Taco Bowls

Taco Bowls

Everyone knows the thrill of TACO night right?!?! Well just to put a bit of a spin on this simple--QUICK--EASY, dinner, I thought I'd let you in on a little restaurant favorite--the taco bowl!  It's great not only because it's easy and popular, but also you can make this dinner as healthy as you want (or don't want :-P).

To Begin:

   Start by browning the taco meat with a taco seasoning packet as directed.  (these are really cheap!).  Then you can set that aside and begin making the taco bowls. 

We didn't have any bowls that happened to be round AND oven proof, so ours were slightly square, haha but just as delicious!  In order to make the bowls, start with medium to large soft tortilla shells (ours were only medium, and you can see how much we fit in them). 

Set a bowl (rim down) and spray the bottom of it with cooking oil.  Then spray both sides of the tortilla and place it on top.  Then spray the inside of a slightly larger bowl in order to force the tortilla to make a bowl shape. Now that you have your taco bowl... GET ALL OF THE TOPPINGS READY!!!! We chose to have lettuce, refried beans, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes (none for me eww), black olives, salsa, and hot sauce :)

Now that all of the pieces of this puzzle of deliciousness are ready, build your mountain of food!





Here's Ben's

AND HERE'S MINE



NoM nOm NoM nOmMmM

Cooking Goals :)

16-Minute shrimp scampi
Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork
Thai Tea
Tiramisu
Perfect Iced Coffee
Homemade power bars
Create own steak marinade/rub
Peach Cobbler Muffins
Salmon in a Crockpot (this is for you mom)
Oat bran Pancakes
cinnamon toast pear cheesecake bars
create perfect apple crumble with cracklin' oat bran cereal
PB& J bars
Triple Rich Chocolate Cake in the Crockpot
Curry Chicken Soup
cheddar cheese muffins
Healthy (easy) vegan ice cream 
Bread Pudding
If there are any other ideas that you would like me to test out first, PLEASE let me know, I'm be very open to suggestions

Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes

YEAH… so I was a little bad over the weekend… I had a craving for CHOCLATE, so what better than the chocolatey-est of the chocolatey—LAVA CAKES.  Like I said, I try to be healthy, but there’s no point in killing yourself with a completely healthy diet all the time—REWARD yourself once in a while!

Choclate Molten Lava Cakes

Ingredients:

4 Squares Baker’s semi-sweet baking chocolate

½ cup (one stick) butter

1 cup powdered sugar

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

6 tbsp. flour

½ cup thawed cool whip topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Butter  4 (oven proof) custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place on baking sheet.  Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH for 1 min or until butter is melted.

Stir with wire whisk or until chocolate is melted.  Stir in sugar until blended.

Blend in eggs and egg yolks with wire whisk.

Make sure when separating the yolks, that you DON'T break them! Its SUPER hard to fish all of the yolk out of the whites.  Also a good trick... USE the leftover egg parts (whites in this example) for breakfast the next morning!! YUMM

Stir in flour. Divide batter between prepared custard cups.

Bake 13-14 min or until sides are firm but centers are soft and gooey. Let stand one minute and then run a knife around the outside of the cakes to loosen them from the custard cups.  Invert the cakes into a bowl or plate and serve immediately while the centers are still hot and oozy with ice cream & chocolate syrup or cool whip topping. 

Enjoy your FOOD COMA :)

 

**The great thing about this dessert is that it definitely satisfies that chocolate fix! They’re so easy that you can just whip them up in no time, and you can even prepare them a day ahead: just prepare the batter, put in custard cups, saran wrap, and place in refrigerator.  Then just bake as directed. This recipe originally came from a Food & Family Kraft magazine... They really have some great stuff in them! I've found many of my favorites there!  

Chocolate Eclair Cake

Funny story about this dessert: I actually made this as a “How to” speech during high school.  I really felt like a Food Network Star up there!  And to prove how fast I whipped this baby up… the speech had to be no longer than 5-6 minutes J Yep, needless to say I was the favorite in my speech class for a couple of days.

Chocolate Éclair Cake

Ingredients:

3 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding

3 cups milk**

One 8 oz container Cool Whip **

1 Box graham crackers

1 can of chocolate frosting

Directions:

Mix pudding and milk until creamy.  Blend in Cool Whip.  In an 11x13 pan, place a layer of graham crackers then a layer of the Cool Whip pudding mixture.  Repeat another layer  and then finish by placing one last layer of graham crackers (3 layers graham crackers, 2 layers pudding mixture), and ice with frosting.  Cover and Refrigerate. 

**Because I figure that I might as well avoid extra calories when possible, I use skim milk and fat free Cool Whip.  Overall, this dish is relatively low calorie, and it’s very rich so a huge piece isn’t even necessary to fill that chocolate craving.  It’s kind of a cool twist on a smore kind of taste, so kids and adults will all rave over this dessert.  This dessert is best when chilled overnight because the pudding-y goodness has time to soak into the graham crackers.  SO EASY, SO DELICIOUS!!! Great for a summer pitch-in or last minute company!

Spaghetti Pie

The awesome thing about this recipe is that it's basically two big steps: the crush, and the meaty filling.  It's a really good balanced meal and it keeps me full for a long time especially after a really good workout. I introduced this one to Ben one night when we were trying to find something to make before studying, and he even had all of the ingredients; it's always nice when there's nothing ridiculous to find at the grocery.  Needless to say, he fell in love with this recipe that I grew up on :) thanks MOM for introducing me to this awesome college staple.

Spaghetti Pie

8 oz spaghetti

3 tbsp. butter

3 c. parmesan cheese

2 small beaten eggs

1 lb. hamburger

1 tsp dried oregano

12 oz. mozerella cheese (shredded)

1 small chopped onion

½ c. chopped green pepper

18 oz can tomatoes & juice (Italian style or basil adds a nice taste)

6 oz can tomato paste

1 tbsp sugar

½ tsp garlic salt

~1/2 cup cottage cheese

Instructions:

Cook spaghetti according to directions—drain.  Stir butter into spaghetti.  Stir in parmesan cheese and eggs.  From spaghetti into crust in a 10” pie plate or pyrex dish*.  In a skillet cook ground beef, diced onion, and diced green pepper till vegetables are tender and the meat is brown. Drain off fat, stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oregano, and garlic salt while mixing over heat.

Spread cottage cheese over spaghetti crust and fill pie with tomato/beef mixture.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 20 min.  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake for 5 more minutes or until the cheese melts.

*In my experience with college kitchen resources and no need for a whole pound of beef for a dinner for 2, it was really cheap to purchase 8” metal baking pans.  Sometimes the 10” pie plate can become too full and overflow a bit (messy!).  Also spaghetti pie leftovers are awesome up to even a week later J.  One thing I like to do sometimes is add ½ lb Italian sausage and ½ ground beef for a little kick.   

First Post :) and Delicious and Healthy Homemade Granola

     Seeing as this is my first post, I figured I should explain this blog a little bit more.  Not only am I a food connoisseur for the finest cuisine while dining in, out, and in a rush; i've also become quite health conscious.  After going to college for my freshman year, I was a bit concerned about the dreaded FRESHMAN 15.  Needless to say, I avoided this terrible fate only to become much more conscious of what keeps my body feeling healthy and full for the longest amount of time (between hw, social activities, bf Ben (**who will post from time to time!**), and working out, I was practically the energizer bunny).  Now, lets get real here though, I DO enjoy a lot of food that still happens to be horrible for me :-P, I just have less of it. I hope you enjoy my recipes, tips, and stories!

Lauren :)   *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***


For my first recipe I decided to start simple and include the recipe for my homemade healthy granola.  My inspiration came from the fact that I hate the texture of yogurt. In order to add a boost of texture, flavor, and fiber to a snack or meal, just sprinkle in about  1/4-1/2 cup granola!  A few of my favorite ways to eat it are: in a parfait, on ice cream, in oatmeal, in cereal...etc.  This granola is so great because there can be so many substitutions depending on your preference.  You may also choose to add many different types of nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and this last time I made it I even sprinkled in a little bit of coconut that I had left over from making my German Chocolate cake (recipe still to come)  for my dad for Fathers' day.  Just try to either choose dry roasted nuts or unsalted nuts/seeds.  A few more bonuses for taking the time to make this are: SOO much less $; many granolas at grocery stores can be $4-$6, and you know exactly what goes into your creation (NO preservatives).  It provides a great source of proteins, carbs, and healthy fats, so enjoy & happy granola-making!


Delicious and Healthy Homemade Granola

Ingredients:

One single serve portion of sugar-free applesauce

3ish teaspoons of cinnamon

~1 tbsp.-2 tbsp. of honey

4 cups of old fashioned (NOT INSTANT) oats

1 cup puffed rice (no sugar added)

3ish tablespoons of flax seeds

1/4- 1/2 cup of raisons (or choice dried fruit)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Mix together oats, puffed rice, sugar-free applesauce, and water thoroughly until all liquid is distributed evenly. Mixture should be moist.  Then add cinnamon, flax seeds, raisons, and nuts.  Add about half of the honey and mix together.  Then place on a cooking sheet and spread out as flat as possible. Drizzle remaining honey on top of the mixture after it has been spread out.  Put in oven for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees F and then take out and flip (as much as possible) with spatula.  Leave in for another 15 minutes and then check it.  It should be crispy (NOT still moist) and a light-med brown color.  Add dried fruit and mix together.  Cool and then store in an airtight container for maximum freshness.