Easy Beef & Rice Enchiladas

This is a simple and yummy recipe! Perfect for a quick weeknight meal!

Ingredients

1lb. Ground Beef or Turkey

1 package Spanish Rice Mix - Any brand

12 flour tortillas - fajita size

2 cans enchilada sauce

1 package shredded cheese

Brown meat in pan. Drain grease. Set aside.

Prepare rice mix according to package directions. 

Warm tortillas in microwave so that they are soft and can easily roll. 

Prepare assembly line of: Meat, Rice, Cheese and Sauce

Down the center of a tortilla add a couple of tablespoons meat and rice. 

Top with 1-2 tbsp. enchilada sauce and cheese. 

Roll tortilla and place seam side down in 9x13 pan. Use toothpick to hold secure, if needed. 

Roll to use remaining tortillas. You may not use all of the rice and meat. 

Top enchiladas with extra can of sauce and sprinkle with cheese. 

Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. 

Yummy!

TIP: If you have enough rice and meat left you can use it for a filling for spicy stuffed peppers!

Greek Turkey Burgers

I stumbled across a recipe a month or two ago for Greek Chicken Burgers that sounded yummy! As with many recipes I make, I made some slight changes to it in order to accommodate what we had in the house, as well as our preferences. We were pretty happy with the outcome and have made these a couple of times since. Each time I have adapted a little bit and they have been good! 

Ingredients:

1lb. Ground Turkey

1 small onion

Minced Garlic (I buy the pre-minced kind in the jar)

Salt & Pepper

Basil & Oregnao

Pita Bread

Onion & Tomato

Tzatziki Sauce - 

I bought some from our local gyros joint. They sold it to me for like .40 a cup!

Step by Step:

Mince about 1/4 of the onion, while slicing the remaining portion.

Combine ground turkey, minced onion, and 1-2tsp minced garlic.

Add in salt, pepper, basil and oregano - about 1/2 tsp of each

Combine meat mixture with seasonings. 

Form burger patties - I made mine into ovals to accommodate the fact that they were going onto pita bread and not on to a round burger bun. 

Grill burgers to desired temperature.

Top pita bread with Tzatziki sauce, burger and onion and tomato. Fold in half, like a taco, and enjoy!

Comments:

You could get really creative with this recipe and at feta, kalamata olives, etc. 

We enjoyed ours pretty simple.

Source:

While I changed the recipe a bit, here is the inspiration recipe:

http://tasteofhomecooking.blogspot.com/2012/05/greek-chicken-burgers-with-tzatziki.html?m=1

No-Bake Thin Mint Cookie Truffles Recipe

Ingredients:
-1 (9 oz) package of Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies, or other mint cookies
-1/2 package (4 oz) cream cheese, softened  
-1 (12 oz) bag Guittard's Green Mint Chips 

Step by Step:

In a food processor, pulse the Thin Mints a few times, and then blend them down until they are just crumb or throw the cookies in a big Ziploc bag and start pounding them with a hammer until you have a lot of fine crumbs.

Next, mix the cream cheese and cookie crumbs together in a bowl until well-mixed. Roll the mixture into 1 inch size balls, and place them on a wax paper covered baking sheet. 

Place the baking sheet in the fridge for about 30 minutes, so the balls are easier to dip in the chocolate and do not fall apart.
Once the truffles have been in the fridge for a while, melt the green mint chips in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave. Heat the chips for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between each heat burst. Repeat until the chips are all melted.

Roll each ball in the melted chips until it is fully covered. I usually use two forks to push the truffle around until it is all covered. Then, using the two forks, carefully pick up the truffle and allow the excess mint chocolate to run off before placing back on the wax paper. Repeat with all the truffles.

Stick the truffles back in the fridge for a couple of minutes or until the mint chocolate is hardened.

If you want to decorate your truffles as I did, melt about 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips (or almond bark or white candy coating-whatever you want) the same way that you melted the mint chips. Spoon the white chocolate in a small Ziplock bag and cut a tiny bit of one corner off the bag. Start small at first, then if you need, make the hole a little larger. Drizzle the white chocolate over the green truffles.

Place back in the fridge until you are ready to eat them.

Source

via Pinterest

 http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/01/no-bake-thin-mint-cookie-truffles.html

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

Ingredients:

For the bread:

• 3 over-ripe bananas, smashed up
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• dash of salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour

For the swirl:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbs cinnamon

Step by Step:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and four a loaf pan. Mine was 9 x 5, but you could use any sort, I suppose. Just keep a close eye on it in the oven, and adjust the time as needed
2. Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together. sprinkle baking soda and salt around on top of the banana mixture. Then gently stir in flour. Be careful not to over-mix!
3. In a small dish, mix together the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tbs cinnamon.
4. Add 1/2 of the batter to the loaf pan and then sprinkle half, or a little more than half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture all over the batter in the pan. Add the rest of the batter, and then sprinkle the leftover cinnamon-sugar on top.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes, but remember, if you’re using a different-sized loaf pan, be careful and keep a close eyeball on it!

Source:

via Pinterest

 http://www.lovintheoven.com/2010/03/cinnamon-swirl-banana-bread.html

Mozzarella, Tomato and Avocado Salad

Ingredients :

1 container cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 carton fresh mozzarella cheese pearls, drained

1 avocado, peeled and diced

1/3 cup basil, julienned 

2 tablespoons fresh parsley

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

 Step by Step:

In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and parsley. Set aside.

 In a small bowl whisk the lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper.
Pour over tomato mixture. Toss to coat.  

Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

 Just before serving stir in the chopped avocado. 

Source

via Pinterest

http://ashleyscookingadventures.blogspot.com/2011/05/meatless-mondays-mozzarella-tomato-and.html

CREAM CHEESE JALAPENO CRESCENT POPPERS

Ingredients:

 1 tube regular Crescent Rolls
1 (4 ounce) can Diced Jalapenos (you will actually only use half of this can)
3/4 (8 ounce) cube cream cheese, room temperature
1 Tbsp. sugar

Step by Step:

This is an easy recipe, however a little difficult to explain all of the steps. 

Instead, I will link back to the blog they came from. She has a great step by step tutorial with pictures and all!

Source 

via Pinterest

http://myhomemdelife.blogspot.com/2011/01/companys-coming-cream-cheese-jalapeno.html

Healthy Spinach Dip

Thanks Amy for this recipe! Sounds like a great dip for football season!!

Ingredient:

1 10 oz container of frozen chopped spinach

1-2 5 oz cans of sliced water chestnuts 

1 8 oz container of 1% cottage cheese 

1 packet ranch dressing

 Step By Step:

Defrost spinach and squeeze out all of the water.

Dice Water Chestnuts into small pieces

Blend Cottage Cheese with hand blender or in traditional blender until smooth and creamy

Combine spinach, water chestnuts, blended cottage cheese and packet of ranch. 

Mix well and chill.

Serve with crackers, bread or veggies!

Source

Pinterest via

http://www.lindseyisham.com/2012/02/15/secretly-healthy-spinach-dip-for-parties/