Crockpot burgers with Mushroom and Onion Gravy

This is super simple!! I made 6 rather large patties of 80% lean ground beef. Make sure you season it!! Place those, yes raw!!, in the bottom of a crock pot and then mix together one can of golden mushroom soup and a can of French onion soup with a little water. I added an additional can of sliced mushrooms cause I like them!! Cook on low for 7-8 hours. Take out the patties, place the "gravy" in a pan and thicken with a little corn starch in water. Pour back over burgers and serve with rice. I cooked mine in beef broth. Delicious!!

Shrimp Tacos

I had been wanting to make shrimp tacos for a while and found a recipe on Pinterest that inspired me (of course!).  

2 lb. frozen shrimp, thawed and peeled

1 T. chili powder

1 T. onion powder

1 T. garlic powder

1 T. cumin

1 T. salt

Juice of 1 Fresh lime

Oil

First, mix all the dry ingredients and then toss onto the shrimp.  Squeeze the lime juice all over the shrimp and toss to cover.  Set aside.

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

Juice of 1 Fresh lime

salt to taste

Next, combine all of these ingredients and set aside.

1/4 head cabbage, thinly sliced

Juice of 1 fresh lime

salt to taste

Then, combine these ingredients and set aside.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add shrimp in a single layer.  You will need to do this in at least 2 batches.  Cook 2-3 minutes and turn each shrimp.  Cook another 2 minutes and remove to a container with a bowl to keep warm.  Continue until all shrimp are cooked.

Heat up flour or corn tortillas, then place shrimp, yogurt sauce, cabbage and a bit of colby-jack cheese.  Delicious!

Taco Pizza

Pizza crust ( I used a mix)
1 lb. hamburger meat, browned and drained
1 can refried beans
1 can chopped green chilies
1 pouch taco seasoning
Shredded Mexican blend cheese
Sliced black olives
Diced fresh tomatoes
Chopped cilantro
Sour cream

Combine hamburger, beans, chilies and taco seasoning on the stove and heat through. Partially bake the pizza crust. Spread the meat mixture in a thin layer, sprinkle with cheese and olives. Bake at 450 degrees until crust is brown and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with tomatoes, cilantro and dollop on sour cream. Enjoy!!

Chicken Ricotta Rollups

I was inspired by a recipe on Pinterest and created my own.


I had a chicken that I had roasted because it was in the fridge and it needed to be cooked.  I then pulled off the meat and set it aside


I added 1 container of part-skim ricotta cheese and a bag of frozen brocolli.


I had soaked lasagna noodles in some fairly warm water to get them soft.


I placed a noodle in a 9x13 baking dish, added about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture, sprinkled on mozzarella cheese and rolled up.  After all of the rolls were complete, I covered with a jar of pasta sauce and sprinkled with grated fresh Parmesan cheese.  I baked at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes.




Chicken Ricotta Roll-ups


2 cups shredded chicken
1 16 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese
1 bag frozen chopped broccoli
1 package of lasagna noodles, soaked in water to soften
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 jar pasta sauce
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese


Combine chicken, ricotta and brocolli in a bowl.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Lay lasagna noodles in 9x13 baking dish and put 1/2 cup of chicken mixture at one end.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and roll up.  Cover with pasta sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Pancakes

Pancakes are amazing when they are well made.

Per batch I use:
1 cup flour
4 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in smaller bowl. Dump all wet into dry and mix until it just comes together. Griddle til done!

Another version is to use all or part buttermilk but you have to use baking soda instead.

Mini Cream Pies!

Cream pie filling is so versatile!  You can use it plain, add chocolate chips, coconut, the options are endless!  This is my mother's recipe that she used all the time I was growing up.


Basic Vanilla Cream Pie Filling:


2 cups of milk
2 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp butter
Dash of salt
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla


Mix 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup milk together in a small bowl or cup and set aside.  Add all the other ingredients to a saucepan and whisk together to combine.  Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until it just comes to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and add cornstarch/milk mixture and continue stirring until the pudding thickens.  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and chill.




For Chocolate Cream Pies:
Stir in 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips until melted and chill.  Fill a pre-baked pie crust.


For German Chocolate Pies:
Stir in 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 cup of sweetened coconut flakes until melted and combined and chill.  Fill a pre-baked pie crust.


For Banana Cream Pies:
Slice or chop several bananas and layer with the chilled vanilla cream pie filling into a pre-baked pie crust.


For Pumpkin Cream Pies:
Mix in 1 cup of canned pumpkin and add cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.  Chill and put in a pre-baked pie crust.




Pie Crust (Paula Deen's Recipe)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold (I used butter-flavored Crisco)
• 12 tablespoons butter, cold and cubed
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup ice water

I combined all the dry ingredients with the butter and shortening into a food processor and pulsed until it looked like coarse crumbs.  Then I put in the water until the dough just came together.  Remove and separate into 2 disks.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.  If you leave it in there longer, you will need to remove and warm up a little to roll it out.  For the mini-pies I used a biscuit cutter and placed them in the bottom of a cupcake pan.  Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes.  Cool and fill with cream pie filling.  Top with whipped cream (I used the canned stuff cause it made it look pretty!)

Mexican Rice

I have several ways I make this rice but it all stems from the same basic recipe.

You have to decide how much rice you are wanting to make and then follow basic proportion measurements from the rice bag/box/container.

In addition to the rice you will need:

1 Onion, diced

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

Chicken broth/stock measured for the amount of rice you are using

Salt to taste

Oil

The first thing you will do is place the dry rice, onion and oil in a skillet that has a lid.  Fry until the onions begin to turn opaque and the rice is toasty brown.  Once the rice is golden, add the chicken broth/stock and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil and cook on low, covered, until all the broth is absorbed and rice is tender.

Another way I make this rice is to puree the tomatoes, onions and some of the broth in a blender.  Once the rice is golden, I add this mixture and bring to a boil.  Reduce and cook, covered, until rice is tender.

I have also added frozen corn, canned corn, cumin, chili powder, garlic...the options are endless.  This is great with some homemade beans with enchiladas or any other Mexican feast!

White Cake with Strawberries and Cream Cheese Frosting

I found a recipe on Pinterest for a white cake that looked really good so I took that recipe and instead of the "Feather Frosting" I used my cream cheese frosting.  One thing that was a little different is I took some frozen strawberries, in sugar, and pressed out all of the juice.  I then placed half of the strawberries between the bottom and middle layer and repeated.  I then put cream cheese frosting over then entire cake.  I will say that the cake recipe was good but the time that it gave produced a cake that was a little dry for my taste.  I would probably bake it for 5 minutes less and/or use the strawberry juice to soak the cakes.  This is problematic because then the cakes are harder to frost.  Next time I make this cake I will also use twice as many strawberries because it just wasn't enough for my taste!  Hope you all enjoy!  


Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 stick butter softened (yes it must be butter!)
1 8 oz cream cheese softened
1 lb powdered sugar
milk to thin out just a little
1 tsp vanilla


Blend together and that's it!


The web address for the white cake follows:

http://sweetapolita.com/2010/12/pretty-in-pink-old-fashioned-party-cake/

Biscuit bowls and gravy

Saw this and decided to try it...yummy!!!

This has nothing to do with food, but just wanted to say how thankful I am for Jesus in my life.  This morning's service seemed just for me; although I'm sure others were blessed by it as well.  The worship was great, the presence of the Lord was sweet and Pastor's message was well-timed for me.  It was just a great reminder that I need Christ as the center of my life and that I need to waste my life pursuing the goodness of God.  I had forgotten how sweet the presence of the Lord could be and this morning was such a refreshing time for me.  It also made me want to press in and know more of my Father and his wonderful Son.  Lord, I desire above all things to know you more intimately and to know your heart.  Help me to find wisdom in Your Word so that I may have a blessed life.

My version of Taco Roll!

I already had a pound of hamburger used for taco meat the previous day, so I added a few things and voila!  My own version of Taco Roll!  First I laid out the crescent rolls.  The original version called for a circle but I don't have a pizza pan so I did an oval instead!  Next, I put a can of red kidney beans and a can of chili beans into the food processor to blend until smooth and then I added my taco meat  I added my taco meat/bean mixture around the crescent rolls and I sprinkled with cheese.  I folded over the tips of the crescent rolls and put into a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.  I cut mine, put on lettuce, tomato, black olives and a mixture of salsa and sour cream.  Delicioso!

Fried Cheese!

I saw this idea on Pinterest but with mozzarella string cheese.  My local Aldi's offers cheddar and cheddar-jack sticks and so that is what I used.  Again, with my trusty fryer set to 375 degrees, I fried until golden brown.  I am sure that you could bake these too!

Fajitas, Mendy style!

OK!  So here is my first blog about what I have done in the kitchen.  A couple of days ago, I seared steak on my stovetop for lunch with baked potatoes and a yummy cauliflower casserole.  I had a lot of steak left over so I went ahead and cut it into strips and stored it in a container in the fridge.  Last night I thought about making fajitas but I had also just seen this recipe for frying string cheese in egg roll wrappers to make fried cheese.  I decided to combine the two ideas.  I sauteed a yellow and red bell pepper and two onions in a little oil.  When they were about half way cooked I added the strips of steak to heat through.  Then I took egg roll wrappers, place a strip of steak and some veggies in the middle and used the "juice" from the pan to seal the edges.  I had preheated my fryer to 375 degrees and fried until golden brown on all sides.  They were DELICIOUS!!!  I served them with sour cream, guacamole and my Mexican rice.  So, here's hoping that you enjoy this amazing way to serve fajitas!

Hey Everyone!


I'm going to start a blog about cooking, baking and such.  That way I can post to Pinterest!  Thanks for watching!


Mendy