Category Archives: Jenna and Ben’s Favorites

Taco Pie

Posted on by

0

Share

tacopie 001

This is a pretty fun take on tacos. The next time you have taco night with your family, try making a taco pie instead. You take a can of crescent rolls and press them into a pie pan and then layer on the beef, cheese and tortilla chips.  I used the garlic butter crescent rolls instead of just the plain crescent rolls and I think the garlic flavor helped make this pie even better. Once the pie comes out you can top it with your favorite Taco toppings. I recommend taco sauce. We didn’t have any in our house, and now I wish we did. It would have made this taco pie really good. I’d make this again. Maybe with some beans and corn inside the meat sauce next time.

tacopie 007

Taco pie recipe adapted from Taste and Tell

Taco Pie

Print recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 can crescrent rolls (8oz)
  • 1 pound ground beef or turkey
  • 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
  • 1/2 cup salsa
  • 3/4 cups crushed tortilla chips
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • your favorite taco toppings

Directions

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Step 2
In a skillet, cook the ground beef until browned and cooked through. Add in the taco seasoning and the salsa and cook until warmed through.
Step 3
Unroll the crescent rolls. Separate the dough into 8 triangles. Line the pie dish with the triangles, with the small point at the bottom middle of the dish and the wide end at the top. Press the edges together.
Step 4
Pour the cooked beef mixture onto the crust. Sprinkle the crushed chips over the top of the beef. Drop the sour cream in dollops over the chips and gently spread. Top with the cheddar cheese.
Step 5
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve topped with lettuce, tomatoes and avocados.
Print Friendly

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

Posted on by

0

Share

friedrice 018

I’ve been sick lately and haven’t been in the mood to cook anything until tonight. Being sick around Christmas time sucks. I was supposed to go to my cousin’s in Grand Forks, ND but I didn’t, because I didn’t want to get my whole entire family sick. They were having prime rib and my Mom said that it was fantastic when she got back on Christmas day. Hopefully getting sick around Christmas time doesn’t become an annual thing…..

This has been one of the best recipes on pinterest I’ve found in quite a long time. I think I look at pinterest too much during the day, because I’ve noticed that a lot of recipes get pinned over and over again. Every once and awhile, I’ll find something good I want to try though.

friedrice 006

The rice reminded me of the rice they served at the Habachi restaurant I went to at the beginning of this month. The only thing that was missing was the butter, so I added a tablespoon. I swear, I think when I saw them making it, they added a whole stick. The sweat and sour chicken was great too. You could totally cheat with this recipe and buy some of those chicken bites in the store that are already breaded and just dump the sauce over that. I will be making this recipe again. The next time you feel like going out for Chinese food stay at home and make it instead. You probably already have a lot of the ingredients on hand. Having frozen peas, carrots, and onions in the freezer always helps too! Here is the recipe. The recipe for the fried rice can be found at the link below too.

Recipe from Life as a Loft House

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

Print recipe

Ingredients

  • 3-4 bonless chicken breasts
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 cup corn starch
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • 4 tablespoons ketchup

Directions

Step 1
Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees.
Step 2
Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs. Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through.
Step 3
Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.

 

Print Friendly

Bourbon Chicken

Posted on by

0

Share

One of my favorite things to get at the Asian restaurants in the mall is Orange Chicken. The Bourban chicken is good too, it kind of reminds me of Orange chicken in away.  The bourban chicken in those places are always deep fried and twice the calories. This recipe has half the fat and calories in it and the whole recipe comes together in no time. There’s no bourban in the recipe but other ingredients in the recipe make up for that. If you don’t like it spicy just cut back on the red pepper flakes. We both really liked it, and I’d make this meal again. This recipe had over 2,000 reviews on food.com. Glad, I found it!

Our cook book, 50 Shades of Bacon, got on the front page of my local news paper today. If you get on the front page, you’re  considered a local celebrity in this town. :) We also had one of the radio stations in town here get a hold of us and asked if we wanted to do an interview. Pretty awesome! Don’t forget to pick up your copy or try to win your own 2 posts below this one.

Servings: 6

Calories: 267, Fat: 9.15g, Carbs: 15.46g, Fiber: 0.2g, Protein: 29.66g

Points Plus: 7 (without rice)

 

Bourban Chicken

Print recipe

Ingredients

  • 2lb boneless skinless chicken breast
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 3/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper
  • 1/4 cup apple juice
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce

Directions

Step 1
Heat oil in a large skillet.
Step 2
Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned.

Read more at: http://www.food.com/recipe/bourbon-chicken-45809?oc=linkback
Step 3
Remove chicken.
Step 4
Add remaining ingredients, heating over medium Heat until well mixed and dissolved.
Step 5
Add chicken and bring to a hard boil.
Step 6
Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Step 7

Serve over hot rice and ENJOY.
Print Friendly

30 Ways to Cook with Bacon

Posted on by

0

Share

30 Ways to Cook with Bacon

1. Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

2. Bacon wrapped chicken

3. Fish wrapped in bacon

4. Bacon Deviled Eggs

5. Chocolate Covered Bacon

6. Bacon

7. Bacon Jam

8. Brown Sugar Bacon

9. Bacon Cheddar Waffles

10. Bacon Cheese Burgers

11. Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches

12. Bacon Ice Cream

13. Cobb Salad

14. Bacon Fudge

15. Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies

16. Figs wrapped in Proscuitto (another kind of bacon)

17. Maple Bacon Donuts

18. Bacon and Eggs

19. Double Bacon Cheeseburger

20. Apple pie with a bacon lattice topping

21. Bacon Turtle Dogs

22. Bacon and Cheddar Scones

23. Bacon Popcorn

24. Bacon Bits

25. Bacon Extract

26. Wonton’s stuffed with bacon and cream cheese

27. Bacon rolls with ricotta and figs

28. Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes

29. Chocolate Cookies with Bacon

30. Bacon Tacos

Print Friendly

Spaghetti and Meatball Soup

Posted on by

3

Share

I just love soup. Can you tell? I think it actually helps with weight loss and I’m considering going on an all soup diet. I especially love soup when I see someone make over a classic dish like take for instant Enchiladas, Tacos, or this one: Spaghetti and Meatballs. Yum! What else are they going to think of next that hasn’t been done before? Dessert soup? Pizza Soup? Burger soup? You can’t go wrong with soup that’s for sure.

About a week ago my store had these mini meatballs on sale so I picked them up, thinking I’d be using them for my next treat day. They were so tiny, I didn’t think it would serve a lot. When, I saw this recipe, I was like great, I have something new to try and make with the meatballs I just bought at the store. This soup comes together really fast if using frozen meatballs. If you were really dedicated, you could make your own meatballs. I just like the convenience of these though. Try this one soon, and put it on your menu for next week. It’s a keeper. :)


Don’t have a food processor? You’re missing out. It chops veggies so fast and can do so many other things!


cook the veggies, including the garlic.


Add in the liquids, noodles and meatballs.

Recipe From Iowa Girl Eats
serings: 8
Calories 267 | Fat 10.98g | Carbs 29.65g | Fiber 2.2g | Protein 12.76g
Points Plus: 7 (1 cup)

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large carrots or 10 mini carrots, shredded
1 small zucchini, shredded
1/2 onion, shredded or finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt & pepper
42oz low-sodium chicken broth
24oz marinara sauce
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
1lb mini meatballs
1 cup cut spaghetti or other small pasta

Directions:

Heat oil in a large soup pot, add vegetables, season with salt & pepper, and saute until soft. Add in chicken broth, marinara sauce, Italian seasoning and red chili pepper flakes and bring to a boil. When boiling, add in meatballs and spaghetti. Simmer until pasta is cooked. Ladle into bowls and top with parmesan cheese, if desired.

Print Friendly

Pizza Rollups

Posted on by

2

Share

Sorry I haven’t made anything in awhile.  It’s been a multiple number of reasons. 1. Because I’m a camera snob. My little Olympus camera just doesn’t compare to my Nikon. and 2. I haven’t been finding very many new recipes to try lately. Pinterest seems to have all the same recipes posted over and over again. Have to go back to the old recipes books and Food Network again. :)

This recipe is actually from pinterest. It’s so good, the first time I didn’t have a camera charged up to take the pictures. It almost reminds me of stromboli, if you’ve ever had that before and it’s really simple. If you don’t want to wait for frozen bread dough to defrost then you could always make your own. Use whatever pizza toppings you like. I did try making one with pulled pork and pineapple. I thought the pulled pork pizza roll was going to explode in the oven from all the ingredients. Pulled pork and pineapple are very wet ingredients and it made the dough kind of soggy, so I wouldn’t suggest it. We just love having pizza this way and Ben thinks they’re so good even without the marinara dipping sauce. (He’s weird.) :)

I do have the week of Christmas off and hope to be posting a lot of recipes then to make up for slacking this week. :)

Ingredients:

1 jar of marinara sauce
16 oz of mozzarella cheese
pepperoni
2 frozen bread dough loafs
2 tablespoons of melted butter
1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning or favorite spice blend

Directions:
Roll dough out to 11 X 11 in square. Top with pepperoni slices and cheese. Roll up into a log and place on a baking sheet. Use a pasty brush to brush the butter on the top of the pizza so that it helps to turn a nice golden brown color. Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top of the dough. Bake at 375 for 15-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Print Friendly

White Chicken Chili

Posted on by

5

Share

I’ve been making a lot of soups lately. Pasta E Fagioli, Lasagna Soup, and White Chicken Chili. I like filling soups that don’t make you want a bag of chips an hour later after you’ve had it. One time, I tried making Weight Watchers zero point soup. It was good, but not filling at ALL. No wonder why it’s called zero point soup. It doesn’t fill you up at all.

I really liked this chili. The chilis flavored the broth and it wasn’t spicy at all. Not your traditional red chili that everybody likes. I poached some chicken breasts in boiling water for about 10 – 15 minutes and cooked the veggies while the chicken cooked. The chili came together really fast. I topped mine with a little mozzarella cheese and some tortilla chips. Highly recommended.

This is my dog watching me pick up after my mess that I spilled on the steps. I take my pictures down stairs in my basement and trying to balance a camera and a bowl of soup at the same time is quite difficult.

8 Servings

Points Plus = 6

Calories: 233 | Fat: 5.9g  | Fiber: 3.4g | Carbohydrate: 11.7g  | Protein: 32.7g

Ingredients from Cooking Light

Cooking spray
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 (4.5-ounce) cans chopped green chiles, undrained
1 cup water
2 (15.5-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (such as Goya)
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 10 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add garlic; sauté 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in cumin, dried oregano, and coriander; sauté 1 minute. Stir in chiles; reduce heat to low, and cook 10 minutes, partially covered. Add the chicken, water, cannellini beans, and broth; bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in hot sauce. Ladle 1 cup of chili into each of 8 bowls; sprinkle each serving with 2 tablespoons cheese, 1 tablespoon cilantro, and 1 tablespoon green onions.

Print Friendly

Lasagna Soup

Posted on by

2

Share

Raise your hand if you’ve ever made lasagna before, and it turned out more like a soup? I have plenty of times, until I found the right recipe to use. This soup is no accident. It’s another one of those hearty soups and very filling, great for Fall or Winter if you’re ever craving lasagna and don’t want to spend the time layering everything. Just throw everything into one pot and let it simmer. I topped mine with some ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese.

Servings: 8

Points Plus: 7 (using turkey sausage, one cup per serving)

Ingredients from A Farm Girl’s Dabbles

for the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
3 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy. Stir in basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Servings:  8

Print Friendly

Perfect Pot Roast

Posted on by

0

Share

I can’t believe how tender and good this pot roast was!  Every time I walked into the kitchen it smelled so good and it made my mouth water. Pair that with some apple butter cooking in the crock pot at the same time, and it smells like heaven. Two perfect things to make for a nice cool Fall day.

The only thing I wished I would have done was turn the liquid in the pot into a thicker gravy.  It still tasted good over the mashed potatoes and beef. Next time… I’m also going to add in some more onions and carrots. The onions and carrots practically melted in my mouth.  Thank you Pioneer Women for the perfect pot roast recipe ever! Too bad, I didn’t make the blackberry cobbler that went a long with this show.

I figured out the nutrition info for this since I thought it was pretty healthy and mostly protein. 55 grams of protein, that’s a lot and this was very filling.

Mmmm, look at all that brown food!

Serves 8

Calories 485 | Fat 24.72g | Carbohydrate 6.74g | Fiber 1.5g | Protein 55.43g

Ingredients from Ree Drummond

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
One 3 to 5-pound chuck roast
2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 whole onions, peeled and halved
6 to 8 whole carrots, unpeeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup red wine, optional
3 cups beef broth
2 or 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme

Directions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Generously salt and pepper the chuck roast.

Heat the olive oil in large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the halved onions to the pot, browning them on both sides. Remove the onions to a plate.

Throw the carrots into the same very hot pot and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so. Reserve the carrots with the onions.

If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pot. Place the meat in the pot and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.

With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pot, scraping the bottom with a whisk. Place the roast back into the pot and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway.

Add in the onions and the carrots, along with the fresh herbs.

Put the lid on, then roast for 3 hours for a 3-pound roast. For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours. The roast is ready when it’s fall-apart tender.

Print Friendly

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Posted on by

1

Share

I got this cute pumpkin shaped whoopie pie pan at Crate & Barrel on my last shopping trip for only $14.00. Instead of boring round whoopie pies, I now have pumpkin shaped ones. Isn’t that totally cool? I don’t know why, I get so excited over shaped pans like this. I see ones shaped like ghosts or Christmas trees and have to buy them. Some, weird kind of impulse, I know….

I just love cooking with pumpkin. I’m almost out of my stock that I got last Fall. I picked up 15 cans of pumpkin at the grocery store, and I’m finally running out of it. Got one can left. I even tried making my own pumpkin puree last year. Not worth it, in my opinion. It’s much easier just to open up a can. So, if you want to go the extra distance, feel free and make your own pumpkin puree.  I know that canned pumpkin is hard to find right now, so that’s just another option.

Tonight it’s supposed to freeze and it really feels like Fall out, and that put me in the mood to bake tonight. I made pumpkin whoopie pies and homemade fig newtons. Both turned out really great. The fig newtons will be another post, probably after this one. Ben just loves pumpkin whoopie pies and so do I. Definitely our favorite flavor!

Ingredients from Brown Eyed Baker

Makes about 4 dozen.

For the Whoopie Pies:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
3 cups chilled pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Maple-Cream Cheese Filling:
3 cups powdered sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, the dark brown sugar, and the oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.

4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

5. Use a small cookie scoop or a large spoon to drop a rounded, heaping tablespoon of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.

6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, making sure that the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. The cookies should be firm when touched. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.

7. To make the filling, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth with no visible lumps, about 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth and combined, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, then add the maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth.

8. To assemble the whoopie pies: Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down. Pipe or spoon the filling (about a tablespoon) onto that half. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spread to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm before serving.

Print Friendly