Chipotle Tamale Pie

I apologize for my absence lately.  It really is quite easy to get so swamped with life and endeavors that you want to pursue.  Currently, I'm pursuing the development of an App.  Yep, be excited for a really sweet App for both Android and Apple to come your way just before Christmas.

Even with this App excitement I have been baking and cooking.  I can't let my family go hungry.  Last week I made my Chipotle Tamale Pie.  This is a fabulously hearty, delicious, and nutritious meal.  Enjoy!

Chipotle Tamale Pie
From my Diabetic Cooking Cookbook (No, I'm not diabetic, and I'm not sure where I got the cookbook from.  However, there are some good ones in here)

1 lb of ground turkey or ground beef (I use an entire pkg of of the Jennie-O ground turkey so I believe that is 20oz)
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups of diced bell pepper (choose whichever color pepper you prefer)
4 cloves minced garlic
2 tsps ground cumin
1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of stewed tomatoes, undrained (the recipe says 8 oz, but I use the big can which is 13.75oz or something)
2 canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce (minced)- You can do more here if you like it super spicy
1-2 tsp of adobo sauce from the canned chilies (the more you add the spicier it will be)
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of cilantro chopped
and whatever ingredients you need for cornbread whether that is a jiffy mix (egg, milk, and the mix) or your own

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook turkey, onion, bell peppers, and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat until meat is cooked through.
3. Sprinkle cumin on top of skillet mixture and stir it all in.
4. Add beans, tomatoes, chilies, and adobo sauce; bring to a boil over high heat.  Then reduce heat to medium; simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
5. Remove skillet from heat and stir in cheese and cilantro (sometimes I don't do cilantro, or I used dry cilantro).
6.  I spray a 13x9 baking dish with nonstick spray.  Then I pour the skillet mixture into the baking dish.
7.  Finally, I make my cornbread (I have a great recipe that I'll share later) and pour the cornbread over the over the turkey mixture.  If you use a jiffy mix for cornbread then just one box of jiffy mix will work great.
8.  Cook the dish uncovered for 20-30 minutes until the cornbread is a beautiful golden brown.

I hope you enjoy this dish.  It is one of our family favorites!

Megs

Pumpkin Carrot Harvest Bars

First, sorry that all of my posts are out of order. This is another recipe from the recipe party I had the other night. There is one more recipe I need to add from the party. Second, sorry for the recipe bombing this morning. As I said in an earlier post, I fell a little behind.

These are my all time favorite fall recipe. I love everything pumpkin and I also love cream cheese frosting! This recipe has both of those! Hope you love these bars just as much as I do! Finally, sorry, but I don't have a source for this recipe because I really have been making it for years.

1/3 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup Brown sugar

Beat together the butter and sugars until they are crumbly. Then add wet ingredients:

2 large eggs
2 egg whites
1-15 oz can Pumpkin puree

Blend until well combined. Add dry ingredients:

2 cups flour (or 1 1/2 flour and 1/2 almond flour)
2 1/4 tsp Pumpkin Spice
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda

Stir in:
1 cup finely shredded Carrot
1/2 cup Craisins, optional
1/2 cup pecans, optional

Put batter into a 13x9 pyrex. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350.

Once the bars are cooked and cooled add your favorite Cream cheese frosting. 

Apple Pie Oatmeal

Now that it is the fall and finally apple season again, I have been cooking a lot! One of the first Pinterest recipes I wanted to make was this one. I already love oatmeal and who doesn't love hot apple pie?! This recipe is one of those that perfectly combines two things that I already loved: you get the comfort factor of the oatmeal combined with the hot apples and syrup that make apple pie so yummy. I also love that since this is oatmeal, I don't get hungry before lunch like I do when I eat cereal. Although this was originally a Pinterest recipe, I have changed it here because the original recipe cooked the apples and oatmeal together, but I couldn't get them cooked right at the same time so I make the two parts separately here.

Here's how I make it:

1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 cup water
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP butter

I bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the apples, spices and sugar.  Saute everything over medium-low until the apples are soft but still have a little bite. Add your oat to the water. Add more or less water depending on the consistency that you prefer. Top with apples and syrup.
 That's all there is to it. Serve it with a splash of milk if desired.

Note: Ethan and I both liked this with lots of apples, so I make one apple for the two of us. This recipe also duplicates really easily, so I like to make two apples worth and then store the leftovers for later in the week.

Hamilton Chili

Sorry, that it has been so long since I have posted, but we are back from vacation, and back in the swing of making new recipes. Before I jump into the recipe I wanted to give Christina a shout out and thank her for being an amazing friend and letting us come to visit them in SF. Hopefully someday we will be back close again. We miss you guys already!

Now, for the Chili!! It is fall so, even here in Texas, we can finally start making some of our favorite comfort foods. We originally got this recipe from a book called "Come Home to dinner", but since then we have made a lot of little changes to make it our own. One of the changes that we have made is to add the kidney and black beans. Ethan and I love lots of different beans, so we added them, but feel free to take them back out if you don't like either kind. Finally, sorry for forgetting to take a pic, but it pretty much looks like every other chili.

Chili

1 lb. Ground Beef
1lb. Sausage, Mild or Spicy both work
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1-28 oz can Diced Tomatos, undrained
1-15 oz can Tomato Sauce
1-15oz can Black Beans, rinsed
1-15 oz can Kidney Beans, rinsed
1-32 oz can Chili/ Pinto Beans, rinsed
2 TBSP Chili Powder
1 1/2 Tsp Ground Cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Toppings:
Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream
Fritos
Corn Bread
This chili is also yum served over rice.

Brown the ground beef and sausage in a skillet, drain grease and add to slow cooker. Rinse all beans and then add to cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients. Let cook for 6-8 hours, on low. As with most chilis, feel free to let this simmer away on low all day!

Creamy Chicken Pockets

Okay, this is one of the recipes from the recipe party I hosted the other day. Thanks you Amber for bringing these super yummy pockets! Also, I made a huge mistake at the grocery store and accidentally  bought country biscuits instead of the crescent rolls. Although the biscuits turned out a lot thicker, they still made good pockets. So, if you get home and realize you have the wrong canister for this recipe, still give it a try. 

Yield: 24 pockets
4 TB olive oil
2 chicken breasts, diced (8 tenders or 2 big cans of canned chicken)
1 cup minced onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 TB butter, softened
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
4 tablespoons milk
3 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls/ or 3 pastry sheets (each cut into 8 squares)
2 TB butter, melted
Bread crumbs (Italian seasoned or Panko)
Preheat oven to 375˚F.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken with the onions and garlic.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and 2 tablespoons melted butter until smooth. Stir in the cooked chicken, onions and garlic. Add the salts, pepper and milk. Mix well.
Separate the crescent roll dough into the eight triangles or cut into eight squares. Dollop a tablespoon of filling into the center of each triangle and fold the corners up to seal. Press and seal firmly. Place on ungreased baking sheet or stone and repeat with the remaining dough and filling OR use greased cupcake pans. Brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle with the bread crumbs (optional).
Bake for 11 – 13 minutes, or until golden brown.
Recipe Note: To heat up leftovers, bake in a preheated 350˚F oven for 10 minutes.

Crock Pot Italian Chicken

This isn't an amazing picture but I promise it tastes SUPER good :)

4 Chicken Breasts
1/3 cup butter
1 package Italian Seasoning
1/4 cup water

1 8oz package cream cheese
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

Add first four ingredients into Crock Pot and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. (Perfect to have cooking during church!)
When chicken is done, take it out and shred it. Put aside.
Add cream cheese and cream of chicken in the Crock Pot and mix well.
Add the chicken and then eat up! I like to eat it on top of rice but you can do mashed potatoes or any sort of pasta as well.

Thank you Bingham family for the yummy recipe!!!

Cooking with Cast Iron

Remember this gem I shared years ago and you're still thanking me for? Well, I have unique cooking pans and I thought I'd share why I like them so much.

I started getting really sick of my pots and pans. They weren't the highest quality, the coating was wearing off already, and they weren't durable. I looked into new pans and discovered these cast iron pans. To back track a bit: I had been wanting to learn to cook with a Dutch oven and got one. I learned at a Youth Trek how to use it. And when searching for new pots and pans, wasn't too terrified with the idea of getting a cast iron pan. The one I got, and picture above, is only $30 on Amazon.

The reason I went with cast iron is because they don't warp, are very durable and can last your entire lifetime, they hold an even temperature, you can bake with them, and are great quality for a great price. There are some disadvantages as well. I took mine to Girl's Camp before even using it and when I got home--it was rusted. I googled online what to do. I cleaned it out, let it soak a bit in vinegar water, and then put it in the oven for a few hours--and it came out good as new. Literally.

Now that I've been using them for awhile, I'm a fan. They take some getting used to--but are my go to pans. And they actually are pretty easy to clean. Plus, if something bakes on hard--get out your metal scraper, go to town, and don't worry about a thing!

What I like:

• It won't warp.
• To clean: Rinse with water and coat with oil.
•  Can be used as two separate pans.
• One pot cooking--mix together over stove, throw into the oven.
• Decent pricing. 

Disadvantages

• Have to use a pot holder to touch handles.
• Cleaning takes adjustment.
• Can rust

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Last night we had our Standard's Night in Young Women's. It was amazing--like a miniature Time Out For Women for our gals. They rotated to different rooms where different ward members spoke about various For Strength of Youth topics. I loved it. What I liked most was the restricted time amount in each room--and so each speaker had to get straight to the point. There wasn't a lot of room for fluff.

Speaking of fluff--we had divine fluffy cupcakes served as refreshments. LOVE THESE.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
Stacy Hanks

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup buttermilk
1   15 oz can pumpkin
2  ¼ cup flour
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp allspice
1 TBS baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

Beat sugars and oil, add eggs and vanilla, mix well.  Add pumpkin and buttermilk until incorporated.  Combine dry ingredients and add to pumpkin.  Beat till creamy.  Grease or line muffin pans, fill 2/3 full bake at 350 18-22 min for regular 10-15 for mini


Frosting

8 oz cream cheese-soft
½ cup butter-soft
3 ¼ -4 cup powdered sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
2-4 TBS water

Beat cream cheese and butter.  Add half of sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla.  Add remaining sugar and use water to get it to the desired consistency.  Beat until fluffy.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar

Fresh Roasted Salsa

I haven't posted in a very long time, and I have no excuse... except I'm lazy.

Do any of you have a plethora of tomatoes in your garden and you are sick to death of bottling/canning/freezing - which is code for blanching/peeling/cutting/chopping/crying/boiling/burning yourself/waiting to enjoy the 'fruits of your labor'??  Me too!!

We used to bottle some pretty good salsa - but I came across this little gem on a blog, I can't for the life of me remember the site (this was before Pinterest) - once we ate this, the old stuff was disappointing.  It's a pretty flexible recipe.  Here's what you need:

Tomatoes - Approximately a sink full. Washed and cut in halves.
Onions - Washed, peeled and quartered.  I use two onions per tray of tomatoes.
Jalapenos - Washed, stems removed and cut in halves.  I use two per tray of tomatoes.
Garlic - Peeled whole cloves.  I like a lot, I think there are four or five per tray of tomatoes.
Salt - I use coarse salt, I don't know why, but I like to see that I've got plenty sprinkled on the veggies.
Cilantro - Washed and drained.  I like a huge handful of the ends with the leaves.  (But, save for after roasting.)

Lay out your tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and garlic on cookie sheets - sprinkle generously with salt.  Roast at 425 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes.  The tomatoes loose their juices and everything gets a little 'charred'.  I use a slotted spoon to scoop everything into the food processor with the cilantro - this batch of salsa was about 3 food processors-full.  If you like thinner salsa - you can add the tomato juice from the cookie sheets.  I like thick and hearty salsa so I don't.  Add salt to taste.  If you like lime juice, you can add that too.  But, it really doesn't need it.

I hope you like this salsa as much as we do.  It's super easy and barely any prep work.  See.  I'm lazy.

Black Bean Soup

As I previously promised I am here to give y'all the oh so tasty, hearty, and healthy Black Bean Soup recipe.  I wish I had taken a picture of it b/c it looked delicious.  However, it was gobbled up way too fast, and I am a bit of a slacker in the picture taking department.

I actually made this soup last week and it's already been requested again.  Everyone loved it!  I mean absolutely everyone thoroughly enjoyed every bite of this soup.  My husband, my 1 year old, and a family friend ate this soup with gusto.  My little 1 year old (okay 16 months) was kicking her legs with each and every bite; she usually only does that with cookies, brownies, or peas.  Not only is this soup delicious, but it is really healthy.  I love when my family loves a good healthy and vegetarian recipe.  Don't you?

I made the soup as our main dish but we threw in some chips and corn tortillas for a little dipping fun as well as some fruit and we had plenty of tasty goodness.  We had enough soup to last us two days plus an extra small bowl to send home with our friend.  Overall, the soup makes a good amount, but if you have a big family and/or like a lot of leftovers I suggest doubling it.

Black Bean Soup
Slightly adapted from Our Best Bites cookbook

Ingredients:
A little bit of olive oil
1 cup diced or shredded carrots (you can use as many veggies as you want actually)
The recipe calls for 3/4 cup of diced celery but I omitted this due to my husbands anti-celery feelings
1 cup diced onion
1 Tbsp. of minced garlic
2 cans (15 oz) black beans rinsed and drained
1 can (3.5 oz) diced green chilies
4 cups beef broth (you could use water or vegetable broth if you are super vegetarian)
1 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 bay leaf (I just recently took to loving the flavor bay leaves can provide, be sure to give this a shot if you've been a bay leaf skeptic like me).
2 Tbsp of lime juice
Toppings of your choice:  tortilla chips, corn tortillas, cheese (we did cheddar and mozzarella), sour cream, green onions, cilantro, etc.

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add carrots, onion, any other veggies you desire, and garlic.  Saute the veggies until the onions are soft, or about 3 mins or so.

Add black beans, green chilies, and beef broth, and stir to mix them all together.  Add salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf to your soup.  I simmered the soup uncovered for approximately 20 minutes, but you can go as long as 30 minutes if you'd like.  Remove the pot from the stove and remove the bay leaf b/c it has now done its job.

If you have an immersion blender you can use that here.  However, if you are ghetto like me then pour the soup contents into your blender.  Now, if you doubled your soup recipe you will need to blend this in 2 batches b/c this one pot filled my entire blender.  Place the lid on your blender but be sure to remove the stopper to allow the heat to escape somewhere.  However, with the stopper removed you could make a large mess if you start to blend it.  Therefore, hold a paper towel over the stopper opening while you are blending the soup.

Blend/puree the soup until you reach a consistency and look that is most appealing to you.  This process took me only a few minutes and I pureed my soup to a good pureed mixture with no bean chunks for me.  Finally, pour your lime juice into the blender with the pureed soup and give it a couple of pulses to mix it in well.

Lastly, enjoy this tasty soup with as many or as few toppings as you want b/c it'll taste good no matter what.

Happy Fall soup eating!

MeganRuth