Category: MISC

Mexican Pizza – Fire Day Friday

I don’t eat much fast food but I do have a few “guilty favorites”, most of them from my teenage years.  Way back in the 1980’s my buddies and I would hit Taco Bell on Third Street in Jax Beach after surfing all day and the Mexican Pizza was one of my favorites.  
I had the craving for one last week and bought one at lunch.  Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, because that thing was depressing.  Soggy, sauce all poured off the side, and a mess.  Plus, they don’t make them with green onion or black olives anymore.  
I went home that night and made my own version.  MUCH better!  Craving Satisfied.
So I didn’t use a grill, how is this “Fire Day Friday”?  It uses a fiery enchilada sauce that uses Rotel’s new (new to me) tomato & chile sauce.  Not Rotel tomatoes, just sauce.  I stumbled on it at the store and like it for the base of sauces like this. 
Anyway, here is how you can make your own Mexican Pizzas. 
NOT Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza
Serves:  8 
Instructions
  • 1.25 lb ground sirloin
  • 1 cloves garlic, finely diced
  • 2 Tbsp onion, finely diced
  • 1 packet taco seasoning
  • 1 can refried beans
  • 2 cups colby jack cheese, shredded
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 4 oz sliced black olives
  • 8 corn tostadas* 

For the Quick Rotel Enchilada Sauce

  • 8 oz can Rotel Tomato & Chile Sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 clove garlic, finely diced
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp ground chipotle
Instructions
  1. Mix the sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan and simmer over medium heat.  Stir occasionally.
  2. Cook the taco meat according to directions EXCEPT – after browning and draining the ground beef, quickly saute the onion and garlic before add the beef back to the pan.  Resume package directions.
  3. Heat the refried beans over medium low heat.
  4. Preheat oven to 450f.
  5. Place 4 corn tostadas on a cookie sheet.  Top each with 2-3 Tbsp of beans and 2-3 Tbsp of the cooked beef.  Top each with another tostada, 2-3 Tbsp of the enchilada sauce, and cover with shredded cheese. 
  6. Place in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese, about 1-2 minutes.
  7. Top with tomatoes, green onion, and black olives.  Serve immediately.

Notes

  • Taco Bell uses flour tortillas but we like the crunch from the corn tortillas.  

BLUEBERRY STREUSEL COFFECAKE

GRANDMA’S STREUSEL COFFEECAKE
2 + 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 + 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 + 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 + 2/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
6 + 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 JUMBO eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 cups blueberries

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Sift together the 2 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg and orange peel in a large mixing bowl.
  • Whisk together the eggs, 6 tablespoons butter, buttermilk and vanilla.
  • Gently fold in the blueberries.
  • Pour liquid mix into flour mixture and beat until smooth with a hand mixer.
  • Pour into a prepared 9×9 pan.
  • In a small food processor process all the remaining ingredients except the walnuts until smooth.
  • Using your hands form small flat pancakes with the mixture and scatter over cake batter until well covered.
  • Poke a few holes down into the cake for the streusel to run into or run a knife through creating a swirl.
  • Scatter walnuts evenly over top.
  • Bake 1 hour.
  • Serve warm with a dab of butter melting on top of each piece.

Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

This is a fantastic low calorie tasty salad. I used to make the super fattening broccoli cauliflower with tons of mayo, sugar, sunflower seeds and tons of bacon. Delicious yes, but so fattening, you can eat such a tiny portion compared to this salad. The red wine vinegar is so good in this. It’s a nice make ahead salad but I wait until about an hour or two before serving time to add the dressing.

Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

3 roma plum tomatoes

1 pound fresh broccoli florets, about 8 cups
1 small head of cauliflower, about 1/2pound
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup light sour cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup Splenda

Dice tomatoes, chop broccoli and cauliflower. Mix veggies together in a large bowl. Mix mayo, sour cream, salt and pepper, Splenda and red wine vinegar together in a small bowl. Add to veggies. Stir thoroughly and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, stirring often. Keeps in the fridge for about 24-36 hours nicely in my opinion.


Total calories = 791

13 loose filled cups

Meet Me on Monday

Acting Balanced
Heather at Acting Balanced gives us 5 questions each week to answer and the post includes a linky so we can BlogHop!. Heather said this meme is based on the original Meet Me on Monday hosted by Java at Never Growing Old.

Here are today’s Questions:
1. What was the first live concert you ever attended?
2. What colors look best on you?
3. What is one thing about you that most people wouldn’t know?
4. Who would you call to be bailed out of jail?
5. What do you think is the greatest invention of your lifetime and why?

1) Pink Floyd’s “THE WALL” – great concert
2) I like grays, blues and purples, but hubby likes brighter stuff.
3) I’m missing a disc in my back that makes it impossible for me to touch my toes no matter what I weigh.
4) My SIL or my husband.
5) There are way too many things to even begin to pick just one. I always think of Laura Ingalls who began her life on the prairie with nothing and lived to see electricity, refrigeration, air conditioning, indoor plumbing, planes and so much more!

Soda Pop Dumplings

 Soda Pop Dumplings

This dessert is not new, you can find it in many places, out here in blogland. But this dessert is different, because it does not call for any prepackaged foods or ingredients, except the Ginger Ale. These delicious little bites of apple pie flavored dumplings are made with a convenient homemade biscuit mix. Not just any mix, a mix that calls for oil instead of hydrogenated vegetable shortening.  You can find that original recipe here, and remember it makes a lot of great stuff, just like any other biscuit mix will do. You won’t regret the few minutes invested to make up a batch. And now on to those little morsels shown above!

Soda Pop Dumplings
by the seat of my pants
350 degree oven

Dough:
2 1/2 cups all purpose mix
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup warm water
1 package yeast
small amount of all purpose flour for kneading and rolling

Dissolve the yeast in the water, set aside to proof. Combing the all purpose mix, sugar and cinnamon, combine well. Add the proofed yeast and stir to moisten.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and easy to handle.

Roll out into a rectangle approximately 1/4 inch thick. Cut in half down the center, then crosswise to make quarter sections. Each quarter section will be cut into 9 strips.

3 apples, peeled, quartered and each quarter cut into 3 slices,

Wrap a strip of dough around each apple slice as shown, place into a prepared baking pan.

Syrup:
1 cup ginger ale
1 cup sugar
1 cube butter
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Bring to a boil, stir to dissolve sugar, pour over dumplings (they will begin to puff up and float, it is OK!)

Bake 35-45 minutes.

Serve warm with a little vanilla ice cream.
As always, thanks for taking a moment to stop and say hello. I appreciate your time and your wonderful comments.

LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN

I found this recipe at ALLrecipes and it was amazing!!  I did make a few changes for my family’s likes so go check out the original recipe.

LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN

Lemon Butter Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup white wine*
  • Juice of 2 large lemons
  • 5 tablespoons heavy cream❉
  • 1 cup butter, chilled❉
  • salt and pepper to taste

Chicken and Pasta:
1/2 pound dry farfalle (bow tie) pasta
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
1 tablespoon safflower oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces bacon – OPTIONAL
6 ounces mushrooms, sliced – OPTIONAL
6 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and halved – OPTIONAL
chopped fresh parsley for garnish

  1. To make the sauce, pour the wine and lemon juice into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook at a low boil until the liquid is reduced by 1/3. Stir in cream, and simmer until it thickens. (TONIGHT DIDN’T WANT TO THICKEN!) Gradually add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time to the sauce, stirring until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and keep warm.
  2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside. (TONIGHT I MADE RICE – A GREAT SUBSTITUTE)
  3. To make the chicken, heat oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, and pepper. Lightly coat chicken with flour mixture. Without crowding, carefully place chicken in hot oil. (If necessary, cook in batches.) Fry until cooked through and golden brown on both sides. Remove the chicken to paper towels. OPTIONAL – Stir the bacon, mushrooms and artichokes into the oil; cook until the mushrooms are soft.
  4. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size strips, and return them to the skillet. Stir half of the lemon butter sauce into the chicken mixture.
  5. To serve, place pasta in a large bowl. Stir the chicken mixture into the pasta. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Stir in additional lemon butter sauce as desired. Toss well, and garnish with parsley. 

*a dry blush works well also.
❉I didn’t want to use so much butter so substituted 3/4 cup buttermilk this time and was pleased with the results.

GLITCH #101 and COUNTING

The move that was supposed to be relatively smooth turned into the nightmare from hell.  As for the moving company, it took us 23 days to take delivery on the 5-7 day promise and with that was 2 missing tables and a box.  The boxes looked like they had been through an earthquake (interesting since we had bought all new!)  The company has NOT returned 1 phone call or email!!

DO NOT USE: PROUD AMERICAN MOVING COMPANY!   They will tell you they are not a broker BUT they ARE!!!

They arranged for ___________ to pick up our items.
GLITCH #101 – They were supposed to pick up on Monday morning November 7th 8-10AM.  We waited an extra week so we could have that specifically!  They called on Sunday the 6th to say they wouldn’t be there until Tuesday the 8th 4-6PM.  So far we’re talking 2 additional nights and delaying us into the weekend making utility turn ons impossible so actually costing us 3 more nights of lodging.
GLITCH #102 – The guy in charge was a fast talking guy with a heay accent so at times he was hard to follow.  After looking at what he was picking up for our move he told us they hadn’t sold us enough space so we had to renegotiate

Survivor Syndrome or PTSD and reaching out to those you love

Survivor syndrome, also called concentration camp syndrome is known to have been used to describe the reactions and behaviors of people who have survived massive and adverse events. Symptoms include anxiety, depression, social withdrawl, sleep disturbance, nightmares, physical complaints and emotional lability (something that is constantly undergoing change or something that is likely to undergo change) with a loss of drive. Commonly such survivors feel guilty that they have survived the trauma and others did not.


Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in a psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to physical, sexual, or psychological integrity, overwhelming the individual’s ability to cope. Diagnostic symptoms for PTSD include re-experiencing the original trauma(s) through flashbacks or nightmares, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, and increased arousal—such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, anger, and hypervigilance. Formal diagnostic criteria say that the symptoms last more than one month and cause significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.


Definitions aside, you change when life changes – usually in small increments.  Too many changes all at once or too many too fast can turn a relatively normal person into a raving lunatic. That’s me recently, the raving lunatic who just plain shut down after one too many drastic uncontrollable changes in my life.  I was always the optimistic, glass full girl.  Now I have to admit you can’t say always.  I am finally starting to see my way out of the survivor guilt and accepting the way things are.  I AM going to dig my way out of this hole and back to my friends and family that loved me enough to stand by me through it all.  

Thanks for bearing with me!

MAPLE VANILLA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

One of hubby’s favorite cookies is chocolate chip.  I’ve experimented for years on getting the right combo of flavors.  According to hubby I’ve finally done it.
MAPLE VANILLA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
3 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/3 cups butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 Jumbo eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon maple extract
pinch cinnamon
12 ounce package milk chocolate chips

  • Preheat oven to 375˚,
  • Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda.  Set aside.
  • Cream butter.
  • Add sugars and cream again.
  • Add eggs and cream again.
  • Add vanilla and maple, beating until smooth.
  • Gradually add the flour mixture until we blended.
  • Add chocolate chips and nuts if desired.
  • Drop by spoon fulls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
  • Bake 10 minutes.

MARVELOUS MINI-MEATLOAVES

I found tonight’s main dish on a blog, Gourmet Meals for Less, and I knew that Scott liked meatloaf so I thought I would give it a try. 

Marvelous Mini Meatloaves–
makes 12 meatloaves

l pound extra-lean ground beef (1.69)
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Chicken flavored stuffing mix (use the cheapest you can find)
1 cup water

and choose from your favorite of the following combinations:

1 teaspoon italian seasoning, spaghetti sauce, shredded mozzarella
2 teaspoon chili powder, chunky salsa, mexi-cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder, bbq sauce, cheddar cheese

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 375°. 
  • Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and preferred seasoning until well blended.  
  • Press into 12 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray. 
  • Make indentation in center of each with back of spoon; fill each evenly with spoonful of preferred sauce.
  • Bake 30-40 min. or until meatloaves are done (160°F). 
  • Top each meatloaf with sprinkle of cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted. 
  • Let stand 10 min.

Make Ahead and Freeze:  Bake meatloaves as directed. Remove from muffin cups; cool completely. Place in single layer on baking sheet; freeze 1 hour. Transfer to airtight container. Store in freezer up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator, and then reheat in 375°F-oven 20 min. or until heated through.

Here’s what you’ll need: 
(we went with the Italian Seasoning, spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese)
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  
  • Put the hamburger meat in a bowl and add the stuffing.
  • Add 7-8 good dashes of Italian seasoning and 1 cup of water.  Mix together. 
  • Spray a muffin pan with Pam and then stuff each pan with the meat.

  • Push a little hole in the middle of each. 
  • Scoop in 1 Tbsp of spaghetti sauce in each (if you are making the Italian-style).
  • Bake for 40 minutes.

  • Once the meat is cooked through, pull out and add cheese to the top.  Put back in for 5-6 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Here’s what you’ll end up with:

This is the type of meal, too, in which if some of the people in your family like Mexican and some like Italian then it would be easy to make 6 of each.  Plus, I love how the recipe tells you how to make ahead and freeze, too.

If I could have changed one thing, I think next time I won’t get a chicken flavored stuffing.  I think, instead, I would look to see what other varieties there were.  For me, there was still just a hint of the taste of stuffing instead of traditional crumbled up crackers or I guess you could even use just bread crumbs as a binding.
Either way, we will definitely be having this meal again!

Hope you enjoy!
April

WEEKLY MENUS

Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie

 DATE BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER
Monday 2/27 Cereal Sandwiches Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme Chicken
Tuesday 2/28
 Toast C.O.R.N. 3 Herb Chicken
Wednesday 2/29
 Yogurt Soup Apricot Chicken
Thursday 3/1
 Fruit Cheese & Fruit Chicken Breasts with Tomato Herb Pan Sauce
Friday 3/2
 Oatmeal Sandwiches OUT for hubby’s BDAY
Saturday 3/3
 Pancakes Out Chicken Chili
Sunday 3/4
Baked Eggs C.OR.N. C.OR.N.