Taco Soup

Taco Soup
Serves about 8-10 people

1 lb ground turkey (or beef), cooked

1-2 large box/cans of chicken stock/broth (homemade is delicious!)

2 cans kidney beans, rinsed

2 can black beans, rinsed

1 can corn

1 large can diced tomatoes

1-2 packets of taco seasoning

cheese, sour cream, chips

Add all canned ingredients to pot. Add browned turkey to pot. Bring to a low boil. Top with cheese, sour cream, chips, guacamole, etc.  Make corn bread or salad for a nice side dish.  Freeze the left overs for another easy dinner! 

PorkyPine Meatballs

My mom used to make these and my sister recently brought my attention back to this recipe. It's pretty easy. Make sure you use white rice though, or if you use brown make sure you cook them much longer.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1/3 cup uncooked long-grain WHITE rice or Brown Minute Rice
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
dash ground black pepper
1 can condensed tomato soup
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup water




Preparation:Combine the ground beef, rice, onion, 1/4 cup of the water, salt, and pepper. Shape meat mixture into 12 to 15 meat balls. Combine the soup, chili powder, and water in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Add meatballs; reduce heat, cover, and simmer over very low heat for 1 hour. Stir occasionally. Serves 4.

Hearty Beef Stew

I recently moved to the Seattle area with my family from Arizona. It is much cooler up here in April (highs in the low 50's) so stew makes a perfect dinner. Even though stew might not be what you want for dinner when it is 100 degrees outside, the flavors are delicious and the meal is easy to make. Also, if you have vegetables left over from other meals, you can toss them into this stew. It's a great way not to waste food.

Serves: 6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1.5-2 hours

Ingredients:

-1 lb of cubed beef stew meat
-1 tbsp of vegetable oil
-1 cup cabernet sauvignon
-4 cups beef stock
-1/2 tsp dried rosemary
-1/2 tsp dried parsley
-1/4 tsp ground black pepper
-1/2 large golden potatoes, cubed
-2 carrots, cut into cubes
-3 celery stalks, chopped
-1/2 large onion, chopped
-1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved*
-1/2 a bunch of kale, torn into bite size pieces*
-1 tsp corn starch or 2 tablespoons of ultragel
-cold water

*- optional; adds additional color

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a pot and sear the meat until it turns brown. Pour in wine and stock (if you want to forgo the wine, just add another cup of stock. The wine adds a lot of flavor to the stew and all the alcohol cooks out so I highly recommend using it). Stir in the rosemary, parsley and pepper. Heat to a boil, then reduce and let simmer for 1 hour.

2. Stir in all vegetables. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 teaspoons cold water and stir into stew. If you are using ultra gel (which is much easier to use than corn starch and is color and flavorless) sprinkle directly into the stew and stir. Add additional thickener if needed to reach desired thickness. Cover and simmer 1 more hour or until meat is tender. Serve with fresh bread.

Simple Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:
2-3 small cans of cream of mushroom soup
1-2 lbs of cubed stew meat
1 packet of Lipton's Onion Soup Mix
Small tub of sour cream

Directions:
Add everything but the sour cream to the crock pot. Cook on low for about 10 hours or high for about 6 hours. Right before serving stir in about a cup of sour cream. Serve over potatoes or egg noodles.

Wontons with Sweet and Sour Sauce

My friend Tiffany opened my eyes up to the world of FRIED WONTONS. She makes the most delicious Thai wontons EVER! I got her recipe off her blog and did some online searching to compare. I fiddled with Tiffany's recipe a little and thought my experimental batch turned out pretty good. My sister's friend, Mayuko was visiting us from Japan when I made them and she approved! (She's really nice, so she totally could have been lying.) She said my batch turned out more like Chineese Wontons. I think next time I'll play around with them some more. They can be filled with whatever you fancy! Give it a try!!!!

Tiffany's Sweet and Sour Sauce:
You can make the sauce ahead of time. It takes all of five minutes.

1 C sugar
1/4 C vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 C water
1 T ketchup
2 T cornstarch, mixed with a little water (or sprinkle in Ultra-Gel until you like the consistency.)

In small pot add water, sugar, salt, and vinegar. On medium heat, slowly bring to boil. Once boiling, add ketchup and stir. Add cornstarch mixture or Ultra Gel gradually, stirring constantly until it thickens.
Remove from heat and keep in fridge until serving time.

Wonton Recipe:
I doubled this recipe and served it with veggies and rice for seven adults and three kids. There was BARELY enough! If you have leftovers, they microwave up good the next day. (Feel free to play with this till it suits your tastes!)

1/2-3/4 lb ground beef (or whatever ground meat you prefer, Pork is more authentic)
1 package cream cheese
2 cups shredded and chopped cabbage (keep the pieces small so they'll fold easily into the wonton skins)
1 tsp salt
2 T minced onion
1 tsp fish or soy sauce
1 egg (I've forgotten to add this and it turned out just fine)
3 T coriander
1/4 tsp garlic
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp pepper
1 package won ton skins*

*in my area, I've found wonton skins in the produce section of Albertson's and Wal-mart. I like the ones from Albertson's a little bit better because they are thinner skins.


I have step by step pictures or you can check out Tiffany's site. You basically mash all of the above ingredients like you would with a meat loaf. Then place only 1 TEASPOON of filling in the center of a wonton skin. Wet your fingers with water, and gently rub the edges of the wonton skin. You can follow the directions on the Wonton Packaging or get creative! I folded mine into the shape of a diaper. Because. I'm a mom. And that's what I see all day. Maybe my little brother can fold his into the shape of the Statue of Liberty. Anyway, folding them all up is the most time consuming part.

Once the wontons are all folded, throw small batches of them into a fryer (or pot of hot oil) until golden brown. Cut into the first one to make sure the meat is cooked all the way through. Dip them in the sauce and ENJOY!

Here are the directions in pictures:

The filling

The Wonton skins.


THE PROCESS:

Spoon a teaspoon of filling into the center of the wonton skin

Dip your finger into a cup of water and rub on the edges of TWO OPPOSITE SIDES. Water will seal the edges when folded together.



Folding. Gently press and seal.




Either pinch edges up like this, or try folding all the triangle's corners into the center for a diaper shape without the crispy edges.

The batch.

Fry until golden brown on both sides.

They are SO HOT for a long time, so let them cool before you take a bite!

Dip in sauce.

Enjoy!

SO GOOD!

All-American Beef Chili

2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
1 Red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1/4 Cup chili powder
1 Tbs cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs (85% lean) ground beef
2 (15.5-ounce) cans dark red kidney beans, rinsed
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree
*Grated cheddar and sour cream for topping

(This makes a large batch that could feed my family 3 times over, so invite some friends and family over, or freeze for a quick home-made dinner in a snap.)

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until simmering. Add the onions, bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook until the vegetables have softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 15 seconds.

2. Add the beef and increased the heat to medium-high. Cook, breaking up the beef with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Stir in the beans, diced tomatoes with their juice, tomato puree, and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes.

3. Remove the lid and continue to simmer until the beef is tender, about 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

TO MAKE AHEAD
The chili can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for up to one month. Reheat over low heat, adding water or broth to adjust the consistency.

Courtesy of The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook