Salads in June

Any type of salad is great. Fruit, pasta, vegetables, whatever! Share your favorite salad recipes! lets get really healthy...or maybe not so healthy if your favorite salad has lots of yummy dressing on it. Lets just keep the kitchen cool this month with lots of salads for dinner!

How many recipes did you try?

Okay! I made Cafe Rio Pork, Aztec Chicken, Chicken Quesadillas, Mexican Rice, and Easy enchalidas. I really wanted to make more. I will continue to try some of these recipes next month. Now it's your turn! Let me know before the end of the week how many points you have for the super cool prize.

5 points for Rachel

Points for Trying

So has anyone made new Mexican dishes yet? I was determined to have Cafe Rio Pork, and Flan yesterday. Clint was very upset. It didn't happen. But I did stay up until 12:30 a.m. making Andi's Mexican Rice for 50 people for the teachers lunch today. Then I had a terrible time trying to re-warm it all today. But it turned out pretty good. What did we do before microwaves?

I hope everyone takes some time to experiment sometime this month. Everyone gets points for new dishes they try. You get extra points for flan, and Cafe Rio Pork, and if anyone thinks they can take on Tamales, that would be extra double points. I think we should all try at least something new every week. (maybe just one new thing this month)

So far, I think I am ahead...I made Mexican Rice x's 6! And if you have already made a recipe that is featured on this blog...like Chicken Quesadillas, or Anything else...make sure you add those points too. I really do have a prize for the winner!!! and I can tell you right now...you will absolutly love it. I'm serious...I have a prize. I wonder if I will have to give it to myself...

In honor of Cinco De Mayo...Mexican in May

So my interest in this is partly due to my recent love for blogging and connecting with so many people I love, and also my love for food. Amber has a cooking group that she meets with every month and they share recipes and get together. I would love to do a cooking Blog. I know a lot of good cooks! At the end of the year, I will print it off and send a cookbook to everyone...and I promise it will be cute!

Since April is almost over...I thought that for May, we can do Mexican recipes in honor of Cinco De Mayo...(That is the Mexican Independance Day). So get your recipes in before the end of May, and if you try someone else's recipe...make sure you leave a comment for them about how it turned out, or if you liked it.

Should we include Calorie info. or WW points too? I have got to start eating better. But I figure anything we cook at home is loads better than restuarant food...and we control our portions better too.

I hope that the blog can be a resource for you if you get "dinner block". And I hope you will be excited that we have one more way to connect.

If you know anyone else who would like to be able to post with us, let me know and I will make sure to put them on the author's list.

Shelli's Post: Chicken Taco Pie

This is a Weight Watcher recipe, but it is pretty good.
It makes 6 servings,
5pts. each.
CHICKEN TACO PIE
2 C. cooked chicken breast, chopped
1 medium onion chopped, sauteed
1 4.5 oz. can chopped green chile
2 T. Taco seasoning
1 C. Bisquick
1 C. Skim milk
1/2 C. eggbeaters
1 C. lite cheddar cheese
1. Mix chicken, onions, chiles and taco seasoning. Pour into sprayed pie plate.
2. Mix bisquick, milk and eggs. Pour over chicken. Bake @ 400, 30-35 minutes.
3. Top with cheese - bake until melts, 3-4 minutes.
Serve with salsa and a salad.
May 5, 2008 5:40 PM

Mexican Flan

From The New Best Recipe

Caramel:
1 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. water
2 T. corn syrup
1/4 t. lemon juice

Custard:
1 1/2 c. whole milk (2% works ok if you are in a bind)
1 1/2 c. light cream
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
Pinch salt

For the caramel: In a medium saucepan and without stirring, bring sugar, water, corn syrup, and lemon juice to simmer over medium-high heat. Continue to cook until syrup turns from clear to golden, swirling pan gently to ensure even browning. Continue to cook, swirling pan gently and constantly, until large, slow bubbles on mixture's surface turn honey-caramel in color. Do NOT LET IT GET TOO DARK!!! Remove pan immediately from heat and, working quickly but carefully pour pouring caramel and custard into 1 1/2-quart straight-sided soufflé dish (or pie plate). Allow caramel to harden for about 10-15 minutes.

For the custard: Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat milk and cream, stirring occasionally, in medium saucepan over medium heat until steam appears and/or an instant-read thermometer held in the liquid registers 160 degrees, 6 to 8 minutes; remove from heat. Meanwhile, gently whisk eggs, yolks, and sugar in large bowl until just combined. Off heat, gently whisk warm milk mixture, salt, and vanilla into eggs until just combined but not at all foamy. Set aside.

Bring 2 quarts water to boil. Meanwhile, fold a dish towel to fit bottom of large baking dish or roasting pan and position in pan. Pour reserved custard mixture into soufflé dish; place dish on towel in pan and set pan on oven rack. Fill pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the soufflé dish; cover entire pan loosely with aluminum foil so steam can escape. Bake until a paring knife inserted halfway between center and edge of the custards comes out clean, 70-75 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Invert onto a plate and cut into wedges to serve.

*Also, you can use individual ramekins. Pour a portion of the caramel into each of 8 ungreased 6-ounce ovenproof ramekins. Allow caramel to cool and harden, then pour custard in and cookin a water bath for 35-40 minutes.

Meal on a budget

This is a very good thing to eat, if you are, like, hungry or something, and like, you don't have a lot of money to spend on like, a burrito or something, but you want to eat...

Take one english muffin. One slice of balogna. One can of baked beans.

Put the english muffin on a cookie sheet. Put it in the oven and bake it, at like 800 degrees or something. While you're waiting, eat the bologna and beans.

Remove the cookie sheet from the oven once the english muffin catches fire. If you hold up the cookie sheet high above your head with one hand, you'll look just like a pro French chef! Dowse the flaming muffin with water or something and let it cool down.

IMPORTANT: Don't try to taste it while it's still on fire!

Once it has cooled, you'll probably want to throw it away. But at least you had some beans and a slice of balogna.