No Fail Chocolate Cream Pie

I'm not a baker, or a dessert maker, I don't claim to be. When I find a dessert recipe that works for me, I cling to it for dear life because they are few and far between. This pie came from me wanting a piece of Marie Callenders chocolate pie. My mom and I used to see movies late at night, and Marie Callenders would still be open, and we would go have pie. You would think we were lighting up some magical herb during the movie because we would be so excited afterwards for our dessert. I swear, sometimes I think my mom wanted to see lame movies so she could get her pie after. This recipe is too easy and very budget friendly.

Marie Callender's Chocolate Cream Pie

I don't think that pie really needs much of an intro or a description...

Chocolate Cream Pie:

1 chocolate pie shell

1 package instant chocolate pudding and pie filling package

1 container "whipped topping" *wink wink*
1 1/2 cups milk

This pie takes some chilling time, but you can't mess up the mix. Bake you pie shell at 350 for about five minutes. When its done, it should be a little bit crisp, but not hard. Mix your chocolate pudding mix with 1 1/2 cups cold milk. The package says 1 3/4, but we're adding whipped topping, and it would be too runny with more milk. If you want it super thick, you could even add just 1 1/4. After your milk is whisked in and the mixture has thickened, chill for one hour. Then mix half your whipped topping into your chilled pie filling. Pour that into your cooled pie shell, and chill at least 20 minutes before spreading the remaining whipped topping to finish. 

Excellent garnishes include: chocolate curls or shavings, caramel sauce, marshmallows, toasted nuts, and (in my personal opinion anyway) any assortment of fresh berries. For something closer to the real pie, you can always make fresh whipped cream or get Reddi Whip for the top layer, but that seemed like a waste of money to me. It just depends on how much richness you want! Tell me you don't want to lick the screen ;)

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

I'm pregnant, I'm cranky, and my house is a disaster. I plan on marathon cleaning, which means I'm not planning on a very labor intensive dinner. As always, I have what was on sale. A two for one sale on all things canned, and a butcher special on ground turkey, its a no brainer! The weather is getting chillier, which means my dinners need to warm my tummy. The ominous EVER GROWING BUMP that eats EVERYTHING!!!! *People run away screaming* I blame him in there...I seem to have gotten off topic somehow. Point being, this is easy, relatively healthy, and hearty after a hard day of work with practically no prep involved. Easy on your wallet too, you can thank me later.

Turkey Chili

As the picture depicts, I prefer black beans in my chili, but I only have chili beans on hand. If you were to add black beans, you would just need to adjust seasoning slightly for the missing seasoning from the chili beans.

Turkey Chili:
1/2 lb ground turkey
1/2 onion, small dice
2 cloves garlic, small dice
1 can chili beans (black beans preferred, pintos would work)
1 15oz can diced tomatoes, lightly drained
1/2 cup beef or chicken stock 
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp allspice  
1 tsp hot sauce

1/2 tsp salt 

Black pepper

Add all the ingredients into the crock pot. When I say lightly drained of any canned ingredient, I just take the top of the can and use it as a makeshift strainer so a little bit of the liquid stays put. You have two options for the stock portion, if you have actual broth or stock, add the half cup. If not, you can add 1/2 cup of water and some beef or chicken bullion. You can cook this on low for up to 6 hours, but as long as the turkey cooks, it can be a "fast" slow cooker meal, maybe 2 hours on high. 
 

Oven Barbeque Beef Ribs

You ever have those times where you go into the grocery store, and you don't have a budget in mind, you have about $4 in your pocket? I had that and was sure dinner was going to be "food" at best. I was wrong. I saw a slab of beef ribs on special for $1.50 off, making them about $2.70. I've only cooked beef short ribs, or pork ribs, but I knew I could make this work if I tried. I totally would've made macaroni and cheese from scratch if I had the fundage, but a pasta-roni on sale did the trick. Lucky for me, I had some sweet and sour sauce at home, and a bottle of ketchup. I knew I could jazz up a barbecue sauce. For a first try, I would totally recommend these if you're like me and don't have a grill, or couldn't work a charcoal one if you tried  :)

Barbeque Short Ribs

This picture is of short ribs, but most of mine were pretty short and looked almost identical to this picture. Yummy charred bits and all. I think part of my secret here is the two step cooking process, which brings cooking down to about two hours, and they are sooooo good. I'll add a note about my barbecue sauce, but it's not my recipe (yet), just a dash of this and that, but for those who don't measure, its a good one. 

Barbecue Beef Ribs:

1 1/2 to 2lb rack of ribs

Leftover veggies (ends of onions, lemon wedge, etc.)

Crushed garlic clove

Cajun seasoning

Black pepper

Water

Barbecue sauce

For pork ribs, which is my usual go to, I cook them low and slow covered in foil, and then I broil them. These looked considerably tougher, so I took a different approach. Fill a pot (enough to fit your ribs after being cut into portions) with water. Put in some of your leftover veggies to flavor your water. I used green onion, white onion, and some lemon. Add your crushed garlic clove and seasoning. Cut your ribs into portions, and boil them for an hour. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350 and bring out your barbecue sauce, or *make some. Take your boiled ribs onto a cutting board. I removed the silver skin, which is a white or light yellow looking tough layer that you can't really eat through. You can try to pull this off, or use your knife. The boiling helps loosen it and make it easier. Put the portions onto a baking sheet and brush on one side with the barbecue sauce. Bake or 30 minutes until dark and delicious looking, then flip and repeat. After one hour total, those babies are done. MMMMMMMM.......ribs

* I had about 1/2 a cup of a ketchup based sweet and sour sauce, and I turned it into barbecue sauce. For this one, I went sweeter. I will estimate measurements, but I didn't actually measure. I added 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 1/2 tbsp worcestershire, 1 clove of garlic finely chopped, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, 1/2 tbsp vinegar, 1 tbsp chili powder, and 2 rounded tbsp raspberry jam. I cooked it for about ten minutes and it was good to go.

Charred Poblano Au Gratin Potatoes

Sometimes I want a big bowl of macaroni and cheese for dinner (and trust me, I'm working on a killer recipe), or a heaping plate of mashed potatoes. There is a middle ground here that people don't make all that often. Au gratin potatoes!!! Thin potatoes, layered with a creamy cheese sauce and baked until its bubbly and delicious. I want a little break from the norm of cheddar cheese everything, and I had a big block of monterey jack on hand. You would be surprised how subtle two ingredients like a pepper and your cheese can drastically change a dish. Give it a try to use up leftovers!

Au Gratin Potatoes

Granted that this picture does not have the peppers in it, but I just couldn't find one, and this was the closest thing too. Speaking of peppers, charring the poblano gives the dish a little bit of a smoky feel, and adds some fruity heat to the dish that is too good to pass up. This dish does have a lot of chopping involved, but once your prep work is done, assembly is very easy.

Potatoes Gratin:

3 white potatoes, rinsed with skin on, sliced in thin slices

1/2 small onion, sliced thin into half moons

2 green onions, sliced thin without the white ends

3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine

1 poblano pepper

Creamy cheese sauce:

2 1/2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 to 1 1/4 cup milk

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cumin

Fresh cracked black pepper

1 cup grated monterey jack cheese (or colby jack, or pepper jack, any kind of jack)

Preheat your broiler. Put your pepper on a baking sheet, and broil until charred all over, about 3 minutes per side. On a side note, my broiler sucks, so yours might be quicker. Keep an eye out! Wrap it in plastic wrap for about five minutes so you can steam the skin. Set your oven to 400. The chopping begins! Chop or slice all your potatoes, garlic, and onions. Next, take a spoon or the back of your knife and peel the skin off of your pepper. Chop the stem off and open it up so it lays flat on your board. Peel out all the seeds, and dice the flesh to whatever size you want. You're going to put a layer of potatoes, and a third of your onions, garlic, and peppers. You continue this until you finish with a fourth layer of potatoes on top. So you should have, potatoes, veggies, potatoes, veggies, potatoes, veggies, potatoes. I also think its a good idea to put a little sprinkle of salt and pepper in between each layer so you're not missing any flavor. 

For the sauce, melt your butter in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir in your flour and cook for a minute or so until no raw flour remains. Slowly stir in one cup of milk and turn your heat to medium. Add in your seasonings, and stir until it thickens, about four to five minutes. Add your cheese in and stir until melted. This is where you may need to adjust your milk. If the sauce is thick like macaroni and cheese sauce, you should add a little more milk because it will thicken in the oven. If your sauce is fine, pour it over the potatoes, cover with foil, and pop it in the oven for an hour and a half. Take foil off for the last fifteen minutes of cooking so it can brown slightly. Talk about delicious! This one was better than my main dish. Crowd pleaser for sure  :D

Chipotle Turkey Club Panini

My boyfriend was nice enough to get me one of those red, electric, George Foreman grills for Christmas a while back. While I've used it for many things, it clearly exceeds at one in particular. PANINIS. There's something about the crispy bread, the melting cheese, and the endless combinations that just make paninis a little more attractive than a grilled cheese. Not to say I don't adore grilled cheese, but if I have the time, a panini is a grilled cheese on steroids. As usual, I searched for what was on sale, and I got turkey cutlets for a great deal. Not only are these sandwiches delicious, but besides the bacon (and who doesn't love bacon?), they're relatively healthy! Goes great with a side salad, or some oven roasted steak fries :D

Turkey Club Panini

Turkey Club Panini:

Turkey cutlets
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin

1 tomato

Deli sliced cheese (I have muenster, but would go well with monterey or pepper jack)

Bacon 
Thinly sliced serrano or jalapeno peppers

Mayonnaise

Sour cream  
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo, or chipotle salsa 
Fresh lime juice (if you have it)

Butter

Any bread that won't break apart under heat, such as french, country white, rye, wheat, sourdough, etc. 

Preheat a medium sized skillet to medium and put 6 slices of bacon in before the pan heats. It's important to start cold so the fat can render off and you don't have flabby bacon. Cause c'mon, who wants flabby bacon? After the bacon is done, take it out and set it on some paper towels. Drain most of the bacon fat off (all but maybe 1 tbsp) and turn your heat up to medium high. Season your 2 turkey cutlets evenly with the chili powder, cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, and cracked black pepper. Sear them in your skillet and cook about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Set them aside with the bacon. Next, we make the "chipotle" part! Mix equal parts mayonnaise and sour cream (say about 2 tbsp each) in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and a squeeze of lime juice. Toast your bun on a dry skillet or toast in the oven.

To assemble, put some of the chipotle mixture on each bun. Pieces or slices of turkey cutlets go on next. Put one or two (it depends how much cheese you like!) slices of cheese next. Add as many or as little of the sliced serranos or jalapenos that you want, and the bacon on top of that. Put on your beautiful sliced tomato. Top if with the top bun and put in a panini press for 3 minutes, or in a lightly buttered skillet, weighed down with a heavy pan with a can, for the same amount of time. YUM!

Oven Roasted Steak Fries

I think we all have those times when we just want an entire plate of french fries. I remember when I was little, my dad would make these all the time, and they were my favorite part of dinner. Except if we were having ribs....but I digress. Potatoes are not the enemy here, it's the frying. Not only is it unhealthy, I find it to be a hassle since I don't have a deep fryer and I hate candy thermometers. I roast them in the oven, and I prefer them that way now. They are so versatile with the types of seasoning you can put on them, and the dips you can create. Don't buy any more frozen fries to fry or bake, these steak fries will put them to shame every time!

Steak Fries

I can't wait until I get my camera and I can take my own pictures! Until then, the pictures still have their original links below. 

Steak Fries:
2 russet potatoes, cut into 12 wedges each
2 tbsp canola or olive oil
1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried rosemary
Fresh cracked black pepper

Preheat your oven to 450. Cut each potato in half lengthwise. Cut each half down the middle lengthwise so you have 4 long spears per potato (or 8 total). Take each spear, and cut them into 3 wedges each. This doesn't have to be exact, but you need each piece to be about the same size so they cook evenly. Put them in a large bowl and mix the oil and seasoning evenly over the potatoes. Lay them on their side on a baking sheet, and be sure there is space between them so they brown evenly. Bake for about 20 minutes before flipping each over to their other side. Bake for another 10 minutes. 30 minutes works pretty well for me.If you aren't happy with how brown they are, you can always broil them for a minute or two. You may want to taste and adjust your seasonings, because sometimes potatoes really soak up salt. Your fries are done and go with any condiment you care to put on them!