Open Source Cook

This recipe originally came from Betty Crocker, but it is so easy to make, that you can easily make it your own. I know I did.  One of the things I added was green peppers.  For some reason, I love cooking with green peppers lately.  They just add a flavor that seems to always work.   I also used Colby Jack shredded cheese instead of Cheddar since that is what I had on hand.

That’s the other beautiful part, I had all the ingredients in my cabinet.  I was looking for something easy for dinner tonight since I wasn’t going to be here and we had hamburger so I thought this would work.  I love finding recipes where I have all the ingredients already and I don’t have to go out shopping for them.

Jesse wasn’t too crazy about this recipe, but I don’t think he would have a problem eating it again.  Especially if I continue to tweak it.  I thought it kind of tasted like a cheeseburger (bun included) but as a casserole and Jesse thought it tasted more like a casserole.  Either way, it was easy to make, I had all the ingredients in my pantry, and I can easily add more ingredients (i.e. green peppers, jalapeños, tomatoes, etc.) if I want to.  To me, that makes a recipe a definite keeper.

Also, for anyone looking to make this for only two people, Betty’s already done the work.  I also found recipes for a Taco Pie and a Chicken Taco Pie that I think I’m going to try.

Ingredients:
1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1/4 of a green bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs or 1/2 cup egg product

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray.
2. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in salt. Spread in pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese.
3. In small bowl, stir remaining ingredients with fork or wire whisk until blended. Pour into pie plate.
4. Bake about 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake 30 to 35 minutes.

Nutrition Information: 1 Serving: Calories 325 (Calories from Fat 190 ); Total Fat 21 g (Saturated Fat 10 g); Cholesterol 135 mg; Sodium 530 mg; Total Carbohydrate 11 g (Dietary Fiber 0g); Protein 23 g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 8 %; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 18 %; Iron 10 % Exchanges: 1 Starch; 3 Medium-Fat Meat; 1/2 Fat
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

This really isn’t a recipe, but something we’ve been experiementing with for awhile now and I thought I would share our results. Basically, we tend to have pancakes a lot (it’s a great last minute dinner) and we’ve been trying different fruits in the batter to see what we can come up with. We’ve tried the standard blueberry, but we didn’t stop there.

When I add fruit to pancakes, I don’t throw all the fruit into the batter and then pour into a pan. My father does that and I’m not crazy with the end results. You can end up with fruit cooking straight on the pan instead of in the pancakes and it can taste a little funny. Instead, I will pour the pancake batter into the pan and then put the fruit on the pancake after a couple of seconds sitting in the pan. Once the fruit is in the batter, I’ll take more batter (usually using either a fork or whisk) and dab it on top of the fruit, making sure all the fruit is covered. This way, when I flip the pancake, none of the fruit is touching the pan and it’s being cooked from the inside.

Anyway, here’s what we’ve found with the following fruit:

Raspberries:
It’s not bad, but it can be a weird combination with maple syrup. Something I found that works out really well is smashing the raspberries before putting them in the batter. The first pancake I tried, I didn’t smash the berries and when Jesse cut into it, he found molten areas of raspberries that wasn’t all that fun to be burned with. The second time around, I smashed them and they came out great. It took fewer raspberries for each pancake and you did get overpowered in a single bit. Instead, it was spread out a lot more.

Jesse wasn’t crazy about the raspberries in the pancakes, but he only had that first pancake where I didn’t smash them up. So that may make a difference.

Peaches:
This was really good. The peaches added a sweetness that worked well with powdered sugar and even maple syrup. I made sure I cut the peaches up into small tidbits and sprinkled them all over the pancake and it cooked really beautifully. The flavor wasn’t overpowering and it added something a little fun.

Bananas:
Ian loves bananas and we had a couple sitting around, so I thought I would throw a couple into the batter for a change. I thought they were really good, but Jesse doesn’t think he liked it to well. The bananas did add a strange texture and taste to the pancakes, but it was a good contrast in my opinion. Again, I cut the bananas into small tidbits and sprinkled around the batter.

Apples:
This was also a surprise. I can’t remember what type of apple I used, but again, I cut them into tiny tidbits and they came out really good. I want to say I used a macintosh, but don’t quote me on that since I remember the apples adding a bitterness to the pancake that counterbalanced the sweetness of the maple syrup. I’m not a fan of maple syrup, it’s too sweet for me, but with apple pancakes, it was actually really good.

With salsa, there’s a bunch of different things you can do with it. Everyone has their own recipe and way they make it, but here’s mine. Before I found the guacamole recipe, Jesse was having me make this as often as I could since it is a pretty healthy snack. I continually experiment with this recipe and it’s really easy to do. All of the ingredients are pretty much to taste, so if you want more onions, you can add more if you want. The measurements I have below are ones I’ve found that work well, but I don’t think I’ve measured the onions in a long time.

The recipe is pretty basic, but if you’re looking to add some color to it, try adding a bunch of red, yellow, and green peppers. They really add to the color and texture of the salsa and I’ve yet to hear any complaints when I do add them. You can also make this as spicy as you want. My mother’s husband really likes spicy hot foods, so when I made this for them awhile ago, I added as many hot peppers I could get my hands on as well as Habenero sauce and it really came out spicy hot.

As for the directions, I typically use a blender to make it since it’s an easy and effective way to do it. However, this method does liquefy it a little more, so if you’re looking for a chunkier salsa, try using a food processor.

The salsa can be served right away after you make it; however, it’s better when you make it a few hours before you need it and stick it in the refrigerator for a time. The longer it sets in the fridge, the thicker it will be come and the spices have more time to blend together.

Ingredients:
1 large can of tomatoes (whole, stewed, or diced)
1/4 chopped onions (or to taste)
1 chopped jalapeno pepper
Salt
Pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/t tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
cilantro

Directions:

1. Add peppers, 1/2 of onions, and juice from tomatoes in a blender. Blend for about a minute or until onions and peppers are small enough or pureed. Pour into mixing bowl.
2. Add tomoatoes, salt, pepper, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, rest of the onions, and cilantro in a blender. Pulse blend 3 or 4 times, just enough to break up the tomatoes. Add to pepper mixture. Stir.

This is actually a really quick and easy dessert to make. You can actually use any kind of peach you want (fresh, frozen, or canned), but I ended up using diced canned peaches and it worked out really well. Sliced peaches are fine, but then you have to mess with cutting the peaches while you’re trying to eat it and that can be a pain. Using the diced peaches worked perfectly because they were already to eat and no cutting was involved.

The original recipe used toffee chips and my mother uses white chocolate chips, however, I use the semi-sweet chips and they add a very nice bittersweet taste that balances well with the peachy taste well. The recipe makes an 8×8 pan and, according to Jesse’s portions, probably about 5 servings. At least, Ian and I only got two servings each and Jesse ate the rest.

One other thing I should mention, I can’t remember what the original recipe said, but I doubled the amounts for the crisp topping. I really like the crisp topping and this had the perfect amount for me, so if you’re not a fan of the crisp, you can easily cut the amounts in half without hurting anything.

Jesse did want me to mention that he wasn’t crazy about the peaches I used. The diced part was great, but he said there was a taste to the peaches that he didn’t like. His exact words are “they had a funky taste to them.” However, when I made them again, I used both sliced and diced peaches and he didn’t complain about an after taste with that mixture. And it still worked out really well.

This is a good recipe to try with different fruits.

Ingredients:
3 cans peaches with light syrup
1-1/3 cups instant oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread peaches in ungreased square pan, 8×8x2 inches.
2. Mix remaining ingredients until crumbly; sprinkle over peaches.
3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until peaches are tender and topping is golden brown. Serve warm.

Variation: Substitute sliced peeled all-purpose apples for the peaches; substitute toffee bits for any kind of chocolate chip; substitute blueberries (or other fruit) for peaches.

Substitution for bisquick: 1/2 cup bisquick = 1/2 cup flour + 1 tsp baking powder + dash of salt

Nutritional Info
Calories: 270 (calories from fat 90)
Fat: 10g (saturated 2g)
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 280mg
Carbohydrates: 45g
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 3g
Daily Values: 16% Vitamin A; 4% Vitamin C; 6% Calcium; 6% Iron
Exchanges: 1 starch, 2 fruit, 2 fat.
Diabetic Friendly: yes

Jesse loves guacamole. Not only is it healthy, but it’s so quick and easy. The most strenuous task is cutting up the veggies that go into it, otherwise it’s all stirring and done in 5 minutes. I normally like to make it and refrigerate it for an hour (so the flavors and spices will blend), but Jesse doesn’t normally let it get that far. I barely get done stirring it before he’s dipping a chip into it.

Lately, he’s found another really great way to eat it. Meijers has been selling this artisan bread called “Black Bean & Salsa” and Jesse loves spreading guacamole on slices as if it was butter. He’ll eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until the loaf is gone.

The amount of the onions, tomatoes, garlic, and jalapeños is up to you. I don’t usually measure them, but I do give a rough estimate in the ingredients. I will be honest, about the only thing I do measure is the lime juice and that’s because too much or too little makes a big difference.

Ingredients:
2 large ripe pitted, peeled Avocados
1 medium, finely chopped Roma tomatoes
2 finely chopped Jalapeños
1/4 medium chopped Onion
1-2 finely chopped Garlic Clove
2 tbsp fresh Cilantro finely chopped (or to taste)
2 tbsp Juice, lime
1/2 tsp Salt
dash Pepper, black
dash Pepper, cayenne
1 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Garlic powder

Directions:
In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt. Stir in cayenne pepper, cilantro and black pepper. Mix in onion, jalapeños, tomatoes, and garlic. Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor, or serve immediately.