Chili's Salsa

Chili’s Salsa

1- 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

3 Tbsp canned diced jalapenos

1 Tbsp lime juice

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp ground cumin

½ cup diced Spanish onion

Combine diced tomatoes, jalapenos, lime juice, onion, and spices in a food processor. Run it on high for a few moments until the tomatoes are nearly pureed, yet still chunky. The jalapenos should be chopped into visible minced bits. Be careful not to over-process.

Pour mixture into bowl. Stir well, cover & store overnight for flavors to properly develop.

Little Caesar's Crazy Bread

I've always loved Little Caesar's breadsticks since I was a kid, so when I saw this recipe I had to try it!

You will need:

1-10oz. tube Pillsbury pizza dough

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Kraft 100% grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Unroll the dough on a cutting board. Position it lengthwise (longer from left to right than top to bottom). With a sharp knife, cut the dough in half, and then in half once more so that you have 8 even strips of dough.

 Being careful not to stretch the dough, place each strip on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 6 to 8

minutes, or until the top just turns golden brown.

While the dough bakes, melt the butter (on the stove or in the microwave on high for 15 to 20 seconds), then

add the garlic salt and stir until it dissolves.

Remove the browned dough from the oven and with a pastry brush or spoon spread a coating of garlic butter

over each piece.

Sprinkle a generous amount of Parmesan cheese on each!

Source: Todd Wilbur's Top Secret Recipes

Waffle House Waffles

Waffle House Waffles

This is a 50 year secret formula and to properly make it, you should chill the batter overnight (like they do in the restaurant). If you need instant gratification though, you can make the batter in the morning, but just let it sit about 15-20 minutes so it can rest & thicken up.

1 ½ cups flour

1 tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 egg

½ cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp butter, softened

2 Tbsp vegetable shortening

½ cup half & half

½ cup milk

¼ cup buttermilk

¼ tsp vanilla extract

Combine flour, salt, & baking soda in medium bowl & stir well. Lightly beat eggs in another bowl. Add sugar, butter, & shortening & mix with mixer. Add half & half, milk, buttermilk, & vanilla. Mix again.

Add wet mixture to dry one while beating. Mix only briefly. It’s okay if there are small lumps. Cover & chill overnight.

Rub a light coating of vegetable oil on waffle iron. Preheat waffle iron. Spoon 1/3 to ½ cup of batter into waffle iron & cook 3-4 minutes or until waffles are brown.

Makes 6 waffles.                  

Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur

Mexican Lasagna

Mexican Lasagna
This is a super easy recipe that is great for potlucks or parties. It can also be frozen, just make sure to let it thaw 1 hour before baking. This recipe makes enough for 6-8 people, or 2 round cake pans. I just halved the recipe to make one 8x8 pan.


To make:
cooking spray and foil
2 pounds ground beef or turkey
kosher salt & black pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
10 flour tortillas
1 16oz. jar Pace picante sauce
1 16oz. package shredded mexican cheese
1 8oz. container sour cream
2  4.5oz cans chopped green chiles

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Coat 2 8 inch cake pans with cooking spray.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook beef, breaking it up with a spoon. Season with salt and pepper.Set aside.

Pour chicken broth in a large shallow dish & add tortillas. Soak about 5 minutes; you want them soft, but not mushy. Set aside 1/2 cup salsa & 1 cup cheese.

Place 1 tortilla on bottom of each pan. In each pan, layer as follows:
spread 2 Tbsp sour cream on top of tortilla
Sprinkle 2 Tbsp chiles over sour cream
Then 1/2 cup of browned meat
2 Tbsp salsa
and 1/3 cup shredded cheese.



Top with a tortilla. Repeat to make 3 more layers of filling. Finish with a tortilla on top (so you have a stack of 5 tortillas & 4 layers of filling)

Divide the reserved salsa & cheese between the two pans, spreading salsa to cover the tortilla & sprinkling the cheese to cover the salsa.

Spray one side of 2 sheets of foil with cooking spray & place them oiled side down over pans. Bake for 30 minutes and serve hot! 

Source: Eva's Kitchen by Eva Longoria

Gooey Lemon Butter Cookies

Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
1   (18 ounce) box lemon cake mix
1   (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1   egg
1   stick of butter, room temperature

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg.

Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix.

Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner’s sugar.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and gooey. Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners’ sugar, if desired.

Source: Paula Deen

Lemon Fettucine

Lemon Fettucine

We are a big fan of lemon at our household, so this dish we have made quite a few times. It could easily be our new favorite recipe. It is super easy to make & absolutely delicious. I cannot rave enough about it!

It comes from Eva Longoria's new cookbook, Eva's Kitchen, and in it she says that she would go to New York and eat at Serafina Restaurant. She chef gave her the recipe and she transformed it into a lighter, creamier version!  

You will need:

1 cup beef broth

1 cup heavy whipping cream

juice from 2 lemons

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

grated lemon zest from 2 lemons

salt

1 pound fettucine or linguine

boneless, skinless chicken breast (optional)

To make:

In a large skillet, pour the beef broth and whipping cream and stir to whisk together. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer gently until it is reduced by a 1/3, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, butter, and lemon zest.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Then add pasta and cook noodles to al dente, about 8 minutes.

Drain the noodles and immediately add them to the lemon sauce in skillet. Let stand uncovered 15 minutes so pasta can absorb the sauce.

*Tip: When we make this we like to grill some chicken & then slice it over top *

Country Fried Chicken

Chicken Fried Chicken

So I found this packet at the grocery store and thought I would give it a try!

You will need:

above packet of country gravy mix

boneless, skinless chicken breast

panko

egg

flour

To make:

So to begin I rinsed the chicken and then patted it dry. Then cut it up into tender size and rolled it in flour, then egg, and then drudged in panko.

Then I placed it in the deep fryer for a few minutes to cook.

I also mixed up this gravy mix in the meantime and poured it all over the chicken when it was done cooking and cooled. 

It came out great! 

Beef & Chicken Kabob Marinade with Grilled Veggies

We love to grill outside & this is a fabulous marinade to use for any meat, I used chicken & beef. 

My trick is to make sure that I let it sit in the fridge to marinate overnight!

I also like to put the veggies on a stick separate because the meat and veggies have different cooking times.

You will need:

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup prepared mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely cracked black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 
  

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, ground black pepper, and garlic.  

Mix well, and add your favorite meat. 
Seal the bag, and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours.

Grilled Fajita's

Grilled Fajitas


I seem to always be on the hunt for a good fajita recipe and this one was very good and flavorful! 

½ medium onion, thinly sliced

2 tsp ground cumin

3 whole pickled jalapenos, chopped (2 Tbsp)

½ tsp granulated garlic

2 pounds skirt steak

1/3 cup lime juice (2 limes)

2 Tbsp jalapeno pickling liquid (the vinegar-liquid used to pickle & flavor jarred & canned jalapenos)

1 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil

1 Tbsp soy sauce
veggies you like (i used green and red bell pepper)

Place half of the onions in the bottom of a nonreactive dish. In a small bowl, mix cumin, jalapenos, & garlic together, then rub the mixture on all sides of meat. Put the steak into the dish, on top of the onions. Pour the lime juice, jalapeno pickling liquid, & oil over everything, turning the meat to coat. Sprinkle the remaining onions on top of the meat. Cover & refrigerate at least 1 hour, preferable overnight, turning once.

Rub grilling rack with vegetable oil to prevent meat from sticking. Then heat very hot or preheat broiler.

Pour soy sauce onto the meat. Grill or broil very close to meat source, 3-5 minutes on each side.

Transfer meat to cutting board. Set aside for a few minutes. Then cut the meat into thin strips. Serve with corn or flour tortillas!

Parmesan Summer Squash

Parmesan Summer Squash

This is just the perfect side dish to a great summer meal!

You will need:

2 Tbsp EVOO

1 small white onion, chopped

2 medium yellow summer squash, thinly sliced

2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp kosher salt

ground black pepper

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

To make:

In a large skillet with a tight fitting lid, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion & cook, stirring occasionally, just until tender, about 3 minutes.

Add the summer squash, zucchini, and salt. You may have to let some of the veggies cook down so that you can fit them all in. Stir well, cover, and cook 10 minutes. Cook them based on how you like the texture; cook a little longer is you like them cooked more.

Remove from heat & add salt to taste and serve with fresh black pepper. Transfer to a serving dish & sprinkle parmesan on top!

Enjoy this great side!