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I had never heard of M&M’s mini baking bits until just a few years ago when we went out of state to visit family. My niece bought a bag so our kids could make cookies, and I remember wondering why a bag of regular M&M’s wouldn’t work just as well.

Once we opened the bag I realized why. The M&M’s baking bits are about half the size of the regular-sized milk chocolate M&M’s. The smaller size means there are more of them, and it makes it easier to stir them into dough without having them break apart, thus losing the fun of using M&M’s in the first place! Read More

This chocolate zucchini cake is the perfect end-of-summer treat! Zucchini are now ripe and ready for harvesting and if you’ve got an abundance, consider baking up a few of these for the neighbors instead of just handing them some vegetables – they’ll appreciate it!

Zucchini also freezes very well. Just shred it, squeeze out as much liquid as you can using a tea cloth or clean towel, place in zip-top freezer bags, and stack in the freezer. To defrost, put it in the fridge for a couple of hours.

This recipe comes from my friend Laura’s mom, who humored me at the age of 14 when I asked for it. I’ve made it every year since, even though I have to buy my zucchini at the store now! Read More

May was a weird month. I’ve mentioned already how busy it was, which caused me to neglect my updating, but there was also a random element that kept popping up, again and again. What was this, you ask? Red velvet cupcakes. How weird is that?

From the very first day of May, when my husband and I went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary, until the last weekend when we were out of town to visit family, red velvet cupcakes were a continuing theme throughout the month. It included everything from samples, to a freebie on our anniversary dinner, to mentions on tv and even in books. So, I took it upon myself to find a recipe and give them a try. Obviously something was trying to tell me something, right?

I decided to try Paula Deen’s recipe, because hers was one of the above-mentioned TV shows that aired during the month. In the review section it’s suggested to use less oil, which I did, and I also added in a full tablespoon of cocoa since a teaspoon just seemed useless to me.

The cupcakes were good, not too oily thanks to cutting the amount of oil in half, but I’m still not sure what the appeal of red velvet is other than the cool color. They tasted like plain cupcakes, despite the cocoa, though the cream cheese frosting is delicious. I also used chopped walnuts instead of pecans because that’s what I had on-hand.

Recipe below the cut! Read More

The title of this post is actually misleading – the only part of these taquitos that get made in the crockpot is the shredded beef filling!

Taquitos (also referred to as rolled tacos, though I refuse to call them that) are a favorite of the whole family. A local quickie Mexican restaurant sells them, but I’ve only gotten them a few times because they taste like they’re just heated-up frozen taquitos from a box (and yes, we’ve tried those too!).

Anyway, so I wanted to figure out how to make these myself, and here’s what I’ve come up with. The first time I did it I tried to shred the beef with two forks, which, as you can imagine, took forever. Now I transfer the beef and about 3/4 of the liquid into a food processor, pulse it a few times, and voila, done! I also like my taquitos extra-crispy (see picture above) so I let mine cook just a tad longer in the oil.

I’ve got these in the crockpot right now (Cinco de Mayo!) and the house smells amazing after just a couple of hours.

Recommended equipment:
~ 1.5 to 2 qt crockpot
~ Heavy-bottom pan
~ Splatter screen
~ Cooling/draining rack
~ Tongs

Crockpot Taquitos

~ 1.5 – 2 lbs beef stew meat, or other beef of your choice (other than ground)
~ 1 packet of taco seasoning mix, or homemade taco flavors of your choice
~ 1 4oz can of chopped green chiles
~ 1 cup of water (or beef broth)

Put all ingredients into a small crockpot (I actually use my little guy for this, you don’t need a lot of room and it only goes up about halfway) and gently stir to combine. Set on low and let cook for about 6-8 hours.

Transfer beef and about 3/4 to 1 cup of the liquid into a food processor (you can add more liquid as you need to, especially if it looks dry). Pulse just a few times to get the beef shredded up (or, if you’ve got kids in braces like I do, you can shred it a bit finer, too).

Using warmed up corn tortillas (place about three tortillas and a cup of water in your microwave and microwave for 30 seconds), place about 2-3 tablespoons of shredded meat (I don’t actually measure, just put in what looks right) just off-center on the tortilla and roll up.

Shallow fry (about 350 degrees and no more than 1/2″ of oil) in a heavy-bottom pan on one side for about 30 seconds or until golden brown, and turn over. I use my tongs and a fork to keep the taquito in the oil just long enough that it doesn’t come apart, and after it’s “set” it’ll sit by itself in the oil just fine. I do three taquitos at a time in the pan so it doesn’t get overcrowded.

Remove finished taquitos from the oil onto a rack to drain and immediately sprinkle just a bit of salt on top. Serve warm or at room temperature with sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa, and whatever else you want!