Beefy Nacho Soup

Beefy Nacho Soup

1 lb ground chuck, browned, crumbled and drained
1 packet taco seasoning
1 carton beef broth
1 can Mexican Rotel tomatoes
1 can Pinto Beans
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 jar Pace Mexican Four Cheese Salsa con Queso

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

This is GOOD soup! And you can't get any easier than this. I usually have a package of pre-cooked crumbled ground beef in my freezer, so I just defrosted it in the microwave and threw everything together. Dinner in 20 minutes!

Bean & Cheese Enchilada Casserole

Bean & Cheese Enchilada Casserole

4 oz taco sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 heaping tsp diced pickled jalapenos
16 oz can chili beans in medium sauce
8 oz refried beans
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 cup chunky salsa
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
8 tortillas

Preheat oven to 350^F. Coat the bottom of a 9-inch square casserole dish with the taco sauce and set aside. Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the onions until soft. Add garlic, jalapenos, chili beans, refried beans, chili powder, cumin and salsa and stir until well combined and hot through. Cut tortillas into quarters (or strips) and layer half of them in the casserole dish. Top with half the bean mixture and 1 cup shredded cheddar. Repeat layers ending with remaining cheddar and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

This was yummy!

Spanish Style Slow Cooked Pork

Spanish Style Slow Cooked Pork

1/2 cup Sofrito Base, thawed if frozen (see recipe under "Seasonings")
1 heaping tsp dried cilantro
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp Adobo seasoning
1 packet Sazon with Cilantro and Tomato
4-5 lb pork butt or pork shoulder

Combine first 6 ingredients until well mixed and rub it all over the pork roast. Place in crockpot and cook on high for 1 hour, reduce heat to low and cook 7-8 hours or until falling apart tender!

Very good, but I think this could be spiced up next time.

Sofrito

Sofrito Base

2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 head of garlic (or 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic from a jar)

Throw everything into the food processor and chop until it's almost a puree. Freeze in 1/4 cup batches until needed.

Most recipes for Sofrito include Cilantro, but I leave it out so I can use this for dishes that are not Latin flavored. It's great in bean dishes, rice, soups, stews, marinades for chicken or pork...you name it. You don't even have to defrost it to use it...just add it frozen to whatever you're cooking.

To Latin it up, add a handful for fresh cilantro and some parsley before you process it. I like spicy, so I usually throw in some pickled jalapenos.

Grilled Italian Beef Sandwiches

Grilled Italian Beef Sandwiches

Thin Sliced deli roast beef
Thin Sliced Provolone
Pickled banana peppers, chopped
Dried Italian herbs
Italian Bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick on the bias
Softened Butter

Spread outside of each bread slice with butter. Build sandwiches with (buttered side out) 1 slice bread, 1 slice provolone, 2 slices roast beef, some chopped banana peppers, a sprinkle of Italian herbs, another slice of roast beef, a slice of provolone and the top slice of bread (buttered side out). Heat a griddle over medium heat and grill sandwiches until golden brown, flip and grill the other side until browned and the cheese is melted.

Good sandwiches! From grouprecipes.com

Chunky Tomato Bacon Soup

Chunky Tomato Bacon Soup

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons finely diced green onions
1 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 Tsp dried thyme leaves
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
3 strips thick sliced apple wood smoked bacon, fried and diced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
Salt and Pepper
Sugar, to taste
1 tablespoon chiffonnade basil, for garnish

Puree the crushed tomatoes and set aside. In a heavy stainless steel pot, heat olive oil. Add green onions and cook until soft. Add garlic, thyme, and basil, and continue to cook, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add tomato puree, cream, chicken broth, and salt, pepper and sugar, to taste. Bring to a simmer. Pour soup into bowls and garnish with chopped bacon.

This was good...but not any better than Campbell's, so I'll stick with the canned soup cause it's a lot less work! This was adapted from a Sandra Lee recipe (I think - I can't remember where it came from).

St. Patty's Day Chili

St. Patty's Day Chili

2 lbs. beef sirloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
Garlic Salt and Pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
6 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp Ranch dressing mix
1 tsp dried cilantro
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced pickled jalapenos
1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon vegetarian base
1 bottle Bud Light with Lime
Water, as needed
14.5 oz can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Garlic
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp honey
16 oz can dark red kidney beans, drained
16 oz can light red kidney beans, drained
Chopped green onions
Sour Cream

Heat oil and butter in a large, heavy Dutch oven. Season the beef cubes with garlic salt and pepper and brown well in the oil over medium heat. Add Worcestershire sauce, onion, chili powder, Ranch dressing mix, cumin, cilantro, garlic, jalapenos, and vegetarian base and stir well. Pour in beer and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beef is beginning to get tender. As the beer cooks down, add more water as needed to keep the meat covered. Stir in diced tomatoes and tomato puree, honey and adjust seasonings to suit yourself. Continue to cook until meat is very tender. Add beans and cook until heated through. Serve hot, topped with chopped green onions and sour cream.

Good chili!!! I had been going to make Irish Beef Stew for dinner but I forgot to buy the Guinness and the potatoes. The Bud Light with Lime was my inspiration for this chili and it really did turn out better than I'd even hoped!

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

I don't care for cooked cabbage, but John loves it and it was on sale, so I thought I'd give this a try. I'm hoping the tomato sauce will disguise the cooked cabbage taste a bit.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

12 leaves cabbage
15 oz can sauerkraut, drained
3/4 cup uncooked instant brown rice
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup cream
1/2 onion, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
3 Tbsp tomato paste (I love those tubes of tomato paste!)
1 1/4 pound extra-lean ground sirloin
Garlic Salt and black pepper to taste
28 oz can tomato puree
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Place the cabbage leaves in an unzipped Zip Loc Bag and microwave about 2 minutes or until leaves are limp. Allow to cool.

Spread the sauerkraut in the bottom of a slow cooker.

Combine the rice, egg, cream, minced onion, ground sirloin, tomato paste, garlic salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands. Divide mixture into 12 portions and wrap each in a cabbage leaf. Place cabbage rolls on top of sauerkraut in slow cooker and sprinkle the chopped onion over them.

Combine the tomato puree, brown sugar, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl and stir until well mixed. Pour over the cabbage rolls, put the lid on and cook on low for 8 hours.

Wow! This was good! I've found a way to eat cooked cabbage AND sauerkraut! John loved it too, so this recipe is definitely a keeper.

Adapted from allrecipes.com (Cabbage Rolls II)

Irish Champ

Irish Champ

4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
3 green onions, minced
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cover the diced potatoes with cold, salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are just soft (don't overcook!) Meanwhile, combine the green onions and butter in a small bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir and microwave for 30 seconds more. Drain potatoes and return to hot pan and shake over hot burner to dry them out a bit. Add the butter mixture and mash lightly (I like them really thick and lumpy!) with a potato masher. Stir in cream just until combined and season with extra salt if needed and pepper. If you like smoother, runnier potatoes mash longer and add more cream, though why you'd want to do that is beyond my understanding. :-)

This are DEE-licious! Served with Pan Seared New York Strips...awesome!

Adapted from "Gentlemen, Start Your Ovens".

Creamy Italian Chicken

Creamy Italian Chicken

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves, cut into chunks
1 tbsp butter
1 (.7 oz) pkg dry Italian style salad dressing mix
8-oz pkg cream cheese, cut into cubes
1 can cream of chicken soup

Put chicken chunks, butter and italian dressing mix in slow cooker, mix together and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Add cream cheese and soup, mix together and cook on high for about 1/2 hour or until heated through.

This was really good served over hot, cooked vermicelli!

Adapted from allrecipes.com (Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff)

Corn Muffins with Bacon and Cheese

Corn Muffins with Bacon and Cheese

1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 tbsp minced chives
3 tbsp finely diced sharp cheddar cheese
2 tbsp bacon bits

Preheat the oven to 400^F. Spray muffin pans (this recipe makes about 1/2 dozen) with Pam.

Combine muffin mix, paprika, egg and milk and mix by hand until just combined. Stir in the chives, cheese and bacon bits and spoon into muffin pans. Bake about 15-20 minutes or until done.

Tasty. A little dense, but quite good!

Adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe.

Mounds Bars

Mounds Bars

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups flaked coconut
1 (12 ounce) package milk chocolate chips, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter or margarine. Mix and pat into the bottom of one 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle the coconut over the crust and then pour the sweetened condensed milk over the coconut. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15 minutes.

Spread the melted chocolate chips over the top. Let cool and cut into squares.

My chocolate chips did not melt smoothly (and when I tried to re-melt them it just made it worse) so this was darn near impossible to spread over the coconut. These have the dubious honor of being the ugliest cookies I've ever made! They tasted pretty good, but frankly, not worth the hassle of melting the chocolate.

From allrecipes.com

Spicy Bean with Bacon Soup

Spicy Bean with Bacon Soup

1 lb dried pinto beans, washed
1/2 lb bacon, cut into small pieces
1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 tbsp diced pickled jalapenos
1 tbsp dried cilantro
Garlic Salt and Pepper
Splash Worcestershire sauce
32 oz chicken broth
Water, as needed
15 oz can tomato sauce

Place the washed beans into the crockpot. Cook and stir the bacon pieces in a large skillet over medium heat until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally until the carrots soften. Add contents of skillet to the beans in the crockpot (including the bacon fat!) Add the jalapenos, cilantro, salt and pepper, worcestershire sauce and chicken broth. Add water, if necessary to completely cover the bean mixture and turn the crockpot on. Cook until beans are tender. Stir in tomato sauce and continue cooking for at least another hour.

This was OK. I think 15 oz is too much tomato sauce, but John liked it a lot. I might try it again with a small can of tomato sauce (or none at all) and see how that works. Or not...

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Pork Chops with Apples and Onions

Pork Chops with Apples and Onions

4 bone-in pork chops, about 3/4-inch thick
Garlic Salt and Pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 1/4 cups apple juice
2 large apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon


Preheat the oven to 375^F. Season the chops with garlic salt, pepper and thyme. Heat oil in a large iron skillet over medium-high heat and brown the chops on both sides. Remove the chops to a 9x13" baking dish. Add the onions to the skillet and cook until it starts to soften. Stir in the apple juice and cook until it begins to boil. Pour onion-apple juice mixture over the chops. Toss the sliced apples with the lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon and place the over the chops. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour or until chops are tender.

Adapted from Rachael Ray's "Pork Chops with Cider Gravy, Sauteed Apples and Onions". I served this with Baked Sweet Potatoes (dressed with Butter and a bit of Brown Sugar). The pork chops were nice and tender, but a little dry. And it needed a bit of something "tangy" in my opinion.

My Chicken Noodle Soup

My Chicken Noodle Soup

2 large bone-in chicken breasts with skin
3 tbsp Olive oil
Garlic Salt & Pepper
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3/4 tsp Cajun Seasoning
1 tbsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp ground sage
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Water
1 can cream of chicken with herbs soup
1 cup frozen green peas
16 oz pkg fine egg noodles


Heat the oil in a large Dutch Oven. Add the chicken, seasoned with Garlic Salt and pepper, skin side down and brown well over medium-high heat. Turn and brown the other side. It won't be cooked through, but remove the chicken to a plate and add the onion, celery, carrots, cajun seasoning, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme and cook until veggies begin to soften. Add the lemon juice and Worcestershire and return the chicken to the pot. Add enough water to completely cover the chicken breasts and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until chicken is completely cooked. Remove the chicken from broth until cool enough to handle. Rmove skin and bones and chop meat and return to pot. Stir in the cream of chicken and herbs soup and enough water to cook the noodles (if needed). Add the peas and bring to boil. Add noodles and cook 3 minutes or until noodles are done.

This is my favorite Chicken Noodle Soup. I don't have a recipe, it just evolved into this over the last 30 years.