TACOOOOOOOOO Casserole!!! (or hotdish)

Holy ish this stuff is good!  I ate it for three meals in a row :)  Super easy to make, too!
(Brit!  You can make this!!!)


1-8 oz tube crescent rolls
1-1/4 lb hamburger (I just use 1 lb...  who the hell sells 1-1/4 lbs of burger?)
1 pkg taco seasoning (Ortega is the BEST!)
1 can Rotel Tomatoes and Green Chilis
1/2 c. water
2 c. crushed Doritos (Nacho Cheese or Spicy Nacho are the best to use)
12 oz sour cream
1 cup shredded cheese (I don't measure cheese..  I use what I find necessary)

Brown hamburger, drain* and add taco mix, water and drained tomatoes and chilis.
*I always, always, ALWAYS drain the burger into a colander and actually rinse it in hot water - it gets a lot of the excess grease off better than trying to just drain it

Press rolls into 9x13 pan and sprinkle with half of the chips.  Next add the meat mixture and then the sour cream.  I put the sour cream in a ZipLock bag and snipped the corner - way easier to put it on evenly.  Then add cheese and the rest of the chips.

I'm not gonna lie, I used the whole bag of chips.

Bake @ 350˚F for 40-45 minutes.

After baked add shredded lettuce, diced fresh tomatoes, green bell pepper and more cheese if you'd like ;)

this is before it was baked, but you get the idea

Hungry Girl Recipes: Test 2

AND HERE WE GO AGAIN!
Hungry Girl:  200 under 200

Scoopable Chinese Chicken Salad  (it's sooo good!)

1-16 oz package dry broccoli slaw mix
12 oz cooked skinless chicken breast, chopped
1 cup canned water chestnuts, drained and sliced into thin strips
1 cup canned mandarin orange segments packed in water or juice, drained and chopped (and rinsed if packed in juice)
1 cup chopped scallions
3/4 cup Newman's Own Light Low Fat Ginger Dressing

In a large bowl, toss all ingredients together and mix well.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Stir well before serving.  ENJOY!

Serving Size:  195 calories, 2.75g fat, 595mg sodium, 21g carbs, 4.5g fiber, 12.5 sugars, 22.5g protein
Makes 5 servings.

Hungry Girl Recipe: Test 1

My mom got me the Hungry Girl cookbook (200 under 200) and I was really excited when I got it!

With my absolutely ridiculous work schedule I've had a hard time finding time to cook anything in this book (even though they're super easy recipes) and I've also found it hard to blog!  :(

I decided to try the 'Sweet 'n Chunky Chicken Salad' recipe.  With Brent starting school again for the semester he doesn't have a break long enough to get a decent meal on his school days and so we are looking for mini-meals or snacks for him to have during the day.  I also would like to use these recipes to stray away from eating out in the food court at work.

The recipe turned out really well and I actually doubled it.

Here's the actual recipe straight from the book:

4-1/2 oz cooked skinless lean chicken breast, roughly chopped
1/2 cup Persian or Kirby cucumber (if you can't find these, any cucumber will do)
1/3 cup red seedless grapes, halved
1/3 cup chopped apples (any kind will do - I used HoneyCrisp)
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
2 Tbsp fat-free mayonnaise
1 no-calorie sweetener packet
1/4 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
Dash of salt

In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, mayo, sweetener, lemon-pepper seasoning and salt, stirring until mixed well.

Add chicken, stirring until fully coated with the yogurt dressing.

Add cucumber, grape halves, and apples - mix well.

Makes two servings.


I didn't have lemon-pepper seasoning, so I just put some lemon juice and pepper in it, lol.
This recipe is actually really good.  I was quite excited when it turned out :)

1 Cup serving size:  145 calories, 1.5g fat, 332mg sodium, 14g carbs, 1g fiber, 10g sugars, 21g proteins
Makes 2 servings [hence the reason I doubled the recipe ;)]

Slow-Cooked Peanut Butter Granola

This recipe is FANTASTIC, especially when mixed with vanilla yogurt :)
Now, that being said, it's quite time intensive... But don't let that deter you from making this!

5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, uncooked
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup coconut, toasted*
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 brown sugar


In a slow cooker, stir together the oats, sesame seeds, ground flax seeds, toasted coconut and salt.

In a microwave safe bowl, blend honey, oil, peanut butter, and brown sugar.  Heat mixture and stir until peanut butter melts and mixture is smooth.  Pour mixture over the ingredients in the slow cooker.  Stir the mixture until everything is well coated with the peanut butter mixture.

Set the slow cooker to low.  Place the cover on top and wedge the handle of a wooden spoon or chop stick under the lid to hold it open to create a vent to allow steam to escape.  Cook for about 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.*  When the granola becomes a deep golden brown, turn it out onto a large baking sheet with sides until it is cooled completely.  Store cooled granola at room temperature in airtight container.

*Temperature settings on slow cookers do not seem to be universal.  The low setting on my slow cooker is quite hot and needs to be stirred about every 15 minutes, so just keep an eye on it :)
*Toast coconut in a small skillet on the stove over medium/low heat.  Stir constantly until it turns to a golden brown color.  Immediately dump into slow cooker.   -   There are a lot of people that don't like coconut, however you can't taste it in this recipe so I totally recommend adding it.  For those of you who are like me and LOVE coconut, I added quite a bit extra ;)

Sweet and Spicy Cashews

Let me start off by saying:   I hate cashews.
Because of this my dad wonders whether or not I'm his kid, but I just tell him that it makes us a great team because he hates the peanuts in the mixed jars and I like them and I hate the cashews and he likes them!

These cashews are amazing.

My mom emailed me the recipe saying that they're awesome and I had to try them even though I despise the nut...  So I did.  Now I can't stop eating them.  Thanks, Mom.

1 egg white
1 Tbsp water
19-1/2 oz cashews (I used about a pound and a half, maybe a bit more)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp red chili powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
a dash (maybe 1/2 tsp or more) of ground cinnamon (optional, but I did it and it's gooooood)

Whisk together the egg white and water in a large bowl.  Add cashews and toss to coat.  Transfer to a colander and drain for about 2 minutes.

In a separate bowl combine sugar and spices.  Add the cashews and toss to coat.

Arrange in a single layer on a baking pan and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes at 250˚F, stirring once half way through.  Store in air tight container.

YUMMMMM!

Three for Three!! (Lean Turkey Meatloaf, Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potatoes, & Jammin' Jalapeno Stuffed Chicken)

I've had the last few days off and I promised Brent that I would have supper ready for him when he got home from his long days.  Poor guy leaves home at 7:30AM and comes home around 7:30PM.

Monday night I made sweet and spicy sweet potatoes with pan seared chicken and jasmine rice, yesterday I made Jammin' Jalapeño (sauce from BWW) stuffed chicken, and tonight I went out on a limb and made turkey meatloaf and mashed tatoes.

For the record, I despise meatloaf.  I've NEVER liked it, not even when Mom and Gramma Ann made it and I couldn't bring myself to eat it.  "Shut up, put it between a couple pieces of bread and eat it."  I ate the bread, hid the meatloaf in a napkin and threw it out.  I basically starved that night because I couldn't choke down the meatloaf.   (Sorry, Mom and Gramma...)

I'm not sure why, but I've been craving meatloaf (no, I'm not pregnant) over the past few weeks.  I think it's just because it's been so long since I've tried it and I wanted to make sure either "Yep, this sh*t's disgusting" or "Hmm.. Maybe it's not so bad?"  My taste buds have changed so much as I've gotten older I wanted to give it another shot.

This recipe I found was a Weight Watchers recipe.  It seemed pretty legit.  I linked the page for the recipe, but please keep in mind that I do like to add more or less to the meals and what I typed up is what I did - it was good.  For reals.

Here goes:  (and I'll post the recipes for the other ones, too)

For the meatloaf:

1.3 lb 93% Lean Ground Turkey

1 C Grated Zucchini, all moisture squeezed dry with paper towel (don't peel it!)

2 Tbsp Onion, minced (I just put a couple shakes of dried onion flakes in there)

1/2 C Seasoned Breadcrumbs

1/4 Cup Ketchup

1 Egg

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1/4 C FRESH Chopped Parsley

For Skinny Mashed Potatoes:

1 lb (about 2 medium) Yukon gold potatoes, washed well and cubed 

(you can peel them if you want, but I'm lazy and hate peeling potatoes... So I just don't :) )

2 Large Garlic Cloves, peeled and halved*

2 Tbsp Fat Free Sour Cream

1 Tbsp Light Butter/Butter Substitute

Kosher Salt to Taste

Dash of Fresh Ground Pepper

2 tsp Thyme

1 - 1-1/2 Tbsp Dried Rosemary (ground very well)

Put the potatoes and garlic in a large pot with salt and enough water to cover; bring to a boil.  Boil until potatoes are tender.  Drain and add butter and the herbs - use a hand mixer and mash until smooth.  Add the sour cream and season with salt and pepper.

*I buy the jars of minced garlic and keep them in the fridge - I used 1/4 tsp minced garlic when I was mixing in the sour cream, butter, etc.)

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375˚F - spritz loaf pan with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, mix the turkey, zucchini, onion, breadcrumbs, ketchup, egg and salt.  Place meatloaf mixture into pan and make sure it is flat on top.

Bake uncovered for 18-20 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove from pan onto plate.

Another thing you might want to try is putting the meatloaf into tinfoil muffin cups and putting them into a muffin tray.  Two muffins would be one serving.  You can also put the mashed tatoes into a ZipLock bag, snip the corner and pipe the potatoes onto the top of the meatloaf muffins.  :)

TAYSTEE!!!!!!!!!

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Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potatoes (I got this recipe from my friend Teresa)

Three large sweet potatoes (I used a type of squash that tastes just like sweet potatoes - my mamacita gave them to me and I needed to eat 'em up!)
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp dried garlic
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 1-1/4 tsp red chili powder since I didn't have anymore cayenne pepper)
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp turmeric
one half stick of butter
1/4 cup real maple syrup
salt to taste (not too much, but you still want to add a little, or the flavors will be flat)
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 handful golden raisins (optional) (I threw them in there, t'was pretty good :)  )

Boil the sweet potatoes until almost cooked through. You don't want them to get too soft because you will be cooking them more later. In the meantime, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter and add all the spices and the maple syrup. Reduce heat and let simmer gently until the spices become fragrant, then turn off the heat, and set aside. When the potatoes are done boiling, drain them and cut them into one inch cubes. Add the potatoes to the maple/spice mixture and stir to coat all the pieces. Add the raisins and cover and allow to cook over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, allowing the maple and spice flavor to penetrate the potatoes. Remove from heat. Arrange potatoes in a serving dish topped with the chopped pecans.

I dusted the chicken breast with some black pepper and browned it in a pan on the stove - I used some Promise butter spread in the pan (because I've never really cooked whole chicken breasts like that on the stove and it's too cold to grill (my dad would be so disappointed if he heard me say that it was too cold to grill)).  I threw the chicken in the microwave for a minute and a half just to make sure it was cooked all the way through (juicy chicken freaks me out...).  I steamed up some jasmine rice, laid some down on a plate, put the cut up chicken on the rice, then covered it with the curried sweet potatoes.

(no picture of this, sorry dudes...)

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Jammin' Jalapeño Stuffed Chicken

3 chicken breasts

6 oz Cream Cheese

2/3 C Finely Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

B-Dubs' Jammin' Jalapeño sauce

Place chicken breast (one by one) into a ZipLock bag and seal it.  Pound the chicken breast out using a rolling pin.

Spread 2 oz of the cream cheese on the chicken breast, sprinkle with a bit of mozzarella cheese and drizzle some sauce on it.  Roll the chicken breast up and put on a lightly sprayed piece of tin foil (large enough to fold up around the breast) and pour some more of the sauce over top before folding up and putting on a baking sheet.

Do this with all three of the chicken breast and place in the oven at 350˚F and cook for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Use a tongs to place chicken on a plate and drain some of the juices onto the chicken.

SOOOO GOOOD!  :)

Corn Bread! Ain't nothin' wrong with that!

I wish I knew how to upload Word Documents (if that's at all possible?) - That way I would be able to upload my recipe card template with the recipe on so you folks can just print them!   Alas, I'm not sure if I can do that.

ANYWAY!

I loves me some corn bread and heaven knows that Famous Dave's has some of the best out there!  Here's a recipe I found online for it:

1-1/2 C Yellow Cornmeal
1/2 C Stone Ground Cornmeal (I couldn't find this...  I just used 2 cups of Yellow cornmeal)
9 oz pkg Yellow Cake Mix (half of a regular box - or you can double the recipe!)
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 C Milk
1/2 C Buttermilk
1/4 C Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Honey
1 Tbsp Real Mayonnaise

Mix all the dry ingredients together - then - mix all the wet ingredients (except mayo) together and add them to the dry and mix them gently until there are no lumps, being careful not to over-mix.  Fold in mayonnaise and let it rest, covered, in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

Bake at 400˚F for 25-30** minutes - drizzle with honey butter once pulled out of the oven.  Makes about 18 muffins.

Honey Butter:
1/2 C Butter
1/2 C Honey

Melt the butter in a pan and add the honey - simmer, stirring occasionally.

I would put the muffins on a tinfoil lined pan and drizzle the muffins with the honey butter - it's kinda messy.

**Don't wait until these muffins are golden brown to pull them out!  I would even say put them in for 21-23 minutes - mine were dry :(

@Ryan B  -  yep, you hate mayo, I remember this, but don't worry!  You won't taste it.  Just put it in there and forget that it's even in there!  OR have Laura make them and just ignore the mayo idea ;)