Cinco de Mayo

Thanks to all of you who have requested these recipes. Sorry they are so late. At our house Cinco de Mayo means a happy hubby! We had so much food! Here are the recipes from our Fiesta. Sorry about the pictures-I had hungry people who didn't want to wait for me to play photographer. Let me know what you think!

Eric with all of our food!

Sombrero Sugar Cookies

Make you favorite batch of sugar cookies, cutting out cookies into circles. Once cooled, frost edges of cookies and roll in sprinkles. Put a dollop of frosting in the middle of the cookie and place a gumdrop in the center. Sprinkle a few more sprinkles around the gumdrops. I usually bake the cookies and let the kids decorate them. My little guy loves making these!
Cornbread Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers

rachael ray

1 box cornbread mix

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

5 green onions, finely chopped

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

15 jalapenos

Prepare jalapenos-cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds and ribs. Preheat oven to 400*. In a med bowl, prepare cornbread mix according to pkg directions. Mix in scallions and 3/4 cup cheese. Set the peppers on a baking sheet, cut side up. Fill each pepper with mix and top with additional cheese. Bake until cooked through and golden, about 15 minutes.

I serve these with raspberry jam. These freeze great as well!!Chicken Taquitos

my kitchen cafe

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup green salsa

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

3 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 green onion, finely sliced

2 cups shredded chicken

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

small yellow corn tortillas

kosher salt

cooking spray

Heat oven to 425* Line baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Add all ingredients to tortillas in a bowl and mix to combine. Working with a few tortillas at a time, place 3-4 between 2 damp paper towels and microwave for 30 seconds or until soft and pliable. Place 2-3 tbsp of chicken mixture on lower third of tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Then roll it as tight as you can. Place filled taquitos, seam side down on baking sheet, making sure they don't touch each other. When ready to bake, spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle some kosher salt on top. Place pan in oven and bake 15-20 minutes or until crisp and ends start to get golden. Serve immediately. Can be dipped in salsa, sour cream, guacamole or ranch dressing.

Chili Relleno Squares

3 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cans (4oz each) chopped green chilies, drained

4 eggs

4 tbsp milk

2 tbsp flour

Place half the cheeses in a greased 8 inch square baking dish. Sprinkle with chilies and remaining cheeses. In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk and flour; pour over cheese. Bake at 375* for 30 minutes or until set. Cut into small squares and serve warm.Chicken Nachos

real mom kitchen

1 small bag frozen corn

1 can black beans, drained

2 lg chicken breasts

1 (16oz) jar salsa

1 8oz pkg cream cheese

Pour frozen corn into crock pot. Place chicken on top of corn. Top chicken with beans and salsa. Cook on high for 1 hour, then on low for 4 hours. Shred chicken with forks and mix in cream cheese until melted and creamy.

Serve with chips and toppings if desired-tomatoes, olives, etc.

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 cup uncooked white rice

1 tsp butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh squeezed lime juice

15oz chicken broth

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tsp granulated sugar

2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

In a med saucepan, combine rice, butter, garlic, chicken broth and 1 tsp lime juice. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce temp to low. Cook for 20-25 minutes.

Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine 1 tbsp lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Mix into cooked rice as you fluff it.

YUM!
Refried Beans

rachael ray

2 cans pinto beans, drained

1 (4oz) can diced green chilies

Heat 1 can pinto beans in a saucepan over medium heat. Mash with a fork or potato masher. Add additional can of beans and can of chilies. Stir to combine and heat through.
Black Bean Quesidillas

blog chef

2 tsp Olive oil

3 tbsp onion, finely chopped

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (10oz) can corn, drained

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup salsa

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tbsp butter, divided

8 (8inch) flour tortillas

1 1/2 cups monterey jack cheese

Heat oil in a skillet. Add onion and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Stir in beans and corn. Heat through. Mix in sugar, salsa and red pepper. Cook until heated through.

Melt butter in another skillet-place tortilla in skillet and add cheese over top. Place some bean mixture over the cheese. Add another tortilla over the bean mixture. Cook until brown and flip. Brown on the other side. Repeat until tortillas are gone.
Chimichangas

1 lb ground beef

1 med onion, chopped

3/4 cup red enchilada sauce

1 cup refried beans

6 flour tortillas

1 1/2-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cook meat in a skillet with onions. Stir in sauce and refried beans. Gently simmer for 10 minutes. Spoon about 1/2 cup filling into center of each tortilla. Place 1/3 cup of cheese on top. Fold sides in, then roll ends up. Fry in vegetable oil, seam side down in 3/4 inch oil, over med heat, turning when golden brown. 1-2 minutes per side.

Lift from pan with slotted spoon. Place on thick layer of paper towels; keep warm in oven until ready to serve.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, cheese and olives.

These freeze great too!

Serves 6
Mock Fried Ice Cream

3 cups rice krispies

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 cups chopped nuts

1 1/2 cubes butter

1 1/1 cups coconut

2 quarts vanilla ice cream, softened

Melt butter and brown sugar together on stove top. Add additional ingredients (except ice cream), mix well. Layer 1/2 ;mixture on bottom of round cake pan, layer ice cream over that and sprinkle the rest of mixture on top of the ice cream. Press firmly. Freeze. Serve with chocolate, caramel or raspberry pie filling.

Mongolian Chicken

There are some nights when take-out sounds really good. I have never ordered take-out in my life. I don't think I have ever even had a pizza delivered. This is one of those recipes that is better than take-out and so easy to prepare. You can change the heat level with the pepper flakes to your liking. I like my food a bit on the spicy side, so I added more than most people might like. I think this recipe would be great for a stay at home date night. We love this one!

Mongolian Chicken

adapted from Blog Chef

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided

2 tbsp garlic, minced

1 while onion, sliced

2 green onions, sliced

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp soy sauce

1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes (if you don't want it too spicy only add 1/2 tsp or less)

In a bowl, whisk chicken broth, cornstarch, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, soy sauce and red pepper flakes together. Set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in skillet and add chicken. Cook until browned and cooked through. Place in oven or microwave to keep warm. Add another tbsp oil to skillet. Add garlic, onions and green onions to skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until vegetables have reached desired tenderness. Remove from pan and set aside.

Pour sauce mixture into skillet and cook until sauce begins to bubble and thicken. Put veggies and chicken in skillet with sauce and mix to combine. Serve with white rice.

Serves 4

Last night I made a yummy new lasagna-White Chicken Lasagna to be exact. My husband loved it! I loved it too-but I didn't love the mess it made in my oven.

Try this recipe because it is really good-but bake it with a cookie sheet under your baking dish. Otherwise you will get to clean a fun mess like I did and your house will smell kind of yucky.

My poor oven:(

White Chicken Lasagna

another day in paradise

2-3 cups cooked chicken, diced

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of broccoli soup

4 cups chicken broth, small amount reserved

1 cup sour cream

1/2 lb cottage cheese

1/2 container ricotta cheese

1 lb mozzarella cheese

1 tsp basil

1 pkg oven ready lasagna noodles

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350*. Combine everything but the chicken, noodles and small amount of chicken broth. Mix in chicken. Pour reserved broth in the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish, making sure it covers bottom. Layer uncooked noodles and sauce until mix is gone or pan is full-ending with sauce.

Bake covered for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 35-40 minutes until bubbly and golden. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. The longer is sits, the more it sets up. It will be fairly soupy when you pull it out of the oven, so make sure you let it sit!!

Serves 6-8

Earth Day Pancakes

After a brief discussion on earth day with my 3 year old this morning, breakfast was created. I will hopefully have these perfected by next year, but I thought it was a fun idea.

Baked Ziti

I have made ziti before and really not been happy with it-most of the recipes I have tried have just been too dry. I got this recipe from a fellow food blogger and we loved it!! It feeds a good amount of people-we've been eating leftovers for 3 days, but no one has complained! This takes a little more time to put together and bake, so plan ahead. Enjoy!Baked Ziti

a bountiful kitchen

1 lb cottage cheese (1%)

2 lg eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese

salt

1 lb ziti

2 tbsp olive oil

5 med garlic cloves, minced

1 (28oz) can tomato sauce

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1 tsp sugar

black pepper

3/4 tsp cornstarch

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups (8oz) mozzarella cheese cut into 1/4 inch chunks

Heat oven to 350*. Whisk cottage cheese, eggs and 1 cup parmesan together in a medium bowl; set aside. Boil and salt water. Add pasta and cook until soft, but not cooked through-about 5 minutes. Drain pasta, rinse and leave in colander.

Meanwhile, heat oil in skillet with garlic until fragrant but not browned. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and oregano; simmer until thick, about 20 minutes. Turn off heat, stir in 1/2 cup basil and sugar and season with salt and pepper.

Stir cornstarch into heavy cream in a small bowl. Transfer to small saucepan set over med heat. Bring to simmer and cook until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Remove pot from heat and add cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup of the tomato sauce mixture and 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Stir to combine. Add pasta and stir to coat thoroughly with sauce.

Transfer pasta mixture to a greased 9x13 baking dish and spread remaining tomato sauce mixture evenly over pasta. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella and remaining parmesan over top. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove foil and continue to cook until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer. Cool for 10-20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining basil and serve.

Serves 8+

Taco Pasta

I am out of the habit of taking pictures before we eat. I am usually throwing dinner on the table on my way out the door. Sorry about the picture-it's my leftovers for lunch. This meal is awesome because it tastes just like a taco-except instead of using tortillas, it has pasta. I would rather eat the pasta so this had my name written all over it!! My husband loved it too and said it was a definite keeper!!

Taco Pasta

adapted from Rachael Ray

1 lb whole grain penne pasta

1 lb ground turkey

1 lg onion, chopped and divided

1 lg jalapeno, halved, seeded and thinly chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp coriander

1 1/2 tbsp cumin

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese

2 tomatoes, chopped

1/4 head iceberg lettuce, chopped

sour cream

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt the water and cook pasta to al dente.

While pasta is cooking, in a skillet cook meat until no longer pink. Add 3/4 of the onion, the jalapeno, garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, and salt and pepper. Cook until onion is soft. Stir in the tomato paste, cook for 1 minute and then stir in the stock.

Add the sauce to the pasta and toss. Spoon into serving dish and top with cheese and tent with foil to melt the cheese. Top with remaining onion, tomatoes and lettuce. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Serves 4-6