Baked Taquitos

18 corn tortillas
2 lb. carne asada beef, shredded
1/2 c. diced onion
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 c. shredded colby jack cheese
Non-stick spray

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a skillet, saute the onions and garlic. Add paprika and stir until onions are soft. Add beef and chili powder and continue sauteing until beef is cooked through. While beef is cooking, wrap tortillas in two wet paper towels and microwave 2 minutes to soften.
Spray bottom of a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. With each tortilla, fill with beef and fold over. Put on cookie sheet seam side down. Spray the tops of the taquitos with non-stick spray. Bake for 10 minutes. If tortillas are crisp, sprinkle cheese over them and bake an additional 2 minutes.


Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 12 minutes
Serves: 3

To make a vegetarian version of this, I substituted a cup of sliced mushrooms and a cup cauliflower for the beef.

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Pasta With Vodka Cream Sauce & Ricotta

Sauce
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 bulb garlic, diced
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 large can tomato sauce
1 c. flavorless vodka
1 can tomato paste
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
1 small carton heavy cream

In a sauce pan, heat olive oil. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is clear. Add tomato sauce, paste, vodka and basil. Simmer on low to medium heat for approximately 1/2 hour (long enough for the alcohol to evaporate). Stir in cream and let simmer another 7 minutes.

Prepared pasta (I like Penne or Farfalle for this)
Baby spinach (uncooked)
1 lb. browned Italian Sausage (I like Hot- can be mixed in with the sauce if you prefer)
Ricotta cheese

Layer on your plate: Pasta, sausage, ricotta, spinach and then sauce. Enjoy!


Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 5-6 people

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Curry Chicken & Palak Paneer

Chicken
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 c. grated onion
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. salt
Curry powder to taste (we used 1 1/2 Tbsp.)
1/8 tsp. allspice
1 tbsp. olive oil.

Pound out & dice chicken breast. Saute in butter with garlic, onion & ginger until chicken is cooked through. Add olive oil, curry powder, allspice & salt. Stir until chicken is fully coated. Simmer on low for 10 minutes.

Palak Paneer
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 bunch spinach
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. grated onion
1/2 tbsp. curry powder
1 c. ricotta cheese

Saute spinach & herbs in 2 tbsp. olive oil until spinach is fully cooked. Remove from pan and blend in blender until finally chopped. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil in pan. When oil is hot, add dollops of cheese. Cook until bubbly, then add spinach mixture. Lower heat and let cook about 10 minutes, stirring regularly so cheese doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan.

We ate ours on warm flatbread with brown rice.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45 (mostly the rice)
Serves: 5-6 people

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White Chicken Chili

This is soon to be a favorite in our house- quick to make & a nice light summer chili!
2 cans white cannelini beans
1 boneless skinless chicken breast diced
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 c. milk
1/4 c. flour
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cans (small) green chilis
8 oz. grated cheese (Colby Jack or Cheddar)
1 Tbsp. minced dried onion or 1/4 c. fresh diced onion

In soup pan, sautee chicken, garlic and onion in olive oil until chicken is cooked through. Add milk. Whisk in flour & cook until creamy, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and add beans, chilis and cheese. Simmer 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20-30 minutes
Serves: 6-7 people

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Easy Jambalaya

This is an off-the-cuff take on a Cajun favorite that I played with yesterday. The family loved the result! I used what I had on-hand, but I put some alternatives in parenthesis.

1 lb. diced boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 lb. shrimp (I used salad shrimp)
1 lb. diced Andouille sausage (smoked sausage would work also)
1 pkg. fresh mushrooms, diced
1 c. diced onion
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper (or to-taste)
1 can Hunts garlic & herb pasta sauce (or 1 large can minced tomatoes)
2 tbsp. Olive oil
4 c. prepared rice (or pasta)

In large pot, saute meats, mushrooms, and spices in olive oil until cooked thoroughly. Add sauce (tomatoes) and reduce heat. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring often. Serve over rice (noodles).
NOTE: This would also be a great meal to make in a slow cooker.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Serves: 8

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Cool way to peel a potato

This has been around for a while, but I thought it would be fun to share n my recipe blog:

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Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I am the official Mashed Potato maker when we have family dinners, so I have perfected these wonderful spuds :)

7-8 good sized potatoes, peeled & cleaned (unless you are using Yukon Gold or Reds, then just scrub them clean & leave the skins on)
1 stick of butter or margarine
1 c. milk (whichever you prefer)
1 Tbsp. minced garlic or 1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. Parsley or chives (optional)

Dice & boil potatoes until they are soft enough to break apart with a fork. Drain them (you can keep the water for gravy if you like). Add butter & mash with potatoes to melt it. Add milk and mash more. Whip in remaining ingredients until potatoes are fluffy.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30-40 minutes
Serves 9 people

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