Shredded Beef for Tacos

2.3# beef round roast
2 cloves pressed garlic
2 small cans green chilies
1/2 white onion, chopped*
2-3 t cumin
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 can beef broth**

Roast at 275F for 5+ hours***

And since this was just one of those "attempts" here are a few notes for next time:
*That's all I had, otherwise it would have been a whole onion.
**I would use additional fluid [water or beef broth], it was slightly dry, but still tasty.
***Though it was tender enough, if i had added more fluid, it could have cooked for another 45 minutes and been even more tender without being overdone.

To complete the taco add:
black beans
colby jack cheese
guacamole
salsa
lime juice
cilantro

Among the many things I love, I love shredded beef tacos. Pure Goodness.

Curried Butternut Soup

I found this recipe on THIS WEBSITE and decided to give it a try. I loved it. My family, not so much. But if you love curry, squash, or ginger you might like it too. I did tweak it a little bit.

Here are the ingredients:

1 large or two small butternut squash. Peeled and diced. Enough to make 6-8 cups.

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 Tb. fresh grated ginger root

6 cups chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

4 teaspoons yellow curry powder

olive oil

salt to taste

chopped cilantro and sour cream for garnish

1. Cut both ends off the squash and peel it with a vegetable peeler. I was skeptical that this would work, but it was actually really easy. Half the squash and scoop out the "guts" with a spoon. Then dice the squash into small cubes.

2. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a fry pan and cook the cubed squash in batches over medium high heat. You want them to brown, but not burn. Stir away until the pieces are tender. Salt to taste, then set aside.

*Just a side note: If I took nothing else from this recipe, I would be happy in knowing a new way to cook butternut squash. These panfried pieces were SO yummy. I kept sneaking pieces. I'll probably never bake squash again.

3. Now add a little move olive oil to a thick bottomed stock pot. Heat it up and add:

the chopped onion

the minced ginger

curry powder

mustard powder

Stir those around until the onions are nice and brown. (Oops. Forgot to take a picture.)

4. Now add your chicken broth and the cooked squash pieces into the stock pot. Pull out your immersion blender.

You have one don't you? NO?!? Well you should! Let me know if you don't and I'll buy you one for Christmas.

Just kidding. But seriously, you really should have an immersion blender in the kitchen. We got one for our wedding and I never used it until about two years ago because I didn't know what it was for. Now I use it weekly if not daily. How on Earth did I survive without it? Once you have one, you'll never go back. Trust me.

If you don't have one you can use a regular blender and just pour it in small batches. Messy though.

ANYWAY, assuming you have an immersion blender, immerse it in your soup and blend away until the entire thing is smooth as... well... something smooth. It will look like baby food. Don't be afraid though. It's very yummy.

It's even better if you put a dollop of sour cream and some chopped cilantro on top.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

I think I want to have some more right now.

Good thing, because no one else seems to be eating it....

*sigh*

Sometimes I wonder why I bother to experiment in the kitchen at all.

Oh well. Looks like I'll be eating curried butternut soup all week long.

Cake-Mix Cookies

I got this recipe from a friend who, I was convinced, spent hours and hours making a variety of delicious delicacies.  The recipe ratted her out.

In her words:

Girl - those are the easiest cookies in the world to make. Take a cake mix - any kind. The yellow ones with the chocolate chips were a yellow cake mix with half a bag of mini chocolate chips added. The sprinkle ones were "funfetti" cake mix cookies. You take the cake mix, add in 1/3 c. oil and 2 eggs. Form small balls (the size of a walnut or a little bigger), put them on an ungreased pan and flatten them just a bit. Throw them in a preheated oven (375) for 6 to 8 minutes. Done. Lemon cake mixes make good ones too.

Since then, I have tried these with a variety of cake mix flavors and have been impressed every time.  My son's stuffed crayon (named John) turns 4 today (was just informed that) so I might make these in milk chocolate later.  (Alas, I unleashed a monster on Sunday when the same son's monkey [also named John] and bear had a birthday.  I tried to say that in celebrating their birthdays with brownies and ice cream, we were in essence celebrating the birthdays of All Stuffed Animals Everywhere, but that obviously didn't work when I was told a few minutes ago, "Mom, it's John the Crayon's birthday today.  We have to make him something!")  If I do end up making them, I'll try to remember to post a picture.

Highly recommended:  Carrot cake and lemon cake flavors, as well as the yellow cake with mini chocolate chips that my friend made.

Nana's Banana Nut Bread

This was my great-grandma's banana bread recipe and it's pretty much all I've known. I've tried a recipe here or there since being out of college, but I always come back to this one. It's so moist and full of flavor. I think adding the chocolate chips (and peanut butter chips on occasion) really helps. Yum. I love it!

1/2 c. shortening (I use either room temperature butter or softened butter most of the time, but shortening works just fine if I'm out of butter, which I seldom am, but it happens!)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. mashed bananas

1 c. sugar (I usually do 1/2 c. white and a 1/2 c. brown sugar, but you can use whatever you prefer)

1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)

2 eggs

1-2 cups chocolate chips (Guittard are the best!)

*today I added peanut butter chips as well. It compliments the banana so well

Mix shortening (or butter) and sugar. Beat in eggs, bananas, and flour that's been sifted with the soda and salt. Add nuts. Bake in a moderate oven (350 ) for 40-60 minutes.

Makes 1 loaf.

Praline Chicken

This is one of my favorite ways to eat chicken, and that's hard to say because I love chicken in almost every way. The kick of the creole combines with the sweetness of the syrup to make taste buds explode in your mouth. It's so wonderful. This does contain a large amount of nuts, but if you don't like them, you can still make the sauce and I'm sure it would still be tasty. I love nuts, however, so for me, the more the merrier! Enjoy. I do.

Prep time: 5 min. Cook time:15 min.

2 tsp. Creole seasoning

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 c. butter, melted

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1/3 c. maple syrup

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 c. chopped pecans, toasted

Sprinkle seasoning on both sides of chicken. Cook chicken in butter and oil in a skillet over medium heat 5 minutes on each side or until done (I cook longer because I like my chicken browned and a little bit crispy on the edges).

Remove on each side or until done. Remove chicken, reserving drippings in skillet. Place chicken on a serving platter; keep warm. Add syrup and sugar to drippings in a skillet; bring to a boil.
Stir in pecans; cook 1 minute or until heated. Spoon mixture over chicken.

Yield: 6 servings

I made the chicken, the green bean-garlic toss and the rosemary potatoes all together. The flavors compliment each other well.

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 40 min.

2 lbs. round red potatoes (I used russet, since that was all I had), unpeeled and quartered

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary (you can use dried rosemary as well)

1/8 tsp. pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large zip-top freezer bag. Seal bag, and shake well to coat. Arrange potatoes in a well-greased 13x9 in. baking dish.

Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees for 40 minutes or until potato is tender, stirring occasionally. Yield: 6 servings

*I didn't have time to wait for them to bake, so I actually cooked them on the stove in a frying pan and they turned out great. These have just the right amount of taste to them.

Green Bean-Garlic Toss

This is my sister's recipe and it's an exciting way to eat green beans (although I love green beans just plain. They're pretty good anyway).

Prep time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 10 minutes

1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed, or 1 pkg. (16 0z) frozen green beans

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/3 c. chopped pecans

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add green beans; cook over medium-high heat until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic; saute until tnder, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low. Add pecans, salt and red pepper flakes; saute until garlic is golden, about 2 minutes.

3. Drain green beans. Add to skillet; stir to coat with oil mixture. Cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Place green beans in a serving bowl; sprinkle Parmesan on top. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.