Break Out The Crock Pots, Let's Make Fun Tacos!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend, I'm still recovering from the embarrassing Robin Miller moment Saturday, I gotta get my husband back for that one!

If there's one Food Network Chef I'd compare myself to, it'd be Robin Miller. I love her morphing ideas, for example I'd make my tacos one night, then use the same beef for a completely different dish the next night or a couple days later. I think it's a great idea and I love that she's not afraid to use some canned goods. Time savers are always a plus in my book!

So, onto these yummy tacos. This shredded beef is so good, you throw it in the crock pot overnight and it's practically done when you wake up. Yes, the whole house smells like dinner in the morning, but trust me, its worth it.

These little baked taco shells are a must try. Go out and find the Guerrero brand whole wheat tortillas (Walmart carries them, Target needs to get on the ball!). You'll need to use a Texas size muffin tin to make these, or you can cut down your tortillas to fit in a traditional muffin tin if you'd rather. You gently press the tortilla into the muffin tin, by folding or creasing a small side and the rest forms itself after you place it in the tin, just play with it and you'll get it. They are crispy, healthy and so cute.

The corn salsa is a nice touch as well. If you have a favorite corn salsa recipe use it. I didn't get fancy here, just a few ingredients did the trick for me. It really adds to the tacos. This might sound gross, but I added a little drizzle of ranch dressing over the tacos and YUM, however not necessary.

Phew, where do the weekends go? It's already Monday tomorrow morning, I better get to bed, got lots of teeth to clean in the morning! Do try these tacos though, I love them. One of my favorite "easy" creations.

Shredded Beef Taco Cups with Fresh Corn Salsa

3 lbs chuck roast (From Costco, comes with 2 separate roasts, 3lbs each, I freeze one for later)
1 thinly sliced white onion
1 teaspoon kosher salt (coarse)
½ teaspoon ground pepper
¼ teaspoon Lawry’s garlic salt
½ Cup water

2 10 oz cans mild Rotel diced tomatoes with chilies
1 bunch cilantro leaves chopped
½-3/4 Cup reserved beef broth
Salt and pepper to taste

6 ears fresh sweet corn, kernels cut off
½ Cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 medium size red bell pepper, finely diced
1-2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Whole wheat burrito size tortillas for shell, Guerrero Brand Preferred, the best whole wheat tortilla around in my opinion
6 Cups Finely chopped romaine lettuce

1. Place roast in crockpot on low setting. Top with thinly sliced onions, salt, pepper and garlic salt. Pour water in bottom of crockpot (not over roast), cover with lid and cook overnight.

2. Remove roast from crockpot, cut strings off if present. Transfer beef broth to a large bowl, reserve. Shred roast into small pieces and replace back into crockpot on low setting. Stir in both cans of Rotel diced tomatoes, cilantro leaves, about ½ Cup reserved beef broth (add more if desired) and salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer on low until ready to serve.

3. Place corn, cilantro leaves, red bell pepper and lime juice into a large bowl. Gently toss to combine and lightly season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place tortillas into Texas size muffin tin by creasing or folding a small edge of the tortilla to fit in the tin. Press gently to form, it should take shape easily. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until firm, crisp and slightly golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

5. Place spoonfuls of shredded beef into each taco cup and top with lettuce and fresh corn salsa.

Beef Florentine Pasta Soup with Basil and Cream

I love this soup. It's a great "comfort food" soup with some of my personal favorite ingredients inside. You'll see that I use "Florentine" in many of my recipe titles, I love spinach. The beef stew meat makes this soup nice and hearty. Great quick fix meal, both my boys, even my picky husband ate it up.

I know everyone gets freaky about using heavy cream, but don't look at the fat and calorie count on the back of the carton and just drizzle a little over the top of your soup. It's seriously fab! Don't forget a little piece of garlic bread.

Hope everyone has a great week. I've got some yummy cookies coming this week, so stay tuned!

Mmmm!

Beef Florentine Pasta Soup with Basil and Cream

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 lb cubed beef stew meat
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
5 Cups beef broth
14 oz can Italian diced tomatoes, with basil and garlic
½ lb dry Campanelle pasta
4 Cups fresh baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped

½ Cup heavy cream
½ Cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
½ Cup fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

1. Place olive oil into a large dutch oven over medium heat. Saute onion and carrots for 5-7 minutes or until slightly softened. Stir in stew meat, salt and pepper. Cook until browned and cooked through. Stir in fresh garlic for 1 minute then stir in broth and tomatoes. Increase heat to medium high until soup comes to a light boil. Pour in pasta, reduce heat to medium and cook for 10-12 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Reduce heat to low and stir in spinach leaves. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Serve each bowl of soup with a drizzle of heavy cream, a spoonful of parmesan cheese and basil ribbons.

Cheesy Baked Mexi-Rigatoni

Hope everyone had a fantastic Easter with their family. We really had wonderful Easter, it's so nice to have all of our family here. I loved watching the boys wake-up to find their baskets the Easter Bunny left for them. The look on their faces is priceless!

Last week, during spring break, we had my cute little niece spend the night with us and the boys just love her. She is 10 and is so good with my rowdy youngsters! She wanted to help make dinner with me and this is what we came up with. The kids love pasta, so we thought we'd kick it up Mexican style. Nothing fancy tonight, just good! This is a nice easy dinner to have your pre-teens/teens make for the family.

All of you gourmet cooks will be cringing that there is canned soup in this dish. I like it in dishes like this, it gave the sauce a great flavor. Quick and Easy was our goal for the night and it turned out soooo tasty too. The fire roasted tomatoes make for a delicious sauce.

I love my little All Clad Oval Bakers, they are perfect for individual servings. I found these at Marshalls a couple of years ago on clearance, they are great. Check them out if you'd like. Hope your family enjoys!

Cheesy Baked Mexi-Rigatoni

1 lb dry Rigatoni pasta or any other pasta of choice
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 Anaheim green chili’s finely chopped
1 lb lean ground beef
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon Lawry’s garlic salt
1 can cheddar cheese soup
½ Cup milk or half and half
1 Cup sour cream
2 15 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes
Heaping ½ Cup fresh chopped cilantro leaves (add more if you love cilantro)
2 Cups Mexican blend shredded cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta according to package directions, making sure it’s not overcooked. Drain and set aside.

2. Place olive oil into a large skillet or pan over medium heat. Saute onions and chilies until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in beef, salt, pepper and garlic salt; cook and crumble until browned. Stir in soup, milk, sour cream and tomatoes. Stir until well combined. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cilantro and cooked pasta.

3. Pour mixture into a large 9 x 13 inch baking dish or individual size baking dishes of choice, see my link above. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 20-25 minutes.

Thanks Beth from Our Sweet Life for the Award. Food Bloggers are so great!!

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatball Hoagies

My little guy has been asking for spaghetti and meatballs for the last few days, so I thought I'd make some. I've had these little mozzarella balls in my fridge for the last week and needed to use them up, so here they are stuffed inside the meatballs.

After I made my boys their noodles for their spaghetti, I thought meatball hoagies sounded like a better idea for my husband and I since I had been making pasta so much.

I bought these yummy garlic ciabatta rolls from Walmart. They were so good, they tasted just like crispy garlic toast. I broiled them in the oven with some provolone cheese until nice and toasty.

Hot and steamy, ready to be eaten!

Here's those little mozzarella balls. They are marinated in olive oil. I can't remember where I got these, but most grocery stores carry them. I know Trader Joe's carries them.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatball Hoagies

1 lb ground beef
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
1 Tablespoon Tabasco Hot Sauce
½ Cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
½ Cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dried basil

12-15 1 inch mozzarella balls (marinated in olive oil)
1 26oz jar favorite pasta sauce, or homemade sauce
4-6 Garlic Ciabatta Rolls, or other rolls of choice, cut in half
4 sliced provolone cheese, each cut into halves

1. Preheat oven to 350. Place beef, egg, milk, hot sauce, bread crumbs, parmesan, salt, pepper, oregano and basil in a large bowl. With hands or large spoon, mix until well combined.

2. Scoop about ¼ Cup meat mixture in hands; press 1 mozzarella ball into middle of meat and form a ball around the cheese. Do this until all meat and cheese is used up; makes about 12-15 large meatballs.

3. Place all meatballs into a 9x13 inch baking dish that has ¼ Cup olive oil spread into bottom. Bake for 20 minutes; flip all meatballs. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

4. Place pasta sauce into a large pot. Place cooked meatballs in sauce. Simmer on low heat.

5. Place ½ slice of provolone onto the cut sides of rolls. Place onto tin foil or baking sheet and broil in oven for 1-2 minutes or until rolls are toasted and cheese is melted.

6. Place 3-4 meatballs onto bottom halves of toasted rolls. Spoon pasta sauce over meatballs and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Close with top roll and serve warm.

Cheesy Stuffed Baked Ziti

Well, so much for my great pilates workout last night. I blew it after I ate this for dinner. This is one of my boys favorite dinners'. They just call it spaghetti and meatballs, and can't get enough. I love the oozing ricotta filling right in the middle, it's a great weeknight quick meal for the family. Use any pasta sauce your family likes or make your own homemade sauce if you are feeling ambitious!

Check it out, it's soooo yummy. I wish I could say it was fat free!

Cheesy Stuffed Baked Ziti

1 lb ziti pasta noodles
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small bell pepper of choice, finely chopped
½ medium onion, finely chopped
1 lb ground beef
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 26oz jar Classico Pasta Sauce
1 15 oz container Ricotta Cheese
1 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ Cup grated Parmesan cheese
Pinch salt, pepper
2 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook pasta noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Place olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute bell pepper and onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Brown beef. Add pasta sauce, reduce heat to low and stir in noodles.
3. Place ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, salt and pepper into a large bowl. Stir until well combined.
4. Place ½ pasta into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spoon ricotta mixture evenly over pasta, covering entire dish. Pour remaining pasta over cheese, then sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

8 servings