Belinda's Burrito Bake

So well, it's been  LONG time since I blogged on this site- but considering it's a foodie blog and I an always on a diet, sometimes it just didn't make a lot of sense.  But last summer, I finally did it- joined Weight Watchers and it was AMAZING! I lost around 30 pounds and was headed in the best direction- then my mother's health declined quickly and she passed away.  Grief is not a good thing for a diet. So.... I did not diet.  I did not track my points, but generally followed WW during the day, but just 'lived' at night.

As the new year turned, I came back to WW but then we had SNOW in the south (it's a reason for celebration because we get maybe ONE good snow a year) ..... so here I am on MLK day with renewed focus... and many good recipes to share! I usually do my own twist on them but always run them through the recipe builder on WW site.

Weight watchers is amazing!

Belinda's Burrito Bake- 9 SP per HUGE SERVING (4) 

1 lb  ground turkey or ground venison will work- also 93% beef.  

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1 jalepeno- chopped very fine (may omit, but we love the heat) 

1 package Taco Seasoning Mix - low sodium 

10 ounce can Fat Free Refried Beans

1 cup Reduced Fat Bisquick

1/4 cup Water

1 cup Shredded, FF cheddar cheese

1 cup Shredded, low fat Mozzarella Cheese

Salsa and FF Sour Cream for garnish, but may omit

1.  Brown ground beef and drain- add onions, peppers, and taco seasoning and let simmer. Add a bit of water, but not much.  You do not want this mixture runny at all! 

2.  Mix Bisquick, water and refried beans in a small bowl.  I save a bit of taco seasoning to add here too.

3.  Press bean mixture into a greased 9x13 pan.  Press down like a pizza dough.  I use Pam on my hands to spread it out. 

4.  Add  taco meat mixture on top and then add both cheeses. 

5.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

I cut into four equal pieces- just easier- 9 smart points for the HUGE portion.  Serve with a salad topped with salsa as dressing.  It's usually so much that it's all I eat.... I love one portion meal!  

Cheeseburger Paradise....

Years ago, I had an amazing Beer Cheese Soup in a tiny little sandwich shop near Wilmington, NC.  It was absolutely the greatest thing I had ever had... up until now.  I know what you are thinking: Who makes or eats soup in the summer? Well, the Minnichs do… because we love soup!  Dave is much more partial to soups that are tomato based in nature, but me?  I just love soup! If I had my own cooking show, it would be called “I can make that into a SOUP!”.

So there I was, trying to get evil thoughts from my head, and the best way to take my mind off anything is to cook…. or bake.  Yes, I know I am trying to ‘eat clean’ this summer and lose some poundage but it’s summer.  (That concept can also be applied to ‘fall, winter, and spring’, but I digress). I wanted something that I could make a head and heat up easily enough after zumba.  So I decided on Cheeseburger Soup. 

But then magic happen! I opened my refrigerator and saw the growler of beer waiting for Dave and I…. lightbulb!

Why NOT make it Cheeseburger BEER soup?  Combining two of my favorite things: cheese and beer!

Cheeseburger Beer Soup

1/2 lb ground beef
1 tbs Dales steak seasoning
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 shredded carrots
3/4 diced celery
4 cups diced potatoes
4 tbsp butter
4 cups chicken broth (2 cans)
1/4 cup AP flour
1 1/2 cups Velveeta, cubed
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
2 tbsp mustard (hot or regular your choice)
1 can beer (your choice)
1 1/2 cup milk (I used FF)


1.  Brown beef with Dale’s seasoning in a soup maker/ dutch oven. Drain and set beef aside. Personally I like it a DARKER brown and some what burned!
2.  In same pan, cook the onion, carrots, celery and basil in tablespoon of butter until tender.
3.  Add broth, potatoes, and beef now. Bring to boil and allow potatoes to get fork tender.  10 minutes
4.  In a separate skillet, melt remaining butter and  add flour to make a roux- this is about 5 minutes max constantly stiring as it bubbles.  You want to cook the raw flavor out of the flour.
5.  Add roux to soup; bring to boil and cook for about 3 minutes and then reduce heat to low. 
6.  Stir cheese, beer, milk, mustard with salt and pepper to the soup.  Stir until cheese melts.

Well, this one was a winner.  Dave thoroughly enjoyed this one and it was like a slice of heaven.  I used just an ordinary Miller Lite, but I might step that up a notch as I am a craft beer lovin’ lady. And another thing about next time,  I will add bacon because everything’s better with bacon!

Squashing the dislike of Squash

Dave does not like squash and I do.  To be honest, there are a LOT of vegetables that Dave does not like that I do so it's a constant battle to figure out what he'll eat and what I will have to eat alone. However, this is a recipe that Dave will 'somewhat' eat, I think, primarily because there is cornbread involved.  Now, I make NO bones about it, I love Jiffy cornbread mix- it's simply too cheap and easy not to love- so this is a variation on a Paula Deene* corn casserole recipe that I love- minus the stick of damn butter! There is simply NO reason to add the stick of butter!

Dave likes the corn casserole so I thought maybe adding the squash would help him with his issues with the lovely summer veggie- uh, not really.  But this is a GREAT way to use squash.  You can mix in zucchini and a little jalepeno if you'd like it a bit more spicy. Also, maybe use a jalepeno pepper jack cheese instead of cheddar.  Hmm.... variations on recipes is a thing of mine!



Squashed Cornbread Casserole

2 1/2  cups boiled squash, buttered and salted to taste

It's good I tell ya, GOOOD!

1/2 cup diced onion
1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
1 cup sour cream (I use fat free)
2 cups cheddar cheese (I like sharp)

1.  Cut Squash into bite size pieces and boil with the onion until tender. Drain water off and add butter and garlic salt- along any other spice/seasoning you might like.
2.  Mix cornbread mix, squash/onion, sour cream, and 1 cup of cheese together.
3.  Pour into a  13x9 buttered casserole. 
4.  Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes; remove from over and top with remaining cheese; return to over to melt cheese - 5 minutes.
5.  Let is stand at least another 5 minutes before serving!


Under full disclosure, Dave does not love this, but to me, it's great!  But then again,  I love the squash!  So not quite "Dave tested and Dave approved",  but it's a 'not bad' recipe!

(* note: I still 'like' Paula Deene, not 'love',  however, my issue with her stems from the fact, she hid her diabetes while plying us with butter while she got a major drug endorsement)

Lovin' the stuffin'

It's a known fact that while Dave is so not Italian, he loves the Italiano ! So he does not care what kind it is, just as long as it's Italian!  

Admittedly, I could really only make spaghetti when I met him.  Had rarely gone off into other types of pastas so I have branched out!  I decided to try stuffed shells the other day.  I mean how hard could it be?  Turns out, I can handle stuffing some shells too!

STUFFED SHELLS

20 JUMBO SHELLS
1 LB ITALIAN SAUSAGE
1/2 CUP CHOPPED ONION
1/2 CUP CHOPPED GREEN OR RED PEPPER
1 CLOVE GARLIC, PRESSED OR MINCED
1 JAR (16 OZ)  OF FAVORITE PASTA SAUCE (OR MAKE YOUR OWN)
1 CUP RICOTTA
2  C MOZZARELLA CHEESE
1/2 CUP PARMESAN
1 EGG
Italian seasoning
garlic salt
ground pepper


1.  Boil shells until al detente.  Rinse and cool.
2.  Brown sausage- drain grease.  Season sausage with Italian seasoning and add onions,  peppers, and 1 cup sauce.  Allow to simmer. Add garlic at the end so that it does not burn.
3.  Combine riccotta, 1/2 cup mozerrella, and 1/2 cup parm with egg. Set aside.
Spread one cup of sauce on botton of 9x13 casserole.  Stuff shells with cheese/egg mixture and place on top of the sauce.
4.  When all shells are filled, top with remaining sauce and add more mozzarella.  Cover and bake at 350* for 30 minutes.  Remove cover and continue baking for 5-8 more minutes.

 Needless to say, this was a hit!  Very much Dave approved! 

Many of you know I love the low carb diet... I lived that way before a certain Yankee entered my life.  While I have thoroughly enjoyed every bite that led to the pounds I have added since I married the Dave, I do hate that I have excess in places I don't want excess!  Oh well...

So every now and then I attempt to 'drop' a few fast by low carbing it.... however, the low carb diet can be expensive and boring!  I mean, how many pork rinds can one person eat?  So of course, Pinterest is a WHOLE new area of low carb recipes and I have found some beauts.  Today, I saw Grilled Cabbage for a whole 4.4 net carbs... sounded good and easy. 

I am the griller in the family- Dave will joke it's because the grill is simply an 'extension of the kitchen' but if you know me (and my Yankee), you know the boy is handicapped.  Dave is color blind so since color is a HUGE issue in cooking, it's little wonder he doesn't cook much.  The menu was burgers - patties for me, buns and fries for Dave.  I decided to try out the grilled cabbage.  I must say, this was pretty darn good and VERY filling....

 Grilled Cabbage

1 head cabbage, cut into 8 wedges
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 Tbsp EV Olive Oil
1/2 tsp. Garlic salt
1/2  fresh ground pepper
Old Bay seasoning
1/4 cup chopped onion

1.  Mix the butter, olive oil, and seasonings together.
2.  Place Spread mixture on the cut sides of the wedges, sprinkle with onions,  and place cut side down on heavy duty foil. Fold up into a packet.
3.  Grill over medium heat for 20-30 minutes.  I went ahead and put these on as the grill heated.

I was very happy with these... even though the recipe is NOT Dave tested (hates cabbage), this was good!  Enjoy!

Belinda

Refreshing NEW car freshener

I was in Target and shopping the Dollar aisle- I mean it's right there by the door when you walk in and you never KNOW what you are going to discover at ONLY a dollar- I noticed a trial size of 'Unstopables' from Downy.  I know you are suppose to put this in your washer to keep your clothes fresh for weeks, but I had a thought- why not put them in your car?  We have 'sweet smellies' for our cars, but how long do they really last?  I picked up the sample plus some for the wash too.

How do create this?  I just used a small, snack size zippy bag.  I poured half the little pebbles into the bag and poked some holes.  I placed under the seat and shut the door.  After 10 minutes, I got into my car.  Yep, freshness but NOT too much! Pretty cost effective !  It's been a month and it's still going strong!

Cracker!

It’s Saturday, and Dave and I decided we would just snack for dinner tonight after having an extremely late lunch.  As we did the weekly shopping, we perused the snack aisle at the local Wally World, we picked up the standard go-to of Doritos, some popcorn, and regular tortilla chips.  I had been thinking of making the special crackers my mom used to make- so good and so flavorful.  I mentioned it to Dave and he was a bit dubious.  So I grabbed the Ranch dressing and decided tonight was the night.

We call these Arkansas Firecrackers or Texas Treats, but I am sure there are many names for these wonderful things.  Most of the great recipes and treats my mother brings come from her dearest friend, Jeanne Ball. Jeanne is like my second mother- she has definitely known me from before Day 1- When Momma attended the El Dorado Homecoming parade at nine months pregnant with Jeanne.  I have never known life without her presence in my life.  Many of the Kinder traditions have roots in El Do and the Balls.  And well this one, is a classic!



Firecrackers

4 sleeves saltine crackers
1 cup canola oil
1 package of Ranch dressing powder
2 tablespoons crush red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon caraway seed
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper


 1.  Combine oil and seasonings together.
 2.  Empty crackers into an air tight container or an extra large ziploc bag.
 3.   Pour oil mixture over the crackers.  Turn bag over and over to coat the oil into the crackers. 
       Continue doing this for an hour before serving.

I just keep turning and turning the crackers- like every time you walk by the container!  However, these are VERY addictive and I could help myself !  I had never made them for Dave until today and well, let's just say, they are officially Dave tested and approved!

You can use oyster crackers, Ritz types, wheat, gluten free or even pretzels to do these.

You can make them hotter with the amount of red pepper flakes- I like them very spicy so I put more than the recipe calls for-- and I am happy with it.  Can't wait to try these in chili!