Not Your Mamas Meatloaf

This is an amazing meatloaf!

http://www.mommyskitchen.net/2009/07/not-my-mamas-meatloaf.html?m=1

Fresh Strawberry Gelato

Using the ripest, juiciest strawberries will give this gelato the best strawberry flavor. Also, I've doubled the gelato/strawberry base with great results - I had to process it in my ice cream maker in two batches (I have a 2nd bowl for my machine) but if you have a fairly large ice cream maker, you could probably process the entire double batch in one go. Check with your manufacturer's instructions to be sure!

Also, if the fruit you are using is ultra-ripe and really sweet, you might be able to decrease the sugar just slightly. If you want to take this gelato completely over the top, serve it with a few slices of ripe, juice strawberries. Heavenly!

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup granulated or powdered sugar (I've used either with good results)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups sliced very ripe, fresh strawberries

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Gradually whisk in the milk and whipping cream.
2. Place the pan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble and thickens, 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
3. Pour the mixture into a bowl and cool completely (either by pressing plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerating or nesting the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice and stirring until it is cool to the touch).
4. Puree the strawberries in a blender until the mixture is very smooth.
5. Once the gelato base has cooled completely, strain the strawberry mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the creamy mixture. Use a rubber spatula or the back of a large spoon to press the strawberry puree through the strainer so all the pretty strawberry liquid gets strained into the gelato but the seeds are left behind. Stir well.
6. Cover the gelato by pressing plastic wrap directly on the surface. Refrigerate 3 hours or up 24 hours.
7. Process the gelato in your ice cream maker following the manufacturer's instructions. Scrape the ice cream into a container, cover and freeze for at least two hours or up to 2 days (and I'm guessing even longer than that).

Chicken Taco Pie

This was very good. I had 4 extra kids tonight so made 2. I used ground beef. Everyone loved it.

Ingredients

• 1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 pound ground chicken or beef
• 1 envelope taco seasoning
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• 1 small sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1 small green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeno slices
• Sour cream and additional salsa

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°. Unroll crescent dough and separate into
• triangles. Press onto bottom of a greased 9-in. pie plate to form a
• crust, sealing seams well. Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook chicken over medium heat 6-8
• minutes or until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles; drain. Stir
• in taco seasoning, green chilies, water and salsa; bring to a boil.
• • Spoon into crust; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 8-10 minutes or until
  • cheese is melted.
  • Top with lettuce, peppers, tomato, green onion and pickled jalapeno.
  • Serve with sour cream and additional salsa. Yield: 6 servings

Creamy Spinach Tortellini

Very delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 (20 oz) pkg three cheese tortellini (preferably the refrigerated kind)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 1/4 cups milk (I used 2%, anything but skim works fine)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes (undrained)
• 1 1/2 cups (packed) chopped fresh spinach
• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 2 tsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dry)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 Tbsp finely shredded parmesan, plus more for serving
• Red pepper flakes, for serving (optional)

Directions

• Cook tortellini according to directions listed on package.
• Meanwhile, in a large and deep skillet or saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds, then add flour and onion powder and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. While whisking, slowly pour in milk and cream, then whisk until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to simmer, then add tomatoes, spinach, basil and oregano. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook several minutes longer until sauce has thickened and spinach has wilted. Add parmesan cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat.
• Toss prepared and drained tortellini into sauce mixture (note that as the pasta rests, the sauce will seem thicker and it will sort of soak into the noodles. So, if you won't be serving it for 10 minutes or so you can stir in some pasta water, milk or cream to thin it out if desired). Serve warm sprinkled with additional parmesan cheese if desired and optional red pepper flakes.
• Recipe Source: adapted by Cooking Classy with some changes fromallrecipes.com

Chicken Black Bean Taco Bake

Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 20 min | Total time: 30 min

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped white onion
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I used rotisserie)
• 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives
• 5 corn tortillas, cut into eighths
• 1 cup mild salsa
• 1/2 cup heavy cream or sour cream
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place olive oil into a 12 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often until softened. Add chicken, beans, olives and cut up tortillas. Stir to combined.
2. Place salsa and cream into a medium bowl and add to skillet, stirring to combine. Stir in cumin, salt and pepper. Top with shredded cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted.
3. Serve warm.

Makes 6 Servings

From Picky Palate

Salsa Verde Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients

• 4 cups cooked chopped chicken breast
• 2 cups cooked wild rice, I found precooked wild rice at Target
• 32 ounces chicken or vegetable broth
• 12 ounces salsa verde, mild
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bag tortilla chips, optional
• 1 avocado sliced or chopped for garnish if desired

Directions

1. Heat medium dutch oven over medium heat. Add chopped chicken, wild rice, broth, salsa verde, cilantro, cumin, lime juice, salt and pepper to the pot. Stir and cook for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer until ready to serve.
2. To serve, place crushed tortilla chips into bottom of bowls, top with hot soup then top with avocado slices. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 Servings

Double Layer Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

I love making people happy with food! This cake is my favorite from the cake to the frosting. 

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup sour cream
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
• 1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature (I like to use 1 cup unsalted and 1/2 cup salted)
• 3 3/4 cups + 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 - 4 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

• For the cake:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans then line bottom of each with a round of parchment paper. Butter parchment paper and set aside.
• In a large, heat proof mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar and brown sugar (lumps are fine), then whisk in cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Carefully pour boiling water in to cocoa mixture and immediately whisk to blend well, about 15 - 20 seconds. Allow to cool 5 minutes.
• Using an electric hand mixer set on low speed blend in canola oil until combined, about 10 seconds. Add eggs to cocoa mixture and blend on low speed just until combined, about 5 seconds. Add egg yolks and vanilla extract and blend just to combined. Then add flour and blend only until combined and finish by blending in milk and sour cream just until combined.
• Divide mixture evenly among 2 prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, about 29 - 34 minutes. Allow to cool in pan 5 minutes, run butter knife around edge of cake and invert onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely (after about 20 minutes of cooling, I placed the cakes into an airtight container to seal in moisture while they finished cooling).
• Trim tops from cake to form an even layer (they are quite domed so you don't need to make it completely level across - just add a little more frosting to the edges that aren't as level so you don't have to cut off so much cake). Add frosting to top of one round then top with second cake and frost top and sides of cake. Store in an airtight container.
• For the chocolate buttercream frosting:
• In a the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with whisk attachment (paddle attachment works too. Whichever you use just pay attention the the shade of the butter), whip butter on moderately high speed until very pale and fluffy (nearly white in color), about 6 - 8 minutes, occasionally scraping down sides of the bowl. Sift in cocoa powder then add in powdered sugar, 3 Tbsp heavy cream and vanilla and mix on low speed until combine, scrapping down the sides of the bowl as needed and adding up to 1 tbsp additional cream to thin if desired. Increase mixer to medium-high speed and whip mixture until pale and very fluffy about 4 - 5 minutes, occasionally scraping down sides of the bowl.
• Note that similar to whipped cream the frosting will lose some of its "fluff" after a few hours, it will still taste the same it just loses some of the air that was whipped into it (similar to whipped cream how it loses it's stabilization after a few hours). It is best to prepare and use within a few hours for best (fluffiest) results.