Le Crueset

We have this cute little red heart shaped Le Crueset dish….

And of course, I don’t use it, because I don’t usually bake anything that small… nor do I know where it is even safe to use. Is it for serving? Can I put it in the oven? Microwave? My preference is microwave since it’s fast and easy.

But, then again, who actually uses a dish this small? It is for a single size serving?

So… I looked it up. And if you have one and don’t know where it is safe to use… then maybe this will help you if you are ever in the need of a super tiny dish to bake a single serving size of something…

“Le Creuset Stoneware is safe for use in the microwave, freezer, refrigerator, dishwasher, oven and broiler. The maximum oven-safe temperature is 500°F / 260°C. The enameled surface is easy to clean and scratch-resistant. The enamel is completely hygienic and will not absorb odors or flavors.”

https://www.lecreuset.com/care-and-use

The more you know…

Almond Poppy seed Pancakes

While were at Costco this weekend, Victoria wanted me to buy some poppy seed muffins. I had a great idea to find our own recipe and make them at home. I always prefer to make it myself (if it isn’t too many steps), plus it also allows me to know exactly what I am putting into my and my families bodies. So… being the smart person that I am, I found a recipe on Pinterest, then rather than making the pancakes from scratch, I started with a pancake mix I already had, then added the additional ingredients to it. But… I didn’t bother to read the recipe for the pancakes because I thought I had it memorized… however, I quickly found out that adding 2 cups of water to one cup of pancake mix didn’t make the right consistency… so I read the instructions at that point… they really called for 3/4 cup of water for 1 cup of pancake mix… so I had to add a lot more pancake mix…

 

So we had plenty of batter for our Air Fryer muffins… regular pancakes… and a poppy seed cake. Needless to say… I’ll be reading the instructions in the future. They were pretty good though. I love adding Almond Extract to recipes now when they call for Vanilla Extract because I found the BEST sugar cookie recipe and it has Almond Extract, I think that’s the ingredient that makes them taste amazing!

Turkey Chili – Instant Pot Style

I made turkey chili a week or so ago and all three kids loved it!

When I started talking to Victoria about what she thinks would be good lunches to take to school, she had chili on her list 😁.

So… I was happy to add this recipe to my new list of go to recipes the family loves. It’s so easy too! You can certainly tweak it to make it your own, but this is how I made mine.

First, I set my Instant Pot to Saute – Normal, added some garlic powder, season salt, and onion powder in and browned my ground turkey 🦃 (I don’t know if it’s really “browned” since it goes from pink to white… But you know what I mean). After the turkey is cooked and I’ve used my spoon to break it into smaller chunks, I hit the cancel button to turn it off.

I ended up adding some pepper too, but it was after I took the picture. 🖼️

I then added a full can of diced tomatoes, a can of sweet corn (drained), a can of tomato paste, a corn sized can of water, two cans of black beans (rinsed until they ran clear), and seasonings (oregano, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne).

Stirred it up, closed the lid, made sure the lid was sealed, then did manual cook for 20 minutes.

Once your timer tells you it’s done, it still has pressure, say I throw a towel over the vent, twist the vent open, then walk away while the steam escapes for a few minutes (and doesn’t splatter all over my cabinets because of my handy towel). After the pin has dropped, it’s ready to open and enjoy!

It was delicious… And Alexandria thoroughly enjoyed it… So did her face… And her hair 🤦‍♀️


I didn’t measure anything… Just sprinkled in however much I thought looked good, I’ll try to provide estimates below. 😉

I used about a teaspoon of the garlic powder, seasoning salt, and onion powder. 

I used about half a teaspoon of the pepper, cilantro, cumin, and cayenne pepper.

I used about 2 tablespoons of the chili powder.

I’ll try to take more accurate measurements next time.

Chillier than the Fortress of Solitude Chili Corn Dip Recipe

Someone made this recipe at my work years ago, and it was delicious! So I’ve made it for parties here and there and it’s always been a hit. And even if it wasn’t… My hubby and I love it, so we don’t mind having leftovers 😂

But… Clearly I thought it had cream cheese in it, when I laid out the ingredients, when the original recipe actually didn’t have it, so I made it my own. 😉 And instead of buying the already diced jalapeños, I bought the huge Costco can and chopped them myself… I always love a bargain, and my hubby loves jalapeños anyway, so they won’t go to waste.

And, I’m making this recipe for mom’s group bunco night at my place, and we are doing a superhero theme, so I had to give the title a super twist.

Chile Corn Dip

Ingredients:

(3) 11 oz cans Green Giant Mexicorn (Sweet corn & diced peppers), drained

7 oz can chopped green chilies, drained

6 oz can chopped jalapenos, drain liquid into another container, so you can add as much liquid to suit your tastes

1 cup green onion, choped

1 cup mayonnaise

8 oz container sour cream

1/2 cup cream cheese

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

16 oz package shredded cheese (I used Cheddar Jack)

Tortilla Chips

Directions:

Mix all ingredients, except tortilla chips together and refrigerate. Serve with tortilla chips.

And… I saw that the Mexicorn had box tops on it! Score! Especially since my oldest is starting kindergarten next month! 🙌

Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole

You know I love my Instant Pot (IP) almost as much as I love my pink drink… Tonight I found the easiest way to make chicken enchiladas!

I had already made my chicken my IP yesterday, dumped out the juice, then shredded the chicken with my hand mixer (if you don’t know this hack, you need to). So, today, I was going to attempt to make an enchilada casserole the way my dad does, but… This is even easier!

I dumped in the can of enchilada sauce… Maybe I’ll attempt to make my own next time, baby steps… Then the shredded chicken, a can of corn, cheese then 15 mini corn tortillas torn into pieces. Stirred it up, then topped with more cheese and olives and put the timer on manual for 3 minutes and let it do slow release. Yummy!