Sushi

Just a quick tutorial on how I make sushi at home.  It's really good and inexpensive.  Enjoy!

I really like to use avocado, cucumber, crab meat [i just buy the seafood snackers or imitation crab leg at the fish section of the store] cream cheese and rice.  But you can use whatever you prefer!

The microwaveable sticky rice works really good for us.  I have made it with and without the seasoned rice vinegar but I prefer to use it

This is just a regular cucumber but you can use the English style cucumber if you prefer

The avocado I had for the demonstration was too ripe!  So I just left it out

Don't put too much rice on each nori sheet or it will not roll up very well.  You can also make the rice on the outside of the roll just add a bit more than I did here and flip it over and add the ingredients to the other side and roll

Roll the wrap forward and firmly to make everything stick together

Set rolled sushi aside on a clean plate

Wrap each roll individually and refrigerate until ready to serve

Serve with soy sauce, wasabi, pickled ginger or whatever you like. 

taco salad

This is my favorite way of making taco salad,  it has a lot of ingredients but you can adjust everything to your liking

You will need:

1 bag family size nacho cheese Doritos

2 cups of shredded cheese [your choice]

1 large or 2 small cucumbers

2 pounds of ground hamburger [i use ground chuck]

1 can diced chili tomatoes

2 avocados

shredded lettuce

diced tomato

chopped purple onion

4 cans of beans [i used ranch, chili, dark and light kidney.  use whatever you like and however much or less you want]

1 bottle catalina dressing

begin cooking the 2 pounds of hamburger meat in a hot skillet until it has browned

add the can of chili tomatoes after the meat is browned, continue to cook.  i drained the tomatoes before adding them

in the meantime... drain your beans and cut up your vegetables for the salad.  i bought my tomatoes, lettuce and onion already chopped to save some time and trouble.

you can make this salad with whatever ingredients you prefer

............

after the meat and tomatoes have fully cooked and been drained of the grease add both packages of taco seasoning

add water according to taco seasoning packet directions.  simmer until water is cooked out

after water is cooked out add the beans to the meat and continue to cook on low until heated throughout

time to build the salad.  using a large glass bowl begin with chips on the bottom

then add meat and beans..

pour some of the catalina dressing over the meat and chips.. enough to cover it.  [i used two different bowls because this makes a lot of taco salad.  half up your ingredients if you dont have a glass bowl big enough to hold everything at once]

next add about a cup of cheese, save the rest for the top of the salad.  you can use whatever type of cheese you like. I would normally use cheddar but I wanted to try Velveeta pepper jack this time.

more catalina dressing... this stuff makes the salad taste really good.

layer the remaining ingredients on top of the mix.  I put lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, avocado and olives.

serve in a glass bowl so that the layers can be seen.  this dish is good hot or cold.  store leftovers covered in the refrigerator.  

^_^

barbecued chicken

to make this awesome dish you will need:

all purpose flour

salt/pepper/garlic powder [and any of your other favorite seasonings]

chicken

vegetable oil

barbecue sauce

heat vegetable oil in skillet on medium heat

pour flour onto a plate and add seasoning, mix lightly 

open up package of chicken, using thinly sliced cuts or strips works best

dip each piece of chicken into milk and then into flour mix.  repeat, set chicken aside.

after you have finished breading the chicken the oil should be hot enough to begin cooking.  put one piece into the skillet

cook for about 5-6 minutes on one side, the chicken should be a dark golden brown when flipped.  add a second piece, repeat until all chicken is cooked.

finished.. 

time to add bbq sauce.  sometimes i use regular sauce and add mustard and brown sugar to it, but i thought this brand was fine by itself. 

add chicken to a baking pan of choice and cover with bbq sauce

after all pieces are thoroughly covered, cook in preheated 350-degree oven for about an hour

let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving

^_^

spicy velveeta taco dip

velveeta dip is good, but its reallllllly good with taco meat and spicy ro*tel!

you will need:

2 cans of Ro*Tel [i used one can mexican and one can chili fixins because i like things spicy.]

2 pounds of ground beef chuck [you can use whatever you like]

1 large block of Velveeta [i used mexican here just to try it, ive used the blanco kind in this recipe before and it was really good too.. just whatever you like]

2 packs of taco seasoning

put the meat into a hot skillet and let it cook until its done, stir occasionally. 

slice the velveeta into cubes

add to double boiler.  i just put a small amount of water in a big pot and a smaller bowl inside.. the heat gets the water hot enough to melt the contents of the bowl without burning them.  scorched velveeta is no good! always use a double boiler or you could even use the microwave.

add both cans of ro*tel.. i didnt drain them fully but pretty much.

the meat should be getting done by now.. time to drain it

i use a colander on a plate

return the meat to the skillet and add both packs of taco seasoning

add water according to the seasoning package

stir

looks good!  let it cook on low for a while

the velveeta dip should be melty by now 

add the meat after it has cooked the water out.. 

stir it up.....

let simmer in the double boiler for a bit longer

these chips looked good, you can use whatever you like.

^_^