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Archive for Food

Joan’s Taco Salad for Two

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Renee Spindle

This recipe is my Mom’s take on the taco salad recipe that I posted earlier today. She has put a great twist on the original recipe, and I’ll be trying this one soon, minus the ranch dressing. You all know I have no love for mayo or anything close to it. My Mom has gone from cooking for a crowd like me to cooking for just two. Thanks for sharing your recipe Mom – here goes:

Meat Mix:
Saute
   1/2 pound ground beef
   1/4 chopped onion
   1 tsp chopped garlic

Add
   1 tsp. chili powder
   1 tsp cumin
   1 tsp salt
   Black pepper
   Dash of red pepper flakes

When ready add a couple of big splashes of tomato juice and saute until the juice evaporates.

In 2 large salad bowls layer the following divided in two where necessary:
   Handful of corn chips or tortilla strips
   Chopped lettuce
   1/2 cup chopped tomatoes split

Drizzle with ranch dressing.

Layer more:
   Meat mixture
   Small can of kidney beans drained, optional
   Small can of black olives drained
   Very large dollop sour creme
   2 chopped green onions
   1/4 cup shredded cheese split

Grate a little black pepper on top -Enjoy!

My Mom is a great cook. She had a hand in teaching me to cook many moons ago, and now sharing and comparing recipes is half the fun of cooking. Be sure to check out my Mom’s recent blog post for her Beef Bourguinon dinner courtesy of Julia Childs recipe. It looks so amazingly, delicious I wish I had smell-a-vision. I’ll have to try this one day soon. Thanks again for sharing your recipe Mom.

No comments Posted in Family, Food, Recipes

Taco Salad for a Crowd

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Renee Spindle

For the past two or three days it has been over 90 degrees here in So Cal, just a hint of summertime coming our way. The hot weather calls for some lighter and yummy dinners. Tonight I made the gang a Taco Salad. I called my Mom to find out the origin of this recipe, and we came to the conclusion that I was a recipe that was passed around the neighborhood when we were growing up. However, I have put my own twist on the recipe, with the help of my daughter Naomi.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey or ground beef (whichever you prefer)
1 can of kidney beans (15 oz)
1 pkg of taco seasoning
1 bag of fritos (10½ oz)
shredded cheese (we like the cheddar & monterey jack combo)
shredded cabbage
tomatoes
green onion

Directions:

Brown the meat, and drain off the grease.
Drain the beans and add them to the browned meat. I like to do this to heat up the beans.
Mix in the taco seasoning and the amount of water that is called for on the package.
Simmer this mixture until you have cooked off almost all of the liquid.
While the meat is simmering;
Chop up the tomatoes
Chop up some green onions.
Chop the shredded cabbage into smaller bite size pieces.
Crush the fritos, in the bag, with a rolling-pin. Open the bag a bit first though to let out the air.
Salad Layers

For the salad assembly:

The layering effect is Naomi’s twist on the recipe.
In a large glass bowl layer the ingredients like this:
Fritos
Meat and beans
Cheese
Shredded cabbage
Tomatoes
Green Onion
Then repeat the layers for a second time.
You can either serve the salad layered, or if your adventurous like me you can toss the whole salad and serve.
For garnishments put out your favorite salsa, sour cream, and black olives (that’s ones for you Hilary!)

Variations:

This recipe can easily be made with shredded chicken or beef.
You could add additional cans of different types of beans (black or pinto).
You could flavor the meat with your favorite salsa instead of taco seasoning.
Any garnishments that you like can easily be put on top or served with your salad on the side.

This is truly a yummy recipe, and so easy to throw together. Oh and I like using the shredded cabbage because it does not get soggy at all. I put out the cabbage when we have just plain old tacos in the shell too. For this twenty-something household, this salad makes a great big meal and is great for staying on budget. If you’ve never made this before it’s a real treat. If you haven’t made it in a while you’ve been missing out like me. I’m definitely mixing this recipe in with my weekly summertime meal planning.

Please stay tuned for my Mom’s Taco Salad recipe for Two.

No comments Posted in Around the House, Family, Food, Recipes

My Domestic Goddess Status – Just an Update

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Renee Spindle

It is almost the end of April, and it has been just about a year since I quit my job in the Corporate arena! My how time flies!! I was crowned by my beloved Travel Man as the Domestic Goddess of our household shortly after I decided to stay at home for a while. Little did I know how much I would love this title. If you follow my stories you know I left my job a year ago to pursue other interests. Here’s a link to my post from last April about my life change-Our Girls Vision Luncheon.

In the past year I have had the opportunity to spend time with my grandson, do lots and lots of baking, do a little bit of sewing ( I want to get more of this done soon!), start and finish some little home improvement projects, take a few trips with Travel Man, try some new recipes, add to our list of family favorite recipes, read more books, and generally have the luxury to just come and go as I please. This has all been so personally rewarding for me. Getting to discover what I love to do again, and who knew that I had a passion for writing. I always felt that I had some stories to tell that people would relate to, but I did not realize how much I would enjoy sharing them.

My Domestic Goddess title was given to me by my loving husband. It is because of his encouragement and support that I am able to do what I want to do. Thanks Travel Man for all that you do.

One of my biggest perils in my new-found title is getting side tracked when I am working on things around the house. Does this happen to anyone else? I have had a few discussions with my sister, who works from home, about this, and she tells me the same thing I am already feeling. If you don’t stay focused on the task at hand you get sidetracked to some other task, and then you have to re-focus to get back to the task at hand. Was that statement too confusing, it made my head spin just typing it. That’s why I am really focusing on my lists everyday. To stay away from the “side tracks”.

Also, I have had the good fortune to just pack my bags and take a few short trips with Travel Man. We went to Reno to visit my parents, and last year I was able to take a long road trip with him from Franklin, Kentucky to home. Lots and lots of fun being on the road with someone who travels for a living.

For awhile Travel Man’s days off were falling during the week, so our “weekends” would be happening on a Tuesday/Wednesday timeframe. No worries for us, we are just able to do what we want to when he is home. Sometimes at Disneyland, maybe out to dinner, a visit to the parentals, some time with the grandson, and hopefully a dinner together with the twenty-somethings.

This has been a great year of re-discovery for me. A big hug and thank you to all of my family for your loving support and guidance. I’m looking forward to more and more new discoveries in this next year, and hope to share the stories with each and every one of you.

No comments Posted in Around the House, Blogging, Family, Organizing, Recipes, Travel Man

Happy Days, Sad Days in the Kitchen.

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Last week was my birthday week, and my Wonderful Travel Man got me this really cool Mr. Coffee, Cafe Latte machine. I did not even know Mr. Coffee made this type of machine. This wonderful gadget brews the espresso, and then drips it into the coffee pot where the milk is frothing. The entire process happens in the same pot. It’s amazing! Plus you can make all kinds of flavored lattes, hot chocolates, and sugar-free lattes. I’ll be trying out a pumpkin latte this weekend! I’m looking forward to having my lattes, and saving money with no more trips to Starbucks. Travel Man made himself a hot chocolate earlier this week, and it was creamy, chocolaty and truly delicious. This has been our happy days, this week in the kitchen.

Earlier in the week, probably Tuesday or Wednesday, Evan asked me if I could make him a loaf of bread. So, I told him sure I would make him his own loaf to take home. So yesterday I put all of the ingredients in the bread maker, got it set-up to make our favorite loaf of white bread, and went on about my afternoon. About an hour or so into the process I go to check on how much longer the bread has to bake. I can’t see straight into the bread maker, so I grab the nearest flashlight, and look down in there and see all of the ingredients just sitting there staring up at me, and not mixed one bit! Then Bryan and I realize the bread maker smells bad, like something is burning bad. We open the lid of the bread maker to see what is going on and there is a small fire. We have flames!!! Bryan blows out the flames, and we quickly unplug the bread maker, and it smells terrible. I’m guessing that the yeast got heated up and there is some obnoxious smell coming from the yeast, and the heating element. It was terrible.

We get the bread pan out of the bread maker so it can cool off, and this morning I had to throw my lovely bread maker away. I was advised by Travel Man that I should make no attempts to plug it back in and see if it’s “ok”. So, sadly into the trash it went. I will get another bread maker eventually (hint-hint), but for now my bread making will just go “old school”. I plan to get out my recipes and just make some bread the old-fashioned way, and maybe some cinnamon rolls too. What fun have you had with your gadgets in the kitchen this week? Happy weekend everyone from a rainy, and thundery Southern California.

No comments Posted in Around the House, Family, Food

You Should Really Try My Pasta Bake

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Renee Spindle

One of my favorite quick and easy, make it through the work week recipes is for Pasta Bake. This recipe was originally discovered on a Prego spaghetti sauce label quite a few years ago.

Gather these ingredients:

16 oz. of uncooked pasta (use any shape)
1 – 24 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
1 – full jar of water (use the sauce jar)
2-3 cups of shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425°.
Pour uncooked pasta into a 9 x 13″ pan, and add the sauce and water.
Stir and bake covered with foil for 35 minutes. This allows the pasta to cook in the sauce and water mixture.
Uncover, sprinkle the top with the mozzarella.
Bake for an additional 10 minutes. The cheese should be golden brown.
Remove from the oven and serve with a salad and your favorite garlic bread.

Variations:

This is a great recipe to embellish with your favorite ingredients. You can easily add italian sausage, mushrooms, or any other favorite italian goodies that you love before you put the pan in the oven for the first time. I also highly recommend using a rotelle pasta, that is our current favorite around the Party House.

This is a great recipe if you are a beginner cook. It is so simple and yummy and scrumptious. You are guaranteed a great dinner. Oh and it is also a great dinner for a crowd. If you have a crowd like mine though you need more than one pan. The leftovers, if you are lucky enough to have any will warm up like a leftover spaghetti sauce. And finally if you make your own spaghetti sauce, like I do, you can substitute your homemade sauce for the bottled stuff. This recipe is definitely a family favorite, and will be passed along for generations to come. Buon appetito!!