Remember how I said last night would be my last night cooking a real meal...yeah right, shrimp tacos!

Happy Thursday!  Still here, still pregnant, and still crazy!  Today I decided I had to clean out all of our cabinets, rearrange them, etc...after cleaning a bathroom, doing laundry, etc.  I should be resting, right??  I sure pay for it later when back is in so much pain it feels numb!!

Enough of that...I still had to make dinner!  I swore after last night that was it, no more meals which required me to be on my feet for a long time.  Shrimp tacos and spanish rice were on our weekly menu, and when I thought about the last time I had made them, it didn't seem like it would be too bad.  Well, I wasn't 39 weeks pregnant, then!  They're so yummy, though, they're worth it! 

This is an adapted recipe from foodnetwork.com called Chipotle Shrimp Tacos with Salsa Verde.  The shrimp cooks so quickly that I always make the salsa first.  Plus, you can always dip some nachos, or your finger, in the salsa while the shrimp cook;)  You will need:

• 1 small onion, cut into pieces, don't really need to be that small
• 1 jalapeno, cut into about 4 pieces
• a few small pieces of tomato
• 1 avocado, peeled and seeded, cut into chunks
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cilantro leaves, as big or small as you'd like

Put the onion and jalapeno in your food processor  and finely chop.  Add the tomatoes, avocado, and salt and chop again until combined and in pieces that are to your liking - I chopped it up pretty well, but some like their avocado pieces bigger.  Put into a bowl, add cilantro, and stir to mix together.

Yum!  The husband is lucky there is any of this salsa left as I make the shrimp!  Warning, it's very spicy!!

The shrimp part is so easy - take as many large shrimp as you'd like, place in a large bowl, and mix with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp chili powder, and 1 tsp salt.  When the shrimp are coated, cook them in a fry pan on medium low heat until cooked through.  Look at these!

Sooo good, I could eat these with a fork and be happy!  You can either enjoy just the shrimp and salsa on a whole wheat wrap, taco shell, etc, or add all the fixings!  On mine, I added cheddar cheese and lime juice; the husband added sour cream, lettuce, taco sauce, and cheese.  I could eat these everyday, and I may, if it would help get this baby out...

Oh, and remember how I was craving Hershey's cookies and cream candy bars?  Well they do still make them, and thanks to the bff, I now have 1 in my possession!  I did have 3, but I already ate 2 of them...OH!  and don't forget to vote for your favorite holiday cookie!

Happy Pi Day!

That is to you, my husband, and your friends;)  I love my computer man genius:)

How is your weekend everyone?  Great over here!  Got to finally enjoy Up in the Air (to me, who knows nothing about the craft of acting, it was amazing), Frost/Nixon, and Precious - yes, it rained all weekend;)  Precious was intense but I see now why Mo'nique won an Oscar, etc. 

Oh yes, I did cook this weekend;)   Tonight I'm making Mexican Fiesta in the crockpot, and an Ultimate Carrot Cake, just for the man:)  I'm going to post the recipes and pictures below, then let you know we thought of them tomorrow night:)

Mexican Fiesta - what you'll need:

• 1 lb hamburg
• Pam spray
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 1/2 bag white corn tortilla chips
• 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 15oz can diced tomatoes and chiles
• extra small can of chiles if you like extra spice
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped

 Brown the hamburg, and once browned, mix in the beans, undrained.  Spray the inside of the crockpot with Pam Spray.  Place half the tortilla chips in the bottom, then put half of the hamburg/bean mixture on top of that.

In a separate bowl, mix together the soups, tomatoes/chiles, chili powder and onion.  Place half of this mixture on top of the hamburg mixture, then put half of the shredded cheese on top.  Repeat steps one more time, then cook on high for 3 hours.

How do you think it will come out??  It's Mexican food and in a crockpot, what could go wrong??

Ultimate carrot cake!  How will this turn out?

You will need:

•  1 box of carrot cake mix, for example, Pillsbury
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup any kind of chopped nuts - I used almonds
• 10 oz pineapple, not drained
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 13x9 pan with butter Pam Spray and then sprinkle with flour.  Mix together the carrot cake mix, water, oil, eggs, and pineapple.  Beat for 30 seconds on low and 2 minutes on medium.  Once mixed, add the nuts and coconut, then pour into the pan. 

Bake for 40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool for at least one hour, then frost with whatever type frosting you like - I used cream cheese frosting, just for the husband, and keep refrigerated until serving.

I'll give you a sneak of how we liked this one - I topped mine with the Purely Decadent Coconut Milk ice cream stuff I've been loving and um um um!  I scraped off my frosting though;)

So this continued the spring cleaning of sorts of our fridge/cabinets - another success in that aspect!  I'm so proud of us!  Grocery bills have gone down, and we're being creative:)

I've got some spreadsheets to make in regards to houses we're going to see soon, and I've got to watch Up in the Air again...love it so much:)  Then it's off to finish my book and start a new work week!  Lots of exciting things going on around here:)  What's exciting in your life?  What's in your pantry or freezer that want to use and what do you want to use them for. 

Here are 3 things I'm still trying to figure out what to do with:

1. can of chickpeas
2. 2 cans of mushrooms
3. flaxseed

Help!

See you tomorrow night - enjoy what's left of your weekend.  Is anyone as cranky about losing an hour's of sleep as me??

GuacamOLE!

Remember I dreamt about making guacamole?  Well, tonight was taco night, so I decided to give my hand a try at it!  I reviewed a bunch of recipes and kinda just went with my own.  I'll tell you what I did and what I think I would do differently next time:)

Yum, right?  My favorite word on here!  We topped our tacos with them AND some nachos - we (the husband and I) both looked forward to taco night alllll day at work - helped us get through our Monday's:)

What you'll need/what I used:

• 3 very ripe avocados
• lime juice or juice of a fresh lime
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 chopped white onion
• chopped tomatoes, as much as you'd like
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• CRP!!!
• salt and pepper to taste
  

Cut and scoop out the avocado goodness and place into a container.  Cover with lime juice and mix in the olive oil ***Note - I used 2 tbsp, but I think I would only 1.5 tbsp next time b/c in one bite, yes just one bite, I could taste too much olive oil***

Now mush mush mush!  Mush these ingredients with a fork to the size/texture you'd like.  Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring after each addition.  Enjoy with your fave Mexican dish, with nachos, or just with a spoon like I did...about 4 times;) 

I'm very happy with how it came out - my only "complaint" was the one bite I had that I could taste the olive oil.  Overall, a success, and an easy one at that! 

 

 

 

Well, after a busy busy Monday I'm off to wrap up my night and prepare for tomorrow!  I hope you'll try this recipe or post some other variations - thank you to all who have posted so many guacamole recipe so far!

And PS:  has anyone ever made mole sauce for enchiladas - the kind with the chocolate??  How did that go for you??

Thursday night = time to try a new chili recipe!

Happy Thursday everyone!  I'm trying to keep myself up to watch figure skating online starting at 10:30pm...I don't know if I can make it!!  But I must see Sasha Cohen and if she can still skate!

Okay - back on topic - dinner tonight!  Dinner tonight was a recipe I adapted from this lovely website.  Overall, I'd give it an 8 - the husband ate it up and really enjoyed it - I think I just happened to get a piece that wasn't as spicy/Mexican tasting as his, and I wasn't thrilled with the cornbread on top - I think I prefer mine on the side, and a little sweeter.  Here is what I made, how I did it, and what I would do next time:)  Don't forget to check out my pork recipe from yesterday too!

Chili Cornbread Casserole:

What you'll need for the chili:

• 1 lb ground hamburg, cooked in a fry pan and drained of any oil
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, sliced or diced to your liking
• 1 tbsp, or more, again to your liking, chili powder
• 1 tbsp CRP
• 1 can diced tomatoes with chiles
• 8 oz of marinara sauce
• 2 15 oz cans of kidney beans, drained
• salt to taste

 This is quite the time-consuming/multi-tasker recipe!  I had the pan with the ground beef, the pot with the other chili stuff, and another pot with some stuff for the cornbread going simultaneously, plus some stuff going on the counter - phew! 

First of all, preheat oven to 400.  In a fry pan, cook your ground beef as you normally would, chopping it into smaller pieces. 

While the meat is cooking, in another medium to large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Once heated, add the onion.  Stir and cook for 2 minutes, or until onions start becoming translucent.  Add the chili powder, crushed red pepper, and a 1/2 tsp salt to this, and stir it up until the onions are coated.

Pour the canned diced tomatoes with chiles into the pot and stir well.  Add the marinara/tomato sauce, and stir again.  Don't forget about the hamburg cooking - make sure to stir that too!  Simmer the chili combo for about 10 minutes, and then add the kidney beans.  Continue to simmer over medium low heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  At this point, I added more chili powder just to give it an extra kick.   Turn the heat to low while you're waiting for the hamburg, if it's not done yet, and/or while you're making the cornbread, unless made the cornbread while the chili was simmering, like I did:)

For the cornbread, you will need:

• 6 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp flax seed meal
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup soy milk
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup mango peach juice - you read that right - or you can use agave nectar, or anything else sweet tasting, even sugar
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour

Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan.  When the water is boiling, add the flax seed meal - stir continuously for 3-4 minutes, reducing the heat to medium low; stir until the mixture becomes gooey.   Remove from heat

While I was waiting for the water to boil, I combined the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  To this I added the mango peach juice, oil, milk, and flax mixture (once it got gooey) - stir all of this until just combined.

 

Now you're ready to combine everything and bake!  Pour your chili mixture into a 9x13 baking pan, covering the chili mixure with the cooked hamburg.  Spoon the cornbread mixture over the chili/hamburg mixture, spreading it as much as you can to cover the entire casserole **I did not cover the entire casserole, just in case I wanted a few bites with just the chili and no cornbread**

 

 

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick goes thru the cornbread and comes out clean.  This is the husband's plate:

First of all, I guess it's time to put away the Christmas tablecloth:(

But, overall, the recipe was quite good - like I said, I think the piece I had didn't have as much spice as I would've liked, but the husband said his 2 pieces did.  I would've like a little more sweetness to the cornbread, so I think I'd try a different cornbread recipe next time, or just add some sugar to this one possibly.  I would also add some cheese into the casserole (the husband added some to his plate) and definitely some avocado on top once it comes out of the oven.  I would definitely try it again, just with some changes:) 

Last night I had dreams over and over about making guacamole!  Any recommendations on recipes for this or meals to make it with?  My body is telling me I have to make it next week I think!

I'm off to start planning next week's meals...9:42pm...getting tired...don't know if I'm going to make it for skating...working all day is tiring!  ;)  See you tomorrow night:)

I wish I could just eat nachos for dinner, but I'll make a nacho chicken bake instead:)

Happy Thursday, everyone!  Remember, it's my Friday this week, so I'm in an especially good mood:)  That will all change once I go and play Bejeweled and can't get over 150,000, but anyways...

Tonight!  Worked late, and was supposed to make Chicken Whatchamacallit from www.cookingfororzo.com, but on the way home, I started craving Mexican-type food.  We were supposed to have the chili cornbread casserole from theweatherincascadia.blogspot.com tomorrow night, but the husband is going out, and I don't want to make such a big meal for myself (Wendy's anyone?  maybe sushi:)), so the Whatchamacallit got bumped and tonight became Mexican night!  I had obviously defrosted boneless chicken breast, so I had to think of what I had that I could make Mexican-style.  So easy!  Nacho Chicken Bake!  Pretty much the simplest meal to ever make, and so yummy!  I've made it before, but the husband didn't remember it, and he was loving it!

You will need:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or more, whatever suits your needs - cut into small pieces, about half the size of your palm each
• salsa or taco sauce
  
• sour cream
• nacho chips
• any kind of shredded cheese - I used Kraft Natural Monterey Jack and Cheddar
• anything else you may like!  I used avocado
  

Really, that is all you need, and everything is stuff that alot of us have on-hand all the time!

Preheat oven to 400.  Cut chicken pieces, if you bought them in larger pieces, into the half palm sized pieces and place on a foil-covered baking sheet.  Cover with as much salsa, then sour cream, then nacho chips (or broken up) as you'd like!

Oh, and excuse our mail in the background;)  Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on how big you really cut your chicken pieces (mine were palm sized and I took them out at 17 minutes, just when the nachos were really starting to brown).  Add shredded cheese on top of the nachos and place back in the oven.

Bake for an additional 11 minutes or so, until the cheese has melted to your liking, and double checking to make sure the chicken is completely cooked through (I like to cut the biggest piece to check, or you can use a meat thermometer and make sure it reads 165 or more).

 

I then topped mine with avocado, which perfected it for me!  We paired this with a nice Spanish rice mixed with cherry tomatoes and enjoyed a nice meal together while watching Seinfeld and Jeopardy:)  More than you needed to know, okay;)

Like I said, this is a perfect in-the-pinch meal when you want to deviate from your "plan."  I rarely deviate from my menu plan, but was so happy tonight with the outcome of this!  How can you not want to eat this!

I don't mean my husband's leg, I  mean his plate full of good food!

I hope some of you will try this out - cheap, quick, yummy, and again full of places you can add your own touches.

I hope you all have a great night and I'll talk with you tomorrow  - I don't know what I'll be sharing yet, but it will be something:)  Wish me luck in Bejeweled;) 

Chimichangas Chimichangas, I love you!

Hello Sunday!  I finally allowed myself to have a "fun day"...all I've done is make tenderloin, monterey jack, red pepper, and onion omelets and sat on the couch with my trusty laptop that I love so much and looked up recipes - websites, blogs, some of my cookbooks, etc...ahh, I'm so relaxed!  After this blog, about 3 hours of scrapbooking will happen before I make a cranberry pork loin...oh I can't wait!  For now, I wanted to share with you the chimichangas I made a couple weeks back from this awesome site and some recipes that have inspired me today:)

You will need:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 lb of lean ground beef 
• 1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• Dash of red pepper flakes
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• 1 can of chili beans, drained - my can came mixed in with enchilada sauce
• flour tortillas
• cheddar cheese
• guacamole
• sour cream
• salsa

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef and break up the meat into crumbles, like you were making tacos. Add the onion as well as the seasonings then cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the drained can of chili beans to the beef mixture and stir until well combined. Set aside when the beef is cooked through completely.

Heat another skillet coated in cooking spray over medium heat. Heat the tortillas in paper towels in the microwave for 20 seconds so they are soft and pliable. Layer the tortilla with some cheese then some beef mixture. Fold in the sides and roll into a burrito, making sure the ends are closed. Place seam side down in the hot skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Serve with guacamole, salsa and sour cream.  ***Note, for me, I bought a guacamole/salsa/spicy mixture in the produce section at Stop and Shop instead of making/having separate guacamole and salsa because I was strapped on time.  Very good!***

**sweetened condensed milk was for fudge I was making, not this;)**

 

 

 

My husband and I really loved these!  We always tend to go towards tacos and enchiladas, but I think these will be up there from now.  Just 1 lb of ground beef made 8 of these, with leftover meat that we used on a taco salad later that week.  I think next time I would even leave some of the spicy enchilada sauce in the mixture, just for that cook and gooeyness. 

Enjoy, and thanks again to For the Love of Cooking for posting such a great recipe!!

Fajita Friday!

Woohoo! We looked forward to Fajita Friday all week on the meal board!! For some reason, I am good at making fajitas, cookies, and omelets...strange;) Anyways, I usually make some sort of Mexican recipe once a week, as we love it (thank you $5 Mexican cookbook at Marshall's), but this is something I thought of that works!!

You need:

A type of protein - I usually use, and did use, stew meat cut into bite sized pieces this week. You can also use chicken, shrimp, any kind of fish, even pork I bet!
2 green peppers cut into slices
2 red peppers cut into slices
1 white onion cut into slices
brown sugar
hot sauce
chili powder
lime juice

Heat fry pan or skillet over medium high heat, adding about 1-2 tbsps of olive oil when heated. Add cut-up veggies first, as they will take longer to tenderize. After about 5 minutes of those cooking, add the meat. In a bowl, combine brown sugar and chili powder....but wait wait wait. I am usually the master of measuring things, but for whatever reason, with this recipe I am not...I use atleast 1/4 cup brown sugar, or more if I think it looks like it needs more, and I just sprinkle chili powder until I think it looks good - I'd say it's probably atleast a tablespoon. Stir this up and pour over the veggies/meat in the pan. Then start shakin' on the hot sauce, preferably Frank's Red Hot - again until it looks right to you. I use probably atleast 1/4 cup. Stir everything up and let continue to cook.

Once everything is cooked to your liking, either turn the temp up to high, and pour the lime juice over the mixture and watch it sizzle, just like in the restaurant, or if you have fancy fajita dishes, add the mixture to your fancy plate and then squirt with lime juice - it should sizzle just the same.

I think sometime I'll surprise the husband with fajita week, using all different kinds of meats/fish/veggies and see how he likes it...that might be a little much though;)

Anyways, once sizzling, turn off heat, add mixture to warmed tortilla wraps (I usually warm 6 at a time in the microwave for 25 seconds) and any other topping you may want (husband adds sour cream, I add avocado) and enjoy! YUM and perfect for a Friday night:)

Next - I'm thinking I might start talking about some cookbooks I like and some I just really don't like...I'll just say for now, sorry Rachael Ray fans! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and go Patriots!

Quesadillas are not just snacks! (When you eat 4)

Thanks to lilbitofange for the photo!!

Mine looked similar (before eaten of course hehe), but I have to get better at remembering to take a photo before we chomp on in! Quesadillas, atleast how I make them, are soooo easy and can be a quick snack or a meal if you make enough of them. There are many ways to make them, in a fry pan, even in the oven, but for me, I like to use the good ole Georgie Foreman grill because I love seeing those grill lines;)

All you have to do is cook about 1 lb of chicken breast, seasoned with salt and pepper, and cut them into very small pieces, or even shreds. While that is cooking, cut up some scallions or any type of onion you prefer and some avocado; you could even use lettuce and tomato inside as well, but just make sure anything you want to put inside is cut very small and that the whole inside isn't taken up - you don't want things falling out. Different from the picture above, I wasn't up to making guacamole, so I just cut up some avocados. When the chicken has been cooked and cut up/shredded, and the Georgie has been heated up and sprayed with Pam spray, take one soft tortilla, burrito size, and spread around your "stuff" - for the husband's, I did chicken, scallions, nacho cheese (you can use any type of cheese you would like), and good ole crushed red pepper, his second favorite thing next to ketchup. I placed another soft tortilla on top, put it onto the Georgie, put the lid down, and in 4 minutes we have a perfectly melted together quesadilla of fantastic-ness. He dolloped his with salsa and sour cream, but you could make your own salsa to put on top or anything else you usually like with Mexican food. Make sure inbetween everyone you make that you spray the Georgie so that none stick.

For mine, I used chicken, cheese, and avocado, and was in heaven. I could eat these everyday! We paired them with some spanish rice and Ole!, had a fabulous dinner together:)

I'm hoping to come up with or find some kind of fruit "quesadilla" where I would use the tortillas, but cut up some fruit and put that inside instead of the meat, and some kind of nice cheese, like a soft cranberry flavored cheese or some melted brie or something, and some nuts! I'll let you know if this happens and how it goes:)

It's almost supper time, but I'll be back later for some non-cheycancook talk - think Itunes suggestions, things to "work" on, etc etc. Enjoy your dinners!

I've still been cooking, but slacking on the blogging!

Oops - I'm here! I've still been under the weather - no excuse not to blog since I lay down with the laptop alot, and I have still been cooking, just nothing too fancy. I do want to share about a couple of casseroles I made this week - quick and easy with little clean up - perfect for a hectic weeknight!

Both recipes were found on cooks.com (thank goodness for this site - only problem is no pictures and I like to see the end result - note to self, post pics of my food;)). First one I made was a burrito casserole. We are huge Mexican food lovers and wish it could've been our wedding reception food. Since it couldn't be, we just make it at least once a week (twice a week next week, already planned on the weekly menu!). Brown hamburg (I used about 1 lb) and then add a packet of taco seasoning, or any of your favorite at-home seasonings like chili powder, etc and a can of re-fried beans (I used the kind with chile pieces). Stir all this together and drain the fat. Put a small amount of taco sauce in the bottom of your casserole dish. Place one soft tortilla down, and scoop some of the meat/seasoning/beans mixture on top of it. Put some more taco sauce, as much or little as you want, then add any kind of shredded cheese, like sharp cheddar or taco, then some chopped tomatoes. The recipe also called for shredded lettuce, but I just had this on the side as I wasn't sure of the texture of the lettuce in this mixture. Then place another tortilla down and repeat steps until the top of the casserole dish has been reached, making sure to end with a soft tortilla, as it will crisp up while baking - it was one of my favorite parts of the finished dish! Preheat oven and bake at 350 for 30 minutes...and enjoy with the shredded lettuce, sour cream, anything you want on top. YUM! My husband made sure to save one piece for him to savor another day;)

I'll be back with my 2nd casserole recipe (and picture!) after I finish my Halloween meal of skittles and starbursts and Sunshine Cleaning:) Happy Halloweeen - be safe and enjoy food!