Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I saw these taquitos over at Our Best Bites awhile ago, and when my mom tried them and loved them, I knew I'd have to have a go at them. I'm so glad that I did! My mom's only complaint was that the recipe was really spicy, and since my husband can't handle much spice I made a couple of changes (the recipe below is what I did). And the result was delicious! I was skeptical about if the tortillas would actually crisp in the oven and they did! We used around 16 fajita size flour tortillas for one recipe of the filling, and they were perfect! I also served our taquitos with extra salsa, sour cream and guacamole. We will definitely be making these again. (And thanks mom for letting me steal your picture- I hate it when my 2 year old steals my camera batteries! :)

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C salsa
1T fresh lime juice (about the juice of 1 lime)
1/2 t cumin
1/4 t chili powder
1/4 t garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1/2 C grated pepperjack cheese
1/2 C grated cheddar cheese
small corn or flour tortillas (I used flour fajita sized tortillas)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. (Our Best Bites notes: It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.) Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top. Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Pumpkin Cake Roll

This year for Thanksgiving, we spent the day with my husband's family. And since everyone lives close together, the meal components are split up so no one person is stuck in the kitchen all by themselves slaving over dinner. When they asked me what I'd like to make, I knew I'd have to make these pumpkin cake rolls. I remember my mom making them for us on Thanksgiving growing up, and they were quite possibly my favorite dessert to eat after the turkey spread. No matter the time of year, this pumkin cake roll with cream cheese frosting on the inside is sure to hit the spot. And my favorite way to eat it? Right out of the fridge!

Pumpkin Cake Roll

For Cake:
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canned or cooked pumpkin
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 10x15 inch jelly roll pan with wax paper and grease paper. Set aside. Beat eggs till lemon colored. Gradually add sugar. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt; add to egg-pumpkin mixture. Pour batter into pan; sprinkle with chopped nuts (if using.) Bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle powdered sugar on kitchen towel. Turn cake onto towel, and remove wax paper. Roll up cake and towel lengthwise and allow to cool. While the cake is cooling, prepare the filling.

For Filling:
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Whip butter and cream cheese together. Beat in 1 cup powdered sugar. Add vanilla. Unroll cake and spread with filling. Roll up again. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Cherry Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

I found this recipe on an advertisement in the newspaper a week or so ago and knew I had to try them. I love cherries and chocolate--and shortbread! How could it go wrong? They're really easy and chances are you've already got most of the stuff in your cabinets.

Ingredients:
1 c. butter, softened (no subs.)
1/2 c. sugar, plus 1 T. for dipping
1/2 t. almond extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. corn starch
1/2 c. finely chopped dried cherries (they recommend Sunsweet)
about 1/4 c. finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate

Directions:
1. Mix butter, sugar, and almond extract thoroughly using an electric mixer. Gradually blend in flour and corn starch. Add cherries and chocolate.
2. Form into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheet. Pour extra sugar onto small plate and dip the bottom of a water glass into it then press gently down on top of the cookies to flatten. (You may need to moisten the glass somehow. I used a tad of cooking spray.)
3. Bake at 300* F. for 20 to 30 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes; remove to wire rack and cool completely.

This recipe also drizzles some melted chocolate on top (in a freezer bag, put 1/2 c. chocolate chips and 1 t. shortening, microwave on high for about 30 seconds. Snip off corner and drizzle over cookies.) but I thought it was just perfect without it. Also, they tasted even better the next day, so they're great to make a day or two ahead of a cookie exchange or to give to neighbors!

Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup

My mom made this a while ago for a luncheon after we blessed my youngest son at church. It was the first pot of soup to be emptied, so I knew I'd have to make it again in the future. Well the "future" came this week, and everyone loved it again! The carrots add a touch of sweetness that works great with the cheese and broccoli.

Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 tablespoon melted butter

1/2 medium chopped onion

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups half-and-half cream

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 lb fresh broccoli

1 cup carrot, julienned

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese

salt and pepper

Directions

1.Sauté onion in butter. Set aside.

2.Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and add the half & half.

3.Add the chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.

4.Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat 20-25 minutes.

5.Add salt and pepper. Put portions in the blender and purée. Return to heat and add cheese. Stir in nutmeg.

Oh Boy Waffles

This recipe comes from my mother-in-law, Renae. Her go to recipe, these waffles remind me of another recipe callede "waffles of insane greatness" (as I search for the link on the blog, I'm shocked to see it not posted- so I promise, I'll work on fixing that because they are awesome!). The difference is that these waffles don't call for buttermilk, whole milk, or cornstarch. These are more of the basice waffle ingredients, but they are crisp and oh so yummy! This recipe should make around 10-12 belgian waffles.

Oh Boy Waffles

2-1/4 cup flour

4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1-1/2 Tbl sugar

2 eggs

2-1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

Mix all the ingredients together. Bake in preheated waffle baker until golden brown. Serve with your favorite breakfast syrup or topping.

US Senate Bean Soup

When I try to plan frugal meals, I tend to try to incorporate beans since they are cheap, yet pack a nutritional punch. I just wish I had more yummy bean recipes! :) I found the original recipe for this soup that uses beans in the Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook and we loved it! My husband said he could have kept eating it all night long, and I wish he would have because this recipe made a ton of soup! In fact, there was too much of it to fit in the crockpot I had! 4 adults ate a little less than half of what this recipe yields, so if you have a smaller family, I'd definitely suggest cutting it in half. I also didn't have a hamhock (nor could I find one at the store), so I used bacon, and since my crockpot couldn't handle the volume of this soup, I had to cook it differently. So the recipe below is not the original, but instead is exactly how I made the soup.

US Senate Bean Soup

1 lb. dried navy beans, cooked and drained
1 lb. bacon
10 cups water
2 medium yellow onions, diced
3 medium baking potatoes or 5 small russetts, cubed
6 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 Tbl dried parsley
1/4k tsp ground black pepper, or to taste
salt to taste
1 bay leaf, optional (I used it)

Cook the bacon in the bottom of your soup pot until it starts to brown. Add everything else to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until veggies are tender or until ready to serve. (My soup simmered for about 4-5 hours and the potatoes and beans retained their texture and shape just fine.)

Parker House Rolls

I decided to give my go-to roll recipe a break and try a new one. Coming from the 75th Anniversary edition of Joy of Cooking, I like that these rolls are easy to split for spreading with butter and jam. Although they tasted great, I served these cool, but I think they might have been a tad better if they were warm. But that's true of any home-baked good! :) I also changed the size of the rolls to be slightly bigger than the recipe suggest. When I baked these babies up, I noticed that the cooking time of 15 minutes was too generous, so I adjusted the time here to say 12-15 minutes (I baked mine for about 12.5 minutes). But I would suggest checking the rolls around 10 or 11 minutes just to make sure they aren't getting too brown.

Parker House Rolls

1 cup milk
2 Tbl butter, softened
1 Tbl sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbl warm water
1 package (2-1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 large egg, optional (I used it)
3-1/3 to 3-2/3 cups all-purpose flour (I used bread flour)
melted butter (I didn't use)

Heat milk until it is warm, about 105-115* F (I microwaved it for 1 minute). Stir in the softened butter, sugar, and salt. In a large bowl, combine the yeast with the water and let stand until yeast is dissolved, or about 5 minutes.

When the milk mixture is lukewarm, stir it into the yeast mixture. If using, beat in the egg. Stir in part of the flour and then knead in the rest (I just kneaded the dough in the bowl). The goal is to have a dough that is easy to handle. Place finished dough in an oil bowl, and if wanted, brush the top with butter. (I didn't use the butter. Instead, I turned the dough over in the bowl once, so the surface of the dough was coated with oil.)

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Roll the dough into a 30 inch long rope and cut into 30, 1-inch pieces (I cut it into 18 pieces.) Roll each piece into a ball and flatten it into a 2" round. Using the handle of a knife or a rolling pin, score across the middle of each roll. Fold rolls over on the crease and lightly press edges together. Place about 2-inches apart on greased aking sheet. Let rise in a warm place until light, or about 35 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425*F. Bake until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool. (I brushed the tops of my rolls with butter while they were still warm. I find it helps the tops to stay softer longer.)