Cheesy Taco Soup

 

I got this recipe here and it was super good as dinner but would also be good as a dip.  I have to say that I am loving this food blog, you should for sure check it out.

Ingredients:
1lb lean ground beef
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
2-1/2 cups milk, divided
salt & pepper
1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
1 package taco seasoning
10oz can diced tomato, undrained
15oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
Crushed tortilla chips
Directions: 

1. Brown ground beef in a large soup pot over medium-high heat, seasoning with salt and pepper, until no longer pink. Drain and return to pot.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat then whisk in flour and cook for one minute. Slowly whisk in 1 cup milk, season with salt and pepper, then switch to a wooden spoon and stir mixture until thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat then stir in shredded cheese until smooth. Set aside.
3. Add taco seasoning, tomato, black beans, cheese sauce, and remaining 1-1/2 cups milk into cooked ground beef then stir well to combine. Bring to a heavy simmer then turn heat down to medium and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with crushed tortilla chips and more shredded cheese, if desired.

Fruit Salsa with Baked Cinnamon Chips

I found this recipe here and it was a huge hit!!

Ingredients

• 2 kiwis, peeled and diced
• 2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced
• 8 ounces raspberries
• 1 (16 oz) carton of strawberries, diced
• 2 tablespoons white sugar (more or less to taste)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar (more or less to taste)
• 3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor (I used strawberry)
• 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
• melted butter or butter flavored cooking spray
Cinnamon sugar:
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Coat one side of each flour tortilla with melted butter or butter flavored cooking spray. Sprinkle tortillas with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Spray again with cooking spray (not necessary if using melted butter).
4. Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture. This salsa can also be serve with cinnamon graham grackers or cinnamon pita chips. Best when made and eaten the same day otherwise the fruit gives off so too much juice and it gets runny.

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder*
• 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
• 6 Tbsp all vegetable shortening, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/2 tsp white vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp red food coloring
• 1 1/3 cups white chocolate chips, divided

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda and salt, set aside. Add butter, shortening and sugar to the bowl of an electric stand mixer and mix on medium speed until very pale and fluffy about 4 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk and mix until combine. Add vinegar, vanilla and food coloring and mix until well blended. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combine. Mix in 1/2 cup white chocolate chips. Scoop dough out by the heaping tablespoonfuls (about 1 1/2 Tbsp) and roll into balls and place on buttered or Silpat lined cookie sheets. Gently press about 6 white chocolate chips into the top of each cookie, being careful not to flatten the cookies (if you do flatten them a bit just reshape them to the height they had before adding the chips) and bake in preheated oven 8 - 9 minutes. Allow to cool several minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Store cookies in an airtight container. 

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy