Easy Empanada Salad

I found this recipe on a blog of someone from my old ward. She posts recipes on her blog from time to time and this one looked particularly easy and interested me. So we gave it a try and it was quite good and very easy!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
half of a small onion, chopped
1/4 c. frozen corn (I used a little more)
1 package Grands Biscuits
salad ingredients

Directions:
Brown beef with onion then drain excess fat. Mix in taco seasoning according to package and add frozen corn. Simmer until slightly thickened. Flatten biscuits out until about 6 inches in diameter. Scoop a heaping spoonful of meat mixture into the center of the biscuit, then fold it over and press the edges to seal it (I wet my finger and ran it around edge before folding it over and then I pressed it shut with a fork around the edge). Place empanada on a greased cookie sheet. Once all of them are finished, bake the empanadas at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve over lettuce and whatever salad ingredients you want. We served ours with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, black beans, salsa, and sour cream (Brian had his with ranch). Yum!!

Easy Dinner Rolls

So, Saturday night I made the dough for Melt-In-Your-Mouth Dinner Rolls and was way excited to have rolls the next night with the yummy soup I was making. In the morning I checked the dough and it seemed really dense so I assumed I put too much flour. I really wanted rolls that night so I looked online to see if I could find a recipe that would be done by that night. I came across this recipe and it had good reviews, so we gave it a shot. They turned out great! I will definitely have to make these again. Once again, my picture isn't very good, but there are lots of pictures with the recipe online.

Ingredients

• 1 cup water (110 degrees F)
• 2 packages yeast (Do not use the quick rising in this recipe)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 1/4 cups flour

Directions:
Combine water and yeast in large bowl; let stand for 5 minutes. With wooden spoon, stir in butter, sugar, eggs and salt. Add flour, 1 cup at a time and beat in as much as you can (you will probably be able to use all the flour). Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days. Grease a 9x13 baking pan. Turn dough onto floured surface. Divide into 24 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball and place in rows in prepared pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled. Bake at 375 degrees for 17 minutes or until golden brown.

* Brian also spread melted butter over the top before and after these were baked.
* We used all the flour it called for
* We put foil on top for the last few minutes so the tops wouldn't get too brown before the insides were done.

Oh, and the other rolls turned out after all, so we had A LOT of rolls :). Here's the original link again.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Easy-Dinner-Rolls-40633

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Dinner Rolls

This is the recipe that my parents have always used because it's really easy and makes delicious rolls. The nice thing about this recipe is that it doesn't require kneading. Also, you make the dough the night before and just keep it in the fridge until you're ready to make the rolls. I forgot to take a picture until the next day so it's not the best. These are also a little darker than I usually cook them.

Directions/Ingredients:

Dissolve 1 pkg. yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.
Add:
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
Let stand for 20 minutes.

Scald 1 cup milk.
Add:
1/3 cup margarine
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
Cool then add 2 beaten eggs.

Combine all with 4 and 1/2 cups flour. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Roll out 2 hours before serving (so that they can rise). Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes (mine didn't take quite so long because they were small).

*Brian brushed on a little melted butter right before they went in and then right after they came out. It makes them more fattening, but definitely adds to the flavor.

Dessert Improvisation

On Sunday, I asked Paul if he wanted me to make something for dessert. He said, "Yes, I'd like something smooth and creamy." So, I looked in the cupboard and decided to make up a dessert. (Big step for me!) I had a graham cracker crust, bananas, pudding, chocolate chips, whole milk, and a can of Reddi Whip on hand. This is what I made:


It was nothing fancy, but it tasted good (and it was smooth and creamy ;) )!

Here's my "recipe":

Quick and Easy Chocolate Banana Cream Pie
Ingredients:
1 large box cook and serve vanilla pudding
2 c. milk (for pudding)
1 graham cracker pie crust
1 large banana, sliced
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 T. whole milk (cream would be better, but I didn't have any)
whipped cream or Cool Whip for topping*

*I would have preferred cool whip or fresh whipping cream for the topping, but I didn't have any. If you use Reddi Whip like I did, you should top each slice as you eat it rather than topping the entire pie ahead of time. The canned whipped cream breaks down in the refrigerator into a puddle of melted goop. Eww.

Directions:
Prepare chocolate ganache layer by melting the chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl over a pot of boiling water. Once the chocolate is completely melted, stir in the milk (or cream). Pour into the bottom of your crust. Place in the freezer for a few minutes to allow the chocolate layer to cool and harden slightly. Meanwhile, prepare the pudding over the stove using one less cup of milk than it calls for. Remove the pie from the freezer and add a layer of sliced bananas on top of the chocolate. Next, pour the pudding over the bananas and refrigerate until cool and set up. When you are ready to serve the pie, top with whipped cream or Cool Whip.

Like I said, it's a very simple dessert. But it was fun for me to create it myself using just the ingredients we had in the cupboard. I recommend you try it sometime! (And post your recipes and pictures! :) )

Menu: May 3 - May 9

What's this? A menu!? Holy meatballs, Batman! (Sorry, I've got meatballs on the brain...stay tuned for a couple of great recipes on that front. ;) )

We haven't been planning menus lately because I went out of town and then Paul went out of town. We're back and settled back down into the swing of things. And I FINALLY planned a menu on Saturday.

Sunday: Swedish Meatballs (CFG)
Monday: Old South Hoppin' John (CFG - don't ask me why it's called that...)
Tuesday: Tacos
Wednesday: Chicken and Broccoli
Thursday: Meatball Minestrone (CFG)
Friday: Individual Chicken Cobblers (CFG)
Saturday: Good ol' Rice and Beans (CFG)

*CFG=Cheap. Fast. Good! We're trying a whole bunch of recipes from my new cookbook this week. And they really were cheap to shop for!M

Crash Hot Potatoes

Stan is not a potato guy. He doesn't enjoy mashed or baked (unless it's twice baked with some much other that he can barely taste potato)

So, I wanted to see if he would eat these, being a potato lover myself. The pioneer woman has it on her amazing website- check it out. http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ The picture is hers.

New potatoes (as many as you want)
olive oil
kosher salt
pepper
rosemary or preferred seasoning
Boil salted water
Add new potatoes
cook until tender
Preheat oven to 450*
Generously coat baking pan with olive oil
Place potatoes evenly spaced on pan
using potato masher mask twice
coat each potato with olive oil (can use pastry brush)
Add lots of kosher salt, pepper, and herb of choice
Bake for 20-25 minutes

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

btw- Stan had seconds

Book Recommendation

The Essential Mormon Cookbook by Julia Badget Jensen is so full of delicious recipes. I love it. I've been making their french bread now for a few months (recipe to follow). Their corn bread is my second favorite recipe. (And the Bride's biscuits I posted forever ago are from here too. ) Also, the recipes are organized into seasons and dinners, so a whole meal is there for you.

Ones we've loved so far:
German Pancakes with Strawberries
Cousin's Corn Bread
Savory Pot Roast with Potatoes and Gravy (my new fav. way to do pot roast)
Bride's Biscuits ( I even made it one time forgetting any shortning or butter and they were still good)
Fiesta Dip
Taco Beef Soup
French bread
Banana Bread
Herb Croutons (1st time making my own and I'm not going back to store bought)
Sloppy Joes
Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies (my Stan's fav. cookies ever, and cookies are his fav. dessert)

Stan and I joke that it should be added to the Standard Works.

Please note:Everything we have tried we have LOVED except for the missionary meatloaf (way to sweet for our taste), the glazed carrots and peas (too muc work for not enough excitement), and pioneer bread (too dense and molasses-ish. (3 out of 14 isn't bad- esp. since the rest are to die for and blessedly easy)

Buy this book.