Beefy Crunch Skillet

It's the middle of the week, you haven't planned a dinner, your family is starving and you don't want fast food. Quick - what do you do? Make a skillet meal. It's fast, easy and only requires a skillet. That means you don't have to dirty up a bunch of pots and pans and spend an hour cleaning up the kitchen afterwards. You can prepare dinner, clean up as it simmers, and be done for the night. That's what you deserve. I created this dinner with the beefy crunch burrito from Taco Bell in mind... It's kind of like a deconstructed version of it and that makes me super happy. This recipe is better, though, because it's cheap to make and it's homemade. It's a winner in my house! Especially when I'm feeling lazy and don't want to make a huge mess in my kitchen... 

Beefy Crunch Skillet Recipe: {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

2 pounds lean ground beef

2 teaspoons oil

1 medium yellow onion (diced)

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

5 (soft taco) flour tortillas (cut into 1-1/2" strips)

1 (10 ounce) can Original Ro*Tel

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon white sugar

10 corn tortilla chips (crumbled)

Salt & pepper

Sour cream

Green onions

Instructions:

In a cast iron skillet, over medium heat, add oil and onion and sautee for 5-6 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add ground beef, season with salt and pepper and cook until no pink remains, about 6-8 minutes. 

Add chili powder, cumin, sugar, rotel, tomato sauce, cheese and tortilla strips to skillet and combine. Simmer for 5-6 minutes, or until mixture has thickened and heated through.

Just before serving, crumble corn chips over the top, add a large dollop of sour cream and sliced green onions.

Makes about 6-1/2 cups.

3 Ingredient Slow Cooker Chile Verde

So, I've been a bad blogger. I blame it on the small baby currently growing in my stomach. Well, not technically my stomach, but you know... We have been so busy getting the nursery and the house ready and I have definitely not been spending as much time in my kitchen. My poor family. We've definitely eaten our fair share of take and bake pizza lately. I am actually looking forward to once the baby comes because my dear, sweet husband will be taking over most of the cooking. That means lots and lots of delicious BBQ food. Yum. 

The recipe I'm about to share with you guys is one of our go-to weeknight meals. There are only 3 ingredients and it makes a delicious, easy dinner. You really can't beat simple chile verde. Throw it in some tortillas, add a little cheese and some rice and beans and you're set! My favorite!

3 Ingredient Slow Cooker Chile Verde Recipe: {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

2.5 pounds pork roast (cut into 1.5" chunks)

1 jar Thick -N- Chunky Salsa Verde (16 ounces)

1 can diced green chiles (4 ounces)

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on low for 8 hours.

Great with tortillas, spanish rice, salsa and refried beans. 

Chicken and Cheese Stuffed Anaheim Peppers

Hubby and I were recently talking about our normal every night dinners and something dawned on us. We very rarely have the same thing multiple times a month. Growing up, we both came from families that had their standard meals that they repeated every week and I'm coming to find that that's actually pretty typical. In our house, it seems like we are always trying to come up with a new recipe, tweaking an old recipe or trying someone else's recipe for something we've never had! Of course there are always going to be those nights when I absolutely cannot stand to be in the kitchen and we just order pizza. I like those nights, too ;)

The recipe i'm going to share with you today is for those delicious chicken and cheese stuffed anaheim peppers above! They truly are amazingly yummy. So much flavor packed into one little pepper! I even created a homemade mole sauce to put on top that is... legendary. There, I said it. It's a legendary sauce! It tastes like it was created for these peppers! Probably because it was... So, I guess that makes sense...

*Bonus: If you are watching your carbs... this recipe's a definite keeper!


Chicken & Cheese Stuffed Anaheim Peppers Recipe: {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:
5 anaheim chili peppers

2 large chicken breasts (shredded)
2 ounces cream cheese
1 cup mozzarella (shredded)
3 green onions
Salt & pepper

For the mole sauce:
1 tablespoon oil

1 small onion (chopped)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
4 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups chicken broth
8 ounces tomato sauce

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sautee for 5-6 minutes, or until onion is soft and translucent. Add cumin, oregano, chili powder and salt and mix with onions. Add chicken broth and tomato sauce and stir well to combine. Allow mixture to cook and reduce for about 20-25 minutes, or until it forms a thick sauce. Remove from heat and set aside.

While sauce is cooking, place peppers in boiling water for 6 minutes, then immediately place into cold water. Make one slice down the front of the pepper and remove seeds with a spoon. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together shredded chicken, cream cheese, cheese and green onions. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide mixture 5 ways and fill each pepper. Place in a lightly greased 9" x 13" baking dish and place in oven.

Cook peppers for approx. 15-18 minutes, or until peppers are soft and just starting to blacken. *Note If you don't like the pepper skin you can peel it off at this point!*

Remove from oven and spoon mole sauce over the top.

Serve with spanish rice and refried beans and enjoy!

Recipe yields 5 stuffed peppers.

Baked Buffalo Chicken Flautas

So, you know how my last post was all about buffalo wings and how much I love them? Well, I'm kind of addicted to anything slightly resembling a chicken wing now. Yeah... So, I know we just ate the buffalo wings the other night, but I had a craving for something equally as buffalo-y and delicious. I remembered when I was young and my mom and I used to go to our favorite mexican restaurant and she would always order shredded beef flautas. I always ended up taking at least one of them because they were so wonderfully delicious. Well, I thought it would be a genius idea to roll up some gooey, cheesy, buffalo chicken mixture in a tortilla and make my own flautas! Plus, we had some more of that delicious creamy ranch sauce that I shared in the buffalo wing post and I definitely didn't want that heavenly sauce to go to waste. 

In the midst of my buffalo wing madness, I realized that it's only a few days until Valentine's Day! It's crazy how quickly time is passing right now. It seems like it was only yesterday that I took a pregnancy test and found out we were expecting! Now, i'm going to be entering my third trimester on Valentine's Day! My little guy's going to be here before I know it! I can't wait! Anyways, back to the food! If you are a fan of buffalo wings (like I am! woo!) you should definitely give these a try. They will help satisfy your craving if you aren't in the mood to fry up a batch of wings. Enjoy! 

Baked Buffalo Chicken Flautas Recipe: {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

14 (soft taco sized) flour tortillas

4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)

3 cups of shredded colby jack cheese

3/4 cup wing sauce (I use FRANK'S®)

3 ounces cream cheese

*Creamy ranch dipping sauce

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

Place shredded chicken, cream cheese and wing sauce in a skillet over medium heat. Melt and combine ingredients. Once mixture is smooth, turn off the burner. Dump in cheese and stir to combine. 

Place 1/4 cup of chicken mixture slightly off-center in a tortilla. Spread mixture down the length of the tortilla and roll up tightly. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas. 

Place in oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until tortillas are crispy and chicken mixture is bubbly and hot. 

Serve with creamy ranch dipping sauce!

Recipe Yields 14 Flautas

 

One, Two, Three Rice

This week has been a rather fun week for me! I have spent the last couple of days e-mailing and messaging small businesses and shops to ask them to sponsor my 1,000 Fan Giveaway! I am so grateful to you all for your support and for sticking with me even when i'm not the best blogger I can be! You are all so sweet and kind with your comments and your sharing of my recipes and I want to make sure that this 1,000 Fan Giveaway is AMAZING!

Unfortunately, today hasn't started off being such a good day. Today I woke up to the news that 10 people had been shot and died and dozens more were injured and taken to the hospital. They were all watching the new Batman movie at a movie theatre in Colorado and some of them were even children. My heart goes out to them all and their families and I pray that the ones who are in the hospital will survive.

The following recipe, which I have so adorably named "1, 2, 3 Rice," was really just my attempt at throwing together some of the ingredients that I had in my kitchen out of pure desperation. The result was actually a really yummy, flavorful rice dish that my family has requested again! It's kind of similar to a spanish rice with ground beef, only not. It's so much more than that. I named it 1, 2, 3 Rice because of the amount of steps involved in the process: sauteeing the bell pepper, onion and garlic, dumping in the remaining ingredients and last but not least, cooking. Of course you do have to mince and chop the garlic, onion and bell pepper... so, I guess it's really 4 steps... But, 1, 2, 3, 4 Rice just doesn't have the same ring to it.

*I updated the printable recipe to have the picture, so that when you're finished making it you can compare it to mine and say "wow, mine looks even better than hers!"

1, 2, 3 Rice Recipe:   {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

1 lb  ground beef

3 cups white rice

1 tablespoon oil

4 cups water

1 bell pepper, chopped into small pieces

1 small yellow onion, chopped into small pieces

1 large clove fresh garlic, minced

16 ounces tomato sauce

15 ounces diced tomatoes

1 tsp cumin

salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a large pot, over medium heat, sautee bell pepper, onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes or until onion is translucent and bell pepper is beginning to soften. Add beef and cook until no pink remains. Add rice and sautee an additional 1 minute. Pour in tomato sauce, tomatoes, water and season with cumin and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low and cook for 18-22 minutes, or until rice is fully cooked and no crunchy bits remain. If there are any crunchy bits, add a couple of tablespoons of water, cover and cook for a few extra minutes.

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Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen

Crockpot Mexican Pork

I have some kind of big news that I am more than pleased to announce... I, Devi, am successfully growing tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro, zucchini and strawberries in my backyard. That's right... I didn't kill them after the first week! I am so unbelievably thrilled. I had never tried my hand at gardening of any sort, but I really, really wanted grow something edible, so I went to Lowes and got a tomato plant, a jalapeno plant and a cilantro plant and put them in a large pot that I had in my backyard that had never been used (due to my fear of killing anything that went in there). After a couple of weeks they are all still living, heck, they are even growing! The tomato plant has it's first blossom and I can see spots where the jalapenos will soon be growing, too! The zucchini plant was given to me by a new friend I made at my daughter's school and unfortunately he didn't look so good for a while because I'm pretty sure some nasty little bugs got to him... but, I moved him and gave him some extra attention and he is doing much better now and I can see where some new zucchinis are going to be growing!

Now, I'd like to talk to you a little about crockpots... A crockpot is a magical thing. It's sole purpose in life is to make things taste amazing with very little effort on your part. Not to mention, crockpot meals are super cheap since you can use a cheap cut of meat and still end up with a tender and juicy masterpiece. I remember when I first got my crockpot... it was a Christmas gift from my brother-in-law and his family. I had never used one and I had never actually eaten anything that was cooked in one, so I really had no idea what to expect. I'm pleased to say that 6 years later, good ol' Betsy is still working like a champ and has never given me any reason not to adore her. This recipe i'm posting today is a great one when you really have no time to make dinner that night. You can simply throw it in that morning, come back to it that night and serve it up in some tortillas with a little cheese. Easy peasy! It pretty much tastes like chile verde, only it's red in color and it has pinto beans in it to give it a little something extra! 

Crockpot Mexican Pork Recipe:   {Print Recipe}

3 lbs pork roast

1 16 ounce jar La Victoria Thick-n-Chunky salsa

1 4 ounce can diced green chiles

1 15 ounce can pinto beans

Cut pork roast into 1" Cubes and place in crockpot. Cover roast with salsa and chiles and mix. Cook on low setting for 6-8 hours. 30 minutes before it's done cooking add the pinto beans.

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Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen

Enchiritos

I have been thinking about doing a section geared towards cooking and baking with kids and I think the time has finally come! My 6-year-old daughter absolutely loves helping me make dinner and dessert, so I thought this would be an awesome way to teach her to cook and also provide some easy recipes for those of you with children who love to help or even if you're just looking for something simple to make for dinner!

I can't tell you how happy it makes me that my daughter loves to be in the kitchen! I love when she wants to come help and I love even more when she wants to serve it to everyone! I was never interested in cooking as a child and I had never made anything other than Macaroni and cheese until I got married! Well, maybe I made some scrambled eggs... But, it wasn't until after I said 'I do' that I actually took an interest in cooking. My first dishes were simple meals that I had grown up eating (like rice-a-roni with chicken and spaghetti) and crockpot meals, of course! Really, though, it just warms my heart to see my little daughter working hard to create something and to see her face and hear her excitement when everyone goes on and on about how delicious it was! I hope that you, too, can experience this with your child and that you can inspire them to come and cook with you, because it really is a wonderfully rewarding experience for the both of you! Now, get your aprons on and get to cooking!

*Please excuse the picture, my camera battery was dead and I had to use my iPhone! ;)

Enchirito Recipe:   

{Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 16 ounce can Rosarita refried beans
• 10 flour tortillas
• 1 28 ounce can La Victoria red enchilada sauce
• 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

The first step (which requires adult supervision) is to cook the ground beef. Once it is fully cooked, add your taco seasoning and 1/4 cup of water. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes or until water is gone.

The next step is to set up a production line for your little cook. Open your beans, place your ground beef in a bowl, set out your cheese, tortillas, sauce and your baking dish.

Next, give your child the assembly instructions:
1 large scoop of beans, spread down the center of the tortilla.
1-2 large scoops of meat spread over the beans
Fold one side of the tortilla over the meat and beans then roll away.
Place it in the baking dish with the seam side down.

Once they have assembled all of the enchiritos they can pour the sauce over them and sprinkle the cheese all over the top.

Now, you can bake it in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.

Once dinner is ready, your child will feel so proud that they were able to make an entire meal all by themself and chances are... they will want to do it again and again and again!


 

Churros

Honestly, is there anyone out there who doesn't like churros? I've met people who don't like chocolate, I've met people who don't like peanut butter, but is there really anyone out there who doesn't love a good churro? I remember these sugary little treats being a huge part of my childhood. Every time we went to the Fair or to a Carnival I had to get a churro, and usually by the end of the night I was begging for another one. The best way I can think to describe a churro is that they are stick-like donut things with a crispy exterior, soft, pillowy interior and a delicious cinnamon and sugar coating. "Stick-like donut things" may not be the best descriptive words out there, but they are the only ones I could come up with right on the spot. 

Here is a delicious recipe that I found years ago and I can't remember where I got it, but it is the recipe that I use and will always use when I'm craving something sweet. The great thing about this recipe is that you probably already have all of the ingredients you need to make them and you won't even have to make a special trip to the store! Yay! :) Just make sure you have one of those awesome frosting decorating tools you use to decorate cakes and cupcakes and you're all set!

Churro Recipe:    |Print Recipe|

1 cup water

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter

1 cup all purpose flour

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon/Sugar coating:

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a medium pan, add the water, brown sugar, salt, and butter and heat until it begins to boil.


Remove from the heat and add in the flour.


In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs and vanilla and add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until it's all nice and mixed together.


Fill a frosting decorating tool (fitted with a large star tip) with the churro mixture.


In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon and sugar. Set aside.


Heat your oil to 350 degrees and make sure it is nice and hot before you proceed to the next step.


Squeeze about a 5" long piece (using the decorating tool) into the oil.Use a knife to cut and release the end of the dough from the decorating tool.


Fry for about a minute, then flip. Cook for additional minute or two, then remove and place on paper towels.


While the churros are still warm, roll them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.


Now, try not to eat them all before you are done frying them all! :)

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Mexican Casserole

Do you ever have those days where you are so tired and you really, really don't want to make dinner and you really, really don't want to go to the store to get what you need to make dinner? Today was one of those days for me. We spent a lot of time out in the backyard today cleaning it up and getting it ready for BBQ weather (which is right around the corner!) and I was really in no mood to mess with dinner tonight. I decided to throw something together with what we already had in the cabinets and that is how this Mexican Casserole was born. What began as a last resort type of meal actually became something quite delicious and both my husband and daughter agreed that we would be making this again and again! 

Also, on a side note... you can see that I have some green onions on top of this Mexican Casserole, correct? Well, did you know that you can grow your own green onions right in your house without any soil or any mess? Thanks to the wonderful world of Pinterest, I now have my very own green onions growing right in my window! All you need to do is chop your green onions about 2" up from the roots and place them in a container (like a cup) with the water coming about halfway up the onions. Make sure you change the water every day and keep it nice and clean! In just one day you will see them growing and feel an overwhelming sense of accomplishment! :)

*Click here to see how to grow your own green onions*

Mexican Casserole Recipe:   {Print Recipe}

12 corn tortillas (cut in half)

2 pounds ground beef

16 ounces cheddar cheese (shredded)

1 28oz can red enchilada sauce

Taco seasoning (either homemade or package!)

Sour cream

Garnish: green onions, onions, salsa

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a skillet, cook ground beef until completely browned and cooked through. Over medium heat, add desired amount of taco seasoning and about 1/4 cup of water and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until most of the water has disappeared. 

In a 9"x13" baking dish place about 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce and spread over the bottom of the pan. Place 6 tortilla halves side by side in the sauce. Add 1/3 of the meat mixture over the tortillas and top with 1/4 of the remaining enchilada sauce. Sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese over the meat. Place 6 more tortilla halves on top of the meat.

Repeat layers, ending with the tortilla, sauce and cheese on the top. 

Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly. 

Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, some green onions or whatever else you like!

Crockpot Shredded Beef

Back when we were dating, before we got married, one of the things my husband liked to do for me was to cook me dinners. At this time I was actually the one in the relationship that never cooked. I'm pretty sure the only things I made were macaroni and cheese and toast. He used to make me all kinds of delicious food, and to this day there are still a few of his recipes that are very common in our house.

The recipe i'm going to share with you was a recipe his dad used to make for him when he was young. Him and his dad both share a love for mexican food, which is probably why the recipe was one of their favorites. It's a crockpot recipe with only 3 ingredients, which means it's great for days when you are super busy! It is probably one of the simplest and most delicious crockpot recipes out there!

Crockpot Shredded Beef: {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:
2.5 - 3 pound beef chuck roast
1 (14.5 ounce) can of stewed tomatoes
6 ounces beef chorizo (the soft kind, not the "sausage" kind) 

Instructions:
The only thing you need to do for this delicious meat is place it in your crock pot, pour the can of stewed tomatoes over the it and place the chorizo on top. You don't have to cut it up or mash it up.

Turn your crockpot to low and cook for 8-9 hours.

While you're preparing the rest of the meal you can shred the beef and make sure the chorizo is all mixed in with the beef and the juices.

We like to serve ours with tortillas, spanish rice and a dollop of sour cream. Oh, and you can't forget the perfect salsa.

The perfect salsa

Our family loves salsa. We often determine whether or not to return to a restaurant based on their salsa. Personally, i'm not a huge fan of cilantro so my least favorite part of making this salsa is chopping the cilantro. Sometimes i'll even make my husband do it :). But, once the cilantro has been blended into the salsa, I like it!

It took me a lot of searching and testing to find the best salsa recipe and this is it! It's sweet and flavorful and you can adjust the spiciness to suit your taste!

What is the absolute best thing to put this salsa on? Check back tomorrow and find out!


Salsa Recipe:
2 (14.5 ounce) cans of stewed tomatoes (you can also use fresh tomatoes if you prefer, I personally like the sweetness of the stewed tomatoes in this recipe)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 tablespoons of chopped roasted green chile (you can also use one of the cans of diced green chiles)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
salt to taste (I personally use around 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons)

optional: chopped jalapeño

The only steps in this recipe are chopping all the ingredients and pulsing them in the blender a couple of times! Try not to blend it too much, unless you like watery salsa.

Be sure to put it in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. The longer it sits in there, the better!

This recipes makes about 3 cups of salsa.