Ahh, spring is in the air in MN which means the Gopher Football spring game is right around the corner.  To celebrate and take advantage of the great weather our fabulous Gopher tailgate crew got together for a mid-season tailgate BBQ!

In true MN sports fashion the last few months have been a roller coaster for Gopher fans.  Our team boycotted their bowl game over a horrible assault incident, our new coach was fired for backing the team, then we hired the crazy coach that is Mr. PJ Fleck!

PJ seems to be bringing positive attention to Minnesota, and Gopher fans (like myself) have a new enthusiasm for the 2017 season.  However you can’t help but laugh at some of his puns.  I mean the guy literally said he “eats difficult conversations for breakfast!”

Alright you are wondering how this all relates to desserts – so back to our tailgate party.  I offered to bring a dessert and knowing two of his most common phrases are “oars in the water” and “row the boat” I decided I needed to somehow figure out a way to make a boat-shaped dessert.  Challenge accepted (let’s be clear almost 100% of the time I am competing with myself).

My Google and Pinterest searches kept bringing me back to this site using Old El Paso mini soft shell tortilla boats as the base.  I didn’t want to do ice cream, so I brought back the peanut butter cheesecake and chocolate brownie mousse desserts I made for one of my engagement parties!

They received comments like “flecking fantastic” and “elite” so I’m calling it a success!  See the recipe below – of course you could fill the boats with any of your favorite dessert fillings 🙂

Cheers, and Go Gophers!

“Boat” Base:

Ingredients:

• 20 (roughly two and a half packages) of Old El Paso regular or whole wheat soft shell mini taco boats *I found these at Super Target
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter
• One package chocolate almond bark
• Optional: one cup chopped peanuts

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
• Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil
• Brush melted butter over each soft shell “boat” and place on the cookie sheet
• Bake 5-8 minutes until “boats” are a bit crispy and the edges browned
• Let stand to cool 10-15 minutes
• Melt almond bark according to instructions and spread chopped peanuts on a plate
• Once the “boats” are cooled, grab them carefully and dip the top edges into the almond bark then into the peanuts
• Set upright and allow to set (10-15 minutes)

These are the “boats” you need from the store

brush butter all over them then bake until crispy

gently dip in almond bark

then in chopped peanuts

Boats are now ready for their filling!!

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake Filling:

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 2/3 Cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 Cups powdered sugar
• 2 Cups whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Optional: chopped peanuts & melted chocolate for garnish

Directions:

• Beat whipping cream with a mixer until it starts to thicken and soft peaks form
• fold-in peanut butter and cream cheese, mixing until combined
• Add powdered sugar and finally vanilla, mixing until combined
• Place filling in a piping bag or large plastic Ziplock bag
• Pipe the filling into the “boats” (batch makes 8 to 10)
• Top with crushed peanuts and drizzle melted chocolate (I used the leftover almond bark from dipping!)

The ingredients

mix until thickened

pipe into “boats”

finished product!

Chocolate Mousse and Brownie Filling:

Ingredients:

• 1 Box of your favorite brownie mix, baked and cooled (you will need oil, eggs, etc. to bake it)
• One box instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 1/2 Cups 2% milk
• 1 Cup heavy whipping cream
• Optional: top with melted chocolate

Directions:

• Bake the brownie mix according to package directions, set aside to cool
• Beat the pudding mix and milk on medium speed until it is a pudding consistency
• In a separate bowl, beat the whipping cream until it thickens and soft peaks form
• Fold the whipping cream with the pudding mixture and put into a piping bag or large Ziplock bag
• Crumble the brownies into “chunks” and place in the bottom of the boats (makes 8-10)
• Pipe the mousse over/in between the brownie chunks
• Drizzle with melted chocolate (again I used the left over almond bark)

*This recipe is also really good if you add 2-4 ounces of cream cheese!

The ingredients

Mix until thickened with soft peaks

First put brownie chunks in “boats” then fill-in with mousse

Drizzle with almond bark and you are done!

Now you have your two types of boats!

For the “Oars”:

Ingredients:

• Pretzel sticks (32 – 40, two per “boat”)
• Gummies (I used spiced gummies, 32-40 two per “boat”)
• Almond Bark, melted according to package directions

Directions:

• Stick the pretzel into the gummy
• Then dip the gummy into the almond bark until covered

Set on the the sides of the “boats” and you are ready!

The ingredients (complete with U of M mug full of either coffee or wine)

Insert pretzel stick into gummy

Dip in almond bark

and let sit to set the almond bark!

**Note, these don’t taste very good – spiced gummies dipped in chocolate – my husband recommended using rolos instead and I would do that for future “boats”!

For the Sail:

Ingredients:

• Toothpicks
• Paper
• Hot glue or left over almond bark

Directions:

• Cut the paper into triangle or “sail” shapes
• Hot glue (or I just used left over almond bark!) to stick the toothpick to the sail
• Stick into the boats and you are good to go!

A combination of craving Mexican and playing the “what’s in my fridge/pantry” game gave me the idea to make enchiladas!  I had several left-over veggies to use-up so I figured they would be a good way to put a twist on some enchiladas.

While I didn’t realize this until after the fact, these enchiladas give me the perfect opportunity to share an important public service announcement with you – you are likely folding your tacos/enchiladas/whatever-you-make-with-tortillas wrong!

If you didn’t know, there is an art to folding tortillas.  No one wants to pick up their taco or enchilada and have all of the filling fill out (ain’t nobody got time for that)!  I learned the “proper” way to fold a taco/enchilada from my friend Kayla!  Her family owns a fantastic Mexican restaurant in my home-town of Detroit Lakes called Miguel’s (pronounced Mi-gells, not mi-gwells FYI).

I couldn’t write this post with an enchilada that falls apart, so I called her mid-fold and ensured I got the details down to share with you.

So without further ado, here is the correct way to fold your tortilla (Kayla don’t judge, I’m sure I didn’t do it Miguel’s justice):

Step 1: Fill your tortilla and fold-in the “butt” side 1/4 way up the filling (and all this time you have been starting with the side…)

Step 2: Fold the top of the tortilla 1/4 of the way over the filling (for tacos you usually leave the top open)

Step 3: Fold the right-side of the tortilla all the way over the meat filling and use it to “scoop” or “slide” the filling to the right/center of the tortilla so it is nice and secured in there (can’t have your enchilada falling apart!)

Step 4: Roll the tortilla tightly to the left until it is fully rolled

Congrats folks you now know the inside scoop on enchilada folding from Detroit Lake’s finest Mexican establishment, and you are welcome 🙂

OK back to the recipe.  It really isn’t anything fancy but hit the spot and went really well with the freezer Quinoa I had made a double batch of for my friend – a great week-night meal and not crazy unhealthy!

Enjoy 🙂

Makes: 6-8 Enchiladas
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 3-4 mushrooms, chopped
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 3-4 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 packet taco seasoning
• 1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce
• 1 10 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 7 oz. can diced green chiles, drained
• 6-8 whole wheat taco shells
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup shredded cheese
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (optional, for garnish)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Heat ground turkey in a skillet over medium heat until browned then add taco seasoning (I only use 1/2 of the packet so the flavor doesn’t take-over).  Set aside
• In a small skillet heat a drizzle of olive oil and add the onions – cook until translucent, 1-2 minutes then add the tomatoes and mushrooms, cook for 1-2 additional minutes until softened
• In a large bowl combine the cooked vegetables with the cooked ground turkey and add the green onions, drained/rinsed black beans, and drained green chiles

Now get ready to get your hands dirty!

• In the same saucepan you used to cook the vegetables, heat the enchilada sauce on low

• Create a station with your enchilada sauce skillet, tortillas, and the meat filling readily available
• Dip each side of the tortilla in the enchilada sauce so both sides are covered, then “wipe” some of the excess back into the saucepan

• Lay the sauce-coated tortilla on a plate/working surface and fill with 1/4 to 1/2 cup meat and veggie mixture
• Roll-up tortilla so all sides are closed (the “proper” way to do it above!)
• Place into a baking dish and top with any remaining sauce and desired amount of cheese

• Bake 10-15 minutes until bubbly and heated-through (*Option, cover and freeze – just thaw and re-heat when ready!)
• Serve with your favorite side or this awesome Tex Mex Quinoa and enjoy 🙂

A close family member of mine has to have back surgery in a couple of weeks so I wanted to make some easy-to-reheat food for her to have around during her recovery.  When I’m not feeling well I want comfort food so I decided lasagna would be a good fit!  I had some veggies to use-up from a different recipe (posting soon) so I created these sausage and vegetable lasagna roll-ups.  They turned-out to be a great mix of flavors and pretty easy to make (just a bit messy).

I froze them (I love freezer meals!) but you can assemble and cook same-day as well.  Feel free to play around with your favorite vegetables or sub-out the meat for ground beef or ground turkey as well.

I’m missing the mozzarella and minced garlic but you get the idea!

cooked ground sausage, marinara, and cooked vegetable mixtures

Ready to assemble!

Leave a little bit uncovered as the toppings will spread as you roll

Roll length-wise and place in pan seam-side down

I found it easiest to create an assembly line of sorts – layer all with ricotta, then meat, then roll, and repeat

top with marinara and mozzarella cheese, then you are done!

Ready for the freezer!

Enjoy!

Megan

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground sausage
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1tsp minced garlic
• 1-2 cups spinach
• 3-4 mushrooms, chopped
• 1 Jar of your favorite marinara/pasta sauce
• 1 15oz. container ricotta cheese (I used low fat)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp parsley flakes
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Bring one quart pot of water to a boil and add lasagna noodles.  Cook until al dente (10-12 minutes).  Drain, then set aside
• Head a skillet with 1/2 Tbl olive oil on medium heat then add diced onion and  minced garlic.  Cook until translucent, around 3 minutes
• Add the mushrooms and spinach, heat until the spinach is wilted and mushrooms are soft, around 3 minutes, set aside
• In the same pan, cook the sausage on medium heat until cooked thoroughly, roughly 7 minutes then drain
• Combine the sausage with 1/2 of the marinara sauce and onion mixture in a medium bowl
• Combine the ricotta, garlic powder, parsley, basil, and oregano until mixed together
• Now you are ready to assemble (good time for a wine-refill break)!
• Cover the bottom of your pan with half of the remaining marinara sauce
• Lay the cooked lasagna noodles on a flat surface then spread the ricotta mixture over the noodle leaving 1-2 inches uncovered on the end (1-2 spoon fulls – you don’t want to cover the whole noodle because it will fall out when you roll it)
• Next add a layer of the meat/veggie mixture on top of the ricotta (2-3 spoon fulls over the same covered portion of the noodle)
• Roll the noodle length-wise starting on the covered side and place in the pan (seam-side down).  Repeat until you have used all of the lasagna noodles
• Top the roll-ups with the remaining marinara and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese
• Assembly done!  Bake at 350 degrees until heated-through and cheese is melted, 10-15 minutes.  To freeze: cover tightly with a layer of plastic wrap, then a layer of tinfoil, thaw and heat!