Taco Salad!

If you are anything like me then you enjoy a good taco night! I mean who doesn't? It does not require much time or ingredients and it is fantastic! When I was a kid taco bar night (which is what my mom calls it) was my favorite night... well that and cereal night! I know my mom thought she was  a bad mom when she would let us eat cereal for dinner but let me tell you some of my best memories are from coco pebbles for dinner night! Any who... I love frying up the taco shells but it is so unhealthy and creates so many more calories I don't do it often! Then I saw a way to cook the tortillas so that they were like a tostada but they are baked and have no added calories! I knew I had to try it out! It is so simple and makes you feel silly for not thinking of it sooner but glad that you now realized this quick and simple trick!

Start out with some tortillas!

Then get out your cupcake or muffin pan turn it upside down and spray it with pam. Put the tortilla between the cups and push down in the center so they are flat on the bottom and look like a tostada shell! On this first round I tried spraying the tortilla with pam but they got waited down too much and bubbled up too much that I opted to not do that on the others and they turned out better

Then bake them at 350 for about 12 minutes. You want them to be browned so you know they are going to being crisp. If you like them more chewy you can cook them less but because they are baked it is easier to eat when you leave them crispy!
While they are baking start your taco meat. I like to mix McCormick mild and hot taco seasoning so it is not too hot but not to weak!

I mix the powder with a fork with the water so that I can pour it on the meat and there are no seasoning clumps. It makes for an even mixture in with the meat.
While I was rotating out the shells I was cooking and while the meat was simmering I chopped up the veggies I wanted and grated the cheese for the taco salad.

Once the meat is done and your shells are cooked just assemble your taco salad in whatever way floats for boat!
Start with your empty baked shell

I then added some beans and thew on some cheese

I would like you all to know that Hubby came in the kitchen at this point and threw the cheese on and said "BAM! See I can cook too!!" haha but it is so easy and fun it would be a great dinner for kids!
I then added in the meat and the heat from the meat melts the cheese into the beans...

And if you notice yes the shell changed as Hubby stole his shell away to make his own and I had to start over with mine! Then I added on a little sprinkle of cheese tomato and onion

Finally I sprinkled it with a little freshly chopped cilantro and some avacado slices! YUM! I am a California girl ok and us Cali folks love us some avacado!

When I was in the ethnic foods isle of Wal-Mart I found these salsas and we tried out the one on the right. We were both a little hesitant of the other! haha but it was very good!

The finished product was so yummy! I broke apart my shell and ate it with the filling and it was the perfect crunchy compliment to all the spicy cheesey tastey insides! This as so fast so delicious and so yummy I know it will become a staple at our house and hopefully yours too!!

Have any of you tried this method before? Does anyone have any good tips to share?

Continue reading...

Snicker doodles!

Just say it with me... Snicker doodles! It is such a fun name to say! I love it! AND I love snicker doodles. They are similar to a sugar cookie only they are so light and and delicious with that cinnamon sugar outside...YUM that is just all there is to it. I have been craving these for a while and the other night I decided that was it, I was going to make them and Hubby was going to eat them! Well, Ok so I ate them too! I found this great recipe that did not call for any cream of tarter (all the recipes I have ever even seen for snicker doodles usually call for this) and since I did not have any I thought this was the perfect recipe to try out.

Snicker Doodles
Ingredients:
*1 1/3 cups AP flour
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1 teaspoon baking powder
*1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
*3/4 cup granulated sugar
*1 large egg
*1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 For the coating
*1/5 cup white sugar
*1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and then set aside.

In your mixer bowl beat together the butter and sugar until smooth (about 3 minutes.)


Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Add in your flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.



Shape the dough into a log and cut it into equal pieces.


Form little balls from each piece. A 1" ball will make a 2" cookie after baking.  Now prepare the coating.

Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and stir. Easy Peasy!


Then roll each cookie thoroughly in the mixture so it have a good coating on it.


Place cookie balls on parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie gently using the bottom of a glass.

Don't ask what I was thinking when I took this picture and there is a cookie ball blocking me from showing you what is going on! And that is the only shot I got of this process... I am sorry. Hopefully you still get the idea of what I was attempting to show you in my ditz moment!

Here they are all flatened out

Bake for 8 minutes. Once removed from oven leave on cookie sheet for an additional 5 minutes to cool.

Remove and store in an air tight container for up to two weeks. HAHA good luck with that! They will never last that long. The recipe makes about 40 2" cookies.
I enjoyed mine with a nice glass of milk!



These cookies are so light they are dangerous! You could eat so many! They are so cute and almost bite size. I think they would be great to add to any holiday baking basket or even served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream with some cinnamon sprinkled on top of the ice cream! They are wonderful and I think you should all run home and bake them then come back and let me know how you liked them!

Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!!

Continue reading...

Shrimp and Penne in Tomato Cream Sauce

Do you ever stumble upon a recipe that you know you are going to love? You know that there is no way on this earth that you won't and you are so excited to make it that it is all you want to talk about or think about until you can actually do it! Well that is how I felt the moment I read this on The Pioneer Woman's blog page. It spoke to my little heart and said "you will love me! Take me home and make me your own!" (much the same way that blue and silver zebra print Guess purse did at the Ross the other day! Oh and how glad am I now that I own that treasure? SO GLAD)
Back to the pasta! The Pioneer Woman is a genius that is really all there is to it! You have to make this dish!
So here it is:
Pasta a la Betsy by The Pioneer Woman  with my thoughts or comments in RED
Ingredients
3/4 pound penne pasta
1lb shrimp
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 whole onion (small)
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup of white wine
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
parsley, basil, salt and pepper to taste

Cook the penne pasta until tender-firm, also known as al dente.


Peel, de-vein and rinse (under cool water) 1 pound of extra large shrimp. (or you can just buy it already peeled and de-veined like I did haha) Heat about 1 tbsp. butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook them. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board and pull off the tails. Chop the shrimp into bite –sized pieces and set aside.
Here is the shrimp!

Finely dice one small onion. Mince two cloves of garlic.
In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit add your white wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. If you would rather not use wine, you can use low-sodium chicken broth instead (about ½ cup). (but honestly who would do that?! Trust me and use the wine!)
Now add an 8-ounce can of plain tomato sauce. Stir well until combined. Then add 1 cup of heavy cream. Continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer.

Now chop your herbs, about a tablespoon of chopped parsley and about the same amount of chopped basil, or if you’re feeling very proper, chiffonaded. (See The Pioneer Woman for a more detailed explanation of chiddonade)
Check out that Basil





Now add your chopped shrimp back into the tomato cream sauce. Give it a stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Throw in your herbs and stir until combined. Finally add your cooked penne pasta and give it a good stir.

Plate and serve!

Look at this! Just look! You know you want to go make it!!


I am sorry for my lack of posting this sooner, however, last week the Hubby and I ventured on out to my home state of California (or Caleee-for-knee-a as the govenator likes to call it!) The purpose of the trip was not just to go and see the family but to road trip up to Lake Zaca in Los Olivos for my Grandpa' 80th birthday! I thought I would show you guys some pictures of the trip! I am sorry if they are not the best quality I was hanging out the window (or sunroof!) but all photos are courtesy of my new droid x! Love it!

Here is the Hubby opening the gate to the lake. It is a private lake. Aww he is so cute!

Before you get to the lake you see this sign. I guess here the lake is, is technically a town with population 8!!

Here is the lake from the lodge!

Here is where we were. This lake is about 40 acres! It is great not too small not too big! Just right!

We also went wine tasting at the private vineyards that shared the same road as the lake. Demetria is he name of the second vineyard we went to. That is where these pictures are from! It is amazing and gorgeous!

Look at all those rolling hills of grapes!

Ok so the sale tag is not real but a girl can deam!

The list of what we tasted! They should totally let you try the list ove and over again because I mean how do you really know if you like it unless you have 3 different tastes of it? LOL

LOOK at my beautiful mother! She is amazing!

Then we got a little behind the scenes view... this is the wine lab where they do all the tasting and make the magic happen! That should be my job!

Look at those barrels!

Well I hope you all enjoy the photos and MAKE THE PASTA! LOL

Labor day is coming up... does anyone have any last minute summer vacation plans?

Continue reading...