Chimichangas

This recipe can be used to make those leftover taco fixins into a miraculous new dinner.

At least that's what I did.

There is a magical secret to making these.  I'll let you in on it. Come a little closer.....

In a small bowl take a tablespoon of flour and mix in a tablespoon of water to make a paste.  This is the glue that will hold the tortillas together, sealing in the filling.

I fried each chimichanga in 1/2-1 inch of oil in a small sauce pan.  They will need to be flipped once one side is browned.  They cook quickly and will be done in less than 5 minutes.

If I hadn't just made taco burgers, I would say this was hands down the best thing I've made in a while.  But those burgers were damn good, tough call.

Oreo Treat Bars

This recipe is basically a giant sugar rush.

It's a take on Rice Krispie treats, but using Oreos in place of the cereal.

Oreo Treat Bars

From Picky Palate

Ingredients

1 box Oreo cookies, crushed

5 cups marshmallows

4 tbsp butter

1. Melt marshmallows and butter in a microwave safe bowl.  Mix in crushed Oreos.

2. Press into a buttered 8x8 inch pan.  Let set up in the fridge to cool.  Cut into squares.

I topped my bars with sprinkles to make them a little more festive.

These were a huge hit with my prek class!  I would love to try these with peanut butter Oreos because well everything is better with peanut butter.

Taco Burgers

It's a burger, in a taco.  It's a taco burger!

The burgers are rubbed with a homemade taco seasoning.  Then the cooked burgers are placed in a soft taco shell lined with guacamole and cheese!

Taco Seasoning Rub

Ingredients

1/4 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tbsp chili powder

Mix ingredients in a small bowl, then press onto hamburger patties.  

This is enough to cover 2 burgers on both sides.

I made my own guacamole with fresh tomatoes and garlic and spread it on a softened tortilla.

Top that whole thing with cheese, fold it like a taco, and cook it until the cheese gets melty.

I am so madly in love with this creation.  I was anticipating this burger to be a mess to eat, but it wasn't.  You should totally need to make this.  It is burger season after all!

P.S. Don't forget to vote for my burger in the Stop and Shop Master the Grill contest: http://bit.ly/UdhYAP

Cauliflower Bacon Mac and Cheese

I'm deciding that this post will be more of a photo food journey rather than an actual recipe.  Mainly because me cooking mac and cheese involves no measuring and lots of improvising.  I don't want you to get the impression that this can be recreated.  

Who knows how much cheese I used?  I used half and half instead of milk.  Weird choice?  Maybe, but that's what I had laying around.

Speaking of things I had laying around, 4 different cheeses!  Cheddar, American, Swiss, and mozzarella.

I pan roasted some cauliflower in the bacon grease and sprinkled a Creole rub on the whole lot.

There ya have it folks.  Even you can throw some moderately random ingredients together to make some darn good mac and cheese at home.

I do have a mission to follow an actual baked mac and cheese recipe someday so keep your eyes peeled for that. 

Apple Cinnamon Granola

Most people probably gave their dads a steak today, or something wrapped in bacon.  I took a different route, homemade granola.  I even made the apple chips my self!  Also, my dad is a vegetarian so bacon-mania was out of the question.

Apple Cinnamon Granola

Ingredients
3 cups oats, not quick cooking
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
apple chips, recipe follows
1/4 cup sliced almonds

1. Preheat oven to 300. Mix oats, sugar, cinnamon, salt, honey, and oil in a large bowl.
2. Spread granola onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.  Stir granola and cook for 5-10 minutes more, until granola is golden brown.
3. Mix in almonds and apple chips.  Let granola cool at room temperature.  Granola will harden as it cools.  Store in an air tight container.

Apple Chips

Ingredients
1 apple, thinly sliced
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 200.  Place apples on a greased cookie sheet in an even layer and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
2. Cook apples for 2 hours, until crisped.  Crumble to add to granola mix.

This granola is crazy delicious and I can't wait to whip up another batch for myself.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Ice Cream Cake

Before we get down to the business of the cake, I just wanted to let you all know a little something amazing.

I am the proud owner of a KitchenAid stand mixer!  It's pretty darn exciting so I took some glamour shots for you. It comes with a paddle attachment guys!  Like the real cooking shows use all the time!

Ok, I'm done making a stink over that...moving right along...

This is not a frozen cake.  This is a cake made with ice cream... and cake mix.

Let me break that down for you because I know calling this an ice cream cake is a little confusing.

You take the ice cream and melt it down. Then you mix it with some eggs and cake mix.

Make sense now?

Melted Ice Cream Cake
From Cookies and Cups

Ingredients
1 box cake mix
2 cups ice cream, I used chocolate chip cookie dough
3 eggs

1. Measure out 2 cups of ice cream in a mixing bowl and set aside, allowing the ice cream to melt.
2. Preheat oven to 350.  Once ice cream is completely melted, mix in cake mix and 3 eggs.  Beat 2 minutes on medium speed.
3. Baking times will vary according to the pan you use.

I threw in some sprinkles and glazed my cake with some vanilla frosting that was microwaved for a few seconds.

I was really really excited about this cake and I'll say in the end it was a let down.  It tasted fine, but it tasted just like regular cake.  Maybe if I used a different flavor ice cream the results would have been different.  I was a bit disappointed in the under-whelming results.

French Onion Dip

I have a thing about Friday night snacks.  Sometimes I just get some exciting pre-made freezer item, like fried mac and cheese, other times I like to actually cook something up.

So here we are on a night I wanted to "cook" up a snack, but did not want to visit a supermarket on the way home.  That is why we have a super simple and quick dip this Friday.

Onions before, above, and after, below.

French Onion Dip

Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 beef bullion cube
1 cup sour cream

1.  Heat oil in a small skillet.  Add onions, bullion cube, salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until onions have softened and browned.  Let cool.
2.  In a small bowl mix sour cream and cooled onion mixture.  Serve with chips, pretzels, and veggies.

People will be really impressed that you made your onion dip from scratch instead of using that Knorr packet stuff.  No one has to know how easy it was to make!

My New Kitchen

I'm sorry I've been away for so long, but this past week has been pretty busy.  I am now the owner of my very own kitchen!!  There's a whole house attached to it too which is pretty great, but this is a blog about cooking so let's just focus on the kitchen.

Above and below you can see the two ends of the kitchen.  It's not the most prep space in the world, but at the moment it's working out just fine.

We have been eating most of our meals in the screened in patio, but this is our perfectly lovely other dining venue.

For the first time I don't have a gas stove, but I haven't noticed anything different in how this type cooks things.  I do have some brand spanking new pots though!  Have you seen our gorgeous tea kettle?  I'm in love with it.

This is another one of my kitchen favorites, a magnetic knife rack.  I have never used brand new knives before and let me tell you it is quite thrilling.  I was able to actually slice through raw chicken instead of tearing it to pieces.

I am also madly in love with the lazy Susan spice cabinet.  You're probably wondering what I'm doing with so many jars of sprinkles and to be honest with you, so am I.

That concludes to tour of my new kitchen.  So far I haven't cooked anything revolutionary to post about, but I'll change that soon.