CookingNook.com’s Blog

Hi there,

I just thought I would take a minute to post about a new quick and easy recipe I just made last night.

I was in the mood for something Mexican, but I didn’t want to follow some involved recipe. I decided to put together an easy beef and bean enchiladas casserole.

Here is a list of the ingredients I used:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup (approximate) salsa

8 large tortilla shells
1 can refried beans
1 can enchilada sauce
6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

I simply fried the chopped onions until they were soft, then added the ground beef and seasoned with salt and pepper. I fried the beef until it was well browned and then added the salsa to it. Mix it together well to incorporate the salsa throughout the mixture.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Lay out the 8 tortilla shells. Divide the refried bean mixture evenly among the tortillas and spread it along one end of the tortilla. Then divide up the meat mixture and lay it on top of the refried beans. Roll each tortilla and place it seam side down in a large 13″x9″ baking dish. Repeat with the other tortillas.

Spread the enchilada sauce evenly over the tortillas then sprinkle the cheese over all.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the cheese is beginning to brown and the sauce is bubbling.

Serve with extra salsa and sour cream.

Add chopped green onions on top for extra color if you wish.

It is a filling recipe, so I served 2 enchiladas per person and just served it with a side salad.

I hope you like it.

Karen

Tags: easy recipes, enchilada recipe, enchiladas, ground beef recipes, hamburger recipes, Mexican recipes

Summer is still here so I am adding another great summer recipe for cole slaw, cabbage salad, cabbage slaw - whatever you want to call it, it’s a summer stand by.

I think you will like this particular recipe. It has a nice mix of vegetables and a dressing that is a mix of a bit of mayonnaise with olive oil and lemon. So quite healthy too.

I hope you enjoy it.

You will find two other recipes for cabbage slaw, plus other great salad ideas here on the site.

And while you are copying the recipe, why not add one of your own to the blog. Just sign in (it only takes a few seconds) and post away!

Colourful Cabbage Slaw

3 cups (750 ml) shredded green and red cabbage, mixed
1 cup (250 ml) shredded carrots, zucchini or squash (or a mixture of all)
1 cup (250 ml) shredded radish, julienne-cut cucumber, red pepper, celery (or a mixture of all)

For the Dressing:

1/4 cup (50 ml) olive oil
2 tablespoons (30 ml) lemon juice
2 tablespoons (30 ml) mayonnaise
2 teaspoons (10 ml) sugar
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) each salt and pepper

Prepare all of the vegetables.

Toss the shredded cabbage in a large salad bowl and add the other vegetables.

Whisk the oil in a small mixing bowl with lemon juice, mayonnaise, sugar, salt and pepper.

Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss it all together gently to coat.

Serve at once or cover and chill for up to 24 hours.

Serves 6 to 8

Tags: cabbage recipes, cabbage salad, cabbage slaw, cole slaw, coleslaw, salad recipes, summer salad recipes, vegetable recipes

Hi

Just wanted you to know about the new cookbook review section of www.CookingNook.com. I was approached by a few cookbook publishers to see if I wanted to receive cookbooks for review. Well sure! I LOVE cookbooks, as I guess anyone who has a cooking website and blog does. So of course I said yes.

Well within a few days I received about a dozen beautiful cookbooks to review. I promise you an honest review. I will let you know if I really don’t like a cookbook, but I have to honestly say that the books I have been given so far are quite nice.

The bonus for you is that I am allowed to put 3 recipes from each book on the site. So we have some amazing new recipes for you. Here is just a sample of the recipes you might want to check out:

Pecan Crusted Oven Fried Chicken

Beer Battered Fish

Barbecued Ribeye Steak

Macadamia Buttered Mahi Mahi

You might also want to check out the reviews. You can find our cookbook reviews here.

Tags: cookbook reviews, Cookbooks, Recipes

I love goat cheese. It adds a wonderful richness and tang to any salad it is added to. This is a great luncheon salad. Just add a fresh roll and it’s a meal.

This is a very healthy meal too. The lean chicken, spinach and almonds are all so healthy for you. To find out why read more about the 10 healthiest foods to eat on the site.

This spinach salad would also taste wonderful with our sweet poppy seed vinaigrette recipe instead of the raspberry salad dressing.

3/4 cup raspberry salad dressing
6 cups baby spinach, washed and dried
1 1/2 cup chicken breast, cooked & diced
1/2 cup  red onion, thinly sliced
2 oounces goat cheese, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup almonds, toasted & sliced

In a large salad bowl. Add spinach, chicken and onion.  Drizzle dressing over top and toss gently.

Serve immediately.

Tags: goat cheese, healthy recipes, salad recipes, spinach recipes, spinach salad

Todays Tips are about barbecuing. Nothing is nicer in the summer than that charred taste of grilled meat, fish, poultry or vegetables. The barbecue gives pretty much everything that great summer flavor we all love. Here are some tips that will help you barbecue successfully each and every time.

- Trim as much fat from food as possible before barbecuing. This helps to prevent flare-ups.
- Always take a clean platter out to the barbecue with you. Do not put cooked foods back on the plate that the raw meat was on.
- Heat barbecue thoroughly before cooking anything on it. Clean any bits of food off the grill before using – a wire brush works well.
- Spray food with oil before placing on the barbecue – that works better than spraying the barbecue.
- Use long tongs to turn food rather than piercing food with a fork.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts should be pounded for even cooking.
- Precook ribs, chicken legs, and sausages before barbecuing so that the meat will be cooked through but not overcooked.
- Marinades or basting sauces that contain tomatoes, sugar or honey burn the easiest.
- If you want to use a marinade that has been in contact with raw meat, fish or poultry for a sauce, be sure to bring it to a boil and then cook it for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Tags: barbecue information, barbecue tips, barbecuing, cooking tips, grilling, how to barbecue

Into every dessert, a little chocolate should fall. That’s my theory anyway!

This dessert is a real treat. No need to turn on the oven, which is always a plus in the summer. Just mix and freeze for a cool chocolate treat that can’t be beat.

I think you and your family will love it.

1/4 pound butter
1 box vanilla wafers, crumbled
26 large marshmallows
1 - 7 1/4 ounce (or 4 or 5 small) almond chocolate bar(s)
2/3 cup milk
1 pint whipping cream, whipped

Melt butter and pour over crumbled wafers. Line a 9″x13″ pan with the crumbled wafer mix, reserving a bit for the topping. Melt marshmallows and chocolate bars with milk in a double boiler. Cool. Mix the chocolate mixture with the whipped cream and pour the crumbled wafers. Freeze.

Let stand at room temperature a while before serving. Cut into squares.

Enjoy your summer!

Tags: chocoate desserts, chocolate recipes, dessert recipes, no cook desserts, nut recipes

Hi

I just thought I would take a minute to let you know about some of the new terrific recipes on the main site, www.cookingnook.com.

I just put up a recipe for Roasted Salmon Fillets - a great recipe submitted by Crystal that I think you will love. It is easy to prepare and salmon is oh so healthy for us.

You may also want to browse our new Drink Recipes section.  It is new and growing but so far you will find some great summer drink recipes, like homemade milkshakes and lemonade.

Subscribe to our RSS feed and you are guaranteed not to miss a thing.

By the way, if you love recipes and want a huge variety of cookbooks to browse through and find great recipes in, have a look at our eCookbook Extravaganza. For just $9.95 you get over 100 ecookbooks that you can download to your own computer and use as you like. It’s an amazing deal that you can check out here.

Remember, your comments and feedback are always welcome.

Karen

Tags: drink recipes, free recipes, lemonade, milkshake recipes, roasted salmon, salmon recipe

[ Note: This article was written by fitness and nutrition author Jon Benson. I have his permission to share it with you. ]

Below are two videos. Watch them if you dare.

Then, by all means… take action.

Part 1

Part 2

Put an END to this! Grab the book below…

Tags: Children, Every Other Day Diet, Health, Obesity, Video

Here is a great summer salad recipe, full of healthy ingredients that taste great too.

1 pound (500 g) spinach
1/2 medium cauliflower broken into small florets
1 large avocado
lemon juice
1/2 cup (125 ml) slivered almonds, toasted

Dressing:
6 tablespoons (75 ml) salad oil
3 tablesppoons (40 ml) white wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) each salt, dry mustard & dry basil
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) pepper
dash ground nutmeg

Wash spinach and pat it dry. Tear the spinach into bite-size pieces. Place it in a bowl and add the cauliflower.

Pit, peel and slice the avocado. Dip the avocado slices in lemon juice to coat them, then add them  to the spinach and cauliflower.

Combine the oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, mustard, basil, pepper and nutmeg. Blend together well. Pour the dressing over the salad. Add the almonds and gently mix to coat.

Serves 6

You can find out why almonds are so amazingly healthy for us here on our main site.

Tags: 10 healthiest foods, cauliflower recipe, salad dressing, salad recipes, spinach recipe

Warm weather brings thoughts of cool food and recipes that don’t require a lot of indoor cooking. Who wants to tend a long, slow cooked meal when the sun is out and the warm weather beckons?

Here are three warm weather salads that have become some of my favorite summer salad recipes.

None of them require you to be any where near an oven or hot stove except to boil some water, and all are perfect for even the hottest summer days.

Serve them as side vegetable dishes or as a light lunch with a green salad and crusty bread.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

This is a lovely salad recipe that is great as a side salad or as a light luncheon recipe. Serve it in lettuce cups for lunch along with some fresh crusty bread and a great dessert. Just perfect!

1 pound frozen cooked shrimp, thawed
1 cup celery, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Italian salad dressing
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Combine the shrimp, celery, Italian dressing and mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill, covered until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, peel and dice the avocado. Mix immediately with the lemon juice to prevent the avocado from going dark. Add to the shrimp mixture and mix gently.

Serves 6

Cucumber Salad

This recipe is delicious, but oh so easy. It’s a great recipe to serve company at a barbecue because it gets made ahead and sits in the fridge for a few hours until you are ready for it. The best summer entertaining recipes are ones that don’t require the host and hostess to be in the kitchen cooking while guests lounge outside.

3 large cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 head of lettuce, shredded
1 tablespoon honey
good pinch black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Toss all the ingredients thoroughly in a large salad bowl.  Chill for 2 hours before serving.

That’s it!

Lime Jello Cottage Cheese Salad

This is a lovely light salad recipe that is perfect for a summer barbecue but also works well all year on a buffet table. The addition of cottage cheese may sound odd, but it is a great flavor mix with the Jello. The crunch of the celery and green pepper add another layer of flavor and fresh taste.

1 - 3 ounce package lime jelly powder
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped

Blend with beater and chill until firm 1″ from edge of dish. Turn it into a bowl and beat it until it becomes light and fluffy. Fold in 1 cup cottage cheese, celery, onion and green pepper. Chill fully before serving.

Don’t forget that most of your favorite summer salad recipes are great all year round too.

Tags: avocado recipes, avocado salad, cucumber salad, Favorite Summer Salad Recipes, jello recipes, jello salad, vegetable recipes