Taco Dip

A friend introduced me to this dip many years ago. It easy and always gets eaten up. We used have get togethers with my girlfriends back when I lived in Ohio. We would talk about a book, watch movies, do spa like things with foot bathes and doing each other nails, play games or just whatever but always involved lots of talking and laughing. We also brought snacks. And this dip made it to all of them.
I now live in Colorado when I made this dip tonight for Michael's meeting I thought of all my girlfriends in Ohio and how much I miss them.

No picture but it is very easy and tasty.


2 - 8 oz. packages of Cream Cheese - softened
2 cups Salsa
2 cups Cheddar Cheese
Optional: 1/2 lb. browned hamburger with taco seasoning.

Spread cream cheese on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Spread salsa on top of cream cheese and then top with cheddar cheese. Bake in the over until cheese is melted and bubbly.

I have also added the taco seasoned hamburger. Spread cream cheese on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Then add brown taco seasoned hamburger. Salsa and then cheese. It has been a hit both ways. Serve with tortilla chips.

Comfort Food

We haven't had meatloaf in a long time and Michael requested and with it getting so cold this weekend it sounded like good comfort food. As a kid I never liked meatloaf....although I am sure my Mom made a good one I just had it in my mind that it probably had things I didn't like in it. And as a kid I was even more picky then I am now.

Meatloaf:
1 pound ground beef or turkey (I use turkey)
1 pound ground pork
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup of finely chopped onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup finely chopped mixed peppers (red, yellow and green)
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 large egg - beaten slightly

Topping:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp prepared mustard
1/4 dash ground allspice
1 tsp hickory flavoring

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan or an 8x8.



• Take coarsely chopped onion, garlic, peppers, and tomatoes and put into food processor to get finely chopped and well blended. Mix the remaining meatloaf ingredients with the tomato mixture. Form into a loaf and put into a loaf or 8x8 pan.



• Mix all the topping ingredients and with a fork cover the meatloaf.



• Bake meat loaf in oven for 1 hour.

Quick and Easy Dinner Recipes

Okay sometimes I need quick and easy. And yes sauteing or grilling some chicken breasts and steaming so veggies are quick and easy but there is just so many times you can do that with the grilled chicken no matter how many times you change the herbs and marinades. So I looked at Kraftfoods.com knowing they would have quick and easy and I found a few recipes. But they weren't perfect for me so I changed them - as always.

So this past week I made each of these. And Michael and I both really enjoyed them! And they were SO easy and quick!

Here are the recipes modified:
Sloppy Joe Skillet
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Cornbread Stuffing Mix or homemade cornbread stuffing
1 cup hot water
1 lb. ground turkey (lean ground beef would work too - I just us ground turkey always instead of ground beef)
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 can (14 oz.) chopped tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup ketchup
a couple splashes of Worcestershire sauce
pepper to taste

Mix stuffing mix and hot water just until moistened; set aside. Meanwhile, brown meat in large skillet; drain.

Add peppers, onions, tomatoes with their liquid, ketchup, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and pepper to skillet. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer 5 min. or until peppers are crisp-tender.

Top with prepared stuffing. Cover; simmer 3 min.

It sounded really gross to me but we both really liked it. Served it with some steamed veggies.

Here is a picture...of Sloppy Joe Skillet
I realized as I was scooping the leftovers out of the skillet to put it away that I should take a picture...so nothing special...but just to get a look...



Cheesy Chicken Noodle Skillet
4 cups egg noodles, uncooked
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups frozen vegetable (I used peas and carrots but others would do well too)
1/2 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
6 oz. (3/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) (low-fat) Cream Cheese, cubed
1/3 cup (light) Mayo
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/2 cup cheese - used mix of mozzarella and cheddar
pepper to taste

Bring large saucepan of water to boil on high heat. Add noodles and chicken. Cook 8 min. or until chicken is cooked through and noodles are tender, adding frozen veggies to saucepan after 6 min. Drain noodle mixture; return to saucepan.

Add broth, cream cheese, dijon and mayo. Heat just to simmer on medium-low heat. Simmer 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese is melted and sauce is well blended, stirring constantly. Add shredded cheese; stir 1 min. or until melted.

Dinner Tonight....

Michael and my anniversary is February 1. But the first of the month he always wishes me Happy Anniversary just after midnight. So although it is not our 4th year anniversary - it was an anniversary for us....getting us closer to our 4th years of being together.

So tonight I made his favorite dish....

Beef Stroganoff

The recipe:
1 pound boneless sirloin steak - cut into strips
olive oil
1 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (optional I don't add as Michael is not thrilled with them and they upset my stomach)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 beef-bouillon cube
1 cup hot water
1 tablespoon margarine
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fat free half and half
1 or 2 splashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup (low-fat) sour cream
3 1/2 cups cooked wide egg noodles (I use whole wheat)

• Slice steak diagonally across grain into 1/4-inch-wide strips; cut strips into 2-inch pieces.
• Drizzle skillet with olive oil; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add steak strips, sliced mushrooms, chopped onion and garlic; saute 6 minutes or until steak is done and mushrooms are tender. Remove steak mixture from skillet. Drain well, and set aside.
• Combine bouillon cube and hot water, stirring well. Melt margarine in skillet over medium heat, and add flour. Cook, stirring constantly with a wire whisk, 1 minute. Gradually add bouillon mixture, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and half and half - stirring constantly. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly.
• Add steak mixture to flour mixture in skillet; add salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 6 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand 30 seconds. Stir sour cream into steak mixture.
• Serve steak mixture over noodles.

Served with some garlic asiago toast. And a salad (not shown).

Crispy Beef

This is one of those recipes that I would have 4 years ago looked and thought it sounded too "hard" - now I look at and go why would I ever think that. It really is a good flavor to it.

The recipe:

1/4 cup cornstarch (I am sure another thickener could be used if you don't like using cornstarch)
salt and black pepper to taste
12 ounces flank steak, thinly sliced (really I have taken all sorts of different cuts of steak and used in this recipe and always turns out great)
olive oil for frying
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon chile paste (have left this out when I don't have it on hand or don't want it to be too spicy and tastes very good still)
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons chopped ginger root
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers - I usually cut them in strips. You also can get stir fry peppers and onions in the frozen vegetable section and I have used those before too when not in the mood for chopping.

Heat oil in deep-fryer, wok or deep pan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine cornstarch, salt and pepper together. Mix thoroughly. Toss the steak slices in the cornstarch mixture and coat well.

Deep fry the coated steak slices until golden brown. Check to make sure they are cooked through. Remove from oil, and set aside.

In another mixing bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and honey. Add sugar, chili paste, water, and ginger. Mix well and set aside.

Heat a wok or deep frying pan over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, and quickly saute the onion, garlic and peppers for 30 seconds. Add the sauce mixture, and cook another 30 seconds. Finally, add the strips of fried steak and toss to heat through and coat with sauce.

Stuffed Peppers

This recipe will stuff 6 to 8 medium to large sized peppers. If they are large I usually cut the pepper in half. Because that is a lot of food for just Michael and myself I often freeze the "stuffing" and take it out a month later or so and either stuff peppers with it again or do something completely different with it.

Also I always here people say they don't like green peppers the taste is too strong. So do others...red, yellow, and orange are more on the sweet side.

The recipe:
6 to 8 Red, Yellow or Orange Peppers (I never do green but feel free to do them if it is what you like)
1 lb ground turkey (most recipes call for beef and really you can use that - I just use ground turkey as it is a little more healthy)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove of garlic minced
pepper to taste
1 cup cooked rice
1 can of kidney beans - drained and rinsed
1 can of corn - drained
1 can of diced or crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup shredded cheese (I use whatever I have on hand)

Cut the steam end of each pepper off. If they are large peppers cut them in half. Remove seeds and membranes, rinse peppers and then cook peppers in boiling water to cover - for about 5 minutes. Drain.

Cook ground meat, garlic, pepper, and onion in a skillet, stirring occasionally, until meet is light brown, drain. Stir in cooked rice, kidney beans, corn, and diced tomatoes and heat until all is mixed and hot.

Heat oven to 350. Stuff peppers with beef mixture. Stand in square baking dish. Top with cheese. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.



Stuffed peppers are a favorite of mine and I have stuffed them differently over the years...

Sloppy Joe Stuffed Peppers - just make your normal sloppy joe mix and stuff the peppers with it and top with cheese

Taco Stuffed Pepper - do black beans instead of kidney beans, do salsa instead of diced tomatoes, could even mix in some crushed tortilla chips or corn chips. Top with cheese.

Chicken Stuffed Peppers - do a can of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup, cooked rice, diced cooked chicken, chopped broccoli or asparagus

Italian Stuffed Pepper - ground sweet italian sausage browned with onion and garlic, mixed with mushrooms, ricotta cheese, and some tomato sauce with seasonings. Mix together stuff in the peppers and top with some Parmesan or Mozzarella Cheese.

Vegetarian - There are all sorts of wonderful vegetables - zucchini, spaghetti squash, mushrooms, onions, asparagus, broccoli - combine any with a tomato sauce and herbs. Oh and don't forget beans! Kidney, navy, great northern, black beans...all would be great with a combo of veggies and sauce. If you do dairy - top with cheese.

Just think of your favorite veggies or meat and decide what sauce to combine it with and stuff it in peppers.

Chili and Homemade Bread

We have been out of town for 2 weeks and leave again on Tuesday. The fall air - crisp and cool inspired Michael to request chili and homemade bread for dinner on today...

Chili with a little sour cream and cheddar cheese on it...












2 round loaves of homemade bread....














Warm bread with butter smeared on them....















The chili was super easy...

2 cans of chili beans
2 cans of kidney beans
1 small onion finely chopped
1 lb ground browned meat (I use turkey)
1 large can of chopped tomatoes
pepper to season

All thrown in the crockpot and cooked for 5 hours

I didn't use any other seasonings and we both agreed this was the best chili I have made because neither of us needed a tums after! It really did have good flavor for not adding anything else to it. I know the can of chili beans had chili seasoning in it and it was just enough for us. The flavor was really good.