Jolene's Recipe Journal

My husband and son have an addiction to Taco Bell.   It was bad, but since they've introduced the new Doritos Locos Taco shells, it's gotten worse.    Tacos were a twice monthly meal here, but they kept begging me to find a way to make the shells out of Doritos. This was as close as I could come, and since I actually remembered to snap a picture this time, I thought I'd pass the idea along here as well. They sell Taco Bell brand taco seasoning now, but we prefer the Old El Paso Mild.  * Exported from MasterCook *                            Doritos Locos Nachos   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method --------  ------------  --------------------------------   1              pound  ground beef -- browned and drained   1            package  taco seasoning mix                         water -- per pkg instructions                         Doritos                         Mexican blend cheese -- shredded                         shredded lettu

Jake and I are big fans of breakfast for dinner.   Due to nut allergies, I subbed rice krispies for the nuts.   They give a nutty flavor and crunch.   I used my beloved Presto Flipside Belgian Waffle Maker and I got 4 nice sized ones.   Tropical and fun, and they definitely are going in the keeper file! Thank you so much to Darlene B. for sharing her recipe! Here are some other waffle recipes you may enjoy: Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles Blueberry Waffles with Blueberry Sauce Banana Bread Waffles  Print With Image Without Image Hawaiian Waffles Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients: 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple -- undrained 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup flaked coconut 1/2 cup light corn syrup 1/4 cup pineapple juice Waffles: 2 cups all-purpose flour 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 eggs -- separated 1 cup milk 1/4 cup butter or margarine -- melted- used butter 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple -- wel

My husband is very picky about his steak and my son has sensory issues coupled with a bad steak experience from a few years ago.    So I searched through MasterCook, Pinterest, Foodgawker and assembled my possibilities.  I've gotten Jake to eat chicken, pork and eggplant all by breading and baking/frying, so I mulled over the idea of Country fried steak, but I am terrible at making gravy.   My friend Sue suggested steak fingers, and a quick google found me these on Allrecipes. On their own, they are a little bit bland, I'd definitely amp them up with something next time, but for a trial run with Jake, they were perfect. I used round steak with the outer fat trimmed off, beaten with a meat mallet, then sliced it thin and across the grain.   Didn't take long at all for them to brown up and cook through.    Jake had his dipped in honey, and I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce.     Success!   He even came back and asked for 2 more fingers.    

These were on the menu for Superbowl, but I ended up having so much other food I scrapped them.   Jake and I threw them together last night and we really enjoyed them.  I only did a few hot dogs worth, and the rest as plain muffins.    Big hit with Jake, he ate half a dozen.     I had mine with some specialty mustard I ordered from Stonewall kitchen, and would have liked them with a spicy ketchup too.    I found the recipe on the Iowagirleats blog via Foodgawker   :) Mini Corn Dog Muffins Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal ingredients: 1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup cornmeal 1 cup all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 8 all-beef hot dogs -- cut into 1' bites (8 to 10) instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine butter and sugar in a bowl, and whisk to combine. Add eggs and whisk to incorporate. Add buttermilk and whisk to incorporate.

I have a problem: I love cashews. This was never a problem until 14 years ago, when I met my husband and then later had my son.  They are both tree nut allergic, epipen required. Now my consumption of cashews is very methodical. Only after my is in bed and my husband is at work. Immediately washing hands and brushing teeth afterwards. Checking for any stray pieces or oils that could have gotten anywhere. So I've been looking for a snack that could replace cashews that won't kill my family and I've heard a lot lately about roasted chickpeas (garbanzos). I've had a few cans sitting in my cabinet forever, and when that cashew craving hit the other day I decided to give them a try. I dumped the drained rinsed beans onto a half sheet pan, and sprinkled them with salt and a little cayenne and fresh cracked black pepper. Some recipes call for oil from the start, others add it later, and I was trying to keep these on the healthier side so I left mine dry.    I

We're big football fans, but we're also big fans of football food. Sometimes I go with a theme, sometimes it's picnic style (my son's favorite), but always I have the same game plan-  make a lot of food that's good at room temp or easily reheatable so that I can sit and watch the game!      :) This week I stuck with some old favorites, pulled pork in the slowcooker (pork roast and bottle of Jack Daniels BBQ sauce on low 8 hours, shred, serve on rolls),  nachos (chips and cheese set up on plates so that plus cheese, crackers and fruit. I decided to treat myself to a few spicy dishes since there was plenty of options for the guys to eat.    Combed my to-try files and the first to go on the menu was Sweet and Spicy Jalapeno Poppers from Country Woman.    The chicken and bacon poppers use a mixture of brown sugar and Penzey's BBQ3000 spice mix, so I simply doubled it and dipped the jalapeno poppers first. I had to bake mine longer than what the

I was a little skeptical when I saw this recipe...  take a jelly sandwich, add deli meat and cheese and then dip and fry it up like french toast.   Oh-kay.    We're pretty much snowed in today and the guys wanted pork chops so I figured it was a good day to experiment with my own meal.    I didn't have raspberry jam, I used strawberry.   Not a huge swiss cheese fan, so I used shredded mozzarella.    Next time I'd have some sliced on hand, would make it easier to flip the sandwich in the egg coating.      The flavors all meld together into something totally delicious.    Give it a try! Pics are rushed, I wanted to eat while it was still warm  :) print recipe Monte Cristo reviewed by Jolene's Recipe Journal January 2012   4           servings     1              large  egg   3              large  egg whites      1/4           cup  low-fat milk   1              Pinch  ground nutmeg   8          teaspoons  raspberry jam   8            

I've been making this Lemon Chicken Rice Soup for over a decade and we love it now as much as we did the first time I made it.  It's a "semi-homemade" recipe that comes together quickly but tastes like you spent all day on it. I start with chicken breast tenderloins chopped into bite sized pieces.  You can use any cut you want, you just want about 1 1/2 pounds. I cook the chicken with a little olive oil and fresh cracked black pepper in a dutch oven until the chicken is no longer pink.   Next up is carrots.  You can use thinly sliced carrots but I like to run mine over the Microplane. They get distributed so much more evenly that way.  I then add a 32oz low sodium chicken broth and cream of chicken soup and stir well. I've admitted in the past, I cannot cook rice, so the Ben's Ready Rice are one of my culinary best friends. I love the Roast Chicken flavor for this! I microwave them for about 60 seconds before adding them into the pot.  Obviously the key to thi

Jake went through a phase of loving Biscoff so I stocked up.  Right after that, he decided he didn't like it anymore and I had 2 jars of it to use up.  When my friend Carol shared this bread, I knew it was going on my to make list! We hit the farm late last week, and I'd peeled, shredded and drained zucchini and packed it into 2 cup bags.   I used a cookie scoop to make easy work of the dollops of biscoff batter.   I didn't have the caramel extract, but I did have some caramel swirl chips I wanted to use, but wasn't sure where, in the batter or the topping.   In the end, I pulsed them in the food processor with the graham crackers, butter and cinnamon. Since Tim is a veggiephobe, I've sold this to him as "Biscoff Coffee Cake Bread", and the zucchini can be my little secret   :)    He's on his second piece right now  LOL  Thank you so much Carol for yet another recipe that goes straight to the Family Favorites file! Print With Image Witho

(originally made 7/2010) One of my first stops when we got back from vacation was the local farm.   I was happy to see the zucchini was in, and filled up a bag with lots of other goodies too.   Since I had coconut and pineapple leftover from previous recipe, this recipe of Carol's was perfect for me.   I've made a few of her zucchini breads previously, and they are always a big hit around here.     DH is an odd duck though, if he can see the zucchini, he won't eat the bread.  For that reason, I peel mine before squeezing the daylights out of it to get the moisture out.    I was a little short on the coconut extract, I used about half what it called for.    The last thing I did was to put on a nice thick sprinkle of raw sugar on the top, I love the crunchy, sparkly crust it gives the final bread. One for now, one for the freezer.   I double wrap- in plastic, then foil, then into a ziploc.     Thank you so much Carol for sharing yet another amazing zucchini

As you might have noticed from my last few weeks of reviews.   I have blueberries.   Lots of yummy, fresh from the patch, sweet as can be blueberries.     I also picked up a half dozen zucchini at the farm earlier in the week.   Carol has posted lots of amazing zucchini bread recipes and I've had this one on the to-try list for a while.   I did not have the lemon oil, so I omitted it.   I ended up using a full tsp of baking powder due to a reading comprehension error   :)    I also covered the top of the bread with a nice layer of turbinado sugar before baking.    Made this on Tuesday, and didn't get to slice it til yesterday morning.    Beautiful texture, wonderful flavor.    I love the added sweet crunch of the turbinado crust.    I got two beautiful loaves, one disappearing fast and the other is wrapped and in the upright freezer.    I am looking foward to unwrapping it in the dregs of our long New England winter and enjoying a little taste of summer.  Thank