EDIBLES

Simple recipes that make school days a cinch

Published

7 months ago

08/21/2024

(Family Features) Resisting the weeknight urge to call for takeout or order delivery starts with an approachable at-home menu with recipes you can prep in an instant. Especially during back-to-school season when schedules are jam-packed with activities, easy meals and desserts you can rely on allow you and your loved ones to ease tension in the kitchen.

Simplicity is the key to putting dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less, and these Taco Salad and Taco Mac and Cheese recipes offer mealtime solutions that make cooking duty a breeze. Make all that classroom effort worth it with a kid-friendly dessert you can prepare over the weekend and keep refrigerated for weeknight treats with these No Bake Dragon Fruit Cheesecake Bars.

Find more recipe ideas to simplify hectic back-to-school schedules at Culinary.net.

Make Dinner Happen in 30 Minutes

If you’re looking for a go-to meal for your hungry family, search no more. This Taco Salad calls only for pantry staples so you can spice up busy evenings in just half an hour.

Visit Culinary.net for more quick dinner solutions.

Taco Salad

Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy”
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6

1 pound ground beef
1 can (15 ounces) black beans
1 can (15 ounces) corn
2 cans (14 ounces each) diced tomatoes with chilies
1/2 cup half-and-half or milk
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons mesquite seasoning
1 tablespoon black pepper
salt, to taste
1 lime, juice only
1 cup chopped cilantro
romaine lettuce
2-3 cups shredded cheese
1 tub (16 ounces) sour cream
crushed tortilla chips

In pan over medium heat, brown beef until cooked through; drain. Add black beans and corn. Stir in tomatoes with juices and half-and-half. Add onion powder, garlic powder, mesquite seasoning and pepper. Season with salt, to taste. Bring to simmer.
Add lime juice; stir. Sprinkle with cilantro.
Wash and chop lettuce. Place cheese and sour cream in bowls for toppings.
On plates, top crushed tortilla chips with meat sauce, lettuce, cheese and sour cream, as desired.

A Sweet Treat to Make School Days Special

Sometimes a long day in the classroom and tough homework assignments call for a cool treat. Rewarding all that studying can be a cinch with a no bake cheesecake bar that lasts throughout the week.

These No Bake Dragon Fruit Cheesecake Bars allow you to keep things cool in the kitchen without cranking up the oven. Plus, they’re made with C&H Sugars that are perfect for adding a little something special to school days.

Find more back-to-school desserts at chsugar.com.

No Bake Dragon Fruit Cheesecake Bars

Prep time: 35 minutes
Rest time: 6 hours
Yield: 16 bars

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons C&H Light Brown Sugar
1 pinch salt

Bars:

1 small fresh dragon fruit, peeled and cubed small
1/4 cup C&H Granulated Sugar
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups C&H Powdered Sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup plain Greek yogurt, full fat, at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, cold

To make crust: Line 8-by-8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Leave 2-inch overhang of paper on both sides. In medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, butter, brown sugar and salt until well combined. Pour mixture into prepared pan and press into even layer. Place in freezer.
To make bars: In small saucepan over medium heat, cook dragon fruit and granulated sugar until sugar is completely dissolved, dragon fruit is soft and mixture reduces in size, 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool completely.
In large bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add powdered sugar and mix until fluffy. Scrape sides of bowl. Add vanilla and yogurt. Beat until combined.
In separate bowl, beat heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold cream into cream cheese mixture. Pour half of mixture into prepared crust. Add 5 tablespoons dragon fruit mixture to remaining cream cheese batter. Mix until well combined. Pour over plain cream cheese mixture. Place in refrigerator to set at least 6 hours, or overnight.
Cut into 16 bars.

Spice Up Weeknights

Macaroni and cheese is a beloved comfort food that’s easy to make on busy weeknights. With just a few extra ingredients and steps, you can turn boxed mac and cheese into a filling dinner.

To make this Taco Mac and Cheese, simply prepare your favorite boxed mac and cheese according to the package instructions and stir fry the meat and vegetables together. (Hint: You can even chop vegetables the night before to make cooking the next day even easier.) Then add taco seasoning and combine for a new take on a classic dish.

Visit Culinary.net to find more quick and simple recipes.

Taco Mac and Cheese

1 box macaroni and cheese
1/4 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
1 pound ground turkey
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
2 teaspoons taco seasoning

Prepare boxed mac and cheese with milk and butter according to package instructions.
In skillet, brown ground turkey over medium heat. Add bell peppers and onion. Add taco seasoning.
Stir turkey mixture with mac and cheese to combine.

SOURCE:
C&H Sugar

EDIBLES

Savory favorites to make St. Patrick’s Day special

Published

1 day ago

03/13/2025

bowienews

Hearty recipes for celebrating from the comfort of home

(Family Features) While some St. Patrick’s Day celebrations call for green beer and large gatherings, you may instead opt for a cozy evening at home with comforting foods and close friends. Whether your shamrock spirit leads you out for a local parade or you’re more of a stay-at-home leprechaun, there is one tradition all can agree on: delicious Irish food.

If a quieter night cooking at home is up your alley, you’re in luck. You can put a meal worthy of gold on the table with these festive Irish favorites from “Cookin’ Savvy.”

A hearty home-cooked meal loaded with flavor and sure to fill you with cheer, Irish Beef and Beer Pot Pie is made piping hot to warm up any St. Patrick’s Day party. Full of hashbrowns, carrots, peas and beef, it’s a twist on tradition served with puff pastry topping the tasty stew. A cup of your favorite stout beer, of course, will come in handy for deglazing the skillet to ensure you enjoy every bit of beefy flavor.

Perfect for serving as a sweet complement to coffee or tea, or all on its own as a nightcap nibble, Irish Sweet Soda Bread comes together in a snap so you can let it bake while enjoying the main course. Offering an easy way to participate in the festivities, it might just become a household favorite to be savored year-round.

Make your home a St. Patrick’s Day haven with these hearty recipes then discover more celebratory meal ideas from “Cookin’ Savvy” by visiting Culinary.net.

Irish Beef and Beer Pot Pie

Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy”
Servings: 4-6

1 pound ground beef
1 cup stout beer
3 tablespoons flour
1 can (15 ounces) tomato puree
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 cup beef broth
1 bag (28 ounces) hashbrowns with peppers and onions
1 can (14 ounces) carrots, drained
1 can (14 ounces) peas, drained
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 egg

Heat oven to 400 F.
In large skillet or Dutch oven, brown ground beef; drain and set aside.
Over medium heat, deglaze skillet with beer and whisk in flour. After thickening, whisk in tomato puree and add Worcestershire sauce. Mix in ground beef, garlic powder and beef broth. Add hashbrowns, carrots and peas. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Place puff pastry sheet on cookie sheet. Beat egg and brush over pastry. Bake 10 minutes. Place hot puff pastry on top of beef mixture and serve.

Irish Sweet Soda Bread

Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy”
Servings: 4-6

4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 cups self-rising flour
1 cup currants
2 tablespoons sanding sugar (optional)
coffee or tea, for serving (optional)

Heat oven to 375 F.
Mix melted butter and sugar then add buttermilk. Mix in flour and currants.
Flour hands and counter. Add sanding sugar to dough, if desired, and knead into ball.
Grease small Dutch oven or pie plate and bake 40 minutes. Serve with coffee or tea, if desired, or as a dessert.

Substitutions: Raisins can be used in place of currants.

SOURCE:
Culinary.net

EDIBLES

Create some unique St. Paddy’s delights

Published

1 day ago

03/13/2025

bowienews

Some folks like murder mysteries, some like autobiographies of world leaders, and some love a good beach read otherwise known as a romance novel.
I prefer a cookbook any day of the week. Lately, I have been going through my mom’s cookbooks, and I think the best are the pages that are beyond smudged and streaked with ingredients from long ago. You know somewhere on that page is a good recipe.
Hopefully, you have an inkling of which one it is. My favorite go-to cookbook is my New Doubleday Cookbook and pages 682 and 683 are so mucky with years of dribble and flour residue. Those pages are the best because they offer about 15 bread recipes, including sandwich yeast bread, rapid-rise yeast bread, and milk bread varieties.
These pages are the pages the book opens to when you just lay open the book. I encourage you to go to your mom or grandmother’s cookbooks and do the “lay it open” test and see which pages it automatically goes to because there is a golden opportunity to make something truly wonderful on that page.
I love baking bread; the aroma of a house filled with freshly baked bread is an incredibly visceral experience. I don’t think a candle labeled “bread” could come close to replicating it. Baking cookies is a close second for me, with the smell of lasagna coming in as my third favorite scent in any kitchen.

Read the full Love & Luck food page in your Thursday Bowie News. Find some new delights to cook up for St. Paddy’s Day on Monday.

EDIBLES

Save time with the skillet

Published

1 week ago

03/06/2025

bowienews

(Family Features) A warm, cozy meal may seem like a burden to make after busy winter days, but Skillet Lasagna lets you skip the craziness of home cooking with an easy, one-pot solution. Discover more comforting recipes that let you reclaim evenings with loved ones by visiting Culinary.net.

Skillet Lasagna

Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy”
Servings: 4-6

1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
44 ounces marinara sauce
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup ricotta
1 1/2 cups frozen spinach
9 lasagna noodles
1 cup mozzarella cheese
bread, for serving
Parmesan cheese, for topping (optional)

In large skillet or Dutch oven, brown ground beef with onion power, garlic powder and salt and pepper, to taste. Drain excess grease. Mix in marinara sauce, heavy whipping cream, ricotta and spinach.
Break up lasagna noodles and add to skillet. Cover and let set over medium heat 10 minutes. Stir and top with mozzarella cheese. Cover and let set 10 minutes.
Serve with bread and top with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

SOURCE:
Culinary.net