Taco Lasagna

Tried a new recipe this weekend now that the holidays are over and tradional Christmas and New Years cooking is done! The holidays were awesome but its nice to start cooking some new things now as well!!!! :) One of my Christmas gifts was a new cookbook by Food Network's Sandra Lee. It is her complete cookbook on SemiHomemade Cooking. Awesome awesome book! First recipe I conquered of hers was "Taco Lasagna". It was very simple and very delicious! Pretty filling I will admit, so the only thing you need to compliment this meal is a good tasty colorful garden salad! "No bread needed!!!!" :) Hope you enjoy as much as we did! Here's to the first of the year and many new recipes to blog! CHEERS!

Taco Lasagna


1 lb lean ground beef
1 packet low-sodium taco seasoning
1 can diced green chiles
1 cup chopped onion
1 container (16 ounce) ricotta cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon Mexican seasoning
1 can (28 ounce) crushed tomatoes
1 jar (16 ounce) chunky salsa
1 box lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions
3 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese (I used less)


TACO LASAGNA

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef, "I cooked my onions with the beef just out of preference."


Drain fat. Add 3/4 cup water, taco seasoning and green chiles.


Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, eggs, cilantro and Mexican seasoning, "I could not find Mexican seasoning already mixed up so I combined cumin,onion powder,garlic salt and chili powder to equal 1 TBS."


In a medium bowl, stir together tomatoes and salsa.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a deep 9x13 baking dish, spread 1/4 of the sauce on bottom of dish. Add a layer of noodles. Top with 1/2 ricotta mixture, 1/2 ground beef, 1 cup shredded cheese, 1/4 sauce and another layer of noodles.







Repeat layers with remaining ingredients. End with a layer of just noodles, sauce and cheese.
Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing.


Garnish with cilantro before serving.

South of the Border Tomato Soup

This was a recipe I pulled from Rachel Ray's Magazine in September. It was a very flavorful tomato soup! Roasting the tomatoes to prepare for the soup was a neat and easy technique as well. The soup has an avocado-yogurt blend you can scoop on top of the soup to cool it down a bit, which gave it an awesome flavor!!!! ENJOY!


Ingredients:
4 pints grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon honey
1 ripe hass avocado
1/4 cup plain reduced-fat greek yogurt
4 ounces sharp yellow cheddar cheese, shredded (1 packed cup)
1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 1/2 cups lightly crushed baked tortilla chips
Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 450°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment and place the tomatoes on top. Drizzle with the olive oil; season with salt and pepper.



Roast the tomatoes until the skins begin to split and blister, about 15 minutes.


2.Transfer the tomatoes and any juices to a food processor.

Add 1 cup chicken broth and process until coarsely pureed, about 10 seconds.

Force the mixture through a fine sieve set over a medium saucepan; discard the pulp.

Add the honey and the remaining 1 cup chicken broth to the saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper.


3.Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mash the avocado; stir in the yogurt and season with salt and pepper. Place the cheese in a medium bowl and sprinkle the chile powder on top. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with the avocado cream, cheese and tortilla chips.

Taco Sandwich

This is a very easy and VERY tasty lunch or simple dinner to put together that can feed about 6. I think next time I might use sour cream with the salsa rather than the cream cheese, but it was still very good. Hope you enjoy as much as we did.!
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 loaf (1 pound) unsliced Italian bread
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup salsa
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 large tomato, sliced
6 slices American cheese
Directions
In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Meanwhile, cut bread in half lengthwise; hollow out top and bottom of loaf, leaving a 1/2-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use). In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and salsa until blended. Spread inside bread shell; set aside.
Drain beef. Stir in taco seasoning. Layer lettuce and tomato in bottom of bread shell; top with beef mixture and cheese. Replace bread top. Yield: 6 servings.

Chicken Crescent Casserole

This was a tasty casserole I did a while back this month. It was full of chicken and very creamy. This is a great casserole to make in a hurry for the family or to send to someone to enjoy. The crescent rolls baked on top of the casserole to hold it together was very unique and gave it a great flavor. ENJOY!


Ingredients
1 celery rib, sliced
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons dried minced onion
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained "I omitted this, mainly because I cant stand water chestnuts!"
1 jar (4-1/2 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
2/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Directions
In a large saucepan, saute celery in 1 tablespoon butter until tender.

Stir in the soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, onion, chicken, water chestnuts and mushrooms.

Cook and stir over medium heat just until mixture begins to boil. Transfer to an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese.

Unroll crescent roll dough into a rectangle; seal seams and perforations.

Place over cheese. Melt the remaining butter; toss with nuts and sprinkle over top. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.


Yield: 8-10 servings.

Chicken with Broccoli and Pasta

12 ounces rigatoni pasta
1/2 pound fresh broccoli florets
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons pesto
1 cup chopped tomatoes
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and chopped
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
Directions
1.In a large pot with boiling salted water cook rigatoni pasta until done.


Drain.
2.Meanwhile, blanch broccoli florets in a medium size saucepan, remove with slotted spoon.

In same pan saute the minced garlic and pesto sauce in the olive oil for 2 minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes and set aside.

3.In a large bowl toss cooked pasta with blanched broccoli, cooked chicken, and garlic/tomato mixture.

Add grated Parmesan cheese, salt, and ground black pepper and mix well. Serve warm.

Shrimp and Grits

This was a yummy new favorite!!! I pulled this recipe from a Rachel Ray magazine a while back and hadnt tried it until last night. It was so full of flavor and very creamy. When thing I will change for next time was to cut down on the leom juice, it really only needed a tablespoon rather thn 2, so it's not too overpowering with lemon. Other than that, it was GREAT! Hope you enjoy it as much as the Corder family did. CHEERS!


Shrimp and Grits
Makes 4-6 servings
Prep 20 min., Cook:21 min.

2 bacon slices
1 lb. unpeeled, medium size raw shrimp
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup green onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup low-sodium, fat free chicken broth
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp hot sauce
Cheese Grits


1. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat 10 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 1 tsp. drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon.

2. Peel shrimp; devein, if desired.

Sprinkle shrimp with salt and pepper; dredge in flour.



3. Saute mushrooms in hot drippings with oil in skillet 5 minutes or until tender.


Add green onions, and saute 2 minutes.

Add shrimp and garlic, and saute 2 minutes or until shrimp are lightly browned. Stir in chicken broth, lemon juice, and hot sauce, and cook 2 more minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet.


Spoon shrimp mixture over hot cheese grits; sprinkle with crumbled bacon.
"Shrimp and Grits is What's Delectable for Dinner Tonight!"

New Orleans Red Beans and Rice

IM BACK FROM THE DEAD AND IN MY KITCHEN FINALLY!!!!!!!
Obviously as you can see, I have not had an entry on my blog since February, which I know has been waaaayyy to long, but I am finally back! I have two very good excuses though. :) February was about the time we found out we were expecting baby #2 and when I also started feeling very very and I mean VERY SICK! So needless to say the morning sickness that was worse in the evenings, kept me out of the kitchen for quite some time. "Poor Lance and Kaylin had to fend for themselves many many nights!" Also, once I started finally feeling better which was about late April, my camera died so I had no way of documenting some of my dishes. Anywho, I am no longer sick thank goodness and I have a brand new camera, YEAH! So with that said, I am back! Here is a recipe my friend made for me a couple years ago and I LOVED LOVED LOVED IT (Thank you for sharing Lisa!) It is courtesy of Emeril Lagasse! Soo yummy, not too spicy at all for those who fear anything with the word New Orleans in it! :) ENJOY!

New Orleans-Style Red Beans and Rice
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004

.Prep Time:15 minInactive Prep Time:--Cook Time:4 hr 0 minLevel:
EasyServes:
8 servings. Ingredients
•2 tablespoons vegetable oil
•1 cup chopped onions
•1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
•1/2 cup chopped celery
•1 teaspoon salt
•1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•1 teaspoon dried thyme
•2 bay leaves
•1 pound boiled ham cut, into 1/2-inch cubes (I omitted this, and doubled the sausage)
•6 ounces smoked sausage, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices (1 cup)
•1 pound dried red beans, rinsed and sorted through, soaked overnight and drained
•3 tablespoons chopped garlic
•8 to 10 cups water
•Steamed rice
Directions
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onions, bell peppers, celery, salt, cayenne, black pepper and thyme for about 5 minutes.

Add the bay leaves, ham and sausage and saute for 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the beans, garlic, and enough water to cover the contents in the pot.



Bring to a boil,

Reduce the heat to medium, and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 2 hours. Add more water if the mixture becomes dry and thick. Use a wooden spoon to mash about half of the mixture against the side pf the pot. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the mixture is creamy and the beans are soft. Add more water if it becomes too thick. The mixture should be soupy but not watery. Remove the bay leaves and serve with steamed white rice.

ENJOY!!!

Red Beans and Rice is What's Delectable for Dinner Tonight!

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