Main Dish

Roasted Veggie Taco Salad // Easy Weeknight Dinners

1 · Sep 23, 2013 · 3 Comments

Easy Weeknight Dinners // If I didn’t love meat so much I would be a vegetarian… Seriously, I LOVE vegetables! I would much rather have a plate full of veggies along with a small side of protein. With all of the wonderful Farmer’s Market goodies at this time of year, I thought I would make a tasty Roasted Veggie Taco Salad for dinner. You can also check out my Taco Hand Pie recipe if you just can’t get enough tacos.

It’s was a knock it out of the park hit with the family! The combination of the savory roasted vegetables with the fresh Mango Salsa was perfect. It was just fun and colorful enough that the kiddos didn’t balk at a plate full of veggies and my meat loving sweetheart didn’t even complain once.

Layering it all with lettuce, refried beans and topped with Queso Fresco made for a very satisfying weeknight meal. Here’s how you can make it for your family tonight.

Ingredients for Roasted Veggie Taco Salad

1 zucchini

1 yellow summer squash

1 large onion

1 small head of garlic

1 jalapeño

1 large green chili

2 green tomatoes (optional)

1 T extra virgin olive oil

2 T taco seasoning

salt & pepper

1 can of refried beans

4-6 tortilla bowl or a large bag of tortilla chips

1 large head of green leaf lettuce, red leaf or Romaine

Fresh Mango Salsa

1/2 cup Queso Fresco or a mild Feta cheese

Sour Cream

Taco Sauce

Directions on how to make Roasted Veggie Taco Salad

Heat oven to 450˚, wash and cut veggies in large, yet still bite size pieces.

If you would like to have your salad on the spicy side leave the ribs and seeds in the jalapeño, for a milder salad, remove the ribs & seeds. Remove the garlic from it’s skin, but leave whole. I just happened to have some green tomatoes in my garden and I thought I would add them to the mix. The roasted up perfect and tasted fabulous, but they aren’t a deal breaker by any means. If you don’t have any, don’t worry. Really you can add any kind of veggie you want to this mix. That’s the beauty of this recipe.

On a baking sheet drizzle with olive oil and generously season with salt, pepper & taco seasoning. Toss to coat everything with the oil and seasoning.

Roast at 450˚ for 30 minutes or until the veggies start to char a bit. Remove from oven and let cool.

While the veggies are cooling you can mix up your Mango Salsa. You can check out my recipe for that here.

I just love this fresh salsa and it adds such a bright flavor to the salad.

Next, in a small sauce pan, heat your refried beans. Once they are warm, you can start to layering your salad with the beans at the bottom of your tortilla bowl or on the bottom of your plate surrounded by corn chips.

The next layer is the lettuce that you have washed, dried and cut into bite size pieces. Then top of with a good helping of the roasted veggies, then the mango salsa, with a good sprinkling of the Queso Fresco or Feta.

I then add a dollop of sour cream and then a splash of taco sauce to act as the “dressing.” Mix together and enjoy!

This will take Taco Tuesday up to a whole new level for sure!!

Zuppa Toscana // Easy Weeknight Dinners

6 · Sep 11, 2013 · 16 Comments

Easy Weeknight Dinners Recipe // My family LOVES potato soup of any kind. Routinely, when I ask what they would like for dinner, the very first thing out of the girl's mouth is… "potato soup!" Baked potato, potato cheddar corn chowder they will devour any of them, one of their favorites is Zuppa Toscana from the Olive Garden. We have been known to schlep it on over to Olive Garden just to have our fill of Zuppa Toscana on many occasions. That was until I found some copy cat recipes and started developing a knockoff of my very own. There is just something about the creamy broth salted with the spicy sausage and the pleasant surprise of the kale that just gets our engines a revving. We've even served it for Christmas Eve dinner a few times. Yep, we love it that much.

Every year when the air starts to crisp up with the promise of fall, the kiddos start asking for my version of Zuppa Toscana, so I thought I would share it with you today. I developed my recipe after a bit of research on copy cat recipes and it's quite a bit different than most copy cats, but it's one that we have fallen in love with. It's simple with easy to find, affordable ingredients so it's a perfect addition to your weeknight dinner line-up.

WhipperBerry's Zuppa Toscana

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1 T butter

1 lb bacon

1 lb sausage

1 large white diced onion

2 T garlic paste

1 1/2 t red pepper flakes

2 t salt

1 t pepper

4 large potatoes

4 – 6 cups water ( just to cover the potatoes)

24 oz. (2 cans) evaporated milk

3 cups kale

salt & pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions

Add oil & butter to large soup pot and place over medium high heat. Add bacon that has been cut into small strips. Lower the heat to medium and cook until bacon is cooked through. This may take 10-15 minutes. Remove bacon and fat from pot and set aside the bacon. Add the sausage to the pot and season with red pepper flakes, salt & pepper. Once the sausage has browned add the diced onions and cook for 4-5 minutes until the onions are nice and soft.

While the bacon and sausage are cooking, peel and cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces. Once the onions are soft, add the garlic paste and cook for another minute then add the potatoes to the pot and cover with water. Place the stove on high and bring to a boil. Once the pot is boiling lower the heat a bit and let simmer for 15-20 until the potatoes are soft. Turn off heat and add the two cans of evaporated milk and return to a medium heat. Watch your temperature carefully, you don't want to boil it at this point.

Wash, dry and roughly chop the kale and add to the soup. Continue to cook at a low simmer for another 5 minute until the kale has softened a bit. Check your seasoning, add more salt and pepper if needed. Remove from heat and serve. We like to add some shaved Parmesan cheese on top along with the bacon pieces from earlier. Serve with some crusty garlic bread and enjoy. To me, this dish is the ultimate Italian comfort food.

Fall is the celebrated start to the soup, chowder, stew and chili season… what's your family's favorite recipe?

Hamburger Soup // Easy Weeknight Dinners

2 · Sep 3, 2013 · 19 Comments

Easy Weeknight Dinners // Well Whipperberry friends, it's September and I think it's safe to say that almost all of us are back to the school routine, no? We are here, and I have to say that I really love this time of year!

I love it even though for so many of us this means weeknights filled with activities, sports and rushed evenings. And this can also mean that dinners can be a challenge, but they don't have to be! With a little planning and some healthy ingredients, you can have hearty and delicious meals on your table in no time!

I actually think I love meals the most! Hearty. Fall. Meals. Yes, please! So today, it's all about fall. Fall and great dinners!

This Hamburger Soup is the perfect weeknight meal. It's chock full of yummy seasonal vegetables and meat. This recipe is also great because it makes a big batch, which means that you can serve half now, and freeze half for later! ~ happy dance ~ Or use the leftovers in thermoses for the kids lunches. Now we're talkin!

Ingredients: 1 1/2 to 2 lbs of ground beef 1 onion, chopped finely 1 – 28 oz can of diced tomatoes 2 cups water 3 – 10 oz cans of consomme 1 – 5 oz can of tomato paste 5 carrots, chopped finely 4 celery sticks, chopped finely 1 bay leaf 1 tsp thyme salt & pepper to taste Instructions:

In skillet, brown the ground beef and onions. Then drain.
In a soup pot, combine all of the ingredients, including the cooked ground beef.
Simmer in a covered pot for at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours, making sure to stir it occasionally.

Deeeeelish!

Serve with crusty bread or crackers and cheese! Now tummies are full and everyone is happy! 🙂

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For more delicious fall meal ideas, come on over!

Sweet & Sour Meatballs | Creamy Chicken Stew | Classic Meatloaf

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Have a delicious day!

Beef Bourguignon 101 with Le Creuset GIVEAWAY

112 · Jun 20, 2013 · 442 Comments

Le Creuset Sponsored Giveaway // As a LONG time fan of Julia Child and Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa), I have always wanted to make Beef Bourguignon, BUT… I've had to wait for the RIGHT pot before I tackled this beauty.

As any artist will tell you, your work is only as good as the tools in your bag. The same goes for when you are working in the kitchen. My grandparents were the first exposer I had to the foodie world. My grandfather was connoisseur of fine food and fine cookware. It was his kitchen where I was first introduced to Le Creuset. As a little girl, I was intrigued by the colors of these magical pots and pans that were all over my grandparent's kitchen. I knew when I grew up, I wanted to have the colorful pots in my kitchen. As I got older, and became more educated about cookware, I learned that Le Creuset was one of the finest cookware brands around. The cast iron coupled with the enamel make for some of the best cooking surfaces out there and again, I knew this was a tool I wanted in my kitchen tool box.

Le Creuset was founded in France in 1925. Although they have branched out into many different types of products the cast iron line is still produced in the same factory today…

With that history, it's no wonder Le Creuset is some of the most sought after cookware around the globe. They last from generation to generation, my family is still cooking with the same cocottes (French ovens) today. Sadly the older generation of my family has yet to let go and pass them down to my generation their prized French Ovens just yet. No worries… the lovely folks at Le Creuset sent one of their famous French Ovens my way to take for a spin around the block. To say that I was over the moon excited is truly and understatement.

I knew with my love of Julia Child and Ina Garten, the way I needed to christen my new Cocotte was with a lovely Beef Bourguignon. It just had to be done. I took a little bit from Julia's recipe along with Ina's recipe and added a little splash of WhipperBerry to it and came up with this gem of a recipe that my husband said, if he hadn't already married me… He would most certainly marry me again after that meal! Seriously, he thought he had died and gone to Heaven.

flower source // flowerworks

Beef Bourguignon Recipe

1 T olive oil

1/2 lb thick cut bacon

3 lbs of boneless beef short ribs cut into 2 inch chunks

salt & pepper

2 yellow onions

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 c Cognac

1 bottle of red wine like a Pinot Noir

2-3 c beef stock

1 T tomato paste

4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 t dried

2-3 bay leaves

3 T Worcestershire Sauce

3 T B-V Beef Broth and Sauce Concentrate

4 T unsalted butter (melted)

3 T all-purpose flour

1 lb frozen whole onions

1 lb fresh mushrooms

1-2 loaves of crusty french bread

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large French Oven heat olive oil and add the bacon that has been cut into small pieces. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until lightly brown. Remove bacon and reserve for later. If you have a lot of bacon grease, remove a bit saving a small layer to cook your beef in.

Dry your beef with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Over medium heat add small batches to your pot to brown on all sides. Make sure you don't over crowd the pot. This will lead to the beef steaming rather than browning and who wants yucky gray meat? Not me! Remove the seared cubes and set aside.

Add the carrots (that have been peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces) along with the onions to the pot with 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper and cook for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally until the onions have started to brown.

Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Next, carefully add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match. This will burn off the alcohol. You can see in the photo above, a little bit of the flame. It's kind of cool!

NOTE // I don't drink alcohol, but I do cook with it. You can find small bottles of items like Cognac at your local liqueur store behind the counter, just ask the clerk. That way, if you are like me and don't drink it, you don't have to buy an entire expensive bottle.

Put the beef and the bacon back into the pot with all of the collected juices. Add the bottle of wine, plus enough beef broth to cover the stew. Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire Sauce, B-V, thyme & bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and then place in the 250 degree oven for 2 1/2 hours or until the meat is very tender.

Remove from the over and place on the stove and bring to a simmer. Combine 2 tablespoons of melted butter with the flour and add to the pot. This will thicken the stew. Add the frozen onions.

In a separate pan, add two tablespoons of butter and sauté the mushrooms until lightly browned. Add to the stew pot and let simmer for 15 more minutes. Season to taste.

Serve with a nice crusty french bread that has been lightly toasted in the oven. This recipe will serve a crowd of anywhere from 8-12.

This recipe is amazing!! It's one of those recipes that you have to make at least once in your life, just to say that you follow in the grand tradition of Julia Child and Ina Garten. The lovely folks at Le Creuset would LOVE to help with that tradition as well and have offered one of you a chance to win a Le Creuset Cocoette (French Oven) just like mine!!!

All you have to do to enter is, follow the directions on the Rafflecopter below. This giveaway is for a 9 qt. round French Oven valued at $350 and is open to residence of the United States. The giveaway has been sponsored by Le Creuset. They have provided a 9 qt French Oven for me to review and the giveaway prize. I did not receive payment for the review and all thoughts, ideas and opinions are my own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Main Dish

Ingredients for Roasted Veggie Taco Salad

Directions on how to make Roasted Veggie Taco Salad

WhipperBerry's Zuppa Toscana

Instructions

Beef Bourguignon Recipe

Instructions

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