Pico de gallo

I think I'm addicted. Way too yummy and way too easy.

I don't have a recipe I'm using, so I'll just share some basic ideas.

4 roma tomatoes with the seeds out
cilantro - I used quite a bit because I love it
3 cloves garlic
2 jalapenos with the seeds removed
garlic salt - start with 1 tsp
squeeze in lemon juice and lime juice
I dumped in some frozen chopped onion because I hate cutting up onion

Then I just put it in my chopper. 5 minutes tops. And it is sooooo good!

Zesty Pork Loin

Made this last night in the crockpot....mmmm.

1 or 2 pork loins (I bought the twin pack available at Walmart and used both)
1 regular-sized bottle of Zesty Italian dressing
4-6 T dijon mustard

Place pork loins in crockpot, pour whole bottle of dressing, spread dijon mustard on top of pork loin. Cook for 4-6 hours on High.

We served this with rice and/or bread and a veggie.

Bread machine rolls

This is my absolute favorite roll recipe. I make it all the time. Well, that isn't entirely true. I make about 4 batches and then freeze them after they rise. I can't wait to get a Kitchen Aid so I can do it easier. :o) I got it from my friend Jennifer. I was waiting for her to put it on here, but she just had a baby, so it could be awhile. ;o)

Bread Machine Dinner Rolls
1 cup water
2 T. butter (softened)
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 T yeast, active
3 1/4 cup flour, white or wheat or a mix of both (whatever you wish)

Place ingredients in order into the bread machine. Set on dough setting and start. After cycle is complete (just the mixing cycle, not rising cycle), remove from machine. With buttered hands, shape dough into balls (about the size of a golf ball, but a little larger). Place into a buttered 9x13 pan. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise (around 45 min) until doubled in size.

Bake 375 F degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Ham and Cheese Soup

Need a nice winter-time soup to use up those ham leftovers? Here's a great one!

What you need:
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1/2 onion or small onion
-3 cloves garlic
-Salt/pepper to taste
-chicken bullion (4 cubes)
-4 c water
-1 c cooked/cubed ham
-1 c. frozen peas
-1 tbsp cornstarch
3/4 c cheddar cheese (I used pre-shredded)
-1/4 c milk

What to do:
Put olive oil in skillet and heat up on med. Add diced onion and garlic and cook till soft. Add 4 cups of water and chicken bullion. Stir occassionally. Add the peas and ham. cook some more for about 15 minutes. Taste and add pepper and salt. Wisk in cornstarch and bring to boil. Turn down to simmer and add cheddar cheese a handful at a time, stirring it until melted before adding more. Finish off with milk to add richness and depth.

Serve hot, with crackers or bread. Yum! Excellent leftovers, so make a big batch.

Curried lentil soup

I got this from my sweet sister-in-law, Brooke. She gave it to us in a beautiful decorative jar with some other Christmas treats. This could be made ahead and kept around until you are ready for it. And it doesn't take up freezer space. And did I mention it is delicious?!

I'm trying to figure out a way to make individual serving sizes. LOL! Wish me luck!

curried lentil soup
16 oz lentils
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbs dried onion (i didn't have any and used about 1 Tbs onion powder)
1 Tbs curry powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup dried apple pieces, cut into pieces
1 Tbs parsley

combine in sauce pan with 7 cups H2O. boil on high. cover and simmer on low 20-30 min.

Taco Soup

This was a big hit here last night, so I thought I'd share!

1 lb of Ground Lean Turkey (you can use hamburger or shredded chicken, also)
1 Medium Onion
1 pkg Taco Mix
1 can Kidney beans (do not drain)
1 can Black Beans (do not drain)
1 can Corn (do not drain)
1 can Diced Tomatoes

Brown your meat and onions. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Then simmer until you are ready to eat.

For Garnishes:
Sliced Olives
Sour Cream
Corn Chips
Cilantro

Easy Southwestern skillet dinner

1 lb gr. beef
1 jar salsa
2 cups uncooked wagon wheel pasta (I only had rotini kind and still used it, so I doubt it's that important. )
1/2 cup sour cream (although I think I used more too.)

Brown ground beef. Drain.

Stir in 1 cup water, salsa, pasta, teaspoon of salt. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low.

Cover and simmer about 10 mins, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender. Stir in sour cream, cook just til hot.

Top off with tortilla chips!

Hamburger soup

Yes, I've fallen out of the blog-o-sphere lately. Sorry about that. But I just had to share this amazing recipe with ya'll. I made a double batch last night, hoping to freeze some, but I doubt there will even be enough left for leftovers tomorrow.

I got it from my friend Linda Pope. Enjoy!!!

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 c.each carrots and celery, chopped
2 c. potatoes, chopped
2 c. water with 1 beef bouillon cube
1 qt tomato juice
salt and pepper

Brown beef and onion. Put in a pot along with carrots, celery, potatoes, water and bouillon. Simmer until tender. Add tomato juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Easy, right? And soooo yummy. I substituted some tomato juice with diced tomatoes and it was still wonderful.

apple caramel dip

I found this awhile back online... have no idea where, but oh so glad I did.


Apple Caramel Dip

block of cream cheese or two, room temperature
container caramel apple dip (sold in produce)
package of Heath bits (by chocolate chips)
red and green apples

Spread cream cheese into thinish rectangle. (I use almost two blocks)

Top with container of caramel apple dip. I warm it in the microwave for maybe 30 minutes or so.

Sprinkle with about 1 cup of Heath bits.

Surround with alternating red and green apples.

Easy peasy. :)

Hummus

Because you can't post a Naan recipe without a Hummus recipe, right? I got this one from MckMama. It is cut and paste from her post word for word, so go check out her blog for more details.


Hummus

1 16 oz can of chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans)

the liquid from said can of chickpeas

4 tablespoons lemon juice (or lime if you want to get crazy)

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste: unless you're really crafty, you'll probably just want to buy rather than make this)

2 crushed garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Dump all of the ingredients into your blender. Or set them in nicely, whichever you'd rather. Blend into a nice paste. Serve immediately with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread, as a spread on a sandwich (I especially love it with tomatoes and cucumbers on toast with fresh basil) or cover and refrigerate.

I use hummus for our MSC almost exclusively as a dip for fresh veggies. They love it and will eat insane amounts of fresh carrots simply for the love of the hummus.

Naan

This Indian bread is divine with hummus. I should probably put that recipe up too, eh? ;o)

I got the recipe from Allrecipes.com so I linked the name to it. Go to the link to see hints and tips for making it.

Naan

Prep Time: 30 Min
Cook Time: 7 Min
Ready In: 3 Hrs

Original Recipe Yield 14 servings

Ingredients
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
1/4 cup butter, melted
Directions
1.In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2.Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3.During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
4.At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.
Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 211 Total Fat: 4.5g Cholesterol: 24mg

'Tis the season

Okay ladies! I'm putting out a recipe call! I would love some new pumpkin recipes! Bars, cookies, cupcakes, pies, pancakes, I love them all. Do you have any delicious pumpkin recipes to share?

Pumpkin dip

I got this from my friend Nickie's blog (the same Nickie with the awesome sticky bun recipe) and she said I could put it on here. One of the reasons fall is my favorite season is because I love all things pumpkin. Pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie... and now I'm adding pumpkin dip. Oh for yum!

2 8oz cream cheese
1 16 oz can pumpkin
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
powder sugar
Mix/Beat all ingredients together.
Add Powder sugar to your taste of liking.
It will make 4 Cups of dip!

White Chicken Chili

Also easy to do in the crockpot but it really takes no time at all on the stove...

2 cups of cooked shredded or cubed leftover chicken
2 or 3 cans of great northern beans (you can use dried if you want to mess with them; it just takes longer).
2 cans chopped green chiles
4 cloves of minced garlic
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cups of chicken broth (use less or more depending on how thick you like your chili)
salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and parsley to taste
2 T olive oil
1 cup corn kernels
1 pkg cream cheese, cut into cubes (low fat is fine)
1 cup cooked white rice (optional - but we love it - definitely thickens it up)

Start off by sauteeing the onions and garlic in the olive oil. Add the chicken (if you use raw, then cook it through). Add the green chiles, chicken broth, corn, and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cream cheese cubes until melted. Stir in the rice and season to taste. My mom always adds coriander but I never seem to have any so I mostly use cumin.

This is super fast if you use canned beans (I buy GV brand) and leftover chicken.

Optional: Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream on top!

Crockpot Split Pea Soup

Easy and cheap... this made a lot for us so I froze half of it for later. :)

2 16 oz bags of dried split peas
1 pkg of kielbasa sausage, diced (I usually buy the turkey stuff - cheap and healthy)
1 lg yellow onion, diced
2 cups of carrots, diced (I shredded in the mini-processor instead)
3 cloves of garlic, minced (also used the mini-processor here. Love that thing!)
Salt, pepper, and chicken bouillon to taste
8-9 cups of water

Wash peas in hot water and add all ingredients to the crockpot. The original recipe I splurged on called for 1 bag of peas and 6 cups of water, but 8-9 cups is all my big crockpot would hold - I ended up with a thick soup, which is how I like it anyway. You could always halve the recipe and use less water.

Cook on high for about 4 hours (I started stirring it after 3 hours to help peas mush up) until peas are mushy. Serve with cornbread. Some people like to drizzle olive oil on top... :)

I think I spent around $5...