Friday, August 21, 2009

Salsa

My friend brought this over to our house the other night and it was really really good!!

1 can Black Beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can whole kernal corn (drained)
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 bundle cilantro leaves (chopped)
2-3 bundles green onions (chopped)
2 peeled and choped avacadoes
1 packet Italian dressing mix (prepare as directed then add in)

I also think it would be good with a little lime juice.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Ginger Ale Roast Beef

Sounds weird, I know. But it was delicious, I promise. It made it's own really yummy gravy too. I served it with mashed potatoes.

1 3 pound beef roast
1/2 C flour
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 envelope dry brown gravy mix
2 C ginger ale

Coat the roast with flour. Reserve any flour that doesn't stick to the roast. Place roast in crock pot. Combine dry soup mix, gravy mix, remaining flour and ginger ale. Mix well. Pour sauce over roast. Cook on Low for 8-10 hours or until roast is tender.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars

Much easier than making snickerdoodle cookies and they taste the same!

1 1/2 C flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C butter, softened
3/4 C sugar
1 egg
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9X9 pan. Mix dry ingredients (flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt). In separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Spread in pan. Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over dough. Bake for 14-18 minutes or until golden brown at edges (toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean). Let cool in pan and cut into bars.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Mmmm.....one of my favorite cookies.

1 C Butter
1 1/2 C white sugar
2 eggs
1 T vanilla
2 1/2 C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 package white chocolate chips
1 6.5 oz jar macadamia nits, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir into mixture. Stir in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Chill for 10-15 minutes. Drop by heaping teaspoons full onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, cool on wire rack.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Cashew Sweet and Sour Pork

2 Tbsp. cornstarch, divided
1 Tbsp. cooking sherry or apple juice
1 lb. pork tenderloin or boneless pork chops, thinly sliced
1/3 c. water
¼ c. sugar
¼ c. cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. oil
1/3 c. chopped cashews (or exactly one of those little .99 bags of Fritos cashews at the front of the grocery store)
¼ c. green onions
2 tsp. minced or grated fresh ginger
2 tsp. fresh garlic, minced or pressed
6-8 oz. snow peas, trimmed
1 8-oz. can pineapple chunks, drained

Now...to get your pork super thin, you'll need to partially freeze it. When it's semi-frozen (or mostly-frozen), cut it very thinly with a sharp knife. Don't cut it too thin - I sliced mine a little too thin and it broke up when I was stir frying it.

Get the icky hard parts off the snow peas. Just snap the corners off and then tug a little to get the tough string that goes along the side of the snow pea.

Begin cooking your rice.

Combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch, sherry, and pork. Toss well. Combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch, water, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, and ketchup. Stir with a whisk; make sure there are no clumps with the cornstarch. Collect everything that's going into the stir fry next to the stove so you can access it easily. Heat 1-2 Tbsp. canola oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add pork and stir-fry 3 minutes. Add onions, ginger, and garlic. Stir-fry 1 minute. Add snow peas and pineapple. Stir-fry 3 minutes more. Whisk sauce ingredients again and add to pan bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in cashews and serve over hot rice. Garnish with more cashews and green onions if you want.

Crockpot Chicken Cordon Bleu

I checked out a crockpot recipe book from the library and thought I would try a new crockpot recipe each week. I love to cook in the crockpot in the summer so I don't have to turn on the oven. This one turned out really yummy - I like to make chicken cordon bleu but it requires a lot of time and effort. This way was really simple.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 lb sliced deli ham
1/2 lb sliced baby swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 box dry stuffing mix, prepared according to directions on box

Layer all ingredients in the order they are listed into the crockpot. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or until chicken is tender.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Taco Pasta Salad

We had this at a friends house last night for dinner. It is super and easy and cheap. (Both of my favorites.) I know it might sound a little weird, but it was good.

Ingredients:

Curly pasta
ground beef (cooked with Taco seasoning)
tomatoes
green onions
black olives
cheese
whatever other veggies you want to put on it
sour cream
chips (crumbled on top)

You just put everything on top of the noodles and mix together. Everyone can do their own so they only have the things they want on it. Lucas loved it... he ate two helpings. :)

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Artichoke Spinach Dip

Alex and I always get this when we go to Olive Garden. It's really good! Mom and I made it while she was here and it is really good if you chop up some tomoatoes and put them on the top.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
4 cloves garlic
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 ounce) container Alfredo-style pasta sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place garlic in a small baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, until soft.
Remove from heat.
3. When cool enough to touch, squeeze softened garlic from skins.
4. In an 8x8 inch baking dish, spread the roasted garlic, spinach, artichoke hearts, Alfredo-style
pasta sauce, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and cream cheese.
5. Cover and bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until cheeses are melted and bubbly.
Serve warm