Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole

I could use a little less stress. I thought after matching the stress would ease up a bit. I did get a little break for about 1 month to just de-stress but then reality sunk in. I just matched to a site that is 1800 miles away! A place that I do not have time to fly up there and find a place in person ::sigh:: Finding a place all online ...YIKES! And when I visited for the interview ... I was there for about 12 hours before I had to fly out to the next interview. Don't you just hate when reality smacks you in the face and reminds you that your an adult...

Though I am still stressed, a few things came together for us. First, I got help from someone who knows the area well and could tell me what areas were safe/quiet. Then, I stumbled upon a really cute  listing that although did not want to accept dogs -- with a little bit of discussion and letter from our current landlord was open to it and said yes! I am going to take this coming year to show them that some dog owning tenants can be great :) Eapecially the food blogging ones because we come with dessert ;)

It is a 2-story town house with a basement and washer-dryer in unit (yesss). It has two decks for Ninja to spend some outdoor time on (Ninja loves sun bathing). It's in a safe and quiet area of town. It has a garage parking spot! AND the landlords seem really sweet and responsive ::fingerscrossed:: this works out. I also booked our moving truck! I celebrated this week full of findings and decisions made with ice cream. The hubby found this delicious hazelnut ice cream for me (it doesn't taste too much like hazelnut but i is yummy).

Here's another catchup post on a recipe I made awhile back. I had a random can of "Manwich" in my cupboard ... no doubt something the hubby picked up because he found it on sale. HA! And I thought how in the world can I use this -- well I found this recipe for a Sloppy Joe Tater Tot casserole and the rest was history and so was this dish because we ate it up waaaaayyy to quickly :)

Sorry for the excessive dried green onions -- I went to sprinkle some and a whole lot tumbled out!

SLOPPY JOE TATER TOT CASSEROLE

Adapted from Buns in My Oven

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 450F Degrees

1 tbsp. garlic (optional)
1/2 c. of diced onion
1 pound ground meat (I used ground turkey)
1 (15.25 oz) can of corn, drained
1 can of Manwich Bold Sloppy Joe Sauce
4 oz. cream cheese
2 c. shredded cheese (I used Mexican blend)
16 oz. bag of tater tots, slightly thawed
Diced green onions for garnish

DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, saute garlic and onions until garlic is fragrant and slight browned, and onions are translucent. Add in ground meat and cook through. Drain any excess liquid. Stir in corn, Manwich and cream cheese. Continuing stirring until cream cheese melts and is evenly distributed.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Pour Sloppy Joe mixture into dish. Top with 1 c. of shredded cheese. Arrange the tater tots, in a single layer, on top of the cheese. Sprinkle the remaining 1 c. of shredded cheese over the tater tots. Bake for 20 minutes until or until tater tots are golden brown and warm. Garnish with green onions.

Enjoy,

Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

After we left Seville, we headed to Merida. Because this is a small city there wasn't much tourist traffic like the other cities. But I think that was one thing I loved about it. The hubby and I originally wanted to go to Italy but needed a destination that was a little more budget friendly. However, Merida gave me a chance to explore ancient Roman ruins.

We saw the Roman Amphitheater! This was, what I thought, one of the more interesting ruins we saw and it was huge, so you got to walk around and up and down the stairs and rows of seats.

We also saw the Temple of Diana. What is neat is that this is randomly seen as you walk around town. It is not a "set aside" monument where you have to buy tickets to enter. It was just a ruin that we stumbled upon trying to figure out how to get to the hotel! Side note: I love wandering the most...I guess that's why they call it wanderlust....it's when you wander that you see the best things. 

My favorite thing we saw in Merida were the Roman Aquaducts. They just looked so grand and neat. And when the hubby explained to me how they worked, I just thought they were so clever!

Merida was HOT. I mean HOT HOT HOT. So, the hubby and I wanted to cool off with some fro-yo. We love fro-yo. We saw this place that seemed really popular and wanted to see why (and we are glad we did). It was traditional, tart fro-yo but the way it was done was cool. It was served in a cup and you picked: what you wanted the cup to be lined with (I got nutella), then picked a filling you wanted (I chose mini chocolate cookies), next fro-yo was placed in, followed by two more toppings (I again chose extra nutella and mini chocolate cookies). I discovered I had a great passion for the flavor pair of tart fro-yo and nutella...mmmm.

The hubby was much more adventurous in his flavor pairings. We went to this place every day we were in Merida :)

The green bean casserole. One of the must have dishes in a Thanksgiving Dinner. One of the few dishes besides the turkey that screas Gobble, Gobble. However, not everyone just loves good old, plain green beans. Thankfully, there are so many variations of this dish that it's easy to find one that matches you and your family's taste preferences. I chose a CHEESY one because cheese is one of my favorite things ever!!! I also love this recipe because I topped with a ton of french fried onions...another food that makes me drool. So if you love cheese and french fried onions as much as I do -- this recipe is right up your alley! Plus, it's EASY!

CHEESY GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Adapted from Kraft

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 350F Degrees

48 oz. frozen french cut green beans, thawed
2 (10.75 oz) cans of condensed cheddar cheese soup*
1.5 lb (12 oz) of Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes
6 oz. can of fried french onion 

*Can substitute with another condensed soup, such as cream of mushroom or mix and match

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl combine beans, condensed soup and Velveeta cheese. Grease a 4 quart or 9x13 baking dish. Spoon green bean mixture into baking dish. Bake 40-45 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Garnish with french fried onions and bake for an additional 5 minutes until toasted.

Enjoy,

Cornflake, Pecan, and Marshmallow Topped Sweet Potato Casserole

Next stop after Granada was Seville. This was my favorite city that we visited! It was also perfect timing as the hubby and I got to celebrate our anniversary in one of the top 10 most romantic cities in the world. And when you visit this city, you will instantly know why....it is just so sweet :) The hubby and I spent most of our time just holding hands, wandering around and enjoying the beauty!

It was in Seville that we got to see the COOLEST site ever! We visited the Catedral de Sevilla which was, yes beautiful BUT it housed the TOMB OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS! Yes, I said Chistopher Columbus....the 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue...guy. I was so excited and oddly star struck! It was crazy! To be able to stand next to and see his tomb was a history pseudo-nerd's dream :)

We went on a walking tour of the city which was really great but A LOT of walking. We got to see the Plaza de Torros where the bull fighting occurs, Alcazar (which had this gorgeous bath house in it), and old tobacco plantation house and commerce center, and Seville's colorful neighborhood.

Seville is where the hubby and  I had some of our favorite dishes while in Spain. Just another reason why I loved the city so much. Everything about the food was beautiful and delicious. I am drooling now, just thinking of the food that I enjoyed there.

And it was the only place I have seen cupcakes on a stick. Okay...not technically cupcakes, more like peep cupcakes...but still pretty darn nifty!

Spain was definitely not the hubby's favorite. He loved Southeast Asia so much more. And I agree, but I am so glad we got to experience Seville. It is definitely a gem in Spain. Also, when you think Spain, tourists always go to the major cities (Barcelona and Madrid), which don't get me wrong, the hubby and I went to also. But it was always the small cities that the hubby and I enjoyed the most.

Happy Day 2 in the countdown to Turkey Day! I thought I would mix up our savory with some sweet (with one of the longest titles everrrrr): cornflake, pecan, and marshmallow topped sweet potato casserole. And its the first post which I did not technically make, one of my Thanksgiving guests made it. Since they are not a culinary genius or one that enjoys cooking, I can only guess that this recipe is easy peasy to make :) I do know that everyone enjoyed this casserole and it was eaten up quickly!

One note: in the picture, we had marshmallows which melted a bit during baking so I added fresh marshmallows. Though looking back, I do wish I toasted the tops a bit. 

CORNFLAKE, PECAN, AND MARSHMALLOW TOPPED SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

Adapted slightly from My Recipes

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 400F Degrees

FOR THE SWEET POTATO LAYER
2 1/2 pounds of sweet potatoes or about 5 medium sweet potatoes
2 tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. of milk
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

FOR THE TOPPINGS
1 1/4 c. cornflakes, crushed
1/2 chopped pecans
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. melted butter
1 1/4 c. mini marshmallows

DIRECTIONS

Bake sweet potatoes on a lined and greased baking sheet for 1 hour or until tender. Allow to cool. Then peel and mash sweet potatoes. Reduce the oven heat to 350F degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix on medium speed, sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar, milk, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Grease an 8x8 or 7x11 baking dish with cooking spray and spoon sweet potato mixture into baking dish. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine cornflakes, pecans, brown sugar and melted butter. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture in diagonal rows about 2 inches apart. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow the casserole to cool for 15-20 minutes. Then sprinkle mini marshmallows in the alternate rows between cornflakes and bake until marshmallows are slightly toasted and golden brown on the top. Watch carefully as marshmallows can overcook quickly. 

Enjoy,

Ravioli Bake

I left off wanting to share with y'all some of my travels, starting with this summer. My first trip was to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a conference. I went to the Castillo San Cristoball.

I then roamed the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan. Where I picked up a strawberry-tamarind popsicle.

I ate lots of yummy food :) I went to the highly recommended Raices where I got to try mofongo for the first time. I cannot stress how delicious this dish is. It's mashed plantains (but not sweet) topped with onions and meat. mmmmm.... I also, of course, enjoyed some empanadas.

I ended with a trip to Fajardo Bay to take part in a Bio-luminescent Bay tour. This was one of the coolest experiences I have ever participated in! It is a nighttime kayak tour through water that glows at the touch due to luminescent dynoflagellate. It is as amazing as it sounds!

And then I said "bye" to the beautiful Peurto Rico...I hope to see you again soon!

Before I say goodbye for today and knowing my streak...we never know how long I'll be gone ;) I wanted to share with you this recipe for a ravioli bake. This recipe not only is easy to make but you also don't need a lot of ingredients to whip it up. It's easy peasy all around, and well, that is my favorite kind of dinner :) The hubby and I both enjoyed it. The combination of cheese ravioli layers with a meat-marina sauce is absolutely delicious! I hope you enjoy it too.

RAVIOLI BAKE 

Adapted from Kraft 

INGREDIENTS 

Preheat Oven to 400F Degrees

1 tsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. diced garlic
1 lb. ground turkey (or beef)
24 oz. jar of marina sauce
1 (14-15 oz) can of diced tomatoes (drained)
2- 1 lb packages of cheese ravioli 
8 oz. shredded cheese (I used Mexican Style)

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until fragrant. Add in ground meat and cook until browned. Next, stir in marina sauce and diced tomatoes until warm and evenly distributed within the meat mixture. Set aside.

Grease a 7 x 11 or similar sized baking dish (9x13). Place one layer of ravioli in the baking dish. Top with a layer of meat-marina mix followed by a layer of shredded cheese. Repeat once more. You should now have a layer of shredded cheese on top. Now top with one last layer of ravioli and finally one last layer of shredded cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the ravioli bake and bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy,