Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

Posted on May 10, 2010 by Veronica

I’ve seen recipes like this floating around the blog world, most recently on Brown Eyed Baker, but there was a glaring problem with them. They had no salt! Tell me you’d eat taco meat that had no salt in it. So I made my own mix that included salt and it came out perfect–almost exactly like the packaged mix but with no scary ingredients. I used the meat from my first batch to make that wonderful white trash taco salad stuff with Doritos & a whole bottle of French dressing in it, but the meat can obviously be used in tacos, nachos, or whatever else your creative little mind desires.

Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

¼ cup chili powder
¼ cup paprika
3 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl.

Over medium heat, brown 1 lb ground beef and drain. Stir in 2 ½ tablespoons taco mix & ½ cup water. Continue cooking over medium heat until the sauce thickens and coats the meat and there is not much liquid left. Store remaining seasoning mix in an airtight container at room temperature.

21 Comments

Posted in Condiments & ETC., Mexican and tagged homemade, mix, seasoning, spice, taco. Bookmark the permalink.

Black Bean and Pepper Salad with Cilantro & Lime

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Veronica

I think this is the most beautiful salad I’ve ever made. I’m big on color in my food and this salad definitely delivers! Not only that, but it is incredibly healthy and flavorful. It all comes together really well with the creamy beans & sweet peppers balancing the heat in the dressing (which isn’t too hot, just hot enough) and the lime and cilantro add a flavorful punch. And you know what I really love about it? It calls for an entire bunch of cilantro, so I don’t have to leave 9/10 of a bunch sitting in the fridge, wondering what I’ll make with it until I forget about it and clean out the fridge a month later to discover a produce bag filled with green-brown muck. Woo-hoo! And no, it isn’t too much cilantro. It’s perfect. And since it’s so healthy, I felt justified using salty tortilla chips to eat it with, turning it into a sort of bean & pepper pico de gallo. Fabulous!

Black Bean and Pepper Salad with Cilantro and Lime
Printable Version

Dressing:
1 lime
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. ground Chipotle pepper
1/2 tsp. chile powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 t salt
fresh ground pepper to taste

Salad:
1 can black beans, rinsed well and drained
1 red pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
(could use any combination of colors for the pepper, or use 2 red peppers)
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Grate the zest from the lime into a small bowl, then juice the lime and add 2 tablespoons of it to the zest. Stir in the remaining ingredients; set aside.

Combine the salad ingredients in a bowl. Pour the dressing over and stir. Serve immediately or store in the fridge, giving another stir before serving.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Information (per serving): 214 cal; 8 g fat (1.2 g saturated, 1.4 polyunsaturated, 5.1 monounsaturated); 149 mg sodium; 591 mg potassium; 30 g carb; 10 g fiber; 9.1 g protein

Recipe Source: slightly adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen

8 Comments

Posted in Lighter Fare, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetarian & Vegan and tagged black bean, cilantro lime, peppers, salad. Bookmark the permalink.

Five Bean Salad

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Veronica

You may have noticed a reduced amount of sugary treats & and the addition of nutritional information on my posts lately and if you guessed that I’ve started trying to eat healthier, you guessed right! My 10th wedding anniversary is coming up in June and my 30th birthday in October and I refuse to look the way I do right now for either of those occasions! (Somewhere between Krispy Kreme Bacon Cheeseburgers, Rolo Pretzel Turtles, and Buttery Beer Bread, I managed to gain 25 pounds. I’m mystified! ;) ) Luckily I find it much easier to eat healthy in the summer than I do in the winter, when we naturally tend to eat heavier foods, and I haven’t felt deprived at all (yet) eating wonderful things like this Five Bean Salad.

It is a very simple salad to throw together and has a wonderful sweet & tangy dressing that soaks into everything and does a little dance in your mouth with each bite. The best part for me is that the longer it sits in the refrigerator, the yummier it gets. The recipe makes quite a lot for two people, so we can enjoy it over the course of three days (spaced apart over a week) without worrying about it getting mushy or funky. Dennis and I both like to pack it as a lunch because although it’s usually served as a side dish, we both love it so much that we can’t keep to one small serving and prefer to make it into a meal.

I’ve been making it for several years and although I don’t remember where I got the idea, I do remember that the original dressing I used made so much that the salad would be sitting in an inch of it. I’ve now got the dressing under control so that it’s just enough to coat everything with just a little bit in the bottom for you to stir back into the salad before serving. I have also tried adding other beans, at one point making it a 7 Bean Salad with black-eyed peas and black beans, and have added cilantro, parsley and even green pepper and while I like this salad best the way I’ve written it here, it can obviously be changed up to suit your tastes.

Five Bean Salad
Printable Version

Dressing:
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
Fresh cracked pepper

Salad:
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15.5 ounce) can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
2 (14.5 oz) cans green beans, drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can yellow wax beans, drained
1 red onion, diced
2 ribs celery, sliced

Mix dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl, pour the dressing over and mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight & stir well before serving.

Makes 6 main dish servings or 12 side dish servings.

Nutritional information (per main dish serving): 376 cal; 10.6 g fat; 58 g carb; 15 g fiber; 13 g protein

11 Comments

Posted in Lighter Fare, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetarian & Vegan and tagged 5 bean salad, five bean salad. Bookmark the permalink.

Colorful Couscous Salad with Chickpeas (Vegan)

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Veronica

Another one of my warm weather favorites–you can serve it as a side dish but I always eat it as a meal. The bright flavor of the veggies is offset by the mild beans and couscous and it overall has a very clean taste. I particularly enjoy the clash of the sweet raisins and the acidic onion. This makes a pretty big bowl but I have no problem eating the entire batch all by myself within a week, although I sometimes allow Dennis to help me. :) Tomorrow he’s eating steak for dinner, but I’m gonna be digging into a big plate of this wonderful stuff! I can’t get enough.

Colorful Couscous Salad with Chickpeas
Printable Recipe

Dressing:
¼ c olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1 T apple cider vinegar
3 t agave nectar or sugar
1 t Dijon mustard
1 t salt

Salad:
2 c couscous (I prefer whole wheat)
2 c cooked chickpeas, chopped
2 carrots, peeled & shredded
1 red pepper, chopped
½ c raisins, soaked in ¼ c hot water
½ c parsley, chopped
½ c red onion, chopped

Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Bring 3 cups water to a boil, stir in the couscous, cover, and remove from heat. Let sit 5 minutes, fluff with a fork, and turn into large mixing bowl to cool. Put the remaining salad ingredients into the bowl (including the raisin soaking water), pour the dressing over the top, and stir until combined. Store in the refrigerator.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition Info (per serving): 336 Calories; 8 g fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 508.2 mg sodium; 58.5 g carb; 6 g fiber; 9 g protein

12 Comments

Posted in Lighter Fare, My Favorites, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetarian & Vegan and tagged chickpeas, clean, confetti, couscou, healthy, salad, vegan. Bookmark the permalink.

Crunchy Dilled Shrimp Salad

Posted on April 24, 2010 by Veronica

I’ve been making this shrimp salad for several years and especially enjoy it in the spring and summer because it is light and bright. I love the crisp crunch from the water chestnuts and the nutty crunch from the cashews. The dill & lemon balance the slightly sweet taste of the dressing and pair perfectly with the shrimp. I usually serve it on a slice of toasted bread as an open-faced sandwich so I can enjoy the visual appeal of the pretty salad while I eat it.

I omitted the cashews from this batch and decreased the dressing to 1/3 cup, which saves 50 calories per serving.

Crunchy Dilled Shrimp Salad

Printable Recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 (12 oz) bag frozen cooked shrimp, thawed and tails removed
1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, drained
1/4 c cashews
1/2 c light Miracle Whip
3 T chopped fresh dill or 1 T dried dill
2 t lemon juice
3/4 t garlic powder
1/8 t salt

Roughly chop the shrimp, water chestnuts & cashews and mix in a medium bowl with all other ingredients. Serve immediately. If you will be serving later, omit the cashews and refrigerate. Stir them in just before serving so they will still be nice and crunchy.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Info (per serving): 187 cal, 7 g fat, 177 mg cholesterol, 560 mg sodium, 12 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 20 g protein.

5 Comments

Posted in Burgers & Sandwiches, Lighter Fare, Meats, My Favorites, Salads, Seafood and tagged cashews, crunchy, diet-friendly, dill, easy, healthy, salad, shrimp, summer, water chestnuts. Bookmark the permalink.

Quick Fish Tacos with Baja Cream

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Veronica

I have several magazine subscriptions and the ones that aren’t entirely devoted to food and recipes do include recipes and by the time I’ve gone through them, they are inevitably bristling with pieces of paper I’ve used to mark those I want to try and never do. Every once in a while, however, a recipe jumps out at me and I can’t stop thinking about it until it has been made.

Enter the May edition of Everyday Food. As soon as I saw these fish tacos on the cover, my heart began to sing. They were so colorful and seemed a perfect spring/summer meal. I had to make them.

I mostly followed the recipe except I did something a little different with the sour cream, using a recipe from my friend, Kitty, whom I owe a sincere thanks to. It is the closest thing she’s found to the cream they serve on fish tacos in Baja California and while I wouldn’t have a clue as to whether it tasted the same or not since I’ve never been to California, I can attest that it is delicious on these tacos!

From start to finish, this meal was on the table in fifteen minutes. So easy! So simple! So gorgeous! So light! So delicious! I often forgo simple recipes like this, believing that the more time and effort and ingredients that is involved makes the end product that much better. As this recipe proves, that’s not always the case.

Quick Fish Tacos
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 pound boneless, skinless tilapia fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper
12 corn tortillas
1/2 small head red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 small white onion, finely chopped
lime wedges, for serving

Baja Cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon (packed) finely grated lime peel
Pinch of salt

Heat broiler, with rack in highest position. Pat fish dry with paper towels and gently coat with oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Broil until fish is browned on top and flesh is opaque throughout, 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the Baja Cream ingredients together and set aside. Toast corn tortillas over a kitchen burner using tongs or wrap a stack of 6 at a time in damp paper towels and heat in the microwave for 40 seconds to 1 minute. Divide fish evenly among tortillas and top with cabbage, cilantro, and onion. Serve with Baja cream and lime wedges. SERVES 4.

Per serving (3 tacos): 440 cal; 14.9 g fat (4.2 g sat fat); 35.9 g protein; 42.8 g carb; 6.9 g fiber (NOTE: NUTRITIONAL STATS ARE BASED ON THE ORIGINAL RECIPE, WHICH ONLY USES 1/4 CUP OF SOUR CREAM. I know, who could possibly only use ONE teaspoon of sour cream on their taco?! I need at LEAST a tablespoon-hahahahaha!)

Recipe source: adapted from “Fish Tacos with Cabbage & Lime” from Everyday Food, May 2010

22 Comments

Posted in Lighter Fare, Main Dishes, Mexican, Seafood and tagged baja cream, cabbage, cilantro, easy, fast, fish tacos, healthy, lime, quick, recipe. Bookmark the permalink.

Barbecue Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich & Giveaway Winner!

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Veronica

Yes, it’s true. This sandwich has cheese. It has barbecue sauce. It has bacon. And it’s wonderful! I came up with it last fall as an excuse to incorporate some of the Flatlanders Spicy Barbeque Sauce that I love so much into my lunch. Don’t you just love it when desperation leads to inspiration?

One of the comments on the giveaway announcement, in response to “what’s your favorite thing to make with barbecue sauce?”, was using it as a dipping sauce for grilled cheese! So you see, great minds think alike! My other favorites include putting it on baked potatoes with nothing else (I can vouch for this idea–I’ve done it and it’s fabulous!), mixing it with ranch for a dipping sauce, making grilled tofu with it, and using it as a sauce on sweet potato fries! As you can tell, I’m not a huge meat lover and my favorites reflect that.

I do, however, have quite an affinity for bacon. Which leads me back to this sandwich. It has bacon on it. And you should make it. ‘Nuff said.

Barbecue Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Printable Recipe

Yield: 1 sandwich

2 slices Texas toast
2-3 T barbecue sauce
2 oz sliced sharp or smoked cheddar cheese
4-6 slices cooked bacon
1 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Butter or margarine

Heat a skillet over medium. Spread the barbecue sauce over the bread slices, then over one slice arrange cheddar cheese slices, bacon over that, then sprinkle the Monterey Jack over the bacon. Top with remaining bread slice. Melt some butter or margarine in the skillet and place the sandwich on top of the puddle, scooting it around until the bread absorbs the butter. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until cheddar looks melted, then remove and melt more butter in the pan, flip the sandwich and cook additional 4 minutes and serve hot.

Veronica’s Notes: Your sandwich will require several minutes less cooking time if you use regular bread. Also, the Monterey Jack isn’t necessary but I like to glue the bacon, cheese and bread all together by putting cheese on both sides. Change it up as you desire!

OK, you’ve been patient and now I’ll get to the real reason you’re reading this post. :) It was so much fun hosting my first giveaway and thank you all so much for participating–I really enjoyed reading about your favorite things to make with barbecue sauce! Congratulations to Suzie, commenter #19, you’ve won the set of three Flatlanders barbeque products! Suzie, I’ll email you to get your address and get them out to you!

21 Comments

Posted in Announcements & Awards, Burgers & Sandwiches, My Favorites and tagged bacon, barbecue, grilled cheese. Bookmark the permalink.

Lemon Squares

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Veronica

I found this recipe on Carolyn’s Food Gal blog through Foodgawker and couldn’t resist the beautiful picture & write-up so I made them for Easter. The filling was different from what I am used to–very silky and velvety and while I would have loved it in a pie, for some reason I missed the firmer texture of the lemon bars I’ve had in the past. That being said, everyone else absolutely loved them so who cares what I think?! I probably won’t make them again, but I think I will try to make a tart with the filling recipe–it’s really fabulous both taste and texture-wise.

Lemon Squares
Printable Recipe

Makes 24 squares

For crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
6 ounces (12 tablespoons) cold unsalted, butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

For filling:
6 large eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

For garnishing:
About 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until mixed. Add butter and continue to mix until butter is the size of small peas, about 30 seconds. The mixture will be very dry. Gently press mixture evenly onto the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

To make filling: In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and then the flour. Pour filling on top of crust.

Bake until lemon filling is set, about 40 minutes. (Mine took 50 minutes.) Let cool to room temperature and then put in the refrigerator for 1 hour or keep at room temperature for 3 hours before cutting. Cut into squares measuring about 2 1/4 inches and dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar.

Planning Ahead: The squares may be made a day in advance, covered, and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving. (I actually liked them better cold.)

Recipe Source: Classic Stars Desserts by Emily Luchetti

18 Comments

Posted in Brownies & Bars and tagged Classic Stars Desserts, Emily Luchetti, lemon bars, lemon squares. Bookmark the permalink.

Rolo Pretzel Turtles

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Veronica

You can find this recipe all over the internet, but I got mine from Laura, The Cooking Photographer. Since she posted the recipe last May, I’ve made them at least a dozen times because I give a lot of food gifts and these are so easy to make that they’re perfect when I forget a birthday and have to make something at the last minute. They are also one of the most well-received food gifts I make. And of everything I’ve ever made in my life, I think these little beauties have caused me the most overall weight gain. So I’m really not sure whether or not to thank Laura or whether or not I’m doing you a favor by sharing the recipe with you.

These are heavily addicting and I’ve finally learned to make only as many as I want to give, and NOT use the whole bag of Rolos because then I will inevitably eat half the batch. (And in the case of the second to last batch I made….I ate the entire batch. Every single one. Yes, that was about fifty Rolo Turtles!) I love the salty pretzel flavor combined with the sweet chocolate and sticky caramel and the contrasting nutty crunch from the pecans. They are really easy to make but oh-so-delicious.

Laura gives many ideas for toppings (including any variety of M&Ms, peanuts & chocolate covered coffee beans) and after trying them all (plus almonds, cashews & brazil nuts), I have to say I still prefer the toasted pecans. If you’re making these for children, I’m sure they would love the splash of color from M&Ms and you could also use holiday M&Ms to make these for Independence Day, Halloween, Christmas, Valentines Day, Saint Patrick’s Day, Easter, or any other holiday party.

If you decide to try them, don’t try to say I didn’t warn you. You will gain at least one pant size.

Rolo Pretzel Turtles
Printable Recipe
Printable recipe with picture

Rolos
Mini pretzels (regular or square)
Toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Place the pretzels on the cookie sheet and top with one Rolo each. Bake for three minutes. Remove from the oven and press on topping of choice. Then slide the foil onto the counter and let the chocolate set up. For faster set up, you can move the pan with the candy to the freezer, and chill for about 20 minutes or until firm.

Notes: To toast pecans, spread them out on a plate and microwave for 30 seconds at a time. Stir the pecans around with your hand in between cooking times until toasted.

Veronica’s Notes: To package these for gifts, I wrap them in foil candy wrappers (can be found at hobby stores, cake supply stores and Wal-Mart) or pieces of waxed paper and put in cello bags, tying the tops with raffia or curling ribbon. They could also be given in tins.

Recipe source: slightly adapted from The Cooking Photographer

34 Comments

Posted in Candy, My Favorites and tagged pretzels, rolo pretzel turtles, rolos, turtles. Bookmark the permalink.

Flatlander Meatloaf & Giveaway!

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Veronica

Last year my cousin, Eric, started up his own barbeque sauce company called Flatlander (you know, because we live in Kansas–the flattest place on Earth!), and I am in love with his products. There are three: Original Barbeque Sauce, Spicy Barbeque Sauce, and Doo-Dah Rub. (Doo-Dah is Wichita’s nickname in case you were wondering about that one). They are all fantastic but I can’t get enough of the spicy sauce. I went through an entire bottle yesterday! Sometimes I will just take slices of cheddar cheese and pour some of that sauce on top for a snack, and once I even poured some directly into my mouth. I’ve never been a huge barbeque sauce lover, but I do love this sauce!

The original sauce is sweet & perfect. The spicy is mild enough that even people who don’t like heat would enjoy it, but I really like the zip it has compared to the original. The rub is a blend of spices & sugar and tastes incredible on chicken. OK, it tastes incredible on everything–it’s very versatile. I even put it on my green beans once!

My favorite thing to make with the sauce is Smoky Barbecue Chicken Pizza, but it is good on anything. My most recent creation is this meatloaf, which I named after the company since I used two of Eric’s products in it. It is a fun twist on traditional meatloaf, with bacon, cheddar and onions in the loaf and barbecue sauce, more cheddar & bacon, and french-fried onions on top. Paula Deen, eat your heart out!

Flatlander Meatloaf
Printable Recipe

4 slices bread
2 lb lean ground beef
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, divided
1 small onion, chopped
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 T Doo-Dah rub*
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
½ c barbecue sauce (I used Flatlander’s spicy)
1/3 c French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Tear the bread slices into small pieces and process in a food processor or blender until fine crumbs. In a large bowl, mix the bread crumbs with the ground beef, 1 cup of the cheddar cheese, 3 slices of the crumbled bacon, onion, tomato sauce, egg, Doo-Dah rub*, salt & pepper. Pat it into a loaf pan and spread the barbecue sauce on top. Bake for 1 ½ hours (or until a meat thermometer reads 160° F), then remove to drain off the fat & juices, then put more sauce if desired & sprinkle remaining ½ cup cheese, 3 slices crumbled bacon & French fried onions. Bake until cheese is melted, about five more minutes. Remove and let sit 10 minutes before slicing.

*If you would like to make this without the Doo-Dah rub, you could try omitting it completely, replacing it with a mixture of 1 T brown sugar, 1 t paprika, 1 t chili powder and 1 t garlic powder, replacing it with your own meat rub, or replacing the tomato sauce with barbecue sauce.

Recipe source: Recipe Rhapsody

If you would like to win a bottle of all three products as pictured above, simply leave a comment below telling me what’s your favorite thing to make (or eat) with barbecue sauce. To gain an extra entry, subscribe by email (box in upper right corner of my blog) or RSS and let me know you did (or already do) in a second comment. Winner will be chosen using a random number generator and will be announced Tuesday, April 20, 2010. Deadline to enter is Monday, April 19, 2010 at midnight. Sorry, time’s up! Winner below.

Congratulations to Suzie, commenter number 19, who loves bacon-wrapped barbecue shrimp! The sauce is on its way–go wild!