Taco Salad...

For dinner club last week we wanted to make something Mexican but also healthy. So we decided to go with Taco Salads. We found a few recipes and tips from different sources and mixed their ideas together to make the concoction that was delicious. Probably the best parts were the taco seasoned chicken and the homemade tortilla bowls. Here's the recipe:

Chicken Taco Salad

4 Chicken breasts
2 Cups Chicken broth
1 Packet of taco seasoning
1 Package of uncooked tortillas
Toppings:
- Lettuce
- Salsa
- Cheese
- Olives
- Sour Cream
- Guacamole
- Lime
- Beans (Refried or kidney)
- Ranch

Okay, it's really simple. Place the chicken in the slow cooker. Mix the chicken broth with the taco seasoning and pour over the chicken. If that doesn't cover the chicken add more water until the chicken is submerged. Cook on low for 7 hours. Use a fork or tongs to shred the chicken in the broth. Let sit and absorb the broth for about a half hour, then strain out the chicken. Now mix all of your favorite toppings together with the chicken to make a salad!

For the Taco shells we cooked the tortillas on a pan until they were almost done, then we rolled up tin foil balls and draped the tortillas over them on a baking sheet. Place them into the oven at 350 degrees. In a few minutes they will begin to crisp up around the ball and turn brown. Pull them out and let cool. Note: Some of ours puffed up while baking, so watch them carefully and pop any bubbles forming in the tortilla with a knife or some sort of poking device.The Shells were so good, Kjell just wanted to eat it raw!

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Cincinnati Chili

In continuing with meals that are inspired from our missions, Laura and I decided to make one of my most favorite meals ever. Cincinnati Chili. This chili is not anything like what most people think of as chili. This chili is a Greek meat sauce made with cinnamon, allspice, chocolate, and chili sauce, that's placed over spaghetti and topped with either cheese, onions, kidney beans, or all three. It so good and we are so glad that everyone loved it! Here's the recipe:

Cincinnati Chili

2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cocoa powder
2 large onions finely diced
2-4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbls chili powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 Tbls salt
6 oz. can of tomato paste
1 1/2 Tbls apple cider vinegar
1/2 Tbls all spice
3 Bay leaves
3 pints of water

Take the raw meat and put it in a pot with 2 pints of the water. Mush the meat into the water with your hands until it is a mealy consistency. Cook the meat until it has turned brown, about 20 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and last pint of water and mix well. Cook for 1-2 hours. Serve over spaghetti.

Here are the different ways to make it:

Three-way: Spaghetti, chili, and cheese

Four-way: Spaghetti, chili, cheese, and onions

Five-way: Spaghetti, Chili, Cheese, Onions, and kidney beans

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Frittata

The other day we were watching Food Network (our daily food inspiration channel) and discovered a new breakfast dish called a Frittata. A frittata is basically like a fluffy omelet that you bake. We were intrigued and Laura remembered seeing a recipe on one of her favorite blogs a few months back. So we looked it up and finally made it today. And it was so good! Fluffier than scrambled eggs but still dense enough to fill you up. It's like a whole breakfast in one! We loved it.

Breakfast Frittata

7-8 eggs (depends on the size of the eggs)
half a bag of cubed hash-brown potatoes
2/3 Cup of grated cheese (usually cheddar but feel free to use anything, we hear ricotta is actually pretty good)
2-3 scallions, finely shopped
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 cup of chopped ham (or bacon, or anything that you want pretty much)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 350. Cook the potatoes in a oil sprayed, oven-safe pan until they are fully cooked and lightly browned. Add the ham to the cooked potatoes and heat thoroughly. While that is heating, in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, cheese, onions, baking powder, salt, and pepper until well mixed. When the potatoes and ham is fully heated, remove from heat and pour the egg mixture over the potatoes. Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until it becomes fluffy and you can stick a fork in it and it comes out clean. Cut in wedges and serve. Yum!

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Chocolate Almond Ice Cream

This past Christmas, Laura bought me an ice cream maker. We wanted to make our own healthy sorbets and ice creams, but then we found this recipe for a chocolate ice cream that we wanted to try. I wanted to spice it up since I think just vanilla or chocolate ice cream is boring, so I roasted some almonds and threw in some almond extract and Wow! It turned out amazing. I don't think we have bought ice cream since we made this recipe.

Chocolate Almond Ice Cream

1 Cup of Milk
1/2 Cup of granulated sugar
8 ounces of chocolate chips
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 teaspoons almond extract
1 cup of chopped almonds

Heat the milk either in the microwave or on the stove top until it is bubbling around the edges but not boiling. While the milk is heating, combine the chocolate chips and sugar in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add hot milk and mix in the processor until blended and smooth. Transfer to a bowl and put in the fridge to cool. When it is completely cooled, add the heavy cream and both extracts. mix well and chill for 30 minutes. While the cream is chilling, chop the almonds and place them under a broiler for 2-3 minutes until roasted. (be careful because it's really easy to burn the almonds, my tip is: if you can smell them roasting, you've burned them. so watch them carefully!) Place the almonds into the freezer to cool them down. After the cream has been chilled, place it in your ice cream maker and turn it on. About 15-20 after you started the machine, add the almonds. when the ice cream has thickened, place in a container and freeze for at least an hour.

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BBQ Pulled Pork

Today, Laura and I are making dinner and taking it to the other counselor in our bishopric and his wife. They got in a bad accident two weeks ago and his wife, who was 7 months pregnant, had to have an emergency C-section. Everything turned out great and their son is doing amazingly well! But she broke her sternum in the accident, so it's hard for her to do a lot of things still. So we are going to make them a special treat! A few months ago, Laura started to get this weird craving for BBQ pulled pork. So I decided to have my try at making our own. It was so good that we ate it almost every day for a week. So here is the recipe for it. It's actually not that special and gormet, and it's really really simple, but it's still really, really good.

BBQ Pulled Pork

1 Pork Roast (from Costco...I'll explain why later)
1 large bottle of BBQ Sauce (Any kind will do, but we love honey BBQ or Sweet BBQ sauces)
Lots of water
Salt & Pepper
Beef Bullion or stock
All Season
1 clove of minced Garlic

So first you need to buy this pork roast that is sold at Costco. It's sold in packs of three and is relatively cheap, but it's the best pork we've ever had. Place the pork roast in a crock pot and fill it with water until it almost submerges the roast. Take the roast out and add some pinches of salt, pepper, all season, and beef bullion. Also add the minced garlic. Next, pour in about a 1/4th of the BBQ sauce into the water and whisk the ingredients until they are mixed well. Place the roast back into the crock pot and cover. Turn the crock pot on low and cook for about 7 or 8 hours. (If you are in a crunch for time, you can turn it on high and cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, but I would recommend the slow cooking version so much more) After cooking, drain out all the water. Start pulling apart the pork with two forks or tongs. At this point the pork should be so soft that it should just fall apart when you touch it. after it's pulled apart, add the rest of the BBQ sauce and serve on buns or hoagie rolls.

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Chicken Romano

A few weeks ago, we went to our favorite restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory, with our friends Matt and Rebekah. I decided to try something new so I got the Chicken Romano, and I was speechless. It was so good!!! So we decided to try and make our own version of it last night. It's actually pretty easy to make, and although it wasn't as good as the Cheesecake Factory's version, it was still pretty dang good nonetheless. So here is the recipe:


Chicken Romano

2 Chicken Breasts
1 1/2 Cup of Romano cheese (shredded or grated)
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup or Parmesans Cheese (shredded or grated)
2 eggs
1/3 Cup of milk
Salt and Pepper
Oil

Okay, so I really didn't measure when I made this last night, so this is just an approximation. Start out by pounding out the chicken breasts until they are about 1/4" to a 1/2" flat. Heat some oil in a pan, enough to coat the bottom. Make sure the oil is really hot. Now in a bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. In another bowl mix the Romano cheese, the parmesan cheese, the bread crumbs, and some salt and pepper. Now dip the chicken in the egg mixture, making sure that you get it fully submerged. Then dip it into the cheese/breadcrumb mixture, making sure that the chicken is fully coated. Then place in hot oil and pan fry until golden brown on both sides. Serve alone, with your favorite pasta and sauce, or with mashed potatoes (which is what Laura is making here, she makes the best!)

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White Chicken and Cilantro Chili

Last summer, we started a dinner club with two other couples in our ward. Once a week we all meet at someones place and share dinner with each other. We started this club thinking that it would only last a month or so, but we've all enjoyed it so much that we've faithfully been doing it week after week. I think we all actually look forward to it each week. Tonight, it was our turn and we decided to try a new recipe that we found, and of course we had to mix it up to make it our own. It turned out so good!! Probably one of my favorite recipes we have made lately. So here it is...

White Chicken and Cilantro Chili

1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cans of chicken broth
2 cans of great northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup of cold water
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
*1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped (optional) - if you like to have a kick, although we love it without

In a pot, saute onions, jalapeño(optional), and garlic. Stir in the chicken broth, beans, parsley, lime juice, and cumin. Bring to boil. Add cilantro and chicken and reduce heat. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix the cornstarch and cold water until smooth, add to the pot and bring to a boil. Cook until chili has thickened.

This recipe is easy and quick, which we love. We also like to serve this with sour cream, fresh cilantro, extra lime wedges, cheese, and crushed tortilla chips to add in the chili. It's so good! We hope that you try it and love it!

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