Beef Empanadas

This was my first time making beef empanadas or anything similar to this and it was a success...we'll at least for Ross and I. Madeline is not a big fan of beef, so needless to say I caved and made her something else for dinner. This was one battle I did not feel like dealing with the other night.

I used premade pie crusts which worked out great especially during the week when my time is limited to cook. This recipe uses the leftover beef from the beef roast I made earlier in the week.

2 cups leftover sliced beef, finely chopped
1 cup reduced fat shredded monterey jack cheese
4 oz can diced green chilies
4 oz can diced pimentos, drained
Two 9-inch refrigerated pie crusts

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. I baked on a seasoned stone, but if you do not have one, coat a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the beef, cheese, chilies and pimentos. Set aside.

Unroll the pie crusts on a flat surface. Top one of the crusts evenly with the beef mixture, spreading it to 1/2 inch of the edge of the crust. Top with the second pie crust. Using a knife, cut the circle into 4 wedges. Pinch around the edges of each wedge to seal them shut. I had a hard time going this and just pushed the filling into the center to give me more room to seal the edges together.

Place the empanadas on the prepared baking sheet and make a small slit in the top to let steam escape during baking. Bake until the crust is golden brown about 10 to 12 minutes.

Source: Quick Fix Meals by Robin Miller

Sweet and Tangy Beef Roast with Vegetables

This was another great recipe that makes enough for another meal. I've really been enjoying being able to stretch one meal into two and it definitely helps with the ever increasing gas prices! This week has been quite stressful between work, family life and me having pink eye, but knowing that I planned out my meals the week before helped keep things under control.

This recipe is very hearty and make enough for dinner, leftovers for Ross and I and then more meat for my second recipe - I'll be posting that later this weekend.

1 Tbsp olive oil
5 lb boneless beef chuck or rump roast, trimmed of fat
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 large onion, chopped
1 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large turnip, peeled and chopped
15 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Add the roast to the pan and brown on all sides. Using tongs, remove the roast from teh pan and set aside.

In the same pan, add the onion, sweet potatoes and turnip and cook, stirring a few times until the vegetables begin to brown about 3 minutes. Return the beef to the pan.

While the vegetables are cooking, in a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour over the beef and vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer, turning the roast every 20 to 30 minutes until the meat is tender, about 60-80 minutes.

Let the beef roast rest for 15 minutes and then cut into 1/4 inch thick slices. Serve one-third fof the meat with this meal and all the vegetables. Refrigerate the remaining beef for up to 3 days or freeze for 3 months.

Recipe adapted from Quick Fix Meals by Robin Miller

Asian Glazed Drumsticks

These drumsticks are so good! Of course the picture doesn't do them justice, but trust me they're delicious. They're sweet but have a bit of heat to them from the Sriracha hot sauce. This was the first time I've use this hot sauce and I really liked it. It has a different depth of flavor than the usual hot sauce we use around here.

6 - 8 medium drumsticks, skin removed
cooking spray
1 cup water
1 Tbsp Sriracha hot sauce (more or less to taste - I used a Tbsp and it was fine for my daughter)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
4 tsp sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, grated or 1/4 tsp dried ginger
sesame seeds & chopped chives

In a large sauce pan, brown the chicken on high for 3-4 minutes with a little cooking spray. Add the water, balsamic viengar, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger and hot sauce. Cook on high until the liquid comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes.

Remove cover and bring to the heat back to high, allowing the sauce to reduce down. This takes about 8 - 10 minutes until it becomes a thick glaze. Turn the chicken occassionally. Keep an eye on the glaze so it does not burn when it starts to become thick.

Transfer the chicken to a plate and pour the glaze over top. Top with sesame seeds and chopped chives if desired.

Source: Gina's Skinny Recipes

Cinnamon-Raisin Swirl Bread

I am really enjoying baking fresh bread. I love the texture of it and the fact that I made it with my own two hands and didn’t buy it from a bag at the grocery store. For the last week, one of my coworkers has been toasting cinnamon-raisin bread for breakfast and that delicious aroma has been wafting down the hallway to my office. I looked through my starred recipes on my RSS feed and found this recipe from Annie’s Eats. It is a little time consuming while waiting for each step to rise, but trust me its well worth it. I had the ingredients I needed in my pantry except raisins, but I picked up a box while I was grocery shopping this weekend and spent Sunday making this bread.

Dough ingredients:

1 1/8 tsp instant yeast
1 cup warm milk (105 – 110 degrees F)
3 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
1 ¼ tsp coarse salt
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
¾ cup raisins

Vegetable oil

Filling ingredients:
¾ cup sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp water

1 egg, lightly beaten

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yeast, milk, flour, butter, sugar, egg, salt and cinnamon. Mix briefly until the dough starts to form. Switch to a dough hook and knead on low speed until the dough is mostly smooth and clears from the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes. Add in the raisins and continue kneading the dough for another 3 minutes or until the dough is smooth and supple and the raisins are evenly incorporated.

Transfer the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turning over to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat into a round. Fold the bottom third of the dough up and then fold the top third down, similar to folding a business letter. Next, fold the right and left sides into the center in thirds forming a rectangle. Press down to seal. Return to the bowl, cover and let rise again until doubled about 40 minutes.

Generously …and I mean GENEROUSLY (learn from my experience!) butter a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon and water for the filling. Whisk together until well combined.

Return the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into a 10 x 12 inch rectangle. Brush lightly with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture, leaving a thin border around the edges. Fold in the edges of the long sides of the dough about an inch.

Beginning with one of the short ends, roll the dough up in a tight spiral log, gently pressing as you go. Pinch the seam shut and place the loaf seam side down into the prepared baking pan. Don’t forget to pinch the seam shut or most of your filling will ooze out of the bread…another chance for you to learn from my mistakes. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let rise until the dough has risen just above the edge of the pan, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. After the loaf has risen, brush the top of the loaf lightly with the remaining beaten egg. Bake, rotating pan halfway through the cooking until the bread is golden brown, about 45 minutes. If the crust is browning too quickly, tent a piece of foil loosely over the top (I did this when I rotated the bread).

Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn out bread onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Recipe from: Annie’s Eats

Turkey Bolognese over Rigatoni

This is the second recipe using the tangy tomato ragout that I made last week. It was super simple and perfect for a quick dinner especially since we had to take Madeline to the doctor's for an ear check. Unfortunely her appointment did not go well - she had a SEVERE ear infection. I am amazed at how much of a trooper she was and never complained at home. I have to thank daycare because they are the ones who called to tell me she had be saying her ear hurt. She's doing much better and I'm hoping her re-check goes well!

Anyways, back to the food. Bolognese is a very rich and thick sauce. I know my husband would have preferred if I used ground beef, but I had ground turkey in the freezer, so that's what he got!

12 oz rigatoni pasta or any tube shaped pasta
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup diced pancetta or turkey bacon
1 1/4 lb ground turkey
3 cups leftover Tangy Tomato Ragout
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook for 3 minutes, stirring a few times. Add the ground turkey and cook 5 to 7 minutes until cooked through. Drain excess fat. Add the ragout and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes to heat through. Remove from the heat and stir in the oregano.

Divide the pasta into individual serving bowls. Spoon the sauce over the pasta and top with mozzarella cheese. Mangia!

Recipe adapted from Quick Fix Meals by Robin Miller

Double Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

While getting an oil change at Walmart a couple weeks ago, I had about an hour to spare and wondered the aisles. I stumbled upon a bag of dark chocolate and mint chips that were on sale. Now, dark chocolate and mint is one of my favorite flavor combinations and I knew that I wanted to change up my chocolate chip pudding cookie recipe to use these chips.

Instead of the usual vanilla pudding mix, I used chocolate fudge and these chips. They were seriously amazing and so tasty! They weren't too chocolately or minty - just the right combination. I bagged up half of the batch into little bags to give to my daughter's daycare teachers at Valentine's Day treats. Two of her teachers dug into them at 7am on Monday when I dropped Madeline off at school.

I love the versatility of this recipe and the thousands of flavor combinations that are possible. What flavor of cookies would you like to bake next?

Grilled Chicken with Tangy Tomato Ragout and Melted Swiss

I didn't want you to wait too long for a recipe using the tangy tomato ragout, so here you go. This is so simple and delicious! I love the tang of the sauce with melted swiss cheese.

 

2 cups tangy tomato ragout
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
salt
fresh ground pepper
1 cup reduced fat swiss cheese

Coat a stove-top grill pan or skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the chicken on the hot grill pan and grill until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side.

Preheat your broiler.

Transfer the chicken to a shallow baking dish. top each chicken breast with 1/2 cup of the ragout and an equal amount of the shredded cheese. Broil until the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 3 minutes.

Source: Quick Fix Meals by Robin Miller

Tangy Tomato Ragout

This ragout is super simple and so flavorful. I love that this recipe called to make the sauce separate since it makes a large amount. I have a couple of recipes planned that utlitze this ragout. I always thought that ragout was just a mixture of vegetables, but really it's a well-seasoned meat or fish stew usually with vegetables.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1 large red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
Three 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
One 6 oz can tomato paste
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, pepper and garlic and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, vinegar and oregano. Bring to a simmer. reduce the heat to low and partially cover the plan. Simmer for at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Serve over chicken or white fish such as flouder, halibut or tilapia.

Store the leftover sauce in portions that make sense to you. This recipe makes a lot, so be prepared to have 3 to 4 more uses out of the this. The ragout can be refrigerated up to 4 days or store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Source: Quick Fix Meals by Robin Miller

Pomegranate-Glazed Pork Chops

I had bought thin sliced pork chops last week and didn't get a chance to make them, so they were bumped to this week. I didn't want just boring old plain pork chops, so off to searching I went. This is definitely becoming a chore that I love doing!

The pomegranate juice and ketchup makes a simple glaze for the pork and has a sweet and tangy taste. I opted to use pomegranate-blueberry juice (it was on sale) and it was so tasy!

1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
4 bonless pork loin chops (6 ozs each)

In a large saucepan, combine the pomegranate juice, ketchup, vinegar, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil ant cook until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 15 minutes. Measure out 1/4 cup and set aside.

I made my pork chops on the indoor grill, but the original recipe calls for using a broiler. Preheat the broiler. Brush the pork with half of the barbecue sauce and broil 6 inches from the heat for 4 minutes. Turn the pork over, brush with remaining sauce and broil for an additional 4 minutes or until the pork is cooked through but still juicy.

Serve with the reserved sauce on the side.

Recipe from: The Rodae Whole Foods Cookbook

Turkey Meatball and Kale Soup

I have been wanting to make a soup similiar to Italian Wedding soup but saw this recipe in my Box 'o recipes....you know the stack of recipes you've ripped out of magazines to make one day! Well, I'm slowly getting through that box and definitely enjoying the recipes I've been saving for over 2 years! This was one of them and it didn't disappoint!

I learned a few things from making this soup.

1 - I made the meatballs too big

2 - kale is really tasty
3 - I need to buy The Italian Slow Cooker Book

The book features 125 easy recipes using your slow cooker that would usually needs lots of babysitting - but using your slow cooker, they take no time at all to prepare or worry about!

3 large carrots. chopped

10 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 lb kale, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces

1 lb ground turkey

1 small onion, minced
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup plain Italian style bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

In a 3 quart or larger slow cooker, combine the carrots and chicken broth. Stir in the kale. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.

In a medium bowl, combine the turkey, onion, eggs, bread crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well and shape into 1/2 to 1 inch meatballs. Carefully place the meatballs into the soup. Cover and cook on low for 4 more hours or until meatballs and vegetables are cooked through.

Serve hot, sprinkled with addtional grated parmesan cheese.

Source: Adapated from Woman's Day Magazine, originally from The Italian Slow Cooker cookbook

Dried Beef Dip

This is probably one of my favorite dips to make and I know it's my husband's favorite dip to eat! It makes a lot of dip and it's best after sitting for at least 24 hours. The flavors really blend together and it's delicious with pumpernickle bread.

I made this as part of our Super Bowl dinner, along with sweet & sour meatballs, crackers & cheese and veggies. Just something simple for the three of us to share before the game started.

1 pt sour cream
1 pt mayo
2 rounded Tbsp minced onion
2 rounded Tbsp dried parsley flakes
2 rounded tsp dill week
8 oz dried beef, ripped apart

In a large bowl, mix everything together but the dried beef. Once combined well, stir in the dried beef. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

The best way to serve this dip is to hollow out a round loaf of bread. Cut the bread that was removed into chunks and fill the hollowed bread out with dip right before serving. Fat free sour cream and mayo can be used to help make this dip a little more figure friendly. :)

Maple Butterscotch Bars

Sometimes mistakes turn out to be great and this was one of those recipes! I had been wanting to make these cookies every since early December when I debating between recipes for my work's cookie exchange. I thought maple and butterscotch was such a unique combination but it would definitely be good and it was.

Madeline helped me make them but we had a little problem. I couldn't roll them into balls! They just wouldn't stick together...so the next thing I could think of was to make a big cookie bar. Out came the square cake pan and away with the cookie sheets. It worked out great and the bars were thick and delicious. They are really rich, so a little bar goes a long way!

2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamom
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 egg
6 ozs butterscotch chips
granulated sugar for sprinkling top of bar

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Line a square baking pan with parchment paper; set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat together the brown sugar, oil and maple syrup. Add the egg and beat until combined. With the mixer on low, gradually add in the dry ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips. The mixture wil lbe crumbly.

Pour the mixture into the baking pan and press down to combine. Sprinkle the top with granulated sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until center of bars is set and firm. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bite sized bars.

Source: Adapted from Sugarcrafter

Brown Sugar Pecan Brie

While I'm home trying to recooperate from some sort of bug that is clogging my ears, giving me a fever and making it impossible to get warm; I'd do a little blogging to keep myself busy. This was another appetizer I served at my Scentsy party over the weekend. It was so good...that it was gone in a matter of minutes!

I love brie. I think it's one of my favorite cheeses to eat and then add some brown sugar and pecans - DELISH! This is another super simple recipe with only 4 ingredients!

1 round of brie, rind removed
brown sugar
chopped pecans
loaf of italian bread

In the center of a baking stone, place the brie. Remove some of the cheese from the center to make an area to press the brown sugar into. Add the brown sugar and sprinkle the pecans on top of the sugar.

Cut the bread into 1/2 inch thick pieces and line up in a ring around the brie. Place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the brie starts to get gooey and the brown sugar melts. I left mine in a little too long, but it was so delicious!

Source: Your Homebased Mom