Beef, Bean & Cheese Burritos

Beef, Bean & Cheese Burritos

1.5 lbs ground Beef
1 can Mexican Red sauce
2 Cups shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
10 Burrito Sized Tortillas
1 large can refried Beans
1 onion

Chop/dice onion and toss in pan while you brown your ground beef.  Once beef is browned add in 3/4 can of the Red sauce. Let simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.  If you can't find red sauce use Enchilada sauce.  Then mix together the refried beans and 1.5 cups of the cheddar cheese in a sauce Pan until they are both combine! Spoon meat mixture onto tortillas, then bean mixture and roll into burritos! Lay in baking dish, top with remaining red sauce and then sprinkle with remaining cheese! Bake at 350 for 10 minutes!

I found these from The Pioneer Womans show on Food Network! 

My family LOVED them! Begged to make again and they were so simple! Ya'll know me, I am ALL about simple!

Southwest Chicken Tacos (On The Border Style)

So I set out to recreate one of my favorite recipes from On The Border! Their Southwest Chicken Tacos are Amazing and I wanted to try to make something similar! Here is what I did:

Southwest Chicken Tacos

1 onion cut into thin rings (or use french onion crisps)
1/2 cup black beans
1/2 bag frozen grilled chicken chunks
1 cup shredded Mexican Cheese
1/4 cup Ranch Dressing
1/2 packet taco seasoning
2 tbsp BBQ Sauce
2 tbsps panko crumbs
10 pack Tortillas


I sautéed the onion in a little olive oil and then added a tbsp of BBQ Sauce, toss in the panko crumbs. Then I added in the frozen pre cooked chicken chunks, I think I used Tyson Brand.  Mixed those with the onion and let it all kinda caramelize together.  Then I took the Tortillas, put the chicken/onion mixture in the tortilla, mixed the black beans, topped with cheese and pour ranch mixture on top! To make Ranch cream mixture: mix Ranch dressing, taco seasoning and 1 tbsp of BBQ sauce together.  Then I heated this all in the microwave until the cheese melted... real classy huh? You could put it in the oven but It didn't need that! 30 secs in the microwave got it ready to serve! Yum!

Rich Oven Beef Stew

So my friend Kristin has a vlog channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/kgehmvlogs
and she cooks some fun recipes there! She also has a beauty channel that is awesome too if that is your thing as well! Some of you know I make beauty videos on YouTube, but I do watch some cooking stuff as well!  Here is the link to the Oven Beef Stew if you'd like to see a live cooking session of it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4If5B2l2yk

Oven Beef Stew
2 lbs of beef stew meat or ground beef (seasoned with your choice of spices, i.e. season salt, onion powder, pepper, etc.)

1 onion 
6 carrots
6 celery stalks
3 potatoes cut into bite-size chunks ( I used yukon Gold potatoes & bc they are small I used 6)

Mix together the following:
2 tsp salt
3 tbsp tapioca
1 tbsp sugar
1 ½ cup vegetable juice (If you like it extra juicy, I would add either water or a little more juice, in that case you need to purchase 2 cans of the juice)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Turn into a 9 x 13 pan. Cover with tin foil and bake for at least 4-5 hours at 250 degrees. (Or like me, 3.5 hrs at 275)

 Here is everything mixed together!

 It came out perfection!!

Kristins Video

I love Horseradish, if you don't this is just optional, but I put a few drops of this on mine!! yum!

Oreo Truffle Brownies

Oreo Truffle Brownies

• 1 cup butter softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 pkg. Double Stuffed Oreos
• 8 oz. cream cheese softened
• 10 oz. Dipping Chocolate I used almond bark but I would use something different next time that doesn't get as hard

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and blend well. Add vanilla, salt, cocoa and flour. Don’t overbeat. Pour into a greased 9X13 pan. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
2. While brownies are cooling, make Oreo truffle layer. Crush Oreos finely in a food processor or by putting them in a ziplock bag and smashing them until finely ground with a rolling pin. When Oreos are finely crushed, using hands , mash softened cream cheese and crushed Oreos until well combined.  When Brownies have cooled completely, place layer of Oreo truffle on top.
3. Melt dipping chocolate (you can use chocolate chips or other chocolate candy coating, I will use chocolate chips next time) and pour and spread evenly over the top of the Oreo truffle layer. Cover and put in fridge until set. Take out and cut, arrange on parchment paper, pack in tin, give as gift :) Or eat them all yourself! 

I made these for Thanksgiving and they were a hit! 

Chicken Noodle Butternut Squash Soup

I was so hungry for soup one day, so I just decided to mix some of my favorite ingredients together! This soup turned out delicious and I will be making it regularly around here, especially as we are approaching cooler weather!

 Chop up the chicken into chunks, I used a package of probably 12 boneless skinless chicken tenders

 Boil the chicken chunks in 2 packages of 3 lb chicken broth...

 3 tablespoons of butter, chopped onion, garlic and celery, saute in pan, add to boiled chicken.
In same pan peel and chop up butternut squash, 2 tablespoons of butter, cover and let simmer for 10 minutes until soft, add that to the broth.

 add in some frozen sliced carrots and dumpling noodles (found at the grocery store as a no egg alternative)

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 I added a few drops of this white Truffle oil in the butternut squash

 this is the chicken broth I used

 Finished soup! Add a little of shaved parmesan cheese on top! :)

Chicken Noodle Butternut Squash Soup

2lbs of Boneless Skinless Chicken Tenders (chopped in chunks)
2 (3lb) Boxes of Chicken Broth
2 stalks of celery (chopped)
2 small white onions (chopped)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1/2 small bag of frozen sliced carrots
1 large Butternut Squash (peeled and diced)
5 tbsp of unsalted butter
1/2 package of dumpling noodles (I found at grocery store by egg noodles)
2 teaspoons basil
optional (few drops of white truffle oil)
Fresh shaved Parmesan (Found at grocery store in a container in the cheeses)

Heat broth over medium to high heat, add diced chicken in to boil chicken.  While chicken is boiling, in a pan, add chopped celery, onions and garlic together with 3 tbsp of butter.  Once that is soft, add to the broth mixture.  Peel and dice butternut squash, add to the same pan onions were cooked in and add 2 tbsp of butter and a few drops of truffle oil.  Cook those on medium-low heat covered until soft, about 10 minutes.  Add squash to soup, add in frozen carrots to soup, add in basil and salt & Pepper to soup.  Last step is to add in noodles. Once noodles are cooked turn heat to low and let sit for about 20 minutes.  Serve hot with Shaved Parmesan on top! 

Apple Fritter Muffins

Apple Fritter Muffins really hit the spot!

 Mix Apples, cinnamon, butter together, saute in pan..

 get batter ready ...and icing..

Apple Fritter Muffins

For the Apples:
2 large granny smith apples, 1/4 inch dice
3 tbsp butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp water

1/3 cup flour

For the Muffins:
2 large eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk

For the Glaze:
2 tbsp butter melted
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp hot water

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. Line 14 muffin cups with muffin liners 
3. In a skillet add add apple ingredients except flour and cook over medium heat until apples are tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir in flour to coat apples (this prevents apples from sinking to bottom of muffins)
4. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt
5. In a large bowl beat together applesauce, oil, and sugars till smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix thoroughly  
6. Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined. Gently stir in apples until just combined
7. Spoon batter into cups, filling the cups, and smooth tops. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until muffin tops are a pale golden and springy to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time.
8. Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 10 minutes before glazing. 
9. To make the glaze, In a medium bowl mix together the melted butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth. 
10. When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin top into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. Once hardened, dip a second time and allow to harden before serving.

Trader Joe's Mini Mexican Pizza's

Mexican Pizza Recipe

recipe from(Traderjoerecipes.net)

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound Trader Joe's Ground Beef or Ground Turkey
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 15-oz can Trader Joe's Traditional Style Fat Free Refried Beans
• 4 9-inch flour tortillas
• 1/2 cup Trader Joe's Chunky Salsa, or your favorite salsa
• 2 cups Trader Joe's Lite 3 Cheese Blend, or mexican blend cheese
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup Trader Joe's Extra Large Black Pitted Olives, sliced (I omitted Black olives)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Place meat, onion and garlic in a skillet over medium heat. Cook until beef is evenly browned. Drain off grease. Season the meat with chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper.
3. Coat 2 pie plates with non-stick cooking spray. Place one tortilla in each pie plate and cover with a layer of refried beans. Spread half of the seasoned meat over each tortilla and then cover with a second tortilla. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
4. Spread half of the salsa over the top tortillas. Top each pizza with half of the cheese, tomatoes, green onions, and olives. Return the pizzas to the oven, bake until the cheese is melted, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Slice each pizza into 4 pieces and serve.

I pinned this recipe on Pinterest! Loved it and it was even better the next day!