I really do make foods that aren’t mexican I swear…. but for some reason as I update my blog today nearly all the recipes I have been finding were Mexican. So, for those of you who are not mexican lovers, I apologize. For those of you that are, today is your lucky day. This recipe is yet another winner from Annie’s Eats. To be completely honest, I don’t think I have tried a single recipe from her that wasn’t amazing! This was definitely was a winner in my book. Quick and easy, and delicious too

1¼ lbs. ground turkey (we used ground beef)
8 oz. dry pasta shapes
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained (omitted, personal preference)
4 tbsp. taco seasoning
3 oz. cream cheese
½ cup sour cream
Salt and pepper
Shredded cheddar cheese (optional) (OPTIONAL? Cheese is never optional in my opinion!!!)

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Cook pasta according to the package directions.
2. Drain, reserving ½ cup of pasta water.  Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet or sauté pan, cook the ground turkey/beef over medium-high heat until no longer pink.  A few minutes before the meat is cooked through, add the chopped onion to the skillet.
4. Once the meat is cooked through, mix in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
5. Mix in the diced tomatoes and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
6. Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Simmer over medium-low heat 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit.
9. Remove from the heat and top with shredded cheddar cheese, if desired.

probably shouldn’t even post this recipe, because I probably should not encourage anyone to make something that is SO not good for you. But healthy-ness aside, these were delicious. Which I suppose I should have expected, with all of the full of fat ingredients involved. I am sure there are ways of making this a healthier way, but then they might not taste nearly as yummy.

Enjoy- at your own risk

Ingredients:

Sauce:

• 1 lb hamburger
• 1 (32 ounce) package Velveeta cheese
• 2 cans Rotel Tomatoes (or similar brand)

Enchiladas:

• vegetable shortening
• 20 corn tortillas
• 6 -8 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese or 6 -8 cups shredded longhorn cheese
• 1 medium onion, chopped

Directions:

1. Brown the hamburger
2. Cut velveeta into half-inch cubes and place in saucepan with 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes.
3. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until thorughly melted and blended.
4. Stir the browned hamburger into the cheese sauce, then set sauce aside (NOTE: you may have to swat a few hands as they try to use your sauce for a dip).
5. Completely, but lightly cover both sides of one tortilla with shortening (Don’t be afraid to use your hands), then place the tortilla on a microwave-safe plate.
6. Completely but lightly cover one side of the next tortilla and place it atop the first tortilla, shortening side up.
7. Repeat Step 2 until all tortillas are stacked, then microwave the entire stack on high for 5 minutes and allow to cool. (Listen to this step, these things are HOT when they come out!)
8. Combine shredded cheese and chopped onion in a bowl and gently mix together using your hands.
9. Lightly cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish with some of the cheese sauce (This will prevent the tortillas from becoming stiff and chewy as they cook).
10. Place a generous portion of the cheese/onion mixture onto a tortilla, then roll the tortilla like a cigar (not too tight though).
11. Place into the baking dish, seam side down to prevent the enchilada from unrolling.
12. Repeat until all tortillas have been stuffed, rolled, and placed into the baking dish.
13. Cover the enchiladas with the cheese sauce and any leftover cheese/onion stuffing.
14. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.
15. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

I love breakfast food, especially anything with bacon in it. When I saw these adorable toast cups, I HAD to make them. They are not only cute, but super yummy and fairly easy! Enjoy!

Ingredients: (obviously this recipe makes, 4- adjust depending on how many you want!)

• 4 slices of bacon (I used pre cooked bacon because it’s all we had)
• 4 slices of bread
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese  (I used cheddar)
• 4 eggs
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
2. Grease 4 wells of a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
3. In a frying pan, cook bacon about 3-5 minutes, until partially cooked but not completely crispy. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
4. Cut out rounds of bread with a round cookie cutter or drinking glass.
5. Press the bread rounds into the greased muffin wells.
6. Curl a piece of bacon around each piece of bread, positioning it between the bread and the muffin tin to help keep it in position.
7. Sprinkle a small amount of shredded cheese on top of each piece of bread.
8. One at a time, crack an egg, removing about half of the white, and dropping the remaining white and yolk over each piece of bread, being careful not to break the yolks.
9. Bake until eggs are cooked through to your liking (about 10-12 minutes) and bacon is crispy.
10. Run a knife around the edge of each muffin well and pop the egg cups out.
11. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.

If it’s a mexican recipe, and I stumble across it, chances are I will make it. I had to adapt the recipe for these quite a bit because I didn’t have a few of the ingredients. These were still really good, and I think it is safe to say that with the omitted items they would be even better! This recipe is from For the Love of Cooking, which is a new blog I have found that I really enjoy… you should check it out! If you click the link, you can see her full version of the recipe with pictures.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 lb of lean ground beef (I used 93/7)
• 1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp onion powder
• Dash of red pepper flakes
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• 1 4 oz can of diced green chiles

My brother was over helping my husband with some project around the house, and I had to figure out something I could make him and my hubby for dinner. I found a package of smoked sausage in my fridge, and after some searching I found this recipe at Food.com. It was quick and easy, and really good too. Plus, it used ingredients I usually have in the house, so that helped!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked penne pasta
• 1 lb smoked sausage or 1 lb fully cooked kielbasa, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted (we used cream of mushroom)
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar French-fried onions, divided
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 cup frozen peas

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown sausage over medium heat for 5 minutes; drain.
3. In a large bowl, combine milk and soup. Stir in 1/2 cup onions, 1/2 cup cheese, peas and sausage.
4. Drain pasta; stir into sausage mixture.
5. Transfer to a greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Cover and bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.
6. Sprinkle with remaining onions and cheese.
7. Bake, uncovered, 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

I love Bakerella, and saw a bunch of different varieties of cake balls on her website. So for my step-mom’s birthday I decided to take her favorite cupcake (cherry chip) and make them into cake balls. These were surprisingly easy, and fun to make. Messy, yes, but as I kept going they got easier and less messy. It takes some time to perfect the dipping technique. These were delicious, and my step mom was so excited to receive them!

Ingredients:

• 1 box cherry chip cupcake mix- cook as directed for a 9×13 cake)
• 1 can vanilla frosting (16 oz)
• 1 package chocolate bark ( I used pink and white melting chocolate I found at hobby lobby)

Directions:

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)- Don’t skip this step!!! It makes it much easier to dip in the chocolate.
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

I also only melt a little bit at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 lb mozzarella cheese, cut into 3/4 inch x 3/4 inch strips (or you can use string cheese and cut each in half). We used string cheese, which made it super easy!
• 1 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Whisk eggs and milk together.

2. Coat each piece of cheese with flour, then dip in egg and then roll in bread crumbs.

3. Dip in egg and crumbs again.

4. Heat oil in skillet and cook sticks for about a minute on each side, or until golden and before cheese starts to leak.

5. Drain on paper towels.

6. Serve with sauce for dipping. (we used Ranch- yummmm!)

]]> http://foodislovee.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/mozzarella-sticks/feed/ 1 foodislovee P1010739 P1010740 http://foodislovee.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/benchiladas/ http://foodislovee.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/benchiladas/#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:45:30 +0000 foodislovee http://foodislovee.wordpress.com/?p=297 ]]>

For my very first post back I was 100% sure I had to blog about Annie’s “Benchiladas”. Of all the recipes I have tried in the last few months, this has to be one of my very favorites. It’s a new take on a chicken enchilada… definitely not authentic by any means, but so delicious! I made these for the first time a few months back, and when I had a large gathering over the holidays I made these again. Everyone agreed that these were amazing. Enjoy!

PS… you should click the link and see his pictures… they do the recipe much more justice then mine!!!

Cheesy Chicken “Benchiladas”
Ingredients:
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 oz. reduced fat sour cream
8 oz. Ranch salad dressing
flour tortillas (10-15)
jar of salsa
shredded mexican cheese- we used about 4 cups per Annie’s suggestion, we love cheese!

Directions:
Cook chicken breasts by preferred cooking method until cooked through. Set aside to cool a bit.

While chicken is cooling, mix up the sauce. In a large mixing bowl, combine half of the sour cream and half of the Ranch dressing. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the sour cream and Ranch dressing. Stir both until well combined. Shred or chop the cooked chicken and add to the large mixing bowl. Mix well with sauce.

Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 9 x 13″ pan (and possibly another, smaller pan if needed). Take one tortilla and top with a little less than 1 tbsp. of the sauce from the small bowl. Spread over the tortilla in an even layer. Add some of the chicken mixture to the center of the tortilla. Top with salsa to taste. Sprinkle with shredded cheese, to taste. Roll up tortilla and place, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining ingredients (usually makes 10-15 enchiladas).

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes (30 for a crispier tortilla). Allow to cool a few minutes before serving.

I stole this one from Shelly at Loves to Nom…. I was looking for a easy recipe to use up some ground beef, and of course this one jumped out at me because it was full of cheese. This really reminded me of the flavor of the infamous taco bake recipe, but without the mexican spice to it. It was quick and easy to make, and DH and I both liked it

Ingredients:

• 3/4-1 pound of ground beef
• 2 1/2 cups of elbow macaroni (uncooked)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• half onion, diced
• 1 can tomato sauce
• Handfuls of shredded cheese (we used colby jack)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook the macaroni per package directions. Drain and dump into a 9×13 baking pan.
3. In the meantime, brown ground beef with onion. Drain.
4. Dump in the tomato sauce and cream cheese.
5. Reduce heat and cook until cream cheese melts in. Mix in sour cream.
6. Pour the mixture over the macaroni ( I mixed it all together at this point)
7. Cover with handfuls of cheese
8. Bake for 15 minutes, for bubbly brown cheese broil additional 2 minutes.