cooking ala mel

Taco Soup

February 6, 2011

Back in my family & consumer science class in high school, we made this soup. I loved it so much, I brought the recipe home to my mom, and now my family makes it all the time. It’s an extremely easy (and delicious) soup for a cold day. Lately, I’ve been putting a whole grain tortilla in the bottom of my bowl and eating it like that instead of putting fritos in (which is also delicious).

My second family that lives in Seattle always make fun of me for this soup and refuse to believe it’s edible (but one day you will try it and like it!!), so Alex was a little bit worried about trying it..

I think he enjoyed it!

Taco Soup
½ lb ground beef
½ cup black beans, rinsed
¼ cup onion, chopped
1 cup water
2-3 tbsp taco seasoning
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2/3 cup stewed tomatoes
1 – 8 oz can tomato sauce
¼ cup sour cream
½ cup corn Fritos

In a large fry pan, brown ground beef with onion; stir and break up meat as it cooks. Drain grease from meat. Put browned meat/onion mixture in a large saucepan. Add taco seasoning, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans, corn and water. Heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring constantly; to keep mass from sticking on the bottom of the pan (May be served at this time, but flavor develops if allowed to stand).

Serve over Fritos in a bowl. Add a dollop of sour cream and grated cheese on top and serve.

Makes 4-5 servings

No Bake Oreo Cheesecake

February 6, 2011

My roommate, Lin, really loves cheesecake. For her birthday this year (which was in October), I made her a no bake oreo cheesecake. It was so easy to make, and very, very rich!

No Bake Oreo Cheesecake
Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 can sweetened condensed milk
About 3/4 cup crushed oreos

Crust:
3-6 T butter, melted
about 24 finely crushed oreos
Bake the crust for about 10-15 minutes at 350 ºF.

Mix cream cheese, lemon juice and condensed milk until smooth and creamy. Mix in oreos and pour mixture onto prepared crust. Chill for 6 hours, until firm.

Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Butter Icing and Caramelized Walnuts

February 6, 2011

After seeing this recipe at Shutterbean, I decided to make it for Thanksgiving with my family. Instead of making a cake, I made mini cupcakes – it made 60!

I topped each mini cupcake with a caramelized walnut; they’re too delicious to not have one on each! They were extremely moist and the icing was fantastic.

Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Butter Icing and Caramelized Walnuts
yields about 60 cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 2/3 cups white whole wheat flour
1 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t ground allspice
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1-15 oz. can of pumpkin puree
1/2 cup warm (110 degrees) milk

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line mini cupcake tin with mini cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat sugar and applesauce together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, and beat until combined. Add pumpkin puree and milk; beat until combined. Add reserved flour mixture; beat on low speed until just combined.

Fill mini cupcake tins 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 12-15 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. (For regular sized cupcakes, bake 20-25 minutes).
Allow cupcakes to cool for about five minutes in pan then remove to wire rack. Ice and top with caramelized walnuts.

For the Icing:
4 T butter
1 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 t pure vanilla extract
1 to 2 T milk

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat until nut-brown in color, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and pour butter into a bowl, leaving any burned sediment behind.

Add sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milk; stir until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add the remaining tablespoon milk, a little at a time, until consistency is spreadable. Let cool 5 minutes. Use immediately.

For the Caramelized Walnuts:
About 1 cup sugar
well-shaped, large walnut halves (about 60)

In a small skillet, melt sugar over medium-high heat until medium golden, about 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Working quickly, drop walnut halves, one at a time, into the melted sugar. If the sugar hardens, return skillet to low heat, and stir several minutes. Using a fork, turn walnuts until they are evenly coated. Transfer walnuts to a wire rack to cool completely. Use to decorate cupcakes.