Great cookie recipe...

I got this recipe from Katie, at work. You probably don't want to try this if you're working the next day...



Jose Cuervo Cookies 

1 cup of water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup or brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup nuts
2 cups of dried fruit
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila

Sample the Cuervo to check quality. Take a large bowl,
check the Cuervo again, to be sure it is of the highest quality,
pour one level cup and drink.
 
Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter
in a large fluffy bowl.

Add one peastoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point
it's best to make sure the Cuervo is still ok, try another
cup just in case.

If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaters just pry
it loose with a drewscriver.
 
Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity.
 
Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Who geeves
a sheet. Check the Jose Cuervo. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.

Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can
find.
 
Greash the oven.
 
Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall
over.
 
Don't forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the
Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the wishdasher.

Swedish Meatballs & Egg Noodles

OK… You want to make this. You need to make this.

I saw this Rachael Ray recipe and thought I’d give it a try. It’s a pretty authentic tasting Swedish meatball recipe. It’s such a strange combination with the grape jelly & ginger cookies, but they come together perfectly. You’ll feel like you’re eating your grandma’s home cooking… or like you are at the café in Ikea? Anyway, here is the original recipe. Oh, & since there are so many ingredients, to make it easier on yourself, prep all of your ingredients before you start cooking.

Swedish Meatballs & Egg Noodles

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup beef stock

1 cup chicken stock

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound ground veal

1 egg

2 slices white bread, torn, soaked briefly in about 1/4 cup milk and squeezed of excess liquid

1 teaspoon allspice

5 gingersnap cookies, ground up in the food processor

2 tablespoons currant, lingonberry or grape jelly

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 pound egg noodles

1/2 cup Italian parsley (about 2 handfuls), chopped

2 dill pickles, chopped

Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring it up to a boil.

Place a large pan over medium-high heat and melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the onion to the pan and cook until the onion is tender, 5-6 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the pan, stirring to incorporate, and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk the chicken and beef stock into the pan and bring the liquid up to a bubble to thicken it slightly -- it won’t get too thick, you want a thinner gravy for this dish.

Once the liquids come up to a bubble, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, turn the heat down to low and simmer while you prepare the meatballs.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the ground meats, egg, milk-soaked bread and allspice. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and mix everything up with your hands to evenly combine.

Using a spoon, small ice cream scoop or your hands, portion the meat mixture into walnut-sized balls. As you shape them, drop the meatballs into the pan of simmering gravy. Once all of them are in the pan, increase the heat to medium and simmer the meatballs in the gravy, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

When the meatballs are cooked through, drop the egg noodles into the boiling water and cook to al dente according to package directions.

Stir the ground-up ginger snaps into the gravy with the meatballs, and cook to thicken up, about 1 minute. Stir the 2 tablespoons of the jelly and the sour cream into the gravy and keep warm over low heat until the noodles are done.

Once the noodles are finished cooking, drain them and return them to the pot they were cooked in. Add the remaining two tablespoons butter and parsley to the pot and stir to melt the butter and evenly coat the noodles.

To serve, spoon some noodles into a serving dish and top them off with a scoop of meatballs and gravy. Sprinkle a handful of chopped pickles over the top and serve with your favorite salad alongside.

Red Beans & Rice with Chorizo

I was going through some of my Rachael Ray magazines trying to get some recipe ideas. This one was from the February ’07 issue. I left out the corn, but we had everything else on hand. This makes a lot of food, so plan for feeding a few people or having leftovers. It’s a super easy meal to throw together. The original recipe did not include beans, but I found that Red kidney beans were the perfect addition to this.

Red Beans & Rice with Chorizo

 

1 Tbps vegetable oil

8 oz chorizo, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 1/2 Cups long-grain white rice

1 1/2 Cups red salsa

2 Cups thawed frozen corn

One 15-ounce can sliced large black olives

1/2 Cup chopped fresh Cilantro

1 15oz can of Red Kidney Beans (drained)

In a heavy medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the rice and stir for 1 minute to coat. Stir in 1 1/2 cups water and the salsa and bring to a boil, stirring once or twice. Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. (I added the beans, here)

 Fluff the rice and stir in the corn. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the olives and cilantro.

 

 

Sloppy Buffalo Joes

Leave it to Rachael Ray make a sloppy joe out of almost anything. J

This was the second time I made these. It’s a great way to get the flavor of buffalo chicken wings in a much healthier meal. You can find Rachael's recipe here. I cut the original recipe in half because it makes so much, but the post below is the original 8 serving recipe. If you like buffalo chicken, you’ll love these.

Sloppy Buffalo Joes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

2 pounds ground chicken or turkey breast

1 carrot, peeled and chopped or grated

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4-1/3 cup hot sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot brand

1 cup tomato sauce

1 cup chicken stock

8 good quality burger rolls, split and toasted

1 cup blue cheese crumbles

2 large dill pickles, chopped

 

Heat a large skillet with the EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the meat and break it up with wooden spoon, then cook for 5-6 minutes. Add in the carrots, celery, onions and garlic, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cook for 7-8 minutes more.

In a bowl, combine the vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, tomato sauce and stock. Pour into the pan and stir to combine. Simmer a few minutes more. Pile the sloppy Buffalo filling onto the buns and top with blue cheese and chopped pickles.

Greek Chicken Thighs

I’m a big fan of Greek food. So, when this recipe from For the Love of Cooking showed up in my Google Reader, I knew I had to try it.  The only thing that I would do different next time, would be to change out the chicken thighs for boneless, skinless chicken breasts. It’s a great light dinner with a nice Mediterranean flavor to it.

Greek Chicken Thighs

2 tsp olive oil, divided

1-2 shallots, sliced into thin rings

1 clove of garlic, minced

6 boneless/skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of any fat

Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Garlic powder, to taste

Dried oregano, to taste

Handful of grape tomatoes

Small handful of kalamata olives, sliced in half

1/2-1 lemon juiced

Zest of one lemon

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (divided)

2 tbsp low fat feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat 1/2 tsp of olive oil in an OVEN SAFE skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the shallot and cook, stirring frequently until soft and tender (about 2 minutes), add garlic and cook for an additional 45 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the remaining olive oil to the same skillet and turn the heat up to medium high heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano to taste on each side. Once the pan is very hot, add the seasoned chicken breast to the skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the chicken is golden brown on one side, flip the chicken and add the grape tomatoes, kalamata olives, shallot and garlic mixture, lemon zest, lemon juice and half the parsley then season with sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Place in the oven and roast for 9-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from oven and sprinkle with the remaining parsley and the feta cheese. Serve and enjoy!

Buffalo Mac & Cheese

This is a mac & cheese recipe I’ve been making for a long time. Normally we just use a few Tablespoons of Sriracha but I decided one day that I wanted to make it as Buffalo Mac & Cheese. Pete’s wing sauce is a great flavor for this. Can you handle the heat?

Buffalo Mac & Cheese

Small Shaped Pasta

6 oz evaporated milk

1 egg

Hot sauce (1/4 Cup of Pete’s Buffalo Wing Sauce)

Black Pepper

1/2 a stick of butter

2 cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar

Handful of Blue Cheese

 

Boil Pasta

While the pasta is boiling, In a small bowl, mix the condensed milk, egg, hot sauce, and pepper.

Drain cooked pasta

Put the drained pasta back in the pan, set burner very low and add butter

Once the butter is completely melted, add the evaporated milk/hot sauce mixture & stir well

Add the shredded cheese and stir until melted.

Top with blue cheese before serving.

 

Carol's Dirt

Carol brought this desert over after trying it at Cody’s parents’ house over the Holidays. It’s pretty easy to put together and quite tasty at that. Have a glass of milk nearby because this is pretty rich. J

Carol’s Dirt

 

1/2 cup butter, softened 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix

3 1/2 cups milk

1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 package of regular Oreos

Small  package of Gummy Worms

 

Chop cookies very fine in food processor. The white cream will disappear.

Mix butter, cream cheese, and sugar in bowl.

In a large bowl mix milk, pudding and whipped topping together.

Combine pudding mixture and cream mixture together.

Layer in bowl, starting with cookies then cream mixture. Repeat layers.

Stick Gummy worms in throughout “dirt”, leaving an inch or so out.

Chill until ready to serve.

Slow Cooker Hoisin Beef Stew

I’ve never tried a roast with an Asian flair to it, but this recipe  from Whole Foods was a delicious way to try. The overnight marinade helps to infuse every bite with the unique Hoisin flavor. It’s a great reason to break out that unused crockpot. I hope you like it. This was great over Jasmine Rice & served alongside steamed edamame.

 

Slow Cooker Hoisin Beef Stew

1/2 cup beef broth
1 (10-ounce) bottle hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (1-inch) piece peeled ginger, grated
1 1/2 pounds cubed round or chuck stew beef
2 yellow onions, roughly chopped
1 cup baby carrots
2 ribs celery, roughly chopped

Whisk together broth, hoisin, hot sauce, garlic and ginger in a wide, shallow dish or bowl. Add beef, onions, carrots and celery and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Transfer meat mixture to a slow cooker, cover and cook on a low setting until beef is very tender, 6 to 8 hours. Alternately, cook on a high setting for about 3 hours. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Per serving (about 13oz/378g-wt.): 430 calories (90 from fat), 10g total fat, 3.5g saturated fat, 110mg cholesterol, 1300mg sodium, 24g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 14g sugar), 55g protein

Dos Enchiladas

So… every once in awhile we’ll spend a day making enchiladas. And by once in awhile, I mean about once a year. The Enchiladas Verde recipe below comes straight from our friend Rick back in Minnesota. It is an all day labor of love but sooo worth it. Oh, and prepare to make friends because this makes a lot. We ended up taking a pan of these next door to our neighbors since this made about four 9*13 pans full of enchiladas.

The Avocado Enchilada recipe below that is based on marathon-runner Deena Kastor's Avocado Enchilada's recipe. However, I found it at Gillian’s Blog and saved it forever… until just the right time. Delish!



Dos Enchiladas (Enchiladas Verde has the monterey jack & Avocado Enchiladas have the cheddar)

Enchiladas Verde

3 1/2 to 4 lbs Boneless Chicken Breast
ROASTING YOUR PEPPERS ADDS BEST FLAVOR
12 -24 Fresh Green Chili Peppers OR 4 - 4 oz Canned Diced Green Chili
3 to 5 Fresh Hot Peppers of Choice (Jalapeno, Habanero) or 1 6oz jar
1/4 Cup Flour
8oz Sour Cream
3-4 cans 12oz Green Chili Enchilada Sauce
2lbs Sharp Cheddar Cheese Shredded
36 Count Corn Tortilla

Roast Fresh Hot Peppers in oven @ 350 degrees till skins are dark brown
almost black, peal skins from pepper, dice peppers and add to crock pot
for desired heat. (Jar or Canned Green Chili, Jalapeno or Habanero
Peppers may be used to avoid hassle of above ) Clean chicken breast and
place Chicken Breasts in CROCK POT along with the four 4oz cans of green
chili, Cook on low for 6 - 8 hours or until you are able to shred
chicken.

After Chicken is shredded, remove from heat, add small amounts of flour
to chicken and mix, add just enough flour to absorb liquid, after you
have all liquid absorbed let stand for 10 to 15 minutes. This waiting
period is to keep the sour cream from curdling when added. Add sour
cream.

This is the hard part to explain. In a frying pan add oil to cover
bottom of pan 1/4 inch deep. Heat oil over medium to medium low heat.
You want the oil hot enough to soften the tortilla but not hot enough to
deep fry it. Rule of Thumb: BUBBLES ARE BAD.

Place one tortilla in oil, flip, pull out when soft, drain, add chicken
meat & roll, place into 8x11 pan in two rows. You can get about 12 - 14
enchiladas in pan. Once pan is full of enchiladas Drizzle Enchilada
sauce over enchiladas. 1 1/2 cans per pan usually works well, Cover well
with shredded cheese.

Bake @ 350 for 45 - 60 Minutes or till edges are light golden brown. Let
stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.

~*~  ~*~  ~*~  ~*~  ~*~  ~*~  ~*~  ~*~  ~*~  ~*~

Avocado Enchiladas

2 ripe avocados (slice 'em down the middle lengthwise/along their Prime Meridian and then use a knife to carefully pop the seed out. Scoop the flesh out with a spoon)
1/8 red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Lime juice
1/4 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 tomato, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp. cumin
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 flour tortillas
Enchilada sauce
A little grated sharp Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
Additional cilantro leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray. Smush up the avocado in a glass bowl. Add the onion, garlic, cilantro, cumin, tomatoes, jalapeno, lime/lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Mix together as you would if you were making guacamole (um, this really is a guacamole!)

Spoon the avocado mixture into the tortillas and roll them up. Place tortillas in the prepared baking dish and cover with enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with additional cilantro just before serving.

Sausage Spinach Gnocchi Alfredo

I was out of ideas for dinner last night and decided to just dig through what we had to put something together. After going through the fridge, freezer, and pantry I ended up with this. It actually turned out really well. I've made Spinach Sausage Gnocchi before with fresh spinach and it was good but all I had was frozen. So I used the frozen spinach and prepared it just a little differently. Also, I had 3/4 of a jar of Alfredo sauce inthe fridge (not sure what I used 1/4 of the jar on) but I added that too. And here is the result...



Spinach Sausage Gnocchi Alfredo

1pkg of shelf stable Gnocchi

1 lb of pork sausage

1 box of frozen spinach

1 jar of prepared Alfredo Sauce

1/4 Cup of fat free 1/2 & 1/2

1/4 lb of grated Parmesan

Brown the sausage over medium-hugh heat. While the sausage is cooking, defrost spinach and squeeze out excess moisture. Add spinach to sausage with 1/2 of the Alfredo sauce. and then set aside.

Boil gnocchi just until done. Rreserve 3/4Cup of cooking liquid and then drain.

Combine gnocchi with spinach & sausage mixture and add remaining Alfredo sauce as well as 1/2 & 1/2 into an 8"x8" baking dish. Top with grated parmesan and bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour.

Seasoned Oyster Crackers

I can remember having this when I was younger. I think it was just an easy holiday appetizer to do when all of the family was around. It's super easy to make and I wanted something "snacky" for when we had friends stay over on New Year's Eve. There's no real recipe to follow just some basic steps and you can flavor it however you choose.



Seasoned Oyster Crackers

1 bag of Oyster Crackers

1/2 Cup of Olive Oil

1 pkg Dry Ranch Dressing

Seasonings: I used about 1tsp lemon pepper grill seasoning, 1 tsp garlic salt with parsley, 1 tsp dill weed, & 1 tsp Jane's Crazy Salt

Basically you just put the oil and your seasonings in a gallon sized Ziploc bag and shake to blend. Once your seasonings are all combined, then add the crackers and shake to coat.

Lay the crackers on a foil lined cookie sheet and bake @ 200 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Let cool and then you are ready to serve.

Pioneer Woman's "Sleepin’ in Omelette"

This was our New Year's Day brunch. Cody & Carol stayed over New Year's Eve and this was a nice easy breakfast for everyone to wake up to.



Instead of putting the recipe here, I'm linking to Pioneer Woman's page for this. She takes beautiful photos as she goes so you can get the easy step-by-step. While you are there, check out her other recipes. Lots of great ideas.

The Pioneer Woman

Bobby’s Goulash

I was a little nervous about making this one since Cancy makes a pretty mean goulash himself. But, he was working late so it gave me a chance to try my hand at goulash. And… He liked it. I think it turned out really well and I was surprised by the recipe. It comes from Paula Deen’s web site, but there’s no butter, no mayo, no Krispy Kreme. J

Now, other than cutting the recipe in half, the only other change I made was swapping out the water for Beef Broth. My recipe shown below is the way I made. You can link to Miss Paula’s original, here.

Bobby’s Goulash

1/2 tablespoon Paula Deen’s House Seasoning
1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce ( I also added a little Worcestershire)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water (I used Beef broth)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 lb lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1 tablespoon Paula Deen’s Seasoned Salt
1 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked ( I used Gemelli pasta)

In a Dutch Oven, sauté the ground beef over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Brek up the meat while sautéing. Spoon off any grease. Add the onions & garlic to the pot & sauté until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 Cups of Beef Broth, along with the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, bay leaves,  soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, House Seasoning, & salt and pepper. Stir well. Place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 15-20 minutes.

Add the small pasta, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves & allow the mixture to sit about 15-20 minutes before serving. Serve with garlic bread & a salad.

 

Jessica Simpson's Chicken and Dumplings

I saw this on the Rachael Ray show last week. It actually ended up being the perfect last minute dinner after lounging around all day on New Year’s Day. Super fast and pretty tasty. Jessica Simpson... Who would’ve thought?

Jessica Simpson's Chicken and Dumplings

3 rolls of reduced-fat croissant rolls, divided

1 small rotisserie chicken, skin discarded and meat removed from bones

1 can of low-sodium, reduced-fat cream of chicken soup

1 can of low-sodium, reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Salt and ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

 

Roll out the cans of croissant sheets and separate into diamond shaped sections. Place a small handful of rotisserie chicken on each diamond, fold dough over and press ends together to create dumplings. Cut up any excess dough into strips.

 

Line a 9x13" baking dish with one layer of dumplings. Pour the can of cream of chicken soup over the layer of dumplings, followed by the can of cream of mushroom soup, and chicken broth.

 

Place strips in a crisscross pattern on the top of the dumplings and soup mixture, season dish with salt and ground black pepper and bake until the dumplings are tender and cooked through and the top is bubbly and brown, about 30 minutes.

Bacon Chicken Birthday Cake (for Chile)

Our little young lady dog turned 4 on New Year’s Eve. We celebrated her birthday with a doggy cake. Everything in here is perfectly fine for people, but uh, I’m not a big fan of chicken baby food. Chile loved it and that’s what’s important. Happy Birthday Chile!!!

Bacon Chicken Birthday Cake

 

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 T. baking powder

1/4 cup margarine, softened

3 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup corn oil

1 jar strained chicken baby food

1 cup finely shredded carrots

Fat free cottage cheese

2 or 3 strips of bacon, fried crisp, then crumbled

 

Generously grease and flour an 8”x8” cake pan; set aside.

 

Combine flour and baking powder; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat softened margerine until smooth. Add eggs and corn oil; mix well. Add strained chiicken, and shredded carrots and mix until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix thoroughly.

 

Pour batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake at 325° for 30-35 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

 

Place cake on a serving plate and spread cottage cheese over top & sides. Sprinkle crumbled bacon or bits of jerky strips over top. Use "Pupperoni" sticks for candles.