Taco Soup

1 lb hamburger
1/2 of an onion diced
2 cans chilli beans
1 can kidney beans (drained)
1 can corn
1 can petite diced tomatos
2 cans tomato sauce
1 packet taco seasoning

Brown Hamburger with Onion. (Season with some salt and pepper). Combine cooked Hamburger, Beans, Corn, Tomatos, and Tomato Sauce. Stir in Taco Seasoning. Bring to simmer in soup pot and let simmer for 5-10 min. Can also be put in a crockpot and heated through. The longer it simmers the more the flavors blend and increase. If it seems too thick to you, like not enough juice, you can add more tomato sauce or even tomato juice.
Serve with tortilla chips, green onions, cheese, sourcream, lettuce, olives...what ever you would put on a taco.

*This recipe is super quick. Great for group get togethers!
**This recipe came from my Mom! Love Taco Soup!!

Grilled Cheese Pizza

 Sam wanted to be in a picture with the food! And yes, she ate every bite!

Bread (we love Grandma Sycamore's)

Mozzarella Cheese

Pepperoni

Garlic Butter

Parsley

Pizza Sauce

Not much instruction here....Sprinkle some parsley in your garlic butter and stir it up. Butter one side of two pieces of bread using the garlic butter (like you do for a grilled cheese). Layer mozzarella cheese and pepperoni on one slice of bread (the unbuttered side) and place the other slice of bread on top With both buttered sides facing out. Toast in a pre-heated frypan over med. heat flipping over after about 1 minute or until it is golden brown. Toast other side. Serve with Pizza Sauce for dipping!

**A friend gave me this idea! Thanks Kate! This is a very quick and easy twist with pizza. It was a BIG hit at our house! 

Crockpot BBQ Chicken with a KICK

4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
1/4 c vinegar
1/8-1/4 tsp Kick'n Chicken Seasoning.
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic powder

Place chicken in crockpot. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours.

*This is one of those yummy recipes that I pinned (pinterest) and told myself I HAD TO TRY IT! So glad I did! The whole family loved it. Kids even asked for seconds. Since making this in the crockpot, I have also made it in the dutch oven and it turned out super yummy too!

**I found this recipe HERE...And then instead of using the red pepper flakes, I substituted and use the Kick'n Chicken Seasoning! (I yummy seasoning my sis-in-law told me about...It goes so good in alfredo sauced pasta).

Mini Chicken, Bacon, Cream Cheese Taquitos

1/3 of a 16-ounce package bacon (about 6 slices), chopped
1/2 of an 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 cans (12.5 ounces each) Swanson® Premium White Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained (or leftover cooked chicken)
8 flour tortillas (10-inch)
Vegetable oil

1.Cook the bacon in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the skillet and drain on paper towels.

2.Stir the bacon, cream cheese and chicken in a medium bowl.

3.Cut each tortilla into 3 (3-inch) circles using a round cutter. Spoon about 2 teaspoons chicken mixture in the center of each (one) tortilla round. Roll the tortillas around the filling and secure with toothpicks.

4.Pour the oil into a heavy 4-quart saucepan to a depth of 3 inches. Heat the oil to 350°F.

5.Add the taquitos to the saucepan in batches and cook until well browned on all sides. Remove the taquitos from the saucepan and let drain on paper towels. Let cool for 5 minutes. Remove the toothpicks before serving.

 

*This recipe is one that I had pinned and ACTUALLY made it!! I found it here on the "Mommy, I'm Hungry!" blog. It is a VERY EASY recipe to put together. You could have the kids help put them together and then an adult do the frying.

**We definitely will be making these again. I would suggest adding some seasoning to the chicken mixture. I added a little onion powder and some chives. My Girls loved them...especially dipped in some Ranch.

Swiss Chicken Casserole



6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

6 slices Swiss cheese

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup milk

1 (8 ounce) package dry bread stuffing mix

1/2 cup melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Arrange chicken breasts in the baking dish. Place one slice of Swiss cheese on top of each chicken breast. Combine cream of chicken soup and milk in a medium bowl, and pour over chicken breasts. Sprinkle with stuffing mix. Pour melted butter over top, and cover with foil.
3. Bake 50 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

*Jim's Mom has fixed this several times for us and I Love it, but I had never made it for my family. I love the combination of the swiss cheese with the stuffing mix.

Beef Roast with Marinade

1 med size beef roast (3-4 lbs)

Marinade for Beef Roast

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup worcestershire sauce

2 TBS soy sauce

2 cloves of garlic pressed

1/2 tsp tobasco sauce

1/2 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients for Marinade in a gallon size ziploc bag. Mix marinade well.  Add beef roast to marinade then shake the bag, coating the roast. You can also massage the roast with the marinade. Refrigerate the marinating meat for 12-24 hours turning the bag/meat a few times during this time.

When ready to cook, take meat out of the bag and place it in a crockpot. Cook on low in the crockpot for 4-6 hours. Test meat with a meat thermometer to make sure it is cooked to the tempurature you desire.

**This recipe came from Byron's Dutch Oven Recipes. Yes, it can be done in a dutch oven too. If you are a Dutch Oven Lover and want some Yummy Recipe for the Dutch Oven, Check out Byron's Recipes!

**This roast had a ton of flavor. I thought it was kinda like a teriyaki flavor. A little different than your traditional roast, but still very yummy and savory!

Mimi's Corn Chowder

I found this recipe HERE!

3 slices of crispy cooked bacon, crumbled

1/4 cup onion, diced

2 cups creamed corn

1 cup chicken broth

1 pint light cream**

6 saltine crackers, crushed

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

16 oz pkg frozen diced potatoes

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours or until potatoes are tender. Serve with your favorite soup crackers!

*Recently I went to Mimi's Restaurant and had their Corn Chowder! I love cream soups...especially Corn Chowder because no one really make Corn Chowder any more. Anyway, as I was doing my "Blog Surfing" the other morning I accidentally found this recipe for Mimi's Corn Chowder! I was so excited so I of course had to try it! It was really yummy! So glad I doubled the recipe so we could have left overs!

**Ok, because I am cheap and won't pay almost $4.00 for 1 pint of cream, I decided to pay just over $3.00 for a gallon of whole milk and used that instead of the cream. After letting the soup cook for 3 hours, it wasn't thickening like I wanted it to (because I added milk instead of cream). So I created a Rue with 1/4 cup melted butter and a 1/3 cup flour (for a double batch). Then drained some of the milky part of the soup off the soup, added it to the rue, mixing it till all the lumps are gone. Add enough of the milky part of the soup to the rue until it is pourable, but still thick. Pour the Rue mixture into the crock of soup. Give it a stir and let it cook that last hour. 

Breaded Pork Chops

6 pork chops

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1-2 cups Dried Bread Crumbs

Combine eggs and milk, whisking very well, creating an egg wash. Pour some bread crumbs onto a plate. Completely dip pork chop into egg wash. Then remove from egg wash and coat it in bread crumbs. Then dip in egg wash again and then bread crumbs again making sure it is completely covered in bread crumbs. Fry in a hot skillet (use a couple TBLS of oil/margarine to fry with) for 2 minutes on each side. You want the outside edges to be golden brown, but you are not cooking it all the way through. Place browned pork chops in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. My pork chops are usually 1" thick. If yours are thicker you may want to cook them longer. Just make sure there is no pink in the middle.

**This was the first recipe that I remember making for Jim when we were first married....that didn't come from one of our Mom's. And it was so Yummy! I remember being so excited that I created something that was sooo good!

**I like to buy the big Pork Loins from Costco and divide them up into a couple roasts and several pork chops. There are even cutting directions on the package if you want to try to do this. It saves money! I think I pay around $20 for the Pork Loin and can get 2 roasts and 12 pork chops out of it. Enough for 4 dinners plus there are usually left overs from the roast to make into BBQ Pork Sandwiches for another dinner!

Beef Stroganoff II

1 Can Roast Beef

2  Packets Brown Gravy Mix

1/2-3/4 Cup Sour Cream

Diced Onions

Sliced Mushrooms

1 Tbls Olive Oil

1 Package Long Wide Egg noodles

-Make gravy according to instructions on gravy packet. Stir sour cream into gravy till well blended. Drain juice off of roast beef then add roast beef to gravy. Allow to heat for a few minutes.

-Saute mushrooms and onions in olive oil.

-Cook noodles according to package directions.

When noodles are done, drain them, then top with gravy and mushrooms/onions. ENJOY!

This recipe switch up came from my Mom!

This recipe is similar to my other Beef Stroganoff recipe. My Mom found that canned Roast Beef is low in sodium so she bought some and used it for Beef Stroganoff. She added the sauteed mushrooms to hers too. Then she used the long wide egg noodles. I am not a fan of mushrooms but my hubby is, so I added them for him. I definitely like the chunks of roast beef! Good for a switch up from using ground beef!

*And yes, the Canned Roast Beef came from Costco. It comes in a 4 pack!

Meat Balls

This recipe was shared with me from a friend back home.  It is great for feeding a large group. I prepared 100 meatballs and took to a friend's potluck dinner.  I thought for sure there would be leftovers.  The pan was empty by the end. It is very quick and easy!!

This recipe is also found at Kraft Foods . Com 

2 lb. lean ground beef

1 pkg.  (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken

1 cup water

2   eggs

1 bottle (16 oz.) KRAFT Original Barbecue Sauce

1 can  (16 oz.) whole berry cranberry sauce

**More sauce recipes listed below.

Make It

HEAT oven to 400ºF.
LINE 2 (15x10x1-inch) pans with foil; spray with cooking spray. Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and eggs until blended. Shape into 50 (1-1/2-inch) meatballs; place in prepared pans.
BAKE 16 min. or until done (160ºF). Meanwhile, bring barbecue sauce and cranberry sauce to boil in large saucepan on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
ADD meatballs to sauce; stir to evenly coat.

*Serving Suggestion

-Meatballs in sauce can also be served in a slow cooker set on LOW.

-If you don't have 2 (15x10x1-inch) pans, use any other shallow baking pans instead. Just make sure the meatballs are spread into a single layer in each pan.

*How to Freeze Meatballs

-Loosely pack cooled meatballs in freezer-weight resealable plastic bags. Lay bags flat in freezer so meatballs will freeze individually. Store in freezer up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator several hours or overnight before using as desired.

**Sauce Recipes

3/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp mustard

Combine in saucepan and heat til bubbly.  Pour over fully cooked meatballs.

**This recipe is the sauce that goes over my mini meatloafs.

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1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 cup canned undrained crushed pineapple in juice

Combine 30 fully cooke meatballs with BBQ sauce and pineapple in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer and heat til completely warmed.

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1 jar (12 oz) grape jelly

1 bottle (12 oz) chilli sauce

Combine ingredients in saucepan and heat through....till it bubbles good. Pour over fully cooked meatballs and stir til evenly coated.

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1 jar (12 oz) grape jelly

2 Tblsp mustard (or more if you like)

Combine ingredients in a saucepan and heat through. Pour over fully cooked meatballs and stir til evenly coated.

Tator Tot Casserole

1 lb ground hamburger

1/2 of a small onion, chopped

1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup

1 can corn, drained

1 bag tatortots

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Cook Hamburger with onion. Can season meat with some salt and pepper if you like.  Drain grease off of hamburger. Stir hamburger, soup and corn together.  Pour into an 8"x8" greased casserole dish and spread evenly.  Line tatortots over the top of the hamburger mixture.  Sprinkle the top with cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or till bubbling around the edges.

*This is a very quick and KID FRIENDLY dish!  You can substitute the tatortots for other types of potatoes too...ie, hasbrowns. You can also substitute the veggies for whatever kind you prefer.

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

I got this recipe off of a friends cooking blog. Kate'sKitchen! 

She has some yummy, savory, recipes.  Go check out her blog!

1 pint heavy cream
1 stick REAL butter {not margarine}
2 Tbs cream cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan
1-2 cloves garlic {1 big or 2 small} crushed, pressed or finely chopped
salt and pepper

Directions:

Melt the butter slowly in the pan, add the garlic and then bring the temperature up to just above medium low heat, allowing it to fry a bit. Stop the frying and bring the temperature back down to medium low before the Butter browns.

Add the heavy cream and cream cheese and season with salt and pepper

Stir frequently until cream cheese is all melted When you do not see any more solids add Parmesan, turn heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve over your favorite pasta.

**This is such a yummy recipe!  Great for dipping breadsticks in too!  It was a hit with the kids and came together faster than I thought it would.  I did top mine with a little pepper and grated parmesan cheese for the picture.

Calzones

Using the dough for 1 large pizza crust...divide the dough into 4ths. (Here's the recipe I used).  Roll each piece out to 1/3"-1/2" thick.  Spread pizza sauce on one half of each rolled out section.  Layer your favorite pizza toppings over the sauce along with plenty of mozzarella cheese.  Take the section that doesn't have sauce on and fold it up over the top of the other half then pinch the sides together to create a pizza pillow.  Place all calzones on a greased baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or till golden brown.  When done baking, you can either warm more pizza sauce and pour over the top and then sprinkle with cheese, or you can pour pizza sauce over the top, sprinkle with cheese and let it bake another couple of minutes til cheese is melted.

Serve and ENJOY!

**You can make your sections smaller when making them for kids.

**I remember making these when I worked at "Lotsa Pizza Pie".  They weren't on the menu, we just created them for ouselves. 

Pizza Crust

I know this picture is small, but it was blurry and giving me a headache when I enlarged it.

This recipe came from Allrecipes.com.

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Stir water, sugar and yeast together until dissolved. Add the olive oil and the salt. Stir in the flour until well blended. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
2. Pat dough into pan or on to a pizza stone using fingers dipped in olive oil. If desired sprinkle basil, thyme or other seasonings on crust. Top with your favorite pizza toppings and bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a preheated 425 degree oven.

**I loved working with this dough.  It was very quick and tasted great.  This is my new favorite pizza crust recipe.  I used this recipe to make calzones and garlic cheese breadsticks.

Hot Dogs!

FUN WITH HOTDOGS!

******

My friend shared this fun idea for hotdogs.

Use them as meatballs.

Take 1 hotdog and cut into 5 pieces.  Then push uncooked spaghetti noodles through the hotdog.  I used 3 pieces of hotdog with 5 spaghetti noodles.  Place them in a pot of boiling water and cook til spaghetti is done.  Can serve with spaghetti sauce if you would like.  Or a little melted butter on the noodles...or ofcourse if your kids are like mine, maybe some ketchup!

*****************

 This next idea I heard from my aunt quite a while ago, then was reminded about it from a friend.

Octopus Hotdogs!

Cut 3/4 of the length of the hotdog into 8ths.  I cut 3/4 of the way up the hotdog (cutting it in half lenthwise).  Then rotate a quarter of a turn and cut again length wise (creating 4 legs).  I then take each leg and cut them in half seperatley (creating 8 legs).  Use a toothpick to poke holes in the head of the Octopus (the uncut part).  Place in boiling water and cook for 3-5 minutes.  You can put little drops of mustartd on the eyes when they are done cooking if you want.

********

Both of these were a hit with the kids.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Recipe Courtesy of MEL'S KITCHEN CAFE

1 can chicken broth (about 1 3/4 cups of broth)
1 small onion, diced
1/3 c. flour
1/4 c. butter
Pepper to taste
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, preferably sharp or extra sharp
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
2 1/2 to 3 cups chopped, lightly steamed or blanched broccoli

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes. In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour and pepper. Cook together for a couple of minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium-high heat until soup starts to thicken. Next add chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add cheeses and steamed broccoli. Serve immediately.

**I was surprised with how easy this soup came together.  And even better, it was delicious!  It went so well in the bread bowls.  The kids loved it!  I will for sure be making this again!  I think I will even use the creamy/cheesy soup base and add other veggies to it for a variation.



**I couldn't find any bread bowls at the grocery store so we used KEISER ROLLS.  A little smaller than regular bread bowls, but worked just the same.

Pita Pocket Pizza's

Pita Pockets (I used Whole Wheat ones)

Pizza Sauce

Mozzarella Cheese

Favorite Pizza Toppings

Top your pita pocket with sauce, cheese and toppings...Bake at 400 degrees til cheese is bubbly! 

*The Pita Pocket Pizza idea came from my MOM!  

**We had family come to visit for the Memorial Weekend.  This is one of the meals we fixed.  I let them all fix their own.  We just sat out several toppings and let everyone create their own pizza.  Using the pita pockets, the crust wasn't doughy and didn't take as long to bake.  I told the family that whoever's pizza looked the best, I would share it on my BLOG, so leave it to Mike to be the creative one!  I had a "before baked" picture, but I couldn't get it to load.  It is on my FB page if you want to see the "before baked".  Mike created a face with all of the toppings.

***Pizza Crust Ideas:

French Bread

Pita Pockets

Rhodes Rolls

Pillsbury Biscuits

Orrowheat Sandwich Thins

Hoagie Buns

Steak/French Rolls

   Be Creative and make it fun!

Lime Rice

4 tsp. chicken bouillon
4 tsp. garlic
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 tsp. cumin
1 can green chilies
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbl. butter
1/2 chopped onion

Blend all ingredients in blender then put in pan and add 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Add 3 cups rice (non instant) and simmer 30 minutes.  Serve as a side dish or with your sweet pork taco salads. This recipe makes alot.

**This recipe came from one of my friends here in Carson City.  I was surprised when I read the recipe and I didn't see any LIME in it.  I called my friend to make sure it didn't have any LIME.  It doesn't, but with the ingredients combined together, you can taste a lime flavor.  Really YUMMY!

Creamy Homemade Mac-N-Cheese

8 oz macaroni, shells, farfalle...which ever you prefer, (I used radiatore)

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp corn starch

1 cup of shredded sharp chedder cheese (can use other if you prefer).

Salt and pepper to taste

Boil water in a medium saucepan and cook noodles to package directions, set aside.  Warm one cup of milk in a small saucepan, add two tablespoons of cornstarch to warmed milk and stir together with a whisk.  Then add one cup of shredded cheese to the warm milk mixture and whisk until completely melted and smooth.  Continue whisking while allowing cheese sauce to simmer and then pour over noodles, stir until combined.  Let the mac 'n cheese stand for a few minutes and the sauce will thicken and become nice and creamy.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

**This recipe came from a blog that I check out. Smashed Peas and Carrots!  How can you turn down HOMEMADE MAC-N-CHEESE?!  When I first saw the picture on HER BLOG , there was no question, I had to try this.  And, I had all the ingredients!  Even Sharp Cheese which I never buy...it was bought on accident.  It is even just as quick to make this recipe as it is to make the boxed stuff.  Try it and let me know what you think!

Pizza Casserole

8 oz  uncooked Wheel Shaped macaroni pasta

1/2 lb bulk turkey italian sausage

2 3/4 cup meatless pasta sauce (tomato)

1/4 cup sliced olives

1 (4 oz can) mushroom pieces and stems

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 350º. Cook macaroni as directed on package; drain. Cook sausage in skillet, stirring frequently, until no longer pink; drain.

Mix macaroni, sausage, pasta sauce, olives and mushrooms in 2 1/2-quart casserole.

Cover and bake about 30 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with cheese. Let stand about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

*This is another BETTY CROCKER recipe.  I made this for my kids and they loved it.  I did leave out the mushrooms though because I am not a fan of mushrooms.  I actually double the recipe then split it in two pans and froze one for a later date.  I was able to pop the frozen one in the oven before I took the kids to piano lessons and when we got back it was all done baking.  It baked for 1 1/2 hours.