Taco Stuffed Shells

I've been making these little puppies for years, but never like this..... The other night, my friend Brianna, mentioned making taco stuffed shells, and I mentioned that I was the only one in my house that liked them and how ridiculous that was because they were so yummy. So I told her how i made mine and she told me how she made hers and so I tried it her way but, I added beans because...i really love black beans. I know someone reading this is going "it's just taco meat in a shell!" to that person i say,
"Nay!, it is creamy taco-y goodness with beans in a shell, so sit down and follow along".
So lets get started shall we?  First things first...you need some ingredients.

Ingredients:

-1lb ground beef (I prefer 85/15...but you can use whatever you like)
-taco seasoning of your choice
-pasta shells (the big shells not the tiny ones)
-1 & 1/2 cups shredded cheese
-taco sauce (i used an al pastor sauce, but any taco sauce is fine)
-1 cup of your favorite Salsa
-4oz (or a half a brick) of cream cheese
-1 can of black beans (you can also throw corn in there)

Once you've done a little shopping in your pantry / refrigerator for the above listed items we can move along. Ready? okay, lets go.

Directions:
I'll tell you right now, this is the easiest thing in the world. I made this, and took pictures while juggling 2 crying kids under 2 while riding a uni-cycle and balancing a ball on my nose. Only some of that previous sentence is true.....mainly the first 3. ANYWAY....onto our cooking lesson.

So, first your gonna get the water boiling for those pasta shells, they take a little longer than regular pasta, and ALWAYS ALWAYS make more shells than you think you're gonna need. Im not even kidding here guys, they fall apart and rip and it sucks, because you'll think "i need 10, so ill make 10!" and then you end up with only 6 shells that are acceptable. So, if you need 10, make 20.
Ok, great, once thats going, you can put your ground beef in your favorite nonstick skillet, and just brown it nicely. Once it's cooked you can add in your taco seasoning, I normally use McCormick taco seasoning, but this time I used old el paso (NEW YORK CITYYY!! (if you understand why i just said that then, you are awesome)), and it was FANTASTIC, i liked the flavor way better. Anyway...taco meat...
So you brown the ground beef, add the taco seasoning, mix it up add a little water to distribute it evenly and let it cook until the liquid is gone (make sure you strain out the grease in the pan). Once the liquid is gone, your gonna add the cream cheese. I used 4 ounces of whipped cream cheese just because it's easier to melt into the meat, but you don't have to do that, obviously...im just lazy.

Once you mix in that creamy goodness, your gonna open up your can of black beans and toss those little bad boys into the pan as well. Once you've mixed them in you can turn off the heat and move that pan to a back burner. Your pasta shells likely will not be cooked yet, so, you can move onto prepping your baking dish/pan. I used a regular baking pan but you can use a glass dish like a casserole dish or pyrex or whatever. So your gonna take your pan/dish of choice and coat the bottom of your pan/dish with your favorite salsa (I had a picture of this step, but it was ugly, so I'm not putting it in here).  You can go ahead and preheat your oven now...400 degrees. By now, your pasta shells should be just about done, go ahead and check them....i'll wait.

Once they are finished, strain them and let them cool (i cheated and ran them under cold water, which is a big no no in the fancy culinary world, but I'm a rebel and i was hungry and in a hurry to get dinner on the table, so i broke that culinary world rule....sue me).
Anywhoo. So, once your shells are cool enough to handle, your gonna grab them and fill them. Your gonna get one or two (or 5) that are all curled up and wanna fight you about staying open, but if you hold them slightly sideways (like this...) gravity will lend you a helping hand.
Now, you can go ahead and fill all the shells you can fill and place them one by one in the pan you pre coated with salsa. Once all the shells are filled and your pan/dish is full, you're going to take your taco sauce and drizzle it over the tops of the shells. Take your cheese and sprinkle it over the tops of the shells, cover with foil, and let them bake for around 10 - 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and then pop them under the broiler for a min so the cheese gets bubbly and brown. Then take them out and serve them however you like.
You can top them with regular taco fixins or eat them just the way they are, either way is sure to be delicious.

Please let me know if you try this & how you liked it!

:)

Southwest Chicken Bake

So, I think I've mentioned before that I normally come up 

with most of these little concoctions when I have nothing in 

the house. 

That was sort of the case today. I had taken chicken out for dinner, but, I didn't want to make the same old stuff. I decided on a chicken casserole 

because, I hadn't made it in a while and it was quick. 

Needless to say, it didn't take long for me to veto that idea.

So, off I went, in search of something to make. I looked up some chicken casseroles and saw the same thing over and over. Then I saw some sort of chili Mac recipe and thought it looked super delicious. The problem with that recipe was obviously that it was intended for ground beef and I had chicken. So I checked out a few more recipes, some with chicken, some without and I started building my own recipe.

Ok, now, I'm gonna go ahead and be honest, I eyeballed every.single.thing in this recipe. I literallyhave no exact measurements aside from 1 box of pasta shells and 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts. So, unless you have a big family, a 

huge appetite (or a man with one), you might wanna 

invite some friends for dinner......

Alright, put on some boots, and saddle up (I'm trying to talk like a cowboy...it's not working), & let's make some grub. First, you're gonna need a few things...I'll list them below (I'm gonna do my best to estimate the measurements).

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into small chunks)

1 box of shell pasta

1 can of cream of chicken & mushroom soup

1 can of bushes "Cocina Latina frijoles negros machacados" (these beans have bacon in them...

THAT is why i choose these beans specifically)

1 can of fire roasted tomatoes

1 chipotle pepper (I removed half the seeds and kept half the seeds in, the more seeds the spicier it'll be)

1/4 of a white onion (chopped fine)

3 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 packet of taco seasoning

2.5 cups of shredded cheddar or shredded Mexican blend cheese

1&1/2 cups of milk

2 tablespoons of flour

2 tablespoons of butter

Salt

Olive oil

Instructions:

Alright....let's see if I can remember this.

So, pour about a tablespoon or 2 in the bottom of the skillet of your choice. Turn the heat on 

medium low and add the minced garlic & onion. You just wanna make the garlic & onion sweat in the pan, so stir frequently and watch to make sure the garlic doesn't burn. Burnt garlic will get bitter, and that's not a pleasant experience for your taste buds.

While the garlic and onions are doing their thing, boil the water for your pasta. Make sure you salt the water first and once the water is boiling add your pasta in. By now, your onions & garlic 

should be ready to add some flavorful love to your chicken. So add the diced chicken into the 

pan with the onions and garlic. Mix it all up and let the chicken cook. Once the chicken is white and no more pink is visible, add the taco seasoning and a cup of water stir it up and let it cook til the water evaporates.

By now your pasta should be ready, go ahead and drain it. Leave the pasta in the colander so it 

dries a little, It will help the cheese stick to the pasta better.

Your chicken should still be doing it's thing, go ahead and give it a little stir, sing it a song, show it you care (about how delicious it's going to be) and then leave it alone so you can go about your merry business and assemble this sauce.

Ok. So first, you need to make a rue (ruex? roo? ru? not the one from winnie the pooh...Whatever, you get the point...) to do that just take the butter, melt it in a pot (I should specify, you should 

use a medium sized pot for this). Add the flour little by little to the butter stirring as you add it. 

Once the flour has been added add in 1&1/2 cups of cheese & stir until it's been blended & 

melted in completely. Then add in the milk & cream of chicken & mushroom soup. Mix, mix, mix. Thennnnnn, add in the fire roasted tomatoes and your chopped up chipotle pepper and mix, mix, mix some more. (You might wanna check on your chicken at this point & turn it off if all the liquid is gone.) go ahead & add the beans to the cheese sauce and mix it up all nice like. 

Add the drained pasta to the chicken & mix that up together. Once it's nicely coated, pour your 

cheesey, beany, tomatoey sauce on top of it and mix it all up again. Add in a little of the 

remaining cheese here just for kicks, transfer to a baking dish/casserole pan and top with the 

remaining cheese.

Place it under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until the cheese gets bubbly & starts to turn 

brown...like this....

Let it cool for a few minutes before serving (that cheese is lava hot, liquid magma). Then...Stuff.your.face

As always.....Let me know if you like it.

Cous Cous! The food so nice they named it twice...

Todays second recipe is a Tex Mex Cous Cous Salad. It is a cold salad, and perfect for a light lunch, or even a little snack. It's packed with crisp veggies and lots of flavor. I found this recipe online a couple years ago and just adjusted it to suit my tastes better. I apologize for the picture. I took this picture of it when I made it a for lunch a few months back and since I wasn't making a fresh batch today I had to use the old picture.

What you need:

 1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or cilantro)
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained
salt and pepper

Directions:
Bring chicken broth to a boil in a sauce pan and stir in the couscous.
Cover the pot and remove it from heat and let the cous cous sit, covered for 5 minutes.
While the cous cous is resting, In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar and cumin.
Add the green onions, red & yellow pepper, corn and beans to the dressing.
Remove the lid from the cous cous, and Fluff the couscous well with a fork, breaking up any big clumps and transfer to the bowl containing the vegetable & dressing mixture.
Mix everything well, making sure it's all coated evenly.
Season with salt and pepper and garnish with Parsley (if you're feelin fancy, I always feel fancy...)

Not so white, Chicken Chili

I've been dying to make this for weeks and finally got the chance, so, I'm bringing you all along for the ride.This recipe literally came out of nowhere one day while I was walking through the grocery store. I've tweaked it a few times and I think I finally got it jussssstt right. I call it White Chicken Chili, but, it's really not quite so white at all. It is, however, DELICIOUS. Todays post is definitely coming with A LOT of pictures, I always find that fun. Ok, Ready? Here we go.

What you need:

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cut up into chunks
1 can of black beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
(you can also used stewed tomatoes if thats your thing just be sure to dice them before you add them to the pot)
I pkg of McCormick white chicken chili seasoning
1-2 Andouille sausages  (depending on the brand and size of the link, in this case I'm only using 1)
1/2 cup of water
1/2 tbs Salt
1/2 tbs Ground Black Pepper
1 table spoon Garlic powder

Make it:

Season the diced chicken with the salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Once the chicken is coated evenly toss it in the skillet and brown it, 

(you want all those nice browny bits at the bottom)

While the chicken is cooking, cut up the Andouille sausage. 

Slice it and then cut each slice in half. 

When the chicken is done, remove it from the skillet and set it aside.  

Add the andouille to the same skillet.

When the Andouille is browned nicely, add the chicken back in.

Then add in the tomatoes & chicken chili seasoning & mix it all in evenly.

Then add the black beans & water & stir.

Let it cook on medium heat for 10-15 min or so, Stir occasionally.

Top with shredded cheese & serve with tortilla toast points.

I'm supremely proud of this recipe, it was one of the first ones I ever came up with by myself. I hope you'll try it and enjoy it as much as we do.

As always let me know if you try it & how you liked it.