Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Slow Cooker Taco Soup 

I modified this slightly from a recipe I found years ago somewhere on the Interwebz. Unfortunately I don't have the original source, but I thank whomever it was... we make this soup OFTEN! It freezes really well in either Ziploc bags or plastic bowls. It is a GREAT make-ahead meal for camping as well!

    * 1 lb ground beef 

    * 1 onion, roughly chopped  

    * 1 pkg ranch-style dressing mix  (or equivalent amount of homemade mix)

    * 1 pkg taco seasoning mix  (or equivalent amount of homemade mix)

    * 2 cans diced tomatoes w/ green chilies (undrained)

    * 1 can pinto beans 

    * 1 can black beans 

    * 1 can kidney beans - or another can of either pinto or black beans (I don't like kidney beans!)

    * 1 can corn (regular or cream style) OR 2 cups frozen corn 

    * 2 cans of water (use the bean cans; equal to 4 cups)

    * grated cheese, sour cream, and/or cilantro for garnish 

    * tortilla chips 

Brown the ground beef and drain as much fat as possible. Return it to the pan with the chopped onion over medium low heat. Stir in the two seasoning packets. Cook just a little longer until the onion is softened.

Transfer the beef mixture to a slow cooker and add the beans, corn, tomatoes/green chilies, and water. Cook on LOW for 4 - 6 hours (depending on your slow cooker).

Garnish as desired when serving.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Swedish Meatballs

I hate the process of making meatballs - it's so gross, and then I never want to eat the meatballs after going through the ickiness of making them. So I buy the big bag of Italian seasoned frozen meatballs at Costco and use them for anything meatball-related. This seems to work fine, so I see no reason to change! ;)

I've tried a few different recipes for Swedish meatballs, and finally came up with this:

Meatballs: Just use the Costco ones! About 20 - 24 oz of meatballs by weight. Bake them in the oven as directed while you're making the sauce.

Noodles: 8 oz of dry egg noodles, cooked. Boil noodles once you have added the meatballs to the sauce. The meatball and sauce  flavors will "marry" while the noodles are cooking.

Sauce:

• 2 cups beef broth
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 Tbl soy sauce
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground dried rosemary
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1-1/2 tsp basil

1. Whisk flour into milk, creating a slurry
2. Combine flour/milk mixture, soy sauce, and beef broth in a large saucepan, whisk together.
3. Add the sour cream to saucepan, whisk and cook on medium for a couple of minutes.
4. Add all spices to saucepan, whisk to combine.
5. Cook sauce on low-medium until thickened, whack/stir occasionally.
6. Add meatballs to sauce and let them simmer while noodles are boiling.
7. Drain noodles and return to pot; poor sauce/meatballs on noodles and stir gently to combine.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Mamie's Skillet Potatoes

Back in about 1991 I lived in an apartment located on the corner of Genesee Avenue and Fez Street in the "Golden Triangle" area near UC San Diego. My roommate was a delightful young man from my social group with whom I am still in touch with via Facebook. Since his ascension to membership in the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles he is now referred to jokingly as "Local Celebrity ___________ ___________ " which cracks me up every time.

ANYWAY, Local Celebrity as we'll call him, made delicious breakfast potatoes.  I have continued making the same basic style of potatoes for the last 20+ years. This is how I do it:

Scrub several potatoes russet potatoes and pierce with a fork a couple of times. bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or so. Remove from oven and cut in half length-wise to cool.

Once cool, cut potatoes into largish chunks. Finely dice a small onion and a couple of cloves of garlic.

I use a large cast iron skillet (yes, on my glass cook top!) and some bacon grease (which I save in the fridge); you can use whatever skillet and oil you have/prefer. Sauté the onion and garlic lightly in the hot grease/oil.

Add potatoes; stir by "flipping" so you don't mash up the potatoes a whole bunch. Get the onion/garlic distributed through the potatoes.  Season with fresh-ground salt and pepper, then sprinkle  some ground cumin on the potatoes to taste.  Flip the potatoes around and season again.

Let cook on low for 10 minutes or so, then sprinkle with grated sharp cheddar cheese.  Let the cheese just melt down into the potatoes for a few minutes, and then devour the deliciousness!


~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Crazy Easy Slow Cooker Shredded Beef

This "recipe" is so crazy easy that I almost feel lame posting it... but, I have been asked about how I make shredded beef for tacos, so here it is.

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef 

Ingredients: 

• 4 pounds beef roast, such as a chuck roast (I buy mine at Costco).
• 2 cans chopped tomatoes with green chilies, such as Ro-Tel.
• 1/2 cup or so salsa of your choice (if you plan to re-heat the shredded beef later).

Instructions:

1.  Trim major fat from roast. Cut to fit slow cooker if needed. The chuck roast from Costco usually comes with two pieces in the package (each about 2 pounds), which works great for me.
2. Place roast in slow cooker and cover with contents to two cans of tomatoes with green chilies.
3. Cook on low until meat is falling apart. My slow cooker runs a little hot, so for me this is about six hours.  It may take 8 or more, depending on your slow cooker.
4. When meat is to the falling apart stage, shred with two forks.  OPTIONAL: I like to remove the diced tomatoes with a slotted spoon before shredding the meat. I do this because I think that the tomatoes tend to get a little bitter and over-cooked tasting.

The shredded beef freezes fabulously - just let it cool and portion it into Ziploc freezer bags. It will reheat easily in a saucepan on the stovetop with some salsa stirred in to add some moisture.

GrandmaT and I figured out the number of portions for the almost 4 pounds of meat I cooked most recently - enough for 20! That is:

• The three of us had a dinner of shredded beef tacos the day I cooked the meat. The rest was frozen.
• The next weekend, 8 people dined on shredded beef tacos (1 - 3 each) and lots of other yumminess (to be shared in a post called "Patio Party Menu for 4/7/12" upcoming).
• The night after the patio party, the three of us had a repeat dinner of leftovers. We made a total of 8 tacos.
• The remainder was portioned into two Ziplocs and frozen, to make two more dinners.
• There was a small amount left, which Niece used to make a total of 4 tacos over the course of the afternoon as I write this.

So, four pounds of meat costing just under $20 yielded 20+ servings, which is $1 per serving. I used Hatch brand diced tomatoes and green chilies that I purchased at Natural Grocers for $1.15/can, adding 11.5 cents to the cost of each serving of meat (you can get grocery store-brand cans for as little as 79 cents). Of course, to make tacos you have to have tortillas/taco shell, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, etc. which obviously ups the cost of the meal as a whole, but I think the meat itself is a pretty good deal!
 
~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Fan-freakin'-tastic Smoothies

I posted previously about "Smoothies, Mamie-style" -  well, here's an update:

I made a HUGE batch of these fan-freakin'-tastic smoothies on the last day of spring break.  Put into plastic cups and covered, they can be FROZEN. Then all you have to do is get one out the night before and put it in the fridge. The next morning, your delicious smoothie is waiting for you, ready to slurp down! I  know several bloggers have posted about making "smoothie packs" with the ingredients pre-measured in a Ziploc bag, ready to blend in the morning. However, I am generally up too early in the morning to reasonably run the blender and make the kind of racket that would wake GrandmaT up.  Besides, I try to keep my before-school routine as simple and speedy as possible so as to maximize sleeping time.  We are fine with the quality of the pre-made/frozen/defrosted smoothies; you'll have to try it yourself to see if it's workable for you.

Here's the combo I made over spring break, and it is GOOD!

Ingredients for fan-freakin'tastic smoothies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Northland  blueberry/pomegranate 100% juice blend
• 1/2 cup Pacific Naturals organic unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 cup Fage Total non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 heaping tablespoon Bob's Red Mill ground flaxseed meal
• BIG handful of organic spinach leaves
• 1 medium banana
• 2/3 cup frozen organic blueberries
• 2 cups (approx.) whole frozen strawberries

Add everything to the blender in the order listed.  Blend until smooth and all frozen fruit is incorporated.  This will make approximately two 12-ounce smoothies.

YUM!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe: Grammie's Oatmeal Cookies

I wrote this recipe down from Grammie's files on January 1, 1993.  I love, love, love these cookies and make them often! They are easy to make on the spur of the moment, because you don't have to worry about softening butter.

Grammie's Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
•    2 eggs               
•    1 cup oil    (I use canola)           
•    1 cup sugar               
•    I cup brown sugar           
•    1 teaspoon vanilla           
•    1 1/2 cups flour
•    1 teaspoon soda
•    1 teaspoon salt
•    3 cups oats (old-fashioned or quick; NOT instant)
•    1 cup chopped nuts (pecans and walnuts both work great)


Directions:
1.    Beat eggs; add oil, sugars, and vanilla.

2.    Mix in flour, soda, salt, oatmeal and nuts.

3.    Drop by tablespoons on ungreased cookie sheets - I use my cookie scoop and then flatten the cookies out with the palm of my hand. I also use parchment paper on my cookie sheets.

4.    Bake at 375 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes until lightly browned.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is about the easiest recipe EVER. Seriously. It was told to me over the phone by a colleague in about 30 seconds. I made a batch today and will make another one Monday evening to take to my night class on Tuesday.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• One box of spice cake mix.
• One 15 ounce can of pure pumpkin (NOT "pumpkin pix mix").
• One cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350; line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine spice cake mix and pumpkin - I used my stand mixer.
3. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto cookie sheets. I used my cookie scoop. They don;t have to be too widely-spaced, as they don't seem to spread much.
5. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Let cool on trays one minute then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.

I am quite sure that chopped nuts, such as pecans or walnuts, could be happily substituted for the chocolate chips - I may do this on the next batch!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe: Mom's Pork Chop and Stuffing Bake

Wombat's on my mind an extra amount these days, now that we're at the two year mark of her passing.  This was one of her winter comfort food recipes, and is a taste of my childhood.

 

PORK CHOP AND STUFFING BAKE

• 2 – 2 ½ C. herb seasoned stuffing mix (do not use Stove Top)
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1 C. whole kernel corn
• ½ C. Craisins (optional)
• 1 C. onion, finely chopped
• ½ C. celery, finely chopped
• 4 boneless pork chops, ¾-1” thick
• 1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. Spicy brown mustard

1. Mix stuffing, soup, corn, Craisins, onion and celery.  Spoon into casserole that has been sprayed with Pam.  Top with chops.
2. Mix sugar and mustard and spoon over chops.
3. Bake at 400 for 45-60 minutes or until done (165 internal temp. of pork chops).

Serves 4


~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe: Tortellini Soup

Last Friday evening the five first grade teachers from my school had a fun social evening at the home of KB.  We truly like each other as PEOPLE and FRIENDS, and work together as if with one brain. I am SOOOOOO lucky to have such an incredible, brilliant, caring group of women to teach with! We had a great time talking about school, planning, gossiping a bit, discussing life and death... and of course, EATING! KB made a delicious Tortellini Soup, and she shared the recipe with me. I know that Mr. Mamie is going to LOVE this!

Here's the recipe (whick KB got from her mom), with a couple of very slight modifications.

Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 pound ground Italian sausage
• 1/4 cup diced onions
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 - 1 cup sliced carrots (depending on how carroty you like things)
• 1 small to medium zucchini, sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup diced green pepper
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 30 ounces (2 cans) beef broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1 package refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini*
• Shredded/grated Parmesan cheese, for topping
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  In a soup pot, saute onion in olive oil until it begins to soften. Add ground sausage and garlic; cook until sausage is browned.
2. Once the sausage is cooked, add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, water, and carrots to soup pot.  Bring to a full boil, then continue at low boil for 20 minutes.
3. Add the tortellini, diced green pepper, zucchini, oregano, and basil. Cook on low for 20 minutes.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste, top each bowl with shredded Parmesan, and serve.

 *Prepared tortellini comes in various sizes/flavors.  I purchased a frozen 19 ounce bag of three-cheese filled tortellini at my local market for a little over $3.00. This is a lot of tortellini, so depending on how things look when I start adding it in, I may only use 1/2 the bag (9.5 ounces).

Enjoy!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Correction: Kalani's Coconut Cake

In the Kalani's Coconut Cake recipe published on 6/11/11, I made a small error - use an 8 ounce container of Cool-Whip (NOT 16 ounce). The original post has been corrected.

I served the cake today to a group of 15 at our house and it was a big hit - thanks Kalani!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe: Jana's Blueberry Buckle

So, a friend of mine from high school - whom I have not seen in, uh,  24 years but thankyoufacebookhallelujah is in my (virtual) world again - posted a few times about making Blueberry Buckle to share with work colleagues. Blueberries? Breakfast baked goods? I WANT THAT! Oh.My.WORD! It is GOOD! She graciously allowed me to share the recipe here on my li' ol' blog - thanks Jana!

Jana's Blueberry Buckle

Batter ingredients:


• 3/4 c sugar

• 1/4 c butter

• 1 egg

• 1 T vanilla
• 
1 t almond extract (can be omitted, but adds a nice depth of flavor)
• 
1/2 c milk or sour cream (I used sour cream and it was excellent)
• 
1 1/2 c flour

• 2 t baking powder

• 1/2 t salt

• 1 c blueberries (fresh or frozen, see note below)



Streusel topping ingredients:

• 
1/2 c brown sugar

• 1/3 c flour
• 
1/2 t cinnamon

• 1/4 c butter, cut into 8 - 10 pieces

Directions:

1. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Thoroughly grease an 8" by 8" pan.
3. 

With an electric mixer, cream sugar, butter, egg until well- blended.  
4. Mix dry ingredients in a separate small bowl.  
5. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, alternating with milk/sour cream (1/3 dry, ½ dairy, 1/3 dry, ½ dairy, 1/3 dry).   Batter will be very stiff.
6. 

If using fresh berries, fold them gently into the batter and spread into pan.

 If using frozen berries, smooth half of batter into pan, sprinkle with berries, top with remaining batter (frozen berries will run and color the batter)


7. In a small bowl, mix streusel ingredients (with a pastry cutter or two knives) and sprinkle over the buckle.


8. Bake, uncovered for about 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.



(If doubling, use a 9" by 13" pan, and increase baking time to 45 minutes or so.)

Enjoy!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe: Kalani's Coconut Cake

Earlier this week I posted about the decadent Coconut Caramel Cake from Jamie Cooks It Up - mmmmmm, was that ever good! Believe it or not, just a few weeks ago I had another coconut cake that was JUST AS GOOD!

My school had a little luncheon for all the parents who have volunteered in classrooms and at activities during the year. The school provided sandwiches and drinks, and teachers brought salads and desserts. In case you're wondering, my contribution was this Greek Orzo  Salad, which was a big hit. More on that in another post.

My colleague Kalani brought a DELICIOUS coconut cake - sooooooo yummy and refreshing! I knew the minute I saw it that it was going to be fabulous, and I also knew that Mr. Mamie would LOVE IT. I got the recipe from Kalani and made the cake myself a few days later. Sure enough, Mr. Mamie LOOOOOOVED IT!

Kalan's recipe was pretty minimal when she gave it to me.  I tried to add some detail, but any errors are mine and not hers. I think you'll do juuuuuuust fine though... oh, wait, your mouth is too stuffed full of cake to converse? Yeah, toldja this cake was awesome!

Kalani's Coconut Cake

Cake ingredients:

• 1 box white cake mix
  
• 1 box (3.4 oz) coconut pudding mix

Sauce ingredients:

• 1 can (12 oz) cream of coconut - available in the (alcoholic) drink mix section of the grocery store. I was able to find this easily in my local Walmartz (despite the fact that I live in a state with very archaic alcohol laws - NOT that there's alcohol in the cream of coconut). I used Coco Lopez brand.
• 1 can (14 oz)  sweetened condensed milk

Topping ingredients:

• 1 (8 oz) container Cool-Whip
• Toasted coconut (see below) 

Directions:

1. Make the cake mix as directed on the box.  Use whole eggs, not egg whites. Add in the box of coconut pudding as you mix the cake.
2. Bake cake as directed on box (use a 9" x 13" cake pan, NOT two rounds). While cake is baking, stir together sauce ingredients until well-blended.
3. When cake is done baking, remove from oven and immediately (while the cake is still hot) use  the round handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes all over the top of the cake - about an inch apart from each other.
4. Pour the sauce over the cake and let it sit for several hours/over night. You can cover the cake loosely with aluminum foil; just don't let the foil get stuck to the top of the cake.
5. The next day get the Cool-Whip out to defrost. You need it defrosted and spreadable to complete the cake.
6. While the Cool-Whip is defrosting, make the toasted coconut: Preheat the oven to 300. Spread a thin layer of coconut on a baking sheet - choose your biggest baking sheet so that you can toast lotsa coconut! Bake the coconut in the 300 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes, making sure to stir every FIVE minutes. Failure to stir and monitor will result in icky, sticky, burned coconut. It only took 15 minutes in my oven, so be careful!
7. Spread defrosted Cool-Whip on cake and then sprinkle toasted coconut over Cool-Whip.
8. Store uneaten cake covered and in the refrigerator.
9. ENJOY!!!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recipe: Strawberry Freezer Jam

This last week I tried making strawberry freezer jam - for the first time! I KNOW, given where I live, home canning is practically REQUIRED, so what took me so long? Sorry, I'm a slow learner. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Igor and I had our first canning experience PERIOD just a couple of weeks ago - she had gotten 25 pounds of tomatoes as an add-on to a Bountiful Basket one week, and SOMETHING had to be done with them. Mrs. Igor has the equipment (thanks to her mom) and she purchased canning jars, lids, and rings. I just showed up to help a little and then enjoy the bounty! We made some really yummy salsa, and definitely be doing it again the next time there's a bulk purchase of tomatoes available.

But I digress... my friend Kalani (whose fabulous coconut cake recipe will be making an appearance here on the blog tomorrow) made some sugar-free strawberry freezer jam and it was SOOOOOO yummy! I was way jealous. Then I said... DUH, I can do that too! Except, I didn't plan ahead very well and buy a big bag o' Splenda from Costco. But I suddenly had my strawberries from Bountiful Basket over the weekend and needed to DO something with them. So, I made "regular" strawberry freezer jam instead.

We bought "100% Natural Sure-Jell Premium Fruit Pectin" from the Walmartz. Sadly, Sure-Jell is a brand owned by the giant food conglomerate Kr*ft, NOT my favorite type of company to support, but at the moment it was what was available. We'll be looking into sources of fruit pectin from more palatable companies and I'll let you know what I find out.  ANYHOO, having looked at various recipes on the interwebz, it seemed like a good idea to just use the recipe that came in the box of pectin - no need to get fancy. I was kinda bugged though, because you (that is, I) had to bounce around between sections of the package insert in order to follow the recipe.  So THEN, being the generous person I am, I figured I could make all y'alls' lives easier by recreating the recipe RIGHT HERE.

NOTHING about this recipe is original - it is STRAIGHT off of the insert out of the package of Sure-Jell, just organized in a slightly more linear manner. 'Cause I like a recipe that's STRAIGHTFORWARD, dontcha know?

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Equipment:

• Large mixing bowl
• Knife 
• Cutting board
• Potato masher OR food processor
• Liquid measuring cup
• Dry measuring cups
• Small saucepan
• Small ladle - like a gravy ladle you would use at the dinner table
• Canning funnel - OPTIONAL
• Containers for the jam - need to be freezer-safe. I used 8-ounce screw-top freezer canning jars made by Ball (pictured above, with the nifty purple lids, and YES! containers are awesome, thankyouverymuch Mrs. Stuff I Love!), I filled all five of my new Ball freezer containers and had a little jam leftover, so I used a small empty jar (from my VAST collection) for the "overage." THAT jar went into the 'fridge for immediate consumption.
• Dampened kitchen towel

Ingredients:

•  One box of 100% Natural Sure-Jell Premium Fruit Pectin
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 pints fresh, ripe strawberries - DON'T use old/poor-quality fruit; your jam will NOT have the fresh, bright flavor you want if you use crappy fruit!
• 4 cups white sugar

Directions:

1. Thoroughly wash and dry the containers you will be using for your jam.
   
2. Wash and remove stems/leaves from strawberries.
3. Mash the strawberries with a potato masher  (in a bowl), OR - easier! - run them through your food processor. Don't liquify them, you want a rough-ish texture. As you mash/process the berries, put them (post-mash) into a 1-cup LIQUID measuring cup. You will need EXACTLY two cups of mashed berries.
4. Once the two cups of mashed berries are in a mixing bowl, pour EXACTLY four cups of white sugar into the bowl. Again, measure carefully!
5. Stir the berry/sugar mixture until it is well-combined. Set a timer for 10 minutes and let the berry/sugar mix sit and rest. You may do the same.
6. After 10 minutes, give the berries another stir and then turn your attention to the pectin. Put 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan and then add the box of pectin.  
7. Heat on high until water/pectin comes to a boil, stirring constantly. The pectin may start out a little lumpy; don't worry, it will incorporate into the water. Boil water/pectin for one minute, stirring constantly.
8. Remove pan from heat, and pour pectin mixture into berry/sugar mixture. STIR, STIR, STIR until the sugar is completely dissolved - about 3 minutes. A few sugar crystals may remain. You now have jam!
9. Ladle jam into containers, leaving 1/2 inch of headroom at the top to allow for expansion during freezing. A canning funnel comes in handy here if you happen to have one. Wipe off any slops on the container with a clean, damp kitchen towel. Put the lids on the containers.
10. Let jam stand at room temperature for 24 hours to "set." Jam can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks or frozen for up to one year. Thaw in the refrigerator before use. Be sure to share with friends!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)