Mexican Stuffed Noodles

I think we could eat Mexican all day every day around here... In fact, we just had nachos last night.  I'm also a big pasta lover but not so much by the hubby... This recipe lets me sneak in my love for pasta :)

This serves 4 with 4 noodles each... I could have easily eaten two portions LOL

Ingredients:

• 1lb ground beef
• 1 packet taco seasoning or homemade blend
• 4 tablespoons cream cheese 
• 16 jumbo noodles 
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup shredded cheese 
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1 avocado, sliced 
• 4 Tbsp sour cream

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
• Cook noodles; I cook it 2 minutes less than directed since these will also bake. Drain and place on a paper towel to absorb water. 
• Brown beef until cooked then add taco seasoning and then cream cheese until mixed well, let cool. 
• Pour 1/2 cup of salsa into a small baking dish (you'll want to use one that keeps the noodles very close)
• Stuff each noodle with beef mixture then place in dish. Use remaining 1/2 cup salsa to cover stuffed noodles. 
• Cover with foil then bake for 25 minutes. 
• Remove from oven, remove foil. Cover noodles with 1 cup shredded cheese. Place back in oven for another 10 minutes. 
• Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes. 
• To serve top with green onions, sour cream, avocado and some crushed tortilla chips. 

Eastern Market Jalapeno Cheddar Brats with Carmelized Onions, Brussel Sprout Salad, and Baked Potato

Well, I finally was able to drag Scott down to Eastern Market... and luckily we found these brats at one of the meat counters, because I think I may have converted him to being open to going with me more often if it means brats and meat sticks haha.

Then Saturday night, we checked out the Huron Room downtown and since I love Brussel sprouts, I ordered their Brussel sprout salad to go with my fish and chips... which by the way, even though it was a decently long wait, my perch fish was pretty damn delicious! I loved the salad so much that I decided to try to make a copy cat of it. I used slightly different ingredients so to make it a tad easier but I'm pretty happy with the outcome.

For the brats, I boiled them for about 15 minutes and then browned them in the cast iron pan that I used to make the caramelized onions. To make the caramelized onions, I sliced one medium onion and sautéed with 1 Tbsp of butter and seasoned with salt and pepper. It took about 15 minutes over medium high heat for the onions, so it was pretty perfect timing.

As for the Brussel sprout salad, which makes about 8 side servings, here's my version below:

Ingredients:

Main salad

• 1/2 pint Brussel sprouts; sliced (I did this by hand because mandolins scare me and my slicer attachment on my food processor wasn't working)
• 2 green onions; sliced on the bias
• 1 small fennel head; thinly sliced into strips (I did this by hand as well)
• 1/4 cup fennel greens (those bushy looking things that sort of look like dill weed)

Lemon Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup lemon juice (I had to use half fresh and half bottled because I didn't have enough lemons left)
• 1/2 cup EVOO
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp died parsley
• 1 tsp black pepper

Directions:

• Combine all the ingredients for the main salad and mix well.
• For the vinaigrette, combine all the ingredients and shake well to incorporate everything. I have a dressing container that I used. The dressing will last for about a week or two in the fridge, but the oil/cheese will usually solidify, so you'll need to bring it to room temp or warm it in the microwave for a few seconds before use.

To serve, add the vinaigrette and mix well. Enjoy!