Jalapeño Chili Fries

 

Fries. Made of Jalapeños. Breaded and baked.

Just make them. As soon as possible.

Ingredients:

-6-8 jalapeño peppers, seeded and cut into strips
-1 egg
-1 tsp flour
-1/2 cup bread crumbs
-1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Seed and cut the jalapeño peppers. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix together egg and flour in a small dipping bowl. Mix together bread crumbs and cheese in another dipping bowl.

3.  Dip jalapeños in the egg mixture first, then in the bread crumb mixture, and spread in single layer on cookie sheet.

4.  Cook at 400 degrees for 14-18 minutes turning halfway through. I cooked mine 14 minutes and they were a little crispy, but my oven cooks hotter than the average oven.

5.  Dip in ranch dressing or sauce. Eat right away. Caution they are amazing and a bit spicy.

 Side note- I'm wondering what these would taste like with cheese melted in the last few minutes of baking...

Chili Rellano Bake

 I still cannot pronounce the name of this dish. I have tried and tried with many failed attempts. I have started calling this the chili egg thing that we baked in the cast iron skillet. It works.

Easiest idea ever. Mix together some eggs, cheese, and green chilies and bake for a while. YUM.


Ingredients:
-8 large eggs
-1 cup sour cream
-1/4 tsp. salt
-2 drops red pepper sauce
-8 oz monterrey jack cheese, shredded
-8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
-8 oz can chopped green chilies, undrained


Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch pan, or use a pre-seasoned large cast iron skillet.

2.  Beat eggs, sour cream, salt and red pepper sauce with a whisk.

3.  Stir in cheese and chilies and pour into dish.

4.  Bake uncovered for 45 minutes until golden brown and set.

5.  Serve with tortillas and salsa for breakfast. Serve with tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, black beans and corn for dinner.

Enjoy!

Toasted Raviolis

Toasted Ravioli

Ingredients:

1/2 package meat or cheese ravioli (thawed)

1 beaten egg

2 TBSP milk

3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese + more for garnish (optional)

3 cups vegetable oil for frying

1 jar marinara sauce for dipping

Directions:

1.  Combine milk and egg in a small dipping bowl. In a separate bowl combine bread crumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (optional).

2.  Dip thawed ravioli in egg mixture then in breadcrumbs.

3.  In a large heavy pan, pour oil to depth of 2 inches. Heat over medium heat until a small amount of breading sizzles and turns brown. Fry breaded ravioli in oil, a few at a time, for 1 minute on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with extra parmesan cheese (optional).

4.  Serve immediately with heated marinara sauce.

Tip: If you want to make a few packages at a time they freeze very well. Store in a freezer bag until ready to use. To warm: heat on cookie sheet in a 450 degree oven for 5-10 minutes on each side. They will taste freshly made and wonderful!

Rosemary Fries

I love fries but sometimes they are just too plain. My friend, Haley, made these amazing waffle fries for me. You can use any frozen french fry you want, but the waffle shape held the spices better I think...

 Mince some rosemary and garlic.

Sprinkle olive oil, rosemary, garlic and salt over frozen fries.

Cook according to fry directions. I flipped mine over half way through the cooking time.

Cook until golden brown and crispy. Serve with a yummy sandwich or burger.

Enjoy!

Homemade Croutons

Homemade croutons are amazing. They can be as crunchy or as soft as you like, as seasoned as you like, as big or small as you like, and you can use any type of bread you like.

Cut any type of bread (I recommend sourdough or french bread) into little cubes. Toss with olive oil, seasonings, salt and pepper. I used Italian seasonings.

 

Cook the croutons on 300 degrees for up to an hour. I flipped them over every 15 minutes and did a little taste test to see if they are crunchy enough.

Serve on a salad or just eat straight out of the oven. (I prefer the latter) 

ENJOY!

 

 

Bruschetta

 

Bruschetta is a Italian appetizer made up of small circles of toasted bread, tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil.

First take a loaf of bread (a thin baguette French bread or similar Italian bread) and cut into ovals.

Place on a cookie sheet or and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake at 300 for about 5-10 minutes depending on how crispy you like your bread.

 

 Cut up 2 medium sized tomatoes, a small handful of basil and 1-2 cloves of garlic. Drizzle with a little olive oil. If you put too much olive oil you will have very soggy bread. I added a bit of salt and pepper and mixed it all up.

  

Rub the cooked bread with a pealed clove of garlic to give it a little flavor. This step is optional - if you don't like garlic then you may skip it. We forgot this step and it was still very good! You may also add in some mozzarella cheese, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top, spicy red peppers, etc to spice it up a bit.

Serve right away or the bread will get soggy and fall apart. 

 Enjoy as an appetizer, a side dish, or just an afternoon snack, with some pasta, with some chicken, or with anything that would go good with bread and tomatoes.

How to Cut a Watermelon

I found these two cool ways to cut a watermelon.






First you want to cut the watermelon into fourths. It is easiest to work with only 1/4 of the watermelon at a time.







You are going to cut the watermelon fourth in three different directions. (see pictures)

1.  Cut parallel to the first cut side.

2.  Cut parallel to the second cut side

3.  Cut it perpendicular to the rind.

Turn the watermelon fourth over and dump cubes into a bowl.


You may need to take your knife and run it quickly along the rind (between the white and the red) to get any extra cubes that didn't fall out (or give it to your kids or hubby with a spoon - much easier).






The second way to cut this watermelon is to cut a 1/4 to 1/2 inch slice off one of the fourths of the watermelon.



Using a cookie cutter, cut out different shapes (I made stars).








Put them on bamboo skewers, then stick them in the watermelon bowl for extra decoration. It would also look cool if you alternate them with cantaloupe, grapes, star fruit or any other colorful fruit.

Fruit Dip

This is the easiest and yummiest fruit dip I have found! All you do is combine this...

with this...

It might not look so good at first...

But keep on mixing.  The more "whippy" you mix the better.

You'll have a few lumps...

So, keep on mixing, "whippily".

Eventually you will get to smooth creamy perfection!

Enjoy with all kinds of yummy fruits!

Red Potatoes

I just love red potatoes! This side dish has quickly become a staple in our home.  They are so easy and can go with almost any meal.

All you need is some red potatoes, a couple tablespoons of

butter and a ranch dressing powder packet. 

I actually bought a bottle of the ranch powder at Sam's and love it!

I usually make about 3 small red potatoes or 2 large ones per person.

Start by washing and cutting up your potatoes into bite size pieces.

About 8-12 cuts per potato. 

Then place them in a glass casserole baking dish.

I try to keep the skin sides down and the cut sides up

so the dressing will season the meat of the potatoes.

Next, put little chunks of butter randomly over the potatoes.

It doesn't have to be perfect or look good.

Just put some chunks all over!

Then I sprinkle with a little water so the powder

will stick and dust the powder all over.

Here they are ready to go in the oven...

Cover them with foil and bake at 375° for

about 1 hour and 15 min or until tender.

Enjoy!

Bajio Sweet Rice

At our house we love making tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and other yummy Mexican food. When we make these we usually just make plain rice or beans to go along with, until I found this AMAZING recipe. It is great when your food is a little on the spicy side because this helps to relax the spice and give you a little variety for dinner.



If you are having something really spicy and want to tone it down, just add a little more sugar. If you don't want to tone it down as much, add less sugar. It is a very versatile recipe that will work either way!

(Recipe for Enchiladas coming soon)






Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups White Rice
3 cups Chicken Broth
1 TBSP Vegetable Oil
1/2 White Onion
1/4 cup Sugar (more or less depending on taste)
1/4 - 1/2 bunch Fresh Cilantro chopped (remove stems)





Directions:

Heat up the oil in a medium sized pot. Saute onions until almost see-through. Add in the cilantro and cook for 1 minute.


Add in rice, sugar and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.


When the pot is boiling, turn down to low or medium low and cover. Cook 20-25 minutes until the rice is fluffy and has absorbed all the liquid.


Enjoy!