Race Day Taco Salad

This is a typical Sunday afternoon meal. Usually eaten while watching a Nascar race! It's pretty simple for me to fix and not miss too much of the action!

Race Day Taco Salad

1 pound lean ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning (any brand)
lettuce (chopped fine)
tomato (diced)
grated cheese
sour cream
avacados
gaucamole seasoning mix
corn chips
salsa or picante sauce

Brown the ground beef and add the taco seasoning as per the package directions. Slice your avacados and place in bowl. I like to mash mine and get them nice and smooth then add the seasoning mix. Set aside.

Next layer a nice big plate with corn chips. Add your meat and other topping items you like. Spoon on sour cream, gauc & salsa. Enjoy and hope Kasey Kahne wins the race!

Recipe Source: me

Baking Tips:
Getting Ready/Equipment
Tips for great baking from the Kraft Recipes web site. These are all so true!



•Don't mess with the basic ingredients, the flour, liquid, salt, fat and leavening in your recipe. Unlike other types of cooking, you must measure your ingredients accurately and have the right tools to do so.


•Dry ingredients are measured in flat-topped measuring cups and are made to be filled to the top and leveled off.


•Liquid measures are usually glass, with more space at the top, and a pour spout. Add liquids to the cup, set it on the counter and look at it sideways, on its own level. Do not substitute liquid and dry measuring cups for one another -your ingredient measurements will be inaccurate if you do.


•Tableware spoons should not be used for measuring since they vary in size.


•For best results use shiny aluminum baking sheets without sides (baked products will brown more quickly on dark-colored baking sheet because they absorb more heat than the shiny type). You can also turn a jelly-roll pan (15 x 10 x 1-inch pan) upside down and use it in place of a baking sheet.


•Prepare baking pans according to the recipe. Cookies with a high fat content may not need to be baked on a greased surface. Remember some non-stick pans can be ruined if you apply non-stick sprays.


•Tip: allow baking sheet to cool completely before reusing.


•Tip: Line baking sheets with parchment paper. The paper will withstand high temperatures without scorching. This makes the baking sheet easier to clean, and you can slide the sheet of parchment with the baked cookies right onto your rack for cooling. However, as they cool you'll need to turn them over to complete the cooling and prevent the bottom of the cookies from getting soggy. **I don't ever leave my cookies on the parchment paper. They get soggy really quickly, even if you turn them.**

•Bake only one sheet of cookies at a time on the middle rack in the center of the oven.


•A wire cooling rack speeds the cooling of cookies, etc. It allows steam to escape from all sides of the baked product so the bottom doesn't get soggy.


•Tip: use a cooling rack with closely spaced wires so cookies have adequate support when cooling.

Something Easy

It's not all homemade around my house. I'm not to proud to support Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines! So this morning we are having some easy & quick muffins, from a mix!

Of course anything with the name 'Cinnabon' in it is bound to be good right?

See. 3 ingredients. Milk, eggs & oil.

Give it a good stir, put in your muffin pans. (makes 12)

Then you add the little topping packet. You can get 1 teaspoon per muffin. Doesn't seem like much but it's just right.

20 minutes later and you've got muffins!

Homemade Egg Rolls & Fried Rice

I've been making my own egg rolls for a year or two. They are easy to make and taste great! Serve with some fried rice and fortune cookies (store bought, I haven't tried making those yet!).

Egg Rolls
( T ) = Tablespoon ( t ) = Teaspoon ( C ) = Cup


1 pound ground pork (in the pork section @ Wal Mart)


1 Package Nasoya Egg Roll Wraps (the wraps @ IGA are NOT as good as the ones at Wal Mart) Sorry, I'm just bein' honest!

1 tsp fresh ginger root, minced (or powdered if you don't have fresh)1 C Cabbage, finely chopped


1/2 C Carrot, shredded (I use my cheese grater)


3 Green onions, finely chopped


2 T Soy Sauce


Vegetable oil for deep-frying


Sweet & sour sauce for dipping




Cook ground pork and ginger over high heat until lightly browned. Add cabbage,  carrot and green onions: cook til cabbage is soft. Stir in soy sauce.

Let mixture cool. Use 2 tablespoons filling for each egg roll. Follow folding directions on package.

Deep-fry: heat oil to 350 degrees, and deep-fry a few at a time, turning occasionally, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.  Serve with sweet & sour sauce if desired.

Recipe Source: egg roll wrapper package! I altered it quit a bit to our taste.

Fried Rice

This is totally my own creation. It's based on several different recipes I've found on the internet.

1 pouch instant white rice

1 pouch instant brown rice

3 - 4 green onions, finely chopped

2 carrots, chopped into small cubes

2 eggs, lightly beaten (I add a touch of milk)

1/2 cup frozen/canned peas (optional)

Soy Sauce

Cook the instant rice according to the package directions. Set aside. Boil or steam the carrots til soft. Scramble the eggs & onions at the same time. Chop the eggs into small pieces.

Now add all that stuff together in a large frying pan with a tiny bit of olive oil.  I mean TINY! Next add about 2 teaspoons of soy sauce. At this point everything has been cooked so your just getting up to a nice temperature. Stir often though, it will stick/burn. Serve with your egg rolls!
 
OH!! The little triangle things are just extra wonton wrappers filled with cream cheese & jalapenos, then deep fried! mmmmmm

Banana Crumb Muffins

If you worked at Prague Elementary over the last year it's very possible you've had these muffins. They are the only banana muffins I make. Moist and flavorful with a crunchy sweet topping. Everyone who tries them agrees they are wonderful!

Banana Crumb Muffins

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 ripe bananas (mashed)
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted

Crumb Topping (I double this!)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbs all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tbs butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups or line with muffin papers. (I always spray my muffin papers lightly with cooking spray)

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, powder & salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg & melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour & cinnamon. Cut in 1 Tbs butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. To be honest here, I use my hands for this part. Wash em real good and just dig in there and mix it up. I also DOUBLE the topping every time! Sprinkle topping over prepared batter. Add a few chopped nuts or a whole one on top. (just for looks)

Bake for 18 - 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

If your bananas aren't super ripe add an extra 1/4 cup of sugar. You want them sweet!

Recipe Source: allrecipes.com (where else??)
Just FYI: 116,683 people have saved this recipe from allrecipes.com
             It has been reviewed by 5183 people and has an overall 5 out 5
             star rating.

Rempel Family Meatloaf

I don't know the Rempel's but I do know they make some kick butt meatloaf. I'm not a huge fan of the meat in loaf form but this is really good. I think it's the A1 that makes the difference! Pair with some fried onions and taters, corn and buttered bread. Perfect meal.

Rempel Family Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup crushed buttery round crackers (Ritz) Don't use regular Saltines, yuck
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 (1oz) package dry onion soup mix (Liptons is best)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbs 'A1' steak sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir the ground beef, crushed crackers, cheese and onion soup mix in a large bowl  until well combined. Whisk the eggs, ketchup & steak sauce in a seperate bowl until smooth. Mix the egg mixture into the meat until evenly combined, if the mixture seems to dry, add a little water. Press into 9x5 inch loaf pan. I spread a bit of ketchup on top of the meat before placing in the oven.

Bake in preheated oven until the meatloaf reaches 160 degrees and is no longer pink in the center. 45-60 minutes. I personally do not own a meat thermometer so I just slice into the meatloaf and check it that way. I also like to make mini meatloaves by using a muffin pan and making large balls of meat and placing in the pan. These will cook a little faster so check them after about 30 minutes.

I could not find a picture of this so I guess I'll just have to make some later this week! Check back for a picture!

Recipe Source: allrecipes.com

Cookie Scoop

I've learned the hard way the key to a good cookie is not only the recipe but the size of the cookie! When you use a spoon to scoop out your cookie dough you get different sized globs of cookie on the sheet. If they are all different sizes they bake at different rates of speed. Resulting in not so perfect cookies.

Get yourself a good scooper. I got mine at Wal Mart. (of course) It was about $6 and totally worth it. They come in different sizes so get the size that looks the best to you. I have a medium sized one. My cookies are all the same size and cook evenly. Not to mention kids love to help when they are put in charge of scooping the cookie dough!