Mashed Potato Casserole

• 8 medium potatoes (about 2 1/2 to 3 lb. total), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 cup CARNATION Evaporated Milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 cups (8-oz. pkg.) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled, divided
• Sliced green onions (optional)

Place potatoes in large saucepan.  Cover with water; bring to a boil.  Cook over medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender; drain.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Grease 3-quart casserole dish.

Return potatoes to saucepan; add evaporated milk, sour cream, salt and pepper.  Beat with hand held mixer or mash by hand until smooth.  Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese and half of bacon.  Spoon mixture into prepared casserole dish.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through.  Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese, remaining bacon and green onions.  Bake for an additional 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Makes 16 servings.

COOK'S TIP

This casserole can be assembled ahead of time and refrigerated.  Cover with foil and bake at 350ºF for 40 to 45 minutes or until heated.  Uncover; top with cheese, bacon and green onions; bake for an additional 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

*Made this for a Relief Society activity. So easy and absolutely delish! 5/5

Zucchini Pancakes

This lady is a pancake genius! I was hesitant to try these but these are like fancy pancake house good pancakes. If you've ever been to Schmity's in Idaho Falls, they're like that. 

Sweet Zucchini Pancakes; serves 2 (5-6 pancakes)

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt (I used sour cream..tastes the same)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4 cup water or milk (I used a slosh just enough to make them pancake consistency)
• 1 mid sized not Mormon sized zucchini, grated

1. Preheat a nonstick skillet or griddle to medium-high heat (350 degrees).  These pancakes are a little picky about temperature.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together (flour through salt) and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg, yogurt, and melted butter together.   Combine dry and wet ingredients together and mix until just combined.  Fold in grated zucchini.  (OPTIONAL: if the batter is too thick, add water or milk a little at a time, until the batter consistency reaches the desired thickness.  For me, 1/4 cup was enough to thin the batter but keep them nice and fluffy, but you might not need it at all depending on how thick you like your pancakes.)
4. Scoop 1/3 cup of batter onto the griddle and gently spread the batter if necessary.  When you see bubbles rising around the edges, flip the pancakes.  I found that some of the pancakes took as long as 10 minutes to cook (5 minutes per side).  Top with butter and maple syrup!

Quick & Easy Dinner Muffins

These are sooooo good. I found the recipe online after trying to find a quick biscuit like roll without mayonaise since I couldn't trick B into thinking there was no mayonaise in the other recipe I liked. Here is this one:


1 stick butter or 1/4 cup +2TBSP. olive oil
2 c. Bisquick
1 (8 oz.) sour cream

Melt butter, mix with sour cream, add Bisquick Spoon into ungreased muffin tin (fill tin half full) and bake at 425 degrees about 12 minutes. Yields 1 dozen.

I usually cut the recipe in half and put the melted butter into the sour cream and then mix. I like it that way better.

FYI

So I finally broke down and got a pinterest. I pin the recipes I want to try and put them on here when I like them and want to remember them. If you want to see pinterest check out my page! www.pinterest.com/gayleldye

Homemade Popcorn

We LOVE this recipe! We use canola oil instead of coconut and salt it with just salt or other popcorn seasonings.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of Coconut Oil* (or any oil of your choice)
*I love Coconut Oil as it gives the popcorn a slightly sweet taste!
1/2 cup of Popcorn Kernels (We like the Walmart brand not Winco)
Salt to taste

Put 3 tablespoons of oil and then half a cup of popcorn kernels in a large pan. Put the lid on the pan. Once you hear a kernel pop start shaking the pan over the burner. Shake and let a little of hot air out the back by opening the lid.  Shake until you hear no more popping. Add salt and toppings and enjoy!

Honey Lime Enchiladas

from The Sisters' Cafe

1.5 lbs cooked, shredded pork or chicken

Sauce:

1/3 c. honey

1/4 c. lime juice

1 T. chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 (10 oz) cans green enchilada sauce

equal parts mixed:

mozzarella cheese, shredded

cheddar cheese, shredded

flour tortillas

Mix together sauce ingredients then add to shredded pork or chicken. Let the sauce soak into the meat for about 30 minutes.

Lightly spray pans with non-stick spray. Pour green enchilada sauce into pans to coat the entire bottom. Fill tortillas with shredded meat and desired amount of cheese. Roll and place in dish.

Pour remainder of sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle more cheese on top. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Tortillas

3 cups flour

4 1/2 Tbs. oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

*Mix together with hands then add:

1 cup really hot water (heat up in microwave)

*Mix again really well with hands. Tear off golf-ball-size pieces of dough and roll out into a circle (easier said than done) on a well-floured surface. Cook in skillet on stove for a couple of minutes.

Taco Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoonActive Dry Yeast
• 1-½ cupWarm Water
• 4 cupsAll-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoonKosher Salt
• ⅓ cupsOlive Oil
• 1 can(14 Ounce) Black Beans
• 1 teaspoonTaco Seasoning (prepared, Or Make Your Own)
• 4 wholeCorn Tortillas, Sliced Into Thin Strips
• ½ cupsCanola Oil, For Frying
• 1 cupGrated Sharp Cheddar
• 1 cupGrated Monterey Jack Cheese
• 1 headGreen Leaf Lettuce, Sliced/shredded Thin
• 2 wholeRipe Tomatoes, Diced
• ½ cupsCilantro Leaves
• ¼ cupsSour Cream
• 3 TablespoonsHot Sauce (more To Taste)

Preparation Instructions

Make the pizza dough: Mix yeast with warm water and set aside for 8 to 10 minutes. Mix flour, salt, and olive oil in a mixing bowl. With speed on low, drizzle in yeast/water mixture. Allow to mix until totally combined. Cover bowl with a towel and set bowl in a warm, draft-free place. Allow to rise for 1 to 2 hours.

Pour black beans into a saucepan. Add seasonings to taste and heat up beans over medium-low heat. Use a potato masher to mash the beans to desired texture. Continue cooking/heating beans over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until no longer runny (should be the texture of refried beans. Set aside.

In a small skillet, heat canola oil over medium heat. When hot enough to fry, drop in the tortilla strips in batches, frying quickly and removing from oil with a fork when crisp–about 30 to 45 seconds per batch. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.

Place oven rack in the bottom position in the oven. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Remove half the pizza dough from the bowl. Place remaining half in a large plastic bag and refrigerate, saving for another use. With hands, spread pizza dough on an oiled baking sheet, making sure it’s relatively thin. Spread layer of refried beans all over pizza crust. Sprinkle mixed grated cheeses over the top. Place pan in the oven (in the bottom half of the oven) and bake for 9 to 12 minutes. Watch it to make sure crust doesn’t burn.

Remove pizza from oven. Sprinkle on shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and cilantro leaves.

Mix together sour cream and hot sauce, adding enough hot sauce to make the mixture pourable. With a spoon (or you can put it in a pastry bag) drizzle mixture over finished pizza.

Sprinkle with tortilla strips. Cut into squares and serve immediately with good quality salsa.

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

Source: The Sisters Cafe

1 (9x13) pan of baked brownies, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 (5.1 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding

3 cups milk

½ cup creamy peanut butter

2 tsp vanilla

1 (8 ounce) container thawed Cool Whip, divided (or use homemade whipped cream)

20 peanut butter cups, crumbled (do not buy bite sized; you could get away with less...but why?)

6-8 peanut butter cups to garnish.

Combine pudding and milk. Beat for 2 minutes. Add peanut butter and vanilla, beat until smooth. Gently fold in 2 cups cool whip or homemade whipped cream.

Layer in trifle dish ½ the brownies, ½ the crumbled peanut butter cups, ½ the pudding mixture. Repeat. Top with cool whip and peanut butter cups. Chill at least 4 hours before serving.

Cafe Rio Rice/ Sauce/ Pork/ Chicken

These recipes are all Yum YUM YUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

Everyone has their favorite Cafe Rio recipes. These are mine:

Cafe Rio Lime Cilantro Rice 

2 cups uncooked rice
4 cups water (mixed with 1-3 tsp chicken bouillion)
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp butter

Saute garlic and butter until soft, don't let it burn! Add rice and cook for a minute or two, on medium heat. Add water and bouillion mixture, and remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. After it begins to boil rapidly, reduce heat to low and cover with lid. Stir occasionally, and let simmer for about 20 minutes. (I did this recipe in half for the two of us and we had leftovers.

Cilantro-Lime Ranch aka Crack:

I made the first recipe tried it cut in half. Did about
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayo
1/4-1/2 cup chopped cilantro
A slosh of milk ( about 1TBSP)
2 TBSP mild green enchilada sauce (YES I know weird)
1.5TBSP hidden valley ranch powder
1TBSP lime juice
1 roughly chopped clove garlic
Threw it all in a blender. Placed it in a container and it thickened up in the fridge in a few minutes. In my opinion I think it's the closest recipe to the Cafe Rio dressing and no crazy peppers or anything! Feel free to add more sour cream, cilantro or lime juice to taste.

I need to remember some mustard next time. Totally tasted it in my last cafe rio.

Sweet Pork:

1 pork butt

Salsa

Brown sugar

?a dash of crushed red pepper

Pour ingredients over pork roast and cook on low for 8-10 hours until it easily shreds with a fork.  Add more salsa/ brown sugar to your liking.

Alternative Sweet Pork that I actually liked the flavor of the best. But I am not always willing to use soda in my dinner recipes. But this is the closest recipe I've found to the actual thing; which by the way I found in comments on this recipe that a manager from a Cafe Rio said that Coke is the way to go. But they have a whole crazy process and list of things I'm just not as dedicated to do. I modified this recipe a bit to what I could find for cheap and eyeballed a lot of the ingredients.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds pork (pork shoulder or butt bone in is fine you just cook it till it's falling off the bone anyway)
• 1 can Coke (NOT diet)
• dash garlic salt
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 can diced green chilies (I did not add these)
• 3/4 (10oz) can red enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness but any will work) {For my recipe I used  a small ?8oz can of ?El Pato (Mexican tomato sauce that has chilies in is).}
• 1/2 c. brown sugar

Instructions

• Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight. {I did not do this. I put the pork in the crock pot and went to the next step.)
• Add 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and shred pork. (We like to shred in our kitchen aid. But not too much otherwise it's like dog food.)
• I like to just add the rest of the sauce and seasonings as I mix the pork. Think it's delicious that way. You could finish it off in the crock pot too and that would be yummy as well. 

Lime Chicken from The "I don't cook" syndrome cookbook (so not really a "cafe rio" recipe, but it was very tasty!)

1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Mix all ingredients and let chicken marinade in the fridge for several hours. Cook chicken however you like, grill, stovetop, or oven.

Green Enchilada Sauce

Green Enchilada Sauce (Kate's Knockoff Cafe Rio Recipe)
Recipe by Our Best Bites

2-3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, minced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 green peppers, chopped
1-2 jalapenos, seeded and membranes removed if desired (and I desire. Always.)
1 1/2 lb. tomatillos, husked and quartered or halved
1/2 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
4 c. chicken broth
2-3 Tbsp. sugar (optional and to taste; the sauce Cafe Rio uses seems to be slightly sweet, so if I'm using this sauce for enchilada-style burritos, I generally add a little sugar, but for everything else, I leave it out.)

In a large saucepan or stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until tender and fragrant.

While onions are sauteeing, combine tomatillos, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, and cilantro in your blender. Process until smooth; you may have to do it in batches and/or add some chicken broth to make things blendable.

Pour the tomatillo mixture over the onions and garlic and add chicken broth, salt, pepper, and cumin. Simmer 15 minutes-1 hour, depending on the consistency you want. I usually turn the heat to high and boil it uncovered until I reach the consistency I want; it makes things go a lot faster. The sauce can also be simmered in a slow cooker all day.

Serve over tacos, as an enchilada sauce, inside burritos, or as a dip for chips.