Baked Chimichangas with Shredded Beef

I am a huge fan of Chimichangas and have always been afraid of making them.  But when I found this baked recipe I thought it looked doable.  And they were!

Shredded Beef

1 (1 1/2 lb) beef chuck roast

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon course ground black pepper

6 cups water

Chimichangas

9 (9 or 10 inch) flour tortillas

1 (16 oz) can refried beans

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 medium tomatoes, seeded, chopped

3 table spoons margarine or butter, melted

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup purchased guacamole

1. In large saucepan, combine all shredded beef ingredients.  Cover; cook over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium; cook 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until beef is fork-tender, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary.  (I actually cooked this in the crock pot on low for about 5 hours simply because I thought it would be easier and it worked great.)

2. Remove beef from water.  Cool 15 minutes or until easy to handle.  Shred beef.

3. Heat over to 350 degrees.  Spread 1/4 cup refried beans onto center of each tortilla.  Top with 1/2 cup shredded beef, 1 table spoon onion and 2 tablespoons tomato.  Fold sides of tortillas toward center; fold ends up.  Place, seam side down, on ungreased cookie sheet.  Brush each filled tortilla with melted margarine.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes or until golden brown and thoroughly heater.  Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

Nut & Seed Bars

Jalapeno Hummus

Asian Pasta Salad...

If you have been to a party/dinner with me in the summertime you have probably had this dish. We make it all of the time and LOVE it!! It goes great with Teryaki or Ginger Chicken on the grill. The ingredients are probably not something you have on hand, but once you buy them you will be able to make this dish quite a few times.

Salad:
1 16 oz pckg spagetti noodles cooked al dente
1 cup diced peppers (red, orange, yellow or a mix of all)
1 bunch green onions diced
8 oz frozen peas
1/2 a bag of matchstick carrots (or you could cut your own but I don't know how many)
handful of black seasame seeds for garnish on the top (it doesn't add anything to the taste of the salad so if you don't have it don't worry about it)

Dressing:
1 tsp. garlic
1 tsp fresh ginger root or you can use the dry kind (fresh is better)
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinager
1 tsp hot chili oil
1/8 cup seasame oil
1/4 cup olive oil or vegtable oil

Mix it all together and enjoy! The longer you let it marinade the better. I like to make it the day before we are eating it, or at least the morning of the meal.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm always trying to "healthy up" recipes that I love (driving my family slightly crazy at times), and this one was a success tonight.  I used our traditional family chocolate chip cookie recipe, and replaced all of the unhealthy ingredients with healthier options.  Tom, Lauren and two of her friends tried them and it was unanimous--they LOVED them!!  I'll be interested to see if any of you try this recipe and, if you do, how you and your family feel about them.

The replacement ingredients

2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup raw sugar

1 cup organic, virgin coconut oil

2 brown eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Sift flour, soda and salt together.  Cream coconut oil and sugars together.  Mix eggs and vanilla in separate bowl, then add to sugar mixture.  Blend thoroughly.  add sifted ingredients.  Add chocolate chips.  Drop from tsp. onto baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Campfire Salmon

1/4 cup butter melted
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 pkg dry onion soup mix
Salt, Pepper and garlic to taste
2 lbs salmon

Mix all ingredients but salmon. There are two ways to cook; Foil on the grill for 18-20 min, or in a covered Pyrex at 375 for 18-20 min. I like to serve this with rice and bread.

Tex Mex Chicken

1 lb chicken cut into strips
2 Tbs. Taco Bell Home Originals Taco seasoning mix
2 Tbs. Flour
1 each green and red pepper cut into strips
1 cup frozen corn
1 1/2 cups salsa(I use Pace mild)
1 cup four cheese grated

Toss chicken with seasoning mix and flour in slow cooker. Stir all remaining ingredients except the cheese. Cover with lid.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Stir just before serving. I serve it over rice and top with cheese and sliced onions.

Pesto Cavatappi

1/2 lb Cavatappi noodles
1 pkg mushrooms sliced
1 tomato's peeled and diced
1 container pesto sauce

Cook noodles, when tender place in skillet with pesto, mushrooms, and tomato's. Saute on med-low heat till the mushrooms and tomato's are heated. You can also add any meat to this meal.

BBQ Ribs

1 pkg Country Style Pork Ribs(boneless)
1 bottle Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce(that is my fav)

Set your crock pot for 8 hours and add the ribs and sauce. Make sure the ribs are completely covered in sauce. When they are done they will break apart with a fork, really good Sunday dish.

Tomato Soup

1 Yellow Onion
2 Tbs olive oil
2 15 oz cans chicken broth
2 15 oz cans diced tomato's
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 bag cheese tortellini(really you can add whatever you want to this soup it is a good base to add chicken, veggies etc.)
1 cup whipping cream

Saute the onion in olive oil. When onion is transparent add the canned items. once mixed add the tortellini, which is optional. When the soup comes to a boil add the cream slowly and stir while adding so the cream does not curdle. Heat and serve with toasted cheese!!