Football Sunday Chili

Posted in Entrees by

Very early on in our relationship, Mina made it pretty clear to me that football Sunday’s and Superbowl’s were no joke. Although I’m not an avid football watcher, I knew what I was getting myself in to and I accepted it.

Soon after we got married I started experimenting with different chili recipes and I eventually came up with a recipe that we both love.  It’s now become a tradition that once football season starts, so does chili-making season!  What’s better than chili, beer, and football all at the same time?

So here’s my “secret” chili recipe. It’s super quick to throw together, enjoy! 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 large onion, chopped
  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
  • 1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes
  • 2 16 oz cans chili beans in a spicy chili sauce
  • 1 cup of corn
  • 1 medium green pepper, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground red pepper (* optional, we like ours spicy)
Instructions:
1. Heat olive oil in pan.  Add garlic and onion.  Once golden colored, add ground beef.
2.  Once ground beef is cooked, drain excess fat.  Now add ALL other ingredients.  Bring to boil.
3.  Lower heat and allow to simmer for 2 hours for best flavors.

Pot Roast

Posted in Crockpot, Entrees by

Unfortunately, school is officially in full swing and my days are getting longer and busier! Once things get more hectic, I start making more and more meals in my crockpot.  I love love love crockpot meals.  I’s so nice to come home to warm cooked meal after a long day.

One day this week I made a pot roast in the crockpot and it turned out perfect.  It’s so quick and easy to put together and it’s a tasty meal – especially when it’s a little chilly outside.  I’m not sure why I associate pot roast with cold weather, maybe because it reminds of of beef stew.  Either way, this is a great meal to plan on making whenever you know you’re not going to have time to make a yummy dinner!

 

Ingredients:

  • 2.5 lb pot roast
  • 6 small red potatoes
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 cups baby carrots (I usually use large carrots, but didn’t have any)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 packet of lipton onion soup mix
  • 2 cups of water
Instructions:
1.  Place small potatoes, carrots, 1/2 large onion sliced in large chunks, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of pepper, and 1 tbsp olive oil all in crackpot.
2. Trim excess fat of pot roast and place in crockpot on top of vegetables.
3. Slice other 1/2 of onion and place on top of pot roast.  Add 1 packet of lipton onion soup mix and 2 cups of water.
4.  Cook on low for 8 -9 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

 

Italian Crescent Casserole

Posted in Casseroles, Entrees by

One night this week I decided to try something a little different for dinner.  This is a recipe that I somehow found a couple of weeks ago on pilsbury.com.  It’s so simple and it turned out yummy, I thought it was worth sharing.  I like this recipe because it leaves room for some creativity! Next time I make this, I think I’m making this mexican style with taco seasoning, salsa, sour cream…etc.  Yum! (I haven’t eaten dinner yet and just talking about food is making my stomach growl…)

Anyways, for the moment here’s the Italian version 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. lean ground beef
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup of your favorite pasta sauce
  • 1 cup diced, drained tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 can Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tablespoons margarine, melted
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
Instrcuctions
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain. Stir in pasta sauce and diced tomatoes; cook until thoroughly heated.
2.  Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine mozzarella cheese and sour cream; mix well.
3.  Pour hot beef mixture into ungreased 10-inch glass deep-dish pie pan (If you don’t have one, any kind of baking or casserole dish will work!).  Spoon cheese mixture over beef mixture.
4. Unroll dough and separate into 8 triangles; arrange points toward center over cheese mixture, crimping outside edges if necessary. In small bowl, mix Parmesan cheese and butter. Spread evenly over dough.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 18 to 25 minutes or until deep golden brown.
Kind of pretty right?  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread

Posted in Dessert by

‘Tis the season for pumpkin!

I’ve been searching for the “perfect” pumpkin bread recipe, and this recipe was the winner. I got the recipe from allrecipess.com but made a few changes because I was missing a couple ingredients.   This recipe is a must try, it turned out amazing!!! Delicious, delicious, delicious.

I have to admit while I was putting it all together, I was a little nervous. The recipe asks you to place half the pumpkin batter in the loaf pan, followed by a layer of cream cheese filling, and then the remainder of the pumpkin batter.  The batter was so heavy that it fell in to the cream cheese filling…but somehow, some magic must have happened in the oven and it turned out perfectly.  Did I mention that it was delicious?

Let me know how it goes if you try it! I hope you enjoy as much as we did.

Ingredients:

Cream cheese filling: 

– 1 (8 ounce) package reduced fat cream cheese
– 1/2 cup white sugar
– 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
– 1 egg
– 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (original recipe called for  1 tbsp orange zest)

Pumpkin batter: 

– 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (original recipe called for 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ground gloves)
– 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
– 1 cup pumpkin puree
– 1/2 cup vegetable oil
– 2 eggs
– 1/2 cup brown sugar
– 1  cups white sugar (original recipe called for 1 1/2 cup white sugar and no brown sugar)

Instructions: 

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease (with PAM) two 8×4 inch loaf pans. ( I apparently can’t read and only used 1 loaf pan…oops! I just made one GIANT loaf instead of two)
  2. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; beat until smooth. Set aside.
  3.  Sift together 1 2/3 cup flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and pumpkin pie spice; set aside
  4. Place pumpkin, vegetable oil, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 cup sugar in a large bowl; beat well.
  5. Stir the flour mixture in to the pumpkin mixture, just until well combined.
  6. Pour 1/2 of the pumpkin batter into the loaf pans. Spoon cream cheese mixture on top of this layer and then pour the remaining pumpkin batter on top.
  7. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes (mine took about 80 minutes since I made one giant one), or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pans for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Can’t wait to have a slice with my pumpkin spice coffee in the morning for breakfast, yumm!!

Three Cheese Chicken Pasta Bake

Posted in Entrees, Pasta by

Tonight for dinner I made this three cheese pasta bake.  I’ve been eyeing this recipe for awhile and I finally got the chance to make it.  It was cheesy, delicious and fairly simple to make!

I got the original recipe from allrecipes.com, but after reading several reviews, I made a few changes.

Diesel stood with begging puppy eyes the entire time I was in the kitchen cooking... How can you say no to these eyes?

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups multigrain rotini pasta
  • 1 large handful spinach leaves
  • 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets (I added this because I needed to use it before it went bad!)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 2 cups of your favorite pasta sauce
  • 1 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1/4 cup light cream cheese
  • 1 cup mozzarella shredded cheese
  • 2 tablespoons grated light parmesan cheese
Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta as directed on package. Add spinach and broccoli to the boiling water for the last 1 minute.
2. Heat a large skillet and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add chicken, garlic and basil; cook diced chicken.
3. Add 2 cups of pasta sauce and 1 1/2 cups of diced tomatoes; bring to boil. Stir in 1/4 cup of cream cheese spread until melted.
4. Drain pasta, spinach, and broccoli. Add chicken, broccoli, and spinach to the sauce mixture; mix lightly. Stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Spoon into 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
4.  Cover with foil and bake in oven on 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and add other 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese. Put back in the oven for 3 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.
 Enjoy!

 

Okra with rice

Posted in Entrees by

Tonight for dinner I made an Egyptian meal, it’s another recipe that I got from Grandma while I was visiting Dallas. Its delicious and fairly easy to make! We also make this same dish with chopped spinach, green beans, or green peas.

 

Ingredients:

  • I lb beef stew cubes
  • 1 tbsp margarine
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 15 ounce can tomato sauce
  • Water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp of lemon juice
  • 1 package of cut okra (from the frozen vegetables section)
  • 1 cup cooked rice
Instructions:
  1. Place 1 tablepsoon margarine in medium-sized pan.  Add onions and cook until a golden yellow color.

  2. Add beef cubes.  Once beef is browned, add 1 can of tomato sauce.  Now fill up empty tomato sauce can with water and add to beef and tomato sauce mixture.
  3. Bring to boil and allow meat to fully cook.  (About 15 minutes, for smaller pieces of beef).
  4. Add salt, pepper, lemon juice, and orka.  Bring to boil.  Allow to boil for 10 minutes.  Then lower heat, cover, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

  5. Serve over rice.  Enjoy!!

Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Posted in Entrees by

Tonight’s dinner was delicious and so easy! I will definitely be making this many more times 🙂 The whole meal was full of spice and flavor!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I got this recipe idea from a super cute blog that I recently discovered, Peanut Butter Fingers.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb chicken breast
  • Salt, pepper, ground red pepper
  • Your favorite kind of buffalo sauce, I used Franks Red Hot Buffalo Sauce (it”s not super spicy)
  • 1 tablespoon shredded parmasean cheese
  • Ranch dressing
  • Burger buns:
Instructions
1. Sprinkle chicken breast with salt, pepper, and ground red pepper.
2. Boil pot of water and poach chicken until fully cooked.  (About 15 minutes)
3.  Shred cooked chicken and place in saucepan.
4. Add 1/3 cup of buffalo sauce and 1 tablespoon of shredded parmesan cheese.  Heat all together on medium heat.
5.  Serve on bun of your choice, along with any another toppings you typically like on your buffalo chicken sandwich.  We are a big fan of ranch dressing and I recently discovered  a spicy ranch dressing…YUM!!
On the side I made some sweet potato fires and fresh veggies.  These spicy sweet fries, were awesome! I actually didn’t taste any spice, but they were still great. This was my first time trying this brand and I am a huge fan.  🙂 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted in Dessert, Recipes by

I  needed to bake and I wanted to make something simple.  What’s more simple than chocolate chip cookies?  This is a great recipe and the cookies turned out delicious 🙂

This recipe is from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup light margarine, melted (original recipe called for unsalted butter)
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy.
  4. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
  5. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. (or rubber spatula…)
  6. Drop tablespoon fulls of cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
  7. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Chocolate PB Oatmeal

Posted in Breakfast, Recipes by

I recently discovered a new blog, Katshealthcorner and found an oatmeal recipe on there that I just had to try! I’m pretty much obsessed with any chocolate-peanut butter combination and this chocolate PB oatmeal, was no exception. It’s a simple recipe and something I will be making again!

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup oats
  • 2/3 cup water
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon splenda
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 tablespoon cocoa pepper
  • Spoonful of peanut butter
  • Extra chocolate chips for topping
Instructions:
1.  Put oats in to bowl.  Add water, salt, splenda (if you like your oatmeal on the sweeter side), and vanilla.
2. Cook your oats on either the stove top or in the microwave.  (I was in a hurry so I put mine in the microwave for a bout 1 min, 10 seconds).
3. After they are done, separate evenly in to separate bowls.  In one bowl add cinnamon and in other bowl add cocoa.
4.  Now, in the bowl you will be eating out of, combine cinnamon and cocoa oatmeal.  Keeping them on separate sides of the bowl.  (On the original recipe, she made a pretty swirl with the two).
5. Melt a spoonful of peanut butter (about 20 seconds in microwave) and spread over the cinnamon side of the oatmeal.
7.  Top with as many chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chunks) as you’d like and enjoy!!

Lazy Lasagna

Posted in Entrees by

This is the second night in a row that I made a lasagna-like dish.  I think I’m needing the comfort food to help me forget about the fact that classes start again in less than week…

This recipe is so quick and easy. Rather than making a layered lasagna, this is all put together in a saucepan on the stove and it doesn’t take much time to make at all.

Ingredients:

  • 1lb lean ground beef
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup of sliced mushroom
  • 1 green pepper, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup sliced black olives
  • 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp italian seasoning
  • 1 3/4 cups water
  • 12 oven-ready no bake lasagna noodles, cut in to quarters
  • 1 cup of shredded cheese
Instructions:
1. Heat teaspoon olive olive oil. Add onion and garlic, until bright yellow colored.  Then add ground beef and cook until browned. Add green peppers, mushrooms, and black olives.
2. Next add pasta sauce, water, salt, pepper, and italian seasoning.  Bring to boil.
3. Cut lasagna noodles in to quarters and bring to boil.
4. Cover and cook on medium-low heat 10 – 15 minutes or until noodles are tender.  Remove from heat, sprinkle with cheese, cover and let stand for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.