Allison: Baked Taquitos

Hello, all!  I've been trying to get a post up all week, but it just hasn't happened.  So now I'm squeezing one in Friday night.  This one is kind of a cheater post, but I HAVE to share this recipe.

As I've stated in past posts, I've kind of been the baby shower queen the last few months.  I'm still planning on sharing more details from each of those get togethers, but couldn't wait any longer to pass this beauty along: Baked Chicken Taquitos from the ladies over at Our Best Bites.  I was fortunate enough to attend Time Out For Women this last year, here in Phoenix, and heard Sara and Kate speak.  Not only are they crazy talented in the kitchen, but these ladies are fun-ny!  I know a lot of people have been enjoying their recipes for years, but I'm a little late to the party.

Back to the taquitos...   The third shower I threw was for my friend, Jenn.  After pinning down a theme, I needed to narrow down the food.  I was secretly hoping that Jenn wanted Mexican, as I'd found a few recipes that I was excited about.  When she did indeed mention "Mexican" as an option, I was thrilled!  I had found this recipe for taquitos on Pinterest, linking me to the Our Best Bites' site.  I tested them early, and immediately knew they'd always be on my go-to list.  Here's my favorite part:  they freeze well!!  You can jump on over to their site to get all the details, but I'll list them here also, with a few of my modifications:

Baked Chicken Taquitos

1/3 cup (3 oz) cream cheese (room temperature is easiest to work with)
1/4 cup green salsa (I used a 4 oz. can of green chiles)
1 T fresh lime juice (mine wasn't fresh...)
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro (I was out of cilantro and green onions one of the times and I made these and they turned out okay.  But of course they give them a little something "extra".)
2 T sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese (I used whatever was in the fridge, and they were still amazing!)
corn or flour tortillas (I used the small fajita flour tortillas, and it made around 12-15 taquitos)
kosher salt

Here are some quick instructions:

*Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
*I mixed the cream cheese, green chiles, lime juice, and all the spices together, then added the chicken and cheese.
*If you microwave the tortillas for a little bit, they're easier to work with.
*Spread a spoonful of the mixture on the first third of the tortilla, then roll it tightly up, placing the taquito fold down on a plate.

These girls are my heros... I love that they include directions to freeze the taquitos for later use:

*Place rolled taquitos (on a plate or pan) in the freezer until they're firm/frozen, then transfer them to a freezer bag and save until the craving hits, late at night.  :)

When it's time to cook/devour:

*Place taquitos on a tinfoil-covered pan.  Brush with olive oil, or spray lightly with cooking spray.  (I tried both of these methods, and I couldn't tell a difference.)  Sprinkle with kosher salt.
*Baking time with vary, depending if they were fresh or frozen.  I found 12 minutes to be a good jumping off point.  Then I would just check on them until the ends had started to brown.


**I did try these with a beef mixture too.  I mixed a pound of ground beef with taco seasoning then added refried beans, and salsa to the desired consistency.  I LOVE how they turned out, but I think I still prefer the chicken.


I PROMISE that these are amazing!  The crunch is very satisfying,  and the salt adds just a little something extra.  I love that I can bake up a whole batch at once, or grab just a couple for a snack or meal.  For me, a spoonful of sour cream is the perfect way to finish these off.

I know I'll probably always have these in the freezer (I have a batch there now!).  I hope you all get a chance to taste these in the near future!  It's highly probably that various friends reading this post will receive these at some point.  :)  Have a great week!!

Allison

Sara Jane: Test Kitchen

It seems I have been spending most of my days in the kitchen lately.  It always happens this time of year and....I LOVE IT!

Last week, I had my 6th annual Cookie Swap!  It was a blast.  If you have never been to or heard of a Cookie Swap, you really must find one to go to.  At my cookie swap, we each brought 6 dozen cookies and a dish to share.  Then, for a few hours, we ate, gabbed and exchanged cookies.  Always a highlight of the season for me!  I am already planning next year's event (too early???).

For today's post, I am being your test kitchen.  There are so many recipes on Pinterest that look too good to be true so I am testing them out for you.  Some worked marvelously....others not so much.  I will share the link to where the recipe is originally posted and then share with you any changes I made to the recipe and/or my review of the recipe.  Here we go....

PF CHANG LETTUCE WRAPS

I discovered PJ Chang Lettuce Wraps a few months ago thanks to my beautiful friend, Amy.  I am in love with them.  I would eat them daily if I didn't live so stinkin' far away from our PF Chang.  I have, however, been known to crave them and drive the 1.5 hour round trip just to be able to fulfill that craving.  Worth every mile, I tell you!

I always see recipes on Pinterest claiming to taste exactly like the original PF Chang recipe.  I found one yesterday that made my mouth water so today, I tried it.  The recipe can be found here.  I really didn't change the recipe at all other than I used ground chicken instead of whole pieces.  Does it taste exactly like the original recipe....no.  Is it good....yes!  I can't quite figure out what is different so I think I will go grab an order of Lettuce Wraps at PF Chang and try to figure that one out.  Do you see how much I love all you blogger friends :)

PUMPKIN BROWNIES

This next recipe I saw just a few days ago.  You've probably seen it, too.  Check it out here if you haven't.  You take one boxed brownie mix and add one can of pumpkin to it and bake it as you would normal brownies.

I didn't love this recipe.  In fact, I REALLY didn't like it.  Here are my thoughts.

1.  I love batter.  This batter was not good.  I mean, REALLY NOT GOOD!  That should have been my first clue :)

2.  The original recipe says to bake it for 25 to 30 minutes...it took me an hour and ten minutes to get the thing to set!  Even then, it was super gooey (and not the good kind of gooey).

3.  The taste just isn't quite right.  I love pumpkin and chocolate together but you couldn't taste the pumpkin.

Bottom line...I will not do this recipe again.  I would rather continue to make my brownies from scratch or, if I do use a boxed brownie mix, do it how they recommend on the back :)

SINGLE SERVE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE

I try not to eat many sweets so we usually don't have many sugary items in our house.  However, sometimes I get crazy cravings, usually involving chocolate, and when I do, I always go to this next recipe.  

Some people call it chocolate chip cookies in a mug but this blog has the best version I have seen of the single serve chocolate chip cookie (and believe me, I have tried several versions).  Does it taste exactly how a chocolate chip cookie SHOULD taste?  Not so much but it is really yummy and always fulfills my craving for chocolate.  I would change nothing about her recipe.  I only should warn you that you may want to have a glass of milk next to you with this dessert.

TAKE-OUT, FAKE-OUT BEEF & BROCCOLI

I don't remember loving broccoli as a child.  If my memory is correct, it was Allison who liked it.  As an adult however, I LOVE broccoli.  I actually have a post ready about my (and my children's) three favorite ways to cook broccoli...another day.  I really could eat broccoli for every meal.  Yum! So, when this recipe popped up, I tried it right away. 

The only thing I changed about this recipe is that after the meat was mostly cooked, I added 2 to 3 Tablespoons (I can't remember exactly but I think it was 3 T) of brown sugar to the meat and let it create a glaze on the meat.  It makes it have more of the Mongolian Beef flavor but I like the sweetness.  Other than that, I changed nothing!  Make sure not to let your broccoli cook for too long otherwise it becomes super soggy.  Serve over rice and maybe with this salad (which is also a fav of mine).

If you guys can't tell, baking/cooking brings so much happiness into my life.  I know there are so many people out there who really don't understand that but it is 100% true.  Just remember, like I have said several times before, its OKAY to mess up and order your favorite pizza instead.  That's how we learn and how we figure out what we like and don't like.  I will continue testing out recipes and get back to you with another Test Kitchen Post beginning of next year.  

QUESTION:  Are there any recipes out there that you're wondering if they really work?  Let me know and I'll try them out for you :)

Loves!

Sara Jane

Lisa: Caprese Chicken with Balsamic Reduction

Hello, again!  Anyone else ready for fall and cooler weather?  I cannot wait!  We just had our Fall Festival at my children's school and I was going to post pictures of the Bake Sale portion that I was in charge of but, unfortunately, I didn't get any taken because almost right away, my youngest son broke his arm while getting out of the bounce house!  I won't give you details because it still makes me queasy but we spent part of the night at the ER.  He was really brave and didn't cry or make a fuss.  At one point, though, when he had to sit up for an x-ray he turned pale and he told us "Um...I kind of feel like I'm going to fall asleep right now!"  We took him right away to lay down so he didn't pass out!  Needless to say, I'm ready for no drama!  I'm ready for cool, snuggle-down-with-a-warm-blanket kind of days.  For stay-indoors-and-avoid-bounce-house kind of days!  Hopefully fall comes really quickly and brings those sorts of days! 

As summer is winding up around these parts, I thought I would share with you a recipe that my sister-in-law made for me once: Caprese Chicken with Balsamic Reduction.

 

 It sounds fancy but is really quite easy and so tasty!  If you like balsamic vinegar, then this is the recipe for you!!  You can find the recipe here. 

Well, that's it for me this week.  Next week I'll try to be more creative!!

Lisa






 

Lisa: Moving and Eating!

Well, here we are.  What a difference a week makes!  My family and I have moved from our little house in the wilds and back into suburbia.  I have to keep reminding everyone not to yell and be to wild since we have neighbors now.  We like our little rental and are glad to be done lifting, packing and moving but we also long for permanence.  I guess, though, with all this moving about, we are creating adventures for ourselves and our children!!

This weeks post is another easy one but such a delicious salad, I just had to share!!  Here at my house, we have certain days in the week for certain foods: Mondays and Thursdays are fish, Tuesdays are salads or soups, Wednesdays are meat free, Fridays are fun days like tacos or burgers or pizza, Saturdays are the days my husband and I go out so the kids make their own meals and Sundays are our big dinners of the week with a roast or something like that.  I like to try to find easy but delicious salad recipes, since that sometimes doesn't seem like a meal (at least to my teenager!).  This one is perfect and such a good light summer meal. 

Teriyaki Chicken Salad with Avocado and Mandarin Oranges

1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2-1 bunch green onions, chopped
2-3 head of Romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 bag of coleslaw mix cabbage

*Combine and chill.

1c. Teriyaki sauce
1 lb. chicken breast

*Marinade the chicken for at least 15 minutes.  Cook on grill or in a pan until cooked through.  Set aside.

1-2 avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
1-2 cans of Mandarin oranges, drained
your favorite sesame dressing
slivered almonds, optional

*To serve, place the lettuce mixture on a plate and top with chicken, avocado, mandarin oranges, and almonds, if desired.  Pour over your favorite sesame dressing and serve. 

It is delicious!  All of my family loves this one, although some don't like the avocado.  If I serve this for lunch for my hubby and me, I usually don't have it with the chicken and it still is so good.  The lettuce mixture of cabbage, Romaine, cilantro and green onion is perfect for a side for the rest of the week, as well.  It's an all around great meal!!  I hope you enjoy!!

Lisa