When I was working, it always seemed that Mondays were the hardest and longest day of the week. I would scramble to get home and try and throw something together for dinner. Now that I'm staying at home again, it seems I'm always super busy right at dinner time.
I've learned things that I can make ahead of time are the best things for me to cook right now. The recipe I'm about to give you is quite versatile. You can make it the night before or a few hours before, cover it with foil and stick it in the fridge. I learned this the hard way but am glad I did so I can share with you.
I have made this two ways now. The first way was with taco sauce as the original recipe called for. Aaron wasn't all that impressed. Tonight I made it with enchilada sauce per his suggestion. He liked it a lot better tonight. Me? I liked it both ways.
Taco Stuffed Shells:
1 lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
4 ozs cream cheese
14-16 jumbo pasta shells
1 jar (no more than 16 ozs) salsa, any heat you prefer
1 jar taco sauce OR 1 can enchilada sauce, any heat you prefer
2 cups of shredded cheese (I like the Mexican blend for just about everything.)
Brown your hamburger meat and mix the seasoning in according to the directions on the packet. After the sauce has thickened, add in the cream cheese. Heat until the cheese is melted. While the meat is cooking, cook the shells according to the package's directions. Take the meat mixture off the heat and cool completely. Drain the shells and place on a cutting board or baking sheet where they won't touch until they cool completely. Spray the bottom of a 9X13 pan with cooking spray. Pour the entire jar of salsa into the pan and completely cover the bottom of the pan. Fill each shell with the meat mixture and place in the pan on top of the salsa. Pour the enchilada sauce or taco sauce on top of the shells. If you want to refrigerate and put up until later, this is the point you would do that. If not, continue following the directions. Cook in a 350* oven, covered, for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, cover the shells with the shredded cheese. Place back in the oven for 10-15 minutes, uncovered, until cheese and sauce is bubbly.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Tuesday Tip
Yes, I realize I'm posting twice today. I couldn't stand to let Tuesday pass without a tip. We've had a crazy few days at the Pier house or I guess I better say crazier than normal.
My tip today is cooking packet dinners. What is that? It's basically an entire meal cooked in a foil packet. I love these because, once again, there is little to no clean up. If you're not comfortable putting the packets directly on the grates of your oven, you can put them on a baking sheet. Remember to line that baking sheet with either parchment paper or foil.
You can find lots of recipes on the internet for these types of dinner. Today I'm going to share one that my mom dubbed "Hobo Dinners". I have no idea where she got the recipe. It is super simple and quite yummy. It's rather versatile too. I typically don't use onion on mine, but you could. I have in the past. Aaron's the only one in the house that'll eat onion so I don't cut one just for him. (Love you honey!!) You can also season the meat any way you want. I season them the way we do our burgers. I wouldn't, however, leave out the worcestershire sauce. If you don't like worcestershire, I could see this being yummy using soy sauce, BBQ sauce or teriyaki sauce.
I'm not giving you an amount when it comes to the potatoes either. It depends on the size of the potato and how much you will eat. However, you don't want to over fill the packet with potato. Aaron and I can usually split one potato.
Hobo Dinners:
Hamburger patties, one for every one you're going to feed
salt
pepper
garlic powder
worcestershire sauce
potatoes sliced thinly length wise
butter
Tear off a square of foil for each packet that you're going to make. It needs to be big enough that once it's all put together it will completely close. Place one patty in the center of each piece of foil. Season the patty on both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. (You can use whatever seasonings you like. This is just how I do it.) Cover the patty in worcestershire sauce. Place the sliced potatoes on top of the patty. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Put a couple pats of butter on top of the potatoes. Close up your packet by folding in two sides and rolling the other two sides together. Place in a 350* oven for 1 hour. Enjoy!!
My tip today is cooking packet dinners. What is that? It's basically an entire meal cooked in a foil packet. I love these because, once again, there is little to no clean up. If you're not comfortable putting the packets directly on the grates of your oven, you can put them on a baking sheet. Remember to line that baking sheet with either parchment paper or foil.
You can find lots of recipes on the internet for these types of dinner. Today I'm going to share one that my mom dubbed "Hobo Dinners". I have no idea where she got the recipe. It is super simple and quite yummy. It's rather versatile too. I typically don't use onion on mine, but you could. I have in the past. Aaron's the only one in the house that'll eat onion so I don't cut one just for him. (Love you honey!!) You can also season the meat any way you want. I season them the way we do our burgers. I wouldn't, however, leave out the worcestershire sauce. If you don't like worcestershire, I could see this being yummy using soy sauce, BBQ sauce or teriyaki sauce.
I'm not giving you an amount when it comes to the potatoes either. It depends on the size of the potato and how much you will eat. However, you don't want to over fill the packet with potato. Aaron and I can usually split one potato.
Hobo Dinners:
Hamburger patties, one for every one you're going to feed
salt
pepper
garlic powder
worcestershire sauce
potatoes sliced thinly length wise
butter
Tear off a square of foil for each packet that you're going to make. It needs to be big enough that once it's all put together it will completely close. Place one patty in the center of each piece of foil. Season the patty on both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. (You can use whatever seasonings you like. This is just how I do it.) Cover the patty in worcestershire sauce. Place the sliced potatoes on top of the patty. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Put a couple pats of butter on top of the potatoes. Close up your packet by folding in two sides and rolling the other two sides together. Place in a 350* oven for 1 hour. Enjoy!!
Friday Night Dinner
I know in my last Friday night dinner post I mentioned that I rarely cook on Friday nights. However, we had already eaten out three nights last week, so I really thought we needed a home cooked meal. I don't have anything against eating out, but I get tired of it and I had bought all those groceries last week.
We love Pei Wei. Michael especially loves their honey seared chicken. Imagine my excitement when I came across for a honey chicken recipe that's similar to that at Pei Wei. The biggest difference is the chicken isn't fried before being put in the sauce. The other great part about this recipe is that it can be cooked either in the oven or in the crock pot. I did it in the oven because, go figure, I got busy with the girls and forgot about dinner. I was also almost able to throw this dinner completely together in the time it takes one of the girls' bottles to warm. (4 1/2 minutes for those that might be wondering.) I served the chicken over brown rice. Yes, my little picky eater prefers brown rice to white rice. I'll put that in the win column.
For my friends in Midland, anyone that can get me a knock off recipe of Kuo's honey chicken will have my undying gratitude forever. I love and miss that stuff.
Want to see the original recipe? Find it here.
Honey Seared Chicken:
3/4 pounds chicken (I used chicken breast. You use whatever you like.)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp back pepper
1/2 cup honey (Get the real stuff. Not the fake stuff they sell at the grocery store.)
1/8 cup chopped onion or 1/16 cup onion flake (I used the flake. Less clean up and no tears.)
1/8 cup ketchup
1/4 cup soy sauce (Use the light for less sodium, Your heart will thank you.)
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Slow Cooker Directions: Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine all other ingredients. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for three hours or high for for 1 1/2 hours. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Return to pot and toss with sauce.
Oven Directions: Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Place in an 8X8 pan. Combine all other ingredients. Pour sauce over chicken. Stir to be sure chicken is coated. Bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes uncovered. Stir again after 10 minutes.
Serves 2
Something I would do differently the next time I fix this is to take the sauce after cooking the chicken, make a slurry out of corn starch and water and thicken it on the stove top.
We love Pei Wei. Michael especially loves their honey seared chicken. Imagine my excitement when I came across for a honey chicken recipe that's similar to that at Pei Wei. The biggest difference is the chicken isn't fried before being put in the sauce. The other great part about this recipe is that it can be cooked either in the oven or in the crock pot. I did it in the oven because, go figure, I got busy with the girls and forgot about dinner. I was also almost able to throw this dinner completely together in the time it takes one of the girls' bottles to warm. (4 1/2 minutes for those that might be wondering.) I served the chicken over brown rice. Yes, my little picky eater prefers brown rice to white rice. I'll put that in the win column.
For my friends in Midland, anyone that can get me a knock off recipe of Kuo's honey chicken will have my undying gratitude forever. I love and miss that stuff.
Want to see the original recipe? Find it here.
Honey Seared Chicken:
3/4 pounds chicken (I used chicken breast. You use whatever you like.)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp back pepper
1/2 cup honey (Get the real stuff. Not the fake stuff they sell at the grocery store.)
1/8 cup chopped onion or 1/16 cup onion flake (I used the flake. Less clean up and no tears.)
1/8 cup ketchup
1/4 cup soy sauce (Use the light for less sodium, Your heart will thank you.)
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Slow Cooker Directions: Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine all other ingredients. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for three hours or high for for 1 1/2 hours. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Return to pot and toss with sauce.
Oven Directions: Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Place in an 8X8 pan. Combine all other ingredients. Pour sauce over chicken. Stir to be sure chicken is coated. Bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes uncovered. Stir again after 10 minutes.
Serves 2
Something I would do differently the next time I fix this is to take the sauce after cooking the chicken, make a slurry out of corn starch and water and thicken it on the stove top.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Saturday Morning Breakfast
Last Saturday morning, Michael woke up wanting cinnamon rolls. I had forgotten to put them on the grocery list so we didn't have any. Michael was ready to sign his mommy up for mother of the year at that point. I then realized I had pinned a recipe for a cinnamon roll cake on pinterest. I told Michael we were going to make homemade cinnamon rolls. I didn't tell him it was cake because I didn't want him going to school on Monday telling them that Mommy fed him cake. My mom would let me have pecan pie for breakfast and got talked to when I told my teacher about it.
I wish I could say that the cake went off without a hitch since I bake so many cakes. However, Saturday morning I made several rookie mistakes. The first mistake was making sure I had enough flour to make the recipe. I had exactly two cups of all purpose flour but the recipe called for three. I noticed, though, that from Aaron's bread making days, we had an almost full bag of whole wheat flour. Yes I used a cup of whole wheat flour in my cake. It made the texture a little firm and the edges and bottom were a little crunchy but it tasted fabulous. My second mistake was not checking to see how much powdered sugar we had. I usually have two or three bags of the stuff on hand so I can make buttercream at a moments notice. I haven't made any cakes lately so I didn't have as much powdered sugar as I thought. The glaze was probably a little runnier than it would've been had I checked how much powdered sugar I had. I also barely had enough regular sugar to make the cake. (Yes, I've already sent in my application for baker of the year also.)
I tell you all this to let you know that I make mistakes in the kitchen all the time. However, sometimes mistakes can be good and make your recipes better. Sometimes, like this time, they don't do anything really. Other times, yes, they can completely ruin your recipe. Just because you make a mistake doesn't mean everything is lost.
Here is the original recipe.
Cinnamon Roll Cake:
Cake:
3 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 c sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c milk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c butter, melted
Topping:
1 c butter, softened
1 c brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp cinnamon
Glaze:
2 c powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350*. Mix everything together for the cake except the melted butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9X13 pan. For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake for 28-32 minutes. While the cake is still warm, drizzle glaze over cake.
I wish I could say that the cake went off without a hitch since I bake so many cakes. However, Saturday morning I made several rookie mistakes. The first mistake was making sure I had enough flour to make the recipe. I had exactly two cups of all purpose flour but the recipe called for three. I noticed, though, that from Aaron's bread making days, we had an almost full bag of whole wheat flour. Yes I used a cup of whole wheat flour in my cake. It made the texture a little firm and the edges and bottom were a little crunchy but it tasted fabulous. My second mistake was not checking to see how much powdered sugar we had. I usually have two or three bags of the stuff on hand so I can make buttercream at a moments notice. I haven't made any cakes lately so I didn't have as much powdered sugar as I thought. The glaze was probably a little runnier than it would've been had I checked how much powdered sugar I had. I also barely had enough regular sugar to make the cake. (Yes, I've already sent in my application for baker of the year also.)
I tell you all this to let you know that I make mistakes in the kitchen all the time. However, sometimes mistakes can be good and make your recipes better. Sometimes, like this time, they don't do anything really. Other times, yes, they can completely ruin your recipe. Just because you make a mistake doesn't mean everything is lost.
Here is the original recipe.
Cinnamon Roll Cake:
Cake:
3 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 c sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c milk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c butter, melted
Topping:
1 c butter, softened
1 c brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp cinnamon
Glaze:
2 c powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350*. Mix everything together for the cake except the melted butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9X13 pan. For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake for 28-32 minutes. While the cake is still warm, drizzle glaze over cake.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Tuesday Tip
I've decided that I'm going to try to give you a little tip every Tuesday morning. This will all depend on what kind of mood the twins are in.
Today's tip is parchment paper. I use this stuff all the time. I line my baking sheets with it just about every time I make biscuits or cookies. It keeps them from sticking and it makes clean up super easy. Just about every time I've used it, there has been zero clean up on the pans. I just have to throw out the parchment paper. The pan stays clean. Several weeks ago I used it to make sausage balls hoping it would at the least keep clean up a little easier. I fully expected to have to wash the pans due to the grease from the sausage. I was pleasantly surprised to not have any clean up and the bottoms of the sausage balls browned nicely. If you've never used it in your baking, I highly recommend that you try it. Especially if you're a busy mom like me or if your dishwasher stays full all the time like ours does, you definitely need to try this "trick".
I thought of this tip last night while making dinner. I made taco stuffed biscuits. (Not sure if that's the "real" name for them, but that's what I'm calling them.) It seems that every time I make biscuits they stick something awful. I don't know when it was, but Aaron and I decided to start putting parchment paper down when we made biscuits to help with clean up. As I did that last night, I wondered how many other people did that.
This week Aaron issued me a challenge to cook things that were half-way healthy and something we thought Michael might think about trying. Michael is a VERY picky eater. Most nights he eats either chicken nuggets, mac n cheese or a fried weenie. (I know. Go ahead and nominate me for mother of the year.) I can usually get him to eat taco meat, spaghetti and rarely can get him to try whatever Aaron and I are eating. I do have to say, though, that he will eat his weight in fruits and vegetables. As I was going through recipes this weekend, I came across this recipe and decided it might be something he might actually try. Not only did he try it, but he loved it. He's even told me several times this morning how good dinner was last night. That's high praise from a three year old. The other great thing about this meal is it is a great one handed meal. That means you can very easily eat it with one hand. In our house, that's incredibly important as it always seems one of the girls needs to be held or fed about the time we have dinner.
This recipe was super easy to throw together and I was able to just about get both girls fed while it cooked. It's super important for me to be able to multi-task these days. Want to see the original recipe? Find it here.
The only change I made from the original recipe was that I didn't add any salsa to the meat. Michael doesn't like salsa and if he had seen it in the mixture, he would not have eaten it.
Taco Stuffed Biscuits:
1 can Grand biscuits (Do NOT get the layered biscuits.)
1 lb ground beef (I always use the 97% fat free ground beef.)
1 packet taco seasoning (I like the McCormick low sodium.)
shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 350*. Brown ground beef and mix with seasoning according to the packet's directions. Roll out biscuits to about 1/4 inch think. Place 1-2 tablespoons of meat on half of biscuit. Top with cheese. Fold other half of biscuit over the meat and press to seal. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the biscuits are brown. Serve with your favorite taco toppings.
Today's tip is parchment paper. I use this stuff all the time. I line my baking sheets with it just about every time I make biscuits or cookies. It keeps them from sticking and it makes clean up super easy. Just about every time I've used it, there has been zero clean up on the pans. I just have to throw out the parchment paper. The pan stays clean. Several weeks ago I used it to make sausage balls hoping it would at the least keep clean up a little easier. I fully expected to have to wash the pans due to the grease from the sausage. I was pleasantly surprised to not have any clean up and the bottoms of the sausage balls browned nicely. If you've never used it in your baking, I highly recommend that you try it. Especially if you're a busy mom like me or if your dishwasher stays full all the time like ours does, you definitely need to try this "trick".
I thought of this tip last night while making dinner. I made taco stuffed biscuits. (Not sure if that's the "real" name for them, but that's what I'm calling them.) It seems that every time I make biscuits they stick something awful. I don't know when it was, but Aaron and I decided to start putting parchment paper down when we made biscuits to help with clean up. As I did that last night, I wondered how many other people did that.
This week Aaron issued me a challenge to cook things that were half-way healthy and something we thought Michael might think about trying. Michael is a VERY picky eater. Most nights he eats either chicken nuggets, mac n cheese or a fried weenie. (I know. Go ahead and nominate me for mother of the year.) I can usually get him to eat taco meat, spaghetti and rarely can get him to try whatever Aaron and I are eating. I do have to say, though, that he will eat his weight in fruits and vegetables. As I was going through recipes this weekend, I came across this recipe and decided it might be something he might actually try. Not only did he try it, but he loved it. He's even told me several times this morning how good dinner was last night. That's high praise from a three year old. The other great thing about this meal is it is a great one handed meal. That means you can very easily eat it with one hand. In our house, that's incredibly important as it always seems one of the girls needs to be held or fed about the time we have dinner.
This recipe was super easy to throw together and I was able to just about get both girls fed while it cooked. It's super important for me to be able to multi-task these days. Want to see the original recipe? Find it here.
The only change I made from the original recipe was that I didn't add any salsa to the meat. Michael doesn't like salsa and if he had seen it in the mixture, he would not have eaten it.
Taco Stuffed Biscuits:
1 can Grand biscuits (Do NOT get the layered biscuits.)
1 lb ground beef (I always use the 97% fat free ground beef.)
1 packet taco seasoning (I like the McCormick low sodium.)
shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 350*. Brown ground beef and mix with seasoning according to the packet's directions. Roll out biscuits to about 1/4 inch think. Place 1-2 tablespoons of meat on half of biscuit. Top with cheese. Fold other half of biscuit over the meat and press to seal. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the biscuits are brown. Serve with your favorite taco toppings.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Friday Night Dinner
Yes I know it's Monday. We had a crazy weekend so I'm just getting around to what we had for dinner Friday night. Usually I don't cook on Friday nights. We either go out, Aaron picks something up or we eat left overs. However, I thought we were going to have company Friday night so I cooked. I wanted something that would feed several of us, leave left overs (hopefully) and would be super easy since I would be busy with the twins and getting my house ready for company. I decided on Mexican Shredded Pot Roast. You couldn't get any easier than this. The only issue I had with it is that it has to cook for 12 hours. If you eat at 6 like we do, that means you have to have it in the slow cooker by 6 that morning. I thought the roast was super yummy. Aaron wasn't a fan. I thought I'd share the recipe anyway. You can find the original recipe here.
Mexican Post Roast:
1 3-4 pound roast (I used rump. The original recipe used chuck. Your choice.)
2 cans Rotel
1 can each style pinto beans
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
chili powder
Completely coat the roast in chili powder. Dump all other ingredients except the beans into your slow cooker and add the roast. Cook on low for 11 hours. At the 11 hour mark, add in the beans and cook an additional hour. After 12 hours, remove the roast and shred using two forks or however you choose to shred the meat. Add the meat back into the slow cooker. Serve over rice, noodles or in tortillas. Top with cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream and/or any of your other favorite taco toppings.
Mexican Post Roast:
1 3-4 pound roast (I used rump. The original recipe used chuck. Your choice.)
2 cans Rotel
1 can each style pinto beans
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
chili powder
Completely coat the roast in chili powder. Dump all other ingredients except the beans into your slow cooker and add the roast. Cook on low for 11 hours. At the 11 hour mark, add in the beans and cook an additional hour. After 12 hours, remove the roast and shred using two forks or however you choose to shred the meat. Add the meat back into the slow cooker. Serve over rice, noodles or in tortillas. Top with cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream and/or any of your other favorite taco toppings.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Ummmm....Yeah....
I know I haven't posted any recipes since I posted the rock candy recipe Sunday. I cooked Monday night, but it was one of my misadventures. I apparently need to remember what my second grade teacher, Mrs. Foshee, taught us. Read the directions carefully before you start. However, no one ever taught us to read directions while you have two screaming babies. I missed one step in the recipe...reducing the sauce to a glaze before basting the pork loin. It still tasted really good, but it could've been better. I promise I will make it again soon and post the recipe along with pictures.
We've been eating a lot of leftovers this week so I won't be posting a lot of recipes this week.
I do want to share my one of my secrets to being able to get dinner on the table some nights. That secret is my Crock Pot. If you don't have a Crock Pot or slow cooker of any kind, I highly recommend getting one. It is so nice to throw something in there that morning and not thinking about it the rest of the day. Plus your house smells yummy all day because of what you're cooking. Most of my slow cooker recipes I can literally throw together in the time it takes me to warm a bottle. That's a good thing since some days that's the only time I get.
You maybe thinking, but April, I love my slow cooker, but it's a pain in the butt to clean. I heard these same words from my husband a few weeks ago. Reynold's makes these wonderful slow cooker bags. They are just like their oven bags that I love to cook briskets in and other dishes in except they're made for your slow cooker. There was literally no clean up Monday night after cooking my pork loin. The bag was taken out and thrown away. There was nothing left in the cooker. The only thing that needed to be washed was the lid which we just stuck in the dishwasher. Several weeks ago I made a taco soup in my Crock Pot with one of those bags and had excellent results with no clean up. That was wonderful because when I've made it in the past the cheese always burned a little around the edges. This way whatever burned around the edges was thrown away instead of being soaked overnight to get it off.
I hope these two little hints help out some of you busy moms out there. Happy cooking!!
We've been eating a lot of leftovers this week so I won't be posting a lot of recipes this week.
I do want to share my one of my secrets to being able to get dinner on the table some nights. That secret is my Crock Pot. If you don't have a Crock Pot or slow cooker of any kind, I highly recommend getting one. It is so nice to throw something in there that morning and not thinking about it the rest of the day. Plus your house smells yummy all day because of what you're cooking. Most of my slow cooker recipes I can literally throw together in the time it takes me to warm a bottle. That's a good thing since some days that's the only time I get.
You maybe thinking, but April, I love my slow cooker, but it's a pain in the butt to clean. I heard these same words from my husband a few weeks ago. Reynold's makes these wonderful slow cooker bags. They are just like their oven bags that I love to cook briskets in and other dishes in except they're made for your slow cooker. There was literally no clean up Monday night after cooking my pork loin. The bag was taken out and thrown away. There was nothing left in the cooker. The only thing that needed to be washed was the lid which we just stuck in the dishwasher. Several weeks ago I made a taco soup in my Crock Pot with one of those bags and had excellent results with no clean up. That was wonderful because when I've made it in the past the cheese always burned a little around the edges. This way whatever burned around the edges was thrown away instead of being soaked overnight to get it off.
I hope these two little hints help out some of you busy moms out there. Happy cooking!!
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