Menu 6/13/11

Monday: Ginger beef stir-fry

Tuesday: Mini meatball sliders with basil pesto

Wednesday: Korean bbq beef

Thursday: Mexi-chicken campanelle

Friday:Grilled chicken with Filipino bbq sauce.

Saturday:Chicken rollatini with-prosciutto

Sunday: Turkey burgers

Flour Tortillas

Once you see how easy and how much better these tortillas are, you will probably never go back to store bought. If you don't have much time, I like the recipe from Our Best Bites- Flour Tortillas. But if you do have a little bit of time then definitely try Fine cooking-handmade flour tortillas. They really are about the same ingredients and time except the fine cooking ones you have to let the dough rest for 30min-2 hours.

Beef Taquitos

We like mexican in this house. This recipe can be made for a main dish or cut up for an appetizer. Also, it just so happens to be one of my LEFTOVER MAKEOVERS. I will make a chuck roast in the slow-cooker and use the meat for pot roast one night, french dip sandwiches another, and/or beef taquitos/burritos. You can also make these and freeze some for a snack or such later.

Beef Taquitos
adapted fromOur Best Bites- Baked beef taquitos

3 cups cooked beef roast
4 oz green chilies
1/2 tsp minced adobo chili (from adobo sauce can) RINSE SEEDS OFF and USE GLOVES!
3 tsp adobo sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
zest from one lime
1 Tbsp lime juice
12 oz queso fresco cheese

20-6" white corn tortillas or soft flour tortillas
Olive oil cooking spray
Kosher salt

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2) Combine in a medium bowl, meat, adobo chili, adobo sauce, garlic powder, coriander, cumin, chili powder, zest, and juice and mix well.
3) Microwave 10 tortillas wrapped in damped paper towel for 1 minute to soften.
4) Crumble 1 Tbsp of queso fresco cheese down middle of 1 tortilla. Then add 2 Tbsp meat mixture. Then roll up and place seam side down on a lightly sprayed baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
5) Lightly spray tops of taquitos with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
6) Bake for 20 min or until edges are golden.

* If you want to freeze some of these, you will make them all the way up until the baking part and then freeze them. When baking them from frozen, make sure you write on the freezer bag "bake at 425, for 30 min." These can be baked right from freezer without thawing first. Or you can just freeze the meat mixture into a freezer bag. Make sure you write on he bag what it is though.

Root Beer Pulled Pork

 Pulled pork is one of my favorite meals that I can make one day and make it into something else the next.  I cook the pork in the slow cooker, shred it, then split it up into freezer bags in dinner serving sizes. Another thing I like about this is, out of a 2.5 lb pork tenderloin I get 3 dinners out of it. Plus if I can keep an eye out for when it goes on sale, it makes for a super cheap dinner.

Here is the recipe:
Root Beer Pulled Pork sandwiches 
from The girl who ate everything

1 (2lb) Pork Tenderloin
1- 12 oz can Root Beer
1 bottle BBQ Sauce

Directions:
1) Put pork tenderloin in slow cooker.
2) Pour root beer all over and cover with a lid. Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours.
3) Once cooked, drain and remove root beer from slow cooker. Shred pork and separate into meal size portions (2/3). Place 1/3 back into slow cooker on warm and pour in bbq sauce. Heat for 20-30 min.

* Ideas on how to use pulled pork:
   fajitas
   pot pie
   nachos
   cuban sandwich
   chili

Meat Pies

The meat mixture in these pies have endless possibilities. The seasoning is just WOW.SO.GOOD.

Adapted Natchitoches meat pies- From Our Best Bites.

Meat Pies
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
5 mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
2+ tsp. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
Tabasco sauce to taste
2 cans beef broth
Puff Pastry, Thawed or pie crust dough
Egg wash- 1 egg and 1/4 cup water whisked 




Directions:
1) In a large skillet, brown ground beef and ground pork, breaking the meat into small pieces. When it’s about halfway cooked, drain excess fat (if necessary) and then add green and red peppers, mushrooms, onion, celery, and garlic. Cook until vegetables are tender and onions are translucent. 
2) Add 2 tsp. Tony’s and 1/4 tsp. Tabasco. 
3) Add beef broth and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Cook for about 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with additional Tony’s and Tabasco if necessary, keeping in mind that the seasonings will mellow in the pie. 
*You can refrigerate this mixture for 3-4 days before baking the pies.
4) Take puff pastry and lay out on a lightly floured surface. You can make these into any size you want. I made One BIG one for two of us to share and a few smaller ones. Place meat mixture into middle of puff pastry, leaving a 1/2inch border. Fold over puff pastry and crimp edges with fork or twist edges shut. Brush with an egg wash.
5) Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min or until golden on top.

Nick's Grilled Chicken

It is summer time! I love grilling for many reasons:

• If you do it right, very few dishes to clean.
• Doesn't heat up the house.
• Isn't a heavy meal so it is nice and lite.
• Brings happy memories of summer time fun and relaxing.

Nick's Grilled Chicken

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Newman's Own Family Recipe Italian (Paul Newman's)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Onion powder

1) Pound chicken breast to be 1/4 in thick.
2) Combine all the ingredients into quart size zip-block bag.
3) Marinate 1hr or more.
4) Turn grill onto high heat and spray grates with olive oil.
5) Once the grill is at 400 degrees put chicken on and turn down heat to medium high.
6) After 5 min flip chicken. Cook until internal temp is 165-180 degrees.

Apple Upside Down Biscuits

Do I need to say more?
We LOVE Ree Drummond-The Pioneer Woman, and thanks to Bry for introducing me to this new recipe!

You most certainly can make this with pineapple and it is most delicious! I made this one with apples but you could make it with blueberries, peaches, raspberries, mmmmm the possibilities!

Apple upside down biscuts

Apple Upside Down Biscuits
¾ cups Packed Brown Sugar
3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1-½ cup Chopped Fresh Pineapple (I Used Chopped Peeled Green Apples)
Biscuits
2 cups All-purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
¼ teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Sugar
¾ teaspoons Salt
¾ sticks (6 Tablespoons) Unsalted Butter, Frozen
1 cup Buttermilk, Plus Extra If Necessary

Directions:

*From “Perfect One Dish Dinners” by Pam Anderson.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.

Pineapple: Heat brown sugar and 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat to a spreadable consistency. Pour into a 9-inch round cake pan, tilting to coat pan bottom; top with pineapple.

Biscuits: Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt with a fork in a medium bowl. Using a box grater, coarsely grate frozen butter into dry ingredients, mixing quickly with fingertips to evenly blend. Stir in buttermilk with a fork, adding extra droplets of buttermilk over any dry patches, if necessary and mix until dough just comes together.

Turn dough onto a floured surface. With your fingers, pinch dough into 10 rough rounds and arrange over pineapple. Bake until biscuits are golden brown and pineapple topping is bubbly, about 20 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate and serve immediately with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.