Taco Tuesday!

Yum Tacos!

 Taco Tuesday is an easy meal that takes little to no time at all. Plus it feeds a good amount of people inexpensively, so be sure to invite some friends : )


Ingredients-

• 2lbs Ground Beef
• Totilla Shells
• Queso Cheese
• Shredded Cheese
• Shredded Lettuce 
• Tomato
• Salsa 
• Avocado
• Taco Seasoning 
• Black Olives
• Sour Cream

Take the Ground Beef and scramble it in a pan over medium heat and add the taco seasoning. While this is cooking cut up all the toppings( Lettuce, Tomato, Avocado). I like to put them in individual dishes to create and assembly line for making your taco. I can't tell you how to make your taco because we all have our own flare!

Tis' the Season for Apple Crisp with a Twist!

 This past weekend I went apple picking at Carter Hill Orchard in Concord NH. When I got there there were barley any apples in front of the orchard I had to hike myself about a mile in to find these huge apples! Seriously this picture doesn't do them justice. This week I will be making Apple Crisp, perfect for this time of year. Now you don't need to go crazy at the orchard and get two dozen apples, unless you are intending on making LOTS of Apple Crisp. I myself have done this and ended up having to make 4 Apple Crisps and 1 Apple pie, my friends were very appreciative of my mistake.

To make this you will need:

7-8 Medium Apples
1 cup of Quaker Oats
1 cup of Brown Sugar
1 cup of flour
1 cup of Butter
1 dash Cinnamon
1 dash Nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Take your apples and core them. If you don't have a apple cutter then you will just cut around the core and cut the slices into a half moon shape. I like to leave the skins on because that is where all the nutrients come from, it also gives it a nice color. If you don't like the skins then you will have to peel the apples before coring them.

In a dish mix all of your dry ingredients, the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and the oats. In the microwave melt down your butter.

I didn't have a big enough dish for my apple crisp so I improvised. However I really like the way these turned out and I suggest you try them(If not use a 9 by 13 pan). What I did was took two muffin pans and placed aluminum muffin cups in them. In the bottom of those I took brown sugar and put about a teaspoon of brown sugar in the bottom. This will make it a more gooey apple crisp. Then take your apples and divide them amongst the muffin cups. Once you have done that take the dry mixture and add the butter, stir until crumbly. Then spread the mix evenly amongst all the cups.

Cook these in the oven for 15 minutes. When it is done serve hot with vanilla ice cream.

A Simple American Staple, Yet Wicked Delicious!

My roommate Mandy and I ready to dig in!

Another weekly dinner at the Russel street residence. This week I didn't accommodate to my vegetarian roommate, I did however satisfy all the red meat fans in my house. This meal is simple and takes about 30 minutes tops to make.

What you will need:

1 box of Rice Pilaf
1 bunch of Asparagus
1 packet of Hollandaise Sauce
1 18 ounce steak (For you men out there this may not be enough but for ladies this is more than plenty)

The rice pilaf you just follow the box directions, just be careful not to burn it. You also want to start by cooking this first because it will take the longest time out of anything in this meal.

Next take you asparagus a cutting board and a knife. A trick I use with cutting asparagus is to leave the rubber bands wrapped around it, that way you can cut all at once rather than individually. You want to cut from the base of the stock about a half inch. Then take the rubber bands off and place it into a pot with about a 1/4 cup of water. Let that sit there and now you will prepare the steak.

Set your oven to Broil

If you have time earlier in the day you can sit you steak in a marinade. However I rarely have that time and I enjoy the flavor of red meat alone. Take the steak out of the package and salt and pepper both sides of the steak. Salt is a tenderizer so it will make the meat soft not chewy. Place the steak on either a cookie sheet or a broiling pan if you have one. I personally like to line the pan with aluminum foil to avoid messy clean up later. Put the steak in the oven on the center rack. You will leave the over slightly ajar(This VERY important). You will cook the steak for 8 minutes each side(This is for a medium steak).

When you are beginning to cook the second side of the steak, put the asparagus on high and cover it. This will steam the asparagus and you will do this for about 8-10 minutes. You can test to see if it is done by sticking a fork into the stalk and if it is tender take them out.

Lastly you will take the hollandaise sauce and mix that with 1 cup of water on the stove. You will continuously stir this until it is a creamy mixture. By this point you steak, asparagus and rice pilaf should be done. You want to serve immediately, and make sure you cut with the grain of the steak to serve otherwise the steak will be tough. I paired this meal with a Riesling, however that is generally used for fish or chicken. A nice Merlot or Cabernet would pair perfectly with this meal.