Chicken Cheese Soup

This recipe comes from my Mother-in-law. It is a family favorite! When you are feeling down/sick/cold/or pretty much anything, this is the soup you need.

Ingredients:
12 cups water
12 cubes/tsp. Chicken bouillon
6 Carrots (More! I actually used a whole bag of the baby carrots)
6 potatoes
4 celery stalks
2 sticks of butter
1 cup of flour
Cooked Chicken – diced
Cooked noodles (about 4 cups)
Cheez Whiz 14 oz. jar
1. Cook your chicken then dice it. It’s nice if you already have some set aside. I used around 5 chicken breasts. Boil your noodles and drain.
2. Get your 12 cups of water and bouillon on to boil. Wash and cut your carrots, potatoes, and celery. Add to your water as they get done. Bring to a boil.
3. When that is getting close to a boil start on your rue. Put your butter in your pan first and melt completely. Then slowly start to add your cup of flour. Add a little and then whisk in. Repeat until your flour is completely mixed in.
4. Add your rue to your soup. Stir together. Then add your chicken and noodles. Last comes the Cheez Whiz. If you add it in smaller scoops it will melt faster. Once the Cheez whiz is melted it is ready.
*This soup is great fresh, but tastes just as good as leftovers. It also freezes really well.

Secretly Healthy Chocolate Brownie Cookies

I haven't tried these yet, but I wanted to make sure I had the recipe in a place I could find it later. I'm hearing all sorts of rave reviews about them. Let me know if you try them too!

http://www.elizasedibles.com/2012/12/16/secretly-healthy-chocolate-brownie-cookies/

Tomato Chicken Noodle Soup

This was a pretty fun and simple recipe to come up with. I had some boiled chicken breasts in my fridge and no idea what to do with them. I've been feeling the need for some tomato soup. That is where it started. I didn't want to sit over a pot for forever so I pulled out my crock pot. It's a pretty big batch. Not sure on the servings yet, but it's definitely more than 8.

Ingredients
6 cups of Water
2 cups of Creamy Tomato Soup Dry Blend (My Personal Pantry)
3-4 Chicken Breasts, cooked and diced
4 stalks of Celery, washed and diced
1 bottle of Stewed Tomatoes (a large can of tomatoes would work too)
1 lb Pasta
1-2 tsp Salt
Other Seasonings

1. Pour your water and soup blend into your crock pot. Whisk until soup is incorporated.

2. Add your chicken, celery, and stewed tomatoes. Set your crock pot on High for 2-3 hours.

3. About 20 minutes before you are ready to eat boil some water for your pasta. Then cook your pasta and add it to your crock pot.

4. Add your salt and any other seasoning you'd like. I added 1 Tbsp of Italian Seasoning and a tsp of Garlic Powder.

Eat up and Enjoy!

Aumu

This recipe was introduced to me by one of my first college roommates. Many thanks to Valerie and all of her delicious recipes. A pan of these never lasted long enough to even cool. So good!

Ingredients
2 cans Whole Water Chestnuts
1 lb Bacon cut into 1/3 slices
1 1/2 cups Ketchup
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Dry Mustard
1/4 cup Pineapple Juice
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 tsp Pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a 9x13" pan mix everything but your Water Chestnuts and Bacon.

3. Slice your bacon into thirds and begin wrapping around your Water Chestnuts. Secure the bacon with a toothpick (make sure you've poured your toothpicks out so you don't contaminate the clean ones you'll use later).

4. Place your Bacon Wrapped Chestnuts in your pan and swirl around to cover them in the sauce. Once all are wrapped and covered in sauce (they don't have to be completely covered since the sauce will be boiling and such) cover your pan in tinfoil and place in your oven.

5. Bake for 45 minutes.

Make sure to give them a little time to cool. It is hard, but you do want to be able to taste them.

Taco Soup - TexMex Style

I'm back to trying out some delicious products done by My Personal Pantry. This recipe was a spur of the moment "Ah-Ha" type of thing. I wanted to mix together some Taco Soup (don't you love Soup Weather?). My one dilema here is that I'm never prepared with a list of spices to throw in. I was about to go look something up when I remembered the small little can waiting for me.

It was all very easy from there.

Ingredients

3 cans of beans (I used Black, Kidney, and Pinto)
1 lb of cooked ground beef (I used canned because I was really feeling lazy)
1 bag of freezer corn
4 cups of water
1 cup of TexMex Tomato Soup Mix
Anything else Taco Soupy

1. Rinse your beans really well

2. Pour all of your ingredients in a decent sized pot. Heat over medium to medium-high heat until your soup is boiling. Lower heat to a simmer until you are ready to eat.

3. Top with things like sour cream, cheese, olives, etc.

So Easy! Very delicious!!!

Tomatillo Chicken Soup

A BIG thanks to my friend Kate Desmond for sharing this recipe with me. It's one of my new favorites!

Kate’s Tomatillo Chicken Soup

Saute the following in big stock pot approx 10-15 min:
1/2 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb tomatillos, diced (about 5 medium size, don’t forget to remove the husk and wash)
1 tablespoon cumin

add the rest & simmer approximately 15-25 minutes:
3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
1 49 1/2oz chicken broth can
1 16oz fresh salsa from the grocery store deli
1 15.5 oz cans yellow hominy (drained)
1 15.5 oz cans white hominy (drained)

**serve with:blue or white tortilla chips
avocado chunks
white rice
shredded cheese
sour cream
fresh lime juice

*Tomatillos without the skin stuff vs. with it.

*Here is my chicken in the pot. I use the wooden spoon trick over the top to keep it from boiling over. It TOTALLY works!

Cheddar Baked Chicken

Found this on allrecipes.com. Very Scrumptious!

I was looking for a good baked chicken recipe. I had one from my mom… but I kind of wanted to branch out a little and add some more flavor. This recipe had a great rating and lots of good reviews. After making it for a double date with my brother and soon-to-be wife we give it our full support!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 eggs
2 Tbl milk
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cups cornflakes, crunched up
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts- cut in half
2 Tbl butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a medium baking dish with 1/4 cup of melted butter.

2. In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. In a separate bowl, but together the eggs and milk. In a third bowl, mix the cheese and cornflakes. Dredge chicken pieces in the flour mixture, dip in the egg mixture, then press in the cornflakes. Arrange in the prepared baking dish.

3. Pour your remaining cornflakes and cheese over the top of the chicken then drizzle the 2 Tbl butt evenly over the chicken.

4. Bake for 35 minutes in the oven. Make sure to check the temperature (170 degrees)

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

WOW!!! This is my new favorite recipe! Seriously!!! It tastes amazing and is so much healthier than your normal stuff. Thanks to Pinterest and wonderful friends who pointed it out on Facebook. This really is an amazing recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups low-fat milk (I used 1%)
1/3 cup cream cheese (you could also buy low fat)
2 Tbl Flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbl Butter
1 tsp garlic powder or 1 Garlic Clove
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Place milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.

2. If you’re using a Garlic Clove: In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don’t want to burn it.

3. If you’re using Garlic powder, In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter then add your garlic powder. Mix it together, then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly until it just comes to a simmer. Once it has come to a simmer keep stirring and let it cook for 3 more minutes. It should be getting much thicker at this point.

4. Remove pan from heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover as quickly as possible. Let it stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing

If you have leftovers in the fridge the sauce will thicken to almost a solid. Just re-heat it and add a little milk. It will be back to normal and just as good.

Funeral Potatoes

One of my favorite dishes. I don’t know why I’ve never tried making it before. I’ve actually found myself wondering the same thing about a lot of other foods recently.

I absolutely love these potatoes. The idea to try these with freeze-dried ingredients actually came from my good friend Rose (Thank you for the inspiration!) They turned out perfect!!! It was so easy and I love the fact that my potatoes/hashbrowns don’t have to be taking up space in my freezer.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of freeze dried onion, reconstituted
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
2 cups of powdered sour cream, reconstituted (2 cups of powder, one of water)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups of grated freeze dried cheese, reconstituted
6 cups of freeze dried potato shreds, reconstituted (or 2lb bag of frozen hash browns)
3/4 c cornflakes, crushed and firmly packed
4 Tbsp butter, melted (optional)

1. Combine your onions, soup, sour cream, salt, and cheese. Stir in potatoes. Pour into a 9x13 inch pan.

2. *Combine crushed cornflakes and melted butter.

3. Sprinkle cornflakes over the top of your potatoes.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Makes 12 servings

*If you are interested in more onion flavor feel free to add more. The original recipe calls for 1 medium onion, chopped and cooked in 1/2 cup of butter until soft.

It’s delicious and can be served with all sorts of meats and other entrees.

Parmesan Fries

A friend of mine mentioned these on Facebook and I pretty much immediately asked for the recipe. They are delicious!!!! Thanks Heather! :)

I’ve always been a fan of potato wedges, or things like them. I am usually pretty boring about them though. I could get daring and through some different spices on them, but I haven’t. For some people playing around with recipes, or even just ideas and flavors, is a little scary. Here is a recipe that you can just stick to.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic
4-6 potatoes

1. Scrub your potatoes really well and then pat dry. Cut them into 8 wedges (or maybe more if they are really big). Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Melt your butter and mix in your seasonings and cheese. I use Italian seasoning quite often. You can buy the dry packets used for making salad dressing or there are lots of other seasonings out there that you could use. Just pick your favorite one. After everything is mixed dip your wedges into the butter and coat them.

3. Cover your cookie sheet with aluminum foil (It makes the clean up sooooo nice). If you’re using a stone don’t worry about the foil. This is also a good recipe to use if you’re trying to season said stone. Place your coated wedges on the pan and bake for 30 minutes.

*Tip: Don’t use the powdered parmesan (and not just on this recipe, always!). The fresh stuff is really worth it. It lasts forever in your fridge and adds such a great flavor.

Beef Stroganoff

This has to be the BEST Stroganoff I have EVER tasted. Wow! I absolutely love it! The Hubby has been getting free lunch from his company this week, so guess who gets to eat most of the leftovers? ME!!! and I totally don’t care because it is so delicious. I’m kind of glad that I don’t have to share. :0)

I’m sure I’ll be using this one a lot in the future. Having the powdered sour cream makes it so easy to have everything on hand too. I normally would have to plan on making something like this because I don’t often keep sour cream without already having planned something for it. Anyway, without further ado, here you go.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef, cooked
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup dehydrated sour cream, reconstituted
1 soup can of milk
Egg noodles (I used about 2/3 of a bag. So around 10 oz.)
1 can of Mushrooms, drained

1. In a medium pot, boil water for your noodles. Most egg noodles will probably need about 10 minutes in boiling water to cook.

(Side note: I have heard that if you place a wooden spoon over a pot of boiling water it won’t boil over. My pot didn’t boil enough to show me if it worked, but I’ll keep testing it.)

2. Meanwhile, reconstitute your sour cream. 1 cup of powder + 1/2 cup of water. Whip well and stick in your fridge.

3. In the same pan that you cook your beef in (or a large skillet), mix in your cans of soup and the one can of milk. Let it heat on medium-low stirring frequently. Once your sauce starts to bubble add your mushrooms and sour cream. Mix in well and keep heating.

4. Drain your cooked noodles and add to your sauce. Stir well and serve.

I thought about adding some spices (like garlic) to it for fun, but when I tasted it it was perfect. I didn’t even add any salt or pepper. Make sure to taste test it and see what you think before you play around with more flavors.

I think I may need to go reheat me a bowl right now. Just typing this up and looking at the pictures has made me hungry. That’s another good thing about this dish. It’s been just as delicious for leftovers.

*You could easily use freeze dried mushrooms as well as powdered milk. If you use powdered milk it will be one cup of powdered milk and one cup of water mixed well. You could also just as easily use fresh mushrooms and sour cream.

Cordon Bleu Casserole

One of my favorite things to order when I go to a nice restaurant is Chicken Cordon Bleu. There are many different kinds, and yet they are all delicious. There have been a few times that I’ve been tempted to try it myself at home, but it seems like there are too many steps. Maybe I just need to toughen up and actually try it… I’ll think about it.

In the meantime, this recipe was extremely easy and quick and tasted just as good! It might not be as pretty or as impressive, but sometimes that doesn’t need to matter.

Ingredients:
4 cups of turkey or chicken, chopped or shredded
3 cups of ham, cubed
1 cup freeze dried shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped freeze dried onion (I think I will omit the onion next time)
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups cream or half-and-half
1 tsp dillweed
1/8 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Topping:
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp dillweed
1/4 cup freeze dried shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup walnut (I didn’t use)

1. Reconstitute your cheese and onions by pouring water over the top and letting it sit for 5 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine your meat and cheese. Set aside.

3. In a saucepan, sauté your onion in butter until tender. Add your flour and stir until it is coated. Add your cream, stir and bring to a boil until it thickens. Add your spices then remove from heat.

4. Pour over your meat mixture, mix well, spoon into a 9x13 pan.

5. In another bowl combine your bread crumbs, butter and dillweed. Stir in your cheese and walnuts.

6. Sprinkle over the top of your casserole and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

*Tip*: One way to save money on bread crumbs is to save the heels of your bread (no one likes to eat them anyway). Have a plastic bag set aside that you keep in your freezer for just this sort of occasion. I would crumble the bread before putting it in the bag. That way it is all prepared and ready for you when you need it in a pinch.

The 1 cup of onions was a little much for me. Next time I think I will probably cut it to at least 1/2 cup, maybe 1/4. I will also be trying some broccoli in there. Despite my problem with the onions it was still amazingly good. If you really like onions then you would probably like it with the measurement listed originally.

Raisin Pudding

Growing up I always knew that anytime we had a meal that included rice there was a high likelihood that we would be having some rice pudding soon after. It’s one of my mothers childhood memories, and therefore it became one of mine.

Recently I was over visiting my parents when they offered me some pudding. My mom mentioned that she was trying a new recipe out. Then she told me that she has forever been on a quest to find just the right rice pudding. She has not yet been able to find it. This made me think that maybe I was ready to join in the hunt for her.

Here is my take on a Rice Pudding recipe with a twist of freeze-dried mixed in.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice, cooled
1 1/3 cup whole milk
Pinch of salt
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp softened butter (I completely melted mine in the microwave)
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup Freeze Dried Raisins
1 cup Freeze Dried Apples (mine were with cinnamon)
Sprinkle of nutmeg

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Put your apples and raisins in a bowl covered in water to reconstitute.

2. Grease a 2 quart glass baking dish with butter. In the baking dish mix the rice, milk, salt, sugar, butter, vanilla, eggs, and lemon juice.

3. Once that is mixed thoroughly, drain the water off of your raisins and apples and add to your baking dish and combine. Sprinkle with the nutmeg and place in your oven.

4. Bake for 1 hour or until set.

Rice pudding is great by itself or you can pour a little milk over the top of it. I ended up sprinkling a little more sugar on top of mine. So add it to taste. You could also serve with a little ice cream on top.

Also, feel free to omit the raisins or the apples. It’s your rice pudding.

*It would be very easy to substitute powdered eggs, butter, and milk in this recipe. Just reconstitute as instructed.
For the powdered eggs: 6 Tbsp powder + 12 Tbsp (or 3/4 cup) of water.
For the powdered butter: 1 Tbsp of powder + 1 Tbsp of water. If you want a little more butter flavor then use oil instead.
For the powdered milk: 7 Tbsp and 2 tsp of powder + 1 1/3 cup water

The pudding on the plate is straight out of the pan with a little sugar sprinkled on top. The pudding in the bowl has a little milk poured over it, is mixed, and has a little cinnamon/sugar sprinkled on top.

Potato Broccoli Chowder

Being a newbie at cooking with dehydrated foods can be a little intimidating. All of us have to start somewhere though! This recipe was my first ‘official’ try. I had to make a second batch. Let me explain. The first batch was good, but I knew I could make it better. I learned my lesson. I need to follow the instructions pretty closely until I am a little more comfortable with my media. All in all, it was still extremely easy and convenient.

Let’s start with some basics.

When rehydrating the foods you are going to cook with I found that it was easiest to measure out the amount you need (because of the freeze drying process they stay the same size that they were and will become when they are rehydrated) and then cover with warm water. You may need to stir them a little to make sure that everything has a chance to hydrate. Let them sit for 5 minutes and then drain off your excess water.

Milk can be a little tricky if you don’t think about it (this was my downfall my first time through). When rehydrating something that will stay in a liquid form (or has to have a specific amount of water added to it) remember to work out the proportions. I will try to be pretty clear with my recipes on how much dry ingredient to use, but other recipes might not do that. For example, this recipe calls for 3 cups of dehydrated milk. My first try I dumped 3 cups of dehydrated milk in. It turned out super thick because I didn’t have enough liquid to mix in all of that powder. On my second try I converted my 3 cups of dehydrated milk to mean 3 cups of milk. Your conversion for milk is usually around 3 tablespoons of powder and 8 oz, or 1 cup, of water.

Okay, that’s probably enough for today’s recipe.

Ingredients:
5 small potatoes (Could use Freeze Dried*)
1/4 cup chopped onion (Freeze Dried)
3 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Butter
2 cloves of Garlic, minced (or 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder)
3 Tbsp Flour
3 cups of Milk (9 Tbsp powder and 3 cups of water)
1 cup Shredded Cheddar cheese (Freeze Dried)
2 cups of Broccoli (Freeze Dried)

Optional Toppings:
Bacon
Cheese
Green Onions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. While waiting for the water to heat wash and slice your potatoes. The thinner you slice them the faster they will cook, but you don’t want them too thin. You need something to bite into. Once your water is heated and your potatoes are sliced add them to the water and let them cook until tender (easily pierced with a fork). Drain, but reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid.

2. While your potatoes are cooking go ahead and hydrate your other ingredients. Measure out your broccoli, cheese, and onions, cover in warm water, stir a little, then set aside. For your milk measure out 3 cups of hot water, then add your 9 tablespoons of dehydrated milk powder. Stir it well with a whisk to incorporate some air. Let it sit.

3. Drain your broccoli, cheese, and onions.

4. Melt your butter in a frying pan over medium heat; cook onion in butter until translucent and tender. Add your garlic and let it cook for one minute. Add flour to mixture and stir until smooth. Cook for 1 additional minute.

5. Add your onion mixture to your drained potatoes. Return to heat and gradually ad your cooking liquid and milk. Stir well.

6. Add your cheese and broccoli.

7. Simmer you soup over low heat, stirring frequently for about 20 minutes.

The second time around was really an amazing batch. Don’t let freeze dried foods intimidate you. They are really simple to work with. Not to mention that it takes out all of your washing and chopping time!

This recipe would also be very easy to alter. You could add ham, take out the broccoli, etc. Corn might be good in it, or peas. Lots of variations and choices to pick from. You can’t go wrong!

*If you decide to try and use freeze dried potatoes you probably won’t need to reconstitute first. Add them to your boiling water just like you would your raw potatoes. I’m not sure on the cooking time for them yet, but it will also vary depending on their cut size.

Delicious Crockpot Ribs

I bought some Boneless Pork Ribs the other night on a whim. It was the first time I have ever bought them and planned on doing something with them myself. I wanted to try something new and a little out of the ordinary. I did a bunch of searching online and finally came across a recipe that I felt would turn out good, but had interesting flavors that I was interested in experiencing.

I found the recipe on AllRecipes.com. I believe it was called “Garlic Honey Ribs” or something like that. I did a little tweaking when it came to the cooking style, but I used all of the same ingredients for my sauce. I think it turned out pretty good. Those that tried it told me it was a keeper.

Ingredients:
Boneless Pork Ribs (I think I had about 4lbs)
1 c honey
1 c brown sugar
1/3 c soy sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground mustard

1. Mix together all of your sauce ingredients well. Use as a marinade for your pork overnight. Make sure that your ribs are coated well and turn a couple of times (or when you think of it).

2. Pour your ribs and your sauce into a crockpot and let it do all of the work. Heat your crockpot for 1 hour on HIGH (so that everything can get to the correct temp. quickly), then turn to LOW for 4-6 hours. You may need to adjust your cooking time depending on your crockpot.

This pork tastes great on it’s own with a couple of sides, or would work great over rice. It is easily shredded and tastes great as a sandwich, or could work over a salad.

Mozzarella Chicken

This recipe comes from the Worldwide Ward Cookbook. It originates in Tennessee. The picture isn’t the most beautiful, but it is delicious!

I got home from grocery shopping without much time to think about what was for dinner. I’m sure that sounds familiar to many out there. I had bought a large amount of fresh boneless skinless chicken breasts. I split what I had into three portions. Two of the portions I put in zip-lock bags with different dressings (Catalina and Italian) so they could marinate for later meals.

Then I was still left with the decision of what I should make for that night. After a hard day I was in need of something super easy that would pretty much cook itself. I flipped through my mental cookbook, then browsed a couple on my real shelf. That’s when I came across this one. It’s a keeper.

Ingredients:
4-6 chicken breasts
2  - 10.75 oz cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 – 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 cups bread crumbs (I used crushed Club crackers)
3 Tbsp. butter (optional, I didn’t use it)

1. Arrange your chicken in a 9x13 pan. Spread your soup directly over the top of the chicken. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the soup, and then sprinkle the bread crumbs over the cheese.

2. (Optional) Chop the butter in little pieces and dot it around the bread crumbs. You can also melt the better and pour it over the bread crumbs.

3. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Make sure to check your temperature though. The recipe said you could start with frozen chicken, but I don’t know how much I trust that. It’s easy enough to thaw your meat. If you want to try it you can though.

Would be good with rice, mashed potatoes, toast, or noodles.

Looking back I wish I had pounded my chicken out a little. Mine were extremely thick and probably would have cooked faster/more evenly if I had. I’ll look into that some more.

Taco Soup!

I had a hankering for some Taco soup the other day. It was probably the big thunderstorm and the buckets of rain. Or it could be that I'm just super excited for Fall to be here! I love cold weather and I especially love all of the foods that are directly related and linked to the season!

I did something a little different with my soup today that turned out pretty good (if I do say so myself, and I do). I tried it on my husband. He approved. So I took it to my parents' house and made them and my siblings try it. They also liked it. I have a brother that is a pretty picky eater. He didn't even want to try it, but I twisted his arm (not literally). He had one spoonful and admitted that it was good. His excuse for not eating was that he already had the bread out for the PB&J that he was going to make. Weirdo. It was good. So... statistics say 7 out of 7 like it (but only 6 will eat a bowl).

Ingredients:
2 quart bottles of tomatoes (you could also do canned stewed tomatoes)
4 cans of assorted beans (I used red, kidney, black, and pinto)
1 bag of freezer corn (canned would work also), thawed
1 red bell pepper, diced.
1 lb of cooked hamburger
2 cups of water
1 envelope of Hidden Valley Fiesta Ranch

1. I started by putting my tomatoes in the crock pot, undrained. Next went the beans. Make sure to drain them into a colander and then rinse them really really well. Then comes the corn, pepper, and your cooked hamburger. When you add your water judge according to your crock pot. I just added the water until I was happy with the height. You don't want it too full. After you get the height you want then add the ranch envelope. Stir everything well to mix it around.

2. Start your crock pot out on high until it gets up to temperature. Once I saw it was bubbling, I went ahead and dropped it down to low. Where everything cooked (or didn't need to be) you are really just needing to warm it and let the flavors simmer around. I did 3 hours on high and then it probably was on low for 2. We did eat a little after the 3 though.

3. Serve with your favorite toppings. We had tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, and olives.

*If you didn't notice I've used this Ranch packet before. It is one of my new favorites. I love the extra kick that it gives to stuff, but in this case I love having that kick with a touch of ranch. It worked out great!

Baked Cheesy Macaroni

This recipe was AMAZING!!! Once the smell of the cheeses started wafting through my house I was pretty much dancing around. It smelled so good I couldn't help but brag about it on Facebook... :) We didn't really get a chance to eat it right after it got done because we had someone coming over minutes after it was coming out of the oven (bad timing on my part). Anyway, this really was a good one!

Ingredients:
3/4-1lb of pasta (I used macaroni, but a lot of other options would work too), cooked
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 cup sour cream
6 oz of provolone cheese, grated (mine was in slices so I just tore it up to spread it around)
6 oz mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup Romano cheese, grated (I couldn't find this so I actually used a a mixture of pre-shredded Romano, Parmesan, and Asiago)

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. You can grease your pan if you are worried about things sticking. I didn't and was fine.

2. In a large bowl, mix together your pasta, spaghetti sauce, and your sour cream. In another bowl mix your cheeses and set aside. Take your 9x13 pan and spread half of your pasta mixture on the bottom of it. Next sprinkle half of the cheese mixture on top of the pasta. Then repeat.

3. Bake for 30 minutes without covering.

Mmm.... so good. Hubby and I decided that it would be good with olives. No matter what you put on it, it would be wonderful! You could easily mix in some veggies and it would still be great. I'm so glad I have leftovers!!!

Enchiladas

We had left over shredded chicken so I created some delicious enchiladas tonight!

Chicken
1. Cook your chicken up in your favorite salsa. Turns out best if it is cooked covered so the moisture stays in.
2. Shred or cut your chicken how you like it in your enchiladas.

Enchiladas

Ingredients:
Chicken
Campbell’s Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup
1 can of Olives (sliced and divided)
2 Roma tomatoes (diced and divided)
6 tortillas
Sour Cream
Cheese

1. Cut your olives and tomatoes. Make sure to leave enough olive slices to go on top as well as one of the tomatoes.

2. Mix your chicken, soup, olives and tomato

3. Scoop into your tortillas and roll.

4. Spread a thin layer of sour cream over the top. Cover with cheese and garnish with remaining olives and tomato

5. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes (or however long it takes it to warm through). I left mine uncovered because I like it a little crisper. It would be fine to cook it with foil on it if you don’t like the crunch.

South-Western Pasta Salad

Glenda, bless you forever for sharing this recipe with me! It is DELICIOUS!!!!

Sorry for the lack of a photo. Pasta salad isn’t really photogenic. So I didn’t even try. Just know that is one of the best pasta salads I have EVER had! Try it out. You won’t be sorry!

 

Ingredients:

1 box/bag of Rozini Pasta (the curly noodles)
1 Green Bell Pepper
2 Roma Tomatoes
1 can Black Beans
1 can Kidney Beans
1 can Corn (I used a bag of frozen corn)
1 can Olives
1/2 Red onion (give or take depending on how much you like onion)

Dressing:
2 cups Mayo (Do NOT use Miracle Whip)
2 cups Butter Milk
1 dry packet Hidden Valley Ranch – Fiesta flavor

1. Get your noodles cooking.

2. Meanwhile start washing and cutting your vegetables. Rinse the canned goods. Once your noodles are done put everything together in one pot.

3. In a small mixing bowl measure out your Mayo, then pour in your Buttermilk. Add your Fiesta packet and whip together. Pour over the top of your salad and mix.

 

You should be able to find the Dressing packet in the same area as your other salad dressings. I was not able to find it at either of the Kent’s Marketplaces here. It was at the Ridley’s though. Next time

I’m in Walmart and Smith’s I will check there. It seriously is the best dressing though. The flavor reminds me of Bajio. I ended up adding some celery to mine because my bell pepper tasted bad and I needed some crunch in it. Feel free to add or subtract any ingredients that you feel would make it better. Just think of what you usually have with your Mexican dishes and you won’t be able to go wrong. I think next time I make it I might try adding some grilled chicken.

Anyway, try it out. It is awesome! Don’t bring it to any events that I’ll be at though. I will already be making it!