Cheesy taco pasta.

It's been way to long since I have last posted anything, and for that I am sorry. I have been super duper busy lately. Tennis seemed to take over my life. Anyway on to better things. Things such as comfort food. Ahhh Comfort food. Lets take a moment of silence to savor these words. (brief pause) Just typing these words bring me comfort.

 Comfort food can be defined under a wide variety of cuisines. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary comfort food is defined as food that is satisfying because it is prepared in a simple or traditional way and reminds you of home, family, or friends. Sounds simple enough. To me anything with cheese, cream, pasta, or many other not-so-healthy items of food are comforting.

This brings me to my next point, sharing a delicious comforting recipe with ya'll. This recipe could be easily defined as comfort food and under the umbrella of super easy and quick. 

Cheesy Taco Pasta

adapted from Emily Bites

Ingredients:

8 oz. of pasta of your choice (I either use wide egg noodles or shell pasta)

1 pound of ground beef

1 packet of taco seasoning (or something equivalent to a packet)

1 1/2 cups salsa (I used a chunky salsa)

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sour cream

1 1/2  cups shredded cheese (used half cheddar & half Colby-Jack)

salt and pepper to taste

Olives (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
2. While the pasta is cooking, brown (cook) the ground beef in a large skillet. Break and crumble the beef while it is cooking. After it is thoroughly cooked, drain the grease from the beef.
3. Add the taco seasoning, salsa, water to the beef and let simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes or until pasta is done cooking.
4. Once the pasta is done cooking, drain pasta and add it to the beef mixture. Add the sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper and stir until it is combined. After the cheese has melted thoroughly, remove from heat and serve immediately.
5. ENJOY!

As you can see, this recipe is easy and really good. I loved it the first time I made it. When I first made my family thought it looked kind of gross, but after they tried it they loved it. As always please and enjoy. Tell me what you think by either commenting or emailing me.

                                

Peace, Love, bake on.

                                                The Fiery Redhead 

Roasted potatoes and sausage.

Hey everyone! It's been to long. I have had a rather busy summer. I had made all these plans to do all these fun DIYs, hair dos, and recipes and to share them with you and then it kind of hit the back burner. Sorry about that. The summer just flew by me, and time just escaped me. One reason for the lack of activity on the Fiery Redhead this summer was that I had an appendicitis. And so I had emergency surgery on a Sunday night and spent the next several weeks recovering at home in bed. I can't tell how much Netflix I watched while stuck in bed. After being released from the doctor a few weeks later, I found that my senior year was fast approaching. And with school comes tennis, which I love, but takes it a lot of my time. So now that my senior year has started and so has my last season of tennis, I find that I am hard pressed on time after practice to make a delicious supper (not only that but I am usually quite tired by the time it is time to make supper). So, I am digging up my favorite type of recipes, the quick and easy ones. And one of the recipes that I happened to dig up and make tonight was roasted sausage and potatoes. The great thing about this recipe is that you can ad lib. You can slice up and add an onion or even peppers, which is what I did tonight. Just add what you think you and your family may like and what you have on hand. Also this recipes can be easily multiplied to make more or even cut in half. It's kind of like a guideline.

To Make This Recipe:

6 potatoes  

Italian sausage or some other similar type of sausage (the sausage in the pictures isa spicy sausage)

Onion, sliced

Pepper(s), sliced

Garlic salt

Oregano

Black Pepper

Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop up the potatoes into 1/2 inch pieces. Place potatoes on a baking sheet sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Cut each link of sausage into small pieces based on your own preference, but I would do about 1/2 inch pieces. Add the sliced vegetables to the potatoes on the baking sheet. Sprinkle seasonings (garlic, oregano, black pepper) on top of the potatoes and vegetables, evenly. Add the sausage to the potatoes and vegetables. Drizzle some olive oil on top the potatoes, vegetables, and sausage. Place in oven and bake about 30 minutes, or until potatoes and sausage are cooked all the way through. Flip the potatoes every so often while baking in the oven. Cooking time varies depending on the size of potatoes and sausage. So just keep an eye on it. 

*fun add in: tomatoes, canned or fresh. 

As you can see this recipes is super easy and quick. And it doesn't have a lot of clean up time. That is a definite bonus. Anyway enough of my rambling. Please enjoy!

Peace, love, bake on.
                              Andrea

Quick and Easy Pizza Crust (Bisquick Pizza Crust)

If you are ever like me, you are sometimes hard on time. And in my family everyone loves pizza and during the summer everyone wants yummy food for lunch. They always ask me for pizza for lunch. And instead going through the trouble of making a complicated time consuming crust for lunch, I usually use this extra easy crust instead for an easy lunch or what ever calls for a crust. It is easy and doesn't require a lot of preparation or time to make. So it fits in perfectly for lunch. 

I have made dessert pizza with this dough and to add a little sweetness to this dough, I just add a tablespoon of sugar to the dough. And when I am in a pinch, I make mini pizzas for the kids to make and decorate on their on for a fun hands on lunch time.

Quick and Easy Crust (Bisquick Pizza Crust)
based on recipe from Tablespoon.com

1 1/2 cups Bisquick
1/3- 2/3 cups hot water

1/4 cup flour to roll dough

Mix Bisquick and hot water together well in a medium sized bowl. Roll dough into desire size and shape. (I can get one 12-inch crust or 3-4 mini crusts)

I know this recipe has helped me in a pinch and I hope it does the same for you. Have an amazing rest of your day and thanks for reading. Enjoy!

 Peace, love, bake on.
                    
                                               Andrea