Beef and Bean Burritos

Lately, I've been craving beef and refried bean burritos, but surprisingly they're very hard to find. Been to Chipotle or Qdoba lately? The new trend is to have whole beans and rice in your burritos. I didn't want any of that - Just nice, mashed up, comforting, refried beans.

After endless complaining at work, a coworker finally tried to shut me up by sending me a recipe from The Pioneer Woman's Beef and Bean Burritos. Believe me this recipe is so easy, there's really no recipe to follow.

First, chop up a half an onion and cook it with a pound of ground beef.

When the meat is browned, pour off most of the fat and add some spices (I added 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp oregano, 2 tsp of chili powder).  Add about a 1/3 cup of red enchilada sauce. I just bought the kind at the store that looked most authentic. Look, part of the label is in Spanish! You want the beef to be covered in sauce, but not drowning in it.

Allow the beef simmer on low. While the beef is simmering heat up a can of refried beans and add about a 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. I used a colby-jack because that's what I had in my fridge. Mix the cheese in and let it melt as the beans heat up. Now, I've eaten a lot of refried beans, and why I never thought to mix in the cheese, I'll never know. Best idea ever.

To make your burrito, warm up your flour tortillas and add a layer of beans and a layer of beef. At this point you can leave it, or add more stuff. I added some sour cream and chopped green onion. Again, stuff I just had in my fridge. Fold in the sides, roll up the burrito and put it on a plate. Once you have two burritos made, spoon some more enchilada sauce on the top, and add some more shredded cheese. Nuke for 30+ seconds until the cheese melts and sprinkle some cilantro on top. This made 7 burritos. I guarantee these are super easy and really good.

For those of you who are addicted to lists:

1 lb ground beef
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1 can of red enchilada sauce (some will be used to mix with beef, some will be spooned on top of burrito)
1 can refried beans
Shredded cheese (about 1 1/2 cups depending on how many burritos you're making)
Flour tortillas
Cilantro

Garden murderer - I swear it wasn't me!

My backyard is a mess right now - Dead plants, weeds, random gardening tools. And let's not even get started on the dog crap that's everywhere.

But I swear, it's not my fault! This winter has been terrible. I don't think people realize how hard it is to find plants that can handle 110 degrees in the summer, while also surviving freezing temperatures in the winter. For me, gardening in Las Vegas is like trying to get my toddler potty trained - Frustrating.

Right now I'm in crisis mode. I paid $3 for a six-pack of cherry tomato seedlings and planted them last week when it was 60 degrees out. This weekend it's supposed to be in the low 30's with a chance of snow. Are you kidding me?

Two of the tomato plants have already whithered away, killed by the cold wind and chilly nighttime temperatures. Of course they may have just committed suicide after seeing all the other dead plants in my backyard.

So to try and salvage my $3 tomato plant purchase, I went and bought $12 in plastic to cover my garden boxes. I like to call it a makeshift greenhouse, but it's really just some plastic sheets held down by rocks. Of course it's windy, so the thing is on the verge of collapsing at any moment. I'm guessing at least one of my poor little plants will be crushed by a rock before succumbing to the cold.

I could always just go buy some more tomato plants, but that's not the point. I want to brag about how I saved my little plants by using plastic sheets and random rocks. So, if even one of these little plants survives, I will consider it a victory. Wish me luck!

Back in the Saddle Again

It's been a while since I've touched my blog, which is a shame because I really love writing about what's going on in my life. But the past few months have been a little crazy. Here's why:

My husband had a heart attack. Don't worry, he's fine - The doctor even said it was probably a fluke (if heart attacks can be called flukes). So our diet suddenly changed to "healthy" which was completely uninspiring. You try making things without cheese.

My daughter turned two. Not like that's a surprise, but all of a sudden she's getting smart and curious, and I felt guilty spending time on the computer when she wanted to play. She also learned that if she whines enough, I'll also get off the computer. So guilt and whining equaled my blog's demise.

It was winter. And winter sucks. The end.

But now my hibernation is coming to an end. Spring is almost here and it's time to put away those grey sweat pants and fuzzy slippers. My blog has been redesigned with bright, happy colors (which I'll probably be sick of in a month) and I'm starting to enjoy cooking again.

So stay tuned for more stories from my kitchen, along with some other stuff about my crazy kid and wonderful husband. I may even do some crafts - Oh the humanity!!

Pumpkin Creme Pies

So I've been off the radar for a while. Call it a late summer slump - The spring and summer produce is dwindling, but it's too early to start making winter stews and baking pies.

But I have the cooking bug again thanks to these yummy Pumpkin Creme Pies. A co-worker found them online and as soon as I saw them I knew I'd be back in the kitchen. I mean how can you resist! Yummy frosting sandwiched between sweet pumpkin cakes. I'm drooling just thinking about it.

First things first, these were really easy. I had nearly all the ingredients on hand was able to make four dozen pumpkin cream pies in a couple of hours.  That said, unless you're doing a bake sale you may want to cut the recipe in half. I mean, how many Pumpkin Creme Pies do you really need?

The original recipe called for cutting parchment paper up into squares. I skipped that step, but my had was sore by the time I was finished. I'm not sure if that was because I didn't cut up the paper or the fact that I made four dozen creme pies.

Everyone also wanted to know how I made the little swirly marks in the cake. As you'll see in the recipe, it just happens when you make the cake rounds with the frosting piping bag (or the Ziploc bag for all you non-foodies).

These pies were definitely a hit at home and at the office. If you refrigerate them, let them sit on the counter for a bit before eating. It's unbelievable how much better they are at room temperatures. Check out the link for the recipe below. Enjoy!

Recipe: Pumpkin Creme Pies, by The Deutsch Girl

Asian Lettuce Cups

I just tried making lettuce cups at home for the first time and they were so delicious and easy, I had to pass on the recipe. It's called Asian Lettuce Cups and I found it in the August 2010 edition of Cooking light, in case you have the magazine at home.

The recipe called for 3 cups of coarsely chopped shiitake mushrooms. I only had about one cup because, #1 I didn't read the recipe correctly, and #2 I'm cheap and didn't feel like spending $9 on mushrooms.

It still came out delicious and next time I'll probably try it with just regular mushrooms. A definite must make if you're having friends over or if you're tired of the same old dinner.