Homemade Gorditas

Yum! This was such a fun twist on taco night. The gordita wraps are soft and pliable with a great texture. I saw this idea over at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice and knew we would have to try them. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 + 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 + 1/4 cups boiling water*
1 + 1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. instant yeast
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
taco fillings-
ground beef
shredded lettuce
salsa
shredded cheese
hot sauce
sliced olives


Preparation:
In a mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the all-purpose flour with the boiling water. Mix until smooth. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes. In a separate bowl mix together the remaining 1 1/4 cups flour, salt, and yeast. Also add the vegetable oil. Mix this together with flour/water mixture. Knead by hand for 2-3 minutes on a lightly oiled surface. You want your dough to be a little bit sticky. Spray a mixing bowl with non-stick spray, add the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place. Once risen divide dough into 8 equal sized portions. Cover them and let rest for 30 minutes. After resting, roll each dough piece out into a 7"-8" circle. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium Heat. Once hot add the dough to the dry skillet and cook a few minutes per side or until they are speckled with golden brown spots. If they are sticking, lightly grease the pan, but I had no problems with sticking. Keep the gorditas warm on a baking sheet, covered with tin foil in a really low oven (I had mine set at 170 degrees F). Once your gorditas are cooked, fill with ground beef and your favorite taco toppings and enjoy!

*I had to add some extra water to my dough in order to incorporate the second helping of flour. I added an extra 1/3 cup.

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Braid

This was a definite hit. Nate had three helpings last night. This recipe is definite comfort food that would be perfect on a nice cold night. It smells so good while baking too. I got inspired for this dish by a recipe on the Rhodes roll blog. There are good step by step pics on how to cut the dough on there.

Ingredients:
1 loaf frozen Rhodes bread dough, thawed
2 large chicken breasts, seasoned, cooked and cut into 1" chunks
3 small heads of broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups alfredo sauce (I used one jar of Classico's light alfredo)
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp. butter, divided
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
garlic bread seasoning
pepper

Preparation:
In a large skillet, melt 1 Tbsp. butter over medium heat. When hot add diced onions and sautee until soft, about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the onions are done, stir in the alfredo sauce, milk, chicken, 2 tsp. (to taste) of garlic bread seasoning, and some pepper to taste. Cook until hot and bubbly, stirring every so often and adjust seasoning as needed. Add broccoli. I cook the broccoli covered in the microwave for about 2 minutes, not so much that it's mushy, but not quite cooked through completely. Then it can finish cooking in the oven and still have a good texture. Keep alfredo mixture warm on the stove. Spread out a piece of parchment paper on your counter and then roll out your dough into a rectangle that's about 12x16." Spread chicken and broccoli filling down the center of the dough in a 4" wide strip. Now make cuts on both long sides of the dough that are 1 1/2" wide. You want to come within 1/2" of the filling. Fold the top and bottom strips toward the filling then start braiding. Take cut strips and stretch over filling going left over right until the entire thing is braided. Gently lift braid up using the parchment paper and place on a baking sheet. Melt remaining Tbsp. of butter and brush over the braid and then sprinkle some garlic bread seasoning over the top. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-26 minutes or until golden brown and dough is cooked through. Slice and serve hot with a nice green salad. Enjoy!

Chicken Bacon Ranch Skewers

These kabobs are so good! We loved them! They will definitely be made again and again. They are so flavorful and have just a subtle hint of heat from the chili paste, yum. I so wish I had a better picture for this recipe but we were starving and in a time crunch. Next time I'll get a proper picture! I saw this idea over at Real Mom Kitchen. This makes 5-6 skewers. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
1/3 cup ranch dressing
1 Tbsp. Thai chili paste
5-6 strips of thick sliced bacon
1 medium red onion

Preparation:
Combine the ranch dressing and chili paste, mix well. Pour the ranch/chili paste mixture over the chicken. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Cut the onion into squares. Now it's time to build the skewers. Place a piece of onion on your skewer followed by threading the end of a strip of bacon. Next put a piece of chicken on the skewer. Fold the bacon back over on top of the chicken. Repeat that process until the entire piece of bacon is threaded onto the skewer. It should take 4-5 pieces of onion and chicken. Finish the skewer with a piece of onion. Grill over medium heat, turning every few minutes until chicken is cooked through, about 12 minutes. Serve immediately with a nice green salad and enjoy!

Copy Cat 5 Layer Burritos

It's been forever since I've posted, nearly a month! We've just been so busy with end of summer fun and my in-laws moved back into town. There have been some new recipes that I've tried but nothing that I felt worth posting. Now we're back in the groove of a schedule and hopefully that means regular posting! This is the dinner I made last night. I saw the idea over at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes and I knew it would be something Nate would really enjoy. The recipe is a copy cat of a Taco Bell burrito, I've never had it before so I can't say how close it is, but we liked it. It's such a simple dinner and we just had it with a green salad.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning plus the water it requires (or 3 Tbsp. homemade taco seasoning)
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 (16 oz.) can refried beans
1 Tbsp. taco seasoning
shredded cheddar cheese
queso
sour cream (we didn't use sour cream)
flour tortillas

Preparation:
Brown and crumble the ground beef. Halfway through cooking add the diced onion and green pepper. Once cooked add the envelope of taco seasoning plus the water it requires and finish cooking per package instructions. Meanwhile in a saucepan heat the refried beans with 1 Tbsp. of taco seasoning. Heat queso cheese. Once the ground beef mixture and refried beans are completed it's time to assemble the burritos. On half the tortilla spread a spoonful of queso cheese. Top that with a scoop of refried beans, follow that with some ground beef, next add some sour cream if you're using it, and then finally top that with some shredded cheese. Fold in the sides and then roll up the burrito. Serve immediately. We thought that they'd be good put in the oven for a few minutes to get a nice crisp texture to the tortilla. Enjoy!