Super Easy Beefy Guac Wraps

I love guacamole, and its citrus compliments the beef nicely in this wrap! It's super easy, too, which is good for a weeknight. Unless you're cooking for a family, you might want to halve this recipe, although I still liked it as leftovers.

Ingredients

1lb ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can refried beans
Salt & pepper
1-2 avocados
1 lemon
8 or so flour tortillas (try multigrain!)

Directions

Brown ground beef with garlic. Drain and return to pan. Reduce heat and stir in refried beans. Salt & pepper to taste and heat thru while you're preparing the guacamole.

Guacamole: Since guac is best fresh, I would recommend starting with 1 avocado and saving the other in case you just don't need 2, or if you need it for leftovers another day. Mash the avocado with a fork in a small-medium bowl. Squeeze in the juice from half of the lemon. Give it a light sprinkle of salt and mix it all together - taste it. Add more lemon and/or salt if desired. Sometimes I like to add a tablespoon or two of salsa and/or cream cheese for some variation. Oh, and if you don't know what you're doing with an avocado, just google it. I hate spelling out those kinds of basic instructions in recipes :)

Spread desired amount of beef & guacamole on your tortilla, wrap, and serve!

(yeah, there's a little bit too much beef in this wrap)

Bacony Cod Bake

Ingredients
6 slices bacon, cut into ~1" pieces
1/2 onion, sliced or chopped
2 yukon gold potatoes, cubed
Salt & pepper
1 cup canned corn, drained
1/3 cup water
1 cup milk
2 cod fillets, cut into ~1-2" pieces
Mozzarella cheese
Oyster crackers (~1/2 9oz bag)


Directions

Preheat oven to 400.

Cook bacon in large pan over medium heat. You can drain and return to pan when done - I compromised with my man's taste buds and threw the onion and potatoes into the bacon grease with some salt and pepper and got that cooking a little bit. Once the potatoes started to get tender, I drained on paper towels and returned to pan. Add corn, water, and milk and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes while you're cutting up the cod - reduce heat and stir occasionally to ensure the milk and other ingredients do not burn.

Transfer bacon mix into casserole dish. Place cod pieces evenly into bacon mix. Cover loosely with foil and bake about 15 minutes. Remove foil and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese reaches desired melty state. Serve with oyster crackers & hot sauce!

Makes about 4 large servings.

Beefy Sweet Potato Bake

*I forgot to add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to the ingredient list yesterday when I posted this! That's what I get for making up dinner as I go along and not writing it down...

Man, I feel like I haven't cooked in days...

Ingredients

1lb ground beef
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
Crushed red pepper, to taste
Salt & pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon CINNAMON
1 large sweet potato, peeled & cubed
1/2 cup water
Cheese
1 tube Grands biscuits (4 or 8-pk)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

On medium heat, brown ground beef with minced garlic, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper. Drain and return to skillet. Add water and stir in sweet potato and cinnamon. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer about 5-10 minutes to soften sweet potatoes a little, and until water is absorbed, stirring occasionally (drain if there's any water left).

Transfer beef and sweet potato mix to casserole dish. Top with desired cheese (I used pepper jack for Justin, and cheddar-flavored rice cheese for myself). Place in oven for 5 minutes or so.

Remove from oven and top with biscuits. Bake according to package directions.

Makes about 4-6 servings.


Notes: As much as I love Grands biscuits, I would recommend using a 4-pk (if they even make that), as opposed to an 8-pk. It just makes for better portions. I like to use the reduced fat variety, too.

Chop Suey

So, chop suey is basically a stir-fry variation with a thickened sauce. I think the key is in a good marinade. Here is my recipe with a pork marinade and my veggies of preference. Add what you like! :)

Ingredients

1 lb pork tenderloin, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1" or so pieces
1 cup uncooked rice, or 8 oz noodles
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, sliced
10 (or so) button mushrooms
Snow peas, about a handful
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Marinade:
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
Ground ginger (a few dashes)
Crushed red pepper (a few dashes)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
Optional sauce:
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Ground ginger (a few dashes)
1/3 cup chicken broth
Additional crushed red pepper or desired spices


Directions

Marinade prep: Chop pork tenderloin as stated above. Place pieces in ziploc baggie (a quart size will do). Add marinade ingredients and massage to coat evenly. Let pork marinade in the fridge about 3 hours (or more).

After pork has marinaded and you are ready to prepare the meal, begin to cook rice or noodles according to package directions.

In a large pan, cook pork and marinade drippings on medium heat until just about completely cooked, stirring frequently and adding a little oil to pan if needed. (about 5-10 min depending on thickness of meat).

Reduce heat and add veggies & 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Cover and saute, stirring ocassionally until your veggie medley is cooked to your liking (about 5-10 min).

If a thickened sauce is desired: when veggies are cooked, mix cornstartch, ground ginger, and chicken broth (plus more crushed red pepper or whichever spices you may want) in a seperate bowl. Stir cornstarch mix into meat and veggies until thickened (about 1 min). My photo below does not have a thickened sauce - I thought my veggies sauted in the sesame oil and with the marinade was enough. These ingredients are simply what I think would work well.

Serve over rice or noodles. Makes about 4 servings.

Caribbean Shrimp Stir-fry

This is a good summery dish - and a nice culinary end to the summer! Have had the recipe for awhile, not sure where it's from. Makes about 6 servings, so halve the pineapple and tomatoes if you want a smaller meal.

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked rice (or noodles if preferred)
vegetable oil (1-2 Tablespoons)
~1/4 medium onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (20oz) pineapple chunks, drained
1 lb. frozen shrimp (raw, peeled, deveined)
~1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (to taste)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 can (half of 7 oz) diced green chiles
1 teaspoon soy sauce


Directions

Begin cooking rice or noodles according to package directions.

In large skillet (or wok) on medium-high, saute onion and garlic in a little vegetable oil until lightly browned. Add pineapple and lightly brown. Transfer to bowl and set aside.

Add shrimp and crushed red pepper to pan with a little more vegetable oil, if needed. Stir continually until cooked - you should only need a minute or two if thawed, 5-6 minutes if still frozen (if frozen, you'll probably need to drain when finished cooking).

Add pineapples back to pan with the shrimp, along with tomatoes, green chiles, and soy sauce. Heat thru for a few minutes.

Serve over rice or noodles. Yummy!