Sweet Potato Casserol

Ingredients

• 5 sweet potatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Bake sweet potatoes 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until they begin to soften. Cool slightly, peel, and mash.
3. In a large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar, and heavy cream. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
4. In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.
5. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until topping is crisp and lightly browned

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Cafe Rio Style)

Ok so this soup turned out AWESOME!!! The recipe below is just enough for two people, for more just double, tripple. or quadruple it! :)

Soup
1 Chicken Breast
2 bullion cubes
2 jalepanos, WITH THE SEEDS REMOVED
1/2 onion (or to taste)
garlic to taste

Toppings
tortilla strips ( or make your own by frying strips of a tortilla in olive oil)
cilantro
FRESH TOMATOES diced into large-ish bits
jack(or pepper-jack) cheese
sour cream
and any other topping you want on it.

boil chicken in enough water to cover the chicken, remember that this water will be your broth, so make sure to add enough, and account for some of the water to boil off

when chicken is cooked all the way through, take out and shred, then put back into water.

in a frying pan saute onions in olive oil, when they are soft and translucent, add the bits of jalepano, and garlic ( i used garlic salt because i cant eat full garlic)
once the falvors of the onion, jalepano, and garlic mixed all intogether inthe frying pan for about 3-5 minutes, add to soup
let it simmer for a while to have all the flavors meld together about 10-15 minutes

Pour into bowl, add cheese, tomatoes, cilantro, sour cream, and tortilla strips.
ENJOY!!

Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon steak sauce
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Directions

1. Preheat the grill for medium heat.
2. In a shallow bowl, mix the mustard, honey, mayonnaise, and steak sauce. Set aside a small amount of the honey mustard sauce for basting, and dip the chicken into the remaining sauce to coat.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill chicken over indirect heat for 18 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, or until juices run clear. Baste occasionally with the reserved sauce during the last 10 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent burning

Creamy Strawberry Crepes

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
•  
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped
• 4 cups sliced strawberries

1. Place the eggs, milk, water, melted butter, flour, and salt in the pitcher of a blender; blend until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or non-stick skillet over medium heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 2 tablespoons for each crepe. Tip and rotate pan to spread batter as thinly as possible. Flip over when the batter is set and the edges are beginning to brown. Cook until the other side begins to brown. Stack finished crepes on a plate, cover with a damp towel and set aside.
3. Blend the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth. Gently fold in the whipped cream.
4. To serve, fill each crepe with 1/4 cup sliced strawberries and 1/3 cup of the cream cheese filling, roll up and top with a small dollop of the cream cheese filling and more sliced strawberries.

Sunday Roast and Rice

Ok so this is one of our favorite meals, and we have it about every other Sunday.

Get a cut of beef- it can be literally any cut of beef

put it in your crockpot at the beginning of the day
fill the crockpot full of water- enough that it covers the meat with a little extra to spare.Cook for about 6-8 hours, the longer you cook the more tender it will be.

Then add in the Steak Seasoning- we usually just sprinkle the top of the water until it is completely covered with a layer of the seasoning.

So im guessing like 1/8 of a cup or more- it is really just up to your preference. But if you are going to be making this alot you HAVE to got to COSTCO a big bottle of this stuff is only 10 bucks! well worth it!
The more seasoning you put in the spicier it will be, just kind of gestimate until you get it right!

Then a little bit before we eat we stick some white rice in the rice cooker

How to make your bowl:
Get the meat from the crockpot and shred it
Fill the bowl with rice put a little dollup of butter and stir un.
Add meat
Add as much of the water as you would like. Sometimes I like mine a little more like a soup, but usually you just add the seasoned water to soak the rice.
Eat and ENJOY

We love this because it is so filling, and so easy to make

Homemade Angel Food Cake

The only thing you have to worry about is what to do with the extra 12 egg yokes! (or use a carton of egg whites)

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 12 egg whites
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Be sure that your 10 inch tube pan is clean and dry. Any amount of oil or residue could deflate the egg whites. Sift together the flour, and 3/4 cup of the sugar, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whip the egg whites along with the vanilla, cream of tartar and salt, to medium stiff peaks. Gradually add the remaining sugar while continuing to whip to stiff peaks. When the egg white mixture has reached its maximum volume, fold in the sifted ingredients gradually, one third at a time. Do not overmix. Put the batter into the tube pan.
3. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake springs back when touched. Balance the tube pan upside down on the top of a bottle, to prevent decompression while cooling. When cool, run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert onto a plate.

Gorgonzola and Pear Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 pouch (6.4 oz.) StarKist® Albacore Tuna in Water
• 1 bag (6 oz.) baby lettuce greens
• 1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1 pear, cored and sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup light honey Dijon salad dressing

Directions

Place lettuce on serving platter. Top with tuna, cheese, walnuts and pear slices.

Drizzle Dijon dressing over salad

Sunday Morning Coffee Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk, or as needed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

Crumble topping

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Make the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup flour, 2/3 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
2. Combine ingredients. Crack an egg into a measuring cup and then fill add milk to make 1 cup. Stir in vanilla.  Spread into prepared pan.
3. put half of the crumble topping ontop of the batter and fold into top half of mixture so that it is spread throughout the batter. Sprinkle top with remaining streusel.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 2 bunches green onions, diced
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

1. In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature; fluff with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine olive oil, sea salt, lemon juice, tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, carrots and parsley. Stir in cooled quinoa.

Quinoa and Black Beans

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.