Creamy Chicken Taquitos.

I’ve been MIA for awhile… We’re preparing for Baby Girl to get here in less than 2 weeks, & my energy level hasn’t exactly kept up with the to-do list.

One item on that to-do list that I have been able to check off has been to make double batches of meals & freeze half, like these meatballs, & these taquitos:

I adapted the recipe from the Our Best Bites that have been all over Pinterest. Theirs uses green salsa & green onions; not having either of those on hand, I made mine “red” taquitos. (Or rather, since they’re creamy, maybe they’re “pink” taquitos.) I also decreased the spice factor a little, since The Munchkin seems to not sleep well after consuming moderate amounts of chili powder. Weird? Yes. Could just be correlation rather than causation, but it’s true.

• 3 oz. Neufchatel cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup medium salsa
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. dried cilantro (or 3 Tbsp. fresh, but seriously, dried cilantro is like my new favorite addition to my spice cabinet)
• 1 Tbsp. finely minced yellow onion
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
• small flour or corn tortillas*
• salt

* I first tried it with both types, & while the corn would be healthier & higher in fiber, they just didn’t hold up. Observe:

The cracked ones on the left are the corn. So now I just use flour.

1. Preheat oven to 425 & line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. In a large bowl, combine first 6 ingredients until well incorporated. Then mix in the cilantro & onions.
3. Add chicken & cheese & mix thoroughly.
4. Heat a few tortillas at a time between 2 paper towels in the microwave for 20-30 seconds or so. Then spoon a couple Tbsp. of the chicken mixture onto the bottom third of a tortilla & roll it as tightly as possible. Place, seam-side-down, on the cookie sheet.
5. Repeat with remaining chicken mixture & tortillas, then spray with cooking spray & sprinkle with salt.
6. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden.
7. If you want to freeze them, place them in a single layer on a greased baking sheet & freeze for a half hour or so, then place in a labeled Ziploc bag for up to 3 months & bake at 425 for 20 minutes.
8. If you have leftovers, freeze any baked taquitos & microwave on high for a minute to a minute & 10 seconds. They won’t be crispy, but still delicious.

Now, I will likely be MIA for a little while longer until I get used to being a mommy of 2 Munchkins. Until then!

Cheesy Beefy Stuffed Shells.

Sorry, no Martha pictures yet… My friend Halley took all the photos (she’s a professional, so I knew they’d turn out better than if I took them), so when she gets them to me, you’ll be the first to know! But I will tell you that we showed up for the 999th show (missed the big 1000 by ONE DAY!) & Jason Priestly was the guest, if you’re looking for it on Hallmark Channel. More details to come later!

The following recipe is probably my most-requested by dinner guests. It’s also one of The Munchkin’s favorite dinners, if not her absolute favorite, & one of my husband’s favorites too.

Oddly enough, it came out of a Pillsbury cookbook mini-magazine — you know, the ones in the checkout aisle at the grocery store. (It happened to be the only worthwhile recipe in the whole $3.99 thing, but it was worth it.)

You see, when I was first married, I was the queen of semi-homemade. Not like Sandra Lee — I didn’t even know who she was back then – but as a full-time student, part-time employee, & new wife, my version of cooking a balanced meal was adding a chicken breast & some frozen broccoli to a box of Pasta-Roni. (I think we’re all glad those days are over.) Fortunately for everyone involved, this semi-homemade recipe has enough different flavors that it doesn’t taste like you opened a jar of this & a box of that & mixed it all together.

These shells freeze well, reheat well for leftovers, & are just a great comfort-food dish that looks like you put more work into it than you did! I also like taking it, unbaked, in foil pans, with cooking instructions, to new moms so they can just heat it up when they want.

• 24+ jumbo pasta shells (in case of breakage, add a couple more. Also, some brands of “jumbo” shells are less “jumbo” than others. You may need as many as 30-32 if you’re shopping at, say, Kroger in, say, Indiana. Just saying.)
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 jar (26 oz.) chunky pasta sauce (I like the Ragu tomato & basil)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 container (8 oz.) chive & onion cream cheese spread
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese blend
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1 egg
• 1-2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, if desired

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cook shells, as directed on package, to al dente. A couple minutes before they’re done, add a little olive oil to prevent sticking. Rinse shells with cold water & drain (you may need to do this a couple times) to stop cooking & make them cool enough to handle.
2. While shells are cooking, brown ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season with a little garlic salt & Italian seasoning. Drain & let cool slightly.
3. Pour a little of the pasta sauce (about down to the top of the label on the jar) into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. (I usually split the recipe in half, using a smaller dish for the half I’m making now & using foil cake pans for the half I’m freezing until later.) Add a little of the water & spread it evenly on the bottom of the dish. Add the rest of the water to the jar, screw the lid back on, & shake to incorporate.
4. In a medium bowl, combine cheese spread, 1 cup of the mozzarella, the parmesan, egg, & cooked ground beef.
5. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the mixture (I actually use a table spoon, like from your silverware set) into each shell & arrange the shells over the sauce in the baking dish. (This is the most time-consuming part.)
6. Pour the remaining sauce over the shells, making sure to cover the shells completely.
7. Cover with foil & bake 40 minutes or until bubbly & filling is set. Remove foil; sprinkle shells with remaining mozzarella. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.

If you choose to freeze part of your batch, use the foil pans for easy cleanup, cover with foil, & put the whole thing in a freezer storage Ziploc bag. Store it flat in the freezer. The night before you’re planning on making it, put the whole thing, bag & all, into the fridge to defrost. Then bake as usual (you may need to add 5 minutes). The filling will be a little less firm than the fresh batch, but otherwise, it tastes the same & you only had to do the work once for two meals!

Better Bolognese on a Budget.

Not long before The Munchkin was born, I found this recipe for bolognese sauce on The Pioneer Woman’s cooking blog. I had been looking for one for a while, & this met all of my criteria: it had to be delicious (duh), & it had to use just ground beef. No veal, no sausage — just ground beef. Why? Because I’m on a budget. As an added bonus, all of the other ingredients are standard pantry items, like dried herbs instead of fresh, & canned tomatoes. So much less work, so much less money. So, my 8-month-pregnant, back-laboring self set out to make it.

I’ve made it every month since.

Why do I love it so? Aside from its budget- & palate-friendliness, it’s very convenient. It takes awhile to cook up the first time, so I reserve a Sunday afternoon every month & a half or so for my husband to entertain The Munchkin while I work. After our delicious spaghetti dinner, I freeze the leftovers in smaller portions for times when I don’t have the time or energy to cook. Just pop the container in the microwave to defrost, dump the sauce into a pan to heat, & cook up some pasta! Right there, I have 5 dinners made in one afternoon! Additionally, there are so many “hidden” healthy ingredients, like grated carrots, that it’s ideal for picky eaters — so much heartier & healthier than most jarred pasta sauces.

Without further ado, here’s my version of Pastor Ryan’s Bolognese Sauce from The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

• 1 1/2 cups grated carrots
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil*
• 2 lb. ground beef**
• 2 Tbsp. dried oregano flakes
• 2 Tbsp. dried basil flakes
• generous pinch thyme
• 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 2 cans (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
• splash milk (if this weirds you out like it did me at first, add a generous pinch of sugar instead to cut the acidity of the tomatoes)

*The amount of olive oil you use will depend on the leanness of your ground beef (see next asterisk). More oil for leaner beef.
**The ground beef does not get drained in this recipe, so leaner is definitely better. Otherwise it gets REALLY greasy. I usually use 90/10.

1. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add carrots & onions & saute a few minutes.
2. Make a well in the center of the mixture, then add ground beef. Cook until browned, gradually incorporating into carrot mixture.
3. Add spices. When ingredients are combined, make another well & add tomato paste.
4. Let it heat while you add the garlic; stir to combine.
5. Make another well; add stock & vinegar. Stir. Add worcestershire. Stir.
6. Add canned tomatoes. Stir.
7. Season with salt & pepper, if desired. (I usually save this step until last to give the flavors a chance to meld a little, & often end up dispensing with this step altogether because it tastes delicious as-is!)
8. Add milk or sugar. Stir.
9. Let simmer 30 minutes to 2 hours.
10. Serve over a hearty, thick pasta that holds onto this hearty, thick sauce. We prefer rotini or penne. Top with parmesan, if desired.
11. Freeze remainder into smaller portions. I feel that this sauce is always better the second time around!