Beef Enchiladas

6 servings (2 enchiladas per serving)

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups diced onion
12 flour tortillas
2 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, canned or homemade (homemade recipe shown below)
3 cups shredded cheese

Serve as desired with: shredded lettuce, avocado, cilantro, sour cream

Directions:

Homemade Enchilada Sauce 

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce (I used pasta sauce)
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

 Heat oil in a large skillet to medium heat. Whisk in flour and chili powder. Reduce heat to medium and continue to whisk until lightly browned. Gradually whisk in tomato sauce, chicken broth, cumin, garlic powder, onion salt and salt. Stir until smooth, and continue simmering over medium heat about 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

Enchiladas

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray.

2. Heat a large skillet. Add ground beef; break apart with a spoon or spatula to crumble the meat. Saute the meat on medium heat until browned (about 5 minutes).

3. Add onion. Saute until just softened, 3 to 4 minutes.

4. Add 1/2 cup of sauce to the prepared pan. Spread it around so it coats the entire bottom of the pan.

5. Assemble the enchiladas: Place tortilla on a work surface. Spoon 1/4 cup of the meat mixture down the middle. Sprinkle 2 Tablespoons of cheese on top of the meat. Drizzle 1 Tablespoon of sauce on top. Wrap the tortilla around the filling tightly and place it seam-side-down in the pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling until you have finished filling 12 tortillas. Place the tortillas side-by-side in the pan- it's okay if they are all snuggled in there tightly.

6. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the stuffed enchiladas. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

7. Remove pan from the oven and take off the foil. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top; return to the oven and let the cheese melt (about 5 minutes).

8. Serve immediately with desired condiments.

Girl Scout Thin Mint Brownies

Trent and I still have some Girl Scout cookies and I wanted to know if there was something I could make with them. So I did. I've never made good brownies, until I made these!

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used bittersweet chocolate)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 sleeve Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, chopped. (16 cookies)

NOTE: I also added chocolate frosting but that's because I used unsweetened chocolate instead of semisweet, so it was really bitter.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Spray 9 x 9 square pan with Pam with flour (that's my method). In a small bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. Place butter and semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of gently simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove bowl from heat. 
4. Add sugar; mix to combine. 
5. Add eggs one at a time, and mix to combine. 
6. Add flour mixture; mix just until moistened (do not overmix). 
7. Fold in chopped Girl Scout Thin Mints. 
8. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top.
9. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 40 minutes. 
10. Cool in pan for 30 minutes.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 sleeve buttery round crackers (like Ritz), crushed
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds, or more if desired
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Place the chicken breasts into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the chicken breasts are no longer pink in the center, about 20 minutes. Drain the water, then shred the chicken.
2. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine the butter, crackers, and poppy seeds in a bowl; set aside.
3. Blend the sour cream and cream of chicken soup in a bowl; pour half of the soup mixture into a 9x9-inch baking dish. Add the shredded chicken, then pour the remaining half of the soup mixture on top. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese, then top with the cracker mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes.

Snickerdoodles

Yay for me being a good American cook!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 8 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Mix the butter, sugar, and eggs until creamy. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl. Blend the wet with the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon until well-blended.
3. Roll the dough into the size of small walnuts.
4. Prepare the cinnamon and sugar mixture by mixing the cinnamon and sugar.
5. Roll the cookie dough into the cinnamon and sugar mixture until coated and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 5-6 minutes watching to make sure they don't burn. They should be very lightly brown and still soft looking on top. When they cool, they will crack a little on top.

Argentine Ñoquis

I made ñoquis for a cultural potluck we had in my class. It was a lot of fun! For pictures and other information about ñoqui traditions in Argentina, read the post on my family blog.

Here's the recipe I used, as well as some tips about making ñoquis:

RICOTTA ÑOQUIS

Adapted from Choly Berreteaga's Pasta y Pizzas. On Ñoquis Night in Houston, the ñoquis were served with additional grated Parmesan cheese and a choice of Alfredo, pesto, Bolognese or Bolognese-cream sauce. Berreteaga instructs her readers to roll the ñoquis with the palms of their hands, but Lucy Marzeniuk used her fingers. Ñoquis can be made ahead of time and frozen. Boil them just before you plan to eat them. Toy Brando Halsey says ricotta ñoquis are the easiest to make. If the cheese is very wet, you can drain it in a mesh strainer or cheesecloth.

• 1 pound regular ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Salt to taste
• Ground black pepper to taste
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 to 11/3 cups all-purpose flour, as necessary
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Combine the ricotta, egg, salt, pepper, nutmeg and Parmesan. Gradually add flour until you have a nice, soft dough that does not stick to your fingers.

Flour your hands and a very clean counter. Divide the dough into several balls. Using the palms of your hands, shape each ball into a log of dough about 8 inches long and about the width of a medium cigar. Cut each log into ¾-inch nuggets.

Roll individual ñoquis with your thumb or index finger, pressing lightly against the tines of a fork to form a concave dent on one side and grooves on the other.

When you are ready to eat, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the oil. Thump the ñoquis lightly to get rid of excess flour. Drop a handful at a time into the pot. When they float to the surface, which will take just a few minutes, they are done. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon. Drain. Repeat with the remaining ñoquis.

Makes 3 to 4 servings.

ÑOQUIS KNOW-HOW

• Cooking: When making potato ñoquis, bake the potatoes rather than boiling them. They will be drier, requiring less flour, which is the key to light ñoquis.

• Doneness: If you boil the potatoes, do not poke them continually with a fork to test if they are done, or they will become waterlogged.

• Texture: Rice the potatoes instead of mashing them. If you don't have a ricer, use a fork or potato masher, or put them through a food mill. Never use a food processor, which will make them gummy.

• Flour: Add the flour gradually and with restraint, or the ñoquis will be pasty. The dough should feel slightly sticky.

• Testing: Place a single ñoqui in boiling water. If it falls apart, add more flour to the dough.

• Cheese: If you are making ricotta ñoquis and the cheese is very wet, drain it for a few hours in a mesh strainer or cheesecloth before you start.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/food/side/4210966.html#ixzz1UK5CobwT

Eggs in a Basket

I got this idea from my friend's blog- http://blog.livingourdreamlife.com/2011/02/romantic-breakfast-idea.html.

It's a super easy and fast thing to make for breakfast.

Take a piece of bread and cut a circle (or any shape) out of the middle with a cookie cutter or a knife or whatever you want. Then butter both sides of the bread.

Spray an already heated frying pan with cooking spray. Place the bread on the pan and then crack an egg into the shape's opening. Salt and pepper the egg to taste. (Oh, and if you want the egg to be hard style, break the yoke. Otherwise just leave it.)

After a 3 or 4 minutes or so, flip the toast and egg over and cook the other side for the same amount of time.

(This side doesn't look very good because I forgot to spray the pan with cooking spray.)

And when it's done, enjoy it! When I made it this time, I melted a little bit of shredded cheese on top, but you don't have to. Do whatever you want!

Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole

I'm trying to be more American and I'm trying to make more American foods.

Trent really liked this and I like cheese.

• 1 1/3 cups uncooked white rice
• 2 2/3 cups water
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups mild salsa
• 1 bouillon cube

1. Place rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. (Or use a rice cooker)
2. Meanwhile, place chicken breast halves into a large saucepan, and fill the pan with water and a bouillon cube. Bring to a boil, and cook for 20 minutes, or until done. Remove chicken from water. When cool enough to handle, cut meat into bite-size pieces.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. In a medium bowl, combine Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses.
5. Brown the chopped onion.
6. In a separate bowl, mix together cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, onion, and salsa.
7. Layer 1/2 of the rice, 1/2 of the chicken, 1/2 of the soup and salsa mixture, and 1/2 of the cheese mixture in prepared dish. Repeat layers, ending with cheese.
8. Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until bubbly.