TIO Tuesday - Smashed Potatoes and Taco Cupcakes

We have a new favorite side dish - Smashed Potatoes! I have seen a few recipes for these in magazines recently, but opted for Pioneer Woman's recipe, she calls them Crash Hot Potatoes. I just know I can never go wrong with her recipes! I had made these for a Saturday dinner paired with Pork Chops. However, Brad was working late on a project and he didn't make it home in time. The kids were the first to try them and they all loved them. By the time Brad got home, they had cooled considerably and we waited for him to come inside. He ended up talking in the driveway with a friend for quite a while, so I brought the whole pan out for them to snack on. They were gone right away. I would say that's a good indicator of a great recipe.   

 

Crash Hot Potatoes

Ingredients

• 12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Black Pepper To Taste
• Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.
On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.
With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)
Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

****

Next up is a pinterest find from a few months ago. I've seen these Taco Cupcakes often, I even bought black beans to use in the recipe, but never made them. I ended up modifying two recipes to come up with this. It worked great and I would make these again. I took a picture showing all the different steps. It's much easier to see how they come together this way. Starting from the top left and working across, you can see each layer. The last three are completed cupcakes. I hope that makes sense?

Finished cupcakes - so easy to eat with your hands, a fun appetizer too!

The recipe closest to the one I used is found at Just Us. But, what I have listed below is what I used.

 

1 lb. ground beef

1 package taco seasoning

1 can canned black beans, drained and rinsed

16 won ton wrappers (found in the produce section)

5 T + 1t of queso dip or salsa con queso

1 c chunky salsa

1 c shredded co jack cheese

 

Brown the ground beef, drain, add the taco seasoning and water as noted on package. Mix in the beans. Spray muffin tins and layer as noted in picture, starting with won ton wrapper, then queso dip, meat mixture, salsa, cheese and again with won ton wrappers in order. Bake at 375 degrees  for 20 minutes.

*** I had quite a bit of meat mixture left, so I enjoyed taco salads for lunch the next couple days. I wasn't complaining...

 

Enjoy!!!

 

TIO Tuesday (a few days late...)

My sister is expecting her first child. She still hasn't popped and we're at two days past the due date. I had travelled up to Minnesota on Monday hoping that she would conveniently have her while I was there. It didn't happen. I left Wednesday to come home with the girls and now it's Friday and still no baby! I wasn't able to get my blog done while I was there, but I had plenty of recipes I could share. There are some weeks that I just haven't had time to make something new or I'm not feeling that inspired. Ironically, the one week I can't get online is the week I've got a lot to share!
First up: Man Chicken - funny title, great dish.
I had pinned this quite some time ago. I went through all my recipes to pick out some that I hadn't tried and this one popped up. I put it in a ziploc bag to marinate which makes it a good one to put in the fridge in the morning and throw in the oven later that night.

Man-Pleasing Chicken

Chicken thighs- 1 package (1.5lbs.)

Dijon mustard- 1/2 cup

Maple syrup- 1/4 cup

Rice wine vinegar- 1 tablespoon

Fresh rosemary

  

Lining the dish with foil makes clean up a breeze. Yes, the man did like the chicken. I didn't use the rosemary, all else was the same. I paired it with homemade onion rings, next up... 

Anyone that knows me, knows I love onion rings. I love all kinds of onion rings, thick, thin, spicy, salty. These were a hit, I highly recommend them, make sure you let them soak in the buttermilk for a while, it makes a huge difference. Wouldn't you know, I can't find the original recipe?! That's what I get for waiting to post it. I do know I used buttermilk, flour, cornmeal and cayenne pepper. I will find the recipe - someday. In the meantime, don't they look great? I'm craving onion rings now.

 I remember seeing this on one of Pioneer Woman's episodes on the Food Network. At the time I thought it looked pretty good, but Brad isn't much of a creamed corn kind of guy. Then, I got this months issue of Food Network and this recipe was in there. I took it as a sign and made the recipe. Lo and behold, Brad loved it. Not just loved it, raved about it and raved. It's actually not much like cream style corn from a can. It's so much better and the spicy kick definitely takes it up a notch. Half the kids liked it, half thought it was too spicy. But it didn't really matter, Brad and I finished all the rest.

Baked Creamed Corn with Red Peppers and Jalapenos

Ingredients

• 8 ears corn, husked
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, diced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 stick salted butter, cut into pieces

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the corn kernels from the ear in a large, deep bowl with a sharp knife. Turn the knife to the dull side and scrape the cob all the way down to remove all the bits of kernel and the creamy milk.

Add the red bell peppers, jalapenos, heavy cream, 2 teaspoons salt, a generous amount of pepper and the butter and mix well. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bake until hot and bubbly, 45 to 55 minutes.

*** I don't have a picture for the last recipe I made. It was so good and it's a great base for other meals. I had made it for my friend and her family after her husband's illness. It smelled fantastic as it cooked in the crockpot. I made a small batch for myself so I could try it, I'm glad I did. I mentioned I left town earlier this week, and Brad was home alone for a few days. Before I left Monday morning, I made another batch of this for him to eat while I was gone. He was very happy and there was still quite a bit left when I returned. I used the remainder to make Chicken Enchiladas.  and a Chicken Casserole. I'm loving my crockpot right now! I do hope you try some of these recipes, and let me know what you think!

Beer Crockpot Chicken

4-6 Chicken Breasts or 1 Whole or cut up Chicken
1 Can of any kind of Beer
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
*You can use whatever spices you like
Put all ingredients into crockpot

if frozen cook on high 4-5 hours or low 8-10

If fresh cook on high 3-4 hrs or low 7-8 hours if fresh

**** I did use frozen chicken and a can of Busch Light :)

Enjoy!

TIO Tuesday - Apple Crisp

Really the title should be "Best Apple Crisp Ever". It truly is, no really, I'm serious! I took two recipes and kind of combined them into what I thought would be the best and it worked, one of the only times it's worked, but I digress. This recipe was so good in fact that the neighbor has "commissioned" me to make it for their family this weekend! I'm thrilled to do it for them and even more flattered that they liked it so much.
I'll post the basic recipe I used and make my notes at the end. You really HAVE to make this!

Perfect Apple Crisp
Source: adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used about 6 Granny Smith apples)

3/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Topping:

2 cups quick-cooking oats

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Instructions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, nutmeg, and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples.

3.For the Topping: Combine the oats, 2 cups flour, brown sugar, pecans, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.

4.Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.
5. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

***My notes - I used a 9x9 baking dish, I liked the ratio of topping to apples better this way. I omitted the nuts as Brad and the kids aren't terribly fond of them, though next time, I think I will add them.
The recipe on her website cuts the apples a lot thicker than I did. I used an apple/peeler/corer thingy (pampered chef?) and it makes perfect thin slices. I used the juice of two lemons and tossed the apples in them before I put the sugar mixture in. I think this added a lot of flavor to the crisp and cut down a little on the sweetness. After tossing the apples in the lemon juice, I put the sugar mixture in the bowl and mixed the apples thoroughly. I then put it all in the dish and added the topping. I baked for the 40 minutes and it was perfect.

Enjoy!!!

TIO Tuesday - No-Bake Cookies

I swear I used to make these when I was growing up. Or maybe my mom did? Or maybe a combination? I don't know, but I do know I loved them, loved them, really loved them! I think everyone my age probably had them as well. No comment on my age...

Recently I came across this recipe and thought it sounded pretty close to what I remember. I whipped them up in no time and it didn't heat up the house. Even better than that, my kids loved them too.

No Bake Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats

1. Add the first four ingredients (through the cocoa powder) to a 4-quart saucepan.
2. Bring to a rolling boil and let boil for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth, then stir in the oats.
5. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto wax paper-lined baking sheets.
6. Let cool until set.
(Recipe adapted from Ezra Pound Cake)


Enjoy!!!

TIO Tuesday - Delish Pesto Pasta with Chicken Marsala

My friend, Jen, gave me her latest copy of Taste of Home. I flipped through quick as I was sitting at Jack's baseball game and this recipe caught my eye. It's labeled as a "fast fix" which always works for me! It did take a little longer than the 30 minutes quoted, but not much. I liked that the sauce wasn't heavy, making it a perfect pasta for summer. I've always wanted to make a Chicken Marsala and now I have the wine to do it. I'll be looking for a good recipe for that soon, so if you have one, please let me know!

(I am retyping this from the magazine, but it's in the current issue of Taste of Home - August/September 2012.)
Delish Pesto Pasta with Chicken Marsala

4 cups uncooked penne pasta
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips and divided
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 cup Marsala wine
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup 2% milk
1 envelope creamy pesto sauce mix
1 tbsp. minced fresh basil
1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. In a Dutch oven, heat 1 tbsp. oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the chicken cook and stir until no longer pink.; remove from pan. Repeat with remaining oil and chicken. Remove chicken from pan.
2. Add garlic and lemon peel to the same pan; cook and stir for 30 seconds.  Add wine and lemon juice, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half. Stir in the cheese, milk and sauce mix. Add chicken; cook until sauce is slightly thickened.
3. Drain pasta; add to chicken mixture and toss to combine. Sprinkle with herbs.

Enjoy!!!

TIO Tuesday - Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

My sister's baby shower is coming up this weekend. I am in the midst of getting everything ready and figured it might be a good idea to try out this recipe before I serve it on Saturday. You just never know if something will turn out like you think, so these are my trial run. I'm glad I made them, they definitely are a keeper. The kids all tried them and thought they tasted better than the Lemon Drop cupcake from Scratch. I'll take that compliment!

There's a lot of lemon flavor to these, you can even see the lemon zest. I will make them look a little prettier on Saturday. And I'm not quite sure how I will frost them, I was thinking of making them look more like flowers? I have the cupcake toppers all ready to go for them, so the coloring will all match. I will also add the coloring to the frosting, which I didn't do on these.
Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Cake:

• 1 (16.25 oz) package white cake mix
• 1 small package (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding
• 3 Tbsp sweetened pink lemonade drink mix (like Country Time Pink Lemonade mix)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup oil
• 4 whites eggs
• 6 drops of pink food coloring

Frosting:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 2 pound package or 7 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 3 drops of pink food coloring

Decorations:

• 24 lemon slice candies or grapefruit slice candies
• 12 colored flexible drinking straws

1. In a large bowl, whisk cake mix, pudding mix, and drink mix together. Add sour cream, lemon zest, water, oil, and egg whites to the dry mix. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Use a strong mixer, this batter is thick.
2. Scoop batter into 24 lined muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until cupcakes don’t look wet and a toothpick inserted in one comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting the cupcakes.
3. Prepare the frosting by creaming butter, shortening, and lemon zest together. Then add lemonade concentrate, milk and vanilla with a mixer. Beat until smooth. Then gradually add the sugar, mixing well until light and fluffy. Beat in the food coloring.
4. Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes. (You will have plenty to pile it on. I had over 1 cup leftover. Leftover frosting is good sandwiched between two graham crackers). Place a lemon candy wedge on top of each cupcakes. With the straws cut the top 1/3 of the straw off just below the flexible part. Discard the tops. Then cut the remaining straw pieces in half. Place one straw piece in each cupcake to resemble a drink.

****My notes: I substituted one cup of butter for the shortening, so a total of 2 cups of butter. I had a lot left over! Everything else was as noted in the recipe.

Enjoy!

TIO Tuesday - Jalapeno Lime Butter

This is my first post written without a current picture. In a very grievous error, I didn't complete the picture download and deleted the pictures from my SD card before I realized it. I'm screaming on the inside for multiple reasons, not the least of which is that I now have no pictures for this post!!!!
I do have left-overs, so the pictures are of that, not the pretty ones I had taken while/after I made it. ARGHHH!!!!!
That being said, let's get on with it. We are heavy into Sweet Corn season in Iowa. It's a glorious time of year for fresh fruit and vegetables! I stopped by the side of the road and purchased a dozen ears of Hesse Sweet Corn on Sunday. I remembered seeing some things on pinterest and a quick search led me to this recipe. I didn't grill our corn, I did it on the stove, other than that, the rest was the same. I will say it would be better with the smokiness of the grill, so I'm looking forward to using my leftovers for that this weekend.

Jalapeno Lime Butter

Ingredients

8  ears fresh corn, husks removed

Vegetable cooking spray

• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup butter, softened $
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• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 small garlic clove, pressed
• 1 tablespoon lime zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
• Garnish: lime zest

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat grill to 350° to 400° (medium-high) heat. Coat corn lightly with cooking spray. Sprinkle with desired amount of salt and pepper. Grill corn, covered with grill lid, 15 minutes or until golden brown, turning occasionally.
2. 2. Meanwhile, stir together butter and next 5 ingredients. Remove corn from grill, and cut into thirds. Serve corn with butter mixture. Garnish, if desired.

 ****
I had a bunch of cilantro left over, so I made one of my favorite Pioneer Woman recipes, Pico de Gallo. I've made this before, so it doesn't get headlined as a TIO, but it's a flattering compliment to the grilled corn and jalapeno lime butter. As a matter of fact, that was my entire dinner - corn with jalapeno lime butter and pico de gallo - fantastic!

Pico de Gallo

Ingredients

• 5 whole Plum (roma) Tomatoes
• ½ whole Large (or 1 Small) Onion
• 3 whole Jalapeno Peppers
• Cilantro
• Lime Juice
• Salt To Taste

Preparation Instructions
Chop jalapenos, tomatoes and onions into a very small dice. (Leave seeds in your jalapenos for a hotter pico). Adjust amount of jalapenos to your preferred temperature. Next, chop up a nice-sized bunch of cilantro. Just remove and discard the long leafless stems before chopping. No need to remove the leaves from the stems completely. Place all of these ingredients together in a bowl and give it a good stir.

Squeeze the juice of half of one lime into the bowl. Add salt to taste and stir again.
*** My only change was using a red onion.

Enjoy!

TIO Tuesday - Chicken Ranch Tacos

Many of my good friends know how much I love my original Chicken Taco recipe. You might wonder why I would mess with a good thing, but I'm so glad I did! Not that I don't still love the original, but it's nice to change things up once in a while. I have no idea how I came about finding this recipe, I'm sure it goes back to Pinterest somehow. (Is Pinterest the Internet version of Kevin Bacon?)
Two of the five kiddos don't really care for the original recipe, they think it's too spicy. I thought this would be a great way to serve something I already love and have all of us be able to enjoy it. Sure enough, they did and I do. Best of all, it's still in the crockpot, a life saver with 100 degree temps right now.

It looks a little scary here, but this is what it looks like before it's all shredded. The flavors all come together perfect. After shredding, I let it cook for another 30 minutes or so on low. 

Chicken Ranch Tacos
3 cups cooked chicken, cut up
1 pkt. taco seasoning (chicken or beef)
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
------------------
taco shells
lettuce
cheese
Ranch dressing
tomatoes
etc...

Heat a skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken & warm it for a few minutes. Sprinkle on the dry taco seasoning. Do not add any water! Heat for 5-7 minuted until all heated through & powder is stuck to the chicken.

Add Ranch dressing, heat an additional 2-3 minutes to warm through.

Serve in taco shells with all the fixings you love - plus an extra squirt of Ranch!

**** I did mine in the crockpot. Slight adjustment to ingredients: place uncooked or frozen chicken in crockpot, cover with 1 can chicken stock/broth, sprinkle taco seasoning and ranch seasoning on top.  Cook on low 4-6 hours. Shred chicken and stir in Ranch dressing or use as a condiment.
Enjoy!

Introduction!

This is my first post on my new blog! I plan on using this blog for all of my food and entertaining related posts. I noticed that I wasn't getting much done on the family side, so this move is long overdue.
A huge shout-out to Tara Sagers for designing the forth coming logo. I've seen the rough draft, trust me, it fits! My good friend Tammy came up with the title of Block Party and Tara added the "My" portion. I'm excited to get rolling on this, I've got a couple projects planned, in addition to the TIO.
I hope to soon have it be more asthetically pleasing, the blog that is...
Thanks for reading - It's a great day to party on the Block!