Taco Lasagna

When both my daughters are home we have a new tradition that we always try a Pinterest project.  The first time we tried the crayon art.  Let's just say crafts is NOT our strong suite.  So this time I said lets try cooking.  So we picked a recipe off of Pinterest and tried it.  Boy was it good. 

1 lb ground beef

1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 packet taco seasoning
Water as called for on back of seasoning packet
1/2 cup con queso*
3 large flour tortillas (8 inch size)
1 1/2 cups Monterrey Jack Cheese
Lettuce
Tomato
Sour Cream
Salsa

Brown hamburger along with onion.  Add taco seasoning and water.  Cook until thickened. Add Queso. 

Place flour tortilla in a 9 inch cake pan or a spring foam pan, or even a pie plate.

Spread 1/3 meat mixture, top with 1/3 of the cheese.  Repeat layers ending with cheese on top.

Bake in oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes until it is warmed thru.

Cut into pie triangles.  Top with lettuce, tomato, sour cream or salsa.

Enjoy!

* We use Carlos O'Kelly's queso but any store bought would be good too.

Taco Ring

If you are looking for a quick supper, with few ingredients this is it.  This was one of my families favorite meal when the kids were growing up.  It is fast and delicious.  This is an old Pampered Chef recipe that has been around for a long time.  Sometimes the classics are the best.  Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef

1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces)

2 tablespoons water

2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1 medium bell pepper

1 cup salsa

3 cups lettuce, shredded

1 medium tomato

1/4 cup onion, chopped (optional)

1/2 cup pitted ripe black olives (optional)

sour cream (optional)

Directions:
 

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Brown ground beef, add taco seasoning and 2 Tbsp water.  Add cheese.  
3. Unroll the crescent dough; separate into triangles. Spray pizza pan with cooking spray. Arrange triangles in a circle on a pizza pan with the wide ends toward the center of the pan, overlapping each other. It should look like a sun, with a large opening in the center. Spoon the meat mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle. Bring points of triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough. (There should be gaps where filling is showing). Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Fill center with the optional toppings or, leave empty. A cute idea is to cut off the top of the pepper and hollow it out, then use the pepper as a salsa bowl.


 

Cinnamon Rolls

We are stuck inside today due to a snow storm.  We were warned last night so my husband and I went off to the store to make sure that I had plenty of goodies on hand so I could bake.  There is nothing more that warms the house when it smells like fresh baked goods.  Today I baked cinnamon rolls.  I absolutely LOVE this recipe.  I have played with it till I was happy with it. 

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup warm Water

2 Tbsp Sugar

1 pkg Yeast

1 cup Milk

1/4 cup melted Butter

1 Egg

4 cups Flour

1 package Instant Vanilla Pudding dry

2 tsp Gluten

1 1/2 tsp Salt

In a small glass bowl, combine yeast and warm water. Sprinkle with sugar to "feed" the yeast. Stir to combine and let sit for about 10 minutes. The yeast should become foamy and bubbly. This means it's active.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add melted butter, milk, sugar, salt, egg and 2 cups of flour.

Mix on a medium speed to combine.

Add the yeast mixture and continue to mix, slowly adding the remaining 2 cups of flour. Mix for about 3 minutes, until a dough forms around the hook.

Remove dough to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 5 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball and place in a well-greased bowl.

Cover the bowl with a damp towel, and set the bowl in a warm, dry place for 1 hour, or until the dough almost doubles in size.

Remove the dough from the bowl onto a floured work surface and punch it down, releasing the air bubbles.

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 9 x13" rectangle.

Filling:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon

Once the dough is rolled out, use a pastry brush to cover the dough rectangle with softened butter.

Evenly spread the brown sugar across the dough.

Dust with cinnamon.

Starting from the edge of dough closest to you, roll from the bottom up, like a jelly roll.

Trim the ends, and then slice the roll into 1-1 ½-inch pieces with waxed dental floss, yielding 12-14 rolls.

Place each piece into a greased 9x13" baking dish or 2 round pans.

Cover the pan once again with a damp towel and return it the warm, dry place for another 30 minutes, or until the dough is risen.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake cinnamon buns for 30-35 minutes, or until light-golden brown.

Frost once completely cool. 

Tator Tot Casserole

This is one of my husbands favorite casseroles. I have to confess this really is not my favorite.  I will eat it,  but there is way better casseroles out there lol.  I think this is one of those casseroles that you either hate it or love it.  My son's friends love this recipe.  For their birthdays and for Christmas this is what they ask for.  So I am happy to oblige.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb hamburger or ground turkey
• 1 15 oz can veg all
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bag of Ore-Ida Crispy Crowns Tator Tots (they are the flat ones) or regular tator tots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2.5 quart casserole dish. In a large skillet saute hamburger, season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cook completely and drain.  In a small bowl combine the cream of mushroom soup and veg all, add hamburger. Stir all together.   Put the meat mixture in the bottom of your casserole dish and cover with cheese.  Place tator tots on top to cover the cheese mixture.You can add more Tator tots or less - up to you.  Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until casserole is heated though and tots are nice and crispy. (I like to broil this for just a minute so the tots get nice and crispy) You don't have to but make sure if you do broil to keep a close eye on this as it can burn fast.

Banana Cake

I like banana bread but I LOVE banana cake.  I hadn't made banana cake in a LONG time, but at the store recently they had bananas on sale.  I picked up a bag of bananas for under $2.00 - score for me.  I had made banana bread with some of them but that really didn't hit the spot so off I went looking for a banana cake recipe.  I knew that my cake recipe had to have buttermilk and it had to be moist.

Cake Ingredients:

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 egg

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 mashed super ripe bananas (about 3/4 cup)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

 

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Cream together sugar, sour cream, egg, and butter.  Add mashed bananas and vanilla extract.  Add flour, salt, and baking soda; mix well.  Pour into greased 8x8 pan.  Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely before frosting.

 

Frosting Ingredients:

 

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. butter

pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients until smooth.

 

If you would like to double the recipe it will work well in a 9 x 13 pan. If making 9 x 13 pan make sure you also double the frosting.   

White Bread

About three months ago, I stopped buying bread from the store.  Not cause we couldn't afford it, but I was sick and tired of throwing bread out every week.  I  mean when bread is getting to over $3.00 a loaf I just couldn't take it any more.  With just my husband and I we do not eat bread fast enough.  So when my husband was gone I decided to figure out how to make bread with my kitchen aid.  I have made it in the bread machine before but wanted to figure out how to make it more "homemade".  So I read a few articles off Pinterest and tried a couple of different recipes.  The first time I didn't proof my yeast, so it didn't turn it out at ALL.  In fact I threw the first loaf in the garbage.  Read some more and figured out what I did wrong.  So here is the recipe that I use almost every time I bake bread.  Mariah absolutely loves this recipe.  I really wouldn't use it for sandwiches but to make toast - it absolutely rocks.

1 package yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
4 Tbsp sugar
1/2 Cup warm water

Add water, yeast and sugar in the bowl of the kitchen aid mixer, set aside and let proof for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes add the following ingredients to the bowl.  

3 cups flour
4 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup milk
3 tsp gluten
1 1/2 tsp salt

Using a dough hook let mix for 7-8 minutes. * I usually do have to add in 1-2 Tbsp of water to help dough clear sides of the bowl. Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise until almost double.  1 1/2-2 hours depending on how warm it is in your house.










When done rising, punch dough down and roll into shape of a loaf.  Place into greased 9x4-inch loaf pan. Cover and let rise for another 45 minutes.  Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes. When golden brown remove and brush with butter.  When cooling on rack lay on side so it doesn't deflate.

Stuffed Mushrooms

I have never really tried to make stuffed mushrooms before but decided I was ready to tackle it for the Super Bowl get together!! They were not as hard as I thought.  They are easy and definitely a keeper.

Ingredients:

24 Mushrooms with stems removed
1/4 cup finely chopped green Onion
1 Garlic clove finely minced
4 oz Cream cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 lb Bacon
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.  Cut raw bacon into small pieces. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, cook bacon until nice and crispy.  Chop mushrooms stems into small pieces. When bacon is done, remove from pan and set aside.  Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon grease and discard the rest. Saute onion until soft, add chopped mushrooms stems and garlic and cook a few minutes longer. Reduce heat to low. Add cream cheese and Parmesan cheese and stir until cheeses are melted. Add reserved chopped bacon and add salt and pepper to taste.  (Mixture can be made, cooled, and stored, covered, in the fridge for up to two days.) Remove mixture from heat and stuff each mushroom cap generously with mixture. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until mushrooms are soft and filling is nice and hot. I try to cram them on a small pan with tin foil or I put them into a mini cupcake pan - that way they are not rolling all over on a pan.