Fantastic Fajita Seasoning

Pin It
I've been in search of the perfect homemade fajita seasoning.  I finally decided to just create my own and I LOVE it!  Here's the recipe:

3 Tbs. Cornstarch
2 Tbs. Chili powder
1 Tbs. Paprika
1 Tbs. Sugar
1/2 Tbs. Salt
2 tsp. Chicken bouillon, crushed
1 1/2 tsp. Onion powder
1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. Crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp.  Ancho Chili Powder

This recipe makes the equivalent of 3 seasoning packets.  I like to add a bit of lime juice when cooking the fajitas.  If you don't have ancho chili powder, you can just add a bit extra chili powder.  If you want to cut back on the heat a bit, you can do less red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.

This is what your seasoning will look like:

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Snowflake Cookies

Pin It

I made these cookies last winter and everyone loved them.  They weren't very hard to make either.  First you need a pattern of a snowflake.  I just drew one, but you could definitely find one online.

 Next place the snowflake design under wax paper.

 Melt some white chocolate bark - 30 seconds at a time in the microwave.  I used one square to make a bunch of snowflakes.

 Put the melted chocolate in a ziplock bag and cut a small hole on the corner.

 Trace the snowflake design with the white chocolate.

 Carefully pull the snowflakes off the wax paper after they have hardened.

If you flip the snowflake over, it will be smooth and flat.

 If you don't flip it over, you'll have a little more rustic looking snowflake.

 I went with the rustic look :)  I had baked some cookies so I decided to add the snowflakes to the tops of the cookies.  You could add them to cupcakes or any other treat you want to add a little something special.

Garden Bounty Tortilla Soup

Pin It

This soup is good for you and it's delicious.  Plus, it's a great way to get your kids, spouse or anyone for that matter to eat their veggies.  I am a picky eater and really don't like a lot of veggies, but I love this soup!  The only downside is that it requires a lot of chopping, but it makes a TON.  I actually freeze half of the recipe.

Ingredients
8 cups chicken broth (you can use chicken bouillon cubes - 1 cube to 2 cups of water)
1 red onion, diced
2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 large carrots, pealed and diced
2-4 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 cup tomato paste (more if desired, to taste)
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole pepper of the canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce (I use the La Costena brand)
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 small to medium zucchini, diced
1 yellow summer squash, diced
1 Red bell pepper, chopped
1 Green bell pepper, chopped
1 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice
2 Tbs freshly squeezed orange juice
Fresh, frozen or canned corn - optional

In large stockpot over high heat, combine chicken broth, chicken, onion, carrots, potatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf, garlic, chipotle pepper, jalapeno, oregano and cumin.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.  When the chicken is cooked, remove from pot and shred it.  Add salt and white pepper.  Add zucchini, summer squash, bell peppers and corn if desired.  Bring to a boil again.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes.  Add cilantro, lime and orange juice.  Stir well and remove from heat. (When I reheat the extras the next day, sometimes their isn't as much juice so I just add a bit more chicken broth)

Garnish: Tortilla chips, shredded cheese, chopped fresh cilantro, sliced avocados, jalepeno rings, lime wedges.  (I usually just do chips, cheese, cilantro and a bit of lime juice).

**When I freeze it, I leave out the potatoes (since they really don't freeze well) and the chicken.  Then I just add them when I cook the soup.  When you're ready to eat your frozen soup, thaw it and then you can either cook it in a crockpot on low for 4-6 hours or you can cook in on the stove and boil it for about 30-40 minutes.

Makes approx. 3 quarts

Ooey Gooey Mexican Chicken

Pin It

This recipe is SO so so yummy and super easy to make too!  My husband and I both love it.  My daughter also likes it - except for the beans.  The best thing about this recipe is it's basically all from cans that you probably have in your pantry - so you just dump it all in the crockpot and you have a fabulous dinner without much effort at all!

Ingredients

3-4 frozen chicken breasts

1 Can cream of chicken soup

1 Can cream of mushroom soup

1 Cup salsa

1 15 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 Tbs. chili powder

1 Tbs. cumin

1 4 oz. can diced chiles, undrained

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

2  Cups monterey jack cheese

Directions

Add all of the ingredients, except for the cheese to your crockpot.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.  Shred chicken and return it to the crockpot.  Add cheese and stir.  Cook long enough for the cheese to get all melted and then serve.  

You can eat it like a soup with cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips as your topping, or you could eat it like a burrito.  I've never had as a burrito simply because I love it as a soup too much.  This recipe makes quite a bit.  It would be enough for a family of 6 at least.  I've thought that adding a can of corn would be yummy too.  Unfortunately my husband doesn't like corn in stuff, so if you try it out, let me know what you think!  Enjoy!

Wish I'd Known: Saving Time & Money on Ground Beef

Pin It

This is my own tip for you moms.  

Cook one package of ground beef and divide it into three meals.

I personally don't love a ton of ground beef in my meals.  When a recipe calls for 1 lb, I usually only do half of that.  I don't know why, but it's just not my fave.  Which is really strange since hamburgers are pretty much my favorite food.  Anyways....a way I stretch the buck, is to cook 1 package of hamburger (usually like 1.3 pounds) and break it into 3 meals.  I will use one third for something like spaghetti, then another for taco salads and the last one for stroganoff or something like that.  It also makes the second and third meal super easy and fast.  This obviously wouldn't work for a large family, but it works for our small family.  My husband never complains that there isn't enough meat in our meals, so I don't think he even notices.

Turkey Wrap With a Kick

Pin It

This is what I've been having for lunch lately.  I calculated it out and it's 410 calories, and you could make it less if you really wanted to, but I thought 410 was pretty good :)

Ingredients

                                                             - Jalepeno Cheddar Wrap
                                                             - 1 oz. Fat Free Cream Cheese
                                                             - 1 Tbs. Light Ranch Dressing
                                                             - 1 Slice Pepper Jack Cheese
                                                             - Turkey - sliced deli meat
                                                             - Spinach

Directions

Combine softened cream cheese and ranch dressing.  Spread over your wrap (this is where you could get rid of a few extra calories if you wanted, but I'm a sauce/dip lover and need something on there so the wrap isn't too dry. Take your one slice of pepper jack cheese and break the square in half.  Place the two halves down the middle of your wrap.  Now do a layer of turkey and top it off with your spinach.  Roll up your wrap and you're good to go!

Break down of the calories - for you healthy people :)

                                                             - Wrap: 210 Calories
                                                             - Cream Cheese: 30 Calories
                                                             - Ranch: 40 Calories
                                                             - Pepper Jack Cheese: 90 Calories
                                                             - Turkey: 30 Calories (for about an ounce of meat)
                                                             - Spinach: 10-15 Calories - depends on amount used

Pasta Bake

Pin It

Pasta bake is one of our family's favorites and honestly I get requests for the recipe all the time.  The great thing about this meal is that it's easy, doesn't require a lot of extra work if you are making a larger portion AND you can use it as a freezer meal if you want!  Often times, I'll double the recipe and make one for dinner and then freeze the other.

 Recipe 

(If you're using a 9x13 pan double the recipe)

Ingredients
- 8 Oz Penne pasta noodles, cooked al dente and strained
- 1/2 lb ground beef, cooked (I season with dried minced onions and seasoning salt)
- 1 Jar pasta sauce
- 8 Slices provolone cheese
- 1/3 Cup sour cream
- 1/3 Cup grated mozzarella or parmesan cheese

 First, line your baking dish with foil.  It makes for REALLY easy clean up!

Put a thin layer of sauce at the bottom of the foil to keep the noodles from sticking. 

 Put half of your cooked noodles in the pan.

 Then layer half of your ground beef.

 Cover with half of your sauce.

Use 4 slices of your provolone cheese to make a nice yummy layer.

 Then spread your sour cream over the top.

Now here I don't stick to the same order, but that's only because I like the noodles to be on top so it's a more smooth layer, but you could do it either way.  SO I put the rest of the ground in the dish. 

Then the rest of the noodles. 

The rest of your sauce. 

 4 more slices of provolone cheese.

 And then top it with your grated mozzarella or parmesan cheese

 Bake at 350 for 45 min, or until your cheese is nice and bubbly and browning a bit.  

So easy and so good!  If you are wanting to make it a freezer meal, instead of baking it, place it in the freezer.  Then when you want to use it, either defrost is in your fridge overnight and still bake it at 350 for 45 minutes, OR if it's still frozen, bake it at 350 for 1 1/2 hours, but cover it with foil until the last 30-45 minutes, then remove the foil.  That way your cheese doesn't get too browned.  Enjoy!

Wooden Spoon Trick

Pin It

I can't tell you how many times I've put water on the stove to start boiling, walk away and totally forget about it.  Several minutes later, I hear the unfortunate sound of water spilling all over the stove.  A while ago I heard that if you put a wooden spoon over your pot, the water won't boil over.  I really wanted to test this out, but to my dismay, I didn't have a wooden spoon.  I finally ended up getting some wooden spoons back in March and lo and behold it totally works!  So cool!  Sometimes a little water will drip down from the condensation that builds up on the spoon, but other than that you're mess free. Genius!