One Pan Taco Mac & Cheese

This recipe comes from yellowblissroad.com. I wanted to try it because it’s:
   1. A one pan recipe,
   2. Has a Mexican flair to it, and
   3. It’s macaroni and cheese! Need I say more??

With a few minor changes, it came out really good. I do suggest, however, that if you like things spicy, add some crushed red pepper to it. I think this really could have used a little more kick to it. I added in a green pepper, upped the fresh garlic and spice, and instead of using just cheddar cheese, I used half cheddar and half mozzarella. I’m a pushover when it comes to stringy cheesy yumminess.

So, let’s get cooking!

Dice the onion, green pepper, and tomatoes, and mince the garlic.

In a large skillet, sauté the ground turkey with the onion, pepper, garlic, and half the taco seasoning.

Add in the water, broth, uncooked pasta (I used rotini), diced tomatoes, and the rest of the taco seasoning.  Cover the skillet and cook over low-ish heat, simmering for 15 minutes. Make sure to stir it a couple times so the pasta won’t stick together into a giant, immovable mass of durum wheat that will last longer than the rock of Gibraltar.

Meanwhile, grate the cheddar cheese, and the mozzarella if needed. I buy my mozzarella already shredded, as it’s sometimes less expensive.

Uncover the skillet and turn up the heat to medium, cooking until most of the water is gone and the pasta is al dente, stirring frequently.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the cheeses until melted.

Serve up and enjoy! ~TMMF

One Pan Taco Mac & Cheese

1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
1 med. onion
1 green bell pepper
3-4 Roma tomatoes
3-4 cloves garlic
1 packet taco seasoning
3 c smallish dry pasta
1 c water
2 c beef broth
1 c extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 c mozzarella cheese

Pizza Part 13: Tuscan Salami & Roasted Veggie Pizza

You know, I don’t know why, but when a pizza place comes out with a new pizza, I can’t help but try to copycat it here at home. I know it definitely costs me less to make it at home than to buy it, but I buy new ones at least once to try it and decided what’s in it. This is a pizza that Domino’s came out with and it looked so interesting. Sometimes it seems like so many different tastes can’t possibly work together, but this one definitely pulls it off well. And now, from my taste buds to creating a copycat for this, I present you with Tuscan Salami & Roasted Veggie Pizza.

So, let’s get cooking!

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute, until bubbly.

Slowly pour in the milk, whisking continuously, until thickened. Mix in the parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and black pepper. Set aside off the heat to cool.

Slice the onion and pepper, then cut the slices into thirds, so the pieces are about an inch long.

Turn on the broiler. On a sheet pan, coat the red pepper with a little oil and set under the broiler to roast, about 7-8 minutes or so, stirring and flipping 2 or 3 times during the cooking.

While the peppers are roasting, pinch the stems off the baby spinach leaves.

Spread the pizza dough in the greased pan of your choice (I have a round one and then my rectangle ones). Evenly spread the garlic parmesan sauce on the dough. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top.

Cut the slices of salami into quarters and distribute evenly throughout the pizza. Add on the baby spinach.

Place the roasted red peppers on, and then the Vidalia onion.

Finally, toss on the banana peppers, as much as you’d like. Sprinkle oregano over all.

Bake at 425° for 18 minutes. Enjoy! ~TMMF

Tuscan Salami & Roasted Veggie Pizza

1 pizza dough
2 Tbl butter
2 Tbl flour
1 c milk
¼ c parmesan cheese
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp black pepper
2 c mozzarella cheese
5 slices salami
   (not the hard)
1-1 ½  c baby spinach
½ Vidalia onion
½ red bell pepper
banana pepper rings
oregano

My Enchilada Casserole

Well, well, well, Monday….we meet again. You do realize what that means, don’t you? Another installment of my inexpensive family recipe series Gourmet…Way Before Payday. This recipe is a throw-together, and very easy to adapt to what you have on hand. When I give the ingredients and amounts, it’s always with the idea that if you have it, use it, but if you don’t have all of it, use what you have. The way I made this, it serves 8-10 people and costs $7.99. At $.80 to $1 per person, that’s not bad at all.

So, let’s get cooking!

If you don’t have 3 c of rice already cooked, get it going now.

Dice the bell pepper and onion. Peel and mince the garlic. I mince mine with my handy dandy garlic press when it’s time to add it.

Shred the cheddar cheese with a hand grater and set aside.

In a large skillet, sauté the pepper, onion, and garlic in the oil, until just tender, about 6 minutes.

Add the cooked rice and drained/rinsed black beans, as well as the chili powder, ground cumin, and about 1 c  of the enchilada sauce, leaving the rest for the top.

In an 11 X 15” baking dish, spray liberally with cooking spray, and spread about 1/3 c of the canned enchilada sauce.

Cover with 2 ½ of the flour tortillas, ripping into small pieces.

In the baking dish, spread half of the rice/bean mixture. Sprinkle half the cheddar cheese on top evenly.

Spread the remaining half of the rice/bean mixture. Rip up the other half of the flour tortillas and cover the top of the casserole.

Pour over the remaining enchilada sauce in the can. Sprinkle the rest of the cheddar cheese on top.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes, until bubbly. Serve and enjoy! ~TMMF

Enchilada Casserole
   (serves 8-10)

2 cans black beans,
   drained and rinsed
3 c cooked rice
1 green pepper
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbl oil
1 28 oz can enchilada sauce, divided
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
5-6 medium flour tortillas
1 ½ c cheddar cheese

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Okay, this is one of those I-love-this-so-much-I could-eat-it-for-breakfast recipes! The kids loved this just as much as I did. It’s fairly quick, and so easy. The only change I made to it was to up the amount of chili powder so it’d have a little more kick to it. I will make this one again and again. It’s also so easy to veganize it by just leaving out the meat and using a vegan cheese.

So, let’s get cooking!

If you don’t have rice already made, get it going while you’re doing the other steps for the recipe.

Chop the onion and peppers and mince the garlic. I had some red and yellow bell peppers along with my green, so I used a combination. It made it look real perty! ;)

In a large skillet, sauté the ground turkey with the onions, peppers, and minced garlic.

Add in the cooked rice, tomato sauce, and spices, plus ¼ c of the mozzarella cheese. I, um, may or may not have added a teeny tiny bit more cheese. Like, maybe an entire cup of it…

Pour the whole schlamoodle into an 11 X 15” baking dish.

Sprinkle the remaining ¼ c <snort> of mozzarella cheese on top.

Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes, until all bubbly and scrumptious. Enjoy! ~TMMF

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

½ Vidalia onion
2 bell peppers
2 cloves garlic
2 c cooked rice
1 lb ground turkey
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 ½ tsp chili powder
¾ tsp cumin
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
½ c mozzarella cheese