Hearty Tortilla Chip Dip

Hearty Tortilla Chip Dip

1 lb ground beef
1/2 red pepper
1/2 orange pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
1/4-1/2 green pepper
1/2 jalepeno pepper
1/2 spanish onion
1 Can black beans
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tbsp cajun seasoning
1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper

1 container sour cream
1 reg container cream cheese

1 jar salsa
cheddar cheese

1-2 bags TOSTITOS® ARTISAN RECIPES™ Roasted Garlic and Black Bean (or any of the other kinds of Tostitos artistan recipe chips)

 

Mince peppers and onion, put into a saucepan with ground beef and black beans. Cook until browned, set aside and let cool for 15 min.
Whip together cream cheese and sour cream, spread in glass pan (9x13 approx), spread beef on top, spread jar of salsa on top, and sprinkle cheddar cheese. Serve immediately.

Beer Dinner Muffin

Got this recipe from my momma

omit onion and cheese if you like
1/2 cups flour (I used White Lily All Purpose Flour, it really does make a difference)
1 tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (plus additional for topping, if desired)
2 tbs chopped green onions
1/4 cup melted butter, plus 2 additional tbs, divided
6 oz beer
(makes 8)
Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray.
In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cheese and onions, stir until well combined. Pour in 1/4 a cup of melted butter plus the 6 oz of beer, stir until just combined.
Pour batter into muffin tins until each well is about 1/2 full. Pour remaining 2 tbs of butter onto the tops of the muffins, dividing evenly between each muffin. Top with additional cheese, if desired.
Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until the muffins have puffed and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Serve immediately, these are best right out of the oven.

Delicious Breakfast!

I call it 1001 dalmations lol
Meal for 2

1/3 cup Cream of wheat (not the individual packets-the stovetop box kind)
2 1/2 cups Lactose free milk or coconut milk
6-8 Crushed Oreo cookies
dash of salt
2 tbsp brown sugar

Heat milk in small pot on med-low stirring constantly until it boils. Slowly add cream of wheat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and stir for 3 minutes. Add in crushed cookies and brown sugar, add more milk if desired and serve.

Quick Meal (Thai?)

Easy Meal (Thai wraps?)

I had something like these at a booth at a flea market once and decided to re-create them. Here's what I came up with:

Red chilli pepper jelly

Soya sauce

Round rice paper

Bean sprouts

Finely chopped cabbage (coleslaw)

Chicken breast

Carrots

Cucumber

 

Cook chicken and cut into slices. Mix jelly and soy sauce until it is just a little thinner than liquid honey for the sauce and dip.

Put rice paper in hot water until soft and pliable (5-10 sec), when pulling out, use thumb and pointer finger of both hands at top about an inch away, with pinky holding it against palm to prevent rice paper from folding in on itself (its like saran wrap- can be tricky) them lay on a damp tea towel. Add slivers of cucumber and carrot, add bean spouts, add cabbage, add chicken. Drop in some of the sauce, then roll up tightly. Serve with sauce for dipping.

Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes

Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes

Well… healthier than normal cupcakes. Trick your kids into eating some veggies!

I read about beets being used in cakes to give it a red colouring- so I tried it out. It didn’t really turn out red- and it wasn’t perfect because I made it from scratch with a recipe I made up- since you have to take into account that when you add beets you are adding some water content. The very first time I made it I used a box cake mix and cut liquids in half and put about a cup of beets in. This time, for the recipe I made up, I also added zucchini. It isn’t perfect… but it works. I’ve got to try it a few more times with variations to perfect it. Makes about 40 cupcakes

 

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Bake cupcakes for 16-20min.

 

Wet bowl: Peel beets, chop into pieces that will fit into a food processor. Cut ends off zucchini, slice into quarters. Grate both the zucchini and beets in the food processor, then cook in a pot with the vegetable oil and coconut milk for 1hr on med heat, stirring every 5 min. Let cool until it is bearable to the touch. Blend in food processor until smooth (cooking it makes it easier to blend up into small pieces you won’t notice when eating the cupcake).

Add chocolate squares (it should still be hot enough to melt them) and mix in vanilla.

Mix in the egg once it has cooled to lukewarm (you don’t want the eggs to cook yet!). Set aside.

 

4 cups flour

1 ½  cup brown sugar

1 ½  cup white sugar

1 tsp salt

3 tsp baking soda

4 squared baker’s dark chocolate

1 cup coco powder

1 can coconut milk

2-3 eggs

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 large beets

1 regular sized zucchini

½ cup vegetable oil

½ tsp allspice

optional chocolate chips

 

Dry bowl: Mix flour, sugars, salt, baking soda, coco powder, and allspice in a bowl, mix well. Add chocolate chips.

Combine wet bowl with dry bowl, mix well. Pour into muffin trays with cupcake papers.

Bake, cool, top with cream cheese icing, and enjoy!

Kick A$$ Chilli

Chilli

This is my boyfriend's favorite! With leftovers you can make taco salad (lettuce, chilli, sour cream, salsa, shredded tex mex, and crumble torilla chips on top) or chip dip with sour cream, salsa and cheese. Chilli is always best the 2nd day, as it lets the spices and flavours mingle better.

 

4 cans BBQ brown beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans

1 jar marinara

1-2 lbs ground beef (or ground turkey)

1 onion

1 red pepper

1/4-1/2 green pepper

1/2 yellow pepper

1/2 orange pepper

½ hot pepper

Salt and Pepper   

Cayenne pepper  

Cajun seasoning

Fry chopped onion and cook ground beef until browned. Fry black beans after draining with a bit of olive oil or veg oil. In a crockpot on high, combine ground beef, onions, black beans, drained kidney beans, brown beans (undrained), marinara, finely chopped red, green, yellow, orange and hot pepper, and stir well. Add salt and pepper, cayenne pepper and cajun seasoning to taste. Stir well. Cook for 5-6 hours, stirring occasionally. You can also add in a can of beer or a bit of bbq sauce, like bullseye

Hong Kong Curry Chicken

Hong Kong Curry Chicken

 

Good use for that chicken breast! Not sure if this recipe is really Hong Kong cuisine- but this is what my mom said it was called when she gave me this recipe. Another Lactose-free meal. You can mix in 1\2 cup plain greek yogurt at the very end if you would like.

 

1 can coconut milk

2 squares chicken stock

½ large onion

1 tbsp regular curry

1 tbsp Madrid curry (green curry)

1 tsp turmeric

150 ml water

½ cup vegetable oil

3-4 chicken legs & drumstick (or 2-3 large chicken breasts)

3-4 large carrots

4-6 potatoes

salt and pepper to taste

celery optional

 

Fry chicken on both sides and onion in ½ cup vegetable oil on med-high. Add coconut milk, 2 packets chicken stock broken up, 150 ml water, 1 tbsp of both reg and Madrid curry, with 1 tsp turmeric, and salt and pepper to taste. Combine with potatoes. Stir every 5 min until it has boiled for 20 min. Then, add the carrots, turn heat down to med-low and simmer for 40 min-1 hr, stirring occasionally.

Serve with wholegrain/brown rice.

 

Chicken Stew

Sometimes I wonder how my meals turn out great rather than a complete mess because I am such a scatter brain. ADD sometimes gets the best of me! My boyfriend is lactose intolerant- so I whipped this up for him.

 

Chicken Stew

Cream of mushroom or cream of potato or cream of chicken soup can be used- this meal is designed to be lactose free, but you can change it up and add your own touches. I prefer my carrots and celery to be slightly crunchy so I always add them last, but if you like them soft just put it all together at once. Timing and measurements are approximations- I never timed it or really measured. From what I remember this is the closest to what I did. Makes enough for 6-8 people I think.

 

1 square chicken stock

1 can coconut milk

1 can Campbell’s Scotch Broth

1 can Campbell’s French Canadian Pea soup

2 cans broth

570ml water (2 soup-cans full)

2 cups kale

4 large carrots

4-6 potatoes

salt and pepper to taste

1 small bunch green onions finely chopped

1 whole chicken

1 red pepper finely chopped

1/3 cup cilantro or parsley finely chopped

2 stalks celery

 

Generally it is cheaper to buy a whole chicken- and it will be good for 2 meals! Remove breasts from chicken and freeze, use them for another meal. Take remaining meat and boil in a pot of water. Once cooked, remove skin and bones. Set aside for later.

In a crockpot on low, put together coconut milk, Scotch broth, French Canadian Pea soup, broth, chicken stock (broken up), water, kale, potatoes, onions, red pepper, cilantro or parsley and salt and pepper. Stir well. Turn crockpot on to high, and cook for 2-3 hrs, stirring every 20 min. Once it has been boiling for approximately 1hr, add chicken, celery and carrots, and simmer on low for 40min-1hr.

Serve and enjoy!