Flatbread Tacos

Here is a delicious, quick, and easy meal! It's also one that your kiddos will love.  This recipe is made with refrigerator biscuits. Such as Pillsbury. You don't need any extra oil or anything.  The oil in the biscuit is plenty to crisp that little puppy right up. This turned out so much better than I had expected. This recipe comes from Laura over at Real Mom Kitchen. I changed it up just a bit to make things even easier. 

I love to find and post recipes that are simple and use minimal ingredients.  For busy moms like me, you don't want to have to run to the store every time you find a new recipe you like, to buy all new ingredients. So you can expect to find simple easy meals on this blog.  Every once in a while I'll throw in a challenge, but for the most part, we are keeping it simple. Also, I have run into many people who would like info on the basics.  So I will try to be detailed in my recipes, to provide information for the seasoned cook as well as those just getting started in the cooking world. 

I want everyone to gain the confidence in the kitchen that I have been able to gain, just in the past few months. I have tried so many new things lately, it has been very edifying.  I have always loved to cook, but never had any major confidence. If you ever have any questions, please post them. I would love to hear them and will answer them asap. My goal for this blog is to help everyone find joy and confidence in cooking and baking.

Flatbread Tacos

Ranch dip

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2 teaspoons ranch salad dressing mix
Mix sour cream and ranch powder in a bowl and set aside. 

Filling
1 pound ground beef
1 can (15 ounces) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) petite diced tomatoes undrained
1/8 cup taco seasoning (this is 1/2 of an envelope)
Brown beef. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer on low until warmed through

Flatbread
One can of refrigerator biscuits

Roll out dough on a flat surface.  (rolling on wax paper will help it keep from sticking.) I like to get mine pretty thin. It will puff up while cooking.  Place on a skillet or griddle and cook at medium low heat until both sides are golden brown.  (a couple minutes on each side)
Top with sour cream mixture, then ground beef mixture then top with additional toppings.

Optional toppings: sliced ripe olives, shredded lettuce, diced green onion and shredded cheese

You can fold it up or just eat it like a tostada. I like to just cut it up and eat it in pieces.

Grilled Pineapple

If you have ever been to a Brazilian restaurant, you know how awesome grilled pineapple is.  Oh I love this stuff! It's so sweet and delicious, it almost melts in your mouth.  It's so lice outside right now and great grilling weather! Try this out, your family will love it.

Grilled Pineapple

1 pineapple

1 cup brown sugar (not packed)

Slice pineapple (without skin) into long thick chunks. Lay them on a cookie sheet or large plate.  Sprinkle them with brown sugar and let sit for about 10-15 min.  Until they juices start to sweat and mix with the brown sugar to form a glaze.  Turn pineapple to the opposite side and sprinkle with more brown sugar. Place on the TOP rack of a preheated grill. About Medium heat. Grill for about 20-30 minutes rotating when needed.

Hint- you can grill them on the bottom rack on very low heat and just watch them because they will cook a lot faster. The slow cooking makes it so it doesn't dry out and gives it a delicious flavor.

 

Hint- When you see a recipe calling for brown sugar it means to pack it in the measuring cup and smash it down firm.  If you are not supposed to do it, the recipe (like this one) will state otherwise.

Chewy Granola Bars

Our dear friends are heading out to Washington today. I wanted to make them something to snack on while they drive that is a little more on the healthy side.  I found this recipe over at Real Mom Kitchen.  I changed it up just a bit. I got a tub of mix nuts from Costco that are honey roasted, by Ann's House. They are so yummy and have a great medley of nuts.  I thought they would be so good to add to this mix.  I was right! So instead of the almonds... I just did 1 cup of chopped nuts. I also accidentally forgot the apples.  They were sitting on my counter and everything.  The granola bars are good, but the apples would really add some yummy flavor! Come to think of it... I forgot the cinnamon this time too.  Wow this prego brain is really getting to me!!! I guess that goes to show, this recipe is so easy, and you can mix and match any flavors that you are after.

This recipe is super easy. Don't let the list of ingredients intimidate you.  If you don't have something... leave it out. Except the oats of course :) They are the main attraction. Although I didn't have quick oats so I used my

Coach’s Oats that I had in the pantry.

Chewy Granola Bars



 3-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 Cup chopped nuts (I used honey roasted Cashews, almonds and macadamia nuts)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sunflower kernels
1/2 cup shaved sweetened coconut (regular coconut will do)
1/2 cup chopped dried apples (I left this out)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I left this out)

Spray a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with cooking non-stick cooking spray.  Add oats and nuts to the pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally.

In a large bowl, mix the egg, butter, honey and vanilla together. Then add the sunflower kernels, coconut, apples, cranberries, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir to coat.

Then stir in oat mixture and press into a cookie sheet that has been coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 13-18 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely. Cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.

Olive Garden's Alfredo Sauce

This recipe comes straight from Olive Garden. I love it when they give out their own recipes! I couldn't find just plain Romano cheese at Wal Mart so I just got the Parmesan/Romano mix and did a cup of it.  Also something I learned real quick...Dont get the powdered stuff, get the actual grated ones. The powdered form, makes it too grainy. This recipe, serves 4

Olive Garden's Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup imported Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup imported Romano cheese, grated
6 egg yolks from fresh jumbo eggs
Salt and black pepper to taste

Heat milk and cream in a heavy bottom saucepan until it begins to simmer. Turn off heat. Slowly whip in cheese, then remove from heat.

Place egg yolks in a separate bowl and slowly whip in a portion of the hot milk and cream mixture. Slowly add egg yolk mixture back into remaining cream mixture. Place back on very low heat and continually stir until simmering. Take sauce off heat so it thickens. (This will increase temperature of egg yolks, known as tempering).

Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve over your favorite pasta.

Ham and Potato Casserole

My mom used to make this for us all growing up.  I tweaked it a little to accommodate my families tastes.  She used to do this same recipe, but add frozen peas to it. She also left out the cheese.  This is a great way to use some of those Easter leftovers.

I apologize for the picture. My camera phone does not do this dish justice!

Ham and Potato Casserole

8 Medium potatoes cubed (4-5 large)

2-3 cups cubed ham

1 large can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup milk

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

2 cups frozen peas (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes until they are firm but cooked through. In a separate bowl, combine all ingredients. Including cooked potatoes.  Stir until combined. Pour into a 9x13 Baking dish. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Here's a great idea on how to use some of those leftover potatoes sitting in the pantry.  The nice thing about this dish, is that you can custom make them without much effort.  Just make the basic recipe and then top it with whatever you and your family likes.

Twice Baked Potatoes

4 large baking potatoes

1 cube butter

1 cup sour cream

salt and pepper

Cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub potatoes really well and place on a cookie sheet.  Coat all sides with oil, (vegetable, canola, olive) This helps to make it crispy. Poke the potatoes multiple time with a fork. (this keeps them from exploding in your oven) Bake at 400 for just over an hour. Or until they are cooked through.

When they are done, allow them to cool slightly.  When they are cool enough to handle, lay potato on a side and slice long ways taking off the top 1/3 of the potato. Scoop out the 2/3 portion of the potato into a bowl, leaving a little bit around the edges to provide support. (Scoop out the 1/3 portion also if you need extra potato to add to the mix.)

Smash or mix potato "pulp" with softened butter, sour cream and salt and pepper. (you can add a little milk to make it more creamy if you want) If you use egg beaters, be sure not to over mix or it will get too sticky.

Fill the potato boat with the mixture and top with cheese. (we like sharp cheddar) Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until heated through

Top with your favorite toppings, like green onions or bacon and serve immediately.

World's Greatest Strawberry Pie

My mom discovered this pie glaze years ago, and I've never tasted a better strawberry pie.  It's super easy too.  All you need is Strawberries, (of course) uncooked pie crust and strawberry flavor Danish Dessert. It looks like this.

The only place that I know of in all of AZ that carries it is Bashas. And only a few of them do.  You can find it just about anywhere in Utah, but AZ hasn't quite caught on yet. So, if you see us in the airport coming home from Utah, with a suitcase full of this stuff... now you know why. This would make a great dessert to add to your Easter dinner.

World's Greatest Strawberry Pie

Pie crust

1 pint of strawberries, sliced and de-stemmed

1 box of Junket Danish Dessert

Cool Whip

Crust:  Roll out pie crust and lay evenly in a pie 9 inch pie pan. (or you can buy them pre-cooked already in a pie pan... in the freezer section) Bake at 350 for about 8-10 minutes, until crust begins to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Filling: Make the filling by following the instructions on the back of the box, for the pie glaze. Allow to cool completely (you don't want the strawberries to get cooked.) Stir in sliced strawberries and pour immediately into the cooled pie crust.

Refrigerate for 2-3 hours to let it set and top with cool whip.

Tip: To make a pretty edge to the pie crust. (not like the picture above... I had a stubborn pan when I made this one. lol) Before cooking the pie crust...Push dough towards the edge slightly with index finger of left hand a push dough slightly with the thumb and index of the right hand from the edge towards the center of the pie.  Your thumb and index of the right hand should be on either side of the left hands index finger.  Wow, that was harder to explain than I thought. Good luck