Tex-Mex Potato Pie

March 24, 2011 By 3 Comments

I made this for dinner last night and it was so, so good. This is something Mom used to make often, but I had totally forgotten about it. When I found it hiding in my recipe box I couldn’t wait to make it because I knew Jesse would love it. Plus I always love yummy ground beef recipes because they are super cheap. The best part is that it needed no adjustments for allergies… all fresh ingredients! This one will be added to our regulars list for sure.

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes
1 green pepper, diced
4 un-peeled potatoes, sliced
shredded cheddar cheese
green onions for garnish

Cook beef, onion, and garlic. Drain. Add spices and tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in green peppers. In a 9 x 13 dish, spread potatoes evenly and brush with olive oil.

Potatoes

Spoon meat mixture on top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Top with cheddar cheese and garnish with green onions.

Tex Mex

As you can see I made a smaller dish since it was just the two of us, but I could have made a larger dish because we barely had any leftovers. I topped Jesse’s side with extra cheese for added calories and fat. I meant to take a picture of the final product, but we were really hungry and it smelled really good so I totally forgot.

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: ,

Apple Salad

March 23, 2011 By 1 Comment

I found this yummy recipe on the back of a Publix flyer that came in the mail. It’s a perfect potluck side dish or a quick and healthy snack all by itself. Also, it’s super easy to scale up or down depending on the number of people to serve. Of course, I altered it just a little bit to make a more allergy friendly version.

Ready in minutes
Makes about 6 servings

3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tbsp honey
1/8 tsp pepper
2 medium golden apples
2 medium red apples
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 3/4 cups (6 oz) celery, diced
1 package (4 oz) dried cranberries and apple snack mix – or I used just plain raisins

1. Whisk together in a salad bowl, yogurt, honey, and pepper. Cut apples into small bite-size pieces; add to dressing. Squeeze juice of one-half lemon over apples; stir until evenly coated.
2. Stir in celery and snack mix. Chill until ready to serve.

Apple salad

 

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: , , ,

Disaster Zone

March 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’ve decided that we are officially DONE with cold weather.  Yesterday I started the dreaded task of removing our thick sweaters and long sleeve shirts from our closet.  I’m so glad they’re gone, I’m sick of feeling bundled up and claustrophobic… we are ready for Spring!

I had to warn Jesse that he should just avoid our bedroom for a while. He doesn’t do well with seeing the chaos that happens during a project. Which is actually pretty funny considering how messy he was when we first met. He was sharing a two bedroom condo with a guy we knew from church. The first time I saw his room there was a pathway from the door to his bed, and from his bed to his computer. The rest of the floor was covered in about two feet of stuff (I’m not allowed to say junk). That’s not to say my old bedroom was always that clean, but it sure wasn’t that bad. Now Jesse often gets annoyed about messes before I do, and he can’t stand it that messes often have to get worse before they can get better. I’m not sure how it happened, but his OCD has come out a bit when it comes to neatness.

Closet cleaning

Since I was already making a mess of our entire bedroom, I figured I might as well go through the closet for clothes I don’t wear anymore.  I’ve lost a bit of weight since being on my allergy diet and had a lot of stuff that I know I can’t wear that was just taking up space.  There is nothing like shopping for new outfits in your own closet… I forgot about some of the things hiding in there!  I think there will need to be a shopping trip in the near future to refill the empty spaces.

Of course, once you clean out one closet it just makes the other closets seem that much messier. Where does all this junk come from? How do we end up with so much stuff anyways? I guess the next step will be to see what other treasures I have forgotten about.

Filed Under: General