Beef Taco Bake

3 whole wheat taco shells
Ground beef
Onion
Taco spice
water
Corn
Red pepper
Cheese

Fry onions and ground beef until no longer pink. Stir in corn (I used frozen corn) & red peppers.Add in about 1/4 cup of water and taco spice to taste.

In a round pie pan layer taco shell, shredded cheese, beef mix then repeat two more times ending with the beef mixture. Finally top with additional cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

TIPS: The pan I had was too big so I added some additional taco shell around the outside to hold everything together. Can be made ahead of time and heated.

RESULTS: Enjoyed by all including the baby.

Honey Garlic Drumsticks

Chicken DrumSticks
Honey Garlic Sauce

Place drumsticks on pan sprayed with cooking spray.
Brush with Honey Garlic Sauce.
Bake at 350F for 40 minutes, brushing with additional sauce every 10 minutes.

TIPS: If I did this again I would remove the skin before cooking.

RESULTS: Thumbs down by the adults, hubby won't try it. I eat one and am grossed out. The kiddo loves them, she has 3. I froze the leftovers for her.

Homemade Mini Bugers

Lean ground beef
1 egg
Onion soup mix
Salt and pepper

BBQ sauce
Mini Burger Buns (I used the PC ones)

Mix together beef, egg, onion soup mix (to taste) & a shake of salt & pepper. Form into meat ball sized balls and flatten.

BBQ brushing with BBQ sauce once each side is grilled.

Toast mini buns on the BBQ for a couple minutes.

Assemble with cheese (if you like) and all the fixings.

TIPS: Burgers freeze well so make extras.

RESULTS: The hubby found them a little too oniony so I'll reduce the amount I used for next time. The kiddo loved that they were her size but only ate 1/2 of one.

Honey Garlic Chicken

Last night I made this house favourite.

Chicken breasts (boneless skinless)
Bread crumbs
Seasoning (garlic powder, salt & pepper)
Honey Garlic sauce (from VH)
Rice

Spray glass bakeware with cooking spray
Mix Breadcrumbs withe seasoning to taste in freezer bag
Rinse each chicken breast
Coat withe seasoned breadcrumbs shake & bake style
Place in glass bakeware and cook at 400 for 25 minutes (on convection if you have it)

Prepare rice.

At 20 or so minutes pour honey garlic sauce over chicken and bake remaining 5 minutes or until cooked thoroughly.

Serve over rice with extra sauce from the pan drizzled over top.

TIPS: This is also good frozen and reheated without the rice.

RESULTS: A family favorite as always.

Slow Cooker Honey-Lemon Chicken with Potatoes

Last week I made this. It was a Racheal Ray recipe slightly revised.

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/slow-cooker-meal-honey-lemon-chicken-potatoes/

Ingredients
2 tablespoons Olive oil (original recipe calls for EVOO)
Large package (about 5) Chicken breasts (original recipe is for 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs)
Salt and ground black pepper
Cut up white potatoes (original recipe is for 1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes)
1 small onion, chopped
Equivlent of 2 to 3 cloves garlic the jar kind (recipe calls for finely chopped or grated)
Italian seasoning mix which included thyme (original recipe- 4 to 5 sprigs thyme, leaves picked and chopped)
1 lemons, thinly sliced (called for 2)
1/4 cup honey
3 cups of chicken stock (original recipe called for 1/4 cup chicken stock or water)


In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides.
Scatter the potatoes, onion, garlic, thyme and lemon slices in the bowl of a crock pot. Season with salt and pepper. Lay the browned chicken over the veggies and drizzle with honey. Add stock, cover and cook, undisturbed, for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

I omitted this last part but you can serve each portion topped with a combination of lemon zest, parsley, toasted nuts and balsamic drizzle.

TIPS: Served with extra "juice" from the crock pot on top. This would have been better with more lemon and using the small potatoes called for in the original recipe. I froze the leftovers in the sauce and it tasted great reheated.

RESULTS: Enjoyed by all.

Beef Tacos

Yesterday I went with beef tacos which are usually a hit here.

Ground beef (I used lean)
Taco seasoning
Veggies - Red pepper, Salad mix, cucumber
Salsa
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese
Taco Shells (hard & soft)

Fry beef (no need to add oil) then drain off the fat.
Mix about a 1/4 cup of water with taco seasoning and pour onto beef.
Simmer (at least 5 minutes - I usually just simmer until everything else is ready.
Put beef & toppings on table and let everyone make their own.

TIPS: Every once and a while I buy a taco kit (use about 1/2 the seasoning pack and keep the rest for next time), its often a bit cheaper to buy the kit vs. the shells & seasoning separate. I also usually make double the beef I need and freeze 1/2 the seasoned cooked beef for another taco dinner.

RESULTS: The connoisseur gobbled down her dinner with no complaints.

Meatball Monday

So I'm 2 for 2.

Today I made meatballs (more or less from the Second Helpings Cookbook)

This is one of those easy to make but needs time to cook recipes.

Ground beef (I used lean)
1 egg
minced garlic (I used about 1/2 tsp of the kind from a jar)
salt (dash)
pepper (omitted because I couldn't reach it
Form into balls.

Boil equal parts gingerale (I used apple juice instead) & ketchup in large sauce pan.

Drop balls into boiling sauce and reduce to a simmer. Cover & cook for 2 hours.

TIPs: Serve over rice and pour some of the excess sauce over the whole thing. Meatballs also freeze well IF you have leftovers.

RESULTS: My little connoisseur asked for and ate thirds. A huge success. She also told me she likes everything I make for dinner and what was that thing I made yesterday again (the salmon patties). I'm feeling like super mom.