Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Chipotle Flank Steak Tacos With Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients

* 12 soft corn tortillas
* 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder plus 1 pinch, divided
* 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, divided
* 1 pound flank steak beef, trimmed of fat
* 1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rings
* 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
* 1/2 cup minced red onion
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

Preparation

1. Preheat grill to high. Stack tortillas and wrap in heavy-duty foil. Combine oil, 1 teaspoon chipotle powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small dish. Rub mixture into both sides of steak. Place the tortilla stack on the coolest part of the grill or upper warming rack, if possible, and heat, flipping once, until warmed through and very pliable.
2. Meanwhile, grill the steak for 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium, or until desired doneness. Grill pineapple rings until moderately charred, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove the tortillas, steak, and pineapple from the grill. Let the steak rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing very thinly crosswise into strips.
3. Meanwhile, dice the pineapple and transfer to a medium bowl. Add bell pepper, onion, cilantro, vinegar, the remaining pinch of chipotle powder, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; toss to combine. Serve the sliced steak in the warm tortillas with the pineapple salsa.

Makes 6 servings.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Crock Pot Mac N Cheese

Servings 8

Ingredients
8 ounces, weight Macaroni, Cooked And Drained
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 can Of Evaporated Milk, 13 Oz. Can
1-½ cup Milk
1 teaspoon Salt
3 cups Cheese, Cubed (Velveeta And Cheddar)
2 Tablespoons Butter

Preparation Instructions
Toss the cooked macaroni in oil, then stir in all remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Old-Fashioned Meat Loaf

Old-fashioned Meat Loaf- A.K.A "Basic" Meat Loaf
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Prep Time:10 minInactive Prep Time:--Cook Time:1 hr 0 min
Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
8 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
Topping:

1/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix all meatloaf ingredients well and place in a baking dish. Shape into a loaf.

Topping:
Mix ingredients for topping and spread on loaf. Bake for 1 hour.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients
  • 5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
  • ¾ cups Butter
  • 1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened*
  • ½ cups (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half
  • ½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt
  • ½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper
Preparation Instructions

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost, but not totally, fall apart.

Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.

Turn off the stove and add 1 ½ sticks of butter, an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half. Mash, mash, mash! Next, add about ½ teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper.

Stir well and place in a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 350-degree oven and heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through.

Note: When making this dish a day or two in advance, take it out of the fridge about 2 to 3 hours before serving time. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until warmed through.

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 10

I found this on the Pioneer Woman website.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Pulled Pork

Rub the meat 2 days prior to cooking it and it cook on low in the crockpot for about 10 hours.

Pulled Pork

Spice Rub:
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons table salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground white pepper - I used black pepper
1 (6-8 pound) bone-in pork shoulder
½ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional) - I omitted
2 cups barbecue sauceMix all spice rub ingredients in small bowl.

Massage spice rub into meat (I recommend doing this on a jelly roll pan or large cookie sheet with sides). Wrap tightly in double layer of plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 3 hours. For stronger flavor, the roast can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. (I refrigerated ours for 2 days).

Unwrap roast and place it in slow cooker liner. Add liquid smoke, if using, and 1/4 cup water. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 8-10 hours, until meat is fork-tender.

Transfer roast to cutting board (again, I used a large cookie sheet with sides. This helped to contain the mess); discard liquid in liner. Pull by tearing meat into thin shreds with two forks or your fingers. Discard fat.

Place shredded meat back in slow cooker liner; toss with 1 cup barbecue sauce, and heat on low for 30-60 minutes, until hot. Serve with additional barbecue sauce.

Bakery Frosting

This frosting has a great bakery-frosting flavor. It's very sweet with a decent amount of stiffness that was perfect for piping onto cupcakes.

Bakery Frosting
1 cup Crisco
1 pound powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons meringue powder

Cream shortening, water and flavoring.

Add powdered sugar and meringue powder. Mix until blended.

Add additional water until you reach the desired consistency. If you want really white icing be sure to use a clear extract. Vanilla extract will make the icing off white.

Mini Ham and Cheese Sandwiches



1 c (2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 Tbsp grated dried onions
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp honey mustard
2 (12 ounce) packages Hawaiian rolls
1 pound cooked ham slices
12 ounces sliced swiss cheese

In saucepan, mix butter, poppy seeds, onion, Worcestershire sauce & mustard, stir until blended and melted. Pour 1/2 of mixture into bottom of baking dish.

Assemble sandwiches with ham and cheese slices. Arrange rolls in single layer in baking dish, spreading them around to soak up suace in pan. Pour rest of sauce over tops of sandwiches, cover dish and refrigeragte up to 24 hours for suce to soak in.

Preheat oven in 350 degrees, bake rolls for 10-12 minutes until rolls are lghtly browned and cheese is melted.

Devil's Food Cupcakes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1½ cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 ounces (1 stick), room temperature
  • 1½ cups granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • ½ cup milk
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
  3. Sift together the cocoa powder, flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl.
  4. Using a mixer, preferrably with paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time until mixed.
  5. Stir half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, then add milk. Finally stir in the other half of the dry ingredients.
  6. Divide the batter into a prepared cupcake/muffin tin with liners. About 3/4 fulll.
  7. Bake about 20 minutes, or until set. Let cool completely before icing.

Even EASIER:

You can easily cut the time down for these cupcakes, if you’ve got your hands full, by starting with a devils food cake mix, and adding a pouch of chocolate fudge pudding to make it a little bit more ‘homemade.’ These are fun to decorate with kids, and can be brought to school for a Valentine’s Day Treat. Let the little ones cut out the heart shapes from the fondant and assemble them on the cupcake themselves! You can also make mini cupcakes ( seen below ) with little heart shaped sprinkes.

Vanilla Frosting:
Ingredients:
  • Confectioners Sugar ( About 4-5 cups ), Sifted
  • Pure Vanilla Extract (I use vanilla my brother brought me back from Mexico, its delicious and in a glass bottle with a cork!)
  • 1-2 Tbsp. Milk
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
Directions:
  1. Cream together butter and shortening in mixer, with paddle attachment on medium for about 2 minutes.
  2. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and beat until smooth, Add another 1/2 cupe. Add about 2 tsp or more vanilla, to taste.
  3. Add gradually the remaining sugar and add milk until you reach the consitency you desire. A little bit thicker for piping would be best. If you are going to use a spatula to ice them, you can use a little less sugar and more milk for a thinner consitency to spread on the cupcake.
  4. Continue to mix on medium until smooth.
Using a large star tip, pipe frosting onto cupcakes. You can decorate these in any way you desire. Try using different tips for different effects and texture.
For garnish you can add heart sprinkles, OR using Fondant add color using Wilton Icing Gel. Add a small amount of desired color to fondant and knead untill the color is completely incorporated. You want it not to look like tie-dye. Using a rolling pin flatten out onto surface. To help it not stick, spread a small amount of cornstarch onto the counter. Using cookie cutters, cut out different sized heart shapes and allow to dry on counter while you bake/frost cupcakes. You can also make these a day ahead and allow them to dry on a flat surface overnight. They will be easier to use once hard.
I made mine before I baked my cupcakes, and once I was finished I placed them in my cupcake courier, and the little fondant hearts started to fold over! They weren’t hard enough yet and began to go soft again once they were covered. So make sure if you are placing them into a covered container, that the hearts are fully hard or else they will wilt, and you will wake up to some broken hearts!

I can't remember where this came from but it sounds yummy!