Beef Enchilada Dip

A perfect warm, meaty, cheesy and delicious dip. If you love enchiladas, then this dip is definitely for you! Its super good (We just made it and are skoffing it down now)

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 Tube Chorizo
• ½ medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups enchilada sauce
• 2 cups grated Monterrey Jack or cheddar cheese
• Sour Cream (optional)
• Tortilla Chips (optional) HOMEADE CHIPS ARE A PLUS! i KNOW YOU WANNA DO IT...

Instructions

1. Brown ground beef and Chorizo in a large skillet. 
2. Drain MUST DO THIS!!!
3. Add in onion and garlic and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. 
4. Stir in enchilada sauce and top with grated cheese. 
5. Cover and allow cheese to melt, about 3 more minutes.
6. Top with sour cream and serve with tortilla chips.

Crab Basil and Spinach Stuffed Shells

Filling:
1 package crab meat (immitation ok)
8-12 fresh basil leaves
8-12 fresh spinach leaves
16 oz ricotta cheese
4 oz of any soft cheese (motz, havarti, etc.)

Add all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well blended

Sauce:
1 28 oz cans Tomato sauce
1 T Garlic powder
1 T Onion Powder
1 t Fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 c red wine

Also needed:
Large pasta shells
2 Cups shredded motzarella cheese


Mix together all ingredients in a bowl and set aside

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Par cook (almost done, still slightly firm) large pasta shells and place in bowl of cold water to stop cooking

Stuff crab mix into shells

place 1/4 of sauce in bottom of 13x9 pan

Place shells in pan on top of sauce

After all shells are filled and in pan, top with remaining sauce

bake in oven for 1o minutes then top with cheese and bake for 7 more

Pistachio Pesto Marinated Pork Loin

Pesto:
2 cups shelled Pistachios
4 peppercorns whole
10 fresh basil leaves washed
4 fresh spinach leaves washed
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In food processor grind up pistachios and peppercorns



Add Basil and spinach and pulse until finely ground


while processor is running drizzle in olive oil until a loose paste is formed





Add pesto to large ziptop bag and add 2 pound Pork loin roast
Let marinate for 1 hour minimum (you can marinate overnight for more intense penetration)


preheat Grill

place loin on grill for 6 minutes then flip for another 6 minutes


Move to top rack of grill and let cook for 20 minutes or until temp reaches 155 degrees


Let rest for 10 minutes

Slice thin and enjoy!!!

Chicken, Black Bean and Tortilla soup

This is just full of absolute yumminess!!! Perfect on a colder day, maybe with some Jalepeno Cheddar Corn Bread (Recipe to follow later)...

1T Butter
1/2 onion diced finley
1 quart Chicken Stock or broth
2 cooked and diced chicken breasts (Seared, Baked, grilled,smoked... how ever you like it)
1 can rinsed Black Beans
1/2 Bag Frozen Corn
1 T ground Cumin
1 Bunch Fresh Cilantro chopped finley
4 Tortillas diced in 1" x 1" squares

Melt butter in pan and add onion
Sweat onion until translucent
Add Chicken stock
Simmer Chicken breasts and Cumin in stock and bring to a rolling boil
Add Corn and bring back to boil
Reduce heat and add Black Beans
Cook for 5-8 minutes
Add Cilantro
Simmer on low heat for 5 min
Add tortillas and cover

Tortillas will thicken your stock as well as add a "noodle" to your soup!

My Favorite Crunchy Foods - Part 1

Its no lie that one of the best crunchy foods in the world is.... CORN NUTS!!!

They are teeth breaking hard, usually can only be found at gas stations, and make your breath smell... but I love them. They invoke a simpler time of child hood always being on long car rides.

Albert Holloway invented corn nuts in 1936. He originally sold them to tavern owners to be given away free to their patrons as a snack that would be great with beer, calling them Brown Jug Toasted Corn. He was right.

Corn nuts are prepared by soaking whole corn kernels in water for three days, then deep-frying them in oil until they are hard and brittle. The kernels are soaked because they shrink during the harvesting and cleaning process, and rehydration returns them to their original size. They are currently available in eight flavors: Original, Barbecue, Nacho Cheese, Chile Picante, Caliente Mix, Lime and Ranch, Chorizo Chipotle(which I have not found yet)

I had the hardest time finding them this week as I was preparing this blog... so I went to the only place I knew. The Marathon staion had a few so I just had to get some. The taste has still not changed, and they were as crunchy as ever. I was happy until the bag was empty so the search was on for more.

Meijer, Target, Jewel and WalMart were no-gos and the dissapointment was setting in because all I wanted were some damn corn nuts! Today (saturday)I was out at a Target in St. Charles with my six-month-old getting him his puffy snacks that he has developed a strong addiction to. I decided to check out their snack isle and lo and behold on the bottom shelf under the Jerky was my holy grail of the week MY MFing CORN NUTS!!!! (yes I was excited)

As I put them in the cart, my son grabbed a bag and started gnawing on the bag... I was so proud of him at that moment. We have bonded over the crunchy treat that I will gladly share with him when he actually has teeth.

Supreme Chili Dogs

Good fun meal for when mom's not around and its just the boys!


1 pack hotdogs
1 t Olive Oil
2 Cans of Chilli with Beans
6 Buns
2 C. Shredded Cheese

Preheat oven to 350
Slice hot dags into 1/2" peices
Heat olive oil in skillet and add chopped hot dogs
Sautee until slightly browned
Stir in Chilli and heat until it begins to bubble
Open Buns onto a sheet pan
Spoon mixture onto buns and top with cheese
Bake in oven until cheese melts

Optional Toppings: Mustard, Chopped Onions, Sour Cream, Jalepenos... the coices are endless!!

DISCLAIMER

I do sometimes use store bought or premade ingredients. I will also have some more difficult recipes, but I like to offer some that are a bit easier and fun to make on a weeknight