Chalupa Dinner Bowl

I think I would call this Carnitas Dinner 3 ways if it were my recipe! We made it today in the crock pot while at church and YUMMMM! I enjoyed it best as a soft taco with lettuce, guacamole, sour cream and a touch of salsa. You can make it in the taco bowl, nacho style or Soft Taco style. I made it with boneless pork roast so that I would not have to deal with the bone and it was amazing!

Chalupa Dinner Bowl


This pork-and-bean mixture is versatile. Serve it spooned over cornbread or rolled up burrito style in flour tortillas. Make hearty nachos, quesadillas, or tacos too. It can even be used as a meaty addition to huevos rancheros (fried corn tortillas topped with fried eggs and salsa).

Preparation Time: 30 minutes minutes
Cooking Time: 11 hours minutes
Other Time: 5 minutes minutes
Yield: Makes 8 servings


1 pound dried pinto beans
1 (3 1/2-pound) bone-in pork loin roast
2 (4-ounce) cans chopped green chiles
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (32-ounce) box chicken broth
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles with lime juice and cilantro
8 taco salad shells
1 small head iceberg lettuce, shredded
Toppings: shredded Monterey Jack cheese, pickled jalapeño slices, halved grape tomatoes, sour cream, chopped avocado

Rinse and sort beans according to package directions.

Place pinto beans in a 6-quart slow cooker; add roast and next 6 ingredients. Pour chicken broth evenly over top of roast.

Cover and cook on HIGH 1 hour; reduce to LOW, and cook 9 hours. Or, cover and cook on HIGH 6 hours. Remove bones and fat from roast; pull roast into large pieces with two forks. Stir in diced tomatoes and green chiles. Cook, uncovered, on HIGH 1 more hour or until liquid is slightly thickened.

Heat taco salad shells according to package directions; place shredded lettuce evenly into shells. Spoon about 1 cup pork-and-bean mixture into each shell using a slotted spoon. Serve with desired toppings.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used RO*TEL Mexican Festival tomatoes and a Rival Recipe Smart-Pot slow cooker. Times may vary depending on the slow cooker used.

Rocky Road Fudge

This is the recipe I drag out every Christmas to make my hubby happy! Before you make this you will need to toss a package or two of mini marshmallow's into your freezer for a day or two!
A very long wooden spoon is also helpful!!


Rocky Road Fudge

In a large pot combine:
1 can evaporated milk
2o lg. marshmallows
4 c. Sugar

Bring to a boil. After it reaches boiling cook 5 min stirring constantly scraping bottom.
Remove from stove.
Add:
12 oz pkg. semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 lb butter
Stir until melted and mixture begins to thicken.
Add 2 cups Chopped Nuts (I use Pecans or walnuts)
Add 1 package of frozen miniature marshmallows
Stir and pour into a large pan and refrigerate till set.

Cut into bars and try to resist....or just ask for forgiveness!

Diane's Mini Cheesecakes

Diane's Mini Cheesecakes
Makes 12 Muffin size Cheesecakes

You will need to go out and get the foil muffin cups for this recipe-sorry but you must do what I say..MUHAHA

Pre-Heat oven to 325
Line a 12 muffin pan with foil liners
Place one vanilla wafer in the bottom of each cup

Mix till well blended:
1 lb. cream cheese at room temp
1/2 C. Sugar
1 t. vanilla
Add one at a time:
2 eggs

Pour into muffin liners to 3/4 full
Bake for 25 min tops should be slightly browned
(they will settle a bit during cooling)

Top with your favorite fruit pie filling
Watch them disapear!

No Crust Quiche

No Crust Quiche

Pre-Heat Oven to 350 (325 for glass)

10 Lg. Eggs
2 lb. sharp cheddar cheese
1 pt. small curd cottage cheese
1 t. baking powder
1/2. t. salt
1 lg. can diced green chili's
1 cube butter divided
1/2 C. flour

Whip the eggs with an electric mixer in a large bowl
Add remaining ingredients saving out 1/2 cube of butter.

Melt the remaining butter in the bottom of your 9x13 pan
Add the mixture to the pan and bake for 1 hour.

OPTIONAL changes: Instead of chili's you could substitue Ham, Bacon, Onions.
Or: Feta Cheese and Spinach leaves. Sun Dried Tomatoes and basil.
the possibilities are endless actually!

Chicken Enchiladas

Just thinking about these makes me wanna go have some!

Chicken Enchiladas:
Pre-heat oven to 425

Mix together
3 C. shredded cooked chicken
1 t. Salt
1 small can chopped green chili's
1 small can corn drained-optional
1/2 can black beans rinsed-optional
Set aside

Combine in a good sized bowl
20 Oz. can of Enchilada Sauce (I use mild, you have my permission to get the spicy stuff as long as I don't have to eat it)
small can of evaporated milk
Set this mixture near your stove.

Heat some oil in a med skillet
When it's hot, fry up 12 Corn Tortillas for a few seconds on each side.
Place each tortilla into the sauce mixture till done

When done Carefully Take the tortillas one by one out of the sauce and fill with approx. 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture. Roll and set in 9x13 pan.
Pour the remaining sauce over the rolled up tortillas in pan.
Sprinkle with 2 C. Cheddar/Monterey Jack mixture of cheese
Bake for 15 min till pan is bubbly and heated through.
Serve Hot with Spanish Rice, beans, or sour cream!

Streussal Topping for Muffins

Every Muffin needs a good topping!

Mix:
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
2 T. Flour
1 t. Cinnamon
1/4 C. finely chopped Pecans

Add in 2 T. room temp butter and cut in with a pastry cutter.
Sprinkle on top of muffins before baking

Wedding Sandwiches

These little goodies were a staple at the weddings I worked at in the late 80's and early 90's!

My kids LOVE them! They are super simple to make:

1 bag of costco rolls split

1 small tub of country crock spread

2-3 T. yellow Mustard

Lettuce

Meat (turkey, ham, roast beef) Cut in half

Cheese (Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Swiss, Provalone)cut in half

Assemble:

Mix the mustard with the spread till it's well combined and spread evenly on both halves of the roll.

Add:

Cheese

Meat

Lettuce so that the pretty part is showing!

Arrange on a round tray..

Eat!

See I told you it was easy! Note: you can assemble these in any combination you prefer, we always did Turkey with Cheddar, Ham with MJ, Roast Beef with Swiss ...really you can do anything you like and get a good mix.

Oatmeal Cookies

I love these cookies!

Oatmeal Cookies:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Grease sheet pans or use parchment paper

Cream together

1 C. Unsalted Butter, Margarine or Shortening (up to you!)

1 C. Brown Sugar

3/4 C. granulated sugar

Add:

2 Lg. eggs

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Sift together:

1 1/2 C. flour

1 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. soda

1/4 t. allspice

1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg

Incorporate the 2 mixtures then Add:

1 1/2 C. Raisins

3 C. rolled Oats ( NOT Instant!)

Place on cookie sheets make sure to leave a good 2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 10 to 12 min. If you make Large cookies you will need to increase baking time. Cool for a min or two on the cookie sheet before moving to a wire rack to cool.

Blueberry Bread Pudding with Golden Dessert Sauce

I got this recipe from a B&B we stayed at in Connecticut many years ago. It's a little bit more work than a normal recipe but SOOO worth it!

Blueberry Bread Pudding with Golden Dessert Sauce

Serves 12

Preheat oven to 350

Prepare

Golden Dessert Sauce

3 T. Butter

1/2 C. Sugar

1 C. Cream

1 t. Vanilla

Melt butter and sugar in Saucepan then add the cream.

Boil Gently for 6-8 min until sauce is slightly thickened.

Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Set aside

Blueberry Bread Pudding

8 C. bread cubed

3 T. Butter Softened

3/4 C. sugar

3 eggs

2 t. vanilla

3 1/2 C. milk

1 3/4 C. Blueberries

2 T. sugar

1/2 t. Cinnamon

Put bread cubes in a large bowl.

Mix together the 3 T. butter with the 3/4 C. sugar and mix till well combined

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat till fluffy.

Slowly add the milk.

Pour over the bread cubes and let sit for 5 min.

Fold in the blueberries and add entire mixture to your pan. (deep 9x13 or something close)

Combine the rest of the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the pan.

Drizzle 1/3 C. of the Golden Dessert Topping over the pan.

Bake for 40 min.

Serve with the remaining Golden Dessert Topping

Going Healthy Spaghetti and Sloppy Joes

So, our family has to change our diet a bit to accommodate my husband's health problems (diabetes). I am starting to re-work my standard fare to make it more healthy. I made 2 recipes tonight because I had 1 lb each of lean hamburger and ground turkey (99% fat free) and I thought it would be easier since I was cooking it up to just make the 2 meals and be done and have leftovers!

Here is what I accomplished tonight:

I started with 1 lb. of ground beef-97% lean and 1 lb. ground turkey 99% lean and cooked them up together. When they were about done I added 1 small diced onion and one zucchini diced fine and cooked till the vegetables were soft. Then I split the meat! The first half went to :

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Homemade sauce

Start with: Meat/Veggie Mixture

Add:

a splash of balsamic Vinegar to add sweetness and depth

salt and pepper

garlic powder

italian seasoning

dried parsley (I would use fresh if I had it on hand)

1 jar of homemade stewed tomatoes (use canned if you are not lucky enough to have a mom that cans tomatoes for you!!)

1 can tomato sauce.

cook for 5 min or so and check seasoning add what you need to make it taste good to you!

Let the sauce simmer to thicken up a bit while you:

Cook the whole wheat spaghetti, drain add to sauce

Serve and watch it disappear!

My little girls did not even guess it was healthy! To be honest neither did I!!

Sloppy Joe's, Slop Sloppy Joe's (yes we always say that!)

Start with the meat mixture

Add:

a couple of splashes of Worcestershire sauce.

a can of manwich sauce

a can of tomato sauce

a can of drained and rinsed white beans (why? because I like them and they are good for you!)

My one stove was busy with the spaghetti stuff, so I tossed all that in the microwave to cook, I nuked it for about 6 min total stirring half way through and checking the flavor.

Toast some wheat bread

Serve open faced with a fork

I got 4 thumbs up! 2 each from Kevin and Kent

P.S. No one noticed the Zucchini in either dish...HAHAHAAHAHAHA! I WIN!!

Mom's chicken Broccoli Casserole

Layer in the bottom of a 13x9 pan:

Bottom:

20 oz broccoli cooked

Middle:

3 C. cooked chicken cubed

Top:

Combine 2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup, 1 C. Mayonnaise, 1 t. Lemon Juice (fresh is best), 1 t. Curry Powder. Spread over Chicken

Top with 2 C. shredded Cheddar Cheese or a mixture of your favorite.

Mix 1/2 C. Bread crumbs with 2 T. melted butter and sprinkle over the top

Bake at 350 for 40 Min.

Serve with Rice.

Pray for leftovers....

Renee's Hamburger Pie

 
 Notice there are 2 pies...I have to double this recipe now so that we have enough!

Make your favorite pie crust for 2 crusts (top and bottom)

Place bottom crust in deep pie plate.

Brown 1 lb ground beef-set aside

Melt 1/4 C. margarine in skillet and add:

1 med. onion chopped

4 small potato's sliced and chopped small

1 lg  carrot chopped small (diced, or grated works too. Personally I like the carrots chunked)

some mushrooms (optional I use mushroom gravy to get my mushroom fix then the kids don't complain!)

Cook till veggies are tender

Add in the ground beef

Stir in:

1 t. mustard

3 T. katsup

a few sprinkles of Worcestershire sauce (or more! to taste of course)

1 package of mushroom or beef gravy mixed to package directions

cook for 2 to 5 min and pour into bottom pie crust

Add top crust, seal edges and bake for 50 min at 325.

My Meat Loaf

This is a reduced fat meat loaf recipe that I have tweaked! To keep with the healthy stuff, don't add the katsup or the potato suggestion at the bottom!

1 lb ground beef or combine ground beef and ground turkey.

1 C. low fat cottage cheese

1 egg

1/2 C. bread crumbs

1/3 C. each:

minced celery

chopped fresh parsley

1 t. italian seasoning

1/4 C. water

2 T. minced onions

1 T. worcestershire sauce

1/2 t. Salt

1/4 t. Pepper

Combine ingredients, shape into loaf, Cover with Katsup (Optional) Transfer to a rack in roasting pan

Bake at 375 for 45 to 60 Min.

*Option: I made this once and put cut potatoes on the bottom of a crock pot and cooked the meat loaf on top. It was VERY yummy!

Kent's Chicken Wings

Big package of Chicken wings!

Cut into pieces use the 2 large pieces and marinade with:

1/4 C. Soy Sauce

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

2 T. Lime juice

2 t. minced Garlic

1 t. Onion Salt

salt and pepper

Let marinade a few hours.

BBQ till done then toss in Sweet BBQ Sauce (see recipe http://janeybsrecipes.blogspot.com/search/label/Sauce)

Put back on grill for a few min to get the bbq sauce to glaze over and be really done!

Serve in a big bowl!

Bring Wet wipes to clean hands!!

Sweet BBQ Sauce

1 C. Katsup

2 T. BBQ sauce

1/4 C. brown sugar

1/4 C. Honey

1 t. Salt

1/2 t. Pepper

1 t. Garlic powder

1/4 t. Cayenne pepper

1 T. spicy brown mustard

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 t. Smoke flavor

2 T. dried onion flakes

Lesa's Fajitas

1-2 lbs. flank steak or skirt steak

Cut into strips:

2 Bell Peppers and one large Onion-set aside (I like to put these in a zip lock and add about 2 t. of the marinade)

2 Chili Peppers (Anaheim or poblano or jalapeno etc)

Make Marinade:

2 T. Soy sauce

2 T. Olive Oil

Juice of 2 Limes

2 cloves of Garlic Minced

1/2 t. granulated garlic

1/2 t. pepper

Cut 4 shallow slashes across the grain of the steak, prepare marinade, pour over steak rubbing the garlic into the slashes. Marinade at least 2 hours.

BBQ the steak for 10-12 min (about 6 min per side)

While grilling meat.... Grill 2 Chili peppers (I use anaheim, you can use hot ones if you like!) Char the skin then set in a ziplock closed for 5 min or so then peel off the skin and slice chili's into thin strips.

Let steak rest at least 5 min then slice across grain making thin uneven slices.

Heat pan with 2 T. oil then saute the onions and peppers When tender add Chili strips.

Add Meat strips and for a few min then serve with Hot Tortillas

Optional Toppings;

Cheese

Guacamole

Sour Cream

Hot Sauce

Salsa

Lettuce

Tomatoes

**NOTE: You can double the marinade and do Chicken in another bag ...probably could try it with shrimp too!**

Lucy's Sweet Tomato Salad Dressing

Mix and Shake

1 chopped small onion

1/2 C. Oil

1/4 C. Cider Vinegar

2/3 C. Katsup

1/3 Sugar

Thousand Island Dressing

Combine:

1 C. Mayonnaise

1/3 C. Catsup

2 T. sweet pickle relish

1 T. dried minced onion

2 T. Chopped Parsley

* Optional 1 hard-boiled egg chopped fine.

Merlynn's 3 bean Salad

1 can each of:

green beans

Wax beans

Kidney beans

Add:

1/2 C. small diced green pepper

1/2 C. small diced onion

dressing:

1/3 C. salad oil

2/3 C. Vinegar

3/4 C. Sugar

1 t. Salt

1 t. pepper

Combine all! YUM

Oriental Chicken Salad

Dressing:

1/2 C. Veg oil

3 T. Vinegar

2 T. Sugar

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1 t. Accent (MSG)*optional

Salad:

1 cooked chicken breast- chopped

1/2 head green cabbage chopped fine

2 green onions chopped fine

2 T. toasted sesame Seeds (toast in oven-watch carefully!)

2 T. toasted slivered almonds (toast in oven-watch carefully!)

Toss with Dressing and sit 4 hours or overnight

Just before serving crumble up one package of ramen noodles and add to salad.