Taco Meat

Taco Meat
I found this at the My Kitchen Cafe Blog ... RECIPE HERE and to see her pretty pictures

Ground Beef Tacos
adapted from Joy of Cooking

Heat in a medium skillet over medium heat:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used canola oil)

Add:
3/4 cup chopped onion

Cook, stirring often, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and add:
1 pound ground beef

Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until it is no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Stir in:
1 to 3 garlic cloves ( I used garlic powder it worked great)
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander (this is optional – but I love the flavor of coriander!)
Salt to taste (I used about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt)

Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add:
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced fine (alternately, you can add hot pepper sauce to taste or canned jalapenos OR just leave out the heat altogether, although I think the meat really needs a little kick and the 1 jalapeno I used wasn’t overly spicy)

Cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat for 10 minutes.

Serve meat in taco shells (hard or soft) and your choice of toppings.

The cutest taco salads EVER!

Homemade Taco Tortilla Bowls

Recipe found here ohhh peek at her pics

these are SOOo yummy and crispy, I also used her taco meat, Ill post that recipe and link too, SO good I will be using it from now on

Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies
got my dough made, will be making some puurty cookies later will post a pic

Allrecipes.com


INGREDIENTS

* 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
* 2 cups white sugar (I used 3 based on other reviews on the allrecipes site)
* 4 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 5 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt


DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Cheddar Chicken Spaghetti

Cheddar Chicken Spaghetti

recipe from AllRecipes click here

I love this recipe but will be adding a lil spice, maybe some garlic powder, italian seasoning and slices up some tomatoes to put on top :)

Ingredients

• 1 (7 ounce) package spaghetti, broken
• 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon diced pimientos (I dont add these, never tried one lol)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the chicken, 1 cup cheese, soup, milk, pimientos if desired, salt and pepper. Drain spaghetti; add to the chicken mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Miss Paula Deen's House Seasoning

Paula Deens House Seasoning

recipe found here

1 C salt
1/4 C pepper
1/4 C garlic powder

Great stuff for meats, I use it on beef, chicken, pork.. you name it :)

Sugar Cookies must try soon

Ill let ya know when I try them :) Im a sucker for those sugar cookies in the store with the pink frosting yummm I ate them every day when I was pregnant with my youngest lol

Soft Sugar Cookies
(from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book)

Makes 2 dozen cookies
Recipe from The How To Eat A Cupcake Blog

2 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
14 Tbsp (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Set oven rack in middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread 1/2 cup of the sugar in a shallow dish for coating and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

Beat softened butter and remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in the vanilla then eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl & beaters as needed.

Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combineds. Give the dough a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure dough is combined.

Line large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using damp palms, roll 2 tablespoons of dough at a time into balls, then roll in sugar to coat. Place balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Flatten cookies with the buttered bottom of a drinking glass, then sprinkle and remaining sugar over flattened tops. (I just layed a piece of plastic wrap over my cookies and pressed them with the bottom of a clean glass.)

Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and just beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Allow cookies to cook on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Skillet Potatoes

Skillet Potatoes
recipe from Mommy's Kitchen
Pictures are before and then after being in the oven. A lil too garlicky but still delicious, I will make again with less garlic


4 or 5 medium sized potatoes, sliced thin 1/8 inch
1 - 5 oz can evaporated milk
2 - Tablespoons heavy whipping cream (optional)
3 - Tablespoons of butter
1 - 2 Tablespoons minced garlic (next time I will cut this down to 2 teaspoons garlic)
salt/ pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and slice potatoes into 1/8 inch thick slices. The thicker you slice the potatoes the longer they take to cook. In a heavy oven safe skillet melt butter with garlic, salt and pepper. Add the potatoes and cook until the potatoes are coated with butter and are turning brown on the edges. Add evaporated milk and cream and continue to cook until the milk starts boiling. Place the whole skillet of potatoes into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Adjust cooking time for the thickness of the potatoes. I cooked the potatoes and additional 10 minutes so the potatoes would be crispy on top. Remove from oven, cool a bit and serve right from the skillet.

Salsa Verde

Green Hot Sauce (Salsa Verde)
Recipe from AllRecipes.com

Note: We used some smoked chilis that we got from our in laws (New Mexico chilis that were charred, we removed the skin) we also added in 2 extra jalapenos for heat and a little cilantro. DELICIOUS

• 10-12 tomatillos, husked and rinsed
• 8 serrano chile peppers, sliced (we used 3 charred New Mexico chilis)
  
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons salt, or to taste

Directions

1. Place the tomatillos, serrano peppers, onion, and garlic in a saucepan, and add water to just cover. Sprinkle the salt over the top, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the tomatillos are soft and have turned slightly brownish in color, 20 to 30 minutes. Add more water if needed to keep the mixture from burning as it cooks.Drain vegetables.
2. Pour the cooked vegetables into a blender, and blend until smooth.

Taco Bell Meat Seasoning

Taco Bell Meat Seasoning for tacos/burritos

very good stuff, hubby really liked it alot, I think a lil less chili powder next time

Recipe from www.CopyKat Recipes.com

Meat Mixture

1 1/3 lbs lean ground chuck
1 1/2 tablespoons masa corn flour
4 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon instant minced onion
1/2 teaspoon beef bouillon

Meat Directions

Mix together all ingredient except the meat. Stir the spice mixture well making sure that all spices have been blended well. Crumble ground beef and brown stirring well. Remove from heat, rinse with hot water and drain water and grease from beef. Return beef to the pan and add spice mix. Add 3/4 – 1 cup water to ground beef and seasoning and simmer on medium low temperature for 20 minutes. Simmer until most of moisture has cooked away. Remove from heat when moisture in meat as dissipated but meat is not dry.