Cheese Danish

2 cans ready to use refrigerated crescent rolls
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg white
Glaze: 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method: Preheat oven to 350* degrees and grease a 13X9-inch baking pan. Lay a pack of crescent rolls in the pan and pinch the openings together. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and egg together until smooth. Spread the mixture over the crescent rolls evenly and then lay the second pack of crescent rolls on top of the cheese mixture and brush with egg white. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Top with glaze after cooling for 20 minutes.

Taco Cupcakes

1/2t chili oil (found near the Asian ingredients)
*I could not find this... it probably was right in front of my face but seriously, never found it. So I just used some Olive Oil... and I don't think I really even needed that!
1/2 lb 95% lean ground beef
1 T taco seasoning
3/4 c canned black beans, drained and rinsed
16 wonton wrappers (found in the produce section)
5 T + 1t of queso dip or salsa con queso
1 c chunky salsa
1 c reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese
Guacamole for serving


First, pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly mist 8 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
Heat chili oil (or Olive oil) in a saute pan or large skillet over medium-high heat, add the ground beef and taco seasoning and brown beef, breaking it with a spoon. Add black beans and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until warm.

Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the eight sprayed cups in the muffin tin. Spoon a teaspoon of queso dip into each wonton wrapper and spread across the bottom.

Follow by spooning some of the meat/beans mixture into each cup (I would say about two teaspoons) and then spooning a teaspoon or so of salsa on top of that. Sprinkle a pinch of the cheese evenly over the top of each cup.

Now do it all again, one more time!
Press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat the layering steps with the remaining ingredients.

Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin

Taco Seasoning

I made this one night when I needed taco seasoning but didn't have any....I won't buy taco seasoning again

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container. Season to taste.
Notes
I like to make 3 or 4 times what the recipe calls for so I can season to taste and save some in a jar for next time.

For 1lb of ground beef, I added 2 TBSP of the taco seasoning mix and it was just the right amount of flavor and kick.

Oven Tacos

Not sure why I never thought about this....they were good! I halved the recipe

2 lbs ground beef
1 can refried beans
8 ounce tomato sauce
1 pkg taco seasoning or homemade taco seasoning
1 ½ cups shredded cheese
18-20 hard taco shells

lettuce, salsa, sour cream, etc for serving.
Brown ground beef. Drain off any fat and add refried beans, tomato sauce, and seasoning.
Spoon mixture into taco shells.
Place filled shells into a 9×13 pan, standing up. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes or until heated through.
Enjoy!
Note: For those of you with a smaller family you may want to half this recipe. You could also easily stretch this for a larger group and get a few more tacos out of it by adding extra beans.


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Cake Batter Puppy Chow

I had some left over chex mix from christmas and found this. It is SO GOOD....and addicting!

Makes 5 cups

5 cups Chex cereal (I prefer the Rice Chex)
10 oz (5 squares) vanilla flavored Almond Bark
1 1/2 cups yellow cake mix
1/2 cup powdered sugar
vegetable shortening, optional
1. Melt Almond Bark according to the package directions, adding vegetable shortening to thin if desired.
2. Pour the cereal, cake mix, and powdered sugar into a paper bag or container with a lid.
3. Drizzle melted Almond Bark over the cereal and fold down the top of the paper bag or put the lid on the container.
4. Shake bag or container until the cereal is evenly coated.

Tip - The above method worked just fine for me, but some people are having trouble with the Chex and Almond Bark clumping together. Try thinning out the Almond Bark a little with shortening and mixing the Chex with the melted Almond Bark before coating with the cake mix and powdered sugar.

Crock Pot Enchiladas

This was VERY good, a little spicy because I didn't have mild rotel, but very good!

8 servings

1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 can (15 ounces) Ranch Style beans, drained
1 can (10 ounces) rotel tomatoes mild, drained
1 teaspoon chili powder1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded colby jack cheese
8 flour tortillas
1 can (15 ounces) red enchilada sauce

Cook beef over medium heat until done; drain. Meanwhile saute onion and bell pepper in oil until tender. Add onion and pepper to beef. Stir in beans, tomatoes, chili powder, salt, cumin, pepper and garlic powder. In a slow cooker place two tortillas side by side, overlapping if necessary. Layer with a forth of the beef mixture and a fourth of the cheese. Repeat layers three more times. Pour enchilada sauce over all. Cover and cook on low for 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until heated through

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded {or shredded rotisserie chicken…I used the breasts}

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 {4 oz.} can diced green chiles

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

2 {10 oz.} cans green chili enchilada sauce

2/3 cups red enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded cheese {I used colby & monterrey jack}

1 cup sour cream

Penne pasta



Optional toppings

Avocado

Green Onions

Black Olives

Tomatoes

Sour Cream

Cook chicken, drain, and shred {or shred your rotisserie}. Meanwhile boil pasta according to package and chop the veggies. The most time consuming part of this recipe is the time spent chopping the veggies. Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet and cook onions for about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic & red pepper and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Add cooked chicken, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, & enchilada sauces. Let sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Add cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and heated through. Now toss in the sour cream, but whatever you do, DO NOT bring to a boil! Cook on low heat or the sour cream will curdle. Gross. Stir until sour cream is well mixed and heated through. Drain pasta & return to pot. Pour sauce over pasta and mix well. Serve and garnish with avocado, tomato, green onion, and a dollop of sour cream.

The Best Broccoli of Your Life

Seriously, this is THE BEST broccoli I have ever had. Found on Pinterest, directions taken difectly from the website/blog it came from.


You preheat the oven to 425.

Take 4 to 5 pounds of broccoli (I just got two large bunches), cut into florets (but relatively big ones.) Here’s the key that she doesn’t mention in the recipe: dry them THOROUGHLY. That is, if you wash them. I saw an episode of Julia Child cooking with Jacques Pepin once when Pepin revealed he doesn’t wash a chicken before putting it in a hot oven: “The heat kills all the germs,” he said in his French accent. “If bacteria could survive that oven, it deserves to kill me.” By that logic, then, I didn’t wash my broccoli; I wanted it to get crispy and brown. If you’re nervous, though, just wash and dry it obsessively.

Now, it’s easy. Put the broccoli on a cookie sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. (She says 5 Tbs olive oil, 1 1/2 tsps kosher salt, 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, but I just eyeballed it.) Now add 4 garlic cloves that are peeled and sliced and toss them in too.

Roast in the oven 20 to 25 minutes, until “crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.”

I shook the pan around a bit as it went, but not sure that’s necessary.

When it’s done, take it out of the oven–and here’s where it gets really good–zest a lemon over the broccoli, squeeze the lemon juice over the broccoli, add 1.5 Tbs more olive oil, 3 Tbs toasted pine nuts (I left those out), and 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. She also has you add 2 Tbs julienned fresh basil, but I left that out too.

Moist Parmesan Crusted Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 tsp talian seasoned bread crumbs; (panko bread crumbs are best, they have a real crunch to them)

. Preheat oven to 425

2. Combine mayonnaise with cheese in medium bowl.

3. Arrange chicken on baking sheet. Evenly top with mayonnaise mixture, then sprinkle with bread crumbs.

4. Bake 20 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. **if you have not flattened your chicken breast prior to this, you will need to cook it about 35-40 minutes total, thicker breasts take longer to cook**




Calories Per Serving: 388