Southwestern Dip

This recipe is my take on a delicious appetizer my husband and I came across at Gordon Biersch. They have these delicious southwestern egg rolls. In an attempt to make the egg rolls someone in my family (I don't remember who) said that would probably make a good dip. So I decided to try it and it was a hit. Not only is it good for you, it's absolutely delicious! 

Ingredients 

1 box of Fat Free cream cheese- room temperature

3 chicken breasts

1 can of black beans drained

1 can of corn drained

1 small can of diced jalapenos drained

2 cups of cheddar cheese

1 pack of ranch dressing mix

1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

Directions

In a large pot on the stove. Boil your chicken till cooked through. Approx 30-40 minutes.

In a large bowl combine your cream cheese,  cayenne pepper, and ranch dressing mix. Mix together well. Then add your jalapenos, black beans and corn.

Once your chicken is done. Shred it and add to your mixture. 

Place in a casserole dish and add some cheese on top, cover with foil and cook at 350 for approx 20-30 or until all your cheese is melted. 

Gramma's Meatball recipe

I love meatballs and am always on a hunt to find some delicious ones to eat! I like to make them and eat them just the way they are, with no sauce or anything. So I like them with a lot of flavor and great taste. This is a recipe from an amazing woman I attend church with. I did use the wrong cheese, ugh. But they still turned out absolutely amazing and are probably my favorite meatballs to make. The cheese and mint gives them an amazing BAM flavor that I can't get enough of. I am actually making them again tonight because I have been craving them since I made them last. 

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1 cup of cheese (asiago or fontinella cheese) I used Parmesan Romano cheese cause I forgot cheese while I was at the store. 

1/4 cup of breadcrumbs

1/2 tablespoon of garlic

1 dash of mint

1 egg

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large bowl mix together all your ingredients. (Pretty Easy Right??)

Roll into 1 inch balls and bake at 350 degrees for approx 10 minutes then roll over and bake till cooked through approx 15 minutes. Then enjoy!

Turkey Tacos

With the start of 2012 I am trying to make my favorite food a little healthier. So this is my version of healthy taco's. 

Printable Recipe


Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey
Romaine Lettuce Leafs
Tortilla Shells 
Low fat cheddar cheese
Salsa or Taco Sauce
2 tablespoons Anna's Taco Seasoning (See Below)
1/2 cup water
1 can fat free re-fried beans
(You can use any of your favorite taco toppings for this recipe)


Directions
Brown your turkey in a stove stop skillet
Add 1/2 cup water and 2 tablespoons of the taco seasoning- Let simmer for 5 minutes
In a stop-top pan cook your beans until warm
Roll out your Lettuce leafs
Add your beans, taco meat, cheese, salsa and any other ingredients an  enjoy!


Homemade Taco Seasoning
1 tablespoon Chili Powder
1/4 teaspoon Garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Onion powder
1/4 teaspoon Crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons Ground Cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper

**If you have kids or family members who prefer their taco in a shell, you can use tortillas. Make sure you warm them up first so they are e

Beef Chimichanga

The yummy Chimichanga also known as a deep fried burrito, it probably one of my favorites. I have said this a million times but I love Mexican food, and because I can't get any really good authentic food where I am. I try to make it myself. Instead of deep frying the burrito I put it in the oven a healthy version of this crunchy dish.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 Cups of Mexican/Taco cheese

Fajita style tortillas

1 lb ground beef or ground turkey

1 can of fat free re fried beans

1 can of diced tomatoes

Fajita seasoning

chopped onions

** You can use any taco condiments or toppings that you would like. 

Directions

In a stove top skillet brown your meat. Drain any excess fat. Add your fajita seasoning. You can use a store bought pack or you can make your own which is what I recently started to do. Below you will find a recipe for the Fajita Mix.  

Lay your tortilla out flat on the counter. Add any ingredients that you would like. I used meat, beans, a little cheese and some onions. 

Roll your Tortilla and tuck both ends in. Place seam side down on a baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for approx 10-15 minutes or until it is a crunchy as you like it.

Add all your favorite toppings and enjoy! 

Recipe: Fajita Seasoning- 2 tablespoons= 1 packet
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ - ½ teaspoon cayenne (amount depends on how much heat you want)
¼ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 chicken bouillon cube, crushed

Verde Chicken Tacos

This is probably one of the best recipes I have ever made and a new family favorite. It was extremely filling, healthy, and delicious. Guy Fieri has a new salsa line out that I have been dying to work with. Yesterday while I was at the grocery store I came across his "Verde Salsa" and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it! Chicken Taco's. But not your ordinary Chicken Taco's, after I cooked the chicken I poured the entire bottle of salsa into the shredded chicken and let it slowly simmer and allow the chicken to soak up the juice from the salsa. Every bit got a little bit better!

Printable Recipe 

Ingredients

3 boneless skinless chicken breast

1 Bottle of Guy Fieri's chicken tacos

1 can of black beans

Flour tortillas

Bag of "taco" cheese

Any other "Taco" toppings you would like. We used tomatoes and avocado

Directions:

In a large pot boil your chicken for approx 45 minutes

Take chicken out and shred

Add to a saute pan and pour in your entire bottle of salsa.

Let simmer for approx 15 minutes.

In another stove top pan- place your entire can of black beans including the juice- Cook till beans are warmed through. 

Pour black beans once cooked, directly into the pan with the chicken and salsa. (You can keep the beans separate if you like)

Warm up your tortillas and then add chicken mixture and any other toppings you would like!

Sloppy Roll

I love a good gooey sloppy joe! But last night it turned into a little bit of a project when I realized I had no buns! :-( But I did have crescent rolls! 

Printable Recipe

Ingredients  

1 Can of crescent rolls

1 lb of meat

Shredded cheese (whatever kind you want)

1 can of Manwhich

Directions

In a large stovetop pan, brown your meat. Once meat is browned add your manwich mixture. Add your cheese to your meat mixture so that it melts. I used about 1 big handful of cheese.

On a cookie sheet add your crescent rolls. Your can comes with 8 rolls, but you want to use 2 together. (Picture below) make sure you pinch the seams of your dough together. 

Place your gooey mixture on the dough. Leave enough room so that you can fold it. together. (See Below)

Cook in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.

When ready to serve add more cheese to the top! 

BBQ Pulled Pork

My husband loves pulled pork.  But there is really no place around our house that does a great pulled pork. So instead of going out to dinner and being disappointed, I decided to make up my own! So much cheaper than going out and waaaay better!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients
3 lbs of pork shoulder
1 can of your favorite soda
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
Pack of buns.
Dry rub.




Dry Rub Ingredients
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper (I like it spicy)
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground pepper
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 cup brown sugar




Directions
Mix all dry rub ingredients together in a bowl.
Take your Pork shoulder and coat all sides with your dry rub. Use it ALL, massage it into the meat. 
Place in a slow cooker, pour your can of soda over the top of your pork.
Cook on high for approx 5-6 hours or until your meat starts to shred. 
Mine cooked for approx 5 hours, then I took it out of the crockpot, took all the meat off the bone and put it back in the crockpot. I then added all my BBQ sauce. Mixed it together and let it cook for another hour so that all the flavors came together.