Taco Fridays

Let's be honest...I don't do Taco Fridays. I have a cousin that does, it's his tradition with his kids. I do pizza or breakfast-for-dinner on Fridays. Though tonight I think we're having left-overs because I'm craving last night's clam chowder!

But...

Taco Fridays would be a great tradition for you to start, k?

Here's a great recipe for you to use in your upcoming Taco Friday meals...it's a slow cooker recipe...see, even better.

Friday Tacos

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

2 anaheim peppers, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 lbs. lean ground beef

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 cup salsa, whatever type you prefer

Garnish with cilantro, chopped lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.

Place oil in skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, peppers, and garlic for 5 minutes. Add in beef, salt and pepper. Cook until browned. Stir in salsa and transfer to slow cooker on low heat. Cook on low for 2-3 hours or until everyone is home and ready to start Taco Fridays. Serve with toppings on either a hard taco shell or wrapped in a soft flour tortilla.

Another Birthday Cake

I've discovered that if you are going to do a fondant, marshmellow is the way to go. If you have a mixer with a dough hook, even better!

CHERRY CHOCOLATE CAKE
1 Box devils food cake
1 can cherry pie filling
1 small tub sour cream
2 eggs

Mix cake mix, eggs and sour cream together as best you can (it will be dry). Fold in cherries. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

BUTTER CREAM FROSTING
go here for the best one Spread on cake and let cool in the fridge until its slightly stiff.

MM FONDANT
16 oz. White mini marshmallows (use a good quality brand)
2-4 Tbs. Water
2 lbs. Powdered sugar
1/2 cup Good Brand Shortening (this is very unlike me, but the brand with trans fat (not crisco or smart balance) works better

Melt marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave: put the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, open microwave and stir again, and continue doing this until melted. It usually takes about 2 1/2 minutes total.
Now grease your hands (or mixer) GENEROUSLY - palms, backs and in between fingers, then heavily grease the counter you will be using and dump the bowl of marshmallow/sugar mixture in the middle.
Adding about a cup of sugar at a time, start kneading like you would bread dough. You will immediately see why you have greased your hands. Keep kneading, this stuff is sticky at this stage! Add the rest of the powdered sugar and knead some more. Regrease your hands and counter when the fondant is sticking. If the mix is tearing easily, it is too dry, so add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time then knead it in). It usually takes about 8 minutes (if doing by hand) to get a firm smooth elastic ball so that it will stretch without tearing when you apply it to the cake.

Add food coloring to the fondant and knead in. technically you should use the special icing coloring gel that comes in jars. You can get it at most craft stores or online. I just used regular cheap liquid stuff (I didn't need any vibrant colors) and added more sugar. If you are doing it all one color you may add the coloring in the very beginning when you are melting your marshmellows.
Roll out onto greased surface to the size you need and add on top of already iced cake that has been sprayed with a water bottle. Otherwise your fondant will not stick.

This recipe makes a lot! I had about 1/4-1/3 of the fondant leftover.

If this is confusing there are a lot of videos you can watch on YouTube. That's where I went to cake decorating school one night last week.

TIP:
To make the flowers on top, I rolled out the fondant and used a cookie cutter. I then let them dry out on the counter overnight in an egg shell carton so that they wouldn't be flat.

Monday Menu Muse

Dear blog,

I'm in a funk. I've gotten bored of my recipes. My menu contains at least two dinners this week that involve nothing more than appeasing myself and the children with mundane repetitions of their favorites, you know - spaghetti, pasta salad, pizza...

I want to be more creative, I really do, but for some reason (perhaps the fact that I'm tired or chasing babies) I can't seem to find my muse.

Oh, wait...nevermind.

Add a little seasoned chicken, water, cilantro, sugar, honey mustard...over some steamed jasmine rice...

Heaven! Thanks!

Sincerely,

Brooke

Cilantro-Mustard Chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1 handful cilantro, chopped

1/2 water

4 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 cup honey mustard

Saute chicken until browned, add all other ingredients and simmer until chicken is done. Serve over jasmine rice (brown rice would be good too). The kids loved this dish, even with the green flecks in it!

Halloween Recipes

There is not too many things I make for Halloween. When I do make them however I will post them.
Until then, please refer to HERE or HERE for Halloween treat ideas that I do not have the time to make right now!

T is for Tilapia

Several years ago I decided to integrate more seafood into our menus. That was when I was living closer to a shipping hub and we could purchase great seafood for a really decent price. Here in the middle of nowhere we're lucky to get a good deal on frozen seafood. It's sad, really sad.

We've managed to get tilapia more frequently than salmon or halibut and the kids have really fallen in love with it. It's easy to cook and has a very slight fishy flavor/smell. Though it's not my favorite fish, it's usually easy to find and it's cheap.

Cilantro-lime Tilapia

4 Tilapia fillets

4 tsp olive oil

juice from 2 limes

2 cloves garlic minced

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

2 cups fresh baby spinach

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

4 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese

Brush fillets with olive oil. Squeeze lime juice over fillets. Sprinkle garlic and cilantro over fillets. Broil in oven for 5-7 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily.

While fish is broiling, place spinach in a microwavable bowl with minced garlic and cook until leaves are tender. Spoon spinach onto plate, add fish fillet, top with chopped tomatoes and parmesan cheese.

Creamed Chicken and Biscuits

You know those recipes you make over and over again for years? This is one of my family favorites.

Creamed Chicken and Biscuits

1/4 lg onion, diced
4 cups chicken, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped pimento (1 jar)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6 frozen biscuits, thawed

Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 11x7 casserole dish.

Saute onion and chicken in pan until cooked. Combine onion, chicken, soup, sour cream, milk, and pimento in a medium bowl and mix well.

Spoon into prepared dish and bake for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle baked layer with 3/4 of the cheese, place biscuits on top, sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake until biscuits are golden brown and sauce is bubbly, about 20 minutes longer.

Serve immediately.

The Best Breakfast Cake

This is seriously our favorite breakfast cake. It is very moist and delicious! This picture doesn't really show the yumminess, just try it.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Cake

A Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook from the 80's.

1 8-oz pkg cream cheese

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves

Sifted powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, and butter with an eletric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add half the flour, the eggs, milk, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat about 2 minutes or until well mixed.

Beat in remaining flour on low speed until well mixed. Spread batter evenly into an oil-sprayed 13x9 in pan. Spoon preserves in 8 to 10 portions on top of batter. With a knife, marble preserves into the batter lightly.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cool slightly in pan on a wire rack. Sift powdered sugar on top. Serve warm.

Apple Dumpling Gang

It's funny how recipes spread. Occasionally I'll be browsing some of the finer cooking blogs out there...you know the ones, they have more readers than we do...and within a day or two there are copycat recipes all over.

This one is one of those, but it's worth it, I swear. Even my husband thinks so and it has ZERO chocolate in it. That's the mark of a great dessert recipe.

I originally saw the recipe here on Ourbestbites.com. I thought it looked really interesting and kind of packed it into the file in my head marked "Try this one day when you're bored and you think Shane will try something not chocolate".

Then about one week after I read that post Shane came home blathering on and on about some apple dumpling recipe that this wife of a co-worker brought into the office. I told him I knew "all about that recipe". He said, "You should make it, it's incredible". The recipe then moved from to the file in my head marked "Make this sooner than later, Shane will eat it and it's not chocolate".

Then about a week after Shane salivated his way through a couple of servings of the dumplings at work I decided to try them. Note the date on the post, people...September 4th. It's not like I've kept the poor guy waiting for months for this recipe. I made them exactly 3 weeks after the original recipe was posted here and I can only imagine that's where the co-worker's wife got it...

I would advise you right now, do NOT wait 3 weeks from this post to make them. They are worth eating much sooner than that.

And if you want pictures...look at the original post. Mine looked exactly like that...professional pictures and all. (I swear)

APPLE DUMPLINGS

2 medium apples (I used Fuji)

2 cans refrigerator crescent rolls

1 cup (2 sticks) butter (I always use butter in cooking, not margarine)

1 1/2 cup sugar (I said they were good, not fat free)

1 tsp. vanilla

cinnamon (for sprinkling)

12 oz. (1 can) Sprite or Mtn. Dew (I used Sprite)

Peel and cut apples into 8 slices each. Wrap each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place wrapped apples in a greased 9x13" baking dish. In a medium saucepan melt butter and add sugar and vanilla (I added the cinnamon here). Pour butter mixture over dumplings. Then pour the Sprite/Mtn. Dew over everything. If you don't add the cinnamon with the butter you can sprinkle it over the top of everything. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Serve with a little sauce (in the baking dish) drizzled over the top.

It's like miniature apple pies, but without having to make crust!

Hot Buns Coming Through!

I had family coming for dinner last Sunday and I served Pulled Pork Sandwiches. I put a pork roast in the crock pot all day. That afternoon I shredded it, added a bottle of barbeque sauce and served it with these. They were soo good. Will make again, for sure!

Beautiful Burger Buns
Recipe and picture courtesy of King Arthur Flour

3/4 to 1 cup flour (Start with just 3/4 and add more later if needed. I didn't need to)
2 Tbs soft butter
1 lg egg
3 1/2 cups plain flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs instant yeast

Directions:
1) Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients—by hand, mixer, or bread machine—to make a soft, smooth dough. (I used my Kitchen Aid for about 5 minutes)
2) Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 hour, or until it's doubled in bulk. (I always warm my oven and turn it off and place my dough in there)
3) Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round 1" thick (more or less); flatten to about 3" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until very puffy.
4) If desired, brush buns with melted butter. Or brush lightly with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water), and sprinkle with sesame seeds. (I did butter)
5) Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, till golden. Cool on a rack.

Upside-Down Pumpkin Cake

I was assigned dessert for last Sunday's dinner-with-the-family. About 8:00 p.m. on Saturday I set about deciding what to make. At that point there's no convincing me to go to the store for extra ingredients, my energy expired about 4 hours earlier. Though this would typically mean preparing one of the stand-by recipes that you always have the ingredients for, none of them sounded perfect. Instead I pulled out a recipe book I received from my Mom this past Summer. It's one of the classic compilation cookbooks, put together by a Relief Society, and handed out to friends and family for a great/cheap gift. I love them. I love them mostly because they are tried and true recipes that someone has made and enjoyed enough to put into a cookbook. This one is HUGE, very well organized and tabbed and it's from Alpine, Utah so it's high class, y'all. :)

I opened up the dessert section and started looking for recipes that sounded good that also included ingredients found in the Snow family pantry (which by the way is still a shelf, in my dining room...big, nice pantry is coming soon). Recipe #4....Upside-Down Pumpkin Cake...sounded perfect. It's Autumn, almost my beloved pumpkin season...AND I had all of the ingredients...

It was perfect. If by perfect you mean moist, easy, delicious and ok to cook 16 hours before it needs to be eaten - Perfect!

So, thank you Mr. and Mrs. Pranger from Alpine, Utah. I've never met you, probably never will, but the recipe you provided our Texas Snow family will be used again, and again, and probably again...

UPSIDE-DOWN PUMPKIN CAKE

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ginger

pinch salt

1 1/2 c. sugar (I would decrease this to 1 c., it was pretty sweet)

3 eggs, well beaten

1 box yellow cake mix

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 cup melted butter

Combine pumpkin, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, sugar, and eggs in a large mixing bowl and blend well. Pour batter (it is pretty runny) into a greased 9 x 13 in. baking pan.

Spread dry cake mix over top of pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle with pecans and drizzle with butter. Moistening as much of the dry cake mix as possible with the butter. Bake 1 hour in 350° F oven. Cool slightly and serve with whipped topping.