One Pan Mexi Pasta

All right. Okay. You got me.

I am one of the few Midwestern housewives that doesn't purchase ground beef 
"Give me a hand" box mixes (you know....the helper). Shhhhh.

That doesn't mean I am above needing a "helper" in the kitchen once in a while. 
Believe me, I have those days just like every other girl where you just don't feel like laying it down for dinner. 

You know what I mean? 

So...yeah. A one pan meal is a good thing in my book. 

Easy peasy. 

So easy, you can make this without a box. 

The nice thing is it's on the table in 30 minutes or less and you KNOW what the ingredients are. Sometimes, that's key, right?

See, one pan. 

Everyone will be happy with this dish. 

Look closer, it really is yummy.

Yep, it is that good...

Ingredients:

1 Tbs canola oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped into small pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs chili powder

pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika (I used smoked paprika, cause I love it)

1 tsp salt and pepper

1 lb 90% lean ground beef, turkey or chicken

2 cups water

1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce

8 oz (about 2 cups) elbow macaroni or shells

1 cup frozen corn

1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles

3 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Pepperjack cheese

avocado, sour cream, and/or hot sauce for serving

Directions:

Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the beef, crumble and cook until no longer pink, about 5-6 minutes.

Add the onion and bell pepper and sauté until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.  

Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, paprika, and salt and pepper.  Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  

Stir in the water, tomato sauce, and pasta.  Increase heat, cover, and bring to a vigorous simmer.  Stirring occasionally, cook until the pasta is tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

Stir in the corn, green chiles, 2 tablespoons of the cilantro, and 1/2 cup of each of the cheeses.  Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and cover. Cook until the cheese is melted and everything is bubbly, about 4-6 minutes.

Cool 10 minutes, sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of cilantro, and serve.

Recipe adapted from: Pink Parsley

Enjoy!!  

This recipe is shared on My Link Parties

Also shared on Weekend Potluck 

and FoodieFriendsFriday

 

Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

These little morsels of delight are a wonder.

They just... Disappear.

Seriously, because they're THAT good.

Think back to when you were a kid and every once in a while, for breakfast, you got warm buttered toast that cinnamon sugar was sprinkled on...

Yeah, these babies are BETTER than that.

Warm, out of the oven, these muffins are dipped in warm melted butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar. 

Warm muffin, warm butter and cinnamon sugar...

Okay, okay. I went into a little coma there, sorry.

One of the secrets as to why these are just so dang good is the butter nutmeg. I add more, cuz I luv it.

You seriously must make these, and they're not hard. 

The hard part is trying not to eat more than 1 (okay, maybe 3) at one sitting.

So grab a good cup of coffee, tea or ice cold milk and ...

LETS DO THIS.

Grilled Chicken and Zucchini Pizzettas

That awful "s" word happened here last night. 

Snow.

It freakin' snowed here last night! 

I know, I know, it's not that big of a shock, but still. It's like putting salt on a wound, kicking ya when you're down, and then picking you up and saying...

oh, sorry about that. (That's been happening a lot in my life lately...)

I think there's a lot of people that would like to take Mother Nature behind the woodshed. In fact, there would be a really long line I'm thinking.

Just to kind of "spit in Her eye", I made Grilled Chicken and Zucchini Pizzetta's for lunch.

Grilled is the operative word here. I used leftover grilled chicken and zucchini from a couple days ago when it was almost 70 degrees here. 

Grilled outside on a gas grill. 

In the sunshine. 

Outside. 

Yeah, She doesn't care. But they were still really awesome because I used grilled ingredients.

Shrimp Creole

I know this is going to date me, but seriously if you think about it, before the Food Network and the Cooking Channel there was...

PBS.

Think, Julia Childs, The Galloping Gourmet, Yan Can Cook, Jacques Pepin, and so on. There were many others but these four chefs were my favorites. Oh, and I realize now I was watching re-runs  (yeah-right)

This was the beginning of the Foodie craze. Who knew? 

I just knew I loved watching these chefs create food and entertain me as well.

They cooked dishes that were exotic and strange and many that were the epitome of comfort and "classic" as well. 

One that I remember well, and have made frequently throughout my life is Shrimp Creole. 

Shrimp Creole is a savory and slightly spicy tomato-ey stew that is simmered and then shrimp is tossed in at the end. We love ours served over rice pilaf, or rice. 

It is in the First Edition 1961 Betty Crocker cookbook I have (no-I wasn't cooking then, this version was a gift), although she uses tomato paste and yucky canned shrimp. 


I adapted my recipe from Deep South Dish.  This is more of a traditional, yet easy version and it can be made anyday, and big plus, it's even company worthy. 

And I've been featured:

 Looks fancy, tastes fancy, it is really a snap to make. Don't let the ingredient list scare you, it's worth it. 

Come on lets do this!!

Magical Scrambled Eggs

Yep, you read that title right. These eggs are magical. 

You know why? 

They can make you fly, that's why.

Sprout wings and just take off.

**************

No, that's not why, doofie.

It's because they come out fluffy, light, tender and well...magical.

Every. Single. Time.

From...

THE OVEN. 

Yep, these babies free up your stove to make home-fries and/or sausage. 

The nicest part besides eating them of course, is you can make enough for 4, but its just as easy to make enough for 24. 

Seriously.  

It turns out the same no matter if the recipe is doubled, tripled or even quadrupled. 

And all it really takes is 3 ingredients...

Eggs, a little milk and butter. Okay, add in a little non stick spray to make life easier also.

But you can easily change these up. Add in cheese, ham, bacon, broccoli, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and on and on. 

They'll still come out moist and fluffy. Heck, I can't even guarantee that myself making them on the stove and I'm a pretty good great cook.

 
Bake in a moderate oven, stir twice (not once. Twice) and BOOM!!

Creamy, dreamy, fluffy scrambled eggs. FROM THE OVEN.