Roasted Mixed Vegetables with Parmessan Cheese

Looking for a fast vegetable side dish that looks impressive with little effort? Then this recipe is certainly for you. No one ever said you had to cut and peel the vegetables yourself!

Back around the holidays I had a huge bag of left over mixed vegetables.  You know the one that has your already cut up cauliflower and broccoli?  Right beside it in the fridge I had an even larger bag of carrots that I had been dragging out of the refrigerator each night to serve along side the broccoli and cauliflower as a side dish with Ranch Dressing.  As a last ditch effort to use them up, I got a little creative and you might even say down right lazy.  However, the end result was a winner and I've continued to cook these vegetable this way and even an occasional frozen one the same way! 

Roasted Mixed Vegetable with Parmesan Cheese

1 mixed bag of broccoli and cauliflower, uncooked

1 bag, 2 cups approximately of carrots, uncooked

1/4 cup olive oil (Canola oil, vegetable oil or any oil will work just fine)

salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan Cheese to sprinkle on the cooked vegetables at the end of cooking

Gently wash vegetables and drain...or don't.  I didn't and we lived to tell the tale. 

Place the vegetables on a layer of foil that is large enough that you can wrap another piece of foil on in order to create a packet to cook in.  Drizzle oil over the vegetables and gently mix together on top of the foil. Be careful not to break the foil lining. 

Season with salt and pepper or your favorite seasoning. As you know I love Tony Chachere's and the other night I made this with frozen broccoli spears and used heir Herbs N' Spice for this recipe. 

Add second piece of foil and curl sides up making a packet and tight seal.  Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375 - 400 degrees for thirty minutes. 

After you take the vegetables out of the oven, gently cut a slit in the top of the foil being careful not to burn yourself.  Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese or whatever cheese you like! 

Serve and enjoy! 

***Our house guest for the spring especially loved this with the frozen broccoli spear and Tony Chachere's Herbs N' Spice the other night!  And I didn't even use the oil.  The water off the ice from the frozen broccoli spears helped keep the mixture moist.

Hope you'll try it.  Never throw out those vegetables again! 

Alise @ The Ranch Kitchen!



The Ranch Kitchen's Taco Loco Soup

 

The Ranch Kitchen's Taco Loco Soup

 

 

Texas this winter has been bitterly cold.  Yes, down here, we do winter...just not this cold of a winter!  Temperatures have been in the teens and twenties and if we had any mosquitoes, I hope they are long gone by now!  Our daughter is hoping for a long overdue snow day!  I know our friends up in the northern US are beyond sick of snow days and are ready for spring!

 

Tonight I walked in to an under the weather husband. My workaholic man never comes in at 3:30 p.m., builds a fire and sits in his recliner before eight at night, so I knew he felt rough.  I also now have the delight of one extra mouth to feed and my older two girls say I get to experience what it's like to have a son in the house.  My relaxation at night strangely is cooking...so having one more around to eat what I dream up is going to be a treat!   

 

This winter and spring we are sharing our house with dear Herefords friends son Kyle as he student teaches agricultural education at our high school.  When his parents asked us to find him a place to live, we knew immediately that he had to stay with us.  Our youngest daughter is pretty excited to have the company and I think the hubby is glad to have an extra hand on the ranch and on the trot lines this spring.  Kyle says he thinks he'll eat well and I feel certain I won't have many left overs! 

 

So on this frigidly cold night I cooked my Taco Loco Soup.  This soup however is not your standard soup and is my TexMex version of Taco Soup with black beans.  Taco soup has been a favorite at our house for many years.  It's a simple can of this, and can of that soup with some taco seasoning mix, ranch powdered dressing mix and of course a little Tony Chachere's.  Except this time I used Tony Chachere's Spice N' Herbs Seasoning which isn't as spicy as my normal Creole Seasoning. I thought it would go well with the ranch dressing powdered mix and it was a great addition.

 

My oldest daughter now makes Taco Soup on a normal basis and says her roommate loves it as much as she does. 

 

Kyle enjoyed the my Taco Loco Soup tonight and went back for seconds.  Even our youngest daughter who tends to be a picky little eater cleaned her bowl and had room for dessert!  Of course her motto is that there is always room for dessert! 

 

So if you are cold, tired, or just in a hurry for dinner....make my Taco Loco Soup!  You won't have many left overs and dinner can be ready in less than an hour easily!

 

 

The Ranch Kitchen's Taco Loco Soup

 

 

2 lbs. ground pork or ground beef, browned and all grease drained (I used ground pork)



1 large onion, chopped

1 can Hunts Stewed Tomatoes with Garlic

1 can Hunts Stewed Tomatoes

1 can Rotel Tomatoes with Cilantro and Lime

1 can Ranch Style Black Beans, drained

1 can Kidney Beans, drained

2 cans Whole Kernel Corn, drained

1 package McCormick Taco Seasoning

1 package Ranch Dressing Mix - powdered NOT prepared salad dressing

1 tsp. Tony Chachere's Spice N' Herbs Seasoning

 

Brown meat and onions in large stew pot.  When slightly browned, drain grease off using a spoon.  I turn off the fire here, prop my pot carefully on a oven mitt and allow the grease to drain off to one side of the pot.  Gently spoon meat to one side of the pot before you drain off grease with a spoon, one tablespoon at a time into a heat proof boil. 

 

Add to the meat mixture all vegetable cans as describe above, plus the taco seasoning, Ranch Dressing powdered mix and Tony Chachere's Spice N' Herb Seasoning.  Add four cans of water using the Rotel tomato can...that should realistically be about 5 cups of water total. 

 

Bring the mixture to a boil on a medium high heat, then bring down to a low boil (low fire or electric stove top heat). Continue to cook on a low boil for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally making sure that your fire is not too high and you scorch your soup.  Always stir from the bottom of the pan and if you do scorch your soup, never scrap the bottom of the pot as the burnt flavor will ruin your soup. 

 

Spoon into large bowls, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and a spoon of sour cream and enjoy!  We ate my Mexican Cornbread  from my link  to my Jumbo Mexican Cornbread (I'd cut this recipe down to 1/4th!), left over fried biscuits from our catfish from the night before and Kyle crumbled saltine crackers over the top of his.

 

We sure are going to enjoy having him be a part of our family for a few months!  I hope he enjoy us and my cooking! 

 

Alise @ The Ranch Kitchen

 



 

 

 

The Ranch Kitchen's Green Chili and Cheese Hash Brown Casserole

Green Chili and Cheese Hash Brown Casserole

 

 

Instant hash browns are now one of my new favorite food to stock in my pantry!  No peeling potatoes or thawing them out from the freezer.  Just pour, add hot water, allow potatoes to moisten and cook on your skillet or add to your casserole. Potatoes just got even easier!

 

New Years Eve we had the pleasure of having my middle daughter's sweet college friends at our home and ranch.  We spent the better part of the two days while they were in eating and having a great visit!  I realize all to well that we need to cherish these times, because before long our house won't be the destination they chose.  We felt safe having them at our house and not on the roads/  We especially enjoyed watching our favorite team the Texas Aggies pull out a last minute win in their bowl game against Duke!  It was a nail bitter for sure!

 

For that nights meal, to go along with the brisket we had smoked on our pit, I served these potatoes.  We all really enjoyed them and especially the kids.  It made enough that I served them again reheated in my oven with our annual New Years day lunch of pork ribs, black-eyed peas, my Granny's wilted cabbage, black-eyed pea relish and cornbread. Check out my recipe tab at the top of this page for all these recipes except for the black-eyed peas that will be posted soon.

 

 

Green Chili and Cheese Hash Brown Casserole

 

8  - 10 cups of dehydrated hash browns prepared according to package directions

water for hash browns (see hash brown directions)

 

For mixture:

1 - 4 ounce, large can of diced green chili's

1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup

1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 - 16 ounce can of Pet Evaporated Milk

1 cup water

2 cups cheddar cheese ( I used the cheddar cheese crumbles in the package and shredded would work just as well)

1 stick margarine

2 teaspoons Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

1 tablespoon of garlic salt

 

***I did not add chopped green or white/yellow onions to this, but it would be a great addition

 

Prepare hash brown according to package directions.  Make sure you drain well.  In a large bowl, place the hash browns and add both soups, evaporated milk, 1 cup water, cheese and seasonings.  Mix well as you add each ingredient.  Spoon hash brown mixture into a large 9 x 13 baking dish.  Place 1 tablespoon squares of margarine across the entire top of the hash brown casserole.  Sprinkle with additional Tony Chachere's for seasoning and color before placing in the oven.

 

Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until mixture is bubbling throughout and cheese is melted. 

 

This is an easy, great dish to take to potlucks, work, or just serve at home.  I made this for a huge crowd and don't see why if you didn't want to cook this entire portion in one night you couldn't place half of it in a freezer container and cook at a later date. 

 

Let me know what you think!

 

Alise @ The Ranch Kitchen

 

 



The Ranch Kitchen's Chicken and Tortilla Dumplings





I've always heard of recipes that called for tortillas to make chicken and dumplings. Being in a hurry the other night, I googled a couple of recipes and created my own version of this dish, simplifying it here and there.  Scott, my husband and youngest daughter Audrey loved it and enjoyed the dish even more the second night. 

I used two frozen chicken breast that I cooked in about a quart of water with sliced onions, salt and pepper.  My new resolution is to always keep frozen chicken breast in my freezer for quick meals just like this one. 

You might think it would take forever for the chicken breast to cook.  But on a rolling boil they cooked in under thirty minutes and after allowing the chicken to cool on a plate, I was able to cut up it in to bite sized pieces.  I added the chicken back to the broth they cooked in, added 1 can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup, 1/2 can of evaporated milk and 16 flour tortillas, cut in to 1 inch by 2 inch rectangles.  I allowed my broth mixture to come back to a low boil (that's not a high fire boil, but a gentle boil).

I then added to the pot 1/4 cup of cornstarch to the remaining 1/2 can of evaporated milk stirring vigorously to combine them and then to the pot.  I turned down the heat even more until the mixture slightly bubbled as I did not want to curdle my milk (that is...cook my milk on to high a heat and scorch or burn it).  I decided to add the evaporated milk due to the fact that my school's cafeterias chicken and dumplings taste like they have milk in them to get that creamy consistency I love. 

Most recipes I found did not call for anything other than chicken broth.  I made my own chicken broth by cooking my chicken in water and made it even better with the cream of chicken soup.  I love my Campbell's Soups.  I always try to keep on hand in my pantry their Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup, Cream of Celery, French Onion, and Cream of Mushroom.  I've come to really love their Cream of Broccoli and Beef Broth to also help in my quick sauces and recipes/casseroles.

The chicken and dumplings cooked for another twenty minutes on low and I added a little more garlic salt and pepper to taste.  Season to your liking.

Along with this we had fresh Pillsbury Crescent Rolls to sop up the broth. 

So now in my repertoire of dishes, will go this my The Ranch Kitchen's Chicken and Tortilla Dumplings.  And I'm already planning a jumbo batch in my large roaster for a winter cow show or two.  That will be for a later post!


The Ranch Kitchen's Chicken and Tortilla Dumplings

2 chicken breast cooked and cut or shredded
1 onion, sliced in 1 inch cubes (optional)
16 flour tortillas strips (cut in to 1 inch by 3 inch strips)
8 cups water
1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
garlic salt or salt, and pepper to taste (season to you taste)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1- 16 ounce can evaporated milk

Cook chicken in water with onions and spices and bring to a boil for 30 minutes or until chicken is done all the way through.  Take out chicken and allow to cool.  Cut or shred chicken into bite size portions and return to pot it cooked in. Add cut up tortillas strips. Add Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup and 1/2 can of evaporated milk and continue to cook on a low to just where the mixture slightly bubbles.  Add 1/4 cup of cornstarch to the remaining half of evaporated milk and blend together before adding to the pot.  When this mixture is added it will thicken 'the soup' so that it is not as runny.  Taste chicken and tortilla dumplings mixture and add more salt or pepper to taste IF needed.  Continue to cook on low for 20 - 30 minutes until tortillas have puffed up slightly.

I served this in large bowls and we ate it with a spoon like soup.  It was so good that you didn't want to waste a drop.  Even my picky little 12 year old loved it and ate it again the second night.  Leftovers were better than the first night for sure!

I hope you'll give it a try. I used fresh tortilla's from a local Mercado, but any tortilla's will do. However, I would chose the fluffiest looking flour tortilla's you can find. 

Get cooking,

Alise @ The Ranch Kitchen 

 

Happy New Year From The Ranch Kitchen!

Here's hoping your new year is truly your best yet!  May you remember that life is meant to be lived and have more fun than you've had in years past.  And remember that above all we need to be thankful for all the little and big things in our lives because we learn how to live because of them.

Below are some recipe posts that will help bring luck in 2014 if you, like my family, are a little superstitious and eat your cabbage for good fortune, your black-eyed peas for luck, and ribs....well that's because my husbands family always eats ribs on New Years Day.  

Enjoy and HAPPY NEW YEAR!  These are some of my families favorites that we enjoy each year at New Years Day lunch! We couldn't ring in the year without them!


The Ranch Kitchen's Black-eyed Pea Salsa

Granny's Wilted Cabbage

Country Style Pork Ribs

Get cooking!  

Alise @ The Ranch Kitchen!