Mom's Favorites: Cinco de Mayo

Ok, so you are thinking ... what if Mom is crazy and doesn't actually want something cooked on the grill. Perish the thought I know! Well, here's another neat trick - use her own recipe on her. If it's a family favorite, then certainly it's one of her favorites or why would she cook it so much? 

So, in honor of my mom and Cinco de Mayo...you get one of her recipes. I don't know where she got, if she made it up or what but it's really easy and really good!

Taco Pie

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground meat             1/2 c. chopped onion            1 envelope taco mix
4 oz. green chilis              1 1/4 c. milk                           3/4 c. bisquick
3 eggs                               2 tomatoes, sliced                1 c. shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Grease a pie plate.
2. Cook beef & onion until brown and drain.
3. Add taco mix.
4. Spread in pie plate.
5. Top with chilis.
6. Beat milk, bisquick and eggs until smooth.
7. Pour into pie plate.
8. Cook at 400 for 25 minutes.
9. Add the cheese and tomato with 10 minutes left.

See...it's so easy you could call it easy bake pie...well I bet it tastes better than what came out of an easy bake oven. Just sayin!

As always, have fun!

Mom's Favorites: Jalapeno Popper Burgers

So, tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo. How about some jalapeno in your dinner? Tonight and tomorrow are Mexican inspired dishes that Mom will be sure to love! And, of course, burgers on the grill are another Mom favorite so you really can't go wrong. 

Jalapeno Popper Burgers

Ingredients:
3 jalapeno peppers, halved and seeded       1 tsp. olive oil      3 oz. cream cheese, softened
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled           1 tsp. salt             2 minced garlic cloves
1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning                     1/2 tsp. pepper    1/4 tsp. paprika
2 lbs. ground beef or turkey                           8 buns, slices of jack cheese and lettuce leaves
1 large tomato, sliced                                    3/4 c. guacamole

Note: I changed this to reflect 8 burgers instead of 4. I found 4 1/2 lb burgers to be unwieldy. Let me know which way you do it.

Directions:

1. Brush jalapenos with oil. 
2. Grill, over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, turning occasionally.
3. When cool enough, finely chop.
4. In a small bowl, combine bacon, cream cheese, and jalapeno until blended.
5. In a large bowl, combine garlic, salt, lemon pepper, pepper and paprika.
6. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well.
7. Shape into 16 thin patties.
8. Spoon bacon mixture on to half of the patties.
9. Top with the remaining patties and press edges firmly to seal.
10. Grill the burgers, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 inn. from heat for 6-7 minutes on each side.
11. Top with cheese and cover and cook 1-2 minutes longer.
12. Grill buns, cut side down, until toasted.
13. Serve burgers on buns with lettuce, tomato and guacamole.

Mom's Favorites: Chili Lime Flank Steak

By now, you are realizing next Sunday is Mother's Day and that you've put off trying to figure out what to do to honor your mom for a bit too long. With gorgeous weather like this, I bet many of you are starting to grill your dinners. Perhaps mom would love a homemade meal, especially one off the grill. Besides, quality time of a family meal together is always high on any mother's list!

Chili Lime Flank Steak

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil                  2 crushed garlic cloves               1 tbsp. chili powder             
1 tsp. cumin                      1/2 tsp. pepper                            3/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. lime juice               1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce           1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. honey                    2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Combine oil, garlic, chili powder, cumin and pepper in a bowl.
2. Warning: if you don't love a ton of heat in your marinade, cut the amount of chili powder down. This is a hot recipe.
3. Place steak in a shallow baking dish. 
4. Pour chili mixture over and spread to coat both sides.
5. Let sit 1 hour or cover and refrigerate overnight.
6. Sprinkle both sides of the steak with a 1/2 tsp. salt.
7. Grill 4-5 minutes on each side for medium.
8. Remove to cutting board to stand 10 minutes.
9. Combine remaining salt, lime juice, hot pepper sauce, vinegar, honey and cilantro.
10. Whisk until blended.
11. Serve with sauce on the side to drizzle over.

100 Posts ... 100 Cans

So, today's post is #100. It's hard to believe I've done this 100 days so far and even more so that I'm still enjoying the ride. 

I kept trying to think of a special way to commemorate the 100th post.  My friend Julie found the perfect connection. Andy Warhol and his 100 Cans painting. He was pretty famous for making art out of Campbell's soup cans, so in his honor, your dinner will be a piece of art too!

Mushroom Beef Stew

Ingredients:
1 lb. beef stew meat                1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix       2 4 oz. cans of sliced mushroms, drained
Hot cooked egg noodles

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except egg noodles in crockpot.
2. Cover and cook on low 8 - 10 hours.
3. Serve over noodles.

How easy was that? My one piece of advice is to keep an eye on that beef. All of my crockpot recipes seem to suggest long cook times. However, beef cooks up pretty quickly regardless. Even on low, you'll find it probably won't take nearly the 8 hours. It also depends on how you like your meat. If you need it well done, then I'm sure you'll probably end up closer to the 8 hours, but if you are like me and want the meat moist, it really is important to keep an eye on it.

As always, have fun!

Asian Pot Roast

Pot roast. Everyone knows how to make it or know someone who does.  It's kind of a staple "meat and potatoes" dish for most families. You know me well now by reading these posts, well enough to know I won't make your standard pot roast and I'll make it nice and easy.

That's right - make sure your crock pot is clean and you are prepared to smell your dinner for a few hours as it slow cooks.  Why fire up that oven when the weather is nicer? You'll thank me for these crock pot recipes when its 90 degrees this summer and the thought of a hot oven in a hot house just makes you crazy.

Asian Pot Roast

Ingredients:
10 oz. white mushrooms, sliced           1/2 c. chicken broth              1/4 c. soy sauce
2 tbsp. chopped fresh ginger                6 cloves garlic, halved          2 lb. eye of round roast
2 tbsp. canola oil                                  2 tbsp. cornstarch                 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
scallions, thinly sliced, optional

Directions:

1. Combine mushrooms, broth, soy sauce, ginger and garlic in crock pot.
2. Pat roast dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Warm oil in a skillet on medium high heat.
4. Brown beef on all sides, about 8 minutes total.
5. Transfer to crock pot and turn to coat with soy sauce mixture.
6. Cover and cook on low until tender 6 to 8 hours.
7. Transfer roast to cutting board and tent with foil.
8. Let rest for 15 minutes. 
9. Whisk cornstarch and 1/2 c. of the liquid from the crock pot together.
10. Add the liquid back to the crock pot, whisking until sauce thickens (1-2 min).
11. Whisk in vinegar. 
12. If sauce is too thick, you can whisk in 1 or 2 additional tbsp. of chicken broth.
13. Slice your meat and serve with the sauce.
14. Top with scallions if you like.

So, there you have it. Since it's an Asian recipe, my first thought was pairing it with rice, but you don't have to.  You could do it as a stand alone or with your favorite veggie. Any time I have something with a sauce or a gravy, I do rolls because I love sopping up the liquid with a hot fresh roll.  Or you could even just pair it with a salad. 

As always, have fun!

Like French Onion Soup?

I always check out the soup section on any restaurant menu to see if they have french onion soup. I love it and it always struck me as something that would be difficult to replicate at home. Besides, Jeremy's not a huge onion fan so why cook it just for myself anyway?

I found this recipe for a pot pie that tastes pretty close and an added bonus - Jeremy liked it!

Beefy French Onion Potpie

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef          1 small onion, chopped          1 can french onion soup       
1 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese                                         1 tube buttermilk biscuits

Directions:

1. Cook beef and onion in a skillet over medium heat until beef is no longer pink.
2. Drain the meat and add the soup. 
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Transfer to an ungreased 9 inch pie plate.
5. Sprinkle with cheese.
6. Bake at 350 for 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.
7. Top with biscuits and bake 15-20 minutes longer (biscuits golden brown).

Do you have a favorite thing you when you are out at a restaurant? Chances are that you can find the recipe online or a twist on the recipe like this. You just have to look around. As you get more confident in your cooking, you'll find yourself tweaking recipes based on how they taste and creating your own versions of family favorites.

As always, have fun!