Smothered Burritos

This was all that was left from a 9x13 pan of these burritos (we all like them at our house)

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 tbsp. flour
1 or 2  four-ounce can of green chilies
about three cups cubed or shredded cooked pork divided (mine was just a pork roast cooked in the crock-pot so it was shredded)
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp. chicken bouillon
about 1 cup water or chicken broth
8-10 flour or corn tortillas
3 cups refried beans
Grated cheese

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet. Stir in flour to make thick paste.  Add 1 cup of pork (juice included if there is any), green chilies, chili powder, chicken bouillon, and about a cup of water (or chicken broth) if you don't have enough juice from the pork.  Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.  Turn to low until you need it.  Spread about 1/3 cup refried beans, some pork, and a little cheese, in each tortilla.  Fold up burrito style.  Place burritos in greased 9x13 dish.  Cover with all the pork/green chile sauce and a little more cheese.  Bake at 350 for 30 min. or until cheese is melted and sauce is a little bubbly.
Optional: after plating add a little sour cream on top.

Grandma's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These cookies are very delicious! My aunt made them for me while we had the babies in the NICU. I got the recipe and have made them twice in the 3 weeks we've been home.

Grandma's Oatmeal Raisen Cookies

Combine 3 large eggs with 2 cups of raisins and 1 Tbsp vanilla. Let sit for half hour to an hour.

Cream:
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar

Add raisins and mix well.

Add:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 cups quick oatmeal

Roll into balls and place on cookie sheet. Dip the bottom of a drinking glass in sugar and smash down each ball, dipping in sugar after each cookie.

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Note: I have to add a little bit more flour (1/4 cup) than the recipe calls for. Do a test cookie. first.

Super Easy Manicotti

Ingredients:

About 12 string cheese

Your favorite Spaghetti sauce

Manicotti noodles

Grated mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

Boil the noodles according to package directions.  Drain and cool enough to handle.  Spoon some sauce over the bottom of a casserole dish.  Stuff each noodle with 1 string cheese.  If the Manicotti has fallen apart just wrap around the cheese and tuck under the edges.  Spoon more sauce on top and cover with the mozzarella.  

Bake at 350 just until the top cheese is about melted. 

Chicken Gyros

Greek Souvlaki has the best Gyros ever! I've had the lamb kind, but I prefer the chicken. A few weeks ago, I saw some pitas at Costco for really cheap and had a craving for a gyro. I decided to buy the pitas and search for a good gyro recipe. I found this one on the Taste of Home website (http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Chicken-Gyros). The chicken tastes exactly like the one at Greek Souvlaki. I left the onions out because I'm not a fan of onions and I always have them take them off anyway. Note: I doubled this recipe for my family.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon minced garlic, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 1/2 cup chopped peeled cucumber
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 teaspoon dill weed
• 2 whole pita breads
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Directions

• In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the lemon juice, oil, 1/2 teaspoon garlic, mustard and oregano; add chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for at least 1 hour. In a small bowl, combine the cucumber, yogurt, dill and remaining garlic; cover and refrigerate until serving.
• Drain and discard marinade. In a large nonstick skillet, saute the chicken for 7-8 minutes or until juices run clear. Spoon onto each pita bread. Top with yogurt mixture and onion; fold in half. Yield: 2 servings.

The yogurt sauce wasn't my favorite. It had chucks of cucumbers and I thought it might be good, but it wasn't really. I think my favorite part of a gyro is a fresh pita and yummy sauce. The pitas at Costco aren't as yummy as the fresh kind, but they worked. The next time I make this, I'm going to try this recipe for the suace.

Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plain yogurt (if you can find the extra-thick Greek yogurt it's best)
• 4 garlic cloves; roasted and finely chopped (see below)
• 1/2 lemon; juiced
• 2 tsp. finely chopped mint
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cucumber without seeds
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Place whole, un-peeled garlic gloves in a small, un-oiled skillet over medium low heat and cook for about two minutes per side - until lightly browned. Peel and chop finely.

2. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Note: The sauce is better if you allow it to sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before using.

Salmon and Wild Mushroom Casserole

*Courtesy of Josi Kilpack in "Blackberry Crumble"

I don't like salmon so I substituted chicken

1 12oz package wide egg noodles

4 tbsp butter plus 2 tbsp (divided)

1 (14 oz) can salmon*

1/2 onion chopped

3 celery ribs, diced

4-8 oz wild mushrooms (oyster, shitake, etc.) washed and sliced

1/2 tsp salt

4 tbsp flour

1 tsp double mustard powder

1 cup milk

1 can chicken broth

1 cup crushed oyster or saltine crackers

Preheat oven 350.  Butter a 2 qt casserole dish.  Cook the noodles according to the package directions (don't forget to add salt to the water). Drain, then return to the pot and toss with 2 tbsp. butter. Set aside.

While the noodles are cooking, open and drain the can of salmon. Remove any round bones and discard them.  (Other bones are soft enough to mix with the fish) Mash the salmon with a fork, set aside.

Melt 4 tbsp butter in a large skillet over med. heat.  Add the onion and celery and saute until transluscent, about 3-4 minutes.  Add the mushroom and salt.  Cook, stirring often, until mushrooms give up their juices, about 4 minutes.

Add flour to the skillet and stir well.  Add mustard powder.  Stir until combined.  Cook 2 min.  Slowly add the milk and broth, stirring constantly (remember to scrape up any browned flour on the bottom of the pan for extra flavor).  Stir until thick and bubbly.  Add the salmon.  Turn off the heat.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the vegetable-salmon mixture over the buttered noodles and mix until combined.  Pour into the casserole dish.

Melt remaining 2 tbsp butter and toss with cracker crumbs. Spread buttered crackers on top of the casserole.  Bake 30 min.

* Could use canned chicken in place of salmon*

Valentine's Dessert

I got this recipe a few months ago after tasting it at a friends house, but just got around to making it this weekend. It seemed like a nice valentine's day dessert. It makes quite a bit, but my little family has been loving it all weekend. The almond and cherry combination is delicious, and the crust is similar to a sugar cookie....so yummy

Cherry Surprise Bars

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1 tsp almond extract
4 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 can cherry pie filling

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and almond extract and mix well. Add flour and salt. Grease 10x15 pan. SPread 3/4 batter in pan, top with pie filling. Then dab remaining 1/4 batter on top.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes (I cooked it for 2 more minutes as it wasn't completely done), let cool 15 minutes.

Drizzle over top:

1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 spoons of water (I added a little more water until the consistency was right)

Pretzel Bites

I am a dedicated reader of Mel's Kitchen Cafe Blog. She posted these this week and I thought it would be something my family would love, but I'm not a huge pretzel fan, so I didn't make them. The next day my sister called to tell me she had made them and they were delicious, so of course I had to try them out.

They. Are. Delicious.

My sister did some with cinnamon and sugar and some as salted, I did them all salted. Next time I will try the cinnamon/sugar. The salted ones though are so nice, they taste just like a soft pretzel from a store. I bought a jar of cheese dip for chips, I think Tostitos brand. Dip the soft warm buttery pretzel in that, oh my gosh. My sister gave me the advice to only use 1 tablespoon of baking soda instead of two, it was perfect with one.

Anyways, enough gushing, here's the recipe. She has a picture collage of step by step instructions if you go to her website.

Chewy Pretzel Bites

*Note: if using active dry yeast, increase the yeast to 1 tablespoon. Proof the yeast in the warm water and sugar (let it bubble and foam – maybe about 5 minutes) before adding it to the flour and salt.

*Makes about 2 dozen pretzel bites

Dough:
2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup (8 ounces) very warm water

Topping:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
Coarse salt (optional)
3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix to just combine. Add the water and mix well, adding more flour, as needed, a bit at a time to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth and quite slack. The goal is to get a really soft dough that isn’t overly sticky. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes or up to 60 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Don’t be afraid of the high heat! This is what will help those pretzels to brown up perfectly and stay soft on the inside. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or lightly greasing them.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into about four strips of equal length. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda in a liquid measuring cup (deep enough to dip the pretzel bites into). Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved. Sometimes I have a hard time getting the baking soda completely dissolved, so I just lightly stir up the mixture right before adding each pretzel.

Cut each strip of dough into about 6-8 pieces, about 1 to 1 ½ inches in width. You don’t have to be completely exact, just eyeball it. Dip each pretzel bite in the baking soda solution (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 7-8 minutes or until they’re golden brown. Bake one sheet at a time – it won’t hurt the other pretzels to chill out for a little longer.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you’ve used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that’s what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave on low heat.