I'm alive!

In case you were wondering... I am still writing this blog.  All of this cooking that I have been doing has caused Eric and I to gain weight (imagine that)!!!  I have been making some diet friendly food that I will be posting soon, so stay tuned.

Taco Soup

Prepare yourself for one of the easiest, heartiest, YUMMY weeknight meals.  This recipe comes from my Grandma.  When I heard it was Grandpa approved, I knew I had to keep the recipe.  I am so glad I finally got around to making this, because I know it will be a staple for this this "winter" (if you can even call it that in South Carolina).

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Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey

Homemade Taco Seasoning (or you can use a packet)

2 cans of diced tomatoes, undrained

1 small can of green chilies, undrained

1 can of corn, undrained

1 can of black beans, undrained

1 can of chili beans, undrained

1 can of water

Toppings:

Shredded cheese and crushed Doritos

Brown the ground turkey on medium heat until no longer pink, and drain.  Add the taco seasoning to the meat with 2/3 cup of water.  Cook an additional 3 minutes.  Combine the meat in a pot with the remaining ingredients.  Cook until the soup reaches the desired temperature.  I cooked mine for 30 minutes on medium heat.  Serve with shredded cheese and crushed Doritos.

Margherita Pizza

Ingredients:

One pre-made pizza crust

2 T Olive Oil 

3 garlic cloves, diced

2 Roma tomatoes

A bunch of fresh basil

1 1/2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

Put your pizza crust on a pizza stone.  Top pizza with a thin layer of olive oil (I use my Misto to save calories).  Top with the diced garlic cloves. Top with the mozzarella cheese.  Cover the entire pizza with the sliced tomatoes.  Top with the basil leaves (the more the better).  Bake according to the instructions on the pizza crust package.

Enjoy!

Light Toffee Fruit Dip

Ingredients:

6 oz. plain greek yogurt

4 heaping tsp brown sugar

dash vanilla extract

Heath toffee topping

Blend the first three ingredients with a hand mixer.  Cover with a thin layer of the Heath topping.  Serve with green apples.

For a LESS healthy version, I have also made this with quadruple the amount of sugar and light cream cheese :)

Roast Salmon with Yogurt

Adapted from Patty Craig's recipe

If you are like me and recovering from the fatness of my previous recipe, here is a healthy meal that is one of my favorites.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Greek yogurt (2%)

2 T Dijon mustard

1/2 T dried dill 

1/2 T dried parsley

8 salmon fillets (6 oz each)

lemon wedges for serving

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Combine yogurt, mustard, dill, and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place salmon skin side down on a rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil.  Spread yogurt mixture over salmon.  Roast until opaque throughout : 8-10 minutes or until done.  This depends on the thickness of the salmon.

I served this with a little salad and mashed potatoes.  I used the leftover insides of the potatoes from my potato skins recipe for the mashed potatoes.  You can also serve with lemon wedges and dill sprigs.  Enjoy!

Notes: I have made this recipe several times, and it makes all of the difference to purchase the salmon from the meat counter.  For this recipe I used frozen salmon and it didn't measure up.  Still tastes good, but I highly recommend buying high quality salmon.

Hot Skins

One of our favorite foods are restaurant potato skins.  We made these at home (spicy style), and they were so good.

Yields 20 potato skins

Ingredients:

10  Russet or Yukon potatoes

16 oz shredded fiesta blend cheese

16 oz bacon

Frank's Red Hot Sauce

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cook the potatoes on a baking sheet for 60-70 minutes.  While the potatoes are cooking, cook all of the bacon, and dice it.

When the potatoes are cooked and are cool enough to handle, slice them all in half.  Hollow out the potatoes until there is a thin layer of potato left.  

Evenly distribute the cheese and bacon on all of the potato halves.  Squirt an even layer on your potatoes of Frank's Red Hot Sauce.  It may seem like too much, but the hot sauce cooks off a little.  Cook at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with sour cream or ranch dressing.

The Fish Bowl

Prepare yourself for one of the best and most fun drinks I have ever made... the Fish Bowl!

This recipe was adapted from Maxim

Ingredients:

½ cup Nerds candy

1/2 gallon goldfish bowl (we used 1 gallon since that was what we had)
7 oz. vodka
5 oz. Malibu rum
3 oz. blue Curacao
6 oz. sweet-and-sour mix
16 oz. pineapple juice
16 oz. Sprite
3 slices each: lemon, lime, orange
4 Swedish gummy fish

Sprinkle the Nerds candy on the bottom of the bowl.  Fill the fishbowl halfway with ice.  You may need to add more once you add the liquids.  Mix the liquids in a separate pitcher.  Pour the mixed liquids on top of the ice.  Add the slices of fruit and Swedish Fish.  

Notes:  My fish wouldn't float, but maybe you will have better luck.  I also recommend purchasing long straws.  This drink isn't particularly strong when you are sharing; you may want to add additional liquor to taste.

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

Adapted from Skinny Taste

I have really fallen in love with my crockpot.  It is so nice to come home to a warm meal after work.  Here is a recipe that I have slightly adapted from my favorite food blog SkinnyTaste.com.

Ingredients for crockpot: 

• 1 3/4 lbs chicken breast
• 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies (don't drain)
• 15 oz can black beans (drain and rinse)
• 8 oz frozen corn
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 14.4 oz  chicken broth
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp red cayenne pepper (to taste)
• salt to taste

Combine the tomatoes, beans, corn, cilantro, broth, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt in the crock pot.  Salt the chicken and place it on top in the crock pot.  Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours.  Half hour before serving, shred the chicken.  Adjust the salt and other seasonings if necessary.

Serve on top of rice with shredded cheese, avocado, green onions, sour cream, and hot sauce.