Recipes

Remember, I told you that I would TRY to post good recipes. There was no promise the posting would actually happen......

The first new recipe I tried was the BBQ Shredded Chicken and Carmalized Red Onion Ranch Spaghetti from the Picky Palate recipe blog. It's a mouthful to say, and a very yummy mouthful to eat. First of all, if something has barbeque sauce in it, I'm probably going to like it (same goes for cilantro.) I love me some BBQ sauce. Next time I will try her homemade BBQ sauce, but for this I used the KC Masterpiece Sauce, and it was quite tasty. Turns out, there is a difference between the cheap and name brand BBQ sauces. The dish had a somewhat sweet taste to it, and I am not sure why, but it was quite yummy. And the husband even said it was a make-it-again dish, which is always a good sign. I give this three out of four stars. 

BBQ Shredded Chicken and Caramelized Red Onion Ranch Spaghetti 

1 lb thin spaghetti noodles

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 large red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 Tablespoons dry Ranch Dressing Mix
3/4 Cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Shredded BBQ Chicken Click HERE For Homemade Recipe

1.  Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking.  Place olive oil into a large pot over medium heat.  Saute red onions until softened and golden.  Add cooked spaghetti to onions; mix and add dry Ranch Dressing seasoning and cilantro leaves.  Season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.  Place noodles onto serving plates and top with warm shredded BBQ chicken.  Garnish with cilantro leaf and serve.

The next dish I tried was Layered Enchilada Bake, a dish that has been in my Family Cookbook that I've had since 2007, and yet somehow I never tried it, maybe because Jeremy isn't the biggest fan of beef dishes. And because he hates beans I had to forego those, but it too was a delicious recipe. I didn't measure anything out, which made for a little bit too much sour cream, but it was a good one. Thank you Trista and Kraft Food and Family. Two and a half out of 4 stars.

Layered Enchilada Bake 

1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion chopped
2 cups salsa
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/4 cup Italian dressing
2 TBSP taco seasoning
6 flour tortillas (8 inch)
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg Mexican style cheese

Line a 9x13 pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of dish.  Brown meat with onions in large skillet and drain.  Add salsa, beans, dressing and taco seasoning.  Arrange 3 tortillas in a single layer on bottom of dish; cover with layers of half each of the meat mixture, sour cream and cheese.  Repeat all layers.  Cover with foil.  Bake covered for 30 minutes at 400.  Top with chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce and chopped cilantro.

Lastly, I was in charge of dessert for Easter, and was SO SO SO SO SO excited to make Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie, a recipe from Nestle that I found on Our Best Bites, a blog I've never really used before but that I know so many people love. Warm chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup may just be the BEST. THING. EVER. And add some yummy pie crust to it, I was so ready to be in heaven while eating that. Well................... I almost burned my parent's house down! Ha ha. {Not really so funny, actually, considering the dryer fire that happened last month in my brother's house......} Anyway, as it cooked it rose higher than the pie crust and overflowed onto the bottom of the oven. We just kept cooking it, and after coming in from the Easter Egg Hunt I looked at the oven only to see a big flame coming up from the spillage! Some baking soda took care of that, thank goodness. The non chocolate and peanut butter chip pie seemed cooked enough, so I went ahead and took that out and put the chocolate and peanut butter chip pie into the top oven. Several minutes later I looked in only to notice that the top had been BURNED because it was too close to the burner. Joys. Needless to say, I didn't really have any more high hopes for my dessert that I thought would be heaven. And after eating it, it wasn't bad, it was good, just not heaven. And I would rather have homemade cookies or even cookie dough instead. But, here's the recipe if you want it. A lot of comments just RAVED about it. I give it 2 out of 4 stars.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store-bought
2 large eggs
1/2 C flour
1/2 C white granulated sugar
1/2 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C real butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
1 C chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark works best, you might find milk too sweet) (I, Cameo, also used peanut butter chips) 
1 C chopped pecans (you are welcome to make it without nuts)
Vanilla ice cream, or sweetened whipped cream for serving (a must!  I prefer ice cream)
Optional: chocolate sauce (honestly, doesn’t really need chocolate sauce, but it looks pretty!)
Preheat oven to 325° F.

Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into pie shell.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack or serve slightly warmed.  Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Only a few more days left in this week for a new recipe. Here's to hoping it's DELICIOUS.