Taco Pasta Bake

I'll apologize up front for no picture today. Whitney made this for Bible study last night, I got some before she walked out the door with it and it was gone when she got home...hungry teens and all. It was really good though and super easy to make. Another alternative for Taco Tuesday.

Taco Pasta Bake
serves 6

1/2 box of large pasta (ziti or rigatoni are good)
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 package of taco seasoning (or the equivalent amount of homemade)
1 c water
4 oz. cream cheese
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar or Mexican blend shredded cheese

Cook pasta until just done, drain, and quickly rinse. Meanwhile, brown ground beef and onion. Mix together the taco seasoning and water and pour over the cooked meat. Let simmer about 5 minutes. Add the cream cheese, stir until melted and combined. Put the pasta into a 9x13 dish and stir in 1 cup of cheese. Top with the meat mixture and stir carefully until the pasta is coated. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake at 350* for about 30 minutes. You may want to cover it in the beginning to prevent drying out.


I found this recipe on Pinterest, from this blog.

Camping food

Now that we're finally getting into some warmer weather, our family's thoughts have turned to camping. We're planning on one big family vacation this summer and a few shorter trips. We tent camp and cook over a Coleman stove, sometimes a campfire. When we're camping, we usually keep things pretty simple, partly due to what we can cook on, partly because we usually want something quick. We spend time hiking, sightseeing, enjoying the day, and don't have the energy at the end of the day for something much more than hot dogs and beans or spaghetti. I'll be posting a few of our favorite camping recipes as the summer progresses. Tonight's is one that I found online, s'mores trail mix.

S'mores Trail Mix
makes lots

1 small box of Golden Grahams
1 bag mini marshmallows
1 bag chocolate chips

Mix all together in a large container. Portion out into sandwich or snack bags to take with you on a hike.

Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe a year or more ago and have made it several times. It's pretty easy and the family always likes it. It's from Eat at Home and it's another that doesn't have specific measurements. For the four of us, I use two chicken breasts, a whole can of chilies, and it makes 7-8 enchiladas. You can check out her blog for detailed pictures.

Last night for Cinco de Mayo I served the enchiladas with Mexican black beans and rice. The enchilada isn't pretty in the picture but it sure tasted good!

Chicken Enchiladas
serves 5-6

cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
enchilada sauce, either homemade or store bought
shredded cheddar cheese
small can of diced green chilies
tortillas

Mix the chicken, chilies, and cheese together. Spray a casserole dish (I use a 9x13 dish) with non-stick spray. Spread a layer of enchilada sauce over the bottom of the dish. Put some of the chicken mixture onto a tortilla, roll up, and put into the baking dish. Repeat until you've used up all the chicken (if you have more chicken than you need, you can freeze the extra chicken or if you have too many enchiladas, you can start a second pan). Spread more enchilada sauce over the top and cover with more cheese. Bake at 350* for about an hour.

A Busy Day in the Kitchen

Today was a busy day in the kitchen. We had several bananas that needed to be used and I was tired of banana muffins. I didn't really feel like banana bread either, especially since I have to make some later this week. I found a recipe for banana cake so made that. I was looking around for frosting since the recipe made two round layers. At first I thought I might go with a cream cheese frosting (that goes with banana cake, right?) but then I looked in another cookbook. The banana cake there called for chocolate ganache glaze/frosting. That sounded really good so that's what I went with. We like to occasionally snack on bananas with chocolate so I knew that would work. It was yummy!

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, a holiday all about the food (really, there's no other good reason for it), I made chicken enchiladas, with Mexican black beans and rice. The enchiladas were good, I've made them several times (and am surprised to see that I hadn't put the recipe here yet) and the family likes them. The black beans were pretty good but I was the only one that liked them. Trying to bring some variety to their lives; they appreciate it, but don't always like it. I'll have recipes up soon.

Margarita Fruit Dip

I had this at Bible study last week and it was really good. Then this week I had to bring some snacks to our MOPS meeting at church and thought they would like this. It was a big hit and really easy to make. It goes great with any sort of sliced/chunk fruit - melons, strawberries, blackberries, kiwi, bananas. It does make a lot, so be prepared!

Margarita Fruit Dip

1 8oz. package room temperature cream cheese
1/2 of a 15 oz. can of cream of coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 container cool whip (not frozen)

Mix the cream cheese, cream of coconut, and condensed milk together in a mixer until well blended. Fold in the cool whip. Serve with sliced fruit.

*you can use low-fat/no-fat cream cheese, condensed milk, and cool whip

Honey Lime Shrimp

I made this over the weekend while the seafood haters were out of town. It made just enough for the two of us that were home. It's a definite keeper! They're sweet with a little zing from the lime and red pepper flakes.

Honey Lime Shrimp
serves 2

1/2 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 c olive oil
2 Tbsp honey
juice and zest of a small lime
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

In a medium ziplock bag, combine the marinade ingredients. When well combined, add the shrimp and make sure they all get covered with the marinade. Squeeze out as much air as possible and put in the fridge for 30-60 minutes, flipping every so often to make sure all the shrimp get covered in marinade.

Take the shrimp out of the fridge and let them sit out for 10 minutes. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat (no need to add oil or butter, there's plenty to keep the shrimp from sticking in the marinade). Add the shrimp in a single layer, trying not to crowd them. Cook for a minute or so on the first side, until they are pick and the edges start to curl; flip over and cook for another 30-60 seconds (I actually had to cook mine a bit longer). Remove from the pan and serve immediately.


I found this recipe originally on The Dough Will Rise Again.

Baked Potato Casserole

Yes, we've still been eating, just been incredibly busy. Nothing really creative or new about most anything I've been making recently. I'm just happy most days to get a decent dinner made and on the table or into a thermos. I was clipping some coupons this weekend and came across this baked potato casserole recipe. Since Bob is a meat-and-potatoes man and Whitney loves baked potatoes, I knew this would be a hit at our house. After a long day of snowboarding/skiing and working at the grill, they came home to steak and baked potato casserole.

Baked Potato Casserole
serves 6

8 medium potatoes (about 2.5-3 lbs total), peeled and cut into chunks
1 c evaporated milk
1/2 c light sour cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, divided
sliced green onions, optional (I used 3)

Place potatoes in a large pot. cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes or until tender; drain. Preheat oven to 350*. Grease 2.5-3 quart casserole dish.

Return potatoes to saucepan; add evaporated milk, sour cream, salt and pepper. Mash with a potato masher until smooth. Stir in 1 1/2 c cheese and half of the bacon. Spoon mixture into casserole dish.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through. top with remaining 1/2 c cheese, remaining bacon, and green onions. Bake for an additional 3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Tastes just like a baked potato, but in casserole form.