Homemade Taco Seasoning

I've been wanting to make this for a really long time. I like that it's natural ingredients, no preservatives and a lot less processed. And it is AMAZINGLY delicious! I feel like the flavors pop a lot more when it's homemade than out of the pouch. I made mine and stored it in a mason jar as well. Have fun!

*Note: I quadruple the recipe and store it in an airtight container in my spice cabinet so I don’t have to assemble the mix each time I need taco seasoning. I also frequently sub in smoked paprika for the regular paprika to give it a different, well, smoky flavor.

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Mix all spices together until well combined. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in your spice cabinet and use as needed.

*One pouch of taco seasoning is about 4 tablespoons

**A mason jar will hold 8x this recipe. Mel quadruples it... I did that twice. :)

*Recipe taken directly from MelsKitchenCafe.com

Taco Stuffed Shells

• I found this recipe on Closet Cooking - a guy named Kevin that cooks. awesome - and I really really wanted to try it bad, but never got around to it, until tonight. AND OH MY GOODNESS I WAS MISSING OUT AND SO ARE YOU, SO YOU BETTER TO GO THE STORE TO GET THESE INGREDIENTS AND MAKE IT NOW! I am not being dramatic. I am being serious. WOW! So. GOOD. I made these tonight for Pierce and myself and he still isn't home from work and I've already had seconds; it's really amazingly TASTY! Probably one of my favorite meals I've ever made. 

I added the recipe straight from Kevin's blog, but I'm going to add my two cents here and there and what I did. Enjoy! 

• 
  
• 1 tablespoon oil (I used Olive Oil)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1-2 tablespoons taco seasoning (I'm a fan of homemade taco seasoning... no preservatives, fresher, etc. Just store in a Mason Jar!)
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 1 cup corn
• 1 cup black beans
• 4 ounces goat cheese or cream cheese (I used cream cheese)
• hot sauce to taste (Just some random Hot Sauce in the Latin Food section)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup salsa (I added a little more, probably close to 2 cups because I used a 9x13 and 1 cup didn't cover it - Pace Salsa)
• 1 pound large pasta shells, cooked (Probably only needed half a pound, but I'm saving the extra noodles for another recipe)
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (I wasn't going to use these, but then I decided to... AND YES, you should use them. The crunch is perfect!)
• 1 cup cheese, shredded (I always use more cheese. Who doesn't? I used about 1.5 to 2 cups of cheddar!)

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat.
2. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, breaking it up, about 10 minutes.
5. Add the taco seasoning, tomato puree, corn, black beans and goat cheese and cook until the goat cheese/cream cheese has melted in, about 2-3 minutes.
6. Season with hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
7. Spread the salsa into a large baking dish (9x13), stuff the shells with the beef mixture and place them in the salsa.
8. Mix the butter into the bread crumbs and sprinkle onto the stuffed shells followed by the cheese.
9. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until the cheese has melted and the bread crumbs turn golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

*I sprinkled my shells with cilantro after they were done cooking - maybe that's why I liked it so much, I'm a HUGE fan of cilantro. And I also sprinkled the top with lime/lemon juice! I served it with avocado slices and a salad. 

**Upon further observation aka inhalation... this meal is good, but GREAT with the lime juice and cilantro. (I must have been super hungry when I first started this post and scarfed down my first helping) :)

***THE END!

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

I got this recipe from ThePioneerWoman.com and it will seriously be my go-to for mashed potatoes from here on out. There were a few things I would change, only because I did them wrong or too fast. 

1. I used my kitchen aid mixer, probably not the best idea because then the potatoes were SUPER thin, a little TOO thin.

2. AND I just poured the half-and-half without looking, I poured the correct amount, but with the potatoes already being too thin, I should have put less. 

Notes to self:

Get a potato masher

Don't pour without looking, see if the potatoes need less first

Now to the recipe!!!

Ingredients:

-5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
-3/4 cups Butter
-1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
-1/2 cup (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half (*I should have put less)
-1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt
-1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper

Preparation Instructions:

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost, but not totally, fall apart. (*That was my other problem, I over-boiled them and they were falling apart... I had a bad day, okay?)

Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.

Turn off the stove and add 1 ½ sticks of butter, an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half. Mash, mash, mash! Next, add about ½ teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper.

Stir well and place in a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 350-degree oven and heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through.

Note: When making this dish a day or two in advance, take it out of the fridge about 2 to 3 hours before serving time. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until warmed through.

*Recipe found here

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

I was looking for some home-cooked goodness this past weekend and found this recipe on MelsKitchenCafe.com - I love her website. Mine didn't look as pretty, but it still tasted yummy! 

The original recipe found here: The Ultimate Beef Stroganoff

INGREDIENTS:

2-3 pounds stew meat (or a 3-pound chuck roast, cubed) (*I used stew meat and cut them up even smaller)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (*I used about 1/2 teaspoon... I like my pepper)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ cups beef broth or stock
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/3 cup flour
6-7 tablespoons apple juice or water (*I used apple juice)
4-8 ounces sliced mushrooms (*At first I only put in about half of the mushrooms, because 8 ounces looked like a lot, but then the shrink as they cook, so I ended up putting all 8 ounces in and I liked it better that way)
1/2 cup light or regular sour cream

DIRECTIONS:
Place the stew meat, salt, pepper and onion in the slow cooker. Stir to distribute the seasonings and onion. In a small bowl, combine the garlic salt, Worcestershrie sauce, beef broth and ketchup. Pour over the meat. Cook for 7-9 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high. About 30 minutes before serving, combine the flour and apple juice in a small bowl, whisking vigorously to combine well. The roux should be thick but still pourable so add a tablespoon of apple juice or water at a time to thin, if needed. Pour the flour mixture into the slow cooker, whisking quickly to mix in the roux with the stew meat and juices and to avoid lumps. Add the mushrooms and stir. Cook on high for 30 minutes. Stir in ½ cup sour cream right before serving. Serve over pasta, rice or baked potatoes.

(*I should have been better about shredding the meat, but I was in a hurry, I think this would have helped with the presentation and the evening out of the meat and sauce)

***Freezable Meal: The leftovers of the stroganoff can be frozen. I store the leftovers in a freezer-safe container and then thaw in the refrigerator (usually takes about a day) and reheat over medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stove.

*I served this over mashed potatoes from The Pioneer Woman, recipe here: Delicious, Creamy Mashed Potatoes.

Creamy Green Chile Enchiladas

We had some friends over for dinner (8 total to be exact) and this was great. Everyone had one enchilada, mexican rice, salad, corn bread and chips and salsa. I used Costco canned chicken - worked like a charm. I hate cooking chicken. :) [2 cans to be exact] But I think next time I'd actually cook my own chicken and shred it (I don't like chunks)... you could kind of taste the seasoned canned chicken. But the texture was great! This was fabulous and I will be making it again! 

INGREDIENTS:
Filling:
3 cups cooked, chopped chicken [*I used two cans of Costco chicken]
2 (4 oz.) cans of green chiles, lightly drained
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed
1 can white or black beans, rinsed and drained (you can really use any type of bean you prefer here)

Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup chicken broth
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 can (7 ounce) green chile enchilada sauce [*I could only find a 10 oz can... so I just used that]
½ cup sour cream

8 ounces (about 2 cups) Monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 medium (soft taco size) flour tortillas
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and green chiles. Mix well. Add the chicken and black beans. Mix to combine. Set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk. As you whisk and the mixture cooks, the flour will get less lumpy around the onions and the mixture will become smooth. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbling and has thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the enchilada sauce and sour cream.

Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish. Spread about 1/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Fill each tortilla with about ½ cup of the chicken/cream cheese filling. Top with a small handful of shredded cheese, a couple tablespoonfuls for each enchilada. Save at least 1/2 cup cheese for the top of the enchiladas. Roll the tortillas up and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling enchiladas until the dish is full (I can easily fit 8 enchiladas in one pan).

Pour the white sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the enchiladas are bubbling, hot and lightly browned. Sprinkle fresh cilantro over the top and serve.

*Exact recipe from MelsKitchenCafe.Com