Taco Bowls

I love making taco salads and it is so much fun to make your own golden brown taco bowls and then fill them what you like. I use anything handy to make them and you will see some photos in the comment section. But for these I used an oven proof bowl and I laid a flour tortilla on the outside and then pinched it a little on the edges. I have used the back side of a muffin tin, empty aluminum cans make great ones too.

 

Taco Bowls

Flour tortillas                                                                                   
olive oil or butter flavored cooking spray

Brush the inside of the tortilla with olive oil or spray the inside of each tortilla with butter flavored Pam. Then turn an oven safe bowl upside down and lay a tortilla on top of the bowl to get the shape you prefer. This makes the tortilla edges wavy like a seashell.

Bake in oven at 450 degrees for about 5-7 minutes or until Tortilla becomes rigid and lightly browned. Remove the tortilla from the oven and let cool. Fill with your choice of ingredients and top with cheese, lettuce tomatoes and sour cream.


My Taco Bowl pictured above:

Leftover pot roast, shredded
leftover rice
Colby and Monterrey Jack cheese
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon minced onion

I simply took leftover pot roast and warmed it in a skillet with the seasoning. I added some leftover rice and filled the taco bowl. In this photo you see shredded leftover pot roast, rice, cheese and nothing else. I melted the cheese in the oven and after I snapped the photo, I added some shredded lettuce and tomatoes and some sour cream for the top. Delicious!

You can use your choice of any ingredients:

Chicken
ground beef or turnkey
refried beans
Spanish rice
black beans
black olives


The list can go on and on! Be creative!

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Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls

Just a little treat I made for you this past weekend. These are so easy to make and you always seem to have the ingredients in your pantry to whip up a batch for emergencies! Who doesn't love peanut butter and chocolate? Click on photo in the comment section of this post for a close up of the filling. YUM!

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls

1 (18 oz) jar of smooth peanut butter 
1 (16 oz.) box or bag of confectioners sugar
1/4 cup of butter, melted
1 (12oz) bag of semi-sweet milk chocolate chips
1 (12 oz) bag of white chocolate chips
2 teaspoons of shortening (like Crisco)

In a large bowl, stir together the peanut butter, confectioners sugar and melted butter until the mixture is crumbly. Continue to mix until smooth. I use my hands to mix and form into 1 inch balls.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper and place in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Place the peanut butter balls on the cold baking sheet in rows, but not touching each other. Return to the freezer for another 5-7 minutes until they are set and ready for dipping.

While the peanut butter balls are chilling, melt the two chocolates in separate heat proof bowls over a sauce pan of simmering hot water. You can also use the microwave to melt the chocolate but set on low and only for 30 second intervals and keep stirring. When chocolate has melted, add the shortening and stir well.

Remove the baking sheet from the freezer. Insert a toothpick or wooden skewer into a peanut butter ball and then dip it into the chocolate, turning quickly to cover the entire candy. Place onto the baking sheet. Refrigerate until the chocolate had completely dried. Store the candies in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Photograph is copyrighted and the property of ©Welcome Home.

Be like the single blade of grass.

“Be like the single blade of grass. For she too, has been trampled on, mowed down, and hit with such bitterly cold stretches that she had to shut down to survive. Yet still she stands upright with dignity, knowing that she endures, and still she dances with the wind.”

~Sandra Kring

Pay It Forward

Good morning friends. I want to share a pay it forward story with you today.

There was a woman and her little girl at a check out line at a local supermarket here in town. The clerk had totaled up her grocery bill for the food she had already bagged and with her hands on her hips and a judgmental smirk on her face, she was impatiently waiting for the rest of the balance to be paid.

A stranger, who was standing nearby, was watching as the woman dug through her purse and her pockets nervously searching for any left over cash or change or food stamps that might finish paying the balance the clerk so loudly stated that she still needed to pay. The woman continued to say how sorry she was for thinking the total would be less and for holding up the line, but the clerk continued to tap her fingers on the counter and roll her eyes so the other customers in line could see her frustration. The young woman began to cry and asked if she could go through the bags and return a few things that would have to wait until next month.

At that point her little girl looked up at her Mother and touched her cheek to wipe away a tear. "Please Mommy, don't cry, I have some money." The little girl reached in her little pink vinyl purse and attempted to hand the irritated store clerk several sheets of play money. She looked at the clerk and said, "Take this money and keep the change. My Mommy is sad and I need to get her home."

The clerk completely ignored the little girl and yelled out for someone to call a Manager. People in line began shaking their heads and going to other check out lines to pay for their items. The stranger saw all of this and went to find that Manager. They stepped aside and chatted briefly and then walked back to the manager's office.

In a few moments an announcement was made over the loud speaker for a stock clerk to go to checkout line 10 to assist a customer. When the young man reached the woman and her little girl, he asked her if he could help her load her groceries into her car. The young mother said, "We have a problem, because I was unable to finish paying for my items."

The young man shook his head and immediately said, "no Ma'am, your daughter more than covered the remaining balance. You even have some change coming your way."

He then proceeded to count out $500 in store credit vouchers for future purchases. The woman looked at him in disbelief and began to cry. She then followed the young man out to her car. The stranger continued to look on as the manager relieved the cashier of her duties for the day.

The stranger smiled and remembered a quote that she had read at some time in her life. It said, "I learned not give because I have much....but because I know exactly how it feels to have nothing."

Pay it forward my friends. The feeling that you will walk away with is incredible. The stranger was me this morning and I cannot even describe how it felt to see that little girl's face as she comforted her Mother and told her it would be okay. I found more joy in that single moment that I have found in the last year.

Pay it forward today my friend.... it doesn't have to be with money....my Mom used to say, "Smile at a stranger today or say something nice. You just never know when something you say or do might fit perfectly in the empty space of someone's heart."

~Marty

Story is copyrighted and the property of  Welcome Home

Three Cheese Broccoli Bake

Here's a simple and easy to make dish that can dress that plain old broccoli up and make it delicious!

Three Cheese Broccoli Bake

2 large heads of broccoli (enough to fill a 9×13 baking dish)...
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons thyme
1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 cups Monterrey Jack cheese, grated
3 cups Cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Trim broccoli of heavy stems and cut into florets. Place them in baking dish. Over medium heat, warm up cream, stirring frequently. Dissolve bouillon cube in the cream, and add thyme, stirring to blend. Pour cream mixture over the broccoli and sprinkle with the onion. Season broccoli generously with salt and pepper and garlic powder.

Cover the broccoli with 3/4 of the Jack and cheddar cheeses. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake until tender, approximately 30 min. Cover with remaining cheese, and sprinkle the Parmesan on top. Bake just until the top layer of cheese melts, approximately 5 minutes. Add additional cream on top of broccoli after serving if desired.

*** Photograph is copyrighted and the property of ©Welcome Home.

Pineapple Topped Cheesecake

Oh Yum.  A wonderfully creamy cheesecake topped with quartered pineapple rings on top of a graham cracker crust that melts in your mouth. Enjoy it with friends and family or keep it all for yourself!  That's why I like to make these perfect little 6 inch cheesecakes.  I have included a link at the bottom of the recipe so you can find the little spring form pans I use.


Pineapple Topped Cheesecake 

3 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 sticks salted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter until moistened. Pour into a spring form pan. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and about 1-inch up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Cheesecake

• 5  pks (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1  3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In large mixer bowl, blend cheese, sugar, flour, lemon and orange zest and vanilla at high speed.  Beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time; beat until smooth, occasionally scraping bowl with spatula.  Next beat in cream until batter is smooth and creamy.

Pour batter into your prepared crust and bake in a water bath at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes depending on the size of your pan. The cheesecake will be slightly brown around the edges. It will be slightly wobbly just at the center. Allow the cheese cake to cool on a wire rack at room temperature.

When completely cool remove the cheesecake from the spring form pan by running a sharp knife around the outside edge before removing the sides of the pan and then run a knife under the crust to release it from the pan’s bottom. Drizzle with glaze. 

Glaze and Topping                                          

           
1 small can of pineapple rings, cut in sections
1/3 cup of pineapple jam or preserves
2 teaspoons water

Place the jam or preserves in a small saucepan. Heat the saucepan over low to medium heat on the stove, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add water and stir constantly over low heat, until the sauce becomes thinner, pourable consistency. Add more water if necessary to get a consistency of thin honey-like syrup which you can easily brush over the pineapple with a pastry brush. Let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes or until it's still thin enough to pour but no longer piping hot. Generously brush over pineapple and allow it to run down the sides of the cheesecake.

If you are interested in these little 6 inch spring form pans you can click on this link to find them. Remember, anything you purchase on Amazon through Welcome Home will go to the NO KILL Advocacy group to help save the lives of dogs and cats who are killed unnecessarily while waiting for their forever homes. Note the Welchome08 in the link.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DIX7U/ref=as_li_ss_sm_fb_us_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=399837&creativeASIN=B0000DIX7U&linkCode=shr&tag=welchome08-20&qid=1378240341&sr=8-1&keywords=6+inch+spring+form+pans

Photograph is copyrighted and the property of ©Welcome Home.

Squeak

Good morning friends. It's bright and sunny but very cold here in Maryland this morning. I could see my breath this morning when I went outside to feed my cat. Yes, I have a cat...her name is Lola but I call her squeak because she doesn't... meow like most cats. She opens her mouth like she is going to meow, but this little squeak comes out.

I rescued Squeak last fall when she and her three siblings were left on my back deck by their mother who never came back to feed them. That is a whole different story that I won't get into right now. All died except for Squeak who I bottle fed and kept alive. I had her spayed and vaccinated and a chip put in her ear and bought her a pink rhinestone collar. She grew up to be a long haired, green eyed beauty and the sweetest cat I've ever known.

She was an outdoor cat then and is an outdoor cat now. I brought her in over the winter months last year and provided her warmth and shelter and lots of food and toys and all the luxuries that indoor cats usually don't appreciate. Nor did she...she was miserable all winter and cried all the time to go out. The vet said let her outside, so this past April, I let her out on the deck and within a second she was gone. I searched everywhere. I put up posters and called out her name for days. But she was nowhere to be found and I cried and blamed myself and mourned her loss.                                                                                            

  

Then, 9 weeks to the day, she came back. There she was, sitting on the back deck waiting for me. She looked tired and worn out as if she had gone through a lot trying to find her way back home. She had become very feral in nature and didn't trust anyone to come near her. But after a week or so, she jumped in my lap one morning when I was sitting out having my coffee. And she's has never left since. Every morning she greets me with a squeak to say she's hungry and we sort of hang out together out in the garden.

But now it's getting cold and I worry about Squeak. So I went out and bought one of those Igloo dog houses. I packed it full of blankets and a heated pet pad to make it all cozy and warm. I bought a swing door for it so she could go in and out when she wanted. I put it up high on my table so she would feel safer. I put in her favorite toys and some treats and munchies and waited to see what she would do.

Didn't take long for her to get in and start her cat ritual of kneading the blankets and snuggling up with her toys. She loved her new accommodations instantly and sleeps there peacefully every night and most of the day. She peaks out and squeaks each morning when I bring out her breakfast. I pick her up and she is toasty warm and happy after a good night sleep and she purrrs and let's me know how grateful she is that we came up with a solution. Squeak is happy. All is well.

Homemade Won Ton Soup

I always order won-ton soup when I go out for Chinese food. I just love the broth and those wonderful little pillows of goodness. So one day I decided to try and make it at home. I went to the store and bought some won ton wrappers and googled how to fill and fold them. Then I put together a recipe for my own broth and in no time flat I had the best soup! It ended up being so easy to make and even better that what you get in a restaurant. Now I can have Won Ton soup whenever I want. You will love this recipe.

Homemade Won Ton Soup

For the pork filled wontons:

1/2 lb ground pork
1-2 scallion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
30 wonton wrappers
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup cool water

For the Soup:

2 quarts (8 cups) low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
salt to taste

Stir together pork, scallions, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, salt, and white pepper in a bowl in 1 direction with your hand until just combined (do not overwork, or filling will be tough).

Put 1 wonton wrapper on a work surface (keep remaining wrappers covered with damp cloth). Spoon a teaspoon of filling in center of square, then brush cornstarch slurry around edges. Lift 2 opposite corners together to form a triangle and enclose filling, pressing edges firmly around mound of filling to eliminate air pockets and seal. Moisten opposite corners of long side. Curl moistened corners toward each other, overlapping one on top of the other, and carefully press corners together to seal. Make more won tons in same manner.

Fill a medium sized pot with 6 cups of the chicken broth. Bring broth to a boil over medium-high heat. Add wontons and stir lightly to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the broth begins to boil again, add another cup of broth. When water begins to boil again, add the final remaining cup of broth. When the broth boils for the final time, the won tons & should be done. Serve hot.

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Shrimp Bisque

I love seafood and especially in soups this time of year. I make my base rich and creamy and fill it with wonderful buttery crab, shrimp and lobster. Typically, a shrimp bisque has a thin base with just the taste of shrimp. I make mine thick with chunks of shrimp in every bite. Try it. I think you'll like it!

Shrimp Bisque

1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and chopped
2 cups half and half (half milk/half cream)
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons of onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning (more if you want a kick)

Saute onion and garlic in butter until tender. Blend in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add half and half and stir until base starts to thicken. Add cream and the tomato paste and stir until thick and creamy. Stir in salt, paprika, old bay seasoning and chopped shrimp. Check seasonings and add more if desired. Add more Old Bay seasoning taste. Garnish with whole shrimp.

*** Photograph is copyrighted and the property of ©Welcome Home.

You don't know what you have until it's gone?"

You know that saying...."You don't know what you have until it's gone?" The truth is...you knew exactly what you had. You just thought you'd never lose it.

~Marty

From my book, "Life's Lessons" (What God Would Have Wanted Me to Learn By Now)....

Note: You can download any of my ebooks to your computer, your iPhone or iPad or Android smartphone, for only $24.99. Hard copies are also for sale.

http://store.blurb.com/ebooks/195682-life-s-lessons

Proceeds from the sale of my All my books go to the NO KILL Advocacy Group to support their efforts in saving the lives of dogs and cats who are killed unnecessarily while waiting in a shelter for someone to rescue them. Over 6 million dogs and cats will die this year. We can change that.