Tag: dinner

Taco Bake (Gluten-Free)

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Youngest and I love eating tacos. This recipe is a combination of tacos and nachos in a casserole. YUM!

You can use up those crushed tortilla chips in your cupboard/pantry for this recipe.

What you need for the recipe:
  • Ground beef
  • Onion
  • Salsa
  • Taco seasoning
  • Tortilla chips
  • Shredded cheese – Mexican blend or cheddar – You can certainly shred your own.
  • Your favorite toppings: jalepenos, cheese, cilantro, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, and tomato
Variations:

Vegetarian option: Instead of ground beef, you can either use meatless ground beef crumbles or black/ pinto beans.

In step 4: You can also add cilantro lime rice or black beans as a layer.

Recipe

Click on the photo to go to a printable recipe card.

Notes:

  • You use half of the taco seasoning in the 2 steps.
  • The layers for the taco bake are ground beef mixture, cheese, and then tortilla chips. In that order
  • It says you can feed 6. Youngest and I only got 4 servings out of the meal.

Chicken Wings in the Air Fryer (GF, DF, W30)

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I love chicken wings. If you were to ask me what my comfort food is currently, I would tell you chicken wings without a doubt. Getting them at a restaurant is often expensive, so it’s more economical to make them at home coated with your favorite seasoning and covered with your favorite barbecue sauce.

My favorite seasoning is from a local shop. Rosebuds is located at the 2nd Street Market, a local farmer’s market/ artisan shop. My seasoning is the Campfire Rub which reminds me of cooking over an actual campfire. Yum!

I just get a bottle of honey barbecue sauce from Aldi. Youngest and I just like a basic barbecue sauce. I also like a Carolina type of barbecue sauce.

I’m not good at explaining how to cut up the chicken wings. I know I’m not the best at it. So I did what I do best, I googled how to cut up the chicken wings properly. Click here for the directions and then return to my blog for the recipe.

What to Serve with the chicken wings

Salad (greens, veggie or fruit, topping) with a dressing

Cooked frozen or canned veggies

Chips, French fries, or Tater Tots – Our favorite is the seasoned Tater Tots from Alexa foods.

Celery or carrots with ranch or bleu cheese – Classic choice

Applesauce

Macaroni and cheese

Similiar Recipes

BBQ ribs

Apricot BBQ wings

Ranch chicken legs

Chicken Wings

Stars of the recipe

  • 1 – 1 lb. chicken wings split
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. your favorite spice

Directions

  1. Preheat your Air Fryer to 425 degrees.
  2. Combine the split chicken wings, olive oil, and spices. In a sealed container or gallon sized bag.
  3. Shake to distribute the spices and olive oil onto the chicken wings.
  4. Put into the Air Fryer in a single layer.
  5. Cook for 15 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.
  6. Enjoy with your favorite barbecue sauce.

Notes:

Here is the link to how to split your chicken wings.

Philly Cheese Steak

I left this blog back in November. It had been a month and a half after my mom passed away. Since then, we’ve had quarantine and my mom’s estate is out of probate. Yeah!

Right before the quarantine, Hubby and I had decided to get new appliances. That was put on pause until stores were allowed to deliver the appliances. (No way we could have done it ourselves.)

Continue reading “Philly Cheese Steak”

Sundried Tomato Garlic Noodles – A pantry meal (Vegetarian)

My aunt came into town and helped me rearrange my pantry. Once I knew what was in my pantry, it was easy to decide what to make for dinner.

I had some Pasta Roni’s Butter and Garlic noodles, sundried tomatoes, black olives, chickpeas, and canned chicken in the pantry. What could I make for dinner?

I cooked up one box of the butter and garlic noodles and added the drained chicken to the noodles.

Once I cooked up the other box of the noodles, I placed half of it in the other bowl. With the other half, I added sundried tomatoes, black olives, and drained chickpeas. YUM! It sort of reminded me of my favorite dish at Piada.

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Sundried Tomato Garlic Noodles

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: very easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 1 box of Pasta Roni, Butter and Garlic
  • ¼ c. sundried tomatoes
  • ¼ c. black olives or Kalamata olives
  • ¼ c. drained and rinsed chickpeas
  • 1 to 2 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese, optional


Directions

  1. Make the Pasta Roni according to the directions on the box.
  2. Once the Pasta Roni is cooked, add the sundried tomatoes, olives, and chickpeas.
  3. Sprinkle Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.
  4. Enjoy!



Happy eating,
Traci

Sloppy Joe French Fries (GF) – Blog Post #17

There is no real recipe.

On Saturday, I decided to make sloppy Joes.  Instead of eating it without eating it with gluten free bread, baked potato, or by itself, I decided to make French fries.

I topped the French fries with the Sloppy Joes and then added some shredded cheese.  Yum!

Saturday is a pretty casual day for our dinners.  Hubby saw how I ate my Sloppy Joe and decided he wanted to eat it the same way.

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Sloppy Joe French Fries

Stars of the recipe:

Steps:

  1. Make the French fries.
  2. Meanwhile make the Sloppy Joes.
  3. Top the French fries with Sloppy Joes and cheese.
  4. Enjoy!

So easy and delicious!

Happy eating,
Traci

What I Like About Fall and “Soy Sauce” Pork Chops (GF, DF, Paleo, W30)- Blog Post #13

writer's workshop

I didn’t feel good on Wednesday night so I did not get this post up for the week.  Headache and tiredness.  Yuck!  It was an early night for me.

This week’s prompt is what do I like about fall.

  1.  The flavors of fall – cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves

    pumpkin pie spice
    Pumpkin Pie Spice

  2. Pumpkin Spice Latte, Maple Pecan Lattes, and Blackberry Pie Lattes.
    I get the Blackberry Pie Lattes from a local coffee shop called Winans.
    IMAG4072
  3. The crisp air – I can wear my Mickey Mouse hoodie.IMAG0170
  4. My Autumn Glory Maple Tree
    Taken in 2014
    Taken in 2014
    Halloween – My town is known for decorating for Halloween.  They usually have a parade celebrating Halloween.  We’ve never done it though.
    2014
    2014
    The boys are getting too old for trick or treating.  Insert sad face.
  5. The decorations

    Bonfires
    10736073_10205372661619449_321267593_n
  6. Our dog can go on more car rides because it’s not too hot.
    IMAG4031
  7. Thanksgiving
    The last Thanksgiving with Tanya (2015)
  8. The trees changing colors
    The two things I don’t like about fall are :
  1.  Foggy mornings
    IMAG4060
  2. Extreme Storms – Rain or wind or a combo of both

Mama’s Losin’ It

When my father-in-law was alive, he would marinade pork chops in soy sauce.  Hubby loved those soy sauce pork chops.

Soy sauce has wheat in it.  So for a gluten free diet, it’s a no go.

For a while I switched to gluten free soy sauce but at over $4 a bottle, I didn’t like those prices.

Then I did the Whole 30 in April/ May of 2017.  I began to use coconut aminos.

The problem with coconut aminos is that it is $6 a bottle.  Yikes!

Then I found out Trader Joe’s has their coconut aminos for $2.99 a bottle.  WIN!

So I stocked up on the coconut aminos.

Now I can make Asian dishes and “soy sauce” pork chops without feeling sluggish afterwards.  YEAH!

My family loved my “soy sauce” pork chops.  They did not know the difference.

If you don’t eat gluten free, you can use regular soy sauce.

IMG_2295

”Soy Sauce” Pork Chops

  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

– 1 lb. boneless pork chops

– ¼ c. coconut aminos

– salt to taste

Directions

  1. In a container or Ziploc bag, place the pork chops and coconut aminos
  2. Allow the meat to marinade for at least 2 hours or overnight.
  3. Cook on a medium high heat for 5 minutes on one side.  Season with salt before flipping the pork.
  4. Flip and cook for 3 minutes on the other side.
  5. Enjoy!

We ate our dinner with pressure cooker applesauce, plain white rice, and mixed veggies.  If you were doing the Whole 30, I would serve it with the applesauce, cali rice, and green beans.  Yum!

Happy eating,
Traci

Cranberry Chicken (Day 20)

Welcome to Day 20 of 31 Days of Slow Cooking!

I decided to Google a writing prompt for today because I was coming up blank on what I should write.  I found a website called Massive Sway that had writing prompts for each day in October.  So I’m using today’s writing prompt.

What do you like to do on a dark and stormy day?

Last night as soon as the Wee One had soon left for his acrobatic lesson with his grandma, the dog decided he was going to jump on me.  He was breathing on me and shaking like crazy.  Why was he doing that?  It was getting ready to storm.

I was working on progress reports at that time so I finished working on them.  Then I took a bath and just relaxed.

The rest of the night was stormy.  It made for good sleeping weather.  However I kept getting interrupted by the dog walking into my room, jumping onto my bed (something he’s not suppose to do), walking around my head, and then jumping off the bed.  He did that a few times before finally settling down for the night.

It continued raining throughout today while the temperature was dropping.  I wish I wasn’t at work because it would be a good day to just relax, read a book, and cook some cookies or brownies.  On a rainy day, it’s nice to make soup in the slow cooker.

In fact, I had made taco soup last night.  We had more of the soup for dinner tonight.

What do you like to do on a dark and stormy day?

Cranberry Chicken

Stars of the Recipe:

  • 2 lbs. Chicken breasts
  • 1 sm. Onion, diced
  • 1 (14 oz.) can of cranberry whole berry sauce
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • 2 Tbsp. honey
  • 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • Pepper to taste

Steps:

  1. Place chicken in slow cooker.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together cranberry sauce, garlic, honey, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and pepper.
  3. Pour over the chicken.
  4. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.

Printable Recipe

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Honey and Apple Pork Roast (Day 15)

honey-and-apple-pork-roast

Welcome to Day 15 of 31 Days of Slow Cooking.  We are at the halfway point of the 31 days of slow cooking.

The Imaginative One is working towards his cooking merit badge.  He’s done the camping portion of the merit badge.  Now it’s time for him to create a menu and then cook it for us.  We are having baked pancakes made with pancake mix rather than from scratch.  He’s putting together sandwiches for our lunch.  For supper, we are having chicken nuggets and French fries.  They didn’t say it had to be healthy.

I’m still helping him with the cooking because there are some basics he doesn’t know.

It’s interesting having him cook in the kitchen.

This is a great fall dish.  It’s easy to put together with great flavor.

Honey and Apple Pork Roast

Stars of the Recipe:

  • 3 lb. pork roast or pork tenderloin
  • 2 Granny smith apples, peeled and sliced into thin slices
  • 2 Tbsp. honey
  • 2 Tbsp. cinnamon or pumpkin spice blend

Steps:

  1. Place apples in the bottom of the slow cooker.
  2. Make slits in the pork roast.  Insert 2 thin slices of apple in those slits.
  3. Place the pork roast in the slow cooker over the apples.
  4. Pour honey over the pork roast.
  5. Sprinkle cinnamon or pumpkin spice blend over the pork roast.
  6. Cook on low 8 hours.

Printable Recipe

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Coca Cola Ham (Day 14)

coca-cola-ham

Welcome to Day 14 of 31 Days of Slow Cooking.

Ham is one of those meals that I can make that all the family members will run, skip, or hop to the table when I make it for dinner.

When the Imaginative One turned 13, we had this for his belated birthday dinner.  The Coca Cola helps make a delicious glaze that is unbelievable.  It’s good by itself or as a sandwich.

Coca Cola Ham

Stars of the recipe:

 

  • 4 to 5 lb. sliced ham, fully cooked
  • 1 c. (8 oz.) can of coca cola or Coke
  • ¼ c. brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard or yellow mustard

Steps:

  1. Place ham in the crockpot.
  2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar and mustard.
  3. Spread the brown sugar mixture on the ham.
  4. Pour the cola around the ham.
  5. Cook on low for 6 hours.
  6. Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Today I discussed Cast Member’s Name Tags on my 31 Days of Disney.

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Oven “Fried” Chicken (Gluten Free Option)

My family loves fried chicken especially Kentucky Fried Chicken.  It’s not healthy to eat KFC though.  So when I found this recipe back in February, I was super excited.  It’s a little bit healthier because you bake the chicken instead of frying it in oil.   Continue reading “Oven “Fried” Chicken (Gluten Free Option)”

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