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Friday, September 20, 2013

Baked Taco Roll Ups




Photos: courtesy of A Bountiful Kitchen
      
Found on  a blog I visit regularly, these taco roll ups are the latest and greatest hit at our house.  As is often the case, I had made a double batch of this delicious taco meat and wanted to use it up. But as you well know, the same old thing week after week can get a little boring. These babies were just the ticket. I tweaked them to use up my leftover taco meat and save myself a little time. The reaction they got was shocking.          Similar to a taquito, these taco roll ups were simple and downright tasty. We served ours with traditional taco fillings on the side: lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, sour cream and gasp....ketchup. (I know it's gross, but my kids love ketchup with Mexican food.) I used medium sized tortillas and ended up with close to 18 roll ups, which I  planned on freezing for another meal. By the next evening, there was only 1 left.   I can't wait to try the original version (found here) next time. 


Baked Taco Roll Ups

Adapted heavily from A Bountiful Kitchen

One recipe ground beef taco meat (this is the ONLY recipe I use anymore)
2 cups shredded Colby-jack  or cheddar cheese (or more to taste)
flour tortillas, small to medium size
Suggested Condiments- lettuce 
choppedtomatoes 
sliced olives
sour cream
salsa
guacamole

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.Prepare taco meat as directed. Spoon  about 3 tablespoons of the taco meat mixture onto a tortilla. Sprinkle with about a tablespoon of cheese. Roll up as you would a taquito, not filling the tortilla too full, but rolling fairly tight, so the tortilla will not come undone easily.  Place filled tortillas in a single layer onto a lightly greased baking sheet, seam side down. (I sprayed mine lightly with cooking spray to add some crunch and prevent over drying). Bake at 400 degrees for about 12-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the tacos are heated through. Remove from the oven and serve with optional condiments. Makes about 12-15 medium tacos.-Heat up leftovers wrapped in a paper towel for about 1 minute in microwave.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Frosted Peanut Butter Cookies


          A little gem I found on Pinterest, these cookies were to die for! We're die-hard peanut butter & chocolate fans around here and these cookies lived up to all of our expectations. The cookies themselves are perfectly moist and chewy, and I love the addition of peanut butter chips.The final touch of not one, but two layers of frosting  takes these cookies from so-so to irresistible. Just be sure to have plenty of butter on hand!

          Not only do these cookies taste amazing, mine turned out beautifully exactly like the picture.The small amount of time it takes to whip up two batches of frosting, is well worth the WOW factor it creates.

Peanut Butter Cookies
recipe from Cutler's Bakery found via Six Sister's Stuff

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3 1/4 cups cake flour
1- 10 oz bag Reese's Peanut Butter chips
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Cream together butter, sugars, salt, baking soda and powder.  Add vanilla and eggs. Mix well. Add flour and peanut butter chips. Mix just until flour and chips are blended together. Scoop into 2 inch balls and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet about 4 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Peanut Butter Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
milk (to thin to proper consistency, I used about 3 Tablespoons)
Cream together room-temperature butter and powdered sugar. Add peanut butter and beat until smooth. Add milk a tablespoon at time, just until frosting is smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Chocolate Frosting
1 cup butter
5 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 to 1/3 cup milk
Cream butter and 5 cups powdered sugar. Add cocoa and vanilla. Add milk a tablespoon at a time until frosting is smooth. If needed, add more powdered sugar.
After cookies are cooled, frost with peanut butter frosting. Then frost on top of the peanut butter frosting with the chocolate frosting. When spreading the chocolate frosting on top of the peanut butter frosting, be very gentle and leave a small space between the edge of the peanut butter frosting and the chocolate frosting for a layered frosting look.
Posted by: Sallie