Baked Tacos

We really love tacos in this house. We'll turn anything into a taco flavored version of the original - taco pizza, taco salad, you name it! Tonight, we just wanted plain tacos. We've always had soft tacos. For some reason, I've never made hard shell tacos in the entire 10 years Matt and I have been together. Come to find out, the corn taco shells actually have a lot less carbs in them than the soft flour tortillas. I think we'll be making these a lot more often now!

I got the idea to bake the tacos from a friend. And they turned out great! I hope you like them.

Baked Tacos
Makes: 4 servings

8 corn taco shells
1 lb ground beef, turkey, or chicken
taco seasoning
1 cup shredded cheese such as cheddar or Monterey Jack
Taco toppings such as lettuce, tomatoes, scallions, salsa, hot sauce, etc.

• First, bake the empty taco shells so they get warm and crispy. Place the taco shells on a baking sheet and bake at 325° F for 5 - 6 minutes.
• While the shells are baking, brown up the meat in a skillet on high heat until thoroughly cooked and no longer pink, about 4 - 5 minutes. Stir in the taco seasoning and remove from the heat.
• Remove the taco shells from the oven, stuff them with the taco meat, then top them all with shredded cheese.
• Place the tacos back in the oven for about 2 - 3 minutes until the cheese is melted.
• Top with your favorite toppings!

Pulled Pork Turn-overs

Here we go with another left-over recipe! If you've ever made pulled pork before, you know that even the smallest roast will make three or four family sized meals. What do to with all of those left-overs? Here's one idea: Loaded Sweet Potato Fries. This particular night, I happened to have some puff pastry in the freezer, hence pulled pork turn-overs were born!

Here's a quick rundown on how to make pulled pork: put a pork shoulder in the slow cooker, top it with an entire bottle of your favorite sauce (barbecue sauce, steak or pork marinade, etc.), cook it on low for 8 hours, remove the bones and shred the meat. It's that easy!

If you've been a reader of my blog for a while, you'll know that I love recipes that you can customize. Everyone's family's preferences are different and it's nice to be able to make a recipe your own that everyone can agree with. That's why I have left the instructions intentionally open as far as the type of sauce or cheese that you can use.

Pulled Pork Turn-overs
Makes: 4 turn-overs

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 1/2 cups pulled pork
1/2 cup sauce (barbecue, sweet chili, buffalo, etc.)
1 cup shredded cheese (monterey jack, cheddar, pepper jack, etc.)

• On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry so that it's about 1/8" thick.
• With a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the puff pastry evenly into 4 squares.
• Pile 1/4 of the pork onto one half of the puff pastry, top with 2 tbsp of sauce, then top with 1/4 cup of cheese.
• Brush two adjacent edges of the puff pastry with water.
• Fold over the puff pastry in half corner to corner so that it forms a triangle. Be careful to make sure that all of the ingredients stay inside and you have a tight seal. You don't want anything leaking out.
• Repeat with the remaining puff pastry and fillings.
• Transfer the turn-overs to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. With a sharp knife, pierce two lines into the puff pastry so that the steam can escape.

• Bake at 400° F for 15 minutes.
• Allow to cool at least 5 minutes. The filling will be hot!

Baba Ganoush

I made some grilled egg plant for dinner which turned out really yummy. But I had a bunch left over and I wasn't really sure what to do with it. After some thought, I settled on Baba Ganoush. This is another yummy treat that I learned how to make when I was working at the country club. It's a dip made from roasted egg plant, garlic, and sesame tahini and it is delicious! If you love hummus, you will probably love this too!

I'll give you the instructions for how to make this with grilled eggplant since that's what I had on hand. But if you don't want to go through the extra work of grilling it, you can just cut the egg plant in half and roast it in the oven until it is golden brown and soft then scoop out the soft center.

Baba Ganoush
Makes: 4 servings

1 large eggplant
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 cup sesame tahini
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt

• Wash the eggplant then slice it into 1/2" slices all the way down.
• Make the marinade by mixing together the oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.
• In a plastic bag, toss together the eggplant with the marinade. Allow the eggplant to soak for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
• Preheat the grill on high. Once hot, place the slices on the grill and cook for about 3 - 4 minutes per side.
• Place the eggplant slices in a food processor and puree. The mixture will seem a little lumpy. Add the sesame tahini and lemon juice and continue to puree; the mixture smooth out.
• Taste the dip and add salt as needed.
• Serve with naan bread, pita bread, veggies, or anything else you could possibly dip in there! This can be served hot, room temperature, or cold.

In case you've never used sesame tahini before, this is what it looks like. It comes in a jar and it's pretty runny stuff; it's a pour-able liquid. You can find it in the Asian section of almost any grocery store. Tahini is a great ingredient to keep on hand. You can use it in marinades, salad dressings, and all kinds of dips.

Grilled Chicken with Roasted Garlic Hummus

Since I made a really great homemade version of Chiavetta's marinade, I put it to good use by grilling up some chicken for dinner. I turned it into sandwiches with roasted garlic hummus spread on some French bread. It was a really nice, light dinner.

Grilled Chicken with Roasted Garlic Hummus
Makes: 4 servings

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup garlic & vinegar marinade
1 French baguette
1/2 cup roasted garlic hummus
sandwich toppings

• Cut the chicken breasts in half length-wise so that you have four, thinner pieces of chicken.
• Place them in a plastic bag along with the marinade and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, up to four hours.
• Grill the chicken on high for four to five minutes per side until thoroughly cooked.
• Cut the baguette into four pieces, then slice each piece in half for sandwiches.
• Toast the bread on the grill.
• Spread about two tablespoons of hummus on the bottom half of each piece of baguette. Top with a piece of grilled chicken. Finish it off with toppings such as lettuce, tomato, onions, etc.

Bacon Cream Cheese Bites

I had some phyllo dough left over from my post about Spanakopita so I thought I would put it to good use. Phyllo is a traditional Greek pastry dough that is super thin, even thinner than paper. It folds really nicely into triangles and makes a great party appetizer. You can stuff pretty much anything in there as long as it doesn't have too much moisture. I think bacon and cream cheese fit the bill, don't you? ;-)

Bacon Cream Cheese Bites
Makes: 24 triangles

1/2 lb bacon, chopped
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 scallions, chopped
4 oz (1/2 brick) cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Pinch of salt
8 sheets of phyllo dough, thawed
1 tbsp butter, melted

• In a skilled over medium-medium-high heat, brown the bacon until it is crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside. Reserve one tablespoon of the drippings.
• In the same pan, cook the onions and garlic in the bacon drippings over medium-low heat until the onions are soft but not brown, about five to six minutes.
• In a stand mixer, or with an electric hand mixer, on medium whip the cream cheese until it is light and fluffy, about two minutes.
• Add the bacon, onion mixture, scallions, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, and salt. Continue to beat on medium until well mixed, about 30 seconds. Set the mixture aside.
• Brush a large baking sheet with the melted butter.
• Now you'll need to assemble the triangles. If you read the next few steps and you have no idea what I'm talking about, see my post about Spanakopita which includes photos.
• Take one sheet of phyllo dough, use a barely damp paper towel to cover the rest so they don't dry out.
• Cut the phyllo dough into thirds length-wise with a pizza cutter.
• Place a small spoonful of the filling at the top and off to the right of one of the strips.
• Now you'll need to start folding. You fold these like you would a flag. Grab the upper left corner and fold it down to the right so that you form a triangle at the top.
• Now take the top right corner and fold it straight down.
• Take the top right corner again and fold it down and over to the left.
• Take the top left corner and fold it straight down.
• Repeat until you get to the end and have a perfect triangle. Place it on the buttered baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining phyllo dough and filling.
• If you're making these a day ahead, you can stop at this step, cover it up with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it. Then place it in the oven the next day about an hour before you're ready to serve.
• Bake at 350° F for 30 minutes.

A few tips:

If you haven't invested in a spatter screen yet, I highly suggest it. They're relatively cheap and will save you from getting popped when you fry stuff such as bacon.

If you're not sure what to do with the rest of the bacon drippings, here's what I do. I line a bowl with aluminum foil then pour the drippings in. Once the drippings are cool, fold it up and chuck it in the trash!

American Pizza

When we were in college, Matt met his friend, Ken who was an exchange student from Finland. They became really close and Matt even went to Finland to visit Ken after his exchange program was over. While Matt was visiting, they went to a pizza place. On the menu there, they had an "American" pizza. After some discussion, Matt realized that what they called American pizza was the same thing that we would call Hawaiian pizza here in the states. Ever since then, Matt and I have always called it American pizza because we thought it was funny. And we always make American pizza with our left-over ham from Easter.

Since we're on the topic of Matt's friend, Ken, I should also tell you the story about pumpernickel. During another dining experience in Finland, Matt had some bread which he thought tasted a lot like pumpernickel. Ken had never heard of pumpernickel and the word wasn't in any English to Finnish dictionaries. After a lot of discussion they eventually found out that what they were eating was pumpernickel and they were talking about the same thing! Matt didn't know the Finnish word for it and Ken didn't know the English word for it. Matt likes to tell that story and I think it's pretty funny.

Anyhow, here's what I did with our Easter left-overs:

American Pizza

Makes: 1 large pizza

1 package of premade pizza dough

14 oz jar of pizza sauce

8 oz pizza cheese (mozzarella & cheddar blend)

2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

20 oz can of crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup chopped ham

4 scallions, chopped

• On a surface coated with cornmeal, roll out the pizza dough. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet or pizza pan that has been lightly greased and coated with cornmeal. Set aside and allow the dough to rise for about 30 minutes.
• Prick the pizza dough to prevent bubbles from forming.
• Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the dough.
• Spread half of the ham and half of the pineapple over the pizza sauce.
• Sprinkle on the entire 8 oz of cheese. Then sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and the garlic powder.
• Spread the rest of the ham and pineapple on top of the cheese.
• Bake at 375° F for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove the pizza from the oven and sprinkle the chopped scallions on top.
• Allow to cool for five minutes before serving.

Sweet Cheddar Chicken

This is another Cupboard Cleaner. I had some left-over cheddar cheese slices that I wasn't sure what to do with. So I did a little bit of brainstorming and decided that it would taste great with apricot preserves on some chicken. And then, of course scallions make everything taste better!

Sweet Cheddar Chicken
Makes: 4 servings

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 tbsp apricot preserves
4 slices cheddar cheese
2 scallions, sliced

• Cut each piece of chicken in half length-wise so that you have 4 thinner pieces of chicken.
• Grill the chicken on high heat for about 4 - 5 minutes per side until thoroughly cooked and no longer pink.
• About 1 minute before the chicken is finished cooking, top each piece with one tablespoon of apricot preserves and one slice of cheddar cheese. You may need to fold the cheese in half if it's a big slice.
• Remove from the grill and top with the sliced scallions.
• These can be served with a side of rice or french fries. Or you could place them on a toasted bun to make a sandwich!

Not sure what to do with the left-over scallions? Check out my recipe for Broccoli Casserole.

Chicken & Vegetables in Thai Peanut Sauce

Peanut sauce is one of the easiest sauces you can make. It's a raw sauce - no cooking required. And it's literally just a combination of peanut butter, water, soy sauce, and a few other goodies. I like to add this to some noodles with stir-fry vegetables and some chicken. I used carrots, celery, and onions because that's what I happened to have on hand. You could also use pea pods, mushrooms, asparagus, water chestnuts, or even a bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables! You can also leave out the chicken for Meatless Mondays. This also makes a great make-ahead lunch for the week!

Chicken & Vegetables in Thai Peanut Sauce
Makes: 4 servings

1/2 lb spaghetti, lo mein noodles, or ramen noodles
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 medium onion, cut into 1/2" dice
8 scallions
2 tbsp canola oil or vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, very finely minced (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 tsp fresh grated ginger (or 1/2 tsp dried, ground ginger)
3/4 cup hot water
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce

• Cook the spaghetti until al dente, about 9 - 10 minutes. Make sure to salt the water well.
• Strain the pasta.
• While the pasta is cooking, cut the chicken into 1/2" cubes.
• Chop the carrots, celery, and onions. Set aside.
• Slice the scallions, add the white part to the carrots, celery, and onions; set aside the green tops for garnish.
•  Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high. Add the carrots, celery, and onion mixture. Cook for about 3 minutes until the vegetables just start to soften.
• Add the chicken to the skillet and continue cooking for 5 - 6 minutes until the vegetables are cooked and the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. Remove from the heat.
• Make the sauce by combining the garlic, ginger, water, peanut butter, and soy sauce. It's true that you can use powdered garlic and ginger, but I highly recommend using fresh. There's just nothing like fresh ginger. Whisk the ingredients together - the sauce will have a lumpy texture at first, just keep whisking and it will smooth out.
• Add the sauce to the hot chicken and vegetables. Add the pasta then toss it all together.
• Garnish with the green scallion tops.

If you want to make the sauce a little spicy, you could add some Sriracha sauce.

Loaded Chicken & Black Bean Burritos

I had some left-over rotisserie chicken from the Buffalo Chicken Blasts that I made the other day so I decided to use it up in these Loaded Chicken & Black Bean Burritos. I also boiled the bones to make chicken stock. Waste not, want not! Anyhow, these burritos are really yummy with chicken, but you can also leave out the chicken for Meatless Mondays.

Loaded Chicken & Black Bean Burritos
Makes: 8 Burritos

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
15 oz can of black beans
4 oz can of green chilies
1/2 cup salsa verde
1/2 medium yellow onion, 1/2" dice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
8 burrito size flour tortillas
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

  

• In a saute pan, cook the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent, about 10 - 12 minutes.
• Add the chicken, black beans, green chilies, salsa verde, cumin, cayenne, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir and continue to cook on medium about 5 minutes until heated through.
• Sprinkle about one ounce of cheese on a tortilla then melt the cheese either in the microwave or under the broiler.

• Spread 1/8th of the chicken mixture down the center of the tortilla then roll up like a burrito.

• Serve with sour cream, salsa verde, sliced green onions, etc.
• Note: If you don't want to use a rotisserie chicken, you could bake two chicken breasts at 400° F for 20 - 25 minutes, then chop up.

Hearty Chicken & Stars Soup

I had some wonderful left-overs from the Sissy's Chicken that I made yesterday so I decided to turn them into soup! Soup is a great way to use up left-overs and it's a great comfort food for this time of year. I happened to have some carrots and zucchini hanging around so that's what I used today. You could also add: mushrooms, spinach, kale, onions, celery, etc. I also used Israeli couscous because that's what I had in my cupboard. Unfortunately, I've found that it's a little difficult to come by. Instead of the couscous, you could use: egg noodles, elbow macaroni, ditalini (little tube shaped pasta), rice, or potatoes. Also, if you don't have chicken left-overs, you could pick up a rotisserie chicken for this recipe.

Hearty Chicken & Stars Soup
Makes: 6 servings

For the broth:
1 whole roasted chicken
2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1 cup whole baby carrots
2 cloves garlic
water

For the soup:
Chopped chicken picked from the bone
2 cups chopped baby carrots
2 zucchini cut into bite size pieces
2 - 4 tsp chicken base or chicken bouillon
1 cup Israeli couscous

Make the broth:

  
• Pick as much chicken as you can off of the bones. Don't worry if there is a lot left on there, it will come off later after the chicken has been simmered. Be very careful to pick out any bones, there are lots of tiny bones in chicken. Set the chunks of chicken aside in the refrigerator.
• In a heavy bottomed stock pot, pour in the oil and heat over medium. Add the whole carrots and garlic cloves. Stir continuously and cook until the carrots and garlic are a nice golden brown, about 5 - 7 minutes.
• Place the chicken bones in the pot on top of the carrots and garlic.
• Add enough water to almost cover the chicken. It took about 10 cups of water for the size chicken that I had.

  

• Cover the pot and turn the heat up to high.
• Once the water has reached a rolling boil, turn the heat down to low-medium-low and continue to simmer, covered for 2 hours.
• After 2 hours, remove the pan from the heat. With a slotted spoon, scoop out as much chicken and bones as you can. Then pour the broth through a mesh strainer to strain out any remaining pieces of chicken and bone. The easiest way I've found to do this is to place a strainer over a really large mixing bowl, pour the broth into there, then transfer the broth back to the soup pan once it has been strained.
• Discard the carrots and garlic.

Make the soup:

• Pick the remaining chicken off the bones, again being very careful to pick out any tiny bones, and add it to the chicken that was picked off previously. You should find that it's much easier to pick apart this time and the chicken just falls off the bone.
• Discard the bones.
• Chop up any large chunks of chicken so that all pieces are bite size or smaller.
• Add the chicken to the broth.
• Cook on medium, uncovered until the amount of broth reduces by 1/3, about 20 - 30 minutes.
• Add the chopped carrots and cook for another 10 minutes.
• Add the zucchini and couscous, cook for another 10 minutes.
• Remove the soup from the heat.
• Add the chicken base or chicken bouillon starting with 2 tsp. If the soup tastes bland, add more base or bouillon, 1 tsp at a time, until the soup reaches the desired flavor.
• Serve with crackers, biscuits, or a nice crusty artisan bread.

Mexican Sweethearts

Time for another Cupboard Cleaner!

Growing up, my dad used to make us a treat called Mexican Sweethearts. I have no idea if this is actually a traditional Mexican dish - and I have my doubts considering this is the same man who convinced my sister and I that tofu was Chinese bacon... ha! Anyways, Mexican Sweethearts are a great way to use up left-over flour tortillas. There always seem to be a few stragglers after making tacos, enchiladas, etc.

Mexican Sweethearts
Makes: 6 sweethearts

6 flour tortillas (any size)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
butter or margarine

  

• Mix together the cinnamon and sugar, set aside.
• Heat up a non-stick skillet over medium-medium high heat.
• Once the pan is very hot, place one of the tortillas in the dry pan.
• Cook for about 5 - 10 seconds on each side until they puff up and brown.
• Remove from heat and spread butter on the tortilla so that it melts.
• Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of the cinnamon and sugar mixture over the tortilla, then roll it up like a cigar.

This recipe is so simple but your kids will love it and it will clear out all of those extra tortillas hanging out in your cupboard!

Cheesy Chicken Casserole

I'm experimenting with a new idea that I want to call "Cupboard Cleaners." These will be recipes that can easily be made with ingredients that you likely already have in your cupboard, refrigerator, and/or freezer. One thing that completely amazes Matt is that I can look at what we have in the cupboard and just kind of pull a meal out of thin air. Cupboard Cleaners will help you use up those ingredients that you're not sure what to do with - half an onion in the fridge, that last clove of garlic on the counter, that one tablespoon of butter that's left, half a bag of chocolate chips in the cupboard, a bag of couscous, you get the idea. We all have ingredients that have been partially used up in other recipes and then the left overs just seem to hang out with nothing to do but create clutter in the kitchen!

My first Cupboard Cleaner came from just such a scenario. I was cooking dinner last Saturday and I didn't have an idea yet for what I was going to make. I looked in the freezer and saw that I had half a bag of frozen mushrooms, I had half a box of penne in the cupboard, and a very small amount of shredded cheese in the refrigerator. Thus, Cheesy Chicken Casserole was born!

The word "cheesy" is really messing with my brain tonight. It doesn't look like it's spelled correctly. I keep staring at it which makes it worse. I could swear it should be spelled "cheesey" but then that looks even worse. I digress...

Cheesy Chicken Casserole

Makes: 4 servings

1/2 lb penne

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" dice

1 tsp blackened seasoning (I like Zatarain's)

4 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp butter (I use Smart Balance)

2 tbsp flour

1/2 tsp mustard powder

1 bay leaf

2 cups milk

3 slices American cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, plus more for topping

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

• Cook the penne for 11 - 12 minutes, or until al dente. Make sure to salt the water well.
• Drain the pasta and set aside.
• While the pasta is cooking, toss the chicken with the blackened seasoning.
• In a large saute pan over medium high heat, cook the chicken until thoroughly cooked and no longer pink, about 5 - 6 minutes.
• Set the chicken aside.
• In the same pan that was used to cook the chicken, heat up the butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic. Saute until the mushrooms release their liquid and the liquid evaporates, about 8 minutes.
• Add the flour to the mushrooms and garlic. Stir to make sure that all of the flour has absorbed the butter. Add the mustard powder and bay leaf.
• Add the milk and stir until the flour is completely dissolved in the milk.
• Continue to cook the sauce over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring continuously, until the sauce has thickened.
• Remove the pan from the heat.
• Remove the bay leaf.
• Add all three cheeses. Stir until completely melted and the sauce is smooth.
• Add the chicken and pasta to the sauce.
• Transfer to a greased 13" x 9" glass baking dish.
• Top with additional cheese and panko bread crumbs. Since this dish is a whole lot of creamy stuff and not much else, the bread crumbs help to add a little texture and crunch.
• Bake at 350° F for 20 - 25 minutes until bubbly and brown.

And after all of that, you may be thinking, "ok, but what if I don't have all of those ingredients in my cupboard/refrigerator?" Great question! Here's how you can customize.

Add-ins - instead of chicken or mushrooms, you could add: broccoli, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, olives, spinach, zucchini, summer squash, caramelized onions.

Cheese - instead of American, Parmesan, or mozzarella cheese, you could use: cheddar, Gouda, Havarti, feta, pepper jack, provolone, Swiss, bleu cheese.

Sauce - instead of a milk-based sauce, you could use: chicken broth and white wine, or beef broth and red wine. If you do this, skip the cheese.