Cheesy Taco Soup

This soup from Carlsbad Cravings is so stinking good, I ate some for breakfast the next morning! If you like Mexican, you will love this. It looks like a lot of work but it really isn’t; several ingredients are canned, so all you’re doing is opening them. It is so worth the effort, and my kids just gobbled this down. I was lucky there even was some left for my breakfast the next day!

The only things I changed about this were replacing a green pepper for the red, as I just didn’t have a red bell pepper on hand. I didn’t add the tsp of salt, as there’s enough salt in all the canned products, and I threw in some mozzarella cheese. You can never have enough cheese, right??

So, let’s get cooking!

First, drain and rinse the kidney beans and black beans so they’re ready. You might as well open all the cans now, too.

Chop the onions, peppers, and mince the garlic.

Brown the hamburg with the oil, onions, and peppers, adding the minced garlic when just about done. Mix in the flour, stirring well. Toss in the kidney beans and black beans.

Add the spices, the hot diced chilies, salsa, enchilada sauce, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer about 15 minutes until somewhat thickened.

Whisk in the softened cream cheese and turn off the heat. Stir in the cheddar, pepperjack, and mozzarella cheeses until melted. Serve with sour cream if desired. 

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Cheesy Taco Soup

1 Tbl oil

1 lb ground beef

1 onion

1 green pepper

4 cloves garlic

1 tsp each—chili powder, cumin

½ tsp each-- oregano, paprika

¼ tsp pepper

¼ c flour

1 15 oz can kidney beans

1 15 oz can black beans

1 4 oz can hot diced chilies

1 c medium salsa

1 10 oz can enchilada sauce

5 c chicken broth

1 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 c shredded pepperjack cheese

1 c shredded mozzarella

4 oz cream cheese, softened

Million Dollar Mac & Cheese

Okay, macaroni and cheese….almost nothing lures my tastebuds and my heart as a recipe for macaroni and cheese. And of course, with a name like Million Dollar Mac & Cheese, I just had to try it! While it wasn’t the absolute best I’ve ever had, this recipe did come close and was well worth the effort; I will definitely make it again.

So, let’s get cooking!

Set a pot of water to boil and cook the pasta just until al dente, draining and rinsing before setting aside. Get ready your cheeses, and set up the milks and the sour cream to be ready for when you need to add them.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour to make a roux.

Cook until bubbling, then slowly add in the milk, whisking the whole time. Mix the cornstarch into the evaporated milk and slowly add to the milk mixture. Add in the Dijon mustard and the rest of the seasonings. Keep cooking over medium heat, whisking frequently until thickened.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Mix until melted.

Add the pasta and mix well. Pour half of this into an 11 X 15” baking dish. Layer the slices of provolone cheese on top.

Spread the sour cream on top of the slices of provolone. Spread the other half of the macaroni on top. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese next, evenly.

Mix up the crumb topping by stirring together the bread crumbs and the melted butter. Sprinkle evenly on top of the casserole. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes, until all cheeses are melted.

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Million Dollar Mac & Cheese

1 lb cellentani pasta

4 Tbl butter

¼ c flour

3 c milk

1 12 oz can evaporated milk

1 Tbl cornstarch

1 Tbl Dijon mustard

1 Tbl chicken bullion

1 tsp each: onion powder,

garlic powder, dried parsley, salt

½ tsp pepper

4 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

11-12 slices provolone cheese

1 c sour cream

1 c Parmesan cheese

Bread Crumb Topping

¾ c bread crumbs

2 Tbl butter, melted

Soba Noodles with Sweet Ginger Scallion Sauce

This recipe comes to us from Food.com. I wanted to try it because it seemed to be very easy, and who can resist a Sweet Ginger Scallion Sauce?? The ready-to-serve packaged noodles make this a time saving recipe, and switching out the julienned cucumber for sweet red bell pepper adds to the flavor and eye appeal. I didn’t have chili oil, so I added red pepper flakes, and I increased the honey. This is a winner of a recipe that I know we’ll make again in the future.

So, let’s get cooking!

First, chop the cilantro and mince the ginger. Slice the red bell pepper and cut into one inch lengths. Mix together the ingredients for the sauce.

In a large skillet with a little oil, sauté the red bell pepper slices for about 4-5 minutes. Add the pre-cooked soba noodles. Stir in the Sweet Ginger Scallion Sauce and heat through. Serve and Enjoy! ~TMMF

Soba Noodles with Sweet Ginger Scallion Sauce

14 oz. Precooked packaged Soba noodles

(or other packed pre-cooked Asian noodles)

1 red bell pepper

Sauce:

1 ½ c thinly sliced scallions

2 Tbl minced ginger

¼ c chopped cilantro

3 Tbl sesame oil

2 tsp oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 Tbl soy sauce

2 ½ Tbl rice wine vinegar

3 ½ Tbl honey

Easy Potato Rolls

I haven’t done many bread recipes and I don’t know why, because I love bread. But when I saw this recipe for potato rolls on Rasa Malaysia’s website, I just had to try them. Omgoodness, they are to die for! So soft and delicious and really not that hard to make. I changed nothing in this recipe, by the way.

So, let’s get cooking!

Place the flour into a large mixing bowl. In a smallish saucepan, scald the milk. You don’t want it to boil, but to start to bubble on the bottom. Take it off the heat and stir in the sugar, 6 Tbl butter, potato flakes, and salt. Let cool until tepid and stir in the yeast and the beaten eggs, mixing well.

Pour the milk mixture into the bowl of flour and stir well until it forms a somewhat sticky dough. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise in a slightly warm place for an hour.

Sprinkle flour onto your work surface and knead into dough until not quite so sticky. Cut into fourths. Take two of the portions of dough and on a floured surface, roll out each into circles about 10” in diameter. Spread half the softened butter on top of one circle, then place the other circle of dough on top of it. Press down the edges to seal. Do the same to the other 2 portions of dough.

Cut each doubled circle of dough into 8 triangles by halving until you have eight. Take each triangle and, starting at the wide end, roll up towards the point. Curve slightly to form a crescent shape.

Place the crescents on a sheetpan. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about an hour. See how nice and plump they are? Bake in a 350° oven for around 15-18 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Brush with the melted butter and serve. 

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Easy Potato Rolls

1 ½ c scalded milk

½ c + 2 Tbl sugar

6 Tbl butter

½ c potato flakes

1 ½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp yeast

2 eggs, beaten

3 ½ c flour

2 ½ Tbl butter, softened

2 Tbl butter melted for brushing

Cookie Dough Dip

I’ve often wanted to try a cookie dough dip, but there are so many recipes out there, I didn’t know which to pick. After much research, I decided to use this one that was from Add A Pinch. It boasts to being the best out there, and I have to say it’s pretty dang good! Being an easy enough recipe, I actually had my lovely assistant chef Miss Megan make it under my guiding hand. We both gave it a thumbs up and brought it to a potluck event. Instead of regular chocolate chips, I used minis and I believe this made it better as far as the texture.

So, let’s get cooking with Megan!

With an electric mixer, cream together the cream cheese and softened butter. Mix in the powdered sugar and brown sugar, then the vanilla, beating well. You can see how satiny smooth this is!

Stir in the mini chocolate chips.

Serve with any of these: Teddy grahams, honey grahams, chocolate grahams, animal crackers, ‘Nilla wafers. 

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Cookie Dough Dip

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese

½ c butter, softened

1 c confectioner’s sugar

2 Tbl brown sugar

1 ½ tsp vanilla

1 c mini chocolate chips