Southwest Frito Pie

In case you haven't been able to tell from the many, many Mexican recipes on here, we're a big fan. Neal always says he could eat Mexican food every night and be totally content. Me, not so much, but I do love having some type of Mexican-style dinner once or twice a week. I found this recipe in a recent Taste of Home magazine and knew it would be a big hit! Quick, easy, fresh ingredients and a perfect weeknight meal to throw together when you don't have much time or energy. With this little guy due to arrive any day now, quick and easy meals are definitely taking over my meal plans since I know my time to prepare and cook will quickly disappear! I loved the extra crunch and flavor the Fritos added to this recipe. And it's SO simple! Just layer Fritos, meat and beans and your choice of toppings and you've got yourself a meal. It's great for picky eaters too because they can put whatever toppings they want on and still love it. I think this would also taste great substituting chili instead of the ground meat and bean mixture - a great way to use up the inevitable leftover chili since that stuff can feed an army. (Recipe and picture courtesy of Taste of Home)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef OR ground turkey
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 cup water
• 1 can (15 oz.) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups corn chips
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion or green onions
• Sour cream and fresh cilantro

In a large skillet, cook beef or turkey over medium-high heat until cooked through and no longer pink; drain. Stir in the chili powder, flour, salt and garlic powder until well blended. Slowly add in the water. Add in the beans and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 12-15 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

To serve, divide chips between 4 bowls. Top with beef/turkey mixture and desired toppings. Serve immediately. (Makes about 4 bowls)

Outback Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

I love to have hearty salads for dinner every now and then, but I always have to make sure they are "manly" enough for my husband to eat too. Otherwise I get a few rabbit/chick food comments as we're eating, followed by a bowl of cereal or sandwich for a second meal. This one definitely did the trick! Every time we go to Outback to eat, I always get the exact same dish: 8 oz. sirloin, wedge salad with blue cheese vinaigrette, and a baked sweet potato. I love every single thing about each part of the meal, especially the wedge salad that Neal introduced me to a couple of years ago. The dressing is definitely the best part so I decided to try and recreate it. I used a skirt steak, sliced thinly but I think any type of tender, non-fatty steak would work great. You definitely don't want fat on a steak salad.. I was very impressed at how close this dressing compared to Outback's and I may have licked the remaining drops out of the bowl..

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. steak, grilled with your favorite seasonings/marinade
• I used A1 Peppercorn sauce - my absolute favorite steak sauce!
• 1 bag mixed greens/spring mix
• 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup pecans
• Onion Strings
• 1 large yellow or white onion, sliced into thin strips
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup - 1 cup flour
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• Blue Cheese Vinaigrette:
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp. sour cream
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

For the Onion Strings:

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Mix the milk and egg together in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and pepper. Dredge onion slices in the milk mixture, then in the flour. Drop onions into the hot oil and let them saute, turning every 30 second to 1 minute. Remove to a paper towel when they become light brown.

For the Blue Cheese Vinaigrette:

Put all ingredients except blue cheese in a food processor/blender and blend until smooth. Add in the blue cheese crumbles and mix again.

To Assemble the Salad:

Layer the mixed greens, tomatoes and pecans on plates. Slice the steak thinly and lay on top of the greens. Top with a handful of onion strings and drizzle the vinaigrette over top. Serve immediately.

Turkey Taco Burgers with Green Chile Sour Cream

These burgers were a really nice change to your regular summer burger, and perfect for Taco Tuesday! They're super easy to make with an addition of taco seasoning and a few spices. But the thing that takes them over the top is the green chile sour cream and the guacamole. Top 'em off with your classic lettuce, tomato and onion and you've got yourself a dang good burger and a quick and easy week-night meal. (Recipe and picture adapted from Sweet Treats and More)

Ingredients:

Burgers:

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dash of McCormick's Hamburger seasoning (optional)
• 4-6 whole wheat hamburger buns
• 4-6 slices cheese

Toppings:

• Lettuce, Sliced Tomato, Sliced Onion, Cheese, Avocado/Guacamole

Green Chile Sour Cream

• 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 3 Tbsp. diced green chiles
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 5-6 drops hot sauce (to taste)

In a medium bowl, mix the ground turkey, taco seasoning and spices together. Form into 4-6 patties and place on a hot grill. Cook until cooked through, flipping once. (You can also cook the burgers in the oven and broil each side for 7-8 minutes until browned and cooked through). Top each patty with a slice of cheese and leave until melted.

For the sauce: mix together all sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

To assemble: spread the green chile sour cream on the buns, then assemble hamburgers with your choice of toppings.

 
 
 



Glazed Mini Meatloaves

I'm back!!! No, I'm not dead, and no I have definitely not given up on this blog! And I have a whole bucketload of recipes that I've tried and loved over the past few months that I'm so excited about sharing! And all of them are very easy and quick which is always a good thing. I haven't had much time (if I've had time at all) over the past few months to plan or cook anything big or time consuming, so get ready for a bunch of simple but delicious dinner recipes to try out.
This first one went over really, really well. Is it just me or is everything better when it's mini-sized? Example: Cupcakes vs. Cakes. There's no guilt in a little cupcake! Riiiight..  Keep telling yourself that Mer. Another example: Sliders. My current favorite slider: the salmon patty sliders at Ruby Tuesday. Small and packed full of yummy flavor! These mini meatloaves fit right in to the "mini" category that seems to be everywhere lately. I had all of the ingredients for these meatloaves in my pantry and fridge which meant one less trip to the grocery store - Score! I loved how tender and juicy these meatloaves turned out. But my favorite part was definitely the glaze. Who knew 3 ingredients could taste so great together? I love the down-home taste and flavor of this meal. It's definitely going down as one of our regular meals from now on. (Picture and recipe courtesy of Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

Ingredients:

• 17-20 Salting crackers, crushed fine (about 2/3 cup)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup minced parsley
• 3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 1/1 pounds ground meat (I used ground pork, but ground beef or a combination would work great!)

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 tsp. cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Stick cracker crumbs, milk, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, egg, mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper together in a large bowl.  Crumble ground meat over and combined until uniform.  Shape mixture into oval loaves and place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

Mix the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl. Spoon the glaze over the top of each meatloaf, reserving about 1/3 of the glaze for dipping. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the center of the loaf is no longer pink or registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Serve with the remaining sauce.

Italian Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

As of yesterday, my husband and I decided to go on a very healthy diet and start working out more often. I guess you could say we just started our New Year's resolution a week early. One of my goals for this year is to plan and cook healthy dinners and this recipe falls right into that category. Have you ever eaten a spaghetti squash? Or better yet, have you ever cooked one and then witnessed the miracle when it turns from a regular summer squash look to stringy spaghetti?! I think I spent a good 10 minutes in awe that I could lightly touch the squash with my fork and it would somehow transform into a form of noodles! I then proceeded to tell my sweet husband every detail of the process.. Poor thing. Always has to listen to my food stories. :) I was extremely surprised at how good this meal tasted. Neal commented that if he didn't know it was squash, he would have thought it was regular pasta noodles! It is an extremely easy meal and took me about 20 minutes to put it all together. Dinner made and on the table in under 30 minutes is a HUGE bonus in my book! I used basic ingredients for the squash: ground chicken, mushrooms, spinach, spaghetti sauce and cheese. Just keep it simple. And don't worry, when everything is put together, it makes a lot of food. Serve with a side salad and some garlic bread and you've got yourself a pretty darn good meal. Let me know if you've ever had any fun experiences with spaghetti squash!! (Picture courtesy of My Kitchen Addiction)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium spaghetti squash


• 1 pound ground chicken (or beef)


• 2 Tbsp. butter


• 1 cup diced mushrooms


• 1/2 cup frozen spinach


• 2 cups spaghetti sauce


• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese


• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the spaghetti squash in half (I found it was easiest to stick the point of my knife in first, and then push down the rest of the knife. Continue all the way around until cut in half). Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp. Place squash halves cut-side down on a plate and microwave for 10-12 minutes, or until soft. Using a fork, scrape out the inside of the squash, forming spaghetti-like strands. Set aside. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground chicken until cooked through. Drain the grease and set aside in a small bowl. In the same pan, melt the butter and saute the mushrooms and spinach until softened. Add back in the ground chicken and the shredded squash. Pour the spaghetti sauce over everything and stir to combine. Spoon the squash mixture back into the squash halves and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Place squash halves on a baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and everything is heated through. Serve immediately.

Steak with Onion-Blue Cheese Sauce

This sauce will change your life. I'm not exaggerating or being sarcastic in any way, either! Even if you're not a blue cheese fan, I'm begging you to just try it!! Some good steaks don't need sauce, but if you want to try something different and absolutely phenomenally delicious, try this! It is thick, creamy, and so savory that you won't be able to stop eating it. It pairs perfectly with a seasoned steak right off the grill, and is also amazing as a dip for crusty bread or rolls. I have made it several times for my husband and I, as well as for guests, and each time I taste it, I honestly want to cry. It is that good. (Recipe and picture courtesy of The Pioneer Woman.)

Ingredients:

• 2 whole ribeye steaks
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• Salt
• Pepper
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Salt and pepper both sides of the steaks. Grill in 2 Tbsp. butter until cooked to your liking (medium-well is my favorite). Saute onions in 4 Tbsp. butter over high heat for 5-7 minutes, or until dark and caramelized. Reduce heat to simmer and pour in cream. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until reduced by half. Stir in blue cheese until melted. Serve a generous portion of sauce over steaks.

Swiss Steak

I'll have to say that my favorite kitchen appliance is definitely my crock pot. I love throwing everything in, turning on the heat, and walking away for a few hours, only to come back to a mouth-watering smell and cooked food! A big shout-out to whoever invented this little guy- I. Love. It. Moving on, this is one of my favorite crock-pot recipes of all time! Although I love the original flavor of a Sunday roast, this one is a refreshing change and is sure to please everyone around the table. At first I was a little skeptical to try a roast recipe that included canned tomatoes, but they provided so much moisture and just the right amount of sweetness. And the best thing is, it is extremely versatile. Just add in whatever ingredients you have, wait a few hours, and voila! You have a wonderful, heart-warming meal ready to serve. (Picture courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-size pot-roast, OR 1 lb. boneless beef round steak
• 3-4 large carrots, cut into small 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2-3 small potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 14.5 ounce can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Lay meat on bottom of the crock pot and sprinkle with carrots, onions, and potatoes. Pour tomatoes, worcestershire sauce and garlic over everything. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours, or until meat is tender and cooked through. Serve and add salt and pepper to taste.

Optional: Omit the potatoes and serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or cooked pasta noodles.