Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I found this tasty recipe over at Best Bites and decided I had to try it. These taquitos are baked not fried like most varieties, so they are substantially healthier and they still taste amazing. I still had some of the spicy chicken I made in the crock-pot stashed in the freezer so I thawed that out to use instead of the plain the chicken the recipe called for. These turned out super tasty and I only made a few modifications to the original recipe (I don't like cilantro so I left that out, and I didn't think the lime juice sounded necessary).

Here is the recipe:

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos (Original recipe is here)
1/3 cup (3 oz) Cream Cheese
1/4 cup Salsa Verde
1/2 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 cups Spicy Shredded Chicken Recipe
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese/Mexican Cheese Blend
at least 13 Small Corn Tortillas or Flour Tortillas (Fajita size)
Cooking Spray
Soften cream cheese in the microwave for about 30 seconds or so in a large glass bowl, then mix in the spices, chicken, and cheese. Warm 2 corn tortillas at a time in the microwave (so they don't crack when rolled, the heat makes them pliable) and fill each tortilla with about 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture and roll up tightly (leave ends open). (There is no need to heat the flour tortillas, they are soft enough already). Place rolled up tortillas on a lightly greased cookie sheet (it is better if they aren't touching because it allows the tortilla to harden more), spray the tops with cooking spray and bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes.
FYI: I found that it took a little longer than 20 minutes for my batch but I was making a larger batch.

Gooey Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is from the Cookbook "Baking: From My Home to Yours"by Dorie Greenspan, but I actually found the recipe at Kait's Plate. These cookies are exactly what I was looking for, they are thin, chewy, and slightly gooey - exactly the way I like them. They aren't cakey or dry at all, which is something I have been cursed with when making most chocolate chip cookie recipes. I think this one may now be my go-to recipe.

Happy Baking!

Gooey Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Original recipe here)
2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 sticks (8 ounces) Butter softened
1 cup Sugar
2/3 cup Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
2 cups (or about 12 oz) Chocolate Chips (I use Ghiradelli brand, I like the shape and taste better than Nestle)
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat soft butter for a minute or two then add in the sugars and beat for two minutes.

adding in the sugar

Add eggs one at a time beating for one minute after each egg.

After beating the eggs in

Stir in the vanilla. Add in the flour gradually, in three batches, mixing well after each addition, then mix in the chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Raw dough, tasty!

Bake at 375 for about 9 minutes (check after 8 minutes). The cookies will look a little underdone when you pull them out but that is ok, if you don't take them out when they are just starting to brown on the sides they will get over-done and crispy. Made 36 cookies (but it varies a little).

Rows of cookies!

Southern Dinner

I grew up in the south, Arkansas to be specific, and I have many fond memories of my grandmother's southern meals. Yesterday I had the hankering for a southern style dinner so I decided to make some of my favorite dishes from childhood. This was partly inspired by a trip to the market "Robert is Here" that me and my partner biked to this weekend, where I bought pole beans and summer squash. Pole beans are a particular variety of green bean, they are flatter and longer and they have a different flavor altogether than regular green beans - in short they are awesome. The squash was also amazing because it had actually been picked at the right size instead of being allowed to grow to mammoth-like proportions. The reason this is important is that smaller squash are more tender and have a sweeter flavor, also the seeds are smaller and softer. Anyway, since I had those two foods on hand I decided to make fried squash, pole beans with bacon, meatloaf, and drop biscuits.

The recipes are all below.

Cheddar Turkey Meatloaf (adapted from a Taste of Home recipe)
2 lb Ground Turkey
1 Onion chopped
1 cup Milk
1 1/4 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 Eggs
1 cup Raw Oats
1 teaspoons Salt
2/3 cup Ketchup
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Dry Mustard
Mix ground turkey, onion, cheddar cheese, oats, and salt together and then add in the eggs and salt until well mixed.

raw ingredients

Form into 8 little mounds on a large cookie sheet.

raw meat mounds - yum!

Mix ketchup, brown sugar, and dry mustard together and put a spoonful onto each meatloaf mound. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Pole Beans with Bacon
Rinse a off large mess of pole beans (a pound or more) and clip off ends. Snap in half and put into a medium saucepan. Fill partway with water (but don't cover the beans because they will cook down). Put about 1 teaspoon of salt and a half a piece of bacon in the pot. Boil on medium for about 15 minutes or until beans are soft.

Drop Biscuits (from Cooks Illustrated)
2 cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Sugar
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Cold Buttermilk
8 tablespoons Butter melted
In a measuring bowl combine dry ingredients and set aside. Melt butter in a pyrex measuring cup and set aside to cool briefly (about 5 minutes) then pour in the buttermilk and mix until the butter forms small clumps (the butter is hardening because it is getting cold again from the buttermilk). Pour buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until well incorporated. Dough should be slightly sticky and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto a 15x10 cookie sheet and bake at 475 for about 10-12 minutes until just starting to brown on the top.

Fried Squash
4 or more Summer Squash sliced
1 cup Cornmeal
2 teaspoons Salt
Pepper to taste
Put cornmeal and salt into a quart sized ziplock bag and shake to mix then put in the sliced squash and shake again until the squash are coated in the cornmeal.

Squash in the bag with cornmeal

Heat a large skillet (preferably cast iron) to medium-high and put in a little oil. Put in slices of squash (only one layer thick) and fry the squash on both sides until browned (should take a couple of minutes on each side). Repeat with the rest of the squash. Serve.

Baked Brussel Sprouts

I made these brussel sprouts this weekend and they were fantastic. When I was a kid I remember absolutely detesting brussel sprouts, I thought they tasted nasty and mushy. However, baking them keeps them crisper, a texture I prefer over mushy. :)

Yum!

Baked Brussel Sprouts
Brussel Sprouts
Splash Red Wine Vinegar
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Olive Oil
Halve brussel sprouts and spread out onto a 15x10 inch pan. Sprinkle with salt, red wine vinegar, pepper, and oil. Toss together and bake at 425 for about 20 minutes and serve.

Coconut Banana Cake

There was a dinner party hosted by one of my partner's friends a few days ago and I thought this cake would be the perfect thing to bring. Its a little time consuming to make but well worth the effort. Everyone at the party seemed to enjoy the cake, I only had a few slices left to bring home. :)


Coconut Banana Cake
3/4 cups Butter
1 1/2 cups Sugar
2 Eggs
1 cup Mashed Bananas (about 2 bananas)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Buttermilk

2 cups Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup Walnuts
3/4 cup Coconut
Cream butter and sugar for two minutes until fluffy and less grainy in texture. Add in eggs and beat for another 2 minutes until mixture stiffens.

Whipped butter, eggs, and sugar

Add in bananas and vanilla and beat for another two minutes.

Batter after the bananas are in

Set aside. Combine dry ingredients below into another bowl. Mix dry ingredients alternately (one after the other) with buttermilk into the creamed mixture until well mixed. Then add in walnuts and coconut and mix in. Pour cake batter into a greased and floured 13x9 inch pan.

Cake batter

Bake in a preheated oven at 370 for about 30 minutes (check at 25 minutes to make sure you don't over bake). Cool cake then frost and serve.

Coconut Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup Butter softened
3 cups Confectioners' Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Cream of Coconut (sweetened)
1/2 cup or more Flaked Coconut (sweetened)
Cream together butter and sugar then add in the vanilla and cream of coconut and beat for about 2-3 minutes until mixture becomes smoother and airy. Spread over cooled cake and sprinkle with flaked coconut.

Southwestern Casserole

I've been making this casserole for years and I never get tired of it. It combines several of my favorite flavors, barbeque sauce, cheese, and cornbread into one yummy dish. Originally I used ground beef but I have since begun substituting ground turkey and I can't tell much difference at all.

The whole things takes about 20 minutes to prepare and about 30 minutes to cook, also it is all in one pan so cleanup is pretty easy.

Enjoy!

Southwestern Casserole
Filling
1.2 lbs. Ground Turkey
1 Onion chopped
3 Jalapenos chopped fine
10 oz Frozen Peas
10 oz Frozen Corn
3/4 bottle of BBQ Sauce (Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy)
8 oz Shredded 2% Cheddar Cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
Cornbread Crust
1 1/2 cups Cornmeal
1/2 cup Flour
3 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2 Eggs
1 cup Buttermilk
In a skillet saute onion and jalapenos until they begin to brown then add in the turkey and cook until turkey has browned. Add in the corn and peas and mix together then turn off the heat and add in the cheese, bbq sauce, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
In a bowl combine the dry crust ingredients then add in the eggs and buttermilk. Mix together until well blended and pour into a 13x9 inch pan that has been greased.

Cornbread batter

Spoon the filling over the crust until crust is covered then put in the oven and bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes (when cornbread crust is done and the cheese in the filling is melted).

Just out of the oven

Simple Moong Dal with Plantains

My partner is a huge fan of dal but until today I hadn't actually made it before; however, I had a bag of dal on hand and the bf decided today was the day to make some dal. (Our plans to bike 40 miles never materialized because it rained all day, so cooking seemed like a good substitute). He found this recipe from Group Recipes for dal and we decided to make that (with a few modifications). This dal is absolutely delicious and I will definitely be making it again. Also, it is quite healthy and sure to please everyone, even vegans. :)

Enjoy!

Simple Moong Dal with Plantains
5 cups Moong Dal rinsed and drained (or other type of dal, whatever you have on hand)
12 cups or more Water
5-8 Tomatoes diced (can used canned if you want)
3 Onions chopped fine
3-4 tablespoons minced Garlic
4 teaspoons Coriander
3-4 teaspoons Turmeric
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons Cayenne
3-4 teaspoons Cumin
4 teaspoons Salt (at least)
Olive oil
2 Plantains optional
Put dal and water into a very large pot with the diced tomatoes and salt and cook (covered) on high until boiling then reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered. Meanwhile in a frying pan heat olive oil and add in the onions and garlic, cook until the onions are beginning to get translucent then add in all of the spices, continue to fry for a few more minutes then add the onion mixture to the dal. If desired slice up 2 plantains into half inch pieces and fry on medium-high heat until browned on both sides and add to the dal. Continue cooking dal on medium stirring about every 5-10 minutes until dal has started to break up and form a thick soup. Once the dal has reached the desired thickness turn off heat and serve. FYI, it takes about 40-60 minutes for the dal to cook down. This makes a huge pot of dal, probably at least 15 servings. Calorie count for the entire pot approx: 5446 (about 360 calories per serving)