Taco Rice

Do yourself a favor and make this dinner before you even try to describe what it is to your family. If you are anything like me, you just won't do it justice and your family will flatly refuse it before you even get to your stovetop. Later, of course, when you are eating the bowl of taco rice that was rejected earlier by said family members, they will look at you like you tricked them and demand a do-over. "I didn't understand what you were asking" they will say, "I want some of that." At least, of course, if your family members are anything like my husband. At that point, however, you are already savoring the spicy meat, the crisp lettuce, the melty cheese and the fluffy rice and you may or may not be inclined to share any of it with him. 

To be fair, part of the problem could have been my describing it as a Japanese taco dish with rice. (Which is is, according to wikipedia, BTW. Side note: Do you ever sit around and try to remember what we did before Wikipedia? Or the internet in general? I think we called people a lot more and went to the library more. I think. I'll have to google it some time.)  Maybe a more apt description would be Tex Mex meets Rice. Seasoned taco beef is served on rice with lettuce (or cabbage), tomatoes and cheese for a wonderfully spicy/starchy/cheesy meal. It's very easy and quick, and easily adaptable to individual tastes. I like that it uses no seasoning packets since I'm a control freak like that. If you need a little change from taco night at your house, this would be an easy way to mix things up a bit. 

Taco Rice

By HeatOvenTo350 Published 05/21/2013

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red chili pepper, finely minced (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 4 large iceberg lettuce leaves, shredded (Or substitute 1/8 head of cabbage, shredded.)
• 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 2 cups cooked white rice

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat. Add onion and chili pepper (if using) and saute until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook another minute.
2. Add chili powder and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in ground beef, breaking up large pieces with a wooden spoon.
3. Stir and cook beef until cooked through. Stir in tomato sauce and soy sauce and cook until warmed. Season to taste with salt.
4. To assemble the taco rice, add 1/2 cup cooked rice to a bowl or plate, then top with lettuce, cooked beef mixture, cheese and tomatoes. Repeat with remaining rice and beef.

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min

Recipe Source: adapted from pbs.org/food

Camping - fan or hater? While it is something I think I romanticize between the times that I'm NOT laying on some hard ground, freezing/sweating, trying to sleep despite it being completely bright out at 6 AM, I would still say I'm a fan. There is something about being outside, making do with what you brought, and being among nature that is invigorating, even if it requires me to to take a long nap once I get home. 

Before I start the long process of unpacking all the crap I brought. 

No really, I swear I'm a fan. 

Foil dinners always remind me of camping. There's something exciting about burying the foil packet among the coals and opening it up to find a finished dinner. (Unless it is still raw, which definitely not as exciting. And which happens to me nearly every time. Unless it is burnt. I really swear I'm a fan of camping.) The flavors all kind of blend and the veggies help the meat stay moist. Even if you aren't a camping fan, foil dinners are pretty awesome. 

The same things that make foil dinners awesome while camping also apply at home when you bake them in your oven or on your grill. They are easy, they taste great, and you throw away your cookware afterward so there is no clean up. Sweet. This foil dinner is already popular at our house because we're a big fan of anything Mexican/Southwestern/Tex Mex or basically involving cumin and cilantro. And cheese. It's fast, easy, and healthy. Okay, relatively healthy depending on the amount of cheese you use. I like to double the recipe so there is leftover chicken and bean mixture to chop up and cook in a tortilla like a burrito. If it has been a few years since your last foil dinner, or if you have never tried one, I'd say these would be a great place to start. 

Southwestern Chicken Foil Dinner

By HeatOvenTo350 Published 05/15/2013

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• kosher salt and ground pepper
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (5-6 oz each - This is about half of the size of most of the chicken breasts I see sold at the store, so you may have to just buy bigger ones and cut them in half. That is what I do.)
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees*. Place four large pieces of foil on the counter and spray them lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Top each foil piece with a chicken breast. Sprinkle with kosher salt and ground pepper to taste.
2. In a medium bowl, combine black beans, corn, diced tomatoes and cumin. Divide mixture among the four foil packages, evenly topping each piece of chicken.
3. Pull up the long sides of foil and crimp together, then fold up the short sides of foil and crimp. Leave extra room in each packet for steam. Place sealed packets seam side up a baking sheet.
4. Bake packets for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from oven and open each packet carefully. Sprinkle each packet with 1/4 cup cheese and close each packet. Let sit for 2 minutes for cheese to melt before serving. Top with green onions and serve. (I like to poke a small hole in the bottom of the packets and drain the juices over a sink so the chicken isn't watery on my plate when I eat it.)

*Note - This could also be cooked on a grill outside in the summer month. Use medium high heat and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 - 20 minutes. I like to cut my chicken in half before cooking to help it cook a little faster.

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from readyseteat.com

Hypothetically speaking, say you have a two door car. Said car is about 8 years old. You've owned said car for 7 years. It has been great to you, but you had a baby about a year ago and getting baby in and out of a two door car is annoying. To say the least. The plan is to replace the car when your husband graduates from school and starts working, hopefully within 7-9 months. Then imagine that said car needs new tires, new brakes and is closing in on 100,000 miles. Do you pull the plug and trade it in? Or do you put the maintenance into it?

As you might have guess from the hypothetical example, this has been the stress on my mind for the past week or so. I hate making big decisions involving money. And cars. Somehow, no matter what I do, I always feel like someone is out to rip me off when it comes to cars. Does anyone else feel this way? I'm not normally a paranoid person.

I'm getting my mind off this dilemma by deep breathing exercises, walks around the block (hooray for nice weather) and these pizza wheels. Because seriously, how can you be stressed when you get to eat something this fun for dinner? As you might imagine, they are basically the goodness of pizza, all wrapped up in a cute roll. It makes for a great dinner or an equally great appetizer. They are slightly different from pizza in that you season a tomato paste instead of using a tomato sauce. The tomato paste is thicker and stays in a wheel shape much better than a sauce would. It gives them a more tomato-y flavor than pizza, though, so be warned if you are not a tomato fan. They also use less cheese than you'd find on a pizza, so they are a little healthier. (Or so I tell myself when I eat four at a time.) The fillings are what make the wheels, in my mind. Ham and fresh pineapple are delicious in them, or try some mini pepperoni or cooked sausage. Or a combination of the two. It's a great chance to be creative and use up leftovers from the fridge.

Pizza Wheels

By HeatOvenTo350 Published 05/10/2013

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cups flour plus extra for kneading and rolling
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2/3 cup tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram or basil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion*
• 3/4 cup diced fresh pineapple* 
• 3/4 cup diced ham*
• 1 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and yeast. Stir in milk and olive oil.
2. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead until well combined and smooth. Shape into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.
3. Roll out dough on a floured surface to a 12x18 inch rectangle. Stir together tomato paste with oregano, marjoram, garlic and honey and spread tomato paste over dough surface.
4. Evenly spread onion, pineapple, ham and cheddar cheese over rectangle.
5. Starting on the long side of the dough rectangle, roll the dough jelly roll-style and slice into 16 slices. Place each slice on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake until cooked through and starting to brown, about 22-27 minutes.
6. Serve warm.

*Note: The filling is what makes these rolls. If you don't like ham and pineapple, try 1 cup mini pepperoni, or 1 cup crumbled sausage. You could also make this vegetarian with 3/4 cup sauteed mushrooms and 3/4 cup cooked chopped green peppers. Be creative!

Yield: 16 wheels
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min

Recipe Source: Adapted from wholefoodsmarket.com

Tilapia.

I know.

Isn't that a fish?  

Yes, I'm posting another fish recipe. I can hardly believe it myself. When I mentioned before how much cooking fish scares me, I got some great suggestions in the comments that made me brave enough to try it again. For one, I found this site that helps take some of the mystery out of buying fish. They list the sources and which ones are best, which ones to avoid, and have a nifty app that you can put on your phone so it's with you in the grocery store when you're looking at the many kinds of fish and trying to remember if it was the farmed or the wild _________ from __________ that was supposed to be more sustainable and better for you. 

Another thing that helped was the suggestion to bake the fish. Umm, why hadn't I ever tried that? Probably because I always avoided fish like the plague. I'm glad I tried it, though, because it is so easy. And the fish turns out so moist and delicious. Tilapia is a great fish to try if you are hesitant about eating fish because it has a mild flavor. This might be my 11 month old's favorite meal ever, and since she can eat the whole thing as finger food it might be mine, too. This recipe is about as easy as it comes for a weeknight dinner. Grate some lemon peel, juice a lemon, chop some tomatoes and oregano and you're practically done. It is one of those simple meals that is easy to prepare on a weeknight, and it tastes so fresh and light. Lemon is one fish's best friends as far as flavor goes, and the fresh oregano is delicious with it. The tomatoes get sweet from roasting and the orzo soaks up the pan juices from cooking. Fast, easy, and tasty. Fish might be my new BFF.

Baked Greek Tilapia

By HeatOvenTo350 Published 05/07/2013

Ingredients

• 2 lemons
• 1 1/2 pounds tilapia fillets
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, chopped
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
• 8 ounces orzo

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grate 1/2 teaspoon of zest from one of the lemons and squeeze both of them for juice. (Should have about 1/4 cup of lemon juice.) Note: This a fairly lemony dish. If you are on the fence about lemon, halve the amount of zest.
2. Arrange tilapia in a 9x13 pan (if it is too crowded, use two 9x13 pans instead.)
3. In a small bowl, stir together oregano, lemon peel and lemon juice. Sprinkle evenly over fillets. Season fillets with 3/4 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. (I find that if I season the fillets before sprinkling with the lemon juice mixture that the salt gets washed off and I get some bland spots.)
4. Add tomatoes to the dish, scattering them evenly throughout, then cover the dish with foil. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until tilapia is opaque and tender. (If the tilapia is a little crowded in the pan, it will take an extra 5-10 minutes to bake.)
5. While tilapia is cooking, bring water to a boil in a large saucepan and cook orzo according to package directions. Drain well.
6. Serve baked tilapia over orzo, topping with tomatoes and juices from the baking dish.

Yield: 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook time: 18 min

Recipe Source: Adapted slightly from Good Housekeeping

If you've never had a Cobb salad before, do yourself a favor and run down to the nearest restaurant or deli and order one. Savor the crispy lettuce, chicken pieces, bits of bacon, avocado, the cheese and the hard-boiled eggs. Enjoy the tangy dressing and the beautiful presentation. Chances are, you will be a fan for life. In my experience, even people who don't normally like salad make an exception for Cobb salad. It is the salad that my picky eater sister came back from vacation just gushing about, and it is the salad that my salad-hating brother actually requested me to bring over once. It's plain delicious. 

This chicken salad channels all the flavors of a Cobb salad in a delicious, creamy chicken salad that you can enjoy on bread, toast, bagels, pitas, crackers or even lettuce. Mayo-haters can rejoice because it actually uses whipped avocados and olive oil as a base instead of mayonnaise. It's amazing how creamy and smooth avocado can become after whipping for a minute in a blender or a food processor and how well it works to hold the chicken salad together, all the while adding a delicious avocado flavor. Add in some flavors from Cobb salad dressing, such as some Dijon mustard and lemon juice, and throw in some of the traditional Cobb salad ingredients, such as bacon, eggs and tomatoes, and you've got one amazing chicken salad. I try to make this every time avocados go on sale in my area and I think about it between those times. Try this out and pretty soon you'll find yourself searching grocery flyers for avocado sales, too. 

Cobb Chicken Salad

By HeatOvenTo350 Published 05/02/2013

Ingredients

• 3 large avocados, peeled and pitted
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced cooked bacon
• 1 1/2 tablespoons crumbled gorgonzola cheese (or any blue cheese)
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped

Instructions

1. In a blender or a food processor, mix together avocados, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and salt until smooth.
2. Scrape avocado mixture to a medium bowl and mix in chicken, bacon, cheese, tomatoes and eggs. Serve.

Yield: 4-6 servings
Prep Time:15 min
Cook time: None
Recipe Source: HeatOvenTo350

I think everyone has a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Ol' reliable. The chocolate chip cookie recipe that comes out perfect every time, that is the perfect amount of sweet/semi-sweet, chewy/crunchy . . . The recipe that has drips of vanilla extract and a little bit of flour on it from multiple uses. Your recipe. 

I have my own personal favorite recipe, and since I found it I've rarely bothered to try other recipes. Why mess with success? Sure, I'll make a coconut almond version or try various twists on the old classic, but usually I don't even pay attention when different chocolate chip cookie recipes cross my path. That's why this recipe sat in my binder for years and years. And I want to apologize for that. I hope you will forgive me. If I had realized how wonderful it was I would have shared it with you years ago. 

What makes this recipe different and great are a few different twists and "secret" ingredients. First of all, it has oatmeal. Before you pass this off as an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, though, know that you can't actually taste the oatmeal in the finished cookie. You blend it up so it doesn't change the texture of the cookie and it helps make the them chewy. Wonderfully chewy. The lemon juice, another unusual ingredient, helps add to the chewiness, too. Finally there is cinnamon in it. But not cinnamon at a level that would make these cinnamon chocolate chip cookies. There is just enough there that if you didn't read the ingredients you'd wonder, "What is that delicious flavor?" Put all these special touches together and you've got one amazing cookie, my friend.

Even after making these just a few times, I can already tell that my ol' reliable chocolate cookie recipe has some serious competition. These cookies are nice and big, they stay chewy for days and they have just enough sweetness and chocolaty goodness. Even if you already have a favorite cookie recipe, give these a try next time you are feeling crazy in the kitchen. They deserve a special place in your heart. 

Secret Recipe Chocolate Chip Cookies

By HeatOvenTo350 Published 04/25/2013

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rolled oats, regular or quick
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place rolled oats in blender or food processor and process until finely ground. Combine ground oats, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a mixing bowl.
2. In another bowl, cream butter and sugars together with an electric mixer. Add vanilla, lemon juice and eggs and beat until fluffy.
3. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture until blended completely. Add the chocolate chips and mix to distribute evenly in the dough. Using 1/4 cup of dough for each cookie, scoop round balls with an ice-cream scoop and place 2 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
4. Bake until cookies are just starting to brown, about 11-14 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a sealed container to keep them soft and chewy.

Yield: 24 cookies
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min

Recipe Source: adapted slightly from an old "Easy to Bake" recipe card

This post will be blessedly short because I have family in town and I want to make sure they see all Amelia's skills and tricks. You just can't trust that they'll discover them on their own, you know. 

Basically, my feelings on this shredded pork could be summed up in two words - Make. This. Well, make this if you want an incredibly moist, tasty taco filling that requires little hands on time and is easily scaled up to feed a large crowd. And that has few dishes to clean up afterward. And that tastes amazing. And that tastes good in tacos, quesadillas, taquitos or whatever else you could want to do with it. 

Basically, make this. 

That is all. 

Oven Shredded Pork Tacos

By HeatOvenTo350 Published 04/19/2013

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 cup apricot jam or preserves
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and sliced into rings
• 1 red onion, roughly chopped
• 8 flour or corn tortillas, warmed
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup queso fresco

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Place a large piece of foil over a baking sheet. Place pork shoulder on foil.
2. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and ground cumin. Rub surface of pork shoulder evenly with salt mixture.
3. Using a spoon (or your hands) cover pork shoulder with apricot jam.
4. Pull up foil around pork shoulder and crimp to seal. Using a second large piece of foil, wrap pork shoulder again and crimp to seal.
5. Return wrapped pork shoulder to baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake until tender, about 4 hours. (Longer if you use a larger piece of pork shoulder. I usually do about 6 hours for 4 pounds) Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
6. Unwrap the pork, reserving any juices from the roasting, the onions and jalapeno rings in a medium bowl. Shred pork and place in a bowl. Pour juices, onion and jalapeno over the pork and toss to coat.
7. Serve pulled pork over warmed tortillas topped with cilantro and queso fresco.

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook time: 4 hours
Recipe Source: Real Simple