Thursday, September 30, 2010

stacks of chili


thanks to my cute cousin michelle and her blog i found a great, QUICK and delicious dinner for tonight. i think i will definitely add it to my staples right along with sloppy joes, pizza and shepherd's pie. although it ended in an hour long stand-off with miles to eat 2 more bites, the boys really did love it. and so did we.

Using a baking Sheet layer the following...

1 large tortilla

1/2 can of chili ( I love the stagg chili brand)

1/2 can kidney beans, drained **i used black beans because that's all i had. still good.

1/2 can of corn, drained

Grated Cheddar Cheese

Sliced Olives

Repeat those layers.

Loosely cover with Foil and Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve with Salsa and Sour Cream.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

mrs. revi's sugar cookies


oh look, kristen's sharing another cookie recipe. i don't know mrs. revi, but she would probably be proud that her cookie recipe has been passed on and on and on. when my mom was a little girl she used to go to sunday school every week and get a giant sugar cookie from mrs. revi. they are amazingly easy, and stay soft and delicious. a good staple for the holidays. (or any day at our house).

3 c flour
1 c butter
2 eggs
1 c sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
3 Tbs. milk (almost 1/2 c)
1 tsp. vanilla

mix flour and butter with a pastry blender. beat eggs in a separate bowl and then add sugar, soda, milk, and vanilla. mix dry & wet together with a spoon (i actually do it in my bosch and it turns out fine).
let cool in fridge for 1 hour.
roll out, (i use a lot of flour when rolling it out, just keep kneading in flour until it no longer sticks to the counter), cut out, lay on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 7-10 min. the trick to having them soft is to take them out before you can just barely see the brown coming to the edges. cool and frost! i usually freeze half so i can take them out and eat them whenever i want. shhh.

and the buttercream frosting i use with them. please don't even think about buying that fake kind in a container, or ruin them with royal icing. personal preference. your life will be better with this. i promise.

4 c powdered sugar
1/2 c butter
5 tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla

cream powdered sugar and butter until smooth. mix in vanilla, and gradually add milk until desired consistancy. mix for a few minutes until smooth and stiff.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

cheddar and herb biscuits


ummm... we made these twice last week. that should tell you how good they are... or how obsessed i am with any kind of cheesy bread.

cheddar and herb biscuits
adapted from here (along with picture above)

Biscuits:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
3 tablespoons butter, cold (or room temp works too)
1 cup buttermilk (i never have buttermilk so i use 1 c milk and 1 1/2 tsp vinegar... let them sit together until little bubbles appear on the top, about ten min.)
1 1/4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (i pretty much do 2 cups)

Buttery Topping:
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes (not necessary... just pretty)
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, garlic powder and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until coarse crumbs are formed. Lightly mix in grated cheese. Mix in buttermilk just until moist (dry spots here and there are ok - the biscuits will be tough if they are overmixed). Drop the biscuits onto a greased or lined baking sheet (i use my cookie scooper). Bake for 12-14 minutes, until browned and golden. While the biscuits are baking, in a small bowl combine butter, parsley, garlic powder and salt. Right when the biscuits come out of the oven, brush the butter/herb mixture over the biscuits evenly (alternately, you can dip the top of the biscuit into the butter mixture). Serve immediately.

crockpot barbecue chicken


liz texted me this morning for a good crockpot recipe so i decided to share the wealth on here. i recently read this, this, and this and it pretty much changed the way i think about a crockpot now. i love all of her ideas... you better check out the second link if any.

then i found A Year of Slow Cooking blog and it looks pretty good too. i have two crockpots so i have no more excuses!

crockpot barbecue chicken
adapted from here

4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (i threw them in frozen... even easier!)
1 bottle BBQ sauce (sweet baby ray's all the way!)
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic powder

mix BBQ sauce with all ingredients listed under it. place chicken in crockpot. pour sauce over it and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. you pretty much don't even have to stir it... how easy is that!? and please eat it with these.