Chiles Rellenos Casserole

Chiles Rellenos Casserole

This recipe was so different from what I usually make, but I really enjoyed the flavor of the chiles mixed with green onions and tomatoes. 

You can also add shredded rotisserie chicken to add some protein and a side dish of Mexican rice!

What you need:

1 large (7 oz) and 1 small (4 oz) can whole green chiles, drained and seeded, and cut lengthwise into quarters

3 cups grated cheddar cheese

2 tomatoes, seeded, sliced, and drained

8 green onions, including some tender green tops, sliced

2 large eggs

2 cups milk

½ cup flour

½ tsp salt

To Make:

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

Arrange chiles in a 7 ½ x 11 ¾ inch glass baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray and oil. 

Layer with half the cheese and in another layer, place tomato slices and onions.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs, milk, flour, and salt. 

Pour batter over chile mixture. 

Top with remaining cheese.

Bake, uncovered, until puffed and set, about 40 minutes. 

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe Source: The big book of casseroles by mayana vollstedt

Root Beer Pulled Pork

Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This is a wonderful crock pot recipe, but warning: it cooks in the crock pot for 10-11 hours, so some planning is required when you make it. I was up early one morning so I got mine in my crock pot at 7:00am and it was done by around 5:00pm.

Perfect recipe for a mom on the go!

There is also a low carb option, by skipping the bun and using lettuce cups. (photo below)

You will need:

1 (5-6 pound) bone in pork shoulder butt roast

1 (1 oz) envelope dried onion soup mix

Salt and pepper

1 (12 oz) can root beer (Mug)

2 cups barbeque sauce, divided

10 hamburger buns

To Make:

Trim the pork roast of excess fat. 

Place on a work surface and sprinkle with the onion soup mix. 

Use hands to rub in onto meat well. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place the seasoned roast in your slow cooker.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the root beer and ½ cup of the barbeque sauce. Pour over the roast in the slow cooker.

Cook and cover on low for 10-11 hours. 

Remove the roast to a cutting board and let cool a few minutes. 

Use 2 forks to shred the pork, cutting around and disgarding all but ¾ cup of the juices. Disgard any fat pieces. 

Place all of the pulled pork back into the slow cooker along with the reserved juices. 

Add remaining 1 ½ cups barbeque sauce. 

Stir to combine and put lid back on.

 Cook on high heat 15-20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 F.

Split the buns and place cut side up on a baking sheet. 

Warm in the oven until ready to serve. 

Scoop pulled pork onto warmed buns and serve immediately.

Low carb option too: skip the bun and place them in lettuce cups.

Source: Recipe girl by lori lange

Quote Friday

If we don't change, we don't grow.

If we don't grow, we are not really living.

Sliders

Sliders

I saw the Pioneer Woman make these on her show and I knew that they had to go on the menu quick!

They were perfect and delicious, but more importantly the kids loved them because of their miniature size.

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef

4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

6 dashes Worcestershire sauce (less if you prefer)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

8 whole dinner (or slider) rolls, split

Directions

Preheat the grill to medium heat.

Mix the ground beef, heavy cream, Worcestershire and the salt and some pepper in a bowl. Use your hands to thoroughly mix the ingredients. Form 1/4 cup of the meat mixture into patties, making 16 patties total. Make an indentation with your thumb to keep the patties from plumping too much when they cook.

Grill the sliders until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from the grill and pile on a platter.

Toast the halved buns on the grill. Place the sliders between the buns and serve immediately.

Recipe Source: Pioneer Woman

Uncle Roy's Apple Pie

Uncle Roy’s Apple Pie
I saw this recipe in People magazine years ago and immediately tore it out and placed it in my recipe book. Well, I forgot all about it until now.
I am SO glad that I tore it out in the first place because this recipe is my new favorite apple pie recipe! The flavor of it is incredible and the crumb topping is the icing on the cake!

You will need:

2-2 ½ lbs Granny Smith apples (6-8 apples)

½ cup sugar

2 Tbsp flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp salt

1 9 inch pie crust

Crumb Topping:

½ cup light brown sugar (packed)

1 cup flour

½ cup butter (1 stick), cut into 10 slices

 To Make:

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Peel and slice apples thinly. 





 In a large bowl, mix together sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Add apples and toss until combined. 
Put apples in pie crust. 
Place on a foil lined baking sheet.

Put brown sugar and flour in a bowl. 
Using a pastry cutter or food processor, cut in butter to form crumbs. 
Sprinkle crumbs on pie.

Bake pie for 45 minutes or until apples are tender and crumbs are golden brown. Cover top with foil if topping starts to get too brown.



Take out of oven and let sit to cool and set, about 4 hours.
Enjoy your masterpiece!

Recipe Source: Lori Loughlin, People Magazine, March 2011

Quote Friday

                  A child is an angel dependent on man.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

I love a great pancake and these are especially good in the fall and winter. There's something so tasty about this pumpkin flavor and they also give a wheaty taste that is sure to delight!

You will need:

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

¼ cup packed light brown sugar

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp salt

2 cups milk

2/3 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Butter 

To Make:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice & salt. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin, butter, eggs, and vanilla. 

Add dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Preheat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. 

Spray with nonstick spray and use ice cream scoop or ½ cup measuring cup to add the batter to the center of the skillet. 

Spread the batter into a nice circle and reduce heat to med-low and let cook until bubbles begin to appear. 

Flip pancake and cook other side until golden, 2-3 minutes.

 Repeat with remaining batter. 

Serve with butter and syrup.

Source: Recipe Girl by Lori Lange

Apple Cider Bread

Apple Cider Bread

We always have an abundance of apple cider in our house because my kids love the stuff, so when I saw this recipe in Recipe Girl's cookbook, I knew I had to make it.
I like that it came out moist and with lots of flavor, a really good bread, my tip is to try  a combination of apples to give it all different flavors. (i.e. granny smith, braebrun, and Jonathon)

You will need:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temp

2 large eggs

½ cup apple cider

2 ¼ cup peeled and cored,chopped apples (about 3)

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

To Make:

Preheat oven to 350 F.   
Grease and flour a 8 x 5 inch loaf pan.
 In a medium bowl, use mixer to beat the sugars and butter  until light and creamy, 1-2 minutes. 
Beat in the eggs until incorporated. Add the flour mixture half at a time, alternating with the cider, and mix just until combined.

In a small bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice. Stir in the apples into the batter.

Scoop the batter into the pan. Bake 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 
Cool in pan for at least 20 minutes and turn the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely.




Then dive in and eat up!

Recipe Source: Recipe Girl by lori lange

Beef Fajitas

or the old-fashioned tortilla way.

My husband LOVES fajitas, so he was quite excited when I made these delicious Beef Fajitas.
If you're on a low carb diet, I did some like that as well using lettuce cups instead of the tortilla.

Ingredients

1 whole Beef Flank Steak

1/2 cup Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

1/3 cup Lime Juice, Fresh Squeezed, about 3

3 cloves Garlic, Minced

1 Tablespoon Cumin

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

1 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

1 Tablespoon Sugar

2 whole Medium Onions, Halved And Sliced

1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Sliced

1 whole Orange Bell Pepper, Sliced

1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Sliced

1 whole Yellow Bell Pepper, Sliced

 Oil, For Frying

 Flour Tortillas, Warmed

 Cheese (grated Cheddar/jack Or Crumbled Queso Fresco)

 Salsa

 Sour Cream

 Cilantro Leaves

Preparation Instructions

In a dish, mix together olive oil, Worcestershire, lime juice, garlic, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and sugar until combined. 

Pour half of the marinade into a separate dish. 

In one dish, place the flank steak, turning it over to coat.

 In the second dish, place all the veggies, turning to coat. 

Cover the dishes with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Prepare tortillas, salsa, sour cream, and cilantro.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle in some oil. 

Add the veggies and cook them for a few minutes, until they're cooked but still slightly firm and have nice black/brown pieces.

Remove to a plate and set aside.

Heat the same same skillet (or a grill pan if you have it) over high heat and drizzle some oil. 

Cook the meat for about 2 minutes per side until medium rare.

 Remove and allow to rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes.

Slice the meat right before serving and serve with all the fixins. 

Braised Brisket

Braised Brisket
I saw this recipe and knew immediately that my husband would love it....which he did!
I loved that it was a crock pot recipe, those are the best, and I seared mine on the stove top and then transferred it to the crock pot for the rest of the day.

You will need:

1 (3 pound) brisket

¼ cup salt

1 Tbsp pepper

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 carrot, peeled & roughly chopped

1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped

4 cups dry red wine

1 Tbsp beef Better than Bouillon or 3 bouillon cubes

2 Tbsp tomato paste

6 sprigs of fresh herbs (any combination of 2 sprigs each of rosemary, thyme, parsley, or oregano)

What to do:

The brisket can be braised in a crock pot or pressure cooker, or on the stove top or in the oven- whichever you prefer. If you choose the oven, set it to 375 F.

If  you have a roasting pan large enough for the shape of the brisket, use that to sear the brisket on stove top. If not, use 6 quart saucepot & cut brisket in half to fit.

Season brisket with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in saucepot or roasting pan on high. Cook brisket for 5 minutes on each side to sear well. Remove meat from pan and add carrot, onion, & celery to pan. Roast vegetables for 5 minutes until they start to brown.

Shimmy the meat back into the pan, or if using crock pot, pressure cooker, or different pan, move the meat and vegetables there.

Add red wine. Anything you have is fine. Cover the brisket with water and add Better than Bouillon, tomato paste, and fresh herbs.

Cooking options

Oven: 3 hours at 375 F

Saucepot: 3 hours on low, with pot tightly covered with lid or foil

Crock pot: 3 hours on low

Pressure Cooker: 2 hours on medium-low

Once the brisket is done cooking, remove the pot or pan from heat, and let the meat rest 30 minutes in the juices. 
Use a spoon to skim any fat off the top of the liquid.

If the sauce isn’t thick enough, transfer it to a medium saucepot and cook it over medium heat until it reduces to the thickness you want. 
Then return it to the cooking vessel.

Slice the brisket and put it back in the sauce.

I like to serve with mashed potatoes or cauliflower gratin.

Recipe Source: The Busy Mom’s Cookbook by Antonia Lofaso