Spicy Apricot Spread

Here is the final appetizer that I served at the BBQ (sweet treats coming soon!). I made this for one of the Cardinals playoff viewing parties that I had, and it was such a hit, I thought I would make it again. The bonus is it could not get any easier! I have always loved dishes that have elements of both sweet and heat, and this is definitely one of them! The best part about it is it can easily be adjusted for those that like their dishes a little bit milder. I like to make it with apricot jam, but feel free to switch it up based on your tastes!

Spicy Apricot Spread

8 oz. Apricot jam/jelly (or flavor of your choice)

4 oz. can chopped jalapenos (I usually use just half the can, but knock up the heat if you like!)

8 oz. cream cheese

Wheat Thins

Mix together jam and jalapenos to taste. Place brick of cream cheese on a serving platter; spread jam mixture over cream cheese. Serve with crackers.

Monterey Jack Salsa

As promised, here is another recipe from the BBQ. This was my favorite out of them all! I found this recipe on Recipezaar a few months ago, and altered it just a little bit. When I was putting it together, I was a bit skeptical of what the results would be, but it turned out fabulous! I think it helped that I mixed it up and let it refrigerate for about 3 hours before I served it; it gave it ample time for all the flavors to get to know each other! We ate this with tortilla chips, but I am sure it would be just as good with crackers or veggies. It may not look pretty in the bowl, but trust me, it is good!

Monterey Jack Salsa

adapted from Recipezaar

4 oz. can diced green chilies
4 oz. can chopped black olives
4 green onions, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
1 c. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 c. zesty Italian salad dressing

Mix all the ingredients together, and let let chill at least 2 hours before serving to "marry" the flavors! Serve with chips, veggies, crackers, etc.

Shrimp Cheeseball

Yesterday we celebrated my sister's upcoming birthday with a pool party and bbq at my parent's house. A great time was had by all; good friends, good fun and good food were all in attendance! And we even got lucky with an unusually cool, nice day during the Arizona summer!

Laura asked me to plan some food for the party, which meant I got to try out a bunch of new recipes that I will be posting over the next week or so. But since it was Laura's celebration, I thought I would post her favorite one first. She told me that this reminded her of the shrimp canapes that our mom used to make growing up, and I think it is beacause they both use one of those little jars of Kraft Old English Cheese. You just can't go wrong with Old English cheese, especially when it is mixed with two other kinds of cheese! This was a big hit with everyone else at the party as well, although, I think next time I make it, I would use two cans of shrimp, because they seemed to be few and far between!

Shrimp Cheeseball

adapted from Gather Round Our Table

2 (8 oz. each) pkgs. cream cheese (I used light)
1 (5 oz.) jar Kraft Old English cheese
1 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. fresh chives, chopped
1 (4 oz.) can tiny shrimp, drained (use 2 cans if you like!)
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1/2 - 1 c. pecans, coarsley chopped or crushed

Soften cream cheese, either by setting out an hour before preparation, or by defrosting in microwave until soft (remove foil wrapping first!). Add the rest of the ingredients, except for pecans, and mix thoroughly. Chill in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes until the mixture firms up slightly. Divide mixture into 2 or 3 balls and wrap each individually in saran wrap. Chill until serving.

When ready to serve, roll blls in chopped nuts and place on platter. Serve with crackers (I used Wheat Thins and Ritz).

Yummy Yummy! I had an extra cheeseball leftover that I sent home with the birthday girl!

Crab Rangoons and Fried Rice

Last night as I was watching the Sun Devil baseball game, my stomach reminded me that it was time for dinner. When I opened the fridge, I noticed the container of cooked white rice that I had made last week in anticipation of making fried rice. Well, that night I ended up going out to dinner with a friend, and so the rice sat in my fridge for a week. I decided I better use it before it passed the point of no return, and while I was rummaging through my deli tray, I stumbled upon cream cheese and won ton wrappers. A can of crab meat was waiting patiently in my pantry...so it was decided...I was going to cook up an Asian feast!

This was my first attempt at crab rangoons, and I just threw in what I had on hand and what I thought would taste good...and it worked! I had a bit of an issue with the frying, I didn't really want to deep fry them (even though that tastes so good) so I put just a little bit of oil in the pan to pan fry them. I had some splattering issues and some of the filling started oozing out, but overall it worked. I think next time I will try baking them, and there will be a next time because I ended up freezing a batch without cooking them to save for a rainy day!

Crab Rangoons

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese (I used light)
1 (6 oz.) can crab meat
4 green onions, finely minced
1 pkg. won ton wrappers
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Canola oil
(I guess I forgot the green onions in the picture, and disregard the ginger, I didn't use it.)

Soften cream cheese in microwave for about 20 seconds. Stir in crab, green onions, garlic powder and salt. Place a small spoonful of mixture on each won ton wrapper, fold over into a triangle, and seal the edges with water.

Heat about 1 inch of oil in a deep skillet. Add the rangoons in batches, turning occasionally until browned. Drain on a cooling rack with paper towels below. Repeat until all are cooked. Serve with sweet and sour sauce or sweet chili sauce for dipping.

Fried Rice

(I basically just followed the directions on the back of the packet.)

1 packet Fried Rice seasoning mix

3 cups cooked rice, cooled

3 green onions, sliced

2 Tbsp. oil

2 Tsp. soy sauce (I used low-sodium)

2 eggs

1 c. peas and carrots mix (I just defrosted and let them warm up in the cooking, but you could pre-cook them)

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add in green onions, saute for 1 minute. Add rice to the skillet, breaking up any clumps, and cook until heated through. Add seasoning mix and soy sauce; stir to combine. Push rice to one side of the skillet and crack in the eggs. Let eggs set for about 1 minute, then scramble them into rice. Add peas and carrots mixture; stir, combining all ingredients until combined. Heat on low until vegetables are heated through.

Thai-Style Pork

This past weekend, I was really lazy. I had great aspirations to try out some new recipes, but instead just ended up watching movies, running errands and eating out of my freezer! Nothing says a wild Saturday night like a Tostinos frozen pizza! Although, I have to admit, I really enjoyed just dithering around and getting stuff done around the house and finally getting around to watching Slumdog Millionaire (it was sooo good)! Since I didn't try anything new, I felt the need to dig up something that I made a few months back and never got around to posting.

During the early weeks of Idol, my sister and our friend Whitney were getting together fairly regularly to watch the episodes. It was still somewhat cool here (well as cool as late February in Phoenix can be) so I wanted to try another crock pot recipe. I have a major crock pot addiction! I love them; the convenience and ease and the way they make the house smell after a long day of cooking, it is all just perfect! I had been on a Thai food kick and when I came across this recipe I knew that I wanted to try it. I served it with brown rice and sunshine carrots in an orange sauce. The overall flavor was very good, but the recipe did not make enough sauce to coat all of the meat properly, it was a bit on the dry side. I would make this again, but I would definitely double the sauce ingredients to make it nice and saucy! Also, compared to most Thai dishes, this would be on the very mild side, so if you like more heat, I would bump up the amount of red pepper flakes.

We all really liked this and cleaned our plates, but that didn't stop us from making a run to Ice Tango for some frozen yogurt before we started watching Idol!

Thai-Style Pork
from Taste of Home Casseroles, Slow Cookers & Soups
(I would recommend doubling everything except the pork)

2 lbs. boneless pork loin chops
1/4 c. teriyaki sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 c. cold water
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter

Garnish:
Chopped green onions
Dry roasted peanuts

Place pork chops in a 3-qt. slow cooker (I always use the Reynolds Slow Cooker liners for easier clean up!). Combine the teriyaki sauce, vinegar, pepper flakes and garlic, pour over the meat. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until meat is tender.

Remove pork and cut into bite-size pieces (mine just shredded); keep warm. Strain cooking juices into a large saucepan. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir peanut butter; add meat.

Serve over rice. Sprinkle with green onions and peanuts.

Amarone Ristorante Italiano

It is Monday morning, and the first thing Kirsch says to me is "I want meatballs!" Apparently she had a hankering for some meatballs for the past few days, and decided that it was finally time to satisfy her craving. I had been hearing good things about Amarone for a few months now, so when she suggested that we go and I try it out I was excited. We asked a few other people in the office if they wanted to come, and next thing we knew, we had a group of 7 people!

A funny back story about Amarone, it is located in a building that was originally a Peter Piper Pizza when I was a kid. I actually had my 5th birthday party there; during the meal everyone found it funny when I pointed out where the Skee Ball games used to be!

My first impression when walking inside was, we weren't at Peter Piper anymore! The place was absolutely breathtaking; with the granite bar in the center of the room, to the chandeliers and the beautiful flooring. It was obvious that the owners had put much thought and a lot of money into making it a truly unique dining experience. A lot of thought was even put into the bathrooms; they made it to look like you were inside of a cave and had beautiful marble sinks. Our first impression was if the food tasted half as good as this place looked, we were in for a treat!

While we all browsed through our menus, a tray of bread was placed in the middle of the table. The bread was warm and chewy and had great flavor. I think it is actually the same dough that they use for their pizza crust. But the relish that was on the side took it to a whole new level. It was a combination of caramelized onions, celery, garlic and olives were guessed, and it was delicious! It was sweet, but with a salty bite from the olives, it was a lovely start to the meal, and we eventually polished off two whole trays!

Everyone finally decided on their meals and we placed our order. A couple people had ordered salads to start, and those came out quite quickly. The Caesar salad was a traditional Caesar, minus the overpowering anchovy taste. Kirsch thought it needed more anchovy taste, but all she really wanted was for it to be more salty....because she is a salt fiend! The salad was not overdressed, so it made for a good start to the meal.

Chris ordered the house salad, which was dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. The lettuce seemed to be a mix of arugula and romaine, and was garnished with red onion and sliced tomatoes. He really like the salad, and like the others, thought the dressing to lettuce ratio was perfect.

Pretty soon the main attractions started to roll out of the kitchen, and everyone's senses were immediately filled with the delicious aromas of the food. Mary & Dan were splitting the Vodka Penne for their meal. Vodka Penne is one of my all time favorite Italian dishes, but I have not been able to find a version that I liked as well as the one at Jerry Tucci's since the closed. Well, the search is over! The sauce was smooth, creamy and had just a hint of heat. The bacon and the fresh basil really complemented the dish, and Mary was oohing and aahing with every bite.

Like Kirsch, Shaun also decided he was in the mood for some meatballs, but he wanted some spaghetti to go along with them! The dish had two large meatballs and a pile of pasta smothered in a deep red sauce. It was apparent that the sauce was freshly made, and Shaun said it was a very good version of the classic dish.

I had ordered the Veal Cannelloni. When the waiter took my order, he asked me what kind of sauce I wanted on it, his suggestion was the Vodka sauce...my answer "Yes, please!" Like I have previously stated, I love vodka sauce. The creamy sauce with the tender veal was a delectable combination. But the other main standout in the dish was the freshness of the cannelloni pasta, I could definitely tell that the noodles had been freshly made, and it really took the dish to a whole new level. It came with two large cannelloni, which meant that I was going to have leftovers!

Kirsch was very excited when they set her meatballs down in front of her, and eagerly dove in. She was not only happy to have finally gotten a fix for her craving, but declared them to be the best meatballs she has ever had. She said the meat was cooked perfectly, and then combined with the fresh tomato sauce an sprinkling of Parmesan cheese; she was in heaven. When we got back to the office she told me that she couldn't stop thinking about the meatballs and that we would have to go back soon....I guess they really made an impression on her!

Danny decided to give the chicken piccata a try. He was immediately drawn by the aroma when he was presented with his plate, and I could even smell it all the way across the table, it smelled delicious. He took a bite and declared Amarone to be his favorite new Italian restaurant. The chicken was cooked perfectly and paired with the well seasoned sauce, it was a wonderful dish. He also liked the side of pasta that came with it. Although, if I was ordering the dish, I would probably substitute a different sauce for the red one, but that is just my personal preference.

Chris was in the mood for pizza after having some over the weekend, so he decided to give Amarone's a try. They bake all their pizza in a wood fired oven (my favorite way) so it was promising from the get go. He opted for just the traditional Margherita pizza, of fresh mozzarella, tomato & basil. The pizza comes in three sizes and he decided to get the middle size so that he could have leftovers for dinner. The pizza came out piping hot and had everyone at the table drooling. The crust was thin and crisp, and the toppings were of just the right proportions. Chris declared it to be a very good pizza, as did everyone else who took a bite; and he was very happy with his decision to plan for leftovers!

At lunch we also happened to be celebrating Shaun's birthday, so our waiter was very kind to bring out a complimentary Tiramisu for dessert. We sang happy birthday and then all took a bite. I don't typically like Tiramisu, but I tried it bite; it is not my thing, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. Below is a picture of the birthday boy and his cake!

Well all really, and I mean really enjoyed our whole experience at Amarone. The waiter (Sergio) was very friendly and really made the experience very enjoyable, but the food was definitely the stand out (as it should be)!

If you or someone you know is a lover of Italian food, you definitely need to take them to Amarone to get their fix.

Amarone Ristorante Italiano
9011 E. Via Linda
Scottsdale, AZ 85258
www.amaroneaz.com

Lion Cookies

I was over at my sister's house a few weeks ago browsing through the new Pillsbury cookbook that she had gotten when I came across these adorable cookies. There were many great ideas in the cookbook, but these stood out to me because they were LIONS!! You see, I love lions! Part of it is because my astrological sign is a Leo, and the other part is because lions are my sorority mascot. Because of this, I collect all things lion related, and I find nothing more thrilling than finding a new lion "something" for my collection! So far I have a garden statue, piggy bank, a lamp, and even a spatula; along with various other figurines and an entire collection of Christmas tree ornaments! So when I spotted theses cookies I knew I had to try them out. We are having a sorority alum meeting on Tuesday, so I thought that they would be the perfect audience for these cookies debut appearance!

My sister came over to my house to help me make these, and they are fairly easy to put together, just a bit time consuming, but oh so worth it! We ended up making about 4 dozen, and I will admit it, we sampled a few and they are delicious! So if you like lions or are just looking for something different, give these a try!

Lion Cookies

adapted from Pillsbury

1 (16 oz.) pkg. Pillsbury refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough (Or any peanut butter cookierecipe of your liking, we ended up also using a bag of Betty Crocker Peanut Butter cookie mix)

1/2 c. sugar

Chow Mein noodles

Reese's Pieces Baking Bits

Brown decorating gel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar. Place on an ungreased baking sheet at least 2-inches apart (make sure to have enough space, because they do expand!) Flatten balls with the bottom of a glass. Place candies on the cookies to make eyes and a nose. Use chow mein noodles to form a mane and don't forget the whiskers! Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool for 1 minute and then remove to cooling racks. Once cookies have cooled enough, use the decorating gel to draw on the mouth.

Here is our little pack of lions.

So cute!

Fusion Sushi & China Bistro

My sister and I had made plans to go see a movie on Saturday, and I asked her if she wanted to try out a new restaurant afterwards since I realized that I had not done a review in awhile. She agreed, but just had one request...No Mexican Food! I guess she was over me dragging her around last month to eat Mexican food everyday. I said that was fine, cause I had already had it for lunch that day! We had a bit of time before the movie started to discuss where we should go, I suggested sushi, which received an enthusiastic yes. I suggested this new place that I had noticed went into an old Pick Up Stix up in North Scottsdale, since it was near the movie theatre, we decided to give it a try.

Even though we had some popcorn during the movie, we were both ready for some real food. We arrived at around 7:00 on a Saturday night, and were promptly seated in a booth. The inside of the restaurant was very clean, with mostly booth seating in addition to a high-top sushi bar. We looked over the menu and decided we wanted to try a bit of everything. Laura and I both love Crab Rangoons, and after some disappointing ones at Malee's a few nights before, we were hoping for better with these.

I seriously think that these were served within 3 minutes of ordering, the service is FAST! The order came with six rangoons and sides of sweet & sour suace and hot mustard. We both dipped our rangoons in the sweet & sour sauce and took a bite, we were immediately pleased. They were not greasy at all, which is common with many rangoon versions, and they had a good balance between the crab and the cream cheese. Both flavors were present, but neither overwhelmed the other. We both thought that these were some of the best Crab Rangoons we had ever had. My only issue with them was the shape. I prefer when they are served in the little triangle shapes, but these were kind of like star shapes. While these are much prettier presentation wise, they make them much harder to eat!

Laura took hold of the sushi menu and immediately marked down her favorite roll, the Philly Roll. It doesn't matter where we go for sushi, she always has to get a Philly Roll. I myself am not a fan of the Philly; for one, I don't like salmon; and secondly, I don't like the rolls that have cream cheese in them. It is nothing against the cream cheese, I just find it very weird with raw fish, but give me a bagel and I will slather it on. I secretly think that Laura always orders this one because she knows that she will get it all to herself; but whatever the reason is, she just loves it. She said that the roll was very fresh. I looked at it and noticed avocado in it, I asked her if that was normal, she said, "It is at the good places." Well, that was all I needed to hear, she had already decided that this was one of the good places when it came to sushi.

One of Laura's other favorite rolls, and actually it is a family favorite, is the Spider Roll. Basically, it is a fried soft shell crab and crab meat, with a topping of eel sauce (sweet) and chipotle sauce (spicy). I have always been a fan of these rolls, but many times they make the pieces so big that they are hard to eat and end up falling apart. That was not the case with this version, the pieces were still good size, but they were much more manageable. The flavor was wonderful, the sauces on top really accentuated the flavors and brought the whole roll together. Laura really liked this version as well. By this time, we were getting a bit full, but we still had to tackle our main dish.

Besides sushi, the restaurant also features what I would call Asian Fusion. They had dishes that were of Chinese, Thai and Japanese origin. We decided to order the Pad Thai and share it as our main course. Laura does not like spicy food, so I agreed to order it mild so that we could share. The plate came out and was heaping with noodles, shrimp and chicken. We couldn't believe the size of the plate compared to it's price tag of just $8.00! Our first impression of the dish was about the chicken. Laura typically only gets shrimp pad Thai because she doesn't always like the cooking method with the chicken, but this dish was an exception. The chicken was cooked perfectly, and was of very good quality. The flavors together in the dish were quite good for a place that doesn't specialize in Thai food. I had to kick the heat up in mine by adding some siracha, but then I was able to control the heat, so it worked out well. We had a lot of this leftover, and Laura was looking forward to eating it for lunch the next day.

It was a nice, relaxing Saturday night with my sister. First, we laughed our heads off at "The Hangover," then we stuffed our faces with sushi! We both agreed that we would definitely make a return visit, the food was fresh and the service was quick and attentive.

Fusion Sushi & China Bistro
15768 N. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
www.echandining.com

Tamale and Corn Casserole

I have a lot of cookbooks. Let me correct myself: I have a lot of cookbooks that I have never cooked anything out of! I always purchase them with such good intentions, with plans to make many of the delicious items that cover the pages, but for some reason, I just never get around to it, and they sit and gather dust on my shelves. I have really scaled back on my habit; when I was in high school, I was constantly buying cookbooks at Ross and TJ Maxx and at rummage sales. I loved collecting them, and even had two entire shelves in my closet devoted to them, forcing my other favorite item to collect (shoes) to be forced to be kept on the floor (gasp)! I had all different genres of books, and even starting collecting really weird ones, like Miss Piggy Cooks and the Wizard of Oz cookbook! I guess cookbooks were really just another hobby for me, and still to this day I love getting in bed at night and reading through a cookbook from cover to cover. I finally got rid of most of my collection a few years back when I realized just how neglected they had been, still sitting in the moving boxes they were lovingly packed in years before. So the other night I started sifting through a book that I had bought probably two or three years ago and realized that this was another of the lonely and forgotten books on my shelf. But as I looked through it, I couldn't figure out why, there were a ton of recipes that I wanted to try, so I started marking them like crazy! On Tuesday night, I got home from work early so I decided that I was finally going to give this book a try.

I decided to try the Tamale and Corn Casserole. To many of you out there, you will look at the ingredient list and not find it to be very appealing, probably mostly in part due to the canned tamales. I myself happen to really like canned tamales and keep them on hand to make my grandma's Tamale Dip recipe. I was excited to find a new use for them. But if canned tamales are not your thing, you could easily substitute any tamale of your choice. This casserole was really easy to put together and I thought it was very tasty, although not pretty once it is served because it is a bit runny. I am a bit confused as to why it was listed in the side dishes section of the cookbook because it was hearty enough to be a meal. I would make this again, but I might tweak a few things. First of all, I would probably leave out the corn, weird I know, but I think this contributed quite a bit to how runny it was, plus you get enough corn flavor from the tamales. And secondly, I would put the green onions on top next time for a prettier presentation. This made quite a bit, so I have a lot of leftovers....but I think it is even better leftover!

Tamale and Corn Casserole

adapted from The New Holly Clegg Trim and Terrific Cookbook

2 (15 oz. each) cans Beef Tamales (I used Hormel)

1 (15 oz.) can cream style corn

1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies

1/2 c. green onions, chopped

1/4 c. evaporated skim milk

1 (7 oz.) can salsa verde (I used Herdez)

1 1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 c. Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Remove tamales from cans and wrappers, and cut into 1-inch pieces. Place pieces in a single layer in the bottom of baking dish.

Open corn and pour over the tamales, covering evenly.

Spread green chilies over corn layer.

Sprinkle chopped green onions over the green chile layer.
Combine the salsa verde, evaporated milk, chili powder and cumin, whisk to combine. Pour over green onions.

Sprinkle with Monterrey Jack cheese.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until heated through, and bubbling.

Green Chile Beef and Homemade Refried Beans

As you may know from my previous post, I was successful at completing my Mexican Food Challenge! In honor of yesterday being the last day, rather than go out for dinner, I thought I would try out a new recipe for green chile beef and take another stab at getting the beans to my liking. It worked out really well because both of these recipes were made in the crockpot, so they were simple to throw together. I think the best part was when my friends Karen & Kyle called to see if they could come cool off in my pool after a long day of moving, I was also able to offer them a nice home-cooked meal!

This was my third attempt at making homemade beans....and I think I finally got it right!! The first two batches just had something missing....and that something was bacon grease! Now I know I am sounding a bit like Paula Deen here, but it really just does add a layer of flavor that you can't achieve any other way. Saturday morning I decided to cook up some bacon for breakfast so that I would have the grease available to make beans the next day. Well, I usually cook it in the microwave, but this time I needed the grease saved, so I cooked it on the stove top. Let's just say it got a little bit out of hand and ended up setting of my smoke detector!! I couldn't figure out how to turn the damn thing off, I called my dad who told me to go flip the breakers and turn the power off to the whole house....that didn't work....thanks a lot dad! Eventually, I figured out that it was connected to my alarm system and I just had to "unset" my alarm. With that crisis averted, I was able to cook the rest of the bacon, but this time I turned on the vent! The beans were so creamy and delicious that I didn't end up with any leftovers, but I guess it just means that I need to cook up some more bacon!

I was really excited to try out this recipe for Green Chile Beef that I found on the Internet, especially since it is one of my favorite things to get at Mexican restaurants. Last week I had been craving the Boracho Burrito from Someburros, but since I don't really have one in the area I never made it there, so I was on a mission to recreate it at home. The preparation was simple, and the house smelled delicious when I came home from running some errands. But ultimately, it just fell a bit short of my expectations....there just wasn't enough heat! I am going to tinker with this recipe a bit more and try to had some more heat, but if you are not into fiery food, you might just like this version. If I come up with a spicier version I will update you all!

Green Chile Beef

1 (3 lb.) boneless top sirloin

4 (4 oz. each) cans diced green chilies

1 medium onion, chopped

3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced

3 garlic cloves, sliced

3 tsp. chili powder

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. seasoned salt

1 c. beef broth

Cut beef into large chunks and place in crockpot. Top with chilies, onion, jalapenos, garlic and spices. Pour the beef broth on top. Cover and cook on low for 7 - 8 hours or until meat is tender. Serve with tortillas and toppings of choice.

Homemade Refried Beans
adapted from The Sister's Dish

1 (1 lb.) bag dried pinto beans
3 Tbsp. bacon grease

Water

5 - 10 pickled jalapeno rings (depending on your heat preference)

1/2 Tbsp. seasoned salt

1 Tbsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. chili powder

Rinse beans, picking through and discarding any black or broken beans. Cover with water and soak for at least 1 hour. After the 1 hour, rinse again and place in the crockpot. Add the bacon grease; then cover the beans with water so that it reaches about 3 inches above the beans.

Cover and cook on high for 5 - 6 hours, or until beans are able to mash easily. With about 1/2 hour left in cooking time, add remaining ingredients.

Remove beans with a slotted spoon and add to food processor, add as much bean liquid to get desired consistency. (I also added in some Monterrey Jack cheese at this point for even more creaminess!)

Now go and have yourself a Fiesta!