Super Burritos

We love Mexican food in this house, so it's not uncommon for us to crave burritos. On this day all I had was ground beef, and I almost never like my Mexican food with ground beef. I much prefer shredded beef, chicken, steak, or shredded pork. (Yes, pretty much anything else, haha). I decided to try it anyway since we both really, really wanted a burrito. I pulled out a cookbook and found a recipe for burritos using ground beef. I found an online version of it here:

Super Burritos

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ingredients

• 1
  pound lean ground beef
• 1
  cup chopped onion (1 large)
• 1/2
  cup chopped green sweet pepper (1 small)
• 1
  clove garlic, minced
• 1/4
  cup water
• 1
  tablespoon medium or hot chili powder
• 1/4
  teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4
  teaspoon salt
• 1
  cup cooked rice
• 1
  4 ounce can diced green chile peppers, drained
• 8
  10-inch flour tortillas
• 1 1/2
  cups shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
• 1
  cup chopped tomato (1 large)
• 2
  cups shredded lettuce
• frozen avocado dip (guacamole), thawed
• Bottled salsa (optional)

directions

1.For filling, in a large skillet cook ground beef, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in water, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook about 5 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated. Remove from heat. Stir in cooked rice and chile peppers.

2.Meanwhile, wrap tortillas tightly in foil. Heat in a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes to soften. (When ready to fill tortillas, remove only half of them at a time, keeping remaining tortillas warm in the oven.)

3.Spoon about 1/2 cup filling onto each tortilla just below the center. Top filling with cheese and tomato. Fold bottom edge of each tortilla up and over filling. Fold opposite sides in and over filling. Roll up from the bottom. Secure with wooden toothpicks.

4.Arrange burritos on a baking sheet, seam sides down. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until heated through. Remove and discard toothpicks. Serve warm burritos on lettuce with Guacamole and, if desired, salsa.

5.Makes 8 burritos

from the test kitchen

• Variation Chicken or Steak Burritos:Prepare as above, except omit the ground beef. Partially freeze 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or 1 pound beef flank steak for easier slicing. Cut chicken into thin, bite-size strips and cut beef across the grain into thin, bite-size strips. Heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil in skillet. Cook chicken or beef, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic in hot oil until desired doneness for steak or until chicken is no longer pink and onion is tender. Stir in water, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook about 5 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated. Remove from heat. Stir in cooked rice and chile peppers. Continue with step 2 as above.

Okay, this recipe doesn't look like anything special, but holy cow, it was so good! I even left off the sweet pepper and chili peppers. (Darn those allergies of my husband!) For the rice, I used long grain wild rice. I also added some sour cream and olives to the burritos. There wasn't any enchilada sauce or salsa in it (although I did put in the chopped tomatoes) and I didn't serve them "enchilada style" (Cafe Rio anyone?) even though that's usually what I prefer. My husband gobbled his up so fast and was thrilled to be taking one into work the next day for lunch. He almost ate it that night!

If I liked this burrito this much with the ground beef, I'm kind of anxious to try it with other meats. Next on my list is to try it with steak.

Ranch Chicken

Apparently this recipe is on the back of a lot of Ranch dressing bottles, but I never noticed it before. I found it on Pinterest and was excited to try it because it looked SO easy. It really is a piece of cake to make:

Ingredients:

Servings:

4 4

4

Units: US | Metric

• 4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. 1
   Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts.
2. 2
   In a small dish or on a plate, combine the Ranch dressing and the flour. Dip each breast in the mixture until well coated.
3. 3
   Transfer to baking dish. Cover breasts with the cheddar cheese and bake at 350°F for 35 minutes or until cooked through.

So while I was making it I was thinking about how gross it looked and when I pulled it out of the oven I was sure I wasn't going to like it. It didn't smell that good, and usually things that are this easy to make just don't taste that good. Well, I was very pleasantly surprised when I took a bite - it's actually pretty dang delicious! My husband liked it a lot too. I put on a bit too much cheese, but luckily it was easy to just take a little bit off.

If you're in need of a quick chicken recipe, definitely give this one a try.

Slow Cooker Italian Beef

This recipe was floating around on Pinterest and looked so yummy. While chicken is my favorite meat, beef is a very close second. And, it's a crock pot recipe, which made it look even better. Here it is:

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix (such as Good Seasons brand)
1 (5 pound) chuck roast

DIRECTIONS:
Combine water and beef broth with salt, ground black pepper, oregano, basil, onion salt, parsley, garlic powder, bay leaf, and salad dressing mix. Whisk to combine.

Place roast in slow cooker, and pour salad dressing mixture over the meat. Cover, and cook on low for 10 to 12 hours, or on High for 4 to 5 hours. When done, remove bay leaf, and shred meat with a fork (I did this step about 45 minutes before eating so the shredded meat had time to absorb more of the juices in the crockpot). Serve on crusty rolls with cheese, if desired.

So this definitely wasn't gross, but it was very ... blah. To me, it tasted just like a roast that I would make in a crock pot... thrown on a sandwich. Not bad, but I'd rather eat my roast with gravy and potatoes. Maybe it needed a lot more seasoning in order for it to stand out from a regular roast? I wouldn't tell anyone not to make it, but I wouldn't recommend it either. I'd rather just have a French Dip Sandwich.

Puffed Pancakes

I found this recipe and was surprised that I'd never even heard of it - I love breakfast foods and thought that I'd pretty much heard of (and tried!) almost every breakfast food there is. So on a lazy Sunday evening, I made this for dinner. :-)

puffed pancakes:

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup flour

dash of salt

dash of cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter

preheat oven to 425 degrees.

whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.

while the oven is preheating, melt the butter in a pie pan or 9 inch square pan.

pour the batter into the hot melted buttered pan.

bake 10-12 minutes (or until the pancake is firm and has puffed around the edges).

the pancake will shrink down a bit after coming out of the oven (that's ok.) serve right away with lemon juice, powdered sugar, maple syrup, or fruit.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that I think it's simpler than pancakes. One pancake is never enough, so you have to make a bunch of them, and that takes a while. With this, eating just one is plenty. Another one of my favorite things about this recipe is the cinnamon. Yum. Don't leave it out.

Anyway, I wasn't blown-away-super-impressed by the puffed pancake, but I did like it well enough to probably make again. I had mine with syrup, although I think it would be even better with strawberries and some powdered sugar.

Hawaiian Chicken Sandwiches

I had never had a homemade Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich until I tried this recipe. I have had them at restaurants several times, and I always love them, so I couldn't wait to try to make one on my own.

Ingredients

4 slices canned pineapple (save 2 tbsps. of the juice)
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon molasses
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced horizontally into roll-size pieces, rinsed and patted dry with paper towels
Salt to taste
4 rolls, halved, toasted or grilled if desired
Lettuce leaves (optional)


Instructions

Lay the pineapple slices on paper towels, blot them dry, and set them aside.

In a small bowl, blend the reserved pineapple juice, soy sauce, honey, molasses, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, and ginger.

Set a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the oil. Add the chicken breasts and salt very lightly. Fry the breasts about 4 to 5 minutes per side, turning once, until just done. Add the sauce to the pan and fry another minute or so, spooning the sauce over the chicken and turning to coat both sides.

Remove the chicken to a plate and immediately add the pineapple slices to the skillet. Cook about 30 seconds on each side to glaze the pineapple and remove the pan from the heat.

To assemble the sandwiches, place lettuce, if desired, on the bottom of each roll and top with a chicken breast and a slice of pineapple. Spoon a bit of the sauce from the pan over each pineapple slice and serve. Makes 4 sandwiches.



This recipe is very little fuss and pretty dang good. It's not restaurant quality, (duh) but I still liked it a lot. Then again, I would pretty much eat and enjoy anything with pineapple. I LOVE pineapple. My husband liked it too though - more than he thought he would.... so this recipe is a keeper.

Oh, I left off the molasses and added a touch more honey instead. It was easier than going out to buy the only ingredient I didn't already have. :-) I also omitted the ginger. Still tasted great.

Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos

I love love love Mexican food - I could eat burritos, chips and salsa, and tacos forever. I have a good shredded pork recipe, but I didn't really have a good shredded beef recipe until I found this one. Love it!

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos Recipe
(Adapted from My Kitchen Addiction)

Ingredients:

• 1-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds beef (boneless chuck roast)
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 cup beef stock
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (I love spice and used two!)
• 1/2 large sweet onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Flour tortillas
• Favorite taco toppings (**ideas below**)

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, combine the chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika in a small bowl.

Rub the spice mix into the beef, covering each side evenly. Once the oil is hot (it will shimmer a bit in the skillet), place the beef in the skillet and sear on each side.

Remove the beef from the skillet and place in the bottom of a slow cooker. Leave the pan on the heat, and add in the beef stock to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato paste and minced chipotle and whisk into the pan sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.

Add the diced onion and minced garlic on top of the seared beef in the slow cooker. Pour the pan sauce down over the onions, garlic, and beef. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Remove the beef from the slow cooker and shred with two forks. Use a slotted spoon to remove the onions from the slow cooker, and mix into the shredded beef.

Serve the beef in the flour tortillas, topped with your favorite taco toppings.

Some topping ideas include:

• guacamole or avocado
• fresh salsa
• Mexican rice
• grated cheese
• fresh lettuce
• tomato
• onion
• cilantro
• squeeze of lime juice

This recipe is pretty easy as it is, but I made it even easier by just throwing the beef in the crock pot and then adding all the ingredients. (minus the pepper- didn't have one....) It still turned out great. I made tacos with the beef, but you could also put it in burritos or whatever else you want. I served the tacos with mozzarella cheese, mexican rice, lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, and hot sauce. Delicious!

Chicken Cordon Bleu .... The Easy Way

I have never been a huge chicken cordon bleu person. It reminds me of cafeteria-type food, not to mention it always looked like a lot of work. However, when I found this recipe, which is a simplified version of normal chicken cordon blue, it actually looked super yummy. Here's the recipe:

*Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

For the Cordon Bleu:
3 large chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half length-wise (to form two thinner chicken breast cutlets)
12 slices deli ham
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 to 1/2 pound thinly sliced swiss cheese

For the Parmesan-Dijon Cream Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules (or 1 bouillon cube, crushed)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs and melted butter. Set aside.

Lay the cut chicken breasts in a single layer in the 9X13-inch dish. Layer each chicken breast with two slices of ham and top with 2 slices of swiss cheese, shingling across the chicken breast to make sure the entire chicken breast is covered with ham and cheese. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the chicken.

Bake the chicken for 30-35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through completely, the cheese is bubbling and the bread crumbs are golden.

While the chicken bakes, in a medium saucepan, melt the 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in the flour, whisking constantly, while cooking the flour/butter mixture for 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk while whisking quickly. Stir in the chicken bouillon granules and salt. Whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture begins to simmer and thicken, about 3-5 minutes. Once the sauce has bubbled and thickened, remove from heat and stir in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Keep the sauce warm until the chicken is finished baking.

Serve each chicken cordon bleu portion with warm sauce.

Pinterest success! I love when I take a bite of something and am genuinely surprised at how much I like it. It was so good! The sauce was perfect too. And my husband loved it as well, and said, "You should make this a lot." :-)

The only thing I changed from the recipe was that it calls for two slices of ham and two slices of cheese on top of each chicken breast, and I only put one of each on top. This is because I was skeptical of the recipe in the first place and didn't want to over-do it with the ham and cheese. It was great the way I had it, but the chef obviously knows what she's talking about, so I think it would also be good with double the ham and cheese. (It's deli ham, so it's super thin). Maybe next time I'll try it the way the recipe actually calls for it to be made. Still, this turned out great!

French Dip Sandwiches

I actually get my French Dip Sandwich recipe from a cookbook, but I found a similar one online, which can be found here. You definitely don't need to follow this recipe perfectly - all you really need is beef broth, a few spices, roast beef, sandwich rolls, onions, and cheese. Here's the recipe:

1

medium sweet onion, thinly sliced

Cooking spray

2

teaspoons salt-free onion-herb blend

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

1

cup reduced-sodium beef broth

8

oz thinly sliced cooked reduced-sodium roast beef (from deli)

4

hoagie buns (2.5 oz each), split

4

slices (3/4 oz each) reduced-fat Swiss cheese, cut in half

• 1Heat oven to 500°F. Heat 12-inch skillet over high heat. Spray onion with cooking spray; add to skillet. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of the herb blend. Cook 11 to 12 minutes, stirring frequently and adding water 2 tablespoons at a time, until onion is golden brown.
• 2Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, heat broth and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons herb blend over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat; add beef, pushing beef down into liquid until covered. Let stand 5 minutes.
• 3Place buns, cut sides up, on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 4 minutes or until lightly toasted.
• 4Remove beef from broth; reserve broth. On bun bottoms, place beef, onion and cheese; cover with bun tops. Serve with warm broth for dipping.

I make this by throwing the onions (and sometimes a couple of minced garlic cloves) on the skillet and letting it cook for a minute or two, (mostly to soften) and then adding some beef broth with some pepper, a little bit of oregano, and a sometimes a little bit of another spice. You don't need spices though, and I would actually only use a little bit or none at all, because you don't want the broth to overpower the sandwich. Anyway, I throw the roast beef into the sauce for about a minute and then I'm pretty much done. I place a bunch of beef on each sandwich roll, making sure to include some of the onions on each roll. Then I add Swiss cheese to each sandwich and throw it into the broiler for less than a minute to melt the cheese. I put the broth into a bowl and serve it with the sandwich. So yummy. It's one of my husband's favorites.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe several weeks ago, but I was hesitant to make it because combining honey and lime seemed super weird.... and not very good. Oh how wrong I was! This is one of my new favorite recipes!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

adapted from the Sister's Cafe

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup lime juice

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded
8-10 flour tortillas, (I use the soft taco tortillas because they fit perfectly in the pan)

1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded

2 cups green enchilada sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the honey (their tip: spray your measuring spoon with cooking spray before measuring out the honey), lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder together and toss with the shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (or toss together in aZiploc bag and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours).

Spray a 9X13 pan and a 9X9 pan with cooking spray. Pour enough enchilada sauce on the bottom of each baking pan to create a thin layer on the bottom. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and a generous amount of shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas.
Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover chicken marinade (you might not need to use all of the enchilada sauce depending on how saucy you like yours). Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and top with reserved cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top. I served mine with sour cream, pico de gallo, cilantro lime rice and black beans.


One of the nice things about this recipe is that you can tweak it for your preference. There are a lot of versions of this recipe out there on cooking websites, and they all seem to get amazing reviews. You can change the type of cheese.... add more or less of the honey or lime, skip the heavy cream, (although I loved it with the cream) etc, etc. I cooked and shredded my chicken in the morning, and then let it marinate all afternoon. It was then easy to throw everything together at dinner time. I served them with rice. My husband loved them as much as I did. I will definitely make them again.