Navajo Tacos

(This is a good recipe I found in a small church cookbook - I liked this because I could use it as a Sunday meal, and leave the cooked meat in the crockpot on low - below I have my sister, Joann's recipe for the bread, but I originally used Rhodes frozen bread dough)

 **frozen bread dough

**Cooked Pinto beans, I used refried beans

**Sauteed Onion and garlic

**Grated cheddar cheese

**Diced tomato

** oil for frying

**Cooked ground beef

** Picante sauce, or salsa

**Shredded lettuce

** chopped  green onion

1. Thaw bread dough. Pinch off 2" balls of dough; then let rest for 1/2 hour.

2.  Melt shortening in heavy skillet and heat until very hot, almost to smoking point.  Do not let it get any hotter or bread will scorch.

3.  Fry one taco at a time.  Before frying, stretch each ball of dough as thin as you can by hand, preferably just 1/8 to 1/16th of an inch thick ( I didn't quite get mine thin enough).  You will end up with a thin circle 6 inches or larger in diameter.  If you have trouble stretching the dough this thin by hand you can roll it out, but the dough will not be nearly as light and puffy.

4.  Fry dough in oil for about 30 seconds, until puffy and golden, drain on paper towel.

5.  To make chili bean topping, combine cooked pinto beans, cooked ground beef, sauteed onions with picante sauce or salsa in proportions desired.  Simmer ingredients together for a short while.  Then ladle mixture over taco.  It aces as a kind of edible bowl.  Top with grated cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and green onion.  Serve with salsa.

Joann's Navajo Taco Bread recipe:

Mix following ingredients into a soft ball:

* 2 Tbsp baking powder

* 4 c. flour

* 1 tsp salt

* 1 Tbsp. Melted butter

* 1 c. milk

* 1 c. water.  

(Add more flour is it's too sticky)

--shape into small 8" thick x 4 " diameter circles.  Punch holes with fork and fry in oil.

Taco Cupcakes

 

(my daughter and her husband made these for my husband and he thought they were pretty good, so I searched the internet and found these, and I would say they turned out amazing!)

Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 375 F. 

* Wonton wrappers

* 1 lb. ground beef or meat of your choice, cooked and crumbled-there will be extra left over

* shredded cheese, I used Colby jack

** Line muffin tin with 1 Wonton wrapper, 

add beef, and cheese

**Add another wonton wrapper  and layer with

beef and cheese again.

**Bake in 375 F. oven for 17 min. or until wonton is crisp and browned

**Toppings: 

*chopped diced onion

*chopped diced tomatoes

*sour cream

*guacamole

*chopped lettuce

*salsa - whatever your imagination is!  

Makes 12 taco cupcakes! 

Enjoy!  Such a fun treat to eat!

Oreo Mud (torte) Pie

(this recipe came from my friend Lynne - in my single days, she brought me here to Utah from Wyoming when I didn't even have a plan for my life, she helped me get established.  She shared her friends with me and her recipes, she was amazing! This is a great summer recipe and was a favorite among my single friends and now my family!)

1 pkg. Oreo cookies smashed and put on bottom of a 9x13 pan

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened

** Spread ice cream over Oreo crust.  

**freeze until firm

**Now Cook Next 3 ingredients until thick:

4 sq. (1 oz. each) unsweetened chocolate

1 (12 oz) can evaporated  milk

1 c. sugar

** when thick, spread over ice cream crust 

**top with cool whip ( I made my own whip cream with cream, powder sugar and vanilla)

**garnish with crushed cookies and freeze until firm and ready to serve.

Sunburst Lemon Bars

 

(These are a favorite at our house!  It comes from a Pillsbury bake off book, I've been making them for years)

Base:

2 c. flour

1/2 c. powder sugar

1 c. butter, softened

Filling:

4 eggs, slightly beaten

2 c. sugar

1/4 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 lemon juice ( I use fresh)

Glaze:

1 c. powdered sugar

2 to 3 Tbsp. lemon juice

** Heat oven to 350 F.  Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off.  In large bowl, combine all base ingredients; beat at low speed until crumbly.  Press mixture evenly in bottom of ungreased 9x13 - inch pan.  Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown.

**Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine all filling ingredients except lemon juice; blend well.  Stir in 1/4 c. lemon juice.

**Remove pan from oven, pour filling over warm base.  Return to oven; bake at 350 F. for an additional 25 to 30 minutes or until top is light golden brown.  Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled.

**In small bowl, combine 1c. powdered sugar and enough lemon juice for desired glazing consistency; blend until smooth.  Glaze cooled bars.  Cut into 36 bars.  

Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake from Cook's Country

 

This is such a yummy lemony treat!  My husband likes to make in the springtime.  Cook's Country does it again!  

Cake:

2 1/2 c. cake flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. buttermilk, room temp.

3 Tbsp. grated lemon zest and 1/4 c. juice from 3  to 4 lemons (my husband used a little more of the lemon zest)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 3/4 c. sugar

12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, room temp.

Glaze: 

3 c. powder sugar

3 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 Tbsp. buttermilk

1. FOR THE CAKE:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.  Combine buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla in liquid measuring cup.

2.  With electric mixer on medium speed, beat sugar and lemon zest until moist and fragrant, about 1 minute.  Transfer 1/4 c. sugar mixture to small bowl, cover and reserve.  Add butter to remaining sugar mixture and beat until light and fluffy about 2 minutes.  Beat in eggs and yolk, one at a time, until incorporated.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk mixture, and mix until smooth, about 30 seconds.

3.  Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top.  Bake until cake is golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes.  Transfer cake to wire rack and let cool 10 min.

4.  For the glaze:  meanwhile, whisk powder sugar, lemon juice, and buttermilk until smooth.  Gently spread glaze over warm cake and sprinkle evenly with reserved sugar mixture.  Cool completely, at least 2 hours.  Serve  

*Note:  Do not over bake!  It will be dry, this cake should be moist it just tastes so much better!  also the sugar mixture shouldn't be clumpy-- tips from the chef :) 

Funeral Potatoes with Ham from Tastes Better from Scratch

 

I had to make funeral potatoes for a neighbor lady's family the other day and since I hadn't made them for a while, I thought I would look up a recipe.  This one had 5 stars from over 5,000 votes so I knew it had to be a winner!  And it smelled so good when I took it out of the oven -  I had to make it for my husband and me and whichever of my kids that pops in.  A reader said she cut up ham and put it in to make a main dish - and that is what I did and it tasted amazing! I love the crunch of the cornflakes on top. 

30 oz. frozen hash browns, diced or shredded, thawed (I used 10 small potatoes diced and parboiled them instead of the hash browns) 

2 c. sour cream

10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup (I used organic - but can also make your own)

10 Tbsp. melted butter - divided  6 Tbsp. for main dish+ 4 Tbsp. for the topping

1 Tsp. salt ( I also used 1 tsp. seasoning salt and 1/2 tsp garlic salt, I love that on potatoes)

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. dried onion

Ham if you want to make this a main dish.  I just cut up about 1 cup I used honey ham but this would be a great dish to use up leftover holiday ham

1. Thaw frozen potatoes by putting in fridge overnight or spread them on a baking sheet and warm them in the oven at 200 degrees for about 20 min. until thawed

2. preheat oven to 350 F.

3. Combine sour cream, cream of chicken soup, 6 Tbsp. butter, salt, pepper, seasoning salt, garlic salt and dried onion in a bowl.  Mix well.

4. Add potatoes and shredded cheese and ham stir to combine.  Spoon mixture into a single layer in a 9x13 pan.

5. Add cornflakes to a gallon size Ziplock bag and crush gently with your hands or use rolling pin.

6. Add remaining 4 Tbsp. of melted butter to the crushed cornflakes and combine well.  Sprinkle mixture over potatoes.

7. Bake uncovered at 350 for 40 - 50 min.

Cadbury Egg Cookies from "Cooking with Karli"

 

These cookies are the bomb! Crunchy crust, and soft in the middle.  I only buy the British Cadbury eggs they taste so much better than the U.S. ones!  I just made these today and my husband blamed me that he ate 6 of them out of the oven!  This recipe is such a keeper! 

1 c. Cadbury eggs (crushed)-  I used a meat mallet,  but can use a rolling pin, I like to use the British Cadbury eggs

1 c. mini chocolate chips

1 c. butter (I didn't soften mine)

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. flour

1/2 c. old fashioned rolled oats (I used quick oats)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

** Cram butters and sugars together until smooth and fluffy (takes a few minutes)

**Add egg and vanilla

**Add flour and dry ingredients slowly -- Once the flour mixtures is about 1/2 way incorporated, add Cadbury eggs and chocolate chips, mix.  STOP as soon as flour is completely incorporated, avoid over mixing.

** Bake at 350 F. for 11 to 13 min. for medium sized cookies

** Makes about 3 dozen.