Chili Cheese Nachos

I consider myself somewhat of a nacho connoisseur. My husband and I will eat nachos whenever the opportunity presents itself... which is often since we will go out of our way to find restaurants that offer nachos. But I have yet been able to master the perfect nachos at home. Until now!

Ingredients
Tortilla chips (the thicker the better
1/2 lb ground beef
1 15oz can of Hormel chili - no beans
2 15oz cans of chili beans (I like S&W the best)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Cheese sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups milk
8oz cheese (I picked up the nacho & taco blend for extra seasoning)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Optional (for topping)
Jalapeños
Diced tomatos
Sour cream
Avocado

Directions
Preheat the broiler to 525 degrees (or whatever the default broil setting is on your oven). Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium high heat. Once the beef is close to being done, add in the Hormel chili and spices. Heat chili through, set aside. Heat the two cans of beans in a sauce pan. Cheese sauce: melt the butter over medium low heat. Whisk in the flour and let cook for one minute - it should be bubbling. Warm up the milk in a microwave while the flour is cooking. Add warmed milk to rue and whisk thoroughly. Let the milk mixture cook for 5 minutes to allow thickening. Add in all 8 ounces of cheese and mix. Spray a little canola oil into a 13x9 baking pan. Arrange tortilla chips in pan. Add a layer of chili beans with a slotted spoon onto chips, followed by the chili meat and lastly the cheese sauce. Add jalapenos or any other toppings you prefer. Follow the same steps for second layer. Cover entirely with shredded cheese. Pop into the broiler for about 5 minutes.

And waa-lah! The perfect chili cheese nachos. Be careful though, they're addicting and it's much easier than you think to down an entire pan in one sitting. Enjoy!

Simple Spasagna

I'm sure you've heard or seen this recipe called "Spasagna" on Pinterest just like my sister and I did. Who can pass up a spaghetti-lasagna hybrid right? Well, what we didn't know was how many ingredients this recipe took... until we were standing in the refrigerated aisle of the grocery aisle looking like fools. Sour cream? TWO pounds of cheese? No thanks. We loved the idea of a spaghetti-like casserole but it was already six o'clock and we wanted something easier. So we threw together our own version of Spasagna!

Ingredients
1 box of thin spaghetti
1 jar (26oz) of Traditional Prego sauce (I'm sure you can use whatever brand you prefer, but no one will ever convince me Prego isn't the best kind next to homemade)
1/2 lb of ground beef (or turkey)
8 ounces ricotta cheese
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup half and half
salt and pepper (I didn't really measure this but I'd say about a 1/2 teaspoon of each)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook spaghetti according to instructions on box - we cooked to al dente.
3. Brown beef in skillet over medium heat, until it's almost completely cooked. Add spaghetti sauce and cook just until heated through.
4. In a bowl, toss spaghetti with ricotta, 5 ounces of mozzarella, half and half and salt and pepper.
5. Spread half of pasta mixture into a lightly greased 8x8 baking dish. Follow with half of beef sauce.
6. Repeat 5 for remaining pasta and sauce, then cover with last 3 ounces of mozzarella cheese.
7. Place in oven and cook until cheese is nice and bubbly, about 15 minutes.
8. ENJOY!

It took us about 30 minutes total from start to finish and it turned out DELICIOUS. We served it up with some buttered French bread and a glass of wine and started crafting up some new Halloween decorations. I might have had it for lunch AND dinner the following day. If possible, it's even better the second day!

Smothered Beef Burritos

I apologize for the instagram photo but after spending 15 minutes trying to photograph these burritos I learned that I just don't have a talent for food photography. But they still look yummy right?

Due to the fact our condo has a hard time cooling down on hot days I have been using my Crockpot like crazy since I don't have to heat up the whole house for a tastey meal. Many thanks to Pinterest for the zillion of Crockpot recipes they host! The Smothered Beef Burritos have been Justin's favorite so far (go figure), as well as mine, and are so easy to make! I followed the guidelines of this recipe, and then changed it up a bit to suit our likes.

Ingredients:
2 lbs of stew meat - our grocery store sells it already in chunks which makes it so much easier for shredding!
1 19-ounce can of red enchilada sauce - we personally love Rosarita's.
Salt & pepper - I don't measure how much exactly I use but if I had to guess it'd be around a 1/2 teaspoon for each.
Refried beans - we also use Rosarita's, and I get vegetarian-style so I know it isn't made with lard. A tip my cousin gave me long ago is to add a little milk to make them creamier. I add a little pepper in there, too!
4 burrito-sized tortillas
Shredded cheese
Optional: sour cream or guacamole

Directions:
1. Put beef chunks into Crockpot, cover with almost all of enchilada sauce (I reserve about an ounce for later.), add salt and pepper. Cook on high for 2-3 hours. The time really depends on your Crockpot; I've found that mine cooks way faster than all the recipes I've tried so I kind of just test it periodically.
2. When the beef is very tender and flaky, remove it from the Crockpot and shred it. I just use two forks and shred it that way cause it's easy and I'm not that fancy! Return the beef to the Crockpot.
3. Warm up the beans on the stove top. Add milk & pepper if you're cool!
4. Smear about two heaping spoonfuls of the beans onto a tortilla. Add two spoonfuls of the beef. I also add a little bit of cheese inside because we like things extra cheesy. Roll into a burrito.
5. Place the burrito(s) onto a greased 9x13 baking pan, cover with the reserved enchilada sauce and more cheese.
6. Broil the burritos for 3-4 minutes, until the cheese is all melted.

This recipe makes about 4 burritos. Which is perfect for us so Justin can have 2 and I can bring one for lunch the next day! I omitted the beef bullion cubes from the original recipe because I think they're just too salty and kind of gross. Salt and pepper works much better! Like I said it's super easy and for how delicious it is, I'm sure it will become a weekly staple in our home.