Dessert Nachos

Dessert Nachos

These have been such a huge hit among the family! They are perfect to even have as a crispy snack. 
They take a bit of time but well worth it!

Homemade Cinnamon Tortilla chips

8 6 inch flour tortillas
 1 cup white sugar
 2 tsp ground cinnamon

* Pre-heat oven to 400 degree and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats.
Cut tortillas with pizza cutter into 8 triangles.  Separate and place into large mixing bowl.
Pour melted butter over the top and toss until each triangle is evenly coated. Roll each tortilla
into the cinnamon sugar or you can toss all triangles into the sugar mixture.
Bake for 5 minutes and then flip and bake again until desired crunch is achieved. If there is left over sugar mixture you can reserve for garnish.

ADDITIONAL TOPPINGS

Ice cream

Fresh fruit, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, apples etc
Nuts, pecans, walnuts etc
chocolate chips
Melted peanut butter
cool whip
chocolate sauce
caramel sauce

 

Home made Steak Tacos

Yadira has come to spend her Spring break with us and she has spoiled me from ever reaching for a pre made taco again!! I'm so sad! These are delicious and I wondered why I didn't just fry up my own tacos!

The pico de gallo is delicious! I'm eating it with everything.

Steak Tacos served with pico de gallo, spanish rice and refried beans!

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb flank steak, trimmed (We had left over steak from the night before)

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 and 1/2 tablespoon chile powder

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 package of corn tortillas

Can you just taste the goodness?

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a well-seasoned ridged grill pan (preferably cast-iron) over moderately high heat until beginning to smoke, then brush with oil.
2. While pan heats, pat steak dry and stir together spices and salt, then rub all over both sides of steak.
3. Grill steak, turning over once, 9 to 11 minutes total for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes.

Because my steak was left over, it is NY Strip and ribeye and I sliced it thin and small to stretch it to feed all of us.
4. Cut steak thinly steak across the grain. Serve with tortillas and toppings. Because my steak was a left over. I made up the seasoning and quickly heated the meat with it for flavor!

MAKING THE TORTILLAS

Prior to frying the corn tortillas. Place a few tortillas on a microwave safe dish and place a damp paper towel over the top. Heat for 20 seconds or so. We just want these soft and pliable so they do not crack when folded.

Once tortilla is heated add a table spoon or two of the meat to the center of the tortilla. You don't want to over stuff with meat because the tortilla should fold over easily, while in the pan.

 You will want to use a fork to keep the top from unfolding. You may place more than one in the frying pan. You want to the oil to sizzle but not reach it's smoking point.

REMOVE from pan and place on paper towel to remove excess oil. Continue frying the remainder of the tortillas until all the meat is used.

The only down side to this is if you are not careful with heating the oil it can leave your house with a fried oil smell. But, it is definitely worth the satisfaction of preparing!

Home made Pico De Gallo

Where have I been? Why have I never made my own Pico De Gallo! This is wonderful and fresh and beautiful! Everything is right in the world because I now make my very own! The Mr. does not like onions at all! He loves the flavor but not the texture. So, I pulled some aside and made some without onions. He was a happy man!

Ingredients
5 to 6 roma tomatos (diced)
1 medium onion (diced very fine)
1 bunch of cilantro (chopped)
3 limes (squeezed)
You may also add jalapenos
Please click here to learn how to pick and choose the perfect lime.

Directions: Dice and chop all ingredients and then add to a medium size bowl and squeeze with lime juice. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Serve with anything.
Yadira dicing the tomatos

MK chopping the onions, not one tear

The amount of cilantro we used

The two seperate bowls. One for the Mr. minus the onions

Squeezing the juice of 3 limes

Perfection!

Sausage stuffed Jalapenos

We loved the bacon wrapped jalapenos so much that I was on a search to make more appetizers with this spicy pepper! I found this recipe in my Taste of Home Magazine circa September 2007.

Submitted by Rachel Oswald, Greenville, Michigan

Ingredients:

1 pound bulk pork sausage

1 pkg. softened cream cheese

22 large jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwised and seeded

Ranch salad dressing optional

Caution: When cutting or seeding hot peppers, use rubber or plastic gloves to protect your hands. AVOID touching your face or eyes. Your skin will definitely BURN

Directions: bake 425 for 15 to 20 min.

1. In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. In a small mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and Parmesan cheese; fold in sausage

2. Spoon about 1 tablespoonful into each jalapeno half. Place in two ungreased 9x13 in baking dishes. Bake uncovered, at 425 for 15-20 minutes or until filling is lightly browned and bubbly. Serve with ranch dressing if desired.

Yield: 44 appetizers

Cheesy chicken quesadillas

I found this wonderful recipe on Cynthia's blog. Cynthia and I have very similar taste buds!
Her pictures are better than mine and definitely more appetizing so please check her out for her pictures alone. This takes less than 5 minutes from start to finish.

*****DISCLAIMER*******
This recipe calls for a can of Campbells Southwest Style Pepper Jack condensed soup but they have discontinued making this soup. If you can find it follow the recipe. If you can not find this hot commodity please follow my improvised recipe.
"original"
CHEESY CHICKEN QUESADILLAS: I found the recipe here.

1 pound boneless chicken breast halves, cubed 1 can (10¾ oz.) CAMPBELL'S Condensed Southwest Style Pepper Jack Soup ¼ cup water 8 flour tortillas (8-inch), warmed Pace Chunky Salsa

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cook chicken in nonstick skillet until done and juices evaporate, stirring often.

Add water and soup and heat through. Spoon 1/3 cup chicken mixture on half of each tortilla to within ½-inch of edge. Fold over and seal. Add 1 TBLsp oil to hot skillet. brown each side. Cut into wedges and serve with salsa. Prep/Cook Time: 20 minutes Yield: 8 quesadillas

****************************IMPROVISED RECIPE***************************************

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 large can of breast of chicken 12.5 oz can or 2 lb. boneless chicken breast.
1/4 of a block of pepper jack cheese (cubed)
1 Tbl spoon red pepper flake add as much or as little to preference.
Heat ingredients in a pot on stove. Once cheese is melted then spoon on to flour tortillas and fold. Add 1 Tblsp oil to hot skillet. Add flour tortillas to skillet and brown. Flip and brown the other side. Remove and cut into wedges or eat whole with a dollop of sour cream and salsa on the side.

Tres Leche

Popular in Mexican & Honduran cultures.
SERVES 6 -8
I got this recipe from recipezarr.com
Ingredients

cake
white cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
1 cup whole milk
12 ounces evaporated milk
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
8 ounces whipped dessert topping mix
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup whole milk
9 cherries

Directions
1 Bake cake as directed on box.
2 While cake is cooking, mix together 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 can evaporated milk, & 1 cup whole milk with a whisk. Set aside.
3 When cake is finished cooking, use the end of a wooden spoon to poke holes in the cake. Whisk your milk mixture once again, and pour slowly over the entire cake. Put the cake in the fridge for 4 hours to set flavors.
4 After 4 hours, make your whipped topping by mixing together the vanilla, milk & whipped topping mix. Use mixer for 4 minutes. When topping is ready, spread over cake.
5 To top it off, drain & rinse 9-12 cherries. Dry each cherry off, so the juice doesn't run in the topping. Put dry cherries on top of cake in rows of 3 or 4.
6 This makes a beautiful cake. Must be kept refrigerated. You can use various flavors of cake mix. Many people love to put sweetened coconut in the whipped topping. You can also make a lower fat version by choosing low sugar cake mix, fat free sweetened condensed milk, fat free evaporated milk, & skim milk.
7 Enjoy!

Taco Seasonings

Taco Seasonings

No more wondering if you have a pkg of seasonings in the cabinet. Make your own!

1/4 cup instant minced onion

3 Tbls chili powder

2 Tbls cumin

1 tsp salt

2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 Tbls cornstarch

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp oregano

Mix all ingredients together and place in a clean jar with a tight lid. Use 2 Tbls of seasoning mix per pound of meat.

Garden Fresh Salsa

Garden Fresh Salsa

If your garden is going crazy with tomatoes right now like mine is, this is a great way to put them to use!

2 large tomatoes, chopped

2 Tbsp chopped red onion

3 Tbsp chopped green bell pepper

2 Tbsp chopped green chile pepper

1/2 - 1 tsp celery flakes*

1/2 tsp mustard seed

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro**

1/2 tsp salt

pepper

2 Tbsp veg oil

Combine the vegetables, seasonings and vinegar in a bowl. Add oil and stir gently to coat. Let sit in refrigerator at least 2 hours to allow flavors to blend.

*I use dry celery flakes because dh doesn't like celery chunks. 3 Tbls Chopped celery may be used if desired.

**To prevent fresh cilantro from clinging to knife while chopping, sprinkle the salt on the cilantro leaves, roll or bunch cilantro and then chop with sharp knife.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Me or my family really enjoy enchiladas. Bill and Spencer are the only ones who usually order these. I have tasted many enchiladas before and none of them have me raving or dying to try another one for at least a year! EXCEPT for these!! My entire family loved them and we look forward to eating them again!I prefer the sour cream sauce as to the tomato base. One of my biggest griefs with enchiladas were they were soggy and the texture!. This one is a FIVE STAR in my book.



Chicken Enchiladas in Sour Cream Sauce
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
18 corn tortillas
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 cups shredded cheese (your choice)
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup minced finely cut onion
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups sour cream
2 (4 oz) cans diced green chilies

In a large bowl, combine cheese, onion, 1 can chilies, 1 cup sour cream and chicken. Set aside.
Fry tortillas in large skillet, one at a time in hot oil for 5 seconds, each side.

Drain tortillas in between paper towels as you cook them. Spoon a good size portion of chicken mixture onto all tortillas, rolling them and placing them seam side down in large greased baking dish.

In sauce pan, melt butter then blend flour into butter to make a roux. Add chicken broth and cook until mixture thickens and bubbles. Stir in sour cream and 1 can green chilies. Be careful not to boil.

Pour sauce over enchiladas and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.
Immediately,set oven to BROIL and cook for another 5 minutes (be careful not to burn)Enchiladas are done when sauce in the center is bubbling. Serve with side of rice or beans.

Chilli

This is our family's base recipe for chilli. We basically like it plain with no extras added to it except for a little more heat.

1 or 2lbs. lean ground beef
1 large can red kidney beans
1 large can dark red kidney beans (drained)
1 packet McCormick chilli seasoning packet
2 large cans tomato sauce
chilli powder
Toppings:
sour cream
shredded cheese

Brown ground beef in skillet and drain off fat.
Add seasoning packet and follow directions.
Pour all contents of cans into a large stock pot and then add meat.
Simmer on stove top or in crockpot until hot. Add extra chilli powder to add flavor to your liking. At times, we may add a can or two of corn.

Serve with cornbread or rice. Add toppings if desired.
Cornbread is jiffy mix.

Sausage Dip

This dip is very easy and very good to make. "The Man" made it on Sunday. Hence, there are no prep pictures or after pictures. I was lucky to snap a picture of it before the wolf pack devoured it.

INGREDIENTS:
Hot jimmy dean sausage, brown in skillet
One or two 8 oz. bars of cream cheese.
1 can of hot rotel.
Once sausage is brown,drain fat and pour rotel onto meat. Stir cream cheese into mixture and dissolve. When ready serve with tortilla chips.

Jalapeno Bacon Wraps

Call 911 for the fire department when you pull these babies out of the oven. I got this recipe straight from the queen herself Pioneer Woman! As a side note: I have never cooked or worked with fresh japapeno peppers. They didn't smell very hot, so I left the membrane and a few seeds. Our family likes heat but to make these lil treats enjoyable please remove the membrane and seeds. Have plenty of dairy near by because dairy products are what will neutralize the burn. It was so hot I sucked down a full glass of milk and SCRAPED my tongue!! The man chose to go for yogurt. He was smart. At least, you could keep yogurt on your tongue longer. You don't feel the burn until after you swallow and are fooled that "they aren't that hot". FOR WARNING! Please make these, just remove the membrane. They are delish.



The Main Ingredients


Slice jalapenos in half length wise.


Slice bacon strips in thirds and scrape out peppers. Remove seed and membranes.
I had never worked with jalapenos before. I left much of the membrane and many seeds in. REMOVE THE MEMBRANEI like things HOT but this was CUH-RAZY HOT!!


Stuff jalapenos with cream cheese


Wrap with bacon and secure with toothpick


Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes! VOILA' perfection.

Beef Taco Skillet

Beef Taco Skillet

1 lb. ground beef
1 can (103/4 oz.) Campbell's Tomato Soup

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup water

6 flour tortillas cut into 1" pieces

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Cook beef in 10" skillet until well browned. Pour off fat.

2. Stir in soup, salsa, water and tortillas.

3. Heat to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook 5 minutes.

4. Top with cheese.

Taco Soup

I have found many variations of this soup. This is one from Gretchen which we then added a few extras. Feel free to add different beans.

2 pounds ground beef
1 can pinto beans
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can stewed tomatoes - mexican style
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can light kidney beans
l can dark kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can northern beans
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix -(opt.)
1 pkg. original hidden valley ranch dressing(dry)
1 package shredded cheese (topping)
1 container of sour cream (optional)
1 package of tortilla chips
You may add a diced onion or any other bean. Add more water if you prefer more broth.
PREPARATION:
Brown ground beef and onions in a large pan, drain off fat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for an hour or so. Remember do not drain cans. Pour entire can into pot or slow cooker. When ready, serve in big soup bowls, and have a skillet of hot cornbread to eat, too. Top with chips, cheese and sour cream.