Taco Meatball Ring

Prepared by Theresa

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 to 4 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 2 tubes (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1/2 medium head iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced ripe olives
• Sour cream and salsa, optional

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine 1 cup cheese, water and taco seasoning. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 16 balls.
• Place meatballs on a greased rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 12 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Drain meatballs on paper towels. Reduce heat to 375°.
• Arrange crescent rolls on a greased 15-in. pizza pan, forming a ring with pointed ends facing the outer edge of the pan and wide ends overlapping.
• Place a meatball on each roll; fold point over meatball and tuck under wide end of roll (meatball will be visible). Repeat. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.
• Transfer to a serving platter. Fill the center of the ring with lettuce, tomato, onions, olives, jalapenos, remaining cheese, and sour cream and salsa if desired.
  

Yield: 16 servings.

Serrano Ham And Poblano Corn Pudding

Prepared by Kathy

Ingredients:

• 2 Large Poblano chilies
• 2 cups fresh corn or frozen, thawed, divided
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp salt
• large pinch of baking powder
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ cup instant corn masa mix (Maseca)
• 4 oz ¼ in thick slice Serrano Ham or prosciutto, cut into ¼ in clubes
• 1 cup coarsely grated Manchego cheese (4.5 oz)
  

Directions:

• Char chilies over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in a paper bag 15 minutes. Peel and seed chiles, then cut lengthwise into ¼ in strips.
• Preheat oven to 350. Spray 13 x 9 x 2 with pam. Combine 1 ½ cups of the corn, eggs, butter, salt and baking powder in a blender until almost smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Add sour cream and Maseca, stir to blend. Add ham, cheese, chiles, and remaining ½ cup corn, and blend again. Pour into baking dish. Bake until pudding is puffed and golden brown in sports, about 40 minutes.

Notes: Masa mix can be found at Wegmans. Serrano Ham is very expensive, I used prosciutto. Manchego cheese can be found at Wegmans, they will shred it for you, and it’s really really good.

Chile Relleno Casserole With Enchilada Sauce

Prepared by Debbie

Ingredients:

8 to 10 poblano chiles, roasted, seeded and peeled and stemmed
3 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese, or a mixture of colby and jack
1 can Enchilada sauce

Note: See tutorial on how to roast poblano peppers. (I will post this later).

Directions:

To make casserole: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stuff each chili pepper with half the cheese. In a lightly oiled casserole dish, spread a 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom of dish. Layer the stuffed chiles on top of enchilada sauce. (You may layer the peppers with the cheese rather than stuffing each pepper). Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the peppers. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until cheese is melted.

This is great served with Spanish Rice.

Spanish Rice

Prepared by Debbie

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (can use up to 1/4 cup)
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups of medium or long-grain white rice
• 3 cups* chicken stock (or vegetable stock if vegetarian)
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 fresh tomato, seeded and diced
• Pinch of oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt

Note: Check the instructions on the rice package for the proportions of liquid to rice. They can range from 1:1 to 2:1. If your rice calls for 2 cups of water for every cup of rice, then for this recipe, use 4 cups of stock for 2 cups of rice.

Directions:

• In a large skillet brown rice in olive oil, medium/high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook onion rice mixture, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes, or until onions are softened.
• In a separate sauce pan bring stock to a simmer. Add tomato sauce, tomato, oregano, and salt. Add rice to broth. Bring to a simmer. Cover. Lower heat and cook 15-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

Serves 4 to 6.

Fresh Fruit & Dips

Mexican Fruit Dip:

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 jar (7 oz size) marshmallow cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons rum -- optional
• Fruit such as pineapple -- strawberries, banana

Directions: In small bowl of a mixer, beat the cream cheese until it's soft and smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat until well blended. Add the sour cream, marshmallow cream, vanilla extract, almond extract, cinnamon and rum. Blend just until well combined. Place the mixture in serving bowl, cover and chill several hours before serving with fruit.

Easy Chocolate Fruit Dip: Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup chocolate syrup
• 1 jar marshmallow cream (7 0unces)

Directions: In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and chocolate syrup with a mixer until well blended. Then fold in the marshmallow cream. Place the mixture in a serving bowl, chill several hours before serving with fruit.

Mexican Night at Kathy's

Tonight is Mexican Night at Kathy's house.

You may think of Mexican food as tacos and burritos because that's what we have at fast food chains. Mexican cuisine is so much more. So tonight Taste Tempters will be trying out some Mexican style recipes.








TT's Mexican Fiesta Menu:

Taco Meatball Ring
Spanish Rice
Roasted Chili Rellenos
Albondigas Soup
Ham and Poblano Corn Pudding
Chips and salsa
Tostones (Twice Fried Green Plantains)
Sangria

More to come later so check back...

Update .. See recipes under Cinco de Mayo or Mexican Night.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's day everyone!!

Think Green! This month Marueen will be hosting our Taste Tempters gathering. In honor of St. Pat's day our theme will be make anything with a green ingredient.

In search of St. Patty recipes, today I found these adorable Cake Balls on Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1 (16 ounce) container prepared chocolate frosting
1 (3 ounce) bar chocolate flavored confectioners coating

Directions:

Prepare the cake mix according to package directions using any of the recommended pan sizes. When cake is done, crumble while warm into a large bowl, and stir in the frosting until well blended.
Melt chocolate coating in a glass bowl in the microwave, or in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.
Use a melon baller or small scoop to form balls of the chocolate cake mixture. Dip the balls in chocolate using a toothpick or fork to hold them. Place on waxed paper to set.