Taco Melts

This recipe I made on New Year's Eve to bring in the New Year!  Joel & I thought they were very filling yet scrumptious. 

Today's Recipe:

Taco Melts

Picture taken by: me, Jennifer Rebecca Photos

[Recipe Credit: Pillsbury Grands Biscuits (www.pillsbury.com)]

Ingredients:

•  1 package taco seasoning mix
• (water that you need to make taco meat)
• 1-1/2 cups Salsa
• 1 lb ground hamburger, cooked, drained and made into taco meat
• 1 can Grands refrigerated biscuits (we used the butter flavor biscuits - I think the flaky one's may have tasted better but not sure how the consistency of the flaky biscuits would work with the taco meat)
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack/Mexican cheese blend
• Sour cream on the side - if desired
• Lettuce - if desired to add on top of taco melt
• Tomato - if desired to add on top of taco melt

Picture taken by: me, Jennifer Rebecca Photos

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees
2. cook taco meat as directed on seasoning mix packet
3. Press each biscuit into 6-inch round.  Place a scoop of taco meat, cheese into each biscuit and fold biscuit in half if able (I just made the biscuits into mini pizza crusts, placed meat and cheese on top and then placed another biscuit on top and sealed them shut with a fork)
4. Place on a greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until biscuits are cooked through. 
6. Serve with desired taco toppings (such as lettuce, sour cream, salsa, tomatoes, beans, etc)

Picture taken by: me, Jennifer Rebecca Photos

Bon Appetite!

Picture taken by: me, Jennifer Rebecca Photos

Enchilada Lasagna

Hello Friends!

Today's Recipe:
Enchilada Lasagna

Picture taken by: me, Jennifer Rebecca Photos
[Taste of Home Magazine: Charlene Griffin]

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 lbs. ground hamburger
• 1/2 of a medium onion (any kind that you like- I used red & some green onion)
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic (if you don't have this just use garlic powder)
• 1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce (medium is my preference)
• 1/2 cup salsa (I used Pace Mild - it's our favorite)
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 1-1/2 cups cottage cheese (I used 1%)
• 2-4 (depends on how much cheese you like) cups shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese blend
• 8 flour tortillas (I think I used less)

Directions:

1. Brown the hamburger
2. Add chopped up onion (use as much or as little as you like)
3. Add minced garlic or garlic powder
4. Let all those flavors kind of simmer together for a minute
5. Add the can of enchilada sauce (I actually didn't have any so I used taco sauce & made homemade enchilada sauce with ingredients I had in the cupboard -I'll post that recipe below)
6. Add 1/2 cup salsa
7. Let all these things simmer for 10-20 minutes (tell it gets thicker, not runny)
8. In a small bowl combine the beaten egg with the cottage cheese.
9. In a 13x9 greased baking pan start to layer the lasagna as follows:

• Meat on bottom of pan - not too much just a little of the sauce spread around
• Lay down a tortilla
• Spread cottage cheese/egg mixture on top
• Add meat on top of cottage cheese/egg mixture
• sprinkle cheese on top of that
• Lay down a second tortilla
• Spread cottage cheese/egg mixture on top
• Add meat on top of cottage cheese/egg mixture, etc.
• Do this until you run out of ingredients (meat & cottage cheese) and try to end with cheese sprinkled on top.  I then added some fresh cut tomato and green onion.

10.  Cover the pan with tinfoil and Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
11.  Remove tinfoil and continue baking for 10-15 more minutes until bubbly.
12.  Let cool for a few minutes, cut and serve. 
 Enjoy!

Picture taken by: me, Jennifer Rebecca Photos

We ate the lasagna with shredded lettuce added on top of our slices on our plates.  Joel added black beans to his as well.  You could easily make this with refried beans, black beans, corn, or any other ingredient that you would put in enchiladas.  Delicious.  It was like having enchiladas, queasadillas and lasagna all at once!

Next time I think I'll make it with chicken instead of beef just to try something different.

Homemade Enchilada Sauce:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp flour
• Mix these two ingredients together in a medium saucepan - on medium heat
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• Add 1 can of tomato paste
• Add 1-1/2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin (I didn't have this spice so I omitted it)
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• salt & pepper to taste
• Joel (my husband) added ground Cayenne Pepper (he is my taste tester and said this made it less Chili Powder tasting)

Picture taken by: me, Jennifer Rebecca Photos

Bon Appetite!

Long long long time...

It has been a LONG time since I posted on this here blog.  There is a lot I could write about but I just don't have the energy to cover a year plus of time...all in all I'm here to say I'm back to start a new series of posts specifically focused on RECIPES! 

Cooking is an activity that I LOVE.  It relaxes me, makes me feel like I've accomplished something and adds leftovers to my fridge and sometimes pounds to my body :-)

If you are stuck in a cooking...What Do I Make for Dinner? rut may I suggest that you start checking in from time to time.  I've got a goal for 2012 and that's to share good, simple, and delicious recipes with my friends. 

Here is today's recipe! 

Disclaimer: I find recipes in magazines, cookbooks, online, blogs, etc.  The recipes that I share here are MY version of how I took the recipe and made it my own.  I'll make sure to give credit where credit is due but know that I change almost every recipe I have to make it my own. 

Caprese Chicken with Bacon

Photo taken by: me, Jennifer Rebecca Photos

[Today's Recipe is from: Taste of Home Magazine - by Tammy Hayden]

Ingredient List:

• 2-4 boneless chicken breasts
• bacon strips or real bacon crumbles (I used bacon crumbles)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1-2 plum tomatoes (I used roma tomatoes)
• 1 Tbsp (I used more) fresh/frozen basil leaves (I cut up fresh basil and freeze it in ice cube trays with water so that whenever I want "fresh" basil I have it)
• shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Place raw (thawed) chicken breasts in an ungreased (or greased-doesn't really matter) 13x9" baking pan; brush the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper.
2. Top chicken with sliced tomatoes (I cut the tomatoes in sandwich type slices) and basil.
3. Sprinkle top of chicken with bacon crumbles. (see picture below)
4. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes (mine took way longer because the chicken breasts were HUGE). 
5. Top chicken with mozzarella cheese and bake 1-2 minutes longer or until melted.

Photo taken by: me, Jennifer Rebecca Photos

I served this chicken dish with mashed potatoes and green beans.
Quick & Delicious Green Beans:

• 1 can or half a bag of frozen green beans (whichever you prefer or have) place in a microwave safe bowl and cook with a bit of water for 1-2 minutes
• Melt 1 Tbsp of butter with Lemon Pepper Seasoning and poor over green beans.
• Stir green beans and enjoy. 

Taste's like Buca's green beans...or at least close. This is my own creation. 
Bon Appetit!

2011 Flowers

Close ups of newly bloomed flowers are one of my favorite things to photograph.  Probably because they are so beautiful and they give you time to collect every single one of their details that you want to grasp! 

 Can't you just smell them?