Where you are always allowed to play with your food!
Happy Columbus Day!
Yesterday I went to the store and spied a pretty flank steak and immediately had a hankering for fajitas! I had the butcher cut it in to strips. I added about a tablespoon of cumin, salt, pepper, and a couple of teaspoons of chili powder. I rubbed it all over the meat with a little olive oil, then cooked them up in a skillet. Everyone added their meat to a hot tortilla and added their favorite fixings!
Evening fellow food bloggers and lurkers! Today was my first day back at school. I drug my heels all the way, but I guess I am ready to get back in to this thing called a crazy school year! It is our preplanning week, so today was rich and heavy in information. The rest of the week will be filled with meetings and getting prepared for my precious babies that will be arriving next week!!! I saw some of their sweet little 10 year old faces and I think I might have shed a tear or two; they are too cute!
Speaking of cute, have you ever witnessed a large room full of cheerleaders? Like a huge high school cafeteria full of K-12 cheerleaders all together in one place? Probably one of the happiest places on Earth. I have these two cuties starting practice this week. Last week was camp and they were just so precious I almost couldn’t stand it. 
So I got off work, picked up the girls, and got Becca ready, (she has practice 3 times a week and Katie has it twice), and I dropped her off at cheer practice. While she was there, I relaxed a bit, then cooked dinner. The hubby picked her up while I finished up cooking dinner. Here is what I made.
Chili Mac
Ingredients
1 pound macaroni noodles
1 pound ground beef (chicken, turkey, or even black beans or soy crumbles if you want to go veggie)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon of onion powder, garlic powder, and chili powder
red chili flakes to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups of water
3/4 cup of heavy cream
Directions
Brown your meat. Add in spices.
Add in tomato paste. Cook down for about 3 minutes. Add in canned tomatoes. Mix well.
Add in pasta and water. Cook about 8 minutes. Stir pasta at the 4 minute mark. If it looks thick, add in a bit more water. Stir well. After 4 more minutes, check pasta. It should still have a bite to it. Add in your cream and cook until done.
Popsicles for dessert!
Evening guys! I hope everyone had a great day. It was a scorcher here, so instead of the pool, we opted to go to an indoor jump place for the girls. My parents came with us and then we all had lunch at Mellow Mushroom. My dad and I both had a calzone; mine was tomato, basil, and black olives and his was steak and cheese. I have enough leftovers for a few days…those things are bigger than my head!
Tonight I made this new recipe. I had a container of ground beef, but I wanted to come up with a something unique that we have never had before. I also had some mushrooms, an onion, and a random can of cream of mushroom soup. So I thought I might make a take on Philly cheese steak, but more playing up the mushrooms. I also used 2 different cheeses. Cheddar on half and provolone on the other half. Turns out they both taste good! This would be great for a quick dinner on a busy night or even a great appetizer for game night! I am already thinking of new sandwich ideas to use in the future!
Cheesy Beef and Mushroom Sandwiches
4 mini french loaves or one large loaf cut in 4 sections
1 pound ground chuck
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced in a garlic press
1 container mushrooms, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
salt and pepper to taste
CHEESE! I used half cheddar (about 1 cup shredded) and half provolone (6 slices in total)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350
Brown the onion and beef. Season with salt and pepper. Halfway through the beef being browned, add the mushrooms and garlic. Mix well.
Add in the mushroom soup and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Cool.
Slice your bread and scoop out a little of the insides to make room for your beef and mushroom mixture. This is a great snack for the kids or dog =)
Add the beef and mushroom mixture on the bread. Top with your cheese and bake in the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.
Hey guys! Hope you all had a great Monday. Today we took our weekly trip to the library. Lots of fun looking for books for the girls to read. Becca is devouring The Magic Tree House and Ivy and Bean books. Katie is still learning to read; she still has a bit to go, but she loves when I read to her. I make her read words I know she knows and reread the pages to me when I know she won’t get frustrated. I mean, she just turned 6 and is going to 1st grade in the fall, so I know she will catch on fast and love reading books like the rest of her family!
Later we went to the local city park water fountain. Lots of fun! Then we cooled off with some smoothies.
We came home and had some down time. Later in the afternoon we went to the pool for a few hours. It was so nice and relaxing. The water was so refreshing. Soon, it will be like bath water.
We came home and I made another family favorite… enchiladas! I always like to change it up a bit. I made a beef and a bean version. Here is how I made them this time.
Beef Enchiladas
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 can chopped green chilies
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
8-12 tortillas (corn or flour)
1 large package of shredded cheese-Mexican Blend-
1 large container of Enchilada Sauce (once I made my own…it tasted wonderful, but it was a pain in the ass to make. Now I stick with the can.)
Directions
Add your seasoning and green chilies to the beef as you cook it. Cool.
Heat oven to 350
Spray pan with non-stick spray
Put a small amount of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Make your enchiladas- fill with spoonful of beef and cheese
Add enchilada sauce on top followed by lots of cheese…
Cook for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Bean and Cheese Enchiladas
Ingredients
1 can refried beans
4-6 tortillas (corn or flour)
1 package of shredded cheese-Mexican Blend
Enchilada Sauce
Directions
Heat oven to 350
Spray pan with non-stick spray
Put a small amount of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Make your enchiladas- fill with spoonful of beans and cheese
Add enchilada sauce on top followed by lots of cheese
Cook for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Empty Plate Club
Hey guys! Hope everyone is having a great start to the week. Not a lot of stuff going on here. The girls are going to art camp this week and having a blast! Yesterday I picked them up and we hung out at the pool for a while, not a surprise 😉 The next few days we will be doing pretty much the same thing with maybe a little fun outings mixed in depending on the weather.
I went to the store to pick up some things for dinner. I decided to make a baked pasta of some sort and garlic bread. On the blog I have made so many different baked pastas- some the easy way (jarred sauce) and some the from scratch way. This time I did a mix of both.
Cheesy Baked Pasta with Semi-homemade Sauce
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 box tube shaped pasta; I used Rigatoni, but Ziti or Penne would be fine.
1 jars of your favorite pasta sauce- I used Bertoli- Tomato Basil
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
2 med. bags or 1 large bag of mozzarella or Italian Cheese Blend
1 handful of fresh herbs (oregano, marjarum, thyme, rosmary and sage, finely chopped)- You can also use 1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning if you don’t have fresh herbs.
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 container of mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large dutch oven or pan, brown your meat with your onions in a tablespoon of olive oil on high heat, about 5 minutes.
Add in your mushrooms and garlic. Cook down together, about 5 minutes.
Add in the tomato paste. Cook down for 3-4 minutes. It will turn a rust color and when you smell it it will have an intense tomato aroma. Add in your Worcestershire Sauce, can of tomato puree, and container of marinara. Stir well and add in your fresh herbs. Let it simmer together while you cook your pasta
Assemble in a large casserole pan layering sauce, pasta, meat, and cheese.
Cook for about 30-45 minutes or until cheese is melting and turning that yummy brown color.
Serve with some garlic bread and a side salad! 
Fun Foodie Family 