Creamed Spinach

Tried this one last night and got rave reviews!

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh spinach, washed and tough stems removed or 10 oz. box of frozen, chopped spinach
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese

Directions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes. (Or follow package directions for frozen spinach). Drain in a fine mesh strainer, pressing with a large spoon to release as much water as possible. Finely chop and set aside.

Melt the butter in medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, just until the liquid is released. Add the cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and cook until the cream is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Add the parmesean cheese. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

It's Emeril's recipe but I added some cheese to it -- so I'll call it mine!

Taco Soup (crock pot)

3-4 chicken breasts (*Note: I put mine in frozen)
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
2 cans corn
1 can Mexican seasoned stewed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced green chillis
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg hidden valley ranch dressing

Dump all the ingredients together in the crock pot. No extra water needed. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4. Remove chicken and shred. Put the shredded chicken back into the pot. Stir and serve.

Serve with sour cream, corn chips, cilantro, and avocado (optional)

So easy and it's yummy.

Sloppy Joes

These are pretty amazing and easy!

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, roughly chopped

2 ½ lbs ground beef (85% lean)

2 tbsp tomato paste

2/3 cup smokey bbq sauce

½ cup ketchup

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup soy sauce

4 dashes Tabasco sauce

Freshly ground pepper

8 to 12  potato rolls

 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

 Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent, about 4 minutes.  Add the beef and cool, stirring, and breaking up the meat, until it is finely crumbled, the liquid boils off, and the meat begins to brown, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the tomato paste and keep stirring until all the meat is coated.  Add the barbecue sauce, ketchup, Worchestershire, soy sauce, Tabasco, and pepper, and bring to a boil.  Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes.  You can make the sloppy joe up to 2 days in advance and reheat it over low heat or in the microwave.

 Wrap the rolls in aluminum foil and warm in the oven for about 10 minutes.

 Serve the sloppy joes hot with the warmed rolls.

                 

S'more Brownies Recipe

This looks so yummy. We need to try this recipe from Food Network out.

Ingredients

Crust:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Pinch fine salt

Brownie:

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 4 large cold eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Topping:

• 4 cups large marshmallows

Directions

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8 by-8-inch square baking pan with foil so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch.

For the crust: Lightly butter the foil with some of the melted butter. Stir the rest of the butter together with the crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the brownie. Put the butter and chocolate in a medium microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 75 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir, and microwave again until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. Alternatively, put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan without touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted. Stir the light brown and white sugars, vanilla and salt into the melted chocolate. Add the eggs and beat vigorously to make a thick and glossy batter. Add the flour and stir until just incorporated.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is crispy and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean, with a few crumbs, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and carefully position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and preheat on low. Layer marshmallows across the top and toast under the broiler until golden, (keep an eye on it, it can go quick), about 2 minutes. Cool on a rack, gently removing the brownies from the pan using the aluminum flaps. Carefully separate any marshmallow from the foil and fold away. Cut into 12 (2-inch) squares.