Chicken Taco Soup

4 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 envelope of taco seasoning

mix together and add, without draining:
1 can corn
1 can kidney beans (or whatever you like)
1 can black beans
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 envelope of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

Heat over the stove or in the crockpot. Serve with cheese, sour cream, green onions, tortilla chips...

Serves 6ish

Spinach and Bow Tie Salad

16 oz. pkg of bow tie pasta, cooked
*marinate for 8 hours or overnight in:
1/2 c. oil
2/3 c. teriyaki sauce
1/2 tsp. each of salt & pepper
6 Tbsp. sugar
2/3 c. vinegar

Salad:
10 oz. baby spinach
6 oz. dried cranberries
2-3 (11 0z.) cans of Mandarin oranges
6 oz. honey roasted peanuts
1/8 c. sesame seeds
1 c. green onions
2 (8 oz.) cans water chestnuts, sliced

Add marinated pasta to the salad. The marinade will act as the dressing.
(Grilled chicken - optional).

Potato Salad from Deacon's Party

4 white potatoes

4 red potatoes

Mayo

Mustard

10-12 boiled eggs peeled and diced- remove yolks

Pickle Juice

1 bunch green onions chopped

(I don't know how much mayo, mustard, and pickle juice I use- I just add it until it tastes right and the consistency is right.)

1.  Boil potatoes until soft, then cool...

2.  Cut potatoes in cubes... (you can peel them if you like, but I like them with the skin on) 

3.  Combine egg yolks, mayo, mustard, pickle juice, and green onions... Mix until well combined

4.  Pour over diced potatoes and chopped egg whites and mix...

5.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve chilled

Pasta Salad from Deacon's Birthday

Ingredients:

I pkg swirly pasta

1 cut red or orange bell pepper

1 cut yellow bell pepper

1 bunch BROCCOLINI (slightly steamed)

1 zucchini diced

1/2 bottle of italian dressing of your choice

1/2 bottle of SALAD SUPREME seasoning

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 red onion or 1 bunch of green onions chopped

Combine all ingredients and chill for 1 hour.  Serve cool.  

**You can add any of your favorite vegetables to this dish... whatever you like the best!  The part that makes it what it is, is the italian dressing and Salad Supreme**

Italian Baked Salmon (Tilapia)

 

 

6 large servings of fresh salmon or tilapia (not frozen, salmon should be pink and not smell "fishy" for judging freshness)

1 basket cherry tomatoes, halved

4-6 garlic cloves, depending if your husband love garlic as much as mine (its good for you!!)

2 dozen mushrooms sliced, or less if preferred

1 bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped- FRESH ONLY

1 red onion, thinly sliced

4-6 stems of Rosemary-FRESH ONLY

light olive oil

cinnamon

sea salt to taste, use a bit more than normal since this is a seafood recipe

 

 

Preheat oven to 375.  Foil caserole dish or baking pan.  Chop seasonings
 or combine in a food processor (garlic, parsley, salt).  Pour about 4 table spoons of olive oil onto foiled pan, add fish and cover all sides with same olive oil.  Sprinkle about 1 tsp cinnamon on each side of fish, then lay out fish in pan.  First add mushroom over fish, then rosemary, seasonings, tomatoes- in that order.  Lightly dress with more olive oil to keep ingredients from drying up.  Bake for 30-45 min, or until fish is flaky.  

Avocado Salad Dressing

1 ripe avocado, chopped up

2/3 cup sour cream

1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves

1 lime,  juiced  

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper and optional cayenne pepper

2 teaspoon El Pato sauce

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.  Add small amount of milk or buttermilk to thin mixture.  *Also great for grilled chicken wraps!

Blackberry Crumble

4 apples

4 cups fresh or frozen black or blueberries (I did mixed)

2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup oats

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup chopped almonds 

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger (works fine w/ fresh ginger too)

1/2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 325.  Peel, core, thinly slice apples (I forgot to peel the first half of them last time and it wasn't a big deal). 

Stir berries, apples, cornstarch, white sugar in a bowl.  Then spread in 12-24 inch dish (or whatever you have)

Stir flour, brown sugar, oats, coconut, almonds, cinnamon and ginger in a bowl.  Drizzle with melted butte and toss with fork to combine.  Sprinkle evenly over fruit.  Bake until golden and crisp, 45-50 minutes. 

Garlic and Green Onion Potatoes

1 bag of red or yellow potatoes

1/3 cup of olive oil

1cup Green onions

3 cloves peeled garlic

salt / pepper

21 seasoning salute (avail at trader joe’s)

 

Boil potatoes for 10 minutes and allow to cool

Cube and sauté with olive oil for 10 minutes on med/high heat

Add chopped green onions, garlic and spice

Sauté for 5 more minutes

Brownie Ice Cream Dessert by Janet Dixon

In Spring Form Pan cook brownie of choice- 

Freeze it for 3-4 hours.

Spread ½ gallon ice cream in layers over brownie, then squirt caramel/fudge and peanuts on top of ice cream

Freeze 3-4 hours

Add another layer of icecream, caramel, fudge, and peanuts…

Freeze 3-4 hours

ENJOY!!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

2 1/2 lbs. chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 c. flour

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. lemon pepper

3 Tbsp. oil

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. unsweetened pineapple juice

1/4 c. ketchup

1/2 tsp. soy sauce

1/2 c. vinegar

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat oil in a 12" skillet.

Rinse chicken and pat dry.

In a medium sauce pan, combine sugar, vinegar, pineapple juice, ketchup and soy sauce. Heat to boiling, stir to dissolve sugar.

In a shallow dish, combine flour, garlic salt and lemon pepper. Coat chicken in the flour mixture. Cook chicken until browned (not cooked through). Place chicken in a shallow baking dish. Pour sauce over chicken and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Mexican Lasagna

12 oz. cooked chicken, about 3 cups (we like shredded and seasoned with salsa, cumin and chili powder)

1 c. sour cream

1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 c. salsa

1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chiles

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp. ground chili powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, optional

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 6 wedges

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 11x7 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, combine chicken, sour cream, 3/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, salsa, chiles, cilantro, chili powder, and cayenne pepper.

Arrange half of the tortilla pieces in the bottom of the baking pan, overlapping pieces slightly to cover the bottom. Top with half of the chicken mixture. Layer the remaining tortilla pieces and spoon over the remaining chicken mixture. Top with the remaining cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 30 minutes more.

Makes 4+ servings

Meat Loaf Muffins

1 3/4 lbs. ground beef

1 md. onion, cut into chunks

2 celery ribs, cut into chunks

1 green bell pepper, cut into chunks

1 lg. egg + splash of milk, beaten

1 c. plain bread crumbs

2 Tbsp. grill seasoning (McCormick Montreal Steak Grill Seasoning)

1 c. smoky bbq sauce

1/2 c. tomato salsa

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire

Preheat oven to 450. Put beef into a large mixing bowl. Chop onions, celery and pepper in food processor and pour into the meat bowl. Add egg mixture, bread crumbs and grill seasoning to the meat bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix bbq sauce, salsa and worcestershire sauce. Pour 1/2 of the mixture into the meat bowl and mix with hands. Use an ice cream scoop to separate the meat mixture into a muffin tin (probably 2 scoops for each muffin). Spoon the remaining sauce over the muffins.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins

General's Chicken

20 oz. chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 scallions, minced

6 Tbs. peanut oil

2 tsp. Chinese chili sauce

4 Tbs. sugar

2 Tbs. soy sauce

4 Tbs. chicken stock

2 tsp. corn starch

4 tsp. rice vinegar

2 tsp. sesame oil

Heat 4 Tbs. of peanut oil in wok. Add chili sauce and stir fry for 10 seconds. Add chicken, garlic, and scallions. Stir fry until chicken is cooked through.

Add remaining 2 Tbs. of peanut oil, sugar, chicken stock, soy sauce and corn starch.

When thickened, drizzle on vinegar and sesame oil. Serve over rice.

Makes 2+ servings