Aaron McCargo Jr.'s Chicken Taco Pizza

So these were a HUGE hit at our house, especially with Aaron.  This was an easy recipe I found here, but I made some changes.  The calories, the way I made it, were 620, and Aaron, Noah and I gave this a perfect 10, Jonah says he gave it a 9, and Owen gave it a 7 because he said it was too spicy :).  Here's what I did:

1 T onion powder
1/2 T chili powder
1/2 t dried oregano
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 t ground cumin
salt

1/4 c oil
4 whole garlic cloves, minced
pinch of cumin
1 tube crescent roll dough
1 lb (I used a little more) chicken tenders, cut into bite size pieces and seasoned with salt
2 c shredded Pepper Jack and Mexican blend cheeses
Guacamole
Pico de Gallo

Preheat the oven to 425.
Mix the spices together and set aside.
Mix the oil and garlic together with the cumin.  Roll the crescent roll dough out into 2 long strips on a cookie sheet, brush with the oil, sprinkle with a little of the spice mixture, then set it aside.  Mix about 2/3 of the remaining spice mixture with the remaining oil.
Place the chicken in the oil/spice mixture, turning to coat, and then leave it to marinate, around 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the marinade, place it on a broiler pan, and bake for about 10 minutes.  Turn the oven down to 375, then bake the crescent roll dough about 7 minutes.  Remove the dough, spread it with more seasoning, then top it with the chicken and the cheese.  Bake for another 5 minutes or so, maybe a little more, then cut into pieces and serve it with pico and guac.

Owen's Cherry Daiquiris

So, we didn't get a picture of this, but this is a fun smoothie to make together with kids :).  Owen loves the strawberry daiquiris in the freezer section, the Bacardi mixers, and we add Sprite to them so the kids can have virgin drinks.  Owen wanted to try to reproduce this using cherries, and it turned out really well.  We all gave this a 9, we felt like it needed more grenadine.  Here's what to do:

1 lb frozen, pitted sweet cherries
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 c sugar (more or less)
1/4 c grenadine
ice

Blend together and serve.

Dave Lieberman's Salmon with Three Bean Salad

I love this easy, fresh fish recipe, it really hit the spot for me, and everyone else seemed to enjoy it as well, just maybe not as much as me :).  I found this recipe on foodnetwork.com, and here is the actual link.  I used black beans instead of navy beans, and I baked the salmon in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes, since Aaron likes his salmon well done.  Cook less time for a medium rare, about 10 minutes or so.  Each serving was 420 calories for six servings with the avocado on top.  Noah gave this a perfect 10, I gave it a 9, Owen and Aaron gave it a 7.  This is fresh and delicious!

Cook's Illustrated's Sticky Toffee Pudding

I know that often times English cooking is said to be less than delicious, but after spending time there, I have to heartily disagree.  English pub food, and English desserts, might be some of my favorite foods ever.  I found this recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding in my Cook's Illustrated International cookbook, and it was amazing.  Noah and I gave it a perfect 10, Owen gave it a 9, and Aaron gave it an 8, saying it's one of his favorite "cake" desserts he's ever had.  Each pudding, with the creme Anglaise was 832 calories, so ouch! but worth it ;).  Although called a pudding, it isn't like our pudding, rather it is more like bread pudding, a solid, cake-like steamed pudding that is so moist and delicious.  This has dates in it, and although I don't like to eat dates by themselves, I do love them in desserts.  This seems to have a lot of steps, but it is relatively easy to put together.

Creme Anglaise:

1 c cream
1 c half and half
1/2 c sugar
1 t vanilla
4 egg yolks
1/2 t cornstarch (this isn't required, but makes it a little thicker)
pinch of salt

Bring the cream and half and half to a simmer, and keep it at medium-low after reaching a simmer.
In a medium bowl, beat together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Slowly temper the eggs with the hot cream, then add the egg mixture to the pan and stir constantly until thickened a little and the temperature of the cream is 180 degrees.
Pour the creme anglaise through a fine mesh sieve, stir in the vanilla, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours.

Pudding Cakes:

butter, flour and parchment for the ramekins
1 1/4 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
14 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 t baking soda
3/4 c water
3/4 c packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
4 T unsalted butter, melted

Toffee Sauce:

8 T unsalted butter
1 c packed brown sugar
2/3 c heavy cream
1 T rum (optional, use rum flavoring or more vanilla if desired)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Butter and flour the ramekins, then cut a parchment round to fit the bottom of each ramekin.  Place a kitchen towel in a large roasting pan, place the ramekins on top, and bring some water to a boil.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.
Combine the water, half the dates, and the baking soda together and set aside to soften, about 5 minutes.  Remove the dates and reserve the liquid.
Process the remaining dates in a food processor with the brown sugar until just blended.  Add in the reserved soaking liquid, the eggs, and vanilla and process until smooth.  With the food processor running, pour in the melted butter.  Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add in the rest of the dates.
Gently fold in the flour mixture until just combined, divide the batter between the ramekins, and pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, with the towel there to keep things moist and securely in place.  Cover the roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil, then bake about 40 minutes.

While the cakes bake, melt the butter for the toffee sauce in a pan, whisk in the brown sugar until smooth, about 3-4 minutes, then stir in the cream and rum.  When well combined, set aside and cover to keep warm.

When the cakes are done, transfer them to a rack immediately to cool for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, poke holes all over the top of the cakes, and spoon toffee sauce over them, allowing the sauce to soak in.  When ready to serve, unmold the cakes from the ramekins, invert them onto a plate with creme anglaise on it, then top the cake with more toffee sauce and serve immediately.

Copy Cat Taco Bell's Seven Layer Burrito

Yay for Taco Bell!  I love Taco Bell, and anyone who knows me is prepared to have me vote for Taco Bell every time we go out to eat :).  I used to love Seven Layer Burritos from them, but they changed the recipe of their rice, probably to make it more healthy, but that changed the flavor and now I don't like the seven layer burritos anymore.  So I set out to make something similar, but since I like my beans to have more flavor, and be spicier, it wasn't the same.  It was a huge success here, since we all love burritos anyway, and this was a good one.  Aaron, Noah and I gave this a perfect 10, and Owen gave this a 9 because it was spicier than he liked.  This is highly dependent on how big your burrito is for calories, but count around 400.

Here's the fun and easy recipe:

Tortillas

My Favorite Refried Beans, using chorizo rather than bacon 

PW's Mexican rice casserole

grated cheese, I used Pepper Jack and Monterey Jack

Wholly Guacamole (I wanted a Taco Bell Guacamole flavor)

Sour Cream

Shredded Lettuce (I used spinach, green onions, and cilantro mixed, ice burg is traditional)

Tomatoes

Layer the ingredients on the tortillas, and serve

Flour, Too's Pork Loin with Mojo Sauce

So I wasn't sure I was going to feature this recipe, since I changed it a little, and didn't do all the recipe said to, but we really enjoyed this pork and sauce, all of us giving this a 9, except Noah who gave it a perfect 10, and it was relatively easy, so good things :).  Each serving was 292 calories for six servings.  Flour, Too, is where I found this recipe, and I was happy to be able to crockpot this and still have it turn out well.  I ended up leaving the pork in the brine for almost 48 hours in the fridge, and it was just so flavorful and tender.  Here's what to do:

Brine:

1/4 c salt
1/2 c packed brown sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
1 orange, halved
1 t dried thyme
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 T fennel seeds
1 T coriander seeds
3 bay leaves
1-2 lb pork loin

Oregano Mojo:

1 cup (more or less) fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 c olive oil
1/3 c freshly squeezed lime juice
3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
1/2 t salt
pepper

onion powder, oregano, garlic, and salt and pepper to season the pork

Mix the brine ingredients in a large pot with 2 1/2 qt water, bring it to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar.  Let it cool completely, then place the pork in the brine and refrigerate at least over night.

Make the Mojo by mixing all the ingredients together, stirring well.  Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours.

When ready to cook the pork, season the pork, then place in a greased crockpot.  Allow the pork to cook for around 4-6 hours on low, making sure not to overcook.  Serve with the mojo sauce.

Picky Palate's Ultimate Queso Bean Dip

I found this fun recipe at Picky Palate's website, and although it was fun and easy, I would've liked more cheese.  I followed the recipe pretty closely, just using refried black beans rather than refried pinto beans, and milk rather than cream.  Each serving was 247 calories, and we gave this an 8.  Try it for a fun and easy dip!