Sopapillas! (Nancy's recipe...AGAIN)

Boy how I LOVE this woman's cooking!! I'm so glad she let's me share them with you all!:) There are so many things you could do with these! Tony wants to open up a sopapilla restaurant and just serve different kinds of sopapillas for every meal! For breakfast you could stuff it with eggs, fried potatoes and then drench in Green Chilie sauce, he's thinking of doing an Italian sopapilla, and dessert sopapillas...his mind was going CrAzY!!:) Anyway, back to the recipe...

Sopapillas

PRINT RECIPE

6 cups flour

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 heaping Tablespoon shortening\

1 cup scalded milk

about 1 cup water

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the shortening and mix together with your hand until incorporated with flour. Make a "well" in your bowl and pour in the milk and water. Using your hand again, mix liquid with flour mixture. The dough should be just a little sticky...if it's is too sticky add a little more flour, if the dough just isn't coming together add some more water. Then knead with hands for a couple of minutes.

Divide dough into balls about the size of a raquetball. Cover dough with towel until ready to fry. Heat oil in a fryer or in a cast iron pan on the stove. (You will know the oil is hot enough if when you put a small amount of dough in there it immediately rises to the surface...fun little fact I learned from Nancy!:))

Take one of the balls of dough and roll into a circle...about 1/8" thick or so. Use a pizza cutter to cut into quarters and then place in the oil until both sides are browned...don't over fry them. This only takes a few seconds on each side.

When they are done you can "open" them up and stuff them with whatever you'd like. Last night we stuffed them with fried potatoes and then covered them with the Green Chilie sauce. (That's what the picture above is!) They were sooooo yummy!!

Another yummy way to do it (which the kids LOVED!) is to make some a little smaller (cut into 8th's instead of quarters) and then once they've cooled a little put them in a bag with some powdered sugar and shake. These were scrumptious!!

Nancy's Green Chili Sauce

So our good friend Nancy came and showed us how to make her Green Chili Sauce (that I thought would be really good with my Chicken Enchiladas)last night. It was just as good as I remembered! Although if used as an enchilada sauce I would probably leave the meat out of it. Here's the recipe:

Nancy's Green Chili Sauce

PRINT RECIPE

1 1/2-2 lbs pork (whatever you have on hand), cubed

Meat tenderizer

Salt & Pepper to taste

2 Tablespoons oil

1 lb ground beef

Sprinkle meat tenderizer on pork and let sit for a couple of minutes. Heat oil in large frying pan and then add the pork, salt and pepper and cook until the pork is done. In a separate frying pan cook the ground beef until no longer pink. (set ground beef aside until needed)

3 Tablespoons flour

3 Tablespoons oil

When pork is ready, move it to the side of the frying pan and then make a roux using the flour and oil. While stirring let the roux toast (it will turn a kind of light mustard color).

5 cups water

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/4-1/2 cup roasted green chilies (use Anaheim peppers and I am told that Walmart will roast them for you for free at the deli counter. Then just remove the skins and then coarsely chop the peppers. Freeze any leftovers for future use!)

1 tomato, diced

Add the ground beef to the pork and combine with the roux. Then pour in the water, garlic powder, cumin, salt, green chilies and tomato, then stir to combine. Sauce will thicken as it heats up. If the sauce is too thick just add a little more water.

We had it with sopapillas stuffed with fried potatoes and then drenched in the green chili sauce!! But there are a ton of other things you could use it for! This one is a must try...you'll LOVE it!!

Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup

Here's a new recipe I tried out last night. Tony had been going through my recipe books and came across this one that he thought looked really good so I figured I'd give it a go. Can you say SUPER easy and yummy!!! There's nothing like a good soup and rolls.

Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup

PRINT RECIPE

1 cup chopped onion (about half of a large onion or 1 whole small onion)

1 cup chopped carrots (I used matchstick carrots from a bag...anything to make life easier:))

1 cup chopped celery

1 garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

4 cups cubed peeled potatoes

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast

2 cups uncooked yolk-free wide noodles

1 cup fat-free evaporated milk

In a large soup kettle, saute the onion, carrots, celery and garlic in oil for about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, oregano, thyme, and poultry seasoning until blended and saute for about 1 minute longer. Gradually add your chicken broth. Then add potatoes and salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Stir in the chicken and noodles and simmer for about 10 more minutes or until the noddles are done. Reduce heat. Stir in the milk, and heat through but do not boil.

For those who care (unfortunately...I'm one of those:)) here is the nutritional facts:

One serving (1 1/2 cups of soup...which was REALLY filling)equals 235 calories, 3 g fat, 31 mg cholesterol, 851 mg sodium, 33 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 20 g protein. Or in Weight Watchers terms: 4 points!

Green Enchilada Sauce

Alrighty...I had a TON of pork brought to my home Thursday night after our big Relief Society party and decided this was the perfect time to try out the Green Enchilada sauce...Pork enchiladas!!! YUMMY!! I just used my the Best Chicken Enchiladas recipe and substituted the chicken with shredded pork and then used this Green Enchilada recipe. When I found this enchilada sauce recipe they said it tastes like Cafe Rio's green enchiladas sauce (which I CrAvE..and hardly ever get!) so I was excited but didn't know if it would hold up to what they were suggesting!:) I'm here to say...it's pretty darn close! Here ya go!

Green Enchilada Sauce

Recipe from Our Best Bites

PRINT RECIPE

This is how it looks before it's simmered...such a pretty green color don't ya think?

And this is how it should look after it's simmered (if you can see through the steam!:))

2-3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, minced

5-6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2 green peppers, cut into chunks

2 jalapenos, remove seeds and membranes for less heat(this is what I do)

1 1/2 lbs. (about 15) tomatillos, husked and quartered

1/2 bunch of cilantro

1 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 cans (14.5 oz.) chicken broth

2-3 Tablespoons sugar (optional) I used about 2 1/2 Tablespoons...just add to taste! (Tony thought it was too sweet, but I think it was just right...so next time I think I'll try it without the sugar and see what he thinks.)

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic until tender.

While onions and garlic are being sauteed, combine the tomatillos, green peppers, jalapenos, and cilantro in a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour the tomatillo mixture over the onions and garlic and add the chicken broth, salt, pepper, cumin, and sugar. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat and simmer until desired consistency. I think I boiled mine for too long, it ended up being thicker than I would have like for enchilada sauce...I think maybe 15 minutes would have been about right.

And here's a picture of the Pork Enchiladas with the green sauce.

You can't really see the sauce, but believe me you could taste it...SO YUM!!

Peanut Butter Bars

I made these at the request of Caleb to take to his class for his Birthday. I got the recipe from my sister probably close to 10 years ago and they are requested quite often at my house!

Peanut Butter Bars

PRINT RECIPE

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup peanut butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 bag milk chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars together. Mix in the eggs, vanilla and peanut butter. Then add and mix baking soda, flour and oatmeal. Spread onto a ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes. The dough will still seem a little wiggly when you pull it out and that's how it should be!:) Sprinkle the chocolate chips on immediately and return to the oven for about 1 minute. Spread the melted chocolate on bars.

Now for the frosting (we have left this off before and it just isn't as good without it!) I usually don't wait until the bars are cooled to do this part so the chocolate and PB frosting gets swirled together which I don't mind at all, but in this picture the chocolate was pretty much set up and so I didn't get that same effect, but either way it's good!

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

2-4 Tablespoons milk

Mix all ingredients together until it makes a spreadable frosting (I usually end up using about 3 Tbsp of milk in mine), and then spread on top of the chocolate. Cut into bars and serve...or if you're taking them to a classroom full of 3rd graders for a birthday wrap them in plastic baggies and add a Happy Birthday tag!:)

Chocolate Mousse Crunch Cake

OK, I think I have died and gone to HeAvEn!!!:) If you like chocolate this is the cake for you!! And it is really easy to put together! It was Caleb's birthday and I talked him into letting me try out this one. And I have to say he really liked it too. WARNING...you may just drool on your keyboard when you see this picture!:)

Chocolate Mousse Crunch Cake

Recipe from Our Best Bites

PRINT RECIPE

1 package Duncan Hines Devil's food cake

1 recipe Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)

4-5 Kit Kat Bars, chopped  (you can also use toffee bars like Skor or Heath)

1 tsp. unflavored gelatin

1 Tablespoon cold water

2 Tablespoons boiling water

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Ganache

8 oz. semi-sweet or dark chocolate

8 oz. heavy cream

Combine chocolate and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 2 minutes and stir. Heat for an additional 1-2 minutes or until chocolate is fully melted and can be whisked and incorporated into the cream. Be sure and scrape the sides and bottom to make sure you don't find any globby bits of chocolate when you start working with it. The ganache will thicken as it cools, so if it's a little too thin for you, just wait and it will thicken pretty quickly. When it's completely cool, it will be thick and fudgy and can be used like frosting. Store in an airtight container. You can reheat it to achieve your desired consistency.

Bake cake according to cake mix instructions in 2 8" round pans. Allow to cool and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the gelatin and cold water and allow to sit for about a minutes. While gelatin is softening, bring the 2 Tbsp. to a boil in the microwave. Whisk into the softened gelatin and allow to cool slightly.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, cocoa, whipping cream, and vanilla. Beat with and electric mixer until medium-stiff peaks form. Mix in gelatin mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Prepare ganache according to directions.

Place one of your cakes on a plate and spread with the chocolate mousse. Sprinkle with the Heath bits (or whatever you like...Tony though nuts would be really good as well). Place the second layer on the Heath bits. Spoon the ganache over the top layer, allowing it to drip down the sides. Sprinkle with more Heath bits and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Side note: This was so rich, but wonderful! It went really well with a little vanilla ice cream...but doesn't about everything!:)

Southwestern Casserole

I wanted to try out this recipe for 2 reasons: #1...because it makes 2, one to eat now and the other to freeze for another time, and #2...I had all the ingredients already in my pantry and I didn't want to have to run to the store for anything! It was actually better than I though it was going to be and was a real crowd pleaser with the kids. They all loved it...which is another bonus!!:)

Southwestern Casserole

Recipe from Taste of Home

PRINT RECIPE

7 ounces elbow macaroni

2 pounds ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each)diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cans (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I think this would be better with black beans...I'm going to try that next time:))

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

1 can (4 ounces) diced green chilies

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (I used cheddar...didn't have Monterrey and it was still good, but I think Monterrey would be better.)

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (optional, if you like the heat...I left them off because me and a couple of my kids are wimps that way!)

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, beans, tomato paste, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Drain macaroni; stir into beef mixture.

Transfer to two greased 2 quart baking dishes. Top with cheese and jalapenos. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until bubbly and heated through. Serve one casserole. Cool the second casserole; cover and freeze for up to 3 months.

To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator for 8 hours. Cover and bake the casserole at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.