Left Over Roast Part 3

I made a roast yesterday- and for something different for the left-overs, I put the meat, onions and au jus into my food processor and blended it together. Served over a warm bagel with cream cheese, it's so yummy!!

Taco Soup

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs ground beef

2 cups diced onions

2 (15 1/2 oz) cans pinto beans

1 (15 1/2 oz) can pink kidney beans

1 (15 1/4 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (14 1/2 oz) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes

1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (14 1/2 oz) can tomatoes with chilies

2 (4 1/2 oz) cans diced green chilies

1 (4.6 oz) can black olives, drained and sliced (optional)

1/2 cup green olives, drained and sliced (optional)

1 (1 1/4 oz) package taco seasoning mix

1 (1 oz) package ranch salad dressing mix

Corn Chips, for serving (I use very small strips of tortilla chips)

Sour Cream, for garnish

Grated Cheese, for garnish

Chopped Green Onions, for garnish

Pickled Jalapenos, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat , then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chilies, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.

Pumpkin Bars

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs

1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

15 oz. canned pumpkin

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

Icing:

8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until lightly fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10 inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

Pasta Caprese

INGREDIENTS:

2 TBL Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1-2 tsp Juice of 1 Lemon

1 Garlic Clove, minced

1 Small Shallot, minced

Salt and Pepper

2 ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded, and cute into 1/2 inch pieces

6 ounces of Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 pound pasta

2 TBL shredded fresh basil

1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Whisk the oil, 1 tsp of the lemon juice, garlic, shallot, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper together in a bowl. Add the tomatoes and gently toss to combine; set aside for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 45 minutes. Place the mozzarella on a plate and freeze until slightly firm, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the pasta and 1 TBL salt and cook until al dente. Drain.

Add the pasta and partially frozen mozarella to the tomato mixture and gently toss to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the basil and season with salt, pepper and the remaining 1 tsp lemon juice and sugar to taste. Serve immediately.

A Few Cooking Sites

Here are 3 other blog sites that have lots of good cooking ideas:

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/

http://cookingoncloverlane.blogspot.com/

http://sisters-labonnecuisine.blogspot.com/

Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli and Rice

I made my first recipe off of Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen! I was looking for something easy that had broccoli (green, leafy vegetables are good for pregnancy!) and so I tried this. It was easy to make- but not my favorite of all time. I added a can of cream of cheddar soup, and that helped. I'd make it again for something easy, but am still looking for a better recipe for this casserole!