Taco Salad Bowls

Okay, this photo actually wasn't taken by me, but I totally forgot to take photos (forgive me I was hungry). But, mine looked a lot like this one. These are SO SO yummy and a great alternative to boring old tacos.

Prep: 20 min. Total: 20 min.

4 Flour Tortillas (8-10 inches)
1 Tbsp. chili powder, divided
1 lb. ground turkey (can use ground beef too, but ground turkey is really yummy in this and healthier!)
1 Cup diced carrots
1/2 Cup Salsa
Salad Greens, Torn
1 Large Tomato, chopped
1 Pkg. Taco Seasoning
Any other taco toppings you like!

PREHEAT oven to 425 degrees. Crumple 4 large sheets of foil to make 3-inch balls; place on greased baking sheet. Place 1 tortilla on top of each ball; spray tortilla with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 tsp. of the chili powder. Bake 6-8 min. or until tortillas are golden brown (tortillas will drape over balls as they bake).

MEANWHILE brown meat with carrots in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Add salsa and taco seasoning; cook 2 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

NEXT put salad greens in tortillas bowls; top with meat mixture, add toppings. And Enjoy!

Scrumptous Apple Pie

1 pie crust

6 to 7 cups peeled and sliced Granny Smith apples
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup pecans
1/2 jar (or more) caramel topping

Mix peeled apples, lemon juice, sugar, flour, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
Cut the butter into the flour, then add in brown sugar, oats, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Add apples to prepared pie shell and top with crumb topping. Cover crust edges with aluminum foil and bake in a 375-degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil from crust and place back into the oven for another 30 minutes. Chop pecans, and when five minutes remain, sprinkle them over the pie. Finish baking. Quiver with anticipation.

Remove pie from oven and pour 1/2 jar (or more, if you’re feeling dangerous and naughty) of caramel topping over the top. Allow to cool slightly before serving, or don’t if you can’t wait. Eat. Enjoy.

Taken from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Calzones

Here's the recipe for the dough (I did it in a food processor which made it SO fast and easy, but you could use a stand mixer or do it by hand): (That wasn't an emoticon, just some good old-fashioned punctuation)

Put 1 package of dry, active yeast (those are just the normal packets you always see and each one has 2 1/4 tsp of yeast, if you're using yeast out of a jar) in one cup of warm (105-110 degrees) with 1/4 tsp. of sugar.
Let it proof (that just means sit there for a while so the yeast can wake up and start eating) for 15 minutes.
Then add 2 tbsp. of olive oil.

In a food processor, mix together 3 cups of flour (all-purpose or bread) with 2 tsp. of salt and 1 tbsp. of sugar.
With the motor on, pour in the yeast mixture and let the motor run until the dough comes together (less than 30 seconds).
Take the dough out, form it into a ball and put it in a large, oiled bowl, cover it and let it rise for one hour in a warm spot. Punch the dough down and divide it into four (or more) balls. Put the balls on a greased cookie sheet and let them rise for 40 minutes. Then, on a lightly floured surface, roll the balls out into circles with a rolling pin. Put two circles on an oiled cookie sheet and fill it with whatever you want. Leave a little dough bare around the edges like you would for a pizza.
Some of the things I set out were:Ricotta cheese, mozarella cheese, feta cheese, salami, pepperoni, ham, red peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, frozen spinach (thaw it, then squeeze all the water out first) and tomato sauce.
I recommend putting all your fillings on one side of the dough circle, then folding the other side on top. After folding it over, seal the edges with a fork.
Put them in a pre-heated, 375 oven for 15-25 minutes (I think our oven lies about its temperature, so ours was 25, but it should be shorter). When they start to get a little golden brown, then they should be done.

Taken from http://feedyourfamily.blogspot.com/2008/01/calzones.html

Funky Chicken and Sesame Noodles

Funky Chicken
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, chopped (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts sesame oil, for sauteeing

Directions

First make the sesame noodes:
Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Drain.
In a jar, add the soy sauce, sesame oil and the sugar.
Shake until well blended and the sugar has dissolved.
Pour this over the pasta.
Toss with scallions and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
Set aside while you marinate and then cook the chicken.

Funkying the chicken:
In a bowl mix the soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, garlic, brown sugar and the ginger.
Make sure the sugar has pretty much dissolved.
Add the chicken, making sure it's all coated with the sauce.
Cover and stick in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
Remove the chicken from the marinade, and toss out the marinade left at the bottom of the bowl.
Heat the sesame oil in a large non-stick pan.
Add the chicken in batches and saute for about 10 minutes, or until done, adding more sesame oil as needed.
Remove the chicken from the pan and let cool slightly.
Slice the chicken diagonally into thin strips.
Serve the chicken over the sesame noodles.

Just Like Cafe Rio Chicken

This recipe makes a lot so just scale it down to what you need!

1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian dressing
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
3 cloves minced garlic
5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast

Put all ingredients in crock-pot on low for 4 hours, shred meat and cook for one hour more.

Tonight I made it just for just our family, this is how I scaled it down for just the 3 1/2 of us.

1/2 small bottle dressing
1.5 teaspoon chili powder
1.5 teaspoon cumin
1.5 clove minced garlic
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

I put it in the crock pot for 2 hours, shredded it and cooked it for 1 hour more.

My tacos include tortillas, black beans, the cafe rio chicken, tomatoes, and onions.

Non-conformist Pork Loin

Thanks to Mr. AB (who cannot be named for fear of lawsuits, but if you watch any cooking shows on a certain cooking channel and don't know who AB is, you should probably pay closer attention next time) I decided to use a dry rub I learned from him.

8 parts Brown Sugar

1 Part Salt (Kosher of Course)

1 Part Chili Powder (I used a nice deep red roasted one)

1 Part Misc Spices (I used garlic Granules, Mustard Powder, Basil, Cumin, Black Pepper)

We did this mixture using a cup of Brown Sugar so it was a Cup of that and an 8th of a cup of everything else. You can make as much as you like but that was a perfect amount for this piece of meat. So this all happened the night before.

We rubbed the back and front massaging the rub into the savory flesh of the loin. And then we wrapped it up in two layers of Wide (this helps immensely) tinfoil.

It looked like a happy tinfoil sausage at this point.

Our seasoned happy roll was then placed in the fridge to chill out over night. We put in on a standard sheet pan diagonally and it mostly fit. The next day we made the glaze sauce base.

1 cup Chicken broth

1/2 Cup Red Wine Vinegar

2 TBLS Worcester Sauce

3-4 Smashed up garlic cloves

1-2 TBLS of Honey

Mix this all together and bring to a boil then let steep for a while. Then open up one end of your pork roll and pour it in. Cook (this is called braising) for 3-4 hours on 225 F. It wont burn unless all the liquid dries up. Which at 225 would take days. I used a probe thermometer to check doneness and pulled it at 190 which is actually hotter than it should be but it didn't hurt it. Anything after 180 should be more than hot enough to kill the bugs. After it has cooked open one end of the foil and dump out all the liquid into a big sauce pan. At this junction I actually moved the loin onto a new sheet pan lined with foil since it was being served later and to the public. At home I would have left it in the old, now discolored, tinfoil. Put the loin into the now extinguished oven to rest. Now boil the liquid for a long time. This stuff needs to go from water consistency to BBQ sauce consistency. Do be afraid to let it boil and boil good. It took about 30 minutes for ours because we had so much sauce. Once the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, spoon it over the loin. Don't be shy, this is the divine ambrosia that makes this dish. Then hit the loin with the broiler until the sauce starts to caramelize (it will turn brown and bubble, it might even get black in one or two spots). Cut and serve.

Taken from http://mormoncook.blogspot.com/2007/12/non-conformist-pork-loin.html

Shepherd's Pie

Prep Time:
30 min

Total Time:
50 min

Makes:
6 servings, about 1-1/2 cups each

1-1/4 lb. red potatoes, cut into chunks

3 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 Stick butter

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

2 Tbsp. flour

4 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

3/4 cup reduced-sodium beef broth

2 Tbsp. ketchup

PLACE potatoes and garlic in large saucepan; add enough water to cover. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 20 min. or until potatoes are tender. Drain; return to saucepan. Add butter; mash potatoes until smooth.

PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Brown meat in large nonstick skillet. Stir in flour; cook 1 min. Add vegetables, broth and ketchup; cook 5 min. Spoon into 8-inch square baking dish; cover with potatoes.

BAKE 18 min.

Taken from Kraft Recipes