What's Cookin'?

Chicken Fajita Nachos

Tortilla chips

Black beans

Shredded lettuce

Sauteed peppers & onions

Sour cream

Jalapenos

Salsa

Shredded fajita flavored chicken

Mexican cheese

White cheese dip

Grill chicken until completely cooked. Shred chicken & place in a pan with fajita mix (we use 2 Old El Paso Fajita mix packets). Simmer until ready to eat. Load up your nachos with all of your favorites & enjoy!

Brian came up with this quick & easy dinner option after I had an extremely difficult week. He made enough chicken that I was able to freeze about 1/2 of it for a later date. I love the fact that this meal can be made into whatever you want...burritos, tacos, salads, etc.

What's Cookin'?

Breakfast Casserole

1/2 package of cooked bacon, crumbled

1 lb. of cooked sausage

3 cups frozen hashbrowns

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

4 eggs, beaten

12 oz. evaporated milk

3 green onions, chopped

Place the hashbrowns in the bottom of a greased 2 qt. casserole dish; season with salt & pepper. Then add cheese, green onions, bacon, & sausage.

(We love our meats in this house so mine has more than what some may like. Just adjust your amounts based on your preferences.)

Whisk together the eggs & evaporated milk. Then evenly pour it over the casserole mixture. Bake at 350* for 45 minutes.


About half way through, I stirred it up really good so the everything was mixed together well. This was a last minute meal I through together with what we had & it was a huge success. I served it with some toast & fresh fruit. Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas

I wanted to mix it up a little this week & try a new recipe. Instead of making tacos (which seems to be a norm in our house), I gave this recipe a whirl. One of my co-workers brought it in for a carry-in several months ago & it was delicious. And considering how much Brian loves Mexican food, I figured it would be a success. So here it is:

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. sour cream
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 tsp. chili powder
2 c. diced, cooked chicken
4 oz. chopped green chilies
8 flour tortillas
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together soup & sour cream until smooth. Set aside.

 In a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Then cook onion & chili powder until onion is tender, stirring often. Stir in chicken, chilies, & 2 Tbsp of the soup mixture. Remove from heat. In the center of each tortilla, spread about 1/4 cup of the mixture. Fold sides over filling & place it seam side down in a greased 9x13 pan. Spread remaining soup mixture over the enchiladas.

Cover with foil & bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese & bake another 5 minutes, uncovered, until cheese melts.

**I mirrored the recipe this time but will make some changes the next time I make it:

 - Make double the amount of chicken mixture (we like a lot of filling

in our enchiladas, plus I was only able to make 6 instead of the 8 tortillas it calls for)

- Add another tablespoon or so of the soup mixture to the chicken mixture

to make it creamier

- Add some extra 'kick' to it. Maybe a little salsa or more seasoning.

(We like spicy food!)



This was a quick & delicious meal that I can't wait to make again

Homemade Donuts

We had a great & rare surprise this past weekend...Brian didn't have to work. So, I decided to have a special breakfast on Saturday that consisted of something besides our traditional cereal. :) Brian is an awesome cook so any time he helps out in the kitchen I think it's a treat. Any way...we made homemade donuts & boy were they delicious!!!

This is about half of what we made :)
 

To make these fabulous guys all you need to do is take a can of biscuits (we used 2) & punch a hole in the middle of the biscuits by using a thimble. Pop the donuts into a Fry Daddy full of hot oil & let them do their thing. Once the donuts are nice & golden, take them out & cover them in your favorite topping. We used powered sugar & a cinnamon/sugar mix this time but I'd like to use icing & sprinkles next time too. The best part about making the donuts are turning the small pieces of dough you removed from the center of the donut into donut balls!!!

This was a fun & easy breakfast to start our Saturday off with. And I love how Logan can be involved by covering the donuts (and himself) in the toppings. :)

Taco Soup

Since it's absolutely frigid here in Evansville, I decided to make a nice pot of Taco Soup last night for dinner. It's an extremely quick, easy, & cheap dinner to make--plus it was a great way to warm up!! This entire pot of soup cost around $4 to make (not including the meat because we use deer meat).Here's the recipe I use but you can add or remove whatever you like to make it more of your own:

*1 1/2 lb. ground beef, browned (we use deer meat because that's what we have)
*2 cans of corn
*2 cans of beans (I use kidney beans)
*28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
*1 package of taco seasoning

Mix all ingredients into a pot & allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low until you're ready to serve. I like to add more water to my soup so it isn't so think but of course that's optional. The best part about this soup are the toppings: tortilla chips, shredded cheese, & sour cream. Yum, yum! Enjoy!!! :)

Taco Pizza

Brian LOVES tacos & I swear he would eat them weekly if it were up to him. Since I do the majority of the cooking, I get tired of making what seems like the same 'ole things every month. Thanks to Pinterest (and www.realmomkitchen.com), I found a great way to quinch Brian's taco cravings while making something different. The best part about this recipe is you can put whatever you like on it!

1 lb. ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
2 - 8 oz. cans crescent rolls
1 - 16 oz. refried beans
2-3 cups shredded cheese (I used Mexican cheese)
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (I used Aldi's diced tomated w/green chiles for added spice)
1/4 cup sliced black olives (I left this out)
4 green onions, chopped

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Brown beef & drain. Add taco seasoning to the beef according to the package.
3. Unroll crescent rolls in rectangles. Place in 11 1/2 x 16 1/2 jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Press dough over the bottom & 1/2 inch up the sides to form crust. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Microwave beans in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute. Carefully spread beans over warm crust creating a thin layer.
5. Top with cooked beef mixture, cheese, tomatoes, black olives, & green onions. Return to oven for 3-6 minutes until cheese is melted.

I also add a dollop of sour cream. This is a new favorite in our household!

A Gaiser Favorite

In our house, tacos are somewhat a regular meal (a couple times per month). So last night happened to be one of our taco nights but this time I decided to twist my taco variation into a taco salad. The ingredients I used were:

Plus 2 lbs. of deer meat

For my salad, I made my grandma's taco salad dressing recipe. It's a very simple recipe that consists of 3 ingredients:

Sugar, Taco seasoning, & Thousand Island dressing

Mix 1/3 of the Thousand Island dressing with 1/2 of the taco seasoning (I prefer the regular, original taco seasoning but this is all I had). Add sugar to your taste, mix well, & refrigerate until use. When all was said & done, our meal was delicious!!