Week 14: Taco Loaf and unwanted phone calls.

The Patriots killed the Texans this week, 42-14.  Brady seemed like he was in a great mood during the pre-game interviews, joking with the media and grinning like a madman when asked about his wife and their new baby girl, Vivian Lake.  As usual, my husband and just about every other male I know got tickets to the MNF game.  While he seemed to be having a great time before the game as well, he was in less of a good mood when he stumbled in the door at 2:30 AM and if possible, even less of a good mood when I woke him up at 7.  

Hernandez picked up where Gronkowski left off, scoring 2 TDs and doing some of the worst end zone dancing that I have ever seen.  Lloyd contributed 2 TDs as well and Ridley and Stallworth each contributed 1 apiece.   That’s about all I can tell you since I fell asleep at halftime.  Luckily, since my husband decided to call me just about once an hour seeing as he was less than sober, at no time did I have to worry that the Patriots were losing their lead.  

Since the hubs was gone, I didn’t cook FOR the game.  But for my faithful 15 followers, only one of which consistently reads the blog (thanks mom!) I have posted two recipes below that I could have made.


Stuffed Serranos
These are only mildly spicy.  If you want more of a kick, I would suggest using Hot Sausage, exchanging the Parmesan for Pepper Jack or adding a few dashes of Cayenne.

Ingredients:
1 Lb Sweet Sausage
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1 Cup shredded Parmesan
2 Shallots
15 Hot Peppers (Serranos, Poblanos or Jalapenos)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Wash, Halve, De-Stem and De-Seed the Serranos.  Set aside.
3. In a Saute pan, heat oil and cook shallots 3-5 minutes or until translucent.  Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Saute Sausage until done.  Drain and set aside.
5. In a large bowl, combine Shallots, Sausage, Cream Cheese, and Parmesan.  Mix well.  Stuff approximately 1-2 Tbsp of Sausage mixture into each pepper half.
6. Arrange Peppers on a parchment lined pan and bake 30 minutes until they the Sausage is browned on top and the Peppers are cooked through.
*Serve with Ranch or Sour Cream for dipping.

Taco Loaf

Ingredients:
1 Lb Ground Beef
½ Cup Onion, Chopped
½ Cup Green Pepper, Chopped
½ Cup Red Pepper, Chopped
1 Can Diced Green Chilies
I Envelope Taco Seasoning
1 Loaf French Bread
1 Tomato, Diced
¼ Cup Green Onion, Diced
Grated Cheddar, Mozz, or MJ

Directions:
1. Brown Ground Beef and Onion until beef is no longer pink. Add Peppers and cook 2 more minutes. Drain.
2. Add Green Chilies and Taco Seasoning, cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often.
3. Half the loaf of bread. Spread half of mixture on each side. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet.
4. Divide and sprinkle Tomatoes, Green Onion and Cheese over Beef Mixture. Broil 8 inches from the top for 1 to 2 minutes. Cut into slices and serve.

Happy Cooking!