Crock Pot Tacos

My husband can be a pickier pain in the neck than my son, especially when it comes to beef stew. He despises it, but does like the tender consistency of the slow cooked beef. I found a recipe in Betty Crocker's More Slow Cooker Recipes cookbook for Mexican Beef Stew and found a way to adapt it to my husband's tastes. Instead of serving it as a stew, I made it as a taco dish. I used a slotted spoon to remove the beef, tomatoes, corn and beans, draining most of the juice away. I served the beef, beans and veggies with crunchy and soft taco shells, taco sauce, shredded lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream. The result? My husband said it was the best crock pot dish I have made.

Crock Pot Tacos

2 lb beef stew meat
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained (I used plum tomatoes)
1 cup frozen small whole onions (from 1-lb bag)(I omitted)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 can (15 oz) red or black beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (11 oz) whole kernel corn
6 crunchy taco shells
6 soft taco shells

To garnish: 1 package of taco sauce, shredded lettuce,sour cream and shredded cheddar

Directions:
Mix beef, tomatoes, frozen onions and chili powder in 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker. Stir in taco seasoning mix, using wire whisk. Stir in beans and corn. Cover and cook on high heat setting 15 to 30 minutes or until thickened.

Dinner Disaster but a Dessert Thumbs Up!

I had a bad cooking day. Burned the roast beef, the mashed potatoes were dry and tasteless and the carrots, well, they're carrots. Boring and bland, not what you typically expect in this household. My family was actually pretty nice about it.  We played a few rounds of frisbee with the roast and made make shift vampire fangs with the steamed baby carrots. After playing with our food's novelty wore off, I decided to make a sweet treat I wanted to experiment with for the last few weeks. I made S'mores Candy Apples for a very happy and impressed crowd. I paired it with some iced hot cocoa, topped with whipped cream and cocoa powder. Once our bellies were full, we used out sugar high to continue our game of roast beef frisbee. That ended as soon as the dogs decided to play. Well, at least they enjoyed the roast.

S'Mores Candy Apples(makes 4 medium apples)

4 Red Delicious Apples (stems removed)
4 Candle Apple sticks 
1 sheet of wax paper
6.5 ounces of meltable chocolate (I used Wilton Candy Melts)
4 Graham Cracker sheets
40 mini marshmallows

Clean apples, cut off stems and insert sticks. Place apples on wax paper. Melt chocolate in microwave safe dish(make sure it is wide enough to dip the apples in one at a time) at 50% power for 45 second intervals, stirring in between.Place graham cracker sheets in a Ziploc bag and crush using a baking pin or meat tenderizer. Crush until fine. Sprinkle about 1/4 of the bag in a wide, shallow dish and set the rest aside. Remove melted chocolate from microwave. Dip apple in chocolate and twirl in microwave dish to cover apple fully. Remove and slowly roll apple in graham crumbs, coating the sides and finally bottom. Place back on wax paper. Attach mini marshmallows, one at a time, to chocolate apple. If you are having trouble getting the marshmallows to stick, dip one side of the marshmallow in the extra melted chocolate, then attach to apple. Repeat with the remaining apples and refrigerate immediately on wax paper. They will be ready to eat in 30 minutes.

Baby BLTs

I felt inventive today.  I decided to try a new spin on an old fave, BLTs. I wasn't sure the route I wanted to go, so I decided to try something simple - making them tiny and serving them up on baby sized biscuits.  I thought that these little gems might be a yummy and cute item for an appetizer or quick breakfast.  My savior, Bisquick, came to help.  Bisquick has a handy recipe cheat sheet on the back of the box, which includes, biscuits. I decided to use the drop biscuit method, but after the results, I probably should have kneaded the dough and cut out the biscuits.  They didn't turn out bad and were quite yummy; you just end up with a crumb farm on your plate,table in lap. This isn't a really big problem for us since we have a dog named Hoover(he works better than a vacuum ever could).  All in all, the biscuits kept falling apart and were hard to keep together.  I don't feel as though this was an epic failure and I am certain I can manipulate the biscuit recipe a little more to make it a little less messy. On a side note, my little ones ate the 'biscuit sandwiches' with scrambled eggs and bacon and loved them a lot, especially the extra crumbs they were able to feed to Hoover.

Baby BLTs(makes about 9)
2 1/4 cups of Bisquick mix
2/3 cup of milk
9 slices of bacon (turkey or regular)
2 small tomatoes, sliced thin
Torn lettuce leaves, small enough to garnish each sandwich
1/4 TSP (roughly) of mayonnaise for each BLT(optional)

Heat oven to 450. Prepare dough, mixing milk and Bisquick mix. When fully mix, drop biscuits on to ungreased cookie sheet using a tablespoon. Bake for around 10-12 minutes, until biscuits are turning gold. 
Remove and allow to cool.  When cool, carefully slice in half. Cook your turkey bacon until done, cutting slices in half. Add 2 bacon halves, a thin slice of tomato and lettuce garnish to biscuit bottom. Finish with mayonnaise, if desired. Top with biscuit top.

Hey Kids! Cappuccino Brownies!

I was lucky enough to come across this great recipe provided by Tasty Table.  They looked so awesome in her blog and I am a BIG cappuccino fan, so I felt like I should give them a shot. I have never been great with baking brownies, but I was determined to try. The process did take a little while, with cooling each layer in between frosting and glazing, but it was worth it. I was trying very hard not to eat the cappuccino icing while I was waiting to frost the brownies. I did manage to take a tiny square off the corner of the brownies to test them out. YUM! My husband was the first to try the full production and he said it was amazing, which is a huge compliment coming from him. So thanks again to Tasty Table for sharing this yummy brownie recipe!

Cappuccino Brownies

Ingredients for the Brownies
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp instant espresso coffee powder
1 tbsp dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt


Frosting
2 1/2 tsp instant espresso coffee powder
1 - 2 tbsp milk or cream
2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/4 cup butter, softened


Glaze
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup whipping cream


Directions for Brownies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of an 8 x 8 square baking pan (or line with parchment paper).In a medium bowl combine flour, espresso powder, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Put the chocolate chips and butter in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat but keep the bowl over the water and whisk in sugars and vanilla until completely combined. Remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature. Add in the eggs one, one at a time, whisking lightly after each addition. Using a spatula, fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just combined. Do not over beat! Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 - 35 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on rack.


Frosting Instructions
In a bowl, combine espresso powder and 1 tbsp of milk or cream, stirring to dissolve. Add in butter and sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed to blend then on medium speed until creamy, adding more milk, if necessary to make a smooth, spreadable consistency. Spread evenly over the brownie. Chill to harden, about 1 hour.


Glaze Instructions
Put the chocolate chips and whipping cream in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth. Let cool to lukewarm. Spread over frosting. Chill until chocolate is set, about 1 hour. Cut into bars or squares.

Insalata Pisani

My husband and I are not big salad fans, but we do try to squeeze one in once a week. I threw this colorful creation together once again using what I had in the house.  It is a very simple recipe that you can adjust to your own tastes.  I marinated the chicken using a McCormick marinade pack and made a simple dressing of olive oil, vinegar, balsamic vinegar, with salt and pepper. You can use whatever cheese is your favorite to sprinkle on top. The result was a healthy, colorful meal with lots of flavor.

Ingredients:
1 green bagged salad
4 sweet peppers - two yellow and two red
8-12 oz of grilled chicken boneless breasts, marinated for at least two hours (I used McCormick Peppercorn Marinade)
Olive oil - 2 TBSP for roasting  3 for dressing
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 TBSP white vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 - 1/2 cup of shredded Romano cheese

Slice peppers lengthwise and mix with 2 TBSP of oil, freshly grated pepper and salt.  Roast in oven at 400 for around 20 minutes, checking to make sure there is no burning. Grill chicken at 350 for 25 minutes or until no pink in the center.  In a large bowl, toss salad greens with oil, vinegars and salt and pepper. Top salad with chicken, peppers and cheese. Enjoy!

Penne with Vodka Sauce

Do you know how there is a famous recipe that travels through certain circles? This vodka recipe belongs to Amy K. in our NJ Nestie group and is the most requested recipe to be shared. This is by far and away the best vodka sauce I have ever had, beating out every Italian restaurant I have ever eaten in. In the past, I have made some substitutions to the recipe. For example, when I was too lazy to go out and pick up prosciutto, I have substituted turkey bacon or regular bacon.  I have to admit that even those it was fine to use the bacon, the prosciutto gives the sauce the best flavor. Today I mistakenly picked up shredded Romano cheese instead of the grated, but it worked out just fine. It look a little bit longer to get the consistency of the sauce to be perfect, but I managed. I also made this last year for our family on Christmas and it was huge hit.

Amy's Vodka Sauce
Makes enough sauce for 1 pound of penne.

1/2 c vodka
1 tbs red pepper flakes
2 tbs oilive oil
1 med onion, chopped
4 slices chopped prosciutto
1 lg can crushed tomatoes
1 c Romano cheese
2 c heavy cream
1/2 stick butter

Directions
Soak vodka and pepper flakes for 10 minutes - the longer the pepper flakes soak, the hotter the sauce will be. Remove flakes; vodka will turn red. Saute olive oil, onion, prosciutto in pot for 8 minutes. Add tomatoes. Add vodka, cook on low for 1/2 hour, then add Romano cheese, heavy cream, and butter.

Sneaky Carrot Burgers

I have one picky kid, one teething baby. Trying to find something to suit both of their needs while being healthy can be quite the challenge. My son loved to gobble up veggies when he was an infant in the high chair. I guess it broke up the monotony of always having strong smelling, foul tasting formula.  Once he was old enough to realize that there were other foods out there more to his liking, it hasn't been so easy to get veggies in his little belly. At a year old, my daughter is still pretty veggie friendly, but her incoming molars don't allow her to chew much without being in pain.  Awhile back, I had purchased Jessica Seinfeld's recipe book,"Deceptively Delicious".  Through trial and error, I have found out what works and what doesn't work (noodles 'buttered' with zucchinni and brownies with spinach are big hits. One pancake recipe with beets, ended up looking like Pepto Bismol and didn't taste much better). The other night I decided to make my variation of Jessica's 'Burgers 1'.  I make mine with a little twist that makes the burgers a little sweet. The burgers are also really moist, so they were easy for my teething beauty to chew.  My son hadn't had them in awhile and was skeptical, but once he tried one and remembered he liked them, the goal of feeding him vegetables was accomplished. I paired the burgers with some crispy oven fries, mashing a few up for my little girl so she could enjoy them too.

Sneaky Carrot Burgers (based on JS' 'Burgers 1)
Ingredients
1 LB ground beef or turkey
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 TBSP ketchup
1/4 TSP Worcesteshire Sauce
1/2 TBSP Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 TBSP Soy Sauce
1/2 cup of steamed and pureed carrots
1 TBSP garlic powder
1 TBSP onion powder
2 TBSP olive oil for cooking

Steam your carrots(I use a steaming bag in the microwave). When complete, use blender to puree. Mix all ingredients together, then add the pureed carrots. This will make you approximately 9-12 mini burger patties.I usually use the ground beef for this recipe because it comes out moister and tastier. Coat medium size pan with 2 TBSP of olive oil and add patties. Cook until done and serve on whole grain buns or alone.
These are great with some extra ketchup.

Crispy Oven Fries (Serves 4)
1 LARGE Russet potatoe, cleaned, peeled and cut into french fry strips
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP Kosher Salt
1 TSP pepper
1 TSP garlic powder
1 TSP Paprika
Cooking Spray, such as PAM

Preheat oven to 375. Toss all ingredients together until fully coated. Spray cookie sheet with PAM to help avoid sticking. Bake for 10 minutes and flip fries to the other side. Bake for 10 more minutes, then rotate cooking sheet. Cook for at least 5 more minutes, at most 10 minutes, to achieve the desired crispiness in the fries.