My new favorite taco seasoning

LOVE this stuff

2 tsp dehydrated onions
1 tsp salt
1 t chili powder
1/2 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp red pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin



I put them in separate sandwich bags so I can just grab em and be done :D

** I had to cut down the salt on this by half.. too salty for my taste

Taco Piles

Taco Piles

fritos
1 can of refried beans
Ground Beef cooked with a packet of taco seasoning added
lettuce
tomatoes
Grated Cheese *any kind we had Monterey Jack in this picture*
guacamole/sour cream/salsa/chopped olives or any other toppings.

Put down some fritos first
refried beans
ground beef
lettuce
tomatoes
grated cheese

any order would be fine but I like the beans on the fritos to hold the meat on :)
top with your choice of extra sauces or toppings. Can make taco bar style so everyone can make their own plate

Carne Asade (to try soon)

Carne Asada Steak (Mexican)

got this recipe in an email from www.chitterlings.com great recipes you get by email, go sign up :)

Serves 4

4 six ounce portions of steak. I use tenderloin to keep it very
lean
Juice of one lemon or lime
2 tsp of grated sea salt
2 tsp of grated pepper
1 Tbl of chile powder (I use a good quality of chile powder)
1 tsp of garlic powder
½ tsp of cumin

Directions
Drizzle the lemon juice over the meat. Rub around with your
fingers so it coats both sides. Then combine the spices in a
small bowl. Mix well. Then sprinkle them over the meat and rub
them in. Let sit for 30 minutes so the flavors sink in.
Lightly spray the grill with olive oil spray. Grill the steak to
your liking. Plan on about seven minutes per inch of thickness
for medium to medium rare.
Most often this kind of steak is served cut on the bias in thin
strips. That means cutting it perpendicular to the grain of the
meat. If you are using tenderloin like I was that really
doesn’t factor in.
Serve with a big salad loaded with veggies and you have a simple,
south-of-the-border meal.

Hamburger Steaks and Gravy Oh My

Hamburger Steaks

note I made the gravy from the leftover juices in the pan, added some corn starch dissolved in water. Salt and Pepper DELICIOUS

Recipe from Southern Plate found here

*This recipe feeds as many as you make patties for

• Ground Beef (can use lean, ground chuck, etc)
• 1 Cup Beef Broth
• All Purpose Flour
• Vidalia or other sweet onion, sliced

Heat one or two tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet. Press ground beef into doughnut shaped patties (the hole in the center will allow it to cook more evenly and will fill in as they shrink during cooking). Dip each patty into flour on both sides and place in hot skillet over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until browned. Scoot patties to one side and add onions to skillet. Stir and cook for a few minutes until lightly browned. Pour in 1 cup beef broth and cover. Allow to cook until meat is no longer pink in the center, about ten minutes.

Woodpile

thought Id post about hubby's progress on getting all our old trees chopped and in a pile. We cut down 4 Aspens and 3 Poplars . Cant wait to have it all cut and not sitting in my back yard. Hubby needs to cover it . Its raining like crazy and I think we still have a couple days left of rain grrr. Ignore the ugly shed we are planning on getting a new one soon (crossing fingers)

Peach Tree for Mother's Day

I have never had a fruit tree before :) SO excited thank you thank you hubby for my new tree.

UPDATE Miss Peachy Keen has been planted :) yayy

Starting the Garden

Hubby got some plants for us yesterday for our garden, we have tomatoes, strawberries, spinach, anaheim and jalapeno chilis, green peppers and zucchini .. cant wait. I also have seeds that I am starting inside. Tomatillos, Peppers, Tomatoes and Spinach we will see how they turn out or IF they turn out. I already have some lettuce growing out in a pot outside Yayy...WHEN it quits raining I will finally get to plant.

Papas y Chorizo

Papas y Chorizo (Potatoes with Chorizo)

4-6 medium potatoes (I used 8 small ones)

Oil

6-8 ounces chorizo

salt and pepper to taste

Slice your potatoes into even slices pretty thin, cook in oil until brown and crispy and almost cooked through. Make a well in the middle of your potatoes and start cooking the chorizo..slowly mix it in and cook all until the chorizo is done. Salt and Pepper to taste and serve. Great with fried or scrambled eggs

I dont have an actual recipe this is what I did :) I used a cast iron pan my FAV pan to use to cook

Oatmeal Coconut Chewies

Oatmeal Coconut Chewies

recipe from My Kitchen Cafe

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to cool room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1 cup quick oats

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl cream together the sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased or lined (silpat or parchment) baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies are set but not overly browned (bake a few minutes longer for a crispier version).

Totally Tangy Baked Fries

Totally Tangy Baked Fries

allrecipes recipe

Ingredients:

4 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick fries 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons lime juice 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon chili powder 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.	Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.	In a large bowl, stir together the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, chili powder, mustard, and pepper. Add the potato slices, and stir until evenly coated. Arrange fries in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
3.	Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Then, turn the fries over, and continue to bake for 10 to 15 more minutes, until crispy and browned. Season with salt, and serve.

Fry Bread

4 C. All Purpose Flour

4 T. Baking Powder

1 t. Salt

2 T. Sugar (optional)

2-3 C. Warm Water

Instructions:

1. In big mixing bowl, sift all dry ingredients together.
2. Add warm water until sticky – approximately 2-3 cups of water.
3. Add additional flour until able to handle without sticking to hands.
4. In heated cast iron pan, fill half full with vegetable shortening or olive oil.
5. Heat oil until slightly smoking.
6. Roll out dough into balls the size of fist.
7. Flatten balls till fourth of an inch thick.
8. Put hole in middle of dough.
9. Place in oil and cook until golden brown then flip and repeat.

Makes approximately 20-30 fry bread.

For Navajo tacos – place taco beans/meat mix on top with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and other favorite toppings.

Additional toppings for fry bread – honey, honey butter, powder sugar, jam, or cinnamon sugar.

Chili Lime Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients

Recipe found at Allrecipes Here


we actually just marinated the chicken breast whole, grilled it and ate it on tortillas with hot sauce, DELICIOUS.. a must try, look how juicy it is :)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• cayenne pepper to taste
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• skewers

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, and lime juice. Season with chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish with the sauce, and stir to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat the grill for medium-high heat. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill skewers for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken juices run clear.

Burger or Hot Dog Buns

Burger or Hot Dog Buns

recipe from AllRecipes

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 egg

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, heat milk, water and butter until very warm, 120 degrees F (50 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 3/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Mix milk mixture into flour mixture, and then mix in egg. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
3. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape into smooth balls, and place on a greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly. Cover, and let rise for 30 to 35 minutes.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
5. For Hot Dog Buns: Shape each piece into a 6x4 inch rectangle. Starting with the longer side, roll up tightly, and pinch edges and ends to seal. Let rise about 20 to 25 minutes. Bake as above. These buns are pretty big. I usually make 16 instead of 12.

Tender Potato Rolls

Tender Potato Rolls

recipe from AllRecipes

Ingredients

• 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
• 2 cups water
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 6 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Place potatoes in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving cooking liquid. Set cooking liquid aside to cool to 110 degrees F-115 degrees F. Mash potato (don't add milk or butter); set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm cooking liquid. Add the honey, oil, salt, egg, 4 cups flour and mashed potato. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
3. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 7-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
4. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 36 pieces. Shape each into a ball. Place in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Perfect Potato Salad

Perfect Potato Salad
recipe from: My Kitchen Cafe

Perfect Potato Salad

*Serves 6-8

Dressing:
2 cups mayonnaise (I use Best Foods/Hellmans Light Mayo with great results)
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons minced dried onions
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons yellow mustard

The easiest way to make this is to add all the ingredients to the mayo jar and shake like your life depends on it until everything is combined. Of course, this requires that the mayo jar is half empty (with only 2 cups of mayo in it). If this is not the case, simply combine all the ingredients in a blender and give it a whirl until all ingredients are combined.

Salad:
5 pounds potatoes (I prefer to use red potatoes or yukon gold potatoes because I like their firm non-grainy texture)
1 cup sliced olives
10 hard-boiled eggs*, diced

Peel, dice, and boil potatoes until tender but not mushy (I cut my potatoes into bite-size pieces and boil for about 8-10 minutes). Drain potatoes well and pour into a large bowl. Add sliced olives and hard-boiled eggs. Pour dressing over warm potatoes until desired “dressing-level” is reached. I usually make this salad the night before and I pour a thin coating of dressing over the potatoes, olives and eggs while they rest in the fridge overnight. Before serving the next day, I add the rest of the dressing and mix until it looks just right.

*For perfect hard-boiled eggs, place eggs in a deep saucepan; cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 14 minutes. Transfer to an iced water bath; let cool completely. Unpeeled eggs can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Banana Snack Cakes

Banana Mini Chip Snackin' Cake

recipe from Grumpy's Honey Bunch
stop by he blog and sign up for the newletter :)

I didnt have any choc chips so I used some chopped walnuts, VERY good, I also put some cream cheese icing on mine, I shouldnt have because it didnt need it but daughter wanted it

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 egg

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup milk

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine bananas, egg, melted butter and milk. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until blended. Be careful not to over mix. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

Flour Tortillas

SOOO far from perfect but the best Ive made so far WOot WOot Im soo excited :)



Flour Tortillas

Makes 12 tortillas
Recipe from the Authentic Mexican Cookbook
by Rick Bayless
________________________________________
INGREDIENTS
3/4 pounds (2 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling the tortillas
5 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening, or a mixture of the two
3/4 teaspoon salt
about 3/4 cup very warm tap water
________________________________________
DIRECTIONS
1. Make the dough. Combine the flour and fat in a large mixing bowl, working in the fat with your fingers, until completely incorporated. Dissolve the salt in the water, pour about 2/3 cup of it over the dry ingredients and immediately work it in with a fork; the dough will be in large clumps rather than a homogeneous mass. If all the dry ingredients haven't been dampened, add the rest of the liquid (plus a little more, if necessary). Scoop the dough onto your work surface and knead until smooth. It should be medium-stiff consistency -- definitely not firm, but not quite as soft as most bread dough either.

2. Rest the dough. Divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each into a ball. Set them on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and let rest at least 30 minutes (to make the dough less springy, easier to roll).

3. Roll and griddle-bake the tortillas. Heat an ungreased griddle or heavy skillet over medium to medium-high heat.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out a portion of the dough into an even 7-inch circle: Flatten a ball of dough, flour it, then roll forward and back across it; rotate a sixth of a turn and roll forward and back again; continue rotating and rolling until you reach a 7-inch circle, lightly flouring the tortilla and work surface from time to time.

Lay the tortilla on the hot griddle (you should hear a faint sizzle and see an almost immediate bubbling across the surface). After 30 to 45 seconds, when there are browned splotches underneath, flip it over. Bake 30 to 45 seconds more, until the other side is browned; don't overbake the tortilla or it will become crisp. Remove and wrap in a cloth napkin placed in a tortilla warmer. Roll and griddle-bake the remaining tortillas in the same manner and stacking them one on top of the other.

Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Alfredo

Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Alfredo

This is an Allrecipes recipe from the site, I will let ya know how it turns out and how we like it and post a pic

UPDATE: Delicious, Its a keeper says the family, I agree, soo yummy :) as you can see I chopped our chicken into chunks, I also started my chicken frozen and on high..waited til it was done and then worked on the rest

Ingredients

• cooking spray
• 4 (4 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can chopped canned mushrooms ( I didnt add)
  
• 1 (8 ounce) package spaghetti
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (I used dry)
  

Directions

1. Spray the crock of a slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken breasts in crock. Combine Italian dressing mix, and water in a small bowl. Pour over chicken; sprinkle with garlic, cover, and cook on Low 4 hours.
2. After 4 hours, whisk softened cream cheese and cream of chicken soup together in a bowl. Pour over chicken; stir in mushrooms. Cover and cook on Low for 1 additional hour.
3. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the spaghetti, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
4. To serve, spoon chicken and sauce over hot cooked pasta and sprinkle with parsley.

Green Hot Sauce (Salsa Verde)

Green Hot Sauce (Salsa Verde)

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 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.
2. Pour the cooked vegetables into a blender, and blend until smooth.

The Pioneer Womans BBQ Meatballs

Ingredients

• FOR MEATBALLS
• 1-½ pound Ground Beef
• ¾ cups Oats
• 1 cup Milk
• 3 Tablespoons Very Finely Minced Onion
• 1-½ teaspoon Salt
• Plenty Of Ground Black Pepper, to taste
• _____
• FOR COOKING MEATBALLS
• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour (coating For Frozen Meatballs)
• Canola Oil
• _____
• FOR SAUCE
• 1 cup Ketchup
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire
• 4 Tablespoons (to 6 Tablespoons) Onion
• 1 dash Tabasco

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes.

After 5 minutes, remove meatballs from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour.

Brown meatballs in canola oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish.

Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or crusty French bread.

BBQ Meatballs from The Pioneer Woman