Navajo Tacos

Fry Bread-
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
4 cups oil (for frying)
Toppings-
1lb ground beef
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 tomatoes (diced)
Salsa
Sour cream

In a large skillet cook ground beef with taco seasoning according to the package directions. Cover and keep warm. To make fry bread – in a bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk and mix until the dough comes together and forms a ball. On floured surface kneed the dough until its smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes. Heat oil in a deep skillet (oil should be at least 1 ½” deep) to 365 degrees. Break off ¾ cup sized pieces of the dough and shape into round discs that are about ¼” in thickness. Make a thinner depressed area in the center. Fry the bread (1 piece at a time) in the hot oil until golden brown on both sides. Turn only once. Drain on paper towels. Top fry bread with toppings. (Makes 4 Servings)

* These are AMAZING! They have such a great texture. 1 recipe of the fry bread makes 4 fry breads. I think it's better to make them a little bit thicker so they are tender in the middle.
*The fry bread is awesome for dessert also with some butter and honey, powdered sugar, or cinnamon sugar. They are just a basic scone so they can go sweet or savory.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Calzones

WOW!! These are my new FAVORITE!

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 ounces each)
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1-1/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed
8 thin slices deli ham
4 slices swiss cheese
Additional milk, optional

In a large skillet, heat some olive oil until hot. Season chicken with Season All (or whatever you like.) Place in skillet for ONLY 2-3 minutes on each side. You want the meat to be a little underdone because it will cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes later and you don't want it to dry out. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, saute mushrooms and onion in butter until tender. Combine cornstarch and milk until smooth; stir into skillet. Add seasonings. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Cut pastry sheets in half widthwise. On one side of each half, place a chicken breast, 1/4 cup mushroom mixture, two ham slices and one cheese slice. Fold pastry over filling and seal edges. Place on a greased baking sheet. Spray tops of calzones with nonstick spray or brush with an egg wash to create a nice, crisp top if desired. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until puffed and golden. Yield: 4 calzones.

*These are not dry AT ALL and are completely delicious and in my opinion, they are WAY better than just plain old chicken cordon bleu!

*When making the sauce mixture, I tore up 1-2 piece of swiss cheese and let it melt into the sauce and it makes it so much more delicious...I would definitely recommend doing that.

*These turn out HUGE! I couldn't eat a whole one myself. If you want smaller portions, I would cut the chicken breasts in half after cooking them and do it that way. Or you can just cut the originals in half.

*Adapted from Taste of Home

Alfredo Chicken Tortellini

1-1/2 cups frozen cheese tortellini
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 bacon strips, chopped
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove and drain in a paper towel. Add chicken to skillet with garlic. Cook till chicken is no longer pink. Add onion and red pepper; cook and stir until tender. In a small bowl, combine the soup, milk, sour cream and Parmesan cheese; stir into chicken mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-7 minutes. Drain tortellini; add to chicken mixture. Stir in broccoli; heat through.

*I used spinach tortellini from a box (not frozen), so that's why the picture actually looks kind of gross. I would recommend normal, but I couldn't find any in the store I was in...boo hoo.
*I added A LOT more cheese, cause I like things cheesy. I would do more like 1/4-1/2 cup.
*I also only had a green bell pepper in the fridge, so I used that, but I think the red would add SO much more color and be prettier.
*Next time, I might just use homemade alfredo sauce instead because I like things pretty rich...but this recipe was still delicious!
*Adapted from Taste of Home

Sausage Penne

5 links Mild Italian Sausage (about 20 oz)
1 26-28oz jar spaghetti sauce of choice
1 can Italian diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bell pepper, julienne
1/2 onion, julienne
1 lb whole grain penne pasta

Heat 1T olive oil and 1/2 c water in large skillet. Add sausage links, cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes on each side. Remove from skillet and let rest. In the meantime, boil a pot of water for the pasta and cook till al dente. Deglaze the skillet used to cook sausage with a little water, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove all delicious bits. Add 1T olive oil to pan and add bell pepper and onion and saute about 5 minutes. Add spaghetti sauce and diced tomatoes. Cut sausages 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick and add to sauce. Simmer another 10 or more minutes. Serve on top of penne pasta.

Molton Chocolate Cakes

OH MY GOSH! These are beyond heavenly and probably the easiest thing I've ever made!

2 sticks plus 6 tablespoons butter
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips)
6 egg yolks
6 eggs
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup flour

Melt the chocolate and butter together. Cool slightly. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the yolks and eggs then mix in the powdered sugar. Whisk this into the chocolate mixture then whisk in the flour. Fill 12 greased 4-ounce foil tins with the batter and refrigerate until ready to bake, or bake immediately. Bake in a preheated 450 degree F oven for 5 to 6 minutes from cold, or 4 to 5 minutes from room temperature. Turn out of tins immediately onto the plate upside-down.

*From the Food Network

*I halved this recipe and don't have ramekins, so I just used a 12 muffin tin and used the middle six cups for a more even cook. I also lined the cups with butter and a cocoa dust instead of flour. They popped right out. I filled the cups to the top (they don't top the pan too much.) I also cooked them for about 10-11 minutes and they were PLEANTY molton! You can cook them more for less molton (the cake part is still incredibly moist), or less for more...whatever you like. I didn't have any ice cream, but I would recommend eating them with some vanilla. Also a white chocolate ganache would be AMAZING! You can really top them with whatever you like...chocolate, whipped cream, fresh fruit or pie filling, or powdered sugar. These are SUPER easy because they make a lot (12) and you can make the mixture early and put it in the fridge till you want to cook them and they are so fast to cook...they also look pretty gourmet (even though they are SUPER easy)!

Mini Yellow Cupcakes with Sticky Chocolate Frosting

Yes...they're this sticky!

Cupcakes:

2 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar3 eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup (plus a tad more) whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.With an electric mixer, mix butter and sugar on high speed until fluffy. Scrape sides of bowl and mix for a few more seconds. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. Mix to combine. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk in three batches, mixing for a few seconds after each addition. Scrape sides of bowl, then mix one final time. Fill paper-lined muffin tins 3/4 full with batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until poufy but not brown. Cool before icing.

Frosting:

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

2 tablespoons butter

Mix ingredients together in a small/medium saucepan. Melt ingredients over medium low heat, stirring gently. Icing is ready when all ingredients are melted and combined. Spoon warm icing over warm cupcakes, stirring icing to smooth after every third cupcake or so. Allow iced cupcakes to sit at least ten minutes before serving.

*From The Pioneer Woman

*The cupcakes weren't THAT moist or special, so next time I would just use a box yellow cake mix or a doctored box cake mix.

*I used 4 ounces Guittard chocolate chips (which are the ONLY kind I buy and they are the BEST!) and 2 ounces semi-sweet chips...Jami and I both agreed it was better than just the semi-sweet. The frosting is SOOOO good and it definitely is better than regular frosting.

Wedding Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
½ t almond extract
2 c flour
¼ t salt
1 c pecans chopped

In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract. In another bowl, combine flour and salt. Add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in pecans. Mix dough until it holds together. Form dough into 1 inch balls. Place on a greased baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool cookies for a few minutes and roll in powdered sugar several times until well coated. Makes about 3 dozen.