Cheesy Bacon Oven Potatoes with Chipotle Ranch Sauce

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Georgina

Cheesy Bacon Oven Potatoes

with Chipotle Ranch Sauce

Cheesy Bacon Oven Chips

Ingredients:
2-3 russet potatoes, scrubbed well and sliced uniformly into 1/8″ rounds (I left the skin on mine but you could peel)
cooking spray
3/4 C. shredded colby jack or cheddar cheese
salt & pepper
2 T. crumbled bacon (about 2 slices) – I used real bacon
Chopped green onions or chives, for garnish

Directions:
Turn oven on to 375 degrees. Bring sliced potatoes to a boil in cold, salted water and cover for 5 minutes. Drain, and carefully (they’re hot!) transfer slices to a countertop or cutting board and pat them dry.

Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray or olive oil, and lay out potato slices so they are slightly overlapping. Sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste. Sprinkle evenly with shredded cheese & bacon. Bake 12-14 minutes in preheated oven until cheese is melted & bubbly. Top with your garnish of choice. Serve with chipotle ranch sauce (recipe below).

Chipotle Ranch Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:
1 T. ranch dressing
3 T. plain greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1/4 t. chipotle chili powder
1/8 t. cayenne ( more or less depending how spicy you want to make it)
1/8 t. salt
1/4 t. garlic powder

Directions:
Mix together all ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate any leftovers. This makes a really tasty dip for veggies and stuff too!

This was a very quick and easy recipe to make! I saw it on Pinterest (duh) and was just craving it for some reason. I had some extra potatoes laying around (I don’t typically have white potatoes stocked) so it was fate! Boiling the potatoes first really helped them be fully cooked without cooking for so long in the oven and burning all the ingredients on top. It was kind of unhealthier than the food I typically make, but you gots ta do that sometimes 🙂

Hope you enjoy! And thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

Thai Peanut One Pot Pasta

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Georgina

Thai Peanut One Pot Pasta

3 words. One pot pasta- If you haven’t tried it, you need to. This is the second rendition of this ‘method’ that I’ve tried. First it was an Italian version- check that out HERE.

If someone asked me what my favorite ethnic found group was- I would be hard pressed to say Thai; and make it extra spicy 🙂 This dish isn’t spicy but it is delicious. This is totally versatile too and you can remove/add anything you want. For instance I am obsessed with hot sauce so I added about half a bottle of Siracha to mine……. 🙂

Hope you enjoy this easy delicious dinner!

Ingredients:

12 ounces whole wheat linguine (or any long pasta)
4 cups water (or vegetable or chicken broth for extra flavor)
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon curry paste (I love green curry paste)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or minced hot pepper (jalapeño, Serrano, etc…)
2 inches of a ginger root, grated. Which makes it almost paste like.
2 carrots, matchsticked
1 red bell pepper, thick julienned
4 green onions, roughly chopped into 1 inch pieces
2 tablespoons peanut butter

Add at the end of cooking:
About a 1/2 cup of cilantro
Juice of two limes

Optional garnishes:

Chopped peanuts
Mung bean sprouts
Jalapeño slices
More Cilantro

Directions:

Place 3 1/2 cups of the water and all other ingredients except cilantro and lime juice and garnishes in a large stockpot. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Cook until pasta is al dente and almost all liquid has evaporated – this is where you can add more water if you need to.

Remove from heat. Then stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper if you want , sprinkle on garnishes as desired and eat!

YEAH, it’s that easy. Like I said above, I’m in love with spicy food so I added jalapeños and hot sauce to mine- but you can make this a 100% non spicy dish. It’s packed full of flavor and ummmmm could it get easier??!?!? No. The answer is, no it could not.

Hope you enjoy!!

*If you like this recipe make sure to check out my tomato basil version!

xoxo

Carnitas

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Georgina

Easy Slow Cooker Carnitas

Everyone always talks about how great slow cookers are. And don’t get me wrong, I 100000% see the appeal of them but I hardly ever use them. I am gone from my house wayyyy longer than these recipes say to cook them for. I usually leave the house around 6:40 everyday and get home around 5. That’s IF I go straight to and from work- no errands or anything. Then on top of that my fiance doesn’t get home for several hours after me and I’m a big believer in eating dinner as a family, even if that is just the two of us, so I always wait for him.

People have suggested outlet timers for recipes so I can set the crock pot to start cooking half way through the day- but sorry it grosses me out to have food sitting out at room temperature for hours, so no. And yeah I know there are crock pots with self timers but I don’t have one- I’m more old school 🙂 and plus I can never shake the feeling that leaving that on all day while I’m not there, the house will burn down. Thanks a lot anxiety!

Anyway on this rare occasion I decided to whip out the ole crock pot and try this delicious recipe from Lindsay over at Pinch of Yum. I adapted a few things but but the result was still delicious!

Hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

4-5 lbs. pork shoulder
2-3 fresh jalapenos
5 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon chipotle pepper
juice of 2 limes
½ cup orange juice
12 ounces beer
½ cup salsa (I used a less chunky one)

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the pork shoulder in the slow cooker. Slice up the jalapenos how ever you want and throw them in. Roughly chop the garlic and place in the slow cooker (I actually made a couple of slits in the meat with my knife and shoved some down into the meat to get as much garlic flavor as possible, but you could just toss it in, too).
Sprinkle the meat with salt, cumin, chili powder, black pepper, oregano, cinnamon, and cayenne. Rub seasonings onto the pork.
Add the liquids and salsa. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Shred hunk -o- meat with two forks directly in the slow cooker (or take out & shred). It should fall apart pretty easily and be very tender.
Preheat your oven broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the shredded meat on the cooking sheet and pour a few spoonfuls of sauce over the top. Broil for 8-10 minutes or until you get yummy brown edges on the pork.
Eat by itself. Kidding (kind of ) Serve on tortillas with fresh cilantro, avocado, and lime juice and any other things you want!

This was a nice easy recipe. I mean when I actually can use the crock pot to make meals I love it! I could have eaten just the meat by itself. I took some of the leftovers for lunch over rice with some black beans….deeelicious!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out Eat Laugh Craft.

xoxo

Roasted Veggie & Black Bean Burritos

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Georgina

Roasted Veggie & Black Bean Burritos

Heyyy-o! It’s fridayyyy friiiidaaay (you’re welcome that song is now stuck in your head). But seriously I pretty pumped that it’s the weekend! The weather is starting to look up around here (high of 66 today!) and I am visiting a old roomie from my college days tonight. Life is good.

I was browsing through my dashboard (basically like the settings portal of my blog) here on WordPress and saw that I didn’t ever publish this recipe! I made a quite a while ago and it was deeelcious but must have spaced on the publishing part.

This would also work great as a gluten free option to just make the “stuffing” part of the burrito and put it over rice or or quinoa or any grain you want etc…

Hope you enjoy this tasty meal and also the helpful burrito rolling tip below 🙂

INGREDIENTS:
2 whole Sweet Potatoes, peeled And cubed small
2 whole Jalapenos diced
1 whole Red Pepper, diced
1 whole Red Onion, diced
2 teaspoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 pinch Salt And Pepper
2 cups cooked Black Beans (or 1 15 oz can rinsed and drained)
½ cups Fresh Cilantro, chopped
2 teaspoons Fresh Lime Juice
1 cup Shredded Cheddar
1 package Burrito-Sized Wheat Tortillas Or Wraps (6-10 Count) but really any tortilla will work.

INSTRUCTIONS:
In a bowl, toss your raw veggies in olive oil and season with spices. Place in a large baking dish and roast in 425 degree oven for 20 minutes, tossing around halfway through.

Let cool. Add your roasted veggies to a cans worth of rinsed black beans. Add cilantro and squirt of fresh lime juice. Combine gently. At this point, mixture can be stored for later use if want to make this part ahead of time.

Warm your tortillas of choice in microwave for about 30 seconds (so they are easier to handle and roll). Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray or olive oil spray.
Add few heaping spoonfuls of vegetable and bean mixture to center of wrap. Top with shredded cheese. Fold in sides, and then roll up to complete(see pic below).Place in pan and continue to roll the others. Place into your baking dish, seam side down so that they stay together.
Bake in 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Baking this way will make the tortilla wrap crisp. It’s up to you if you want to sprinkle with cheese or not, I just thought it would look a little ‘prettier’.

** Tip: Premake your burritos and wrap them in aluminum foil. Keep in refrigerator for 3-4 days for a quick lunch or dinner!

Burrito Rolling 101:

This is how my mom taught us to roll up our tortillas. I have been doing it this way since before I can remember. It blows my mind to see people do it any other way. I mean your “stuffing” is falling out all over the place and you, more likely than not, end up with food all over you! All I do is fold in the sides of the burrito like the the top left picture and then roll up(tucking in the ‘insides’ while you go) to complete it! Super simple and it all stays inside.

Hope you guys enjoy this one. It is a healthy, filling, tasty dinner!

xoxo

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Georgina

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

These little guys are a fast and healthy dinner for a family on the go. Don’t let some of the ingredients scare you! They come together for a delicious combination. These would be great in tortillas if you’d prefer but the crisp lettuce sort of ‘makes’ this dish. It’s healthy and crunchy and allows for you to really taste the chicken mix. I was inspired by PF Chang’s lettuce wraps which are so good! I didn’t have any of those crunchy fried noodle things they serve or any of their sauces. I doused mine in Siracha, because as I think I’ve mentioned before….. I have an addiction.

I had the lettuce wraps at PF Changs for the first time this past fall (I don’t get out much). I loved them. I was doing my normal activity of browsing Pinterest(shocking, I know) and came across a couple of “copy cat” recipes. A lot of them were terrible. Just from reading the ingredients I could tell that was NOT was PF’s was serving up. I sort of adapted a few of them and came up with this. It’s pretty darn close, I think!

Here’s my recipe!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 pound ground chicken or turkey
1 large onion, chopped small
2 tablespoons garlic, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4-1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced small
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
3 teaspoons sriracha sauce
1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 small bunch green onions, sliced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Iceberg, or butter lettuce leaves, rinsed and drained
Sriracha sauce, wasabi, spicy mustard sauce for dipped (optional)
Roasted peanuts, chopped (optional)
Fried bean noodles (optional)

Directions

In a medium skillet on medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Add the ground meat and cook until it is cooked through. With a spatula, break it up into small chunks as it cooks (it will resemble ground beef).
Stir in the onion, garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, rice wine vinegar, and sriracha sauce until completely coated. Remove from heat.
Fold in water chestnuts, green onion, additional sesame oil. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve wrapped in a leaf of lettuce. Top with any of the optional additional toppings.