Beef & Bean Chimichangas

A view of the inside

This is an easy family favorite, and a quick one to throw together after work.  Keep the ingredients on hand when you need a quick Mexican-style fix!  Simple and delicious.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1 16-oz can refried beans

Taco seasoning (any brand--choose whatever you like)

4 cups Monterey Jack cheese

8 10-inch flour tortillas

2 tbsp melted butter

Toppings

Shredded cheese

Sour Cream

Whatever else you like

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.  Brown the ground beef, and drain.  Prepare taco seasoning from package directions--mine was just boiling water and powered.  Add the refried beans and taco seasoning, stirring thoroughly and heating over low heat until slightly bubbling.

Spoon the mixture onto each tortilla (3 or 4 big spoonfuls), top with a generous handful of cheese, and roll it up chimichanga-style.  Place each one seam-side down into your baking pan.  

Brush melted butter over the top of each chimichanga.  Bake for 30 minutes or until a very light golden brown.  Serve with cheese, sour cream, or any toppings you think sound good.  So easy!

Fresh Peach Crisp

I love fruit crisps.  They are so simple to prepare and delicious, and they always make me think of summer and my mom.  So in honor of mom on this Mother's Day, I am making a peach crisp with fresh peaches.  Hooray for summer!

Ingredients

6-7 fresh peaches, pitted, peeled, and sliced
2 c. quick oats
3 tbsp. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar (packed)
1/2 c. melted butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.

Prepare your peaches by peeling, pitting and slicing them into your baking dish.

Fresh white peaches

Put all dry ingredients into a bowl and mix.  Melt butter and stir in vanilla extract, then pour over dry ingredients and stir to make a crumbly topping.

Scoop topping over peaches.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.  That's it.  So simple.  Serve while warm with vanilla ice cream on top, or serve alone, either warm or chilled.  Delicious.  Thanks, mom.

Breakfast Egg Biscuits

Here's an easy breakfast treat you can adapt to the tastes of the whole family.  You can use veggies, meats, and a variety of cheeses to satisfy your pickiest eaters.

Ingredients

1 package refrigerator biscuits
6 eggs
1 c shredded cheese (your choice--I used colby jack)
1/3 c milk
Pinch of salt

Topping suggestions
(Be sure meats are cooked prior to topping)
Bacon pieces
Canadian bacon cubes
Ham cubes
Sausage crumbles
Pulled pork
Chopped veggies
Basically anything that sounds good to you

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400.  Roll out your biscuits to they are flat and round, then place them in your greased muffin tin.  Top with a tablespoon of shredded cheese.

Mix up your eggs with the milk and a pinch of salt, then top the biscuits with the egg mixture.  Not too much, because it will puff quite a bit while baking.

Be sure not to overfill!

Now sprinkle each biscuit with your toppings.  I made this batch without any to serve with ham steak on the side.  Plain cheese is good, too!  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove when the tops are toasted and the eggs are set.  

Nice and golden

Enjoy.  Easy brunch, easy cleanup.

Roasted Garlic Bulbs

Roasted garlic is far superior to other garlics.  It makes your pasta sauces and soups really pop.  However, if you are like me you don't always plan enough time to roast your garlic for the recipe.  But no longer!  Take an hour on a day off and get yourself set for a long while.  This is a simple way to roast a lot of garlic heads and save it in the freezer.  Pop out a clove and use as needed.  Thanks to King Arthur Flour for the easy instructions!

Ingredients

Heads of garlic
Olive oil
Salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325.  Peel outer skins from garlic head and separate the cloves.  Cut off the woody ends, then put the cloves in a bowl and toss with olive oil and salt, working it over the cloves thoroughly.  Spread the cloves on a cookie sheet and roast for 25 minutes.  Let cool, then store in a baggie in the freezer for future use or mash and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.  It's that simple.  Roasted garlic cloves for all of your recipes--just pull one out, mash, and go.

Beef Stroganoff

I've never attempted beef stroganoff, but I got a good deal on steak and wanted to try something different for the family.  I found a fantastic recipe from America's Test Kitchen that I knew would be delicious, so here we go.  I'm serving it over egg noodles, but it could be served over many different pastas or even rice.  This is a "day off dish" but totally worth it.

Ingredients
2 1/2 - 3 lbs of steak, cubed
2 tsp soy sauce
1 lb white mushrooms
2 tsp hot water
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt
2 tsp tomato paste
4 tsp flour
2 c beef broth
2 tbsp sour cream
Egg noodles or other pasta

Directions

Trim excess fat from the steak and cut into cubes. Toss the cubes in flour and brown in olive oil and soy sauce in your skillet.  You may need to do it in 2 batches so the meat doesn't steam.  Set the steak aside in a bowl.   The recipe said to marinate the beef in the soy sauce for an hour, but I skipped this step.  It's still delicious. You will be using this skillet again, so set it aside with the yummy browned beef bits in it.

Wash the mushrooms and quarter them.  Some of mine were especially large, and I cut them into 8 pieces.  Sauté in olive oil and salt under tender and browned in a different skillet.  Discard any liquid, and set aside.

Combine 2 teaspoons of hot water, 1 tablespoon dry mustard, and 1 teaspoon sugar in a small bowl.  Mix into a smooth paste, and set aside.

Start boiling your pasta so you finish up roughly the same time.  I threw in a beef bouillon cube to pump up the beef flavor.

Return the mushrooms to your original skillet and sprinkle with flour.  Cook for one minute to coat the mushrooms and add your tomato paste, beef broth, and mustard paste.  The recipe called for 1/3 cup of white wine, but I didn't have any so I skipped it too.  Add it if you want, but reduce the beef broth to 1 1/2 cups.  Use a spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom and bring the sauce to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium.  Cook for 5 minutes to reduce and slightly thicken the sauce.

Stir in the meat and the accumulated juices into the sauce.  Cook for 5 minutes to warm the beef, then remove the skillet from the burner and let cool until it is no longer bubbling.  Add sour cream and stir to a uniform color.

Serve over warm egg noodles.  Delicious!

Frybread

Frybread!  So good.  It's not complicated, but it takes time to get it right.  Careful not to pop yourself when you fry it.

4 c flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 c warm water
Shortening for frying


Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Gradually stir in the warm water until the dough becomes soft and pliable without sticking to the bowl.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface or in the bowl for 5 minutes, folding the outer edges of the dough into the center.

Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.  Shape the dough into egg-sized balls and roll out to a thickness of 1/2 inch on a lightly floured board.

Place a piece of dough between your hands and pat it from hand to hand until you get it stretched to 8 to 12 inches diameter.  Repeat for all pieces of dough.

With your finger, poke a hole in the center of each piece to prevent the dough from bursting during frying.

Add shortening to your large skillet and heat over medium until hot but not smoking.  Carefully slide in the first piece of dough into the hot oil and cook until golden brown and starts to puff up.  Turn carefully and brown the other side as well.  Remove from heat and place on a paper towel to absorb extra oil as it cools.  Repeat with all pieces of dough.

Best if served warm.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Those of you who know me know that I don't bake.  Too much measuring, mess and precision when I want simple!  But it is my daughter's birthday and I wanted to make her a special treat to celebrate.  I took this recipe from the Joy of Baking site because the instructions were simple and the cake is delicious.

Ingredients

3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz. block cream cheese, room temperature
2 3/4 c. sugar
2 1/2 tsp real vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon juice (optional)
6 eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare your bundt pan--spray and flour (or oil and flour--use what you have).

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.
Using the paddle attachment of your mixer, beat together the butter and cream cheese until smooth.  Gradually pour in the sugar, using your spatula to scrape the side of the bowl.  Continue mixing over medium-high until it is light and fluffy.  This will take about 5 minutes, so be patient.  Add in the vanilla and lemon, then add the eggs, one at a time, until each are incorporated.  Add in your flour mixture in thirds, and mix until just incorporated.

Like I said...messy.  

  Pour the batter into your bundt pan and smooth off the top so it bakes evenly.  Bake for 1 hour or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes.  This will allow the cake to set and not crumble.  Remove from the pan to finish cooling.  Drizzle with your favorite glaze to finish, or eat it plain if you just love cake.