Tater Tot Casserole

Okay, so this week I decided to do a little throw back to some old school recipes. Nothing fancy or gourmet. Just yummy, soul satisfying food. Today, Tater Tot Casserole. Yum! Simple, sassy and satisfying! Ha!! Notice I did not say healthy. LOL! If you like meat and potatoes, then I bet you will like this. Here ya go!

Tater Tot Casserole:
serves 4-6

1 Bag frozen Tater Tots 32oz
1 1/2-2lbs ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can Rotel tomatoes
Worcestershire sauce (to taste)
salt and pepper
2c. Shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese

Heat oven and cook Tater tots according to package directions. While they are baking, brown your ground beef over medium heat, and add in your onion and garlic. Cook until beef is browned and cooked through, and onions are tender. Season the meat to taste with Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Stir in the soups and Rotel and let simmer while the Tots are cooking. When the Tots are done baking remove from oven and reduce heat to 350. Spray a 9x9" pan with nonstick spray and line the bottom with tots to make a nice crust. Pour in your beef mixture over the tots, and cover with remaining tots. Top with the cheddar cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. I garnished mine with some sliced scallions and served with a side of salsa.

Braised Short Ribs with a Rosemary infused Balsamic & Red Wine Reduction

I'm baaaaack! Sorry for the prolonged break, but it's kinda hard to blog on a phone. My laptop bit the dust a while back. Have no fear my new laptop is here! Haha!! Today I have an awesome main meat course for you. These short ribs are so tender, juicy and flavorful!! Best part? They cook in the crock-pot all day! That's right! With just a few minutes of prep in the morning, you can come home to a house that smells phenomenal. All you have to do is just reduce the sauce and make a few sides to go with it. I opted for Sauteed Brussels sprouts and Mashed Potatoes. Yum! So I'll stop rambling now so you can read the recipe. Y'all enjoy!

Braised Short Ribs with a Rosemary infused Balsamic & Red Wine Reduction:Serves 6

1T Olive oil
4-5lbs Bone-in Beef Short Ribs
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2c dry red wine (not cooking wine) something you would drink
1/3c balsamic vinegar
2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Pat the ribs dry and brown them well on all sides in the skillet. You will probably have to do them in a couple of batches, so you don't overcrowd the pan. Place the browned ribs into the slow cooker, season with salt and pepper to taste, and add your rosemary sprigs. Drain off all but 1 Tablespoon of oil from your pan. Add your minced garlic and saute for about one minute. (don't let it burn.) Pour in your wine and vinegar, to deglaze your pan, scraping any yummy brown bits off the bottom. Bring sauce to a simmer and pour over the ribs in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until ribs are very tender.
Remove the ribs from the slow cooker, discard any loose bones and the rosemary. Cover the ribs and keep them warm. Skim off the fat from the liquid, and pour the sauce into a saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until the sauce reduces and is slightly thickened. Spoon sauce over ribs and serve.

Tropical Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple Salsa

1 Frontera brand Golden Pineapple

1 Package Pork Tenderloin (about 2lbs)

4TB Soy Sauce

1TB Honey

6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

1tsp Red Pepper Flakes

1/2c Red Onion, Chopped

2TB Fresh Lime Juice (about 4 limes)

1 Jalapeno, Minced

1/4c Cilantro, Chopped

1TB Light Brown Sugar

Salt to taste



Peel and core your pineapple. Divide it in half. Put one half thru a juicer (or blender and strain). It should come out to about 1c of juice. Place juice in a non metal bowl. Cut up the other half of the pineapple into a small dice. Place that into another non metal bowl.
Into your pineapple juice, add the soy sauce, minced garlic, honey and red pepper flakes. Mix well. Pour into a large gallon sized zip-top bag. Add in your rinsed pork tenderloin, and remove excess air. Marinate in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours , turning occasionally.
Into your bowl of diced pineapple, add your lime juice, jalapeno, red onion, cilantro, & brown sugar. Mix well, season to taste with salt if desired. Cover and refrigerate.
One hour before you want to eat, remove the pork and salsa from the refrigerator. Let the pork sit at room temp for 30 minutes. Start your grill, lightly grease the grates and heat over high heat. Place the pork tenderloin on the grill(reserving the marinade). Grill over direct heat for 3 minutes each side (total of 12 minutes).
Place pork over indirect heat(for instance I have 4 burners, so I turn off the middle two and put the pork over those, while the outside two stay on.) and cook until the internal temperature is 140-145°. Remove the pork and put on a plate, covering with foil to rest.
While your pork is resting, pour your reserved marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over Med-High heat, boil for at least 5 minutes, or until it has reduced in half stirring occasionally.
To serve, slice the pork into 1/2" medallions and top with your sauce and pineapple salsa.

Stuffed Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Peach Whiskey Beurre Blanc Sauce

I saw this recipe on Bobby Flay's Grill It show. When I watched it, I knew I had to make everything on that show!! So last night I decided to make this one. OH WOW!!! It was amazing! You might want to do this on the weekend and allow yourself about 3 hours to make it. I promise you, it is worth every minute. I'm going to post the link for y'all. Also on the Beurre Blanc sauce, don't be afraid that there is a habanero in it, the sauce doesn't come out hot. It just imparts a wonderful fruity flavor. I hope y'all enjoy it!!

Stuffed Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Peach Whiskey Beurre Blanc:

Here

Thai Red Coconut Chicken Curry

I felt like switching things up a bit, and decided to do some simple Thai food. Yum!! This is a great flavorful, simple meal to make. It's not spicy at all. I topped mine with Sriracha Hot Sauce as well. I hope Y'all will give this a try to add some variety into your menu planning.


Thai Red Coconut Chicken Curry:


1TB vegetable or canola oil
1lb boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced thinly
5 large shallots, thinly sliced
1 14oz. can coconut milk, unsweetened
2tsp fish sauce
2tsp Thai red curry paste (or to taste)
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4c fresh basil, chopped
2TB fresh lime juice (or more to taste)
salt & pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add in your Shallots and curry paste, saute until the shallots begin to soften, about 2 minutes or so. Add in the coconut milk, and fish sauce. Bring to a boil, and add in your chicken and pepper. Cook until chicken is cooked through, stirring frequently. Add in your basil and lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over rice or rice noodles.

Baked Potato Soup

I tell ya what, I have been protesting cooking lately. LOL!! I've been outside grilling for the most part, so I figured I'd switch it back up and cook something inside. Haha!! So last night in honor of the first preseason Cowboys game (WAY TO GO BOYS!) I decided I would make Baked Potato Soup. I made it because it reminds me of fall, and football weather, and it's just so good!!! This is the best Baked Potato Soup EVER!! It beats any restaurant hands down! I start out kind of measuring ingredients and then adding more of whichever seasoning I feel it needs more of. So I will give you my basic measurements, feel free to change it up as you like. Like any soup or stew, this is even better the next day. Enjoy!!

Baked Potato Soup:
6-8 Servings

1 package bacon, fried crisp and crumbled, reserving drippings
1 large onion or two smaller ones, diced
6c hot chicken stock
4 large potatoes (at least 4c worth; I like more), baked, peeled and diced (as small or large as you like)
2/3c flour (depending on how much grease the bacon puts off you may need a little more)
2c heavy cream
1/2c finely chopped flat leaf parsley ( I usually grab a small bunch and chop it all)
1 1/2tsp garlic powder
1 1/2tsp dried basil
1 1/2tsp salt
1 1/2tsp coarse ground pepper
1tsp Tabasco (I use more)
2c shredded cheddar cheese
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

In a large stockpot, fry your bacon until crisp, crumble and set aside. In the bacon grease (yes all of it,lol) Cook your diced onions over medium heat until transparent, at least 3 minutes. Add in your flour, stirring to prevent lumps. Cook the flour and onion mixture stirring frequently for about 3-5 minutes, until golden brown. With a whisk in one hand and your pot of hot chicken stock in the other, carefully, slowly and evenly pour in the hot stock, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Keep whisking until the mixture has thickened. Reduce the heat to simmer and add in your heavy cream, all seasonings, parsley, Tabasco, potatoes and bacon. Simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally, do not allow it to boil. Add in 1c of your cheese and most of your green onions, stir until cheese is melted through. Serve with the extra cheese and green onion on top.

Poblano Ablóndigas with Pasilla Chile Soup

MMMMMM!!! Poblano and beef meatballs in a yummy zucchini and rice soup... Yeah!!! This was a super delish recipe from Bon Appétit. On a scale of 1-10 in this house it got a 10 all around. I am going to post the link to the recipe.. I made some adjustments.. (shocking, I know!! lol) First of all, I used 3 large poblanos for the meat balls and an extra clove of garlic. Then for the soup, I used 4 cloves of garlic, and ground my own pasilla peppers to make the powder (since the store had neither ancho or pasilla chile powder. I also only used 8c of beef broth vs 9c. I added alot of extra shredded zucchini to the soup. This is a great soup, light enough for the summer! Yum!!

Poblano Abóndigas with Pasilla Chile Soup:
Here