"Tamale" Stuffed Peppers

This recipe does not actually include tamales, it's more like the essence of tamales. 

It is meat free, and relatively healthy. The picture shows it served with a cilantro lime rice, but I didn't like the way it turned out so until I find a decent one I won't have that recipe available. Anyway, here it is!

"Tamale" Stuffed Peppers

2 medium bell peppers
½ cup tomatoes, diced
½ cup black beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup corn
¼ cup green chillies
¼ cup green enchilada sauce
¾ cup Mexican blend cheese, shredded
¼ cup cornmeal
2 Tbsp. green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
hot sauce to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

Prepare the bell peppers by slicing off the tops and removing the seeds. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine tomatoes, beans, corn, green chillies, enchilada sauce, ½ cup cheese, cornmeal, green onions and cilantro.

Spoon the mixture into hollowed bell peppers and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Place stuffed peppers in a baking dish and add about an inch of water to the bottom of the pan.

Bake, uncovered, until peppers are tender and filling is heated throughout; about 50 minutes.

Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve warm

Serves 2

-Sweet Sarah 

Found at Munchin With Munchkin

Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts with Maple Cinnamon Glaze

Whenever I first got my donut pan, I went a little donut crazy. It's easily done, believe me. It was a dark, donuty time in my life. Well I guess I just have to say that to pretend that I didn't enjoy being crazy, or that I even think it was abnormal in the first place. I actually enjoyed it immensely. I mean look at these things.......

How could anyone NOT be happy?

Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts with Maple Cinnamon Glaze

 

Donuts

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Maple-Cinnamon Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon maple extract*

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons milk

 *I had to add a lot more, but don't know the exact measurements because I just kept pouring and sampling. If you think it's not maple-y enough, just add more. If you do this, you might have to add more powdered sugar to make it less runny.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a doughnut pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. Set aside.

In another bowl, cream together the brown sugar, butter and pumpkin. Add in the eggs, mix well, then mix in the milk and vanilla. Stir in the reserved dry ingredients.

Place the mix in a large zip-top bag. Cut off the corner and pipe into the doughnut pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven, let rest for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, maple extract, cinnamon and milk.

When the doughnuts are cool, dip them in the glaze. Return to the wire rack to allow the glaze to set.

-Sweet Sarah

Recipe from Taste and Tell

Coconut Macaroons

Sometimes the best way to make things comes on the back of the box. Here's Baker's Angel Flakes recipe for coconut macaroons.

Coconut Macaroons

1 (14 ounce) package sweetened coconut (5 1/3 cups) 

2/3 cup sugar 

6 tablespoons flour 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

4 egg whites 

1 teaspoon almond extract 

Directions:  Mix coconut, sugar, flour and salt in a large bowl. Stir in egg whites (not whipped) and almond extract until well blended. Drop by tablespoonful onto greased and floured cookie sheets. 

Bake 325F for 20 minutes or until edges of cookies are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to wire racks. Cool completely.

-Sweet Sarah

Recipe from Baker's Brand Shredded Coconut, reprinted at Food.com

Buffalo Chicken Tacos

So today, Kelsey made me dinner. It was nice to relax and just wait for food for once! Plus I was super excited for her meal, because it's nothing short of amazing. Cilantro? check. Onions? yep. second type of onions onions? yep yep. avocado? Ok now I am just teasing you.

Well look no further for tomorrow's dinner ideas. It's all right here for you.

 You can thank Kelsey for this post!!

Buffalo Chicken Tacos

One with Ranch, one without. Both Amazing!

 

 

 1 pound chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, cut into 1 inch pieces
⅓ cup flour
3 tablespoon cornstarch
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
⅓ cup buffalo wing sauce (Frank’s Buffalo Wing) , plus extra for garnishment
1 Tablespoon olive oil
10 6-inch yellow corn tortillas

Toppings:
Shredded butter Lettuce*
Diced onions mixed with cilantro
diced tomatoes
Avocado slices
Ranch dressing*
Green onions, sliced thinly
Cheddar Cheese*
*if desired




Preparation:

Dice onions, green onions, avocado, and cilantro. mix together, set aside.

Dice tomatoes, set aside.

Heat a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium-high heat.

In a large bowl, combine cornstarch, flour, cayenne, and garlic powder. Season the chicken pieces with pepper, then dredge in the flour mixture.

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the Dutch oven and once it gets hot, add chicken and cook on both sides – about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Once the chicken is done, set it aside in a bowl and toss with ⅓ cup buffalo wing sauce.


Assemble 10 tacos, dividing the toppings evenly among each taco.

 

Yield: 5 servings, 2 tacos each.

-Sweet Sarah

Found at Mrs Regueiro's

Mexican Stuffed Shells

     So guys, I am in trouble. I called my good friend to ask him if he wanted to go on a dinner date with me to a new Indian restaurant in town, because we both love Indian food--- him especially. Plus he is PCS-ing (military lingo:moving to another base) soon and I have to get in as much time as I can before he goes. He said he couldn't go tonight but he still didn't have any plans for dinner, so I told him I was probably just gonna eat a bowl of cereal or soup and call it a day. Well, I went to the grocery store afterwards, and decided to pick up the ingredients for a recipe I had decided I needed to make soon, these Mexican stuffed shells. I also bought a frozen dinner meal, a can of soup, and two boxes of cereal  (I love deployments!  ~said by no spouse ever). I completely intended on just making the stuffed shells another day this week when Kelsey, my friend who is living with me currently, was home to eat them with me.

 I totally intended to eat some delicious cinnamon swirl cereal. 

I totally made these shells instead.

and not only did I do this, but I also had another guy friend come over and eat it with me. Without inviting Justin.

It wasn't my fault! Or planned! I received a text wondering what I was doing tonight, and I figured well if he is bored and wants to come over too, might as well make a real dinner.

So I did. And it was delicious. And I have possibly broken Justin's heart.

If you want to break peoples' hearts, here's how you do it:

Mexican Stuffed Shells 

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey)

1 package low-sodium taco seasoning

4 ounces cream cheese

20 jumbo pasta shells

1 1/2 cups salsa

1 cup taco sauce

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 cup Monterrey jack cheese

For toppings:

3 green onions

Sour cream

anything else you may want, such as olives, cilantro, jalepenos, etc

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a pan brown the ground beef; add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Stir together and mix well. Set aside and cool completely.

While ground beef is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to package directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board or baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.

Pour salsa on bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with 1-2 tablespoons of the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Evenly cover shells with taco sauce. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes with the foil removed. Top with green onions or olives if desired. Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa.

-Sweet Sarah 

Found at The Girl Who Ate everything

Sopapilla Cheesecake

This is something my father showed me when I was in high school and I've been making it for years. Everyone requests it all the time, in fact that's why this was made today! It's super amazing and suuuuuper unhealthy. If you don't know what a sopapilla is your existence is meaningless  you need to get on that. I wasn't aware that not everyone knows what they are until I moved to England and met people from all over the States. Anyway, I need to get back to homework so to keep this short, here it is: 

Sopapilla Cheesecake

• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 (8 ounce) cans crescent roll dough
•  
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Beat the cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape the each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles* although I can't say I've ever done that. ever. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough.
3. Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar together with the cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the cheesecake.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

- Sweet Sarah 

directions found at All Recipes

Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Ya'll. 

I mean....

Ya'll. 

         Are you ready....for the most ridiculously insane recipe ever? I'm pretty sure I had an out of body experience when I took my first bite. Cookie dough is probably my single most favorite thing in the world. Usually when I make cookies, it's only because I wanted to eat cookie dough. I get my fix and then make the cookies. So when I came across a recipe that incorporates cookie dough and cream cheese?! I became delirious with desire. I was afraid that the recipe would be too good to be true, but ladies and gentlemen, the taste is there. And really? It's way easier than I expected. So try not to lick your screens at the picture I'm about to post. 

Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars 

Sorry, did you say something? I um....what? oh yeah, right. back to the blog.

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup flour

2/3 cup chocolate chips*

Cheesecake Filling:

10 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

I used chocolate chunks instead of chips because I ran out*

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line an 8" square baking pan with parchment paper or foil allowing a little overhang and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Mix the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs until thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 6 minutes. Remove pan to a cooling rack. Leave your oven on while you prepare the dough.

3. While the crust is cooling, prepare the chocolate chip cookie dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth and thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Mix in the flour on low speed, and mix until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips. Set aside. (*Note: This mixture is going to be dry...that’s okay. It’s rather like a crumble topping. You’re going to crumble it on top of the cheesecake layer.)

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla on low speed just until incorporated. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust. Distribute the cookie dough onto the top of the cheesecake batter in teaspoon-sized clumps. Be sure to use all of the dough.

5. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top feels dry and firm (the cookie dough) and the entire pan looks set if given a gentle shake. Move bars to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Chill in refrigerator overnight or for at least a couple hours.

6. Lift the bars out by the overhang and cut into squares for serving.

-Sweet Sarah 

Found at Brandy's Baking

Caramel-Filled Snickerdoodles

Sometimes you just need to stuff things into other things to make them better. Like caramel into snickerdoodles, or caramel-filled snickerdoodles into my mouth.

I will say, these taste the best fresh from the oven because it's all melty. I will also say that it is kind of a pain, and some might mess up by sticking to the pan if you try to remove them too quickly. I will also say these still taste excellent even when they're not warm--they just are chewier. This is definitely something to try though! so do it.

Caramel-Filled Snickerdoodles

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup pure vegetable shortening

1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed

2 large eggs

48 soft caramel candies or Rolos unwrapped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.

Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, shortening, and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine.

In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon. Use a small (1 1/4-ounce) ice-cream scoop to form balls of the dough. Break the ball into two and place the caramel into the middle. Form one large ball and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool *make sure you dont transfer them too fast, because caramel might stick to the bottom of the pan

about 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Makes 4 dozen cookies

-Sweet Sarah

Found at The Baker Chick