Category Archives: Dinner

May26

Smothered Burritos

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Smothered Burritos

   

I find myself drooling over Mexican food pictures quite often and wishing someone would invent a drone service to deliver endless chips and salsa, chimichangas, and margaritas to my doorstep. Because at this point in my life with two small children, we almost never go out to eat. So, to make the best of it, I try to make whatever I’m craving at home, which is probably better in the long run since it’s cheaper and healthier that way. Plus, no one tries to charge me $14 for a margarita around here either! 

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground meat (whatever you’re into these days)
  • 1 package of taco seasoning
  • 1/2 sweet onion chopped
  • 3 mini bell peppers chopped (or 1 regular bell pepper)
  • 1 jalapeño chopped (seeded and deveined) 
  • 3/4 c water
  • 16 oz Velveeta
  • 1 can Rotel (drained)
  • 1 can diced green chilies or 4 roasted green chiles chopped *In Texas it’s easy to find these year round at the Mexican grocery stores freshly roasted. But canned versions are found practically everywhere and just as good.
  • 1/2 c milk
  • Tortillas 
  • Garnishes like lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream

1. Put your chopped peppers and onion into a skillet and drizzle with olive oil. I like to cook these about 10 minutes on medium high heat to give them a head start. 

  
  
  
2. Now add your ground meat to the pan and cook until browned.

  
3. Now drain off any excess fat from the pan. I find it’s easiest to do this with a metal dinner spoon.

  
4. Now add your taco seasoning and 3/4 c water. Bring to a boil, then turn to simmer and stir frequently. It will be done in about 5 minutes.

  
 
 
5. To make the cheese sauce, break up your 16 oz Velveeta and put in a sauce pot over medium heat and add your green chiles, drained Rotel, and milk. Stir frequently to help cheese melt and incorporate with everything. Mmm cheeeeeese 🙂

  
  
  
6. Now it’s time to stuff, roll, and smother your burritos! Don’t be afraid to drown them puppies! Yum! 

  
   
 

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May8

Winning Mexican Breakfast Casserole

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Winning Mexican Breakfast Casserole

  

This is my winning recipe for breakfast casserole from a contest through the United Supermarket grocery stores. 😊

This is my go-to breakfast casserole for when I’m feeding a small crowd or have company coming over. It’s perfect to make the day before and let it sit in the fridge until the morning of when you pop it in the oven. I’ve made it with chorizo before instead of bacon and that’s pretty good too. But what can I say? Bacon has my heart! 🐷😍

Ingredients:

  • 8 corn tortillas (highly recommend corn, but if you can only find flour that’s ok too)
  • 8 eggs
  • 1 T butter
  • 2 cups half and half  (or you can make your own half and half with 1 c milk and 1 c heavy cream) 
  • 2 cups of your favorite grated cheese (you can mix and match any cheese here)
  • 8 sweet baby bell peppers chopped or if you can’t find those 2 regular bell peppers any color chopped
  • 1 small sweet onion chopped
  • 1 chopped jalapeño (optional but adds a nice heat)
  • 1.5 pounds of bacon cooked crispy and crumbled 
  • Salt and pepper
  • Pico de Gallo for topping 

1. In a 9×13 baking dish that’s either been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or buttered line your corn tortillas on the bottom.

 
2. In a large skillet dump your bacon and cook until crispy. Drain off most of the fat and reserve about a tablespoon in the skillet for the next round of cooking. Set bacon aside on paper towels to drain and cool.

   
 

3. Dump your chopped onion and peppers into your skillet and add 1 T butter and season with salt and pepper. Sauté on medium high heat for about 15 minutes or until all soft and starting to caramelize. 

   

3. Now that your bacon has cooled, crumble the bacon all over your tortillas. It would probably look nicer if I cut the bacon all uniform with a knife, but if I use my hands it’ll give me an excuse to eat the little pieces stuck to my hands later. No regrets.

  
4. Now sprinkle your cooked vegetables all over your bacon.

 
5. Whisk together 8 eggs and your cream and milk and season liberally with salt and pepper.

  

6. Pour egg mixture over your bacon and veggies.

   

 

7. Take two cups of your favorite grated cheeses and sprinkle on top. 

  

8. This is where I cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight until I need it in the morning. Once ready to cook, place in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until egg is cooked through and the sides start to turn golden.

   

9. After it’s cooled down a bit out of the oven, top with Pico de Gallo and pour yourself a delicious mimosa! 

  B

May8

Pico de Gallo

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Pico de Gallo

  

Chips + Pico de Gallo = Heaven

This pico recipe uses cherry tomatoes instead of the traditional Roma tomatoes. I think they’re sweeter and other than a giant homegrown beefsteak tomato, they’re my favorite. I love to use yellow and red cherry tomatoes together, but feel free to just use red if you want to.

Ingredients:

  • 10.5 oz container cherry tomatoes
  • 1/2 c chopped cilantro
  • 1 chopped jalapeño (deveined and seeded if you want a mild pico, otherwise just chop with seeds to increase the heat)
  • 1 c finely chopped sweet onion
  • Juice of 1/2 lime
  • Salt to taste

1. Chop your onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and tomato and put in large bowl or container.

  
  
2. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lime (or the whole thing if you like) and season with salt to taste. Give it a big stir and serve with chips or just about anything!

  

Apr29

Quick And Easy Taco Salad

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Quick And Easy Taco Salad

  

I love an easy and delicious weeknight meal, especially when it’s something healthy and satisfying. This is a quick and easy taco salad that uses one of those .49 cent taco seasoning packets from the seasoning isle. Yes, I could’ve gone with a homemade taco seasoning, but really I just didn’t feel like it today😄

Ingredients for taco meat part:

  • 1 lb ground meat (beef, turkey, venison, even chicken would work)
  • 1 packet taco seasoning
  • 1 small sweet onion chopped
  • 1 chopped bell pepper or 3 chopped sweet mini bell peppers (as pictured)
  • 1 garlic clove chopped
  • 1 jalapeño pepper chopped (seeded and deveined)
  • 1 can drained black beans

Ingredients for salad and optional toppings:

  • Chopped romaine lettuce
  • Tomatoes
  • Lime
  • Sour cream
  • Avocado
  • Grated cheese
  • Crushed tortilla chips

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat drizzle a little olive oil over your onion, peppers, and garlic. Sauté for 5-7 minutes.

   

2. Now that it got a bit of a head start cooking, add your ground meat to the skillet.

 
3. Stir occasionally until browned and cooked completely, then drain off any excess fat if necessary.

 

4. Add your packet of taco seasoning and 2/3 c water. Turn the heat down to simmer and allow to cook for about five minutes or until some of the liquid has cooked off.

   

  

 

5. Now add your can of drained black beans and allow it to heat up a minute before turning the heat off and serving over your salad.

 
I love fresh avocado, a scoop of sour cream, and fresh lime juice squeezed on mine for the dressing. If you like something sweeter try it with Catalina dressing. Both ways are delicious! 

Apr14

Spicy Chicken Pasta

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Spicy Chicken Pasta

  

Y’all remember just last week I posted about my new Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer, Makes Veggie Pasta and how much I loved it. Well I made another dish with it very similar to the Seafood Arrabbiata, except this is a quick and easy weeknight meal I made with leftover grilled chicken. If you don’t have any leftover chicken on hand, 1/2 of one of those rotisserie chickens from the grocery store would be perfect! 

Ingredients:

  • 1 sweet onion chopped
  • 1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes 
  • 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 lb diced chicken
  • 1/4 – 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (depending on how hot you like it)
  • 2-3 cloves chopped garlic
  • 4 zucchini or squash for Vegetti noodles
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Dried parsley flakes

1. Add onion and a drizzle of olive oil to your skillet and season with salt and pepper. Sauté 3-4 minutes on medium high heat. 

  

2. Now add your chopped garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté another minute.

  

3. As I explained in my Seafood Arrabbiata post, whole peeled tomatoes are the highest quality canned tomato, so I prefer to use them over diced tomatoes. Drain and chop them up and add them to your skillet with tomato sauce as well as your parsley flakes and bring to a boil. 

   

 

4. Now add your squash and zucchini noodles to your skillet and throw in your diced chicken as well. Turn the heat down to a simmer and allow noodles to soften up a bit in the sauce. Taste to see if you want to add any salt and pepper or any additional heat with more red pepper flakes. 

   

  

 

Enjoy your quick and easy meal!

Apr9

Seafood Arrabbiata 

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Seafood Arrabbiata 

Y’all, this is the most amaaaaazingly yummy dish! “Arrabbiata” is Italian for “angry”, and it comes from the red pepper flakes in the dish. I like my pasta’s anger somewhere between 1) they’re out of my mascara at the store and 2) on hold with American Airlines for an hour and they just hang up on you. Of course, you can add more or less to your liking 😄

You may have also noticed those aren’t regular pasta noodles in there. No, it’s not spaghetti squash either. It’s yellow summer squash and zucchini cut from my brand spankin new Veggetti! I’m so very happy with my “As Seen On TV” purchase! It cuts the squash into these deliciously long and incredibly pasta-like strands and you can choose thick cut like a linguini or thin cut more like spaghetti/angel hair. That being said, of course you could make this with traditional pasta, but I think you should give the veggie pasta a try!

First, here’s the Veggetti:

You can buy it here on Amazon cheaper than you can get it at Bed Bath & Beyond if you don’t already have one:
Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer, Makes Veggie Pasta

I used yellow squash and zucchini for this pasta, but next time I will probably just use zucchini because it cut up in half the time as the squash and I really couldn’t taste a difference. I’m so excited to try this with my other favorite pasta dishes!

Ingredients:

  • 4 squash, zucchini, or combination of them
  • 1 chopped sweet onion
  • Olive oil
  • 3 chopped garlic cloves
  • 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes drained and chopped
  • 2 tsp dried parsley flakes
  • 1/2 lb shrimp (peeled and deveined)
  • 1/2 lb scallops
  • 1/2 lb mussels
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Salt and pepper

1. Get your “pasta” ready by putting your four squash/zucchini through the Veggetti.

2. Get your can of whole peeled tomatoes and drain the juice, then chop the tomatoes and set aside.

Why am I not using diced tomatoes? Because whole tomatoes are generally the highest quality canned tomato and use plum/Roma tomatoes that have been peeled. Diced tomatoes can be a mix of different kinds of tomatoes and not always peeled, so it’s worth the effort to dice these up.

  

3. In a large skillet over medium high heat, drizzle olive oil and add your shrimp and scallops, season with salt and pepper, and cook until they’re totally done. You might need to drain off a little liquid while its cooking if they give off too much water. Once they’re finished, drain and set aside.

4. In the same skillet, add another drizzle of olive oil and add your chopped onion and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Start out with 1/4 tsp and you can always add more later if that’s not enough for you. Sauté for 3-4 minutes.

5. Add your chopped garlic and sauté another minute.

6. Add your chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried parsley flakes, and bring to a boil. Then add your “pasta” noodles, stir, and let boil for one minute.

7. Turn your heat down and add your seafood back into the dish you cooked earlier, plus your mussels.  At my store, mussels are sold already cooked and only need to be heated through. But, if the mussels you purchase are not cooked, add them to the sauce while its boiling and put a lid on your skillet to allow them to steam for a few minutes. You’ll know they’re done once they open up. Any mussels that don’t open are no good and will need to be removed.

Voila! Your angry Italian dish is complete and ready for a glass of wine to go with it!

Mar26

Mexican Steak Burritos

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Mexican Steak Burritos

 

These burritos are very yummy and use pretty much whatever cheap cut of beef you want for your steak. The marinade for the steak is easy and helps tenderize whatever cut of beef you decide to use for your steak. This steak I purchased was around $2 and is classified as “family steak” at my grocery store – whatever that means. So feel free to shop your clearance section to make these as pocket friendly as possible!

Ingredients:

  • Steak for burrito
  • Italian dressing
  • Lime juice from 1 lime
  • Fajita seasoning
  • Toppings for burrito like grilled veggies, cilantro lime rice, refried black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, etc! 
  • Tortillas

1. Take a large ziploc bag and place your steak in there and give it a few big squeezes of Italian dressing, the juice of one lime, and several dashes of fajita seasoning. Then allow the marinade to work for a minimum of four hours or even overnight.

  

2. If you’re planning on veggies, I used two sweet onions and ten of those sweet mini peppers sautéed with two tablespoons of butter, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. I cooked them for fifteen minutes over medium high heat, then added one chopped garlic clove and cooked for an additional five minutes.

   

  

3. For the steak, you can go outside and grill your steak, or if you live somewhere that going outside is terrible (like where I live), just cook your steak in your cast iron skillet inside. Drizzle a little oil in the pan, turn the heat up fairly high, and cook your steak to desired doneness. Personally, I like mine more of the rare end. That’s the beauty of cooking your own burritos!

 

  

 

4. Now start stuffing your burritos! I used whole wheat tortillas, refried black beans, cilantro lime rice,  lettuce, tomatoes, grilled veggies, and sour cream. So delicious!!! 

   

Mar25

Mahi Mahi With Basil Lime Butter

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Mahi Mahi With Basil Lime Butter



This is yet another fish dish we are crankin’ out of the Scott household. This latest is another twist on baked fish to jazz it up and give it some flavor. This recipe I used for mahi mahi, but would go great with salmon, flounder, tilapia, etc. It’s a very quick and easy way to make a yummy and healthy fish dinner for your family. I used a pound (two 8 oz filets), but the basil line butter would’ve been enough for double that I think.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb fish
  • 1 garlic clove chopped
  • 2-3 basil leaves chopped
  • 1/2 lime juice
  • 1/2 lime zest
  • 2 T butter
  • Salt and pepper (pinch of each for butter and also to season fish)

1. Throw all your ingredients together into a small stovetop pot. I ended up only using one basil leaf since mine was ginormous! Melt and stir all together. This should only take about a minute. 





2. Your fish should be on a sheet that’s been sprayed with non-stick spray and seasoned with salt and pepper. Now pour your melted basil lime butter on top.







3. Place your fish under your broiler for anywhere from 5-10 minutes until it’s done (this will depend on type of fish you’re using and thickness).





Yummy! 😄

Mar17

Budget Friendly Crab Cakes

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Budget Friendly Crab Cakes



Crab cakes are sooooo yummy! But when you’re watching your pocketbook, they aren’t the first thing you think of for affordable meals. This recipe blends mild white fish and crab claw meat to help stretch the crab meat to where you won’t even notice it’s not 100% crab in there. Real crab meat has a strong flavor and will overpower the white fish you use and allow you to have real crab cakes (not that yucky imitation stuff) while not breaking the bank! I used flounder in this recipe because it’s what was on clearance in the meat market at our grocery store, but any mild white fish would work like cod, sole, etc… I’ve made this recipe with all halibut fish (not budget friendly but incredibly good) and it’s amazing too. 

Ingredients:

  • 10 oz flounder or other white fish cooked and unseasoned (just steam it on your stovetop) 
  • 6 oz claw meat (it’s cheaper than lump crab meat and just as yummy)
  • 1/2 c Italian or plain breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 c mayo
  • 1 beaten egg
  • Dash worchestishire 
  • 1 green onion thinly sliced 
  • 1/4 tsp garlic salt
  • 1/4 tsp Tony’s Creole Seasoning
  • 1 tsp parsley flakes
  • Pinch cayenne 
  • Zest 1 lemon
  • Juice 1/2 lemon 
  • 2 T butter (for cooking crab cakes in)

1. Flake your fish apart with two forks and combine fish, crab meat, and the rest of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl.





2. Stir it all together and spray a sheet pan covered in foil with non-stick spray. 



3. Form little crab cakes with your hands whatever size you like.



4. I like to cover my cakes with plastic wrap and chill for at least 20-30 minutes to let them firm up because they’ll cook easier and stay together better. It’s not 100% necessary, but I recommend it. Once they’ve been chilled, melt 1 T butter in a large skillet and add your crab cakes. Don’t overcrowd the pan! 



5. Cook on medium high heat about five minutes a side. 



6. Do in batches and you can keep them warm in a 200 degree oven while you’re waiting for your next batch to finish. Serve with the other lemon half or a remoulade sauce! 



Mar15

Shrimp Linguini With Lemon Butter Sauce

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Shrimp Linguini With Lemon Butter Sauce



This is soooo yummy! It has a light white wine/buttery/garlicky/lemony deliciousness and I absolutely love it! You can of course use any pasta like angel hair, whole wheat spaghetti, penne, etc… But my favorite is linguini 😄

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb shrimp peeled and de-veined 
  • 3 T butter
  • A drizzle of olive oil
  • 1 lemon (juice and zest)
  • 1/2 lb pasta (8 oz)
  • 2 cloves garlic chopped
  • 2 glugs of white wine
  • Salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and dried parsley

1. Start boiling your water for your pasta. I like to add salt in there to help flavor it up a bit. Then add your noodles.



2. Start melting your butter over medium high heat in a large sauté pan and add a drizzle of olive oil to it.



3. Once the butter is melted, add your shrimp. It’s best to use shrimp after you’ve pat it dry a bit, otherwise it can make the sauce watery. Season it with salt, pepper, and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.



4. Now add two glugs of white wine. That’s the sound your bottle makes when you turn it into your pan. If you’re going with box wine, press the spout for a couple seconds over your pan. See how I keep it classy with my pinky out? 😄



5. Now add your lemon juice and garlic and cook for about five minutes. You’ll know the shrimp is done when it turns orange and form little c’s.



6. Once it’s done, turn the heat off and add your lemon zest and sprinkle parsley flakes all over it. Stir it all together.



7. Your pasta should be done by now. Drain and add noodles to your sauce pan. 



Stir it all together, pour yourself a glass of wine, and enjoy!