Taco Soup!

What a nice dish to have on a wet cold day! And what a hit! I really thought, though, that it was more of a taco chili/soup... it was much thicker then soup but still had some brothy substance... either way it was delish and EASY!
And here you can see why we needed it...Do you see how wet it was! COLD! I made this to take the Maryland vs NC State tailgate. Even though State lost, we put up a good fight and we stayed warm at the tailgate with my chili/soup! Lets call it Chiop!

At least we had fun together too!


I got this from a crockpot blogger, who also happens to be gluten free! HMM WOW! So thanks A year of Crockpotting, it was delish!

Ingredients
2 cans of kindey beans
2 cans of pinto beans
2 cans of corn
1 large can of diced tomatoes (I have no idea why the can wasn't in this picture. I know I put it in. This is a mystery.)
1 can tomatoes and chiles
1 packet taco seasoning (if you are gluten free, stick to McCormick)
1 packet ranch dressing mix (make sure there isn't hidden gluten, I went with Hidden Valley)
1 lb browned ground turkey or hamburger (optional.)
shredded cheese and sour cream for embellishment (optional, unless you're in my house. then it's mandatory.)

The Directions:

brown meat if you are going to use it
drain fat and add to crockpot stoneware insert (the meat. not the fat.)
sprinkle seasoning packets on top of meat
drain and rinse the beans and add
add the ENTIRE contents of the corn and tomato cans

cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5. I think the longer you cook soup, the better, so if you have the time, opt for cooking on low.

serve with a handful of shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

Blackend Catfish

Well for our anniversary we were fishing up painting so I didn't have time to make a big crazy wonderful meal like I was hoping but this was amazing! It was sooo fast and tasty! Thanks to Epicurious!
For the Catfish:
Ingredients
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried orégano, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 catfish fillets (about 1 pound)
1 large garlic clove, sliced thin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
lemon wedges as an accompaniment
Preparation
In a small bowl combine the paprika, the orégano, the thyme, the cayenne, the sugar, the salt, and the black pepper, pat the catfish dry, and sprinkle the spice mixture on both sides of the fillet, coating them well. In a large skillet sauté the garlic in the oil over moderately high heat, stirring, until it is golden brown and discard the garlic. Add the butter, heat it until the foam subsides, and in the fat sauté the catfish for 4 minutes on each side, or until it is cooked through. Transfer the catfish fillets with a slotted spatula to 2 plates and serve them with the lemon wedges.

For the rice, I have this AWESOME new microwave rice cooker that I wanted to try out... so I loaded in my Rice, water, and frozen veggie and cooked away. It was GREAT! Chris LOVED it... even more then the fish I think! HA!

Bacon Makes EVERYTHING yummy!

So i had these REALLY CHEAP pork chops that I bought but I wanted them to be yummy so I started talking to myself again asking what would make these thin, tiny, nothing of a chop tasty and do you know what my head told me??? BACON!

I First pounded the pork chops even thinner so they would be a little bigger. Then i stuffed them with rice, gluten free Italian bread crumbs, some tomato paste, an egg, some cheddar cheese (shredded) and that might be it. I wrapped the pork chop up taco style and then wound a piece of bacon around it in a spiral and toothpicked it into place.

Then I drizzled some olive oil on top and sprinkled with Italian seasonings (these seasonings are actually supposed to be combined with olive oil so you can dip your bread in it, but i figured I could cook with it too~). I baked it for around 30mins at 350ish... you know until the bacon felt crispy!

And boy was it yummy! Like Chris said when I asked him what he thought "Bacon Makes EVERYTHING taste good!"

Wilton Course 1, class 2

So this week we practiced our star tip! The book wanted us to do rainbows or something equally stupid, so since I enjoy being different I decided what a GREAT time of year to do a Fall Cake (I know I know ingenious)!

I started with a gluten free pumpkin spice cake recipe from Karina's Kitchen. It was amazing! Even Chris LOVED it!

Recipe follows:
3 extra large organic free-range eggs
2 cups organic light brown sugar
2/3 cup light olive oil
1 15-oz can cooked pumpkin (or two cups of fresh cooked pumpkin)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups gluten-free flour mix* see notes
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 10 x 13" baking pan with greased foil or parchment.

Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl till light and frothy; add the brown sugar, beat till smooth; add the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla; beat to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (the GF flour mix through sea salt). Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture a little at a time and beat to combine- for two minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, or until the cake is firm and a wooden pick inserted into the center emerges clean.

It is a thick batter so make sure when you put it in a pans you shake it to get it to level out.

Then for the Filling!!! I did an APPLE PIE filling! OH YEA!
Basically I just used my pampered chef chopper to get 3 granny smith apples (skinned and cored) into TINY little bitty pieces. Then I put them in a pot with around 1/2c sugar, 2 or so tbsp of gluten free flour, a tbsp or so of cinnamon, some nutmeg, and a bit of butter and I cooked until softish (can't you tell it was an exact science~).
I then lined my bottom layer with butter cream icing and filled it in and topped it off with the other layer.

My icing is just regular Wilton butter cream with almond flavoring. I would have preferred to use cream cheese frosting but the point of this cake was for my decorating class, not for personal enjoyment. HAHAH!

And that's all... enjoy the pics while I enjoy eating it!



Awww I'm so cute putting my wedding date on it!


Yea as soon as I got home Chris was like "WOW looks great woman! Cane we eat it now?" So we did!
Just LOOK at that yummy filling!

Chicken and White Bean Chili

This was so good! I got the recipe from epicurious and it will be added to our "rotation" of cold weather foods! YUMM!

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/3 cups chopped onion
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 15- to 16-ounce cans white beans, drained, juices reserved
2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chicken; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until chicken is no longer pink outside, about 5 minutes. Mix in chili powder, tomato paste, cumin, and oregano. Add beans, 1 cup reserved bean juices, and canned tomatoes. Simmer until chicken is cooked through and chili is thickened, about 25 minutes. If chili is too thick, add more bean juices by tablespoonfuls to thin. Season chili to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in cilantro and serve.

We added Cheese and sour cream to ours and also dipped in tortilla chips! YUM!

Fall Sunflowers!

My circle in my neighborhood had a BBQ so that we could all get to know each other. We were all asked to bring a dish so I brought deviled eggs (forgot to photograph) and these cupcakes! I tried my best to copy Katie, but alas mine needed more practice. I followed her instructions except that I used a gluten-free cake mix and I nixed the Lady Bugs because it was all I could do to make the freaking petals! Anywho, I will improve and they tasted great and were a huge hit!

For those of you who are gluten-free I used the Cocoa puffs for the center and I had to pick them off... I couldn't find the Cocoa pebbles! Enjoy!

Italian Fish

I got this recipe from Kraft.com. It was incredible. I would eat it again and again and it's also pretty healthy!

Ingredients

1 large frozen white fish Fillet (I think mine was flounder)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 reduced fat mozzarella cheese
2-4 tbsp of Zesty Italian dressing (or Fat Free Italian Dressing)
Fresh Parsley (I used dried b/c it's what I had on hand)

Preheat oven to 450. Drizzle Dressing over fish and cook frozen fish uncovered for twenty five minutes.
Then top with mushrooms then Cheese and lastly with the Parsley.
Bake an additional five minutes!
Wha LA!

I served mine with butter and garlic asparagus and gluten free mac and cheese!
Yum!

Shish ke babs!

What a yummy healthy hit!!! This is the easiest recipe to do and is so GOOD for you! Thanks to our friends Tuck and Martiena for the inspiration!


Prep work on this is everything and will make your BBQ so much more!

We used, low fat sausage, chicken breast cut up and marinated in teriyaki(not Gluten free) sauce, deer tenderloin (hey my husbands a hunter) marinated in mesquite(not Gluten Free) sauce, shrimp with old bay seasonings and potatoes, onions, and bell peppers.

First with the potatoes and veggies you'll want to slice them and pre-cook them in boiling water... just to where they are barely tender.
Then mix the potatoes in butter, salt and pepper.
Put a little salt and pepper on the onions and bell pepper.

Cut up you chicken and red meat into 2" pieces and marinate them in the fridge. Slice your sausage and i bought pre-cooked shrimp but you don't have to, just season them how you like.

About 30 or so minutes before you want to cook put everything on a skewer and put in the fridge to wait until you decide to cook... little hint, put your shrimp on its own skewer since they cook much faster then the other meat!

Enjoy!!!