Tag: Recipes

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Cupcake Taco Recipe

Crunching for time and on the look out for some tasty bites that I know my kids will enjoy, one of my bosses shared this recipe with me, of which I altered to enjoy in my home that, 1) Saves us money and 2) Saves us time. We love Mexican food and my kids love tacos, then add the love of sweets like cupcakes. Fuse the two and you have cupcake tacos. What is better than the love of cupcakes and the love of tacos to get CUPCAKE TACOS!

These tasty beauty bites are fun and great for the whole family. They require so little time and so little efforts. Made with wonton wrappers that you can find in the produce section or the refrigerated section. All you need is a cupcake pan and the following ingredients to make your cupcake tacos:

taco cupcakes, cupcakes, tacos, recipe

  • Ground Turkey (we use free range organic, but you can use ground chicken or beef)
  • 1 package of Won Ton wrappers or Egg Roll wrappers
  • 1 can refried beans (We used 365 Organic refried beans)
  • Chopped cabbage (or lettuce)
  • Diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup of shredded cheese (mexican mix or Colby Jack and Monterey)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brown the meat, add your favorite seasoning for spice and flair. We like chili powder, chipotle powder, cumin, onion powder, sea salt, fresh ground pepper and cilantro. Set the meat aside.

Take your Won Ton wrappers or eggroll wrappers and mold into cupcake dish. If using the Won Ton wrappers use two and alternate the layers. Layer in the meat and your refried beans until full then top with cheese.

Slide into the oven and bake until the wrappers are golden brown and appear crunchy. Serve warm topped with your favorite veggies.

Using the recipe calculator these yield about 200 calories per cupcake and pack quite the punch with 19 grams or protein. Taco cupcakes can be pre-made and stored in the fridge, make a large batch and stash in the freezer. They are a great addition and cost so little to make. For those picky eaters, they are also fun and taste great.

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Cooking with Fagor America Cookware

Living a green lifestyle to a tee can be a truly difficult task when you search out the products that carry so many harmful materials that increase your carbon footprint. Often the items that harm us the most are not only the foods we eat but the materials in which we prepare them. Sol I sought out Fagor America with their fabulous line of cast iron cookware. Cast iron is a great and healthy option when cooking, no leaching of plastics and or Teflon from aluminum pans into your food. Fagor America has several lines of cookware, of which is their Cast Iron Lite series by Michelle B. This line of cast iron pans is 50% lighter than traditional cast iron, a resilient non-stick interior, and silicone handles to protect from the heat disbursement the pan puts off. Since these pans react just like standard cast iron only with half the weight for ease of use on newer cook tops and they are greatly attractive. Here is some history about Fagor America:

Fagor America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fagor Electrodomesticos. Since opening their offices in 1992, the Fagor brand name has become synonymous with high-quality stainless steel pressure cookers. Fagor is currently positioned as a top cookware brand, sold at major retailers nationwide and our presence has been largely responsible for the resurgence of pressure cooker sales in the US. Along with Pressure cookers, Fagor America also offers a line of specialty cookware.

I requested the red chefs pan. I couldn’t with good conscience review a chicken fryer if I am seeking out healthier alternatives. The chef’s pan has been great for all our cooking needs from eggs, to casseroles on the cook top, to steaming vegetables. I love using it and clean up is the easiest with warm water and soap. Plus I can cook with the piece of mind that aluminum and Teflon are not leaching into the foods my kids eat and the foods my husband and I eat. Fagor America products are available on Amazon.com and are affordable when compared to other quality cook ware products. So if your loved one is looking for cast iron or even new cook ware why not give her the best of both worlds with the Michelle Bernstein cast iron lite series from Fagor America.

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iCookbook for iPad and Android

The holidays are creeping up on us and with them fast approaching some of us are scrambling for those perfect holiday meals, treats, or even alternatives. Furthermore, even after the holidays families struggle to find meals for their families or even for functions such as potlucks, a get-together, or just because they want to make that one meal.

A great holiday gift is one that is affordable, one you are able to use year after year, and for people like our family, one that is green and economical. So a great gift for anyone in your family is the iCookbook for iPad, Android, and coming soon to the iPhone. With access to over 2000 recipes, color photos of all the mouthwatering recipes, personalize the recipes by adding your own notes and reminders, and the app even provides a substitution list for those recipes that you may want to tweak. But the recipes don’t stop there, with diet specific recipes like gluten free, diabetic desserts and holiday recipe favorites, and fun recipes the kids are sure to love. Plus this is one of the most affordable gifts that keeps on giving for your loved one, your family, their family.

The first cooking app with voice activated instructions keeping your screen clean while your hands are messy.

My family has been enjoying the app, especially with my husband taking the reins at home and is such a gentleman with making dinners for our family that are fun, tasty, healthy, and everyone loves. No more griping and complaining from my three kids, plus with work being extra busy trying to plan meals together is nearly impossible so we can scan together on his iPad and my iPhone and make decisions in a snap while messaging one another.

Great for a stocking stuffer or as a fun gift for the amateur chef in your family, now available on iTunes for $4.99 where you can add it to your iCloud so it is available on all your Apple devices and available on the Android market and Amazon.com Marketplace to download to your Android products.

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How to Cook a Turkey

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and soon we will all be rushing to the store to get our turkeys to stuff and stuff our faces. But the honest truth is that some women and men alike have no idea how to create that perfect golden bird we carve into and tear to pieces and then eat for weeks on end.

The best way to cook any good turkey is follow the simple instructions about how to defrost the turkey. Sounds assinine, however if you do not have a fully thawed bird you might as well kiss your cooking time goodbye.

What else is key to cooking a perfect bird is DO NOT CHECK on the bird. Amateur turkey bakers, roasters, and friers think that they must continually check on their fowl in order to determine it’s doneness, if it needs something, or they just can’t help their compulsion to look at the basting beauty. So hold your compulsion, only check on the bird when it needs some basting, just to golden up the skin and keep it juicy.

But to keep your bird juicy, keep it covered. Also try stuffing the skin with some butter, this helps keep it juicy and browns up your skin. With that butter and the natural juices of your turkey you can use this to baste, but as I said keep it covered this keeps your turkey from drying out and when you uncover it will allow just that little bit to brown up the skin, little by little.

Your best bet is to follow your cooking guidelines on the outside of your turkey, it will dictate the time to cook per pound and the right temperature. Always use a cooking thermometer to ensure you have the adequate temperature to serve to your family on Thanksgiving Day.

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Delicious Halloween Drink Recipes

Halloween drinks, Halloween drink recipe

Are you looking for a wickedly good Halloween drink recipe for your upcoming Halloween party? Check out this tasty drink, called The Blood Shot sure to be a party favorite!

Halloween drinks, Halloween drink recipeThe Blood Shot
1 part Iceberg Vodka
1 part Peach Schnapps
1 part Jagermeister
1 part cranberry juice

Mix, pour over ice, let cool then strain into shot glasses and serve!

Add some pizzazz and real fright to this drink by adding your favorite vampire teeth, some plastic eye balls, or even gummie worms to add the “spooky,” fun, and festive twist to this adult beverage. Remember to drink responsibly and always have a designated driver.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween.

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Easy Kids Snack Ideas & Recipes

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Feeding my children can be the easiest and most daunting task. So I try to find healthy and substantial snack ideas that do not leave them craving for more food later or feeling unsatisfied.

A great snack idea that costs very little and is great for on the go or to tie the kids over until dinner is graham crackers and cream cheese. Simple and effective without the sugary, sweet effects or salty, bloating of other foods. Spread a little softened cream cheese on a graham cracker snack and you have a cheesecake tasting snack without all the filling calories, fat, and sugar like more snacks.

Do you want your kids to get more protein without all the bulk of eating meats and or processed foods? Lentils are a great snack and are fabulous for toddlers learning to grasp and eat by themselves. Boil a cup of lentils, rinse and toss with your favorite seasoning for a light snack or even bake them tossed in a light coating for a bit of a crunch and zip. Great for salad toppers or alone, the kids love the crunch.

Ants on a log: my personal childhood favorite of raisins atop a stalk of celery smothered with peanut butter. Crunchy, salty, sweet, and good for you. Low in calories and high in fiber and protein this fun filled snack is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Cracker Sanwiches: using slices of apples or pears and cheese or spread some peanut butter in between these crackers to create a fun and tasty sandwich to help your kids feeling full without overfeeding them.

Ask your kids what they want to eat and make it fun, take them into the kitchen and let them explore with you and share their ideas of a fun and great snack idea.

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Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe

Fall is most definitely one of my favorite seasons of the year. The weather is fantastic. The mornings are rich with a cool bite of the season, the smell is unmistakable from summer into fall. You can almost compare the scent of fall to that first bite into an apple; crisp, juicy from the dew of the morning, bitter and then sweet with a smoothing you can feel all over your body. Continue reading “Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe”

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Breakfast Pizza Recipe

Sunday mornings are my time to give the man of the house a break and I whip up some of my culinary favorites in the morning for the family. Albeit egg nog french toast or pumpkin pancakes for the coming of fall, but lately we have tickled our taste buds for a bit more of the boring meets eccentric type of cuisine.

A little cafe by my office serves up a WICKED breakfast pizza, it is all sorts of unhealthy with garlic, olive oil, bacon, you name it and this breakfast pizza is topped with the heart stopping additives. While I wanted to copy this recipe of sorts I did not want to steal their thunder nor the replica of the food, I wanted to put a Herring organic spin. Of which I did!

Half dozen organic flour tortillas (super easy to make with organic flour too!)

Morning Star Vegan Sausage

Diced/cubed ham

(yes this is available in organic, you have to hunt for it)

Six Eggs, scrambled

(I add a touch of water while scrambling to make these babies extra fluffy)

Shredded Cheese (to taste)

On a large baking sheet or baking stone, place tortillas flat, topping with the above and add cheese to taste. You can mix up the ingredients and add bacon and or pork sausage, we went for a lower calorie and I love Morning Star sausage due to the vegan component for my kids. Place in oven at 350 degrees until the cheese melts to be sure not to overcook the eggs and meat and serve. My kids loved this new spin on pizza and breakfast.

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Drowning the Demon

I love my children. I love my children. I love my children even when they are monkey carrying, germ infested, snotting, coughing, hacking little people that they share their gooey, infectious loves with me.

YES.

I should have known that they would pass the junk onto me. So for the last week I have fought to not succumb to the whining pathetic little girl that grown men usually turn into. But I did. I turned into a jaded, pissy, crawl into my cave, I am not good as someone who is ill type of person. Basically, I slept. I slept like I haven’t slept in years. Oh wait….yes, I have not slept in years.

Then came the hacking and the fever and the bitterness again of how to drown out this demonic illness. Ah yes. Fight fire with fire. What you ask? Fire with fire?

I learned while living my entire life in the southwest that the best cure to anything is Mexican food, well the best cure to the common cold and drowning the demon is Green Chile Stew. I love green chile. I could have just about every meal with green chile if I could, especially Hatch green chile. The hotter the better too!

So I sucked it up, got off my arse and made from scratch while sweating a fever, hacking a lung, and a nose that as running like a faucet my favorite Green Chile Stew recipe. Now I want to share it with you and share my poor woes of how I have missed you all and I missed a local Tweet-up with my friends on Twitter that live here in Arizona and I missed, I missed, I missed. I know right….cry me a river Linda….but seriously wanted to say I missed you all and I am glad I am feeling better so I can get back to reading blogs and writing again. Being sick sucks a goat’s ear you know!?

Green Chile Stew
4-6 4oz cans Green Chile (the hotter the better people!)
2 tomatoes (diced) or 1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 diced onion
2 garlic cloves diced
1/4 c. finely chopped cilantro
2 T. cumin
1 t. Corriander
4 potatoes cut into cubes or 1/2 bag of frozen cubed hashbrowns
3 chicken breasts shredded or 1lb shredded pork
2 T. Olive Oil
3 C beef (or chicken) stock
salt and pepper to taste

In a large stock pot heat oil adding cumin, corriander, cilantro, garlic, and onions until onions are slightly browned. Add potatoes to toss into spices, then add in meat. Coat the meat lightly with seasoning and oil then add in the tomatoes and green chile. Stir slowly and add in stock. Cover and simmer for a minimum of one hour for potatoes to soften and for the green chile flavor to infuse. Serve hot with warm tortillas

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Fancy Grilled Cheese Recipe with Green Chile

I love this dish. Simple. Exquisite. Full flavor and with a bit of flair and panache! Sounds like me minus the bad language. As you know I am an Arizona native but Arizona is not known for her food. So with this recipe I bring the flavor of New Mexico. Who doesn’t love grilled cheese sndwiches right? Great comfort food and just perfect for rainy days with a bowl of tomato soup. Here is my spin on an old favorite; I call her….The New Mexican.

2 slices Jewish Rye bread (marbled is my favorite)
2 slices sharp cheddar cheese or enough to cover the bread
1/2 of a 4oz can of green chiles (diced or whole works)
1T butter for bread
1 avocado sliced
1 tomato sliced

Butter each slice of bread as if making a traditional grilled cheese. Adding cheese and then add green chile on top of cheese and place final slice of bread for grilling. Slice an avocado and tomato to be served with the sandwich.

VOILA!

Jewish Rye bread has about 60 calories per slice* and less than 9g of carbs* per slice as well making the bread a healthier alternative to traditional white. I also love the flavor of rye coupled with the cheddar.

*May vary per baker and ingredients. My bakery claims these on their nutritional information.

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