Edible Snowflakes!

I saw this somewhere and changed it a little to try with Haillie (they deep fat fried them... I don't even know what that is). It is a fun snack for a winter day.

Uncooked tortillas
Melted butter
Cinnamon and Sugar mixture
Hot Griddle

Fold the uncooked in half, then fold in fourths. Use scissors to cut out designs, just like you would a paper snowflake. When finished unfold and place on hot griddle. Cook tortilla as instructed. After you take it off the griddle, paint butter on the snowflake a sprinkle cinnamon/sugar on. Enjoy!

Yummy Chili!

Just wanted to post the recipe for the chili we ate over Thanksgiving weekend. Glad you all enjoyed it! I got it from Emeril but made some changes along the way. Enjoy!

2Tablespoons vegetable oil
3 lbs Ground Turkey
3 Tablespoons Chili Powder
1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 Bay Leaf
3 Cups Yellow onion-chopped
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
1 (28 oz) Can crushed tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 Cup beef broth
2 teaspoons salt
2 Cans kidney beans
1 oz semi-sweet chocolate
Dash cinnamon

Heat oil in large pan. Add meat, chili powder, cumin, red pepper, and bay leaf. Cook until meat is well browned. Add onions and cook until soft (8min). Add garlic. Add tomatoes, paste, broth, salt, cinnamon, and chocolate. Stir, bring to boil. Add beans. Reduce to simmer. Cover and cook 1-1 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally.
*I have also used my slow cooker after browning the meat. I then added the rest of the ingredients and let it cook on low all day.

Cafe Rio Salad

Brit, here is what I have for the Cafe Rio Salad. I can't find my black bean recipe, but we usually just warm up a can anyway. When I find the recipe I will post it. Good luck!

CAFE RIO DRESSING
1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as per recipe)
2 tomatillos or 4 Tbsp. salsa verde (green salsa)
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1/8 tsp. Tabasco sauce

Mix together in blender. Refrigerate.

CAFE RIO CHICKEN
1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
3 cloves garlic-minced
5 lbs chicken breast

Cook all together in crock pot for 4 hours, shred meat and cook 1 additional hour.

CAFE RIO PORK
1 cup Pace salsa
1 cup brown sugar
pork sirloin roast (3-4 lbs), I use country style spare ribs

Mix salsa and brown sugar together and pour over a pork roast. Cook in crock pot on low all day.

CAFE RIO RICE
3 cups water
4 tsp chicken bouillon
4 tsp garlic-minced
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 can green chiles-or equivalent fresh
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 onion
3 cups Minute Rice

Blend cilantro, green chiles and onion together in food processor. Bring water to a boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered until done.

CAFE RIO BEANS (Black or Pinto) I found it!
3 cans beans, rinsed well and drained well in colander
2 cups V-8 Juice
4 cloves garlic-minced
1 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cilantro leaves-minced

Saute the garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium low heat in a small saucepan, just until flavors blend (don't overcook). Add other ingredients (except cilantro). Bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat about 15 minutes. Add minced cilantro. Mix and refrigerate right away, stirring occasionally until coo. Then cover. Makes enough for 12-15 salads.

Pear Cranberry Streusel Pie

This is the Thanksgiving pie I brought. I used a different crust recipe, but this one sounded good & I'd like to try it sometime. I've never made a crust that had cream in it. I wish I would have taken a picture of it, I think it is such a pretty pie.

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed
4 Tbsp heavy cream
5 Tbsp cold water

Filling:
12 ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, & diced
1 3/4 cups sugar
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp orange zest
1 cup frozen (I used fresh) cranberries
2 lemons, juiced
4 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

Crumb Topping:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

For the Crust: Combine flour, salt and cubed butter with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer. Mix until butter crumbles into pea-sized pieces. Combine cream and water, add to flour mixture, and mix until dough comes together. Wrap and refrigerate 20 minutes. divide dough and roll two 12-inch circles. Line two 9-inch pie plates with dough, allowing excess to drape over edges of pie plate.
For the Filling: Toss diced pears with sugar, flour, nutmeg, orange zest, cranberries and lemon juice. Fill pie pans with mixture and drop pats of butter evenly on top of the two pies. Gently fold in excess dough, overlapping to create a rough edge.
For the Topping: Combine all ingredients in mixer with paddle attachment and mix until crumbly. Top each pie with streusel mixture. Place pies on a cookie sheet and bake for 1 1/2 hours or until golden brown and juices are bubbling. Serve at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.