Beef Enchiladas

We were craving enchiladas the other day so I looked for a recipe online.  I found quite a few that looked good, but went with this one from Betty Crocker because I did not want to stink up the house by frying the shells.  I did however add the onion to the beef like Ree's recipe.  Another one I found had black beans added, I think that would be great but I did not think my kids would eat them.  They were delicious, but needed sour cream to tone down the spice - but that is just me and I think everything is spicy.

Beef Enchiladas

1 LB hamburger
1/2 cup onion - diced
1 can green chiles - drained, diced
2 10 oz can enchilada sauce
10 flour tortilla shells
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese - shredded

Brown hamburger with onion and chiles.  Add 3/4 of a can of enchilada sauce to the meat mixture.  Spoon about 1/4 cup of meat mixture onto each tortilla shell, top with some cheese.  Roll up tortilla and place in a 9x13" baking dish with the rest of the first can of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan.  After all shells are filled and placed in the pan, top with remaining can of enchilada sauce and top with remaining cheese.  Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.  Serve with tortilla chips and sour cream.

Chili

I wanted to make something different for a meal that I was delivering to a family at our church, and Jer had been talking about wanting to make chili again, so I thought I would search out a new recipe.  I always love whatever the Pioneer Woman comes up with, so I thought we would try this one.

Chili

2 LB hamburger
2 cloves garlic - minced
8 oz tomato sauce
2 T chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 cup masa harina
15 oz kidney beans - drained and rinsed
15 oz pinto beans - drained and rinsed
cheddar cheese
onions - diced
tortilla chips
lime wedges

Brown the hamburger and garlic in a large soup pot, drain the excess fat, and then pour in the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and paprika. Stir together well, cover, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, adding 1/2 cup water at a time as it dries out. After an hour, place the masa harina in a small bowl. Add 1/2 cup water and stir together with a fork. Dump the masa mixture into the chili. Stir together well, and then taste and adjust the seasonings. Add more masa paste and/or water to get the chili to your preferred consistency. Add the beans and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with shredded Cheddar, onions, tortilla chips, and lime wedges.

Pumpkin Pie

I searched online for pumpkin pie recipes and decided on this one from Paula Deen.  This makes a TON of filling.  Unless you have a really deep pie plate, you will have extra to throw away or you can make two thinner pies.  The first time I made this I made one and threw some away, the second time, I made two pies. 

Pumpkin Pie

8 oz cream cheese - softened
2 cup pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1 cup half and half
1/2 stick butter - melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1-2 pie crust
whipped cream

Place pie crust in a 9" pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.  Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolks, half and half, and melted butter.  Pour into pumpkin mixture and beat until combined. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice and beat until incorporated.  Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake at 350° for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature.  Store in the refrigerator, serve with whipped cream.

Banana Split Pie

My gramma always used to make this pie.  It is delicious, but this is the first time that I have made it - the raw eggs always made me hesitate before.  I just made sure to keep it super cold all of the time!

Banana Split Pie

1 stick butter
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 bananas - sliced
1 T lemon juice
1-2 square german sweet chocolate (green foil) - shaved
1/4 cup walnuts - chopped
1 pie crust - baked

Bake single pie crust according to box directions.  Beat butter and powdered sugar together in a bowl. Add one egg at a time, beating for 3 minutes after each addition. Stir in vanilla.  Slice the bananas and sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning. Stir in all but 12 slices. Stir in shaved chocolate and pour into pie shell. Garnish with walnuts and two banana slices per slice of pie. Refrigerate at least 2-3 hours. Best if eaten the same day.

Caramel Swirl Brownies

I decided that I wanted to make Caramel Swirl Brownies for a meeting at work.  I looked online for a recipe and didn't find what I wanted.  I wanted to use store bought caramel dip for apples as the swirl, but all I could find were recipes where you take a whole bag of caramels, unwrap them, and cook with evaporated milk. Then I opened the cupboard to grab a box of brownie mix.  No mix.  Did I give up?  No way!  I grabbed a scratch brownie recipe from my cookie brownies.  And eyeballed the caramel dip, then baked for a while, checked, baked some more, checked, and so on :)  I think the bake time is around 40 minutes, but check ahead of time so that you do not burn them.

Caramel Swirl Brownies

2 stick butter - melted
2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6oz caramel dip - or more to taste

Melt butter, stir in sugar and vanilla.  Add eggs, stirring after each addition. Stir in cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt.  Pour into a lightly greased 9x13" baking dish.  With a large spoon, place 5-6 scoops of dip scattered over the dough.  Using the spoon or a spatula, swirl the caramel through the batter.  Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Sugar Toasted Almond Spinach Salad

My sister Lindsey made this for us when we were camping.  Camping.  Yep.  It was delicious - I even tried it and ate my whole serving today!  I have never eaten a salad without gagging before!  Ever!  This is a big step for me.

Sugar Toasted Almond Spinach Salad

1/2 cup almonds
3 T sugar
grilled chicken - sliced
1 LB strawberries - sliced
goat cheese
poppy seed dressing
baby spinach leaves

In a pan over medium high heat, melt sugar with almonds, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes until the almonds are coated.  Spread over wax paper to cool.  Assemble your salad to taste!

Sandwich Bread - milk/wheat free

Henry recently passed his baked egg challenge, so we need to get more baked egg into his diet, in the hopes that he will eventually be able to eat scrambled eggs.  I based it off from this recipe.

Sandwich Bread - milk/wheat free

1 1/2 cup water - warm
1/4 cup honey
2 1/2 tsp yeast
1 1/2 cup gf rice flour
1 1/2 cup gf garbanzo bean flour
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 eggs

In a measuring cup, measure warm water, stir in honey and then add yeast last. Set aside to proof for 10 minutes.  Whisk together flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.  In a large bowl, beat together apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and eggs for a few seconds.  Add in yeast mixture and mix until combined.  Add flour mixture and beat until a sticky dough forms.  Grease a 9x5" gluten free loaf pan and pour dough into pan.  Let rise 30 minutes, then bake at 375° for 30-45 minutes.

Doubled Recipe:

3 cup water - warm
1/2 cup honey
5 tsp yeast
3 cup gf rice flour
3 cup gf garbanzo bean flour
3 tsp xanthan gum
8 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
4 eggs