TACO BURGERS

It has been hot for at least two weeks, so we have done a lot of grilling, crock potting and microwaving (anything that keeps the kitchen cooler). We cooked this taco burger on the "GF Grilling Machine " but it would be even better on an outdoor grill.

2 pounds of extra lean ground beef (I use 93%)
1/2 cup of crushed corn chips
1/4 cup favorite taco sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
sliced pepper Jack cheese
lettuce, tomato, avocado & onion
Mix the ground beef with the crushed corn chips, taco sauce and salt and pepper.
Shape into patties and grill over medium heat. Just before it is finished, top each burger with a slice of pepper Jack cheese and let it melt. Serve burgers on bun with fresh veggies.

STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES

I made these strawberry cupcakes yesterday and they were a big hit. The recipe is a great "cheater recipe" that I've used for years. Basically it is a dry cake mix + a 20 ounce can of fruit filling + 3 eggs. That's it! It produces an extremely moist and flavorful cake! You can use ANY dry cake mix and ANY canned fruit pie filling so the combinations are endless. Our favorite is chocolate with cherry pie filling but we've also thoroughly enjoyed chocolate cake with raspberry pie filling, spice cake with peach pie filling, spice cake with apple pie filling and yellow cake mix with lemon pie filling.

For the cupcakes posted today, I combined a box of Betty Crocker strawberry cake mix (ignore any directions on the box) with a 20 ounce can of Wilderness strawberry pie filling and three eggs. Beat on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes (batter will be a little thicker than you expect). Fill paper lined cupcake pans about 2/3 full and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Oh so yummy!

NOTE: Don't worry about the "chunks" of fruit in the pie filling. When you mix it into the cake mix with your electric mixer, the fruit will break up (which is what you want).

NOTE: This recipe is not suited for white cake mixes for some reason. They taste good, but have a strange color after they are baked.
NOTE: The weight on most cans of pre-prepared pie filling is different...some cans are 18 ounces some are 20 ounces. This measurement doesn't seem to be crucial. Just get the size can closest to 20 ounces that you can find.

NOTE: This recipe works very well for sheet cakes as well as layer cakes. Just use the toothpick test for doneness instead of the baking times on the cake mix box. After you remove the cake from the pan, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and let it cool. Keep covered until you frost the cake.

 

Buttercream Frosting

1 cup of UNSALTED butter (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
food coloring (optional)

Cream the butter with an electric mixer until it gets fluffy. Add everything else and beat on medium speed until everything is well mixed, then beat on high speed until it is smooth and fluffy.

NOTE: These cupcakes are topped with Wilton's sparkle sprinkles (clear).

RICE and NO BAKE COOKIES - Two week day classics

When I serve plain white rice, my husband slathers it with butter and white sugar (yuck). To avoid that, I've learned to jazz our rice up a little. This recipe is the result of years of tweaking, and we really enjoy it; I like it because it goes with almost anything. It also keeps my husband away from his sugar rice (lol).

1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrot
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup of raw long grain rice (not instant)
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 and 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup of frozen veggies
sliced green onion tops for garnish
1 tablespoon butter

Saute the onion, celery and carrot in the canola oil until they start to lose their crispness; stir in rice and seasonings; stir to coat the rice with the oil and saute gently for a minute or two. Add the broth and frozen veggies and bring to a boil. When it starts to boil, turn heat down to a low simmer and put a tight fitting lid on the pan. Simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn off the burner and let it sit for five minutes. Add one tablespoon of butter & fluff with a fork and serve.

NOTE: You noticed I use 2 & 1/2 cups of broth, that is more than you would normally use for plain rice. I use this extra amount of broth to give me a slightly saucy rice.

NO BAKE COOKIES

I have used this no-bake cookie recipe since I was in 4-H Club as a kid. It is probably one of my all time favorite cookies. I tend to make them only occasionally these days since I have trouble leaving them alone.

3 cups of dry oats (it's OK to use quick oats - do not use instant)

2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup coconut

Mix sugar, cocoa, water and butter in heavy saucepan. Boil for one minute on med-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat (leave the burner on) and add remaining ingredients. Return to burner and cook on medium for two minutes.

Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper and cool. You can speed set these by putting them in the fridge for a few minutes. Store covered.

FRESH HERB & VEGGIE DIP

I learned to cook with dried herbs because fresh herbs were not always available where I live. Fresh herbs not only measure differently, but they taste entirely differently, so learning to cook with them is an on-going process for me.

This summer, I have several pots of herbs growing fairly successfully. I am growing rosemary, thyme, basil, chives, sage, oregano and apple mint. I am on the search for recipes calling for fresh herbs, so if you have a favorite one to share, please let me know.

Many of us will be entertaining company over the 4th of July. This is a recipe for a very light tasting cream cheese dip, using fresh herbs. It is sure to please your company.

FRESH HERB and VEGGIE DIP

12 ounces of whipped cream cheese spread
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
dash of salt
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup green onions (sliced extremely thin)
3 radishes diced very small

Mix everything in a small bowl and let it sit (covered) in fridge overnight. Serve
with crackers, pretzels or raw veggies.
NOTE: Next to my herb garden, I have a large planter of catnip growing; it is just starting to show a few small blue flowers. Our cat, as well as our neighbors cat, sit next to it and purr loudly while they rub up against the planter, lol.

I think Tabitha's had enough catnip for today...don't you??

TURKEY and BLACK BEAN CHILI

This is my favorite way to eat chili...a bed of greens, a thin layer of Frito corn chips, a cup of slow simmered chili (nice and thick), a little cheddar, sliced grape tomatoes (they are the sweetest), cubed avocado, green onions and a little low fat sour cream...oh yum!

TURKEY & BLACK BEAN CHILI
1 & 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small sweet onion diced & 1 garlic clove minced
1 teaspoon salt
(2) 15 ounce cans of black beans (drained and rinsed)
12 ounce can of tomato paste
4 cups water
4 ounce can of Ortega mild green chilies
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon white sugar

In a pan, large enough to cook the chili, saute onions until transparent; add the turkey and cook (chop it up with your spatula) until you see little brown bits on the meat. Drain the meat well and return to the pan; add everything else, stir well and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for two hours (it will get nice and thick).

NOTE: We do not like spicy food, so this chili is very mild. If you like heat, just add some diced jalapeno peppers to the meat.

NOTE: After you bring the chili to the initial boil, you can transfer it to a crock-pot and let it cook all afternoon (just leave the lid open a tiny bit so the chili will thicken up).

SPEEDY SZECHWAN SHRIMP

Szechwan shrimp is supposed to be pretty spicy, but we are "heavy-spice" cowards, so I adjusted the heat WAY down on this recipe and it was still very tasty. It is nice, light and healthy and made a great Sunday meal served over my garden rice.

Peel and devein a pound of large shrimp and set aside.

In a bowl, mix the following and set aside.
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I used a scant 1/4 tsp.)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (I used some fresh ginger)

Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large skillet, over medium high heat and add 1/4 cup sliced green onions and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Saute the onions and garlic about 30 seconds then throw in the shrimp and saute them for a couple minutes or until pink. Stir in the sauce and cook until the sauce thickens up (it will just take a minute at most).

NOTE: Since I was sure that the sauce was going to be too spicey for hubby, I took the shrimp out of the sauce and put them under the broiler to crisp them up a little, but that's not necessary. The sauce was excellent tasting if you can handle the heat. I served these over garden rice.

GARDEN RICE
In a large sauce pan that has a tight fitting lid, saute half of a small sweet onion (diced) and half cup diced celery in 1 tablespoon butter or canola oil. Stir in one cup of raw long grained rice and coat the rice with the butter. Add one cup (diced) of your favorite veggies (I usually use a frozen mixed veggie) and one ear of corn sliced into one to two inch sections. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of chicken broth and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Bring to boil, stir, put lid on, lower heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn off heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Serve shrimp over garden rice.

NOTE: We love corn on the cob "coins" cooked in chicken broth right along with the rice and other veggies. It gives the corn a wonderful flavor.

NO-BAKE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

I made this for Father's Day. It is one of those recipes that is super quick to put together, looks and serves beautifully and everyone raves about it. It is super creamy, chocolate-y, ultra-smooth to the tongue and it has a chocolate chip cookie crust, what more can a person ask for?

 This recipe makes a nice thick cheesecake that is pretty enough for company!

(1) 16 & 1/2 ounce pkg. refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough (or 2 cups of home made chocolate chip cookie dough) at room temperature.
(2) 8 ounce packages of cream cheese (room temperature)
(1) cup of white sugar
(4) one ounce packets of Nestle Toll House pre-melted chocolate (see note)
(2) 8 ounce containers of Cool Whip (thawed)

For the crust:
Preheat your oven to 375. Evenly spread the cookie dough into an ungreased 9" spring form pan (2 piece pan). Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Let this cool completely (leave it in the pan ).

For the filling:
With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar and pre-melted chocolate until very well blended. Beat in the two containers of Cool Whip until you see an even color throughout the filling. Spoon the filling into the cooled crust. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Frosting:
This does not have to be frosted, but it is pretty with either a drizzled frosting or a simple chocolate glaze & sprinkles.

NOTE: This recipe calls for Nestle Toll House Choco Bake which is a pre-melted chocolate. It comes in a box of eight, one ounce packets. I found it at Walmart, of all places, right with the other baking chocolate.
NOTE: Make sure the cookie dough and cream cheese are at room temperature.