makes 12 cupcakes filled all the way to the top of the pan and after topping each one with mashed potatoes these are a meal in a bite.... or two or three... oh who's counting! Enjoy!

Ingredients Needed:

Meatloaf:

* 1 teaspoon olive oil
* 1 cup finely chopped onion
* 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 cup ketchup, divided
* 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (raw)
* 1 cup corn flake crumbs
* 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
* 1 teaspoon fish sauce or soy free soy sauce
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 2 large eggs
* Cooking spray

Potatoes:
*6 medium potatoes
*1/2 cup original almond milk
*1/3 cup sour cream substitute
* pinch of salt
* pinch of pepper
* pinch of granulated garlic

Topping (Optional)
* Chives
* Turkey Bacon Bits

Directions:

Cat Food Anyone?
Preheat oven to 350°.

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, chopped carrot, dried oregano, and minced garlic and ground turkey; sauté 2 minutes. Cool.

Combine turkey mixture, 1/2 cup ketchup, and the remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl.

Spoon the meat mixture into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.

Top each with 2 teaspoons ketchup.
Oven Ready


Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand for 5 minutes.

While the meatloaf is cooking, make the mashed potatoes.

Love this Thing
Place potato in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return potato to pan. Add milk and remaining ingredients; stir with a spoon to desired consistency.  If they are not creamy enough for you, add up to 1/4 cup more milk – although they need to be stiff enough to pipe on top.

Put the potatoes into a pastry bag with a wide star tip and pipe the mashed potatoes on top of the meatloaf.

Best Cupcake Ever
Sprinkle with bacon crumbles and chopped chives. (Optional)

Devour... I mean... eat so politely using your best table manners. Oh who am I kidding? Devour these puppies because if you don't someone else will! :)

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli & Quinoa Casserole

I just want to say that this is surely going to become one of our "go-to" recipes. This was super easy to prep & cooked while we did our nightly clean-up... which mostly consisted of screaming for us tonight. Ever have one of those nights. Well according to my two oldest sons I am the meanest mommy ever. BUT I make yummy dinner so at least there's that. :) This recipe calls for cheese and i used extra sharp cheddar because for whatever reason Cohen can tolerate that kind of cheese. ENJOY!!!!

Prepped & Oven Ready
Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli & Quinoa Casserole

  • 1 Cup Quinoa, rinsed
  • 1  Cups Water
  • 10 oz. Organic Cream of Broccoli Soup(Natural Grocers has a very yummy kind)
  • 1/4 Cup Plain Almond Yogurt
  • 2 Tbsp.Almond Milk
  • 1 1/2 Cup Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded, plus 1/2 Cup for topping
  • 1 tsp Granulated Garlic
  • 1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
  • 2 Cups Broccoli Florets, lightly steamed
  • 3 Chicken Breasts, cooked and shredded
  • Parmesan Cheese, for topping (optional)
Combine the rinsed quinoa and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cover.  Cook for 18-20 minutes, until the quinoa is fluffy.  Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350.  Coat a casserole dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the soup, yogurt, milk, cheese, garlic, pepper and nutmeg.  Stir in the quinoa, broccoli and chicken.

Spoon mixture into the prepared dish.  Top with reserved 1/2 Cup shredded cheese and parmesan cheese. 

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

Let cool slightly before serving.

Finished & Already Half Way Gone! :)

I'm Back!!!

After taking an amazingly awesome hiatus from the blog world.... I'm Officially Back! Here is this weeks menu. I will update with recipes & photos as we go.

1) Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli & Quinoa Casserole
2) Meatloaf Cupcakes
3) Sweet Potato Pockets
4) Asiago Meatballs
5) Taco Cupcakes
6) Bernie's Special :) ( I know you can't wait to find out about this!)

Hold on tight cause this week is awesome!

Ps.... Sugar Free Whip Cream & Berrie Tart will be featured also.... along with the Coconut/Lime Sugar Cookies!