Homemade Taco Seasoning

So I mentioned the other day when I posted about the Taco Soup that I'd made my own Taco Seasoning instead of going to the store and buying the packets. I found the recipe on Pinterest, (have you tried that site yet, it's awesome!) and we had all the ingredients (shocking) so I decided instead of driving to the store I'd try the recipe. Here's the Pin from Pinterest...And here's the website that I got the recipe from Smells Like Home.

Homemade Taco Seasoning
source: adapted from Delish and Allrecipes

1/4 cup ancho chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp ground cumin
3 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container.

To use: Use 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons of taco seasoning in place of a packet of store-bought taco seasoning. Combine 2 tbsp cornstarch with 1 cup cold water and stir to dissolve cornstarch. In a large saute pan set over medium-high heat, brown 1lb ground beef, turkey or chicken, add seasoning and cornstarch-water mixture, and simmer over low heat until liquid has thickened.

I stored mine in a canning jar but I plan on getting something more practical for it. AND when I was making the Taco Soup the other night I did not add the cornstarch to the recipe.

Taco Soup and dessert last night...

So last night I made Taco Soup in my bean pot and pumpkin-spice cake bread. haha. That made sense didn't it? Anyhow, the Taco Soup was pretty easy. Here's the recipe....

1 pound hamburger (cooked and drained) - we used ground chicken and it didn't need to be drained
1 28 oz can kidney beans
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz. can corn
1 pkg of taco seasoning (I used some homemade taco seasoning I'll post about in a minute...)

Dump all of the ingredients into bean pot.
Add 1 packet of taco seasoning and stir.
Microwave for 20 minutes.
Serve with sour cream, cheese and corn chips.
(*Do NOT drain liquids)

And here's a picture of the finished product. We ate it with cheese and sour cream. It was pretty good...One for the recipe box.

Then for dessert I made pumpkin-spice cake bread. haha. You can make these into muffins but a big cake isn't as good cause it dries out quicker then you eat the whole cake. I've made these in the past and we loved them so I thought I'd make them again.

You get one box of Spice Cake mix (You can use other mixes but from experience we didn't care for the chocolate cake mix - but yellow is pretty good)
And one can of pumpkin

Those are the only two ingredients that you need and you just mix them together and bake them at whatever temp the box says for as long as the box says. Super easy and super tasty! So here's a picture of them.

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Cheesy Chicken Lasagna

So I don't know if you've discovered Pinterest yet BUT I have! And one of the things that I love about it is I'm discovering new recipes. I also discover other ideas and things but food and recipes is the one thing I can justify because we HAVE to eat! So I'm going to share one of the recipes I discovered. I got the recipe from Pinterest from pinning it from someone else but the site it's pinned from is Real Mom Kitchen. It's Cheesy Chicken Lasagna. It's pretty easy although next time I'll change a few things...Here's the recipe, then the pictures and then the changes I'll make the next time...

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna

2 (12 oz) cans evaporated milk (not fat-free)
1 (1 oz) pkg. dry Ranch dressing mix
3 C. cubed, cooked, chicken
1/8 tsp pepper
1 (16oz) lasagna noodles, cooked (I recommend reducing it to 8 oz to 12 oz)
1 1/2 to  2 C cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/2 to  2 C mozzarella cheese, grated

Cook the chicken and noodles first at the same time. Once noodles are done–rinse in cold water and set aside (it keeps them from sticking together). Combine evaporated milk (don’t use fat-free version) and Ranch dressing in a 3 quart heavy saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring frequently until dry ingredients are dissolved. Stir in chicken and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes (don’t do any less), stirring frequently. Layer half of lasagna noodles, poultry sauce, and cheese in well-buttered 9×13 pan. Repeat layers again. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

(Above) The ingredients. My husband was nice enough to bring some already cooked chicken home from work with him! :) And then that's pretty much everything else.

(Below) The sauce mixture. It's the evaporated milk, ranch dressing mix, pepper and chicken. Simmering on the stove for the 25 minutes.

(Above) It baking in the oven! I meant to take a picture before putting it in there but forgot. So you get to see my pizza stone and inside my stove.

(Below) The finished product, again meant to take a picture before cutting into it but forgot. BUT since I did cut into it, you can see what it looks like! :)

So my review, we liked it but next time I'll double the sauce mixture so that there's more to it then what we had. I'll keep the noodles at 8oz of lasagna noodles cause that was just the right amount. And the cheese is always as much as we like!

I always am weary of trying a new recipe on my husband, but I do it anyhow, because he's a chef. He doesn't expect gourmet meals or anything I'm always just VERY self conscious about it. Know what I mean? Anyhow, I ask him when I try something new if this recipe is recipe box worthy and if he says yes then 1) I know it's good and he likes it and 2) I have a new recipe for my box! Well, my husband said this was recipe box worthy, so he thought it was good AND it's going in the box! Enjoy!

Cheesy Chicken Shells

Tonight I made these cheesy chicken shells. I found the recipe on Weight Watchers and tweaked it just a small bit. So like always, here's the recipe and then pictures will come...

Ingredients
12 shells(s) uncooked jumbo shells (I cooked a whole 12oz box of shells and used 3/4 of it, but I know I made more then the recipe calls for)
1 1/2 cup(s) canned tomato sauce (I used 2 cups tomato sauce this time but next time I'll use spaghetti sauce)
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cups part-skim ricotta cheese (I used a whole 15 oz container which I know is not much more then the suggested amount but it is)
4 oz. chicken breast, roasted without skin, diced
3/4 cups chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess water (I didn't use this because it wasn't thawed)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp ground oregano, or other Italian seasoning (I used Italian seasoning)
3/4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/3 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook manicotti shells in boiling water according to the package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent them from cooking further. Set aside.
Coat a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup of sauce evenly over bottom of pain and set aside.
For filling, in a large bowl, stir together egg whites, ricotta cheese, chicken, spinach, garlic powder and seasoning. Stir in 1/4 cup each of mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
To assemble, spoon cheese mixture into manicotti shells and place filled shells in a single layer in baking dish. Spread remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses and bake about 30 minutes.

 (Above) The noddles after cooking...waiting to be filled...

(Below) The mixture that would become the filling. Next time I'll add salt and pepper to this mixture.

 (Above) The shells cooking in the oven.

(Below) Ready to be ate now.

Overall these were pretty good. I will do some things different next time. Like I'll add salt and pepper to the mixture and I'll use spaghetti sauce. They are not going into my recipe box just yet as I'd like to make them again sometime and change the few things I want to change and see how that turns out.

I got ??? and Death by Chocolate Cake

a bean pot...What is a bean pot you may ask?? This is my bean pot...

A bean pot is a pot that Celebrating Homes sales and they are awesome. You can cook meals, desserts, sides, anything in this one little pot. I have to give credit's to my boss, ToniAnn, because she gave me this pot and if I hadn't of gone to a Thirty-One party that her oldest daughter held I would have never learned about the bean pot. It was actually her other daughter who made this wonderful, delicious cheese dip in her bean pot that caught my attention. (I'll be making that dip later). But it was so tasty and I asked her about it. So since Friday night (the Thirty-One Party) I've been obsessed with getting myself a bean pot. I've been looking up recipes for it and everything. Anyhow, I told my boss that I really wanted one of these pots and I'd been looking Ebay at them. And she bought me hers! I'm so grateful! I told her I was coming home tonight and making something...And make something I did, I made Death by Chocolate Cake (yep you can make a cake in this pot!)

So here's the recipe and then pictures...

Death by Chocolate Cake

• 1 Chocolate Cake Mix with Pudding (I used Devil's Food)
• Eggs, oil, water as required by mix
• 1 container of chocolate icing (I used milk chocolate)

Stir cake mix, eggs, oil and water in bean pot with a spoon until well blended. Scrape the sides of the pot and even the batter. Place heaping spoonfuls of icing on top of batter, using all of the icin. Cover with lid and cook in microwave for 8 minutes.

It's so easy. I can't wait to make more stuff in this wonderful little pot. The cake was so tasty and only took about 15 minutes total to make. Yes this will be a recipe to keep! Now for the pictures....

(Above) My cake mix and icing in the bean pot.

(Below) The bean pot in the microwave (did I mention it was only in the microwave for 8 minutes?!)

(Above and Below) The finished product. The cake was cooked perfectly and so tasty. It was super rich and sweet but I like that kind of stuff! I love, love chocolate molten cakes and this was kind of like a take on that.

So there's my bean pot and my chocolate cake in it! :) I can't wait to try more recipes in this pot, and there are a ton of recipes. If you are looking to get you a bean pot they are Celebrating Homes. They come in different colors and I think some are round instead of oval.

30 Days About Me Day 21: A Recipe that You Love

30 Days About Me Day 21: A Recipe that You Love

So I have a bunch of recipes that I love but I'm just going to post a link to them cause I've blogged about them before :) So pick a link and click it! Then cook/bake it!

• Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (these are easy!) 
• Chicken Enchilada's (So yummy) 
• Egg Noodle Lasagna (Again...SO YUMMY!) 
• Play Dough (Don't eat this) 

So there's my favorites :) Enjoy!!!

What are some of your favorite recipes??

Spicy Refrigerator Dill Pickles

So earlier I posted that I was making Spicy Refrigerator Dill Pickles and that'd I'd post later...WELL...I've made one batch and the second batch is soaking...First here's the recipe and then I'll post pictures...

Ingredients - 
 
12 3 to 4 inch long pickling cucumbers (I'm not quiet sure how many cucumbers I used)
2 cups water
1 3/4 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh dill weed (I didn't do this)
1/2 cup white sugar (after reading the reviews posted on Allrecipes.com, I decided to bump it down to 1 Tablespoon of sugar)
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 Tablespoons coarse salt (I used Kosher salt)
1 Tablespoon pickling spice
1 1/2 teaspoons dill seed (I didn't use this at all)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste (I just sprinkled some in but I also used a jalapeno in my mixture for some extra heat - I like hot stuff!)
4 sprigs fresh dill weed (I just bought a packet of the fresh dill from the produce section and used the whole packet in the mixture)

Directions -

1. In a large bowl (I did mine in a big pot), combine cucumbers, water (I used hot water), vinegar, dill, sugar, garlic, salt, pickling spice, red pepper flakes, and jalapenos. Stir, and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, until the sugar and salt dissolve. (I also made two batches of the liquid to cover all the cucumbers and I actually thought about making 3 batches.)
2. Remove the cucumbers to three 1 1/2 pint wide mouth jars, placing 4 cucumbers into each jar. Ladle in the liquid from the bowl to cover. Place a sprig of fresh dill into each jar, and seal with lids. Refrigerate for 10 days before eating. Use within 1 month. (I sliced my cucumbers up so they are chip size. And then I just filled the jar up - of course I had to taste one or two or three...haha...And they are yummy...After I put them in the jar I ladled liquid into it and shut it and then put it in the refrigerator!)

And now time for pictures...........

Top - All of the cucumbers I had.

Bottom - All of those cucumbers sliced up.

 Top - This is the second batch...

Bottom - This is one of the jars from the first batch...They look pretty and they taste good too...Can't wait for some time to pass and they get more taste to them from being in the liquid.

 This was a super easy recipe and I'll be doing it again. They were/are yummy!

Six Word Saturday

Going to pickle some cucumbers today!

So my boss bought a bunch (and I mean a BUNCH) of cucumbers to work on Thursday and Friday. So I grabbed up a few, okay really two grocery bag fulls, and I'm going to try my hand at pickling. This is the recipe I'm going to use called Spicy Refrigerator Dill Pickles. I'm not a big pickle person usually and I really DON'T like cucumbers but I'm already wanting to taste these pickles. I'll try to post how they come out in a few days.

Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

A few years ago at Christmas I made two different kinds of chocolate cookies. One was Grammy's Chocolate Cookies and the other was Giant Chocolate Sugar Cookies. I know I got both of the recipes out of the cookbook, Martha Stewart's Cookies. But the catch is I remember everyone liking one of the cookies but not the other one. So I decided that this week I'd make one recipe and next week I'd make the other one. So without further rambling here is the recipe for Grammy's Chocolate Cookies along with some pictures...

Ingredients:
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Sanding sugar, for rolling.

Directions:
1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add flour mixture; beat to combine. Form dough into a flattened disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Roll each ball in sanding sugar. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

The flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt sifted together! Then all the goodness in the mixing bowl! YUMMY!

The flattened disk before it went in the fridge to chill. I let my dough chill for 2 hours. And last night when I made these I only made half the batch so the other half is still chilling. And then a picture of cookies ready to be ate! Can we say YUMMY again?? :)

I'll be hopefully making the Giant Chocolate Sugar Cookies next weekened. More YUMMYness!

Salsa Chicken

A few weeks ago I found a recipe for Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken. And then I was looking at Allrecipes.com and I found a Salsa Chicken recipe that didn't use a slow cooker (and I honestly didn't feel like dragging the slow cooker out anyhow). So I decided to try the recipe I found from the website instead of the slow cooker one. SN: I did try the slow cooker one a few weeks later and it wasn't near as good as this one. I'll post it later!

SO, here's the recipe for Salsa Chicken...

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 teaspoons taco seasoning mix
1 cup salsa
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Place chicken breasts in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle taco seasoning on both sides of chicken breasts and pour salsa over all.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is tender and juicy and its juices run clear.
Sprinkle chicken evenly with cheese, and continue baking for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with sour cream if desired, and serve.

Here's the chicken before going into the oven and then after coming out of the oven. I only used 3 chicken breast AND I didn't measure out anything. I also used sour cream because I absolutely LOVE sour cream.

This is definitely a recipe that will be going into the recipe box. It's super easy and doesn't take long at all. Plus it was tasty! Enjoy!

Play Dough

I made play dough tonight for my kids that I teach. It's super easy and VERY cheap so I'll be making it this way for my little one too one day. This is also safe for I made Cherry and Orange...You'll understand that in a minute! :)

Play Dough

1 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
1 Tbsp. cooking oil
2 tsp. cream tartar
1 pkg. Kool-aid (where the Cherry and Orange comes from)
1 c. water

Mix dry ingredients, add oil water, cook medium heat until mixture forms a ball. Stir continous so it doesn't burn. Pour onto waxed paper and knead once cooled so you can touch it.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

I made these a last week and they are so good! Some people call them No Bake Cookies but I've always called them Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies. Note: They look liquidy in the picture but they harden up after you let them sit. My mom says if it's raining though that it affects them but I haven't made them enough to know.


Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

1 stick butter, melted
2 c. sugar
4 to 6 tsp. cocoa (I usually use 6 cause I like chocolate!)
1/2 c. milk (exact measurement)
2 c. quick oatmeal
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Measure out oatmeal and set aside. Melt butter in a 2-quart pot. Add sugar and cocoa. Add milk and bring to a boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add oatmeal quickly. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Stir to death. (This is important!) Drop by teaspoonfuls on wax paper to cool. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Chicken Enchilada's

I haven't been cooking much but we'd been eating out a LOT lately. And we just recently started cooking more at home again. So I'd had this recipe wrote down from my friend Holli who has a blog called Three Wishes that I've been wanting to try. So I finally tried it this week and it'll definitely go in the recipe box! It was very good! So here's the recipe....

Chicken Enchilada's

1 can (10 3/4 oz) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)

1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Pace Picante Sauce
2 teaspoons Chili Powder (I'll use less next time)
2 cups chopped cooked Chicken (Can use canned or we used the kind in the meat section that was already cooked)
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I'll use more of this next time)
6 flour tortillas (6-inch), warmed
1 small tomato, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 green onion, sliced (I didn't use onion at all - opps)

Heat the oven to 350°F. Stir the soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder in a medium bowl. Stir 1 cup soup mixture, chicken and cheese in a large bowl. Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas. Roll up the tortillas and place seam-side up in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Pour the remaining soup mixture over the filled tortillas. Cover the baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes or until the enchiladas are hot and bubbling. Top with the tomato and onion (opps again - forgot both of these).

 

Before going in the oven (above) and getting ready to be gobbled up (below)! I did eat sour cream with mine and it was quiet tasty!

Come back for more recipes :)

Cooking...

So I haven't cooked anything in a while but I'm going to get back into it so that hopefully it'll help us save some money. Anyhow one place I'll be getting my recipes from is...

Recipe Shoebox

Go check it out...She's got a really cool blog.

Enchilada Casserole

Another recipe...I made this one tonight. It's pretty good but next time I'll probably put more seasoning in it.

Enchilada Casserole

1 (10 oz) can of Enchilada Sauce
1 and 1/2 pound Ground Beef
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 (16 oz) can of Refried Beans
1 (12 oz) package of corn tortillas
1 (8 oz) bag of Shredded Mexican Cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown beef and drain out the fat. Mix beef, refried beans and 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce. Dip enough corn tortillas to cover bottom of a casserole dish in the enchilada sauce. Then put beef mixture on top of the tortillas, put a layer of cheese on top of that and then do the corn tortillas again. Continue layering. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Then let cool for 5 minutes and serve.

Chocolate Heaven Poke Cake

A few weeks ago I found this recipe that I really wanted to try for Chocolate Heaven Poke Cake. It was so good. Next time the only thing I will change is to poke more holes! (I was kind of reserved in my hole poking!) Sorry the picture is blurry. I took a ton of them and this was the best I could get with the camera I was using. Anyhow, here's the recipe...


Chocolate Heaven Poke Cake
1 Chocolate Cake Mix
1 Jar of Hot Fudge Ice Cream Topping
1 Jar of Hot Caramel Ice Cream Topping (doesn't have to be the Hot kind)
1 large container of Cool Whip (make sure its thawed)

Mix the cake as directed and bake in a 13x9 inch pan. When the cake is done remove it from the oven and take the handle part of a wooden spoon and poke that cake like you mean it. Lots of poking. Make holes all over the cake. Don't take out to much aggression though, you don't want it to fall apart. Heat up the ice cream toppings and pour them over the HOLY cake. Use a spatula and spread the toppings thoroughly. Let it cool and top with Cool Whip. (I just put Cool Whip on it when I was serving it instead of all over the cake.)