Chocolate Tacos

In celebration of Cinco De Mayo (which we have never actually celebrated before, but then again, we've never found a recipe for chocolate tacos before, either!) we made chocolate tacos.  These were awesome!  They were kind of like chewy, thin brownies.  It's like having an amazing banana split, or hot fudge sundae, in the palm of your hands.  So yes, it is a little messy.  But totally worth it.  I've been thinking about using this recipe to make homemade waffle cones or bowls.  We opted to drizzle a little melted chocolate and sprinkles on our tacos.  Then we put them in the fridge until the chocolate hardened.  Chocolate on your chocolate?!  Si!

Chocolate Tacos

from: www.lovefromtheoven.com & www.myrecipes.com

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/4 c. flour

3 Tbsp. cocoa

1 tsp. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. egg whites (I used about 1 1/2 egg's worth)

1 tsp. milk

1/4 tsp. vanilla

cooking spray

1/2 c. chocolate chips

1 tsp. canola oil

sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, flour, cocoa, cornstarch and salt and stir it well.  Then mix in the egg whites, milk and vanilla.  Coat a baking sheet with the cooking spray and draw six five inch circles with your finger onto the pan.  These will be a general outline for your batter.  Drop 1 tablespoon of batter onto each circle, and using the back of the spoon, spread the batter into your circle shape (I couldn't fit all six onto one pan, so I did it in two shifts).  Bake it for 6 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown.  While they are baking, find some wooden spoons and suspend them over deep bowls, as shown below (just imagine them without tacos draped over the top):  

Working quickly when the tacos are cooked, carefully loosen the edges of the tacos with a spatula, drape each taco over a suspended wooden spoon and gently shape them into the shape of a taco.  They are pretty delicate, but even with some helpers, ours all remained intact.  Let them cool completely in this shape.  When they are completely cooled, you are ready to add more chocolate!  In a small glass bowl, microwave the chocolate chips and canola oil for 30 seconds, then stir it until it is smooth.  Dip the edges of the tacos in the chocolate and then sprinkles (and drizzle the leftovers on, for good measure).  Put them in the fridge until it is hardened.  

When you are ready to eat, take them out, add some ice cream scoops and any toppings that you want and enjoy your chocolate taco!

Brazilian Beans And Rice (Feijoada)

My hubby served a mission for our church for two years in Brazil.  That was 16 years ago.  And for the first time in our 12 years of marriage, I made him some Brazilian food.  I thought it was going to be harder than it was, and so I never did it.  And maybe if I had made this totally authentic, it would have been harder.  But I made it with what I had, and in the slow cooker, and it was actually really easy and really tasty.  If you ever buy a big spiral ham around Christmas time and don't know what to do with the ham bone, here is your answer!  If you've ever had a bag of dried beans sitting in your food storage for about 10 years and didn't know what to do with it, here is your answer!  This is the recipe you need to use up random food items that you don't really know what to do with.  Yay!

Brazilian Beans and Rice (Feijoada)
adapted from: honestcooking.com

1 lb. dry black beans
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 onions
1 ham bone (or any of your spiral ham that is leftover-I had a ham bone and also some ends of the ham that weren't sliced and I didn't know how to use them)
5 cloves garlic, minced (2 1/2 tsp. already minced)
1/2 lb. bacon
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp. pepper
fresh ground salt to taste (you don't need much, the ham and bacon will make it salty)

Dump your black beans into your crock pot and then fill up the crock pot with water until it covers the beans.  In the morning, drain the water from the crock pot.  Then add six cups more water to the crock pot (just to get fresh water).  Thinly slice your onions.  In a frying pan, pour your olive oil and saute' your onions until they are translucent.  In the same frying pan, caramelize the edges of your ham bone, then add the onions and ham bone to the crock pot.  In the same frying pan, cook your minced garlic for one minute, then add to the crock pot.  Add your bacon to the frying pan and cook it until it is almost crispy, then throw it in the crock pot, too.  Add the beef bouillon cubes, pepper and salt to the crock pot and gently stir it all together.  Cook it on high for 1 hour, then turn it down to low for 5-6 hours.  At the last hour of cooking, remove the ham and bone,discard the bone and shred the ham, and then return the shredded ham to the crock pot.  You may want to cut the bacon into chunks (if you have little kids like I do).  The original recipe called for a couple of different kinds of sausage as well.  I think you can basically add any pork item that you have on hand and you won't go wrong.  I served mine with brown rice, orange slices and a salad, and it was delicious.

Honey Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins & Pumpkin Pie Spice Substitution

I got this recipe from Monica a long time ago and have made it a dozen times.  Like the zucchini muffins, these are great to freeze for school lunches.  I just take one out in the morning, stick it in a baggie, throw it in the kid's lunch box and it is thawed and ready for them to eat by lunch.  They use 100% whole wheat flour and applesauce instead of oil and so you can feel good about this healthy snack choice!

Honey Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins
adapted from: allrecipes.com

3 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. brown sugar (I use a little less)
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (see below for the substitution)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1 c. applesauce (the original recipe calls for oil-you could do half and half, too)
1 c. honey (I use a little less)
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In another bowl, beat the eggs.  Mix in the pumpkin puree, applesauce and honey.  Make a well in the flour mixture, pour in the liquid ingredients and stir to combine.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full.  Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched.  

Pumpkin Pie Spice Substitution
from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

In place of 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice (so double this for this pumpkin muffin recipe), add the following:
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

Roasted Vegetables With Bacon

For Christmas, Dustin gave me a cooking class (of my choice) and Lynnette and I decided to do it together. We chose "Cooking Without A Cookbook".  We had so much fun and since then, I have tried to "be bold and try anything" as our instructor taught us.  These were the roasted vegetables that my group prepared that night (we were split into small groups, shown a whole bunch of ingredients we could choose from, and instructed to make roasted veggies, a side dish, like quinoa, and a main dish).  We were so happy with how everything turned out and I have since recreated these veggies for my family.

Roasted Vegetables With Bacon
by: Carolyn

3 or 4 varieties of vegetables (the first time I did carrots, brussel sprouts, red onions and cauliflower)
4 slices of bacon (give or take a slice)
canola oil
fresh mint
fresh marjoram
red pepper flakes to taste
dash of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Chop your vegetables all about the same size.  Pour them in to a large bowl.  In a frying pan, cook your bacon.  Set the bacon aside and pour the bacon grease (I know, I know, but it is going to taste so good!) over the veggies.  Chop up the mint and marjoram and add them to the bowl.  Add your red pepper flakes (I did about 1/2 tsp.), nutmeg and salt and pepper and stir it all gently to coat.  If you need a little more oil to coat everything, add a little canola oil.  You can taste one of your veggies to see if the flavor is good, or if you need to add more of anything (I'd taste a carrot).  When you have it how you want it, pour the vegetables onto a 11 X 17 pan.  Chop your bacon into small pieces and sprinkle it over the veggies.  Roast them in the oven for 45 minutes, to an hour, or until they are tender, stirring often.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew (Or Not, You Choose!)

I know this picture looks like a big pile of mash, but it actually was really delicious beef stew.  I made it two weeks in a row.  The first time, I made it in the slow cooker.  The meat was very tender, but the potatoes kind of turned in to mush.  The second time, I didn't remember to do the slow cooker and made it on the stove.  I cooked it for about an hour, and the potatoes weren't at all mush.  However, the meat was not as tender as it had been in the slow cooker.  So I guess it is a toss up which is the best way to cook it.  Either way, it is a hearty, easy to prepare stew for a cold winter day.

Beef Stew
adapted from: allrecipes.com

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into one inch chunks
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. chopped bay leaves (or one bay leaf)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped
2 c. beef broth
3 potatoes, diced
4 carrots, sliced

For the slow cooker:
Place the meat in the slow cooker.  In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and pepper and pour it over the meat.  Stir until all the meat is coated.  Stir in the garlic, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth.  Add the onion, carrots and potatoes.  Cook on low for 10-12 hours, or on high for 4-6 hours.

For the stove top:
In a large Ziploc bag, pour the flour, salt and pepper and shake to stir.  Add the stew meat and shake it until it is all coated with the flour mixture.  Brown the beef in 1-2 tablespoons of oil.  In a large pot, add the beef, garlic, bay leaves, Worcestershire, onion, potatoes, carrots and beef broth.  Bring to a boil and then turn it down to low and simmer for as long as you need to, stirring occasionally.  I did mine an hour.  You could add more water if needed.

Lazy Sunday Casserole

This was a delicious meal that we just happened to make on... Sunday.  It was easy, the only real time-consuming part was chopping up all of the vegetables.  It was the first time I've cooked with, or eaten for that matter, fennel.  It's a very interesting vegetable, it has almost a black licorice flavor (which I actually don't like, but eaten as a bite with all of the other vegetables combined it wasn't bad).  My husband liked the flavor of it combined as well.  My sister-in-law informed me that fennel is an ingredient in a lot of Italian sausages (which may be a clue as to why I don't like Italian sausage that much) so it complimented the flavors of the dish well.  

After all of my fennel talk, it was just a small part of the dish and the overall flavor was well balanced and delicious!  The vegetables were moist and it had just the right amount of seasoning.  This is one of our new favorites for sure.  I got it from Kayotic Kitchen, a new blog that I found via Pinterest, and was so happy to find it.  As she suggested, we used vegetables we had on hand, so my slight adaptations are from the vegetables we needed to use up which included mushrooms. My husband was very happy that I finally chose a recipe that used sausage, his favorite.  And I liked it just as much as he did!

Lazy Sunday Casserole

slightly adapted from Kayotic Kitchen

Ingredients

4 sausages (beef or pork)

3 large potatoes

3-4 large carrots

1 red bell pepper

1 large onion

1 fennel bulb

5-6 mushrooms

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp oil

Kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

1 1/2 tsp Italian herbs

1/2 cup chicken broth

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Peel the potatoes, wash them and cut each potato into large cubes. Chop carrots into large pieces and slice mushrooms.  Chop onion into wedges. Remove the base and stalks of the fennel and slice it into wedges as well. Slice bell pepper into strips and put everything in a big roasting tray.

2. Use a big bowl to combine the oil with the Italian herbs, grated or chopped garlic, and chicken broth and pour it over the vegetables. Toss them around to make sure the broth gets everywhere. Season with a generous amount of salt and black pepper.

3. Cover the tray with aluminum foil and pop it in a preheated oven. Bake at 450F (225C) for 45 minutes.

3. While the vegetables are cooking, lightly brown the sausages and slice each sausage in half. (Sausages do not need to be cooked through.)

4. After 45 minutes the potatoes and vegetables should be fork tender. If they’re not, cover the tray with the foil and pop them back in the oven for a few more minutes. If they are fork tender, place the sausages in there and pour the balsamic vinegar all over. Place the tray back in the oven, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes. Take it out after 15 minutes, flip over those sausages and ladle some of the juices lurking at the bottom all over the vegetables and sausages. Put it back in the oven for the remaining time, until everything is nice and brown.

Lasagna Cupcakes

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe, but honestly, it's been a while since I've tried a fun recipe that I've really liked.  This was an easy one Matt and I made together Friday night (we're attempting to eat out less- although I don't know if it worked because we just went out Saturday morning instead:).  I needed to use up the last of our wonton wrappers, and this was an easy and delicious way to do it, in a non-traditional way.  Although, I don't know if you've seen Pinterest and all the ways people are getting creative with wonton wrappers and cupcake tins!  

This recipe is from The Girl Who Ate Everything.  She is one of my favorite food bloggers, so it's thanks to her I have this yummy recipe. 

A few notes about this dish: I hardly ever use real Parmesan cheese, I guess I'm too cheap to ever buy it, but I happened to buy it on a whim the other day, and I loved it!  It also goes a long way!  It might be nearly as cheap to buy it fresh!  I may be sold on splurging for real Parmesan from now on.  Also, fresh basil is one of my favorite things on pizza.  We grow it in our garden during the summer/fall and then I wash, pat dry and then freeze all my extra basil leaves so that I can either make a fresh pesto with it or take a few leaves out at a time and throw them on top of my pizza (or lasagna cupcakes) the last couple minutes of baking.  It tastes just as good as fresh to me!

Lasagna Cupcakes
from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients

1/3 pound ground beef

salt and pepper

24 wonton wrappers

1 3/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese (7 oz)

1 3/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (7 oz)

3/4 cup ricotta cheese (3 oz)

1 cup pasta sauce

fresh basil for garnish (optional, although definitely recommended)

Directions

1.    Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.

2.    Brown beef and season with salt and pepper. Drain.

3.    Reserve 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese and 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese for the top of your cupcakes. Start layering your lasagna cupcakes. Begin with a wonton wrapper and press it into the bottom of each muffin tin. Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, and mozzarella cheese in each. Top with a little meat and pasta sauce.

4.    Repeat layers again (i.e. wonton, Parmesan, ricotta, mozzarella, and pasta sauce). Top with reserved Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.

5.    Bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges are brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. To remove, use a knife to loosen the edges, then pop each lasagna out. Garnish with basil and serve.