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!

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!

Sweet? Savory? Both!

I like pie. I’m the first one to stand up and say that loud and proud. I have a whole section of pie recipes in my baking recipe box. Yes, I have multiple recipe boxes. That’s a conversation for another blog post. I like choices for myself and it’s also a handy resource if you’re ever looking for a good recipe – I usually have it and several variations.

For this post, it’s not one of those feel good Thanksgiving pies or even the hubby’s favorite, cherry pie. This is one is a breakfast pie.

Breakfast -I don’t know about you, but I don’t often have the time or desire for a full breakfast in the morning. This is precisely why breakfast for dinner is popular in my house.

This pie is the best of both worlds -sweet and savory – something I often struggle with. I love toffee peanuts and chocolate covered pretzels and of course anything chocolate peanut butter. I know many people are the same way – it’s that sweet and salty combo that makes our taste buds go wild.

Breakfast Sausage Apple Pie

Ingredients:

1 lb breakfast sausage links     1 pie crust     1 can apple pie filling     1 c. cheese     1/2 c. brown sugar

Directions:

1. Cook sausage and drain.
2. Bake pie crust for 10 minutes at 375.
3. Pour in apple pie filling.
4. Arrange the sausage on the top.
5. Sprinkle with cheese and then brown sugar.
6. Bake for 25-35 minutes.
7. Serve warm.

Yes, this recipe is just that simple. It’s also one I bet you could play around with depending on taste. Our go to cheese is cheddar jack as I can get big blocks of it cheaply at Sams Club. But, you could spice this up with a pepper jack or go in a different direction with a provolone or mozzarella. And it seems to me that you aren’t limited to apple pie only. My gut says blueberry would work well  -  and I’ve used cherries in a lot of different ways. Perhaps the tartness of the cherries would blend well with the spice of the sausage. Of course, there are different flavors of breakfast sausage links so your mix and match potential is endless.

As always, have fun!