Oven Taco's

**The family loved these. It is a nice spin on the normal taco. This recipe comes from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures **

**This is a huge recipe. If you have a smaller family, I would suggest to 1/2 the recipe and you could probably freeze the filling to use at a later date. I used 1/2lb meat, 1/4 can of beans and 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and I made 6 tacos. **

Oven Taco's

2 lbs ground beef

1 can refried beans

8 oz tomato sauce

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

18-20 hard taco shells

garnish - lettuce, sour cream, salsa, etc..

Brown the ground beef and drain off any fat. Add the refried beans, tomato sauce, and seasoning.

Spoon mixture into taco shells.

Place filled taco shells in a 9x13 baking dish, standing up. Sprinkle each taco with cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Garlic Pull Apart Bread Recipe

**This is the 2nd recipe like this I have added. This one is cooked differently than the other one here on the blog. You can use regular roll dough, or you can use the refrigerated biscuits from the store.

Garlic Pull Apart Bread

1 16oz can buttermilk biscuits

1/2 cup melted butter

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp garlic salt

In a small bowl, melt butter. Add garlic, parmesan cheese and garlic salt. Pour into a round cake pan or an 8x8 baking dish.

Open the biscuits and cut each one into quarters. Place them in the pan over the butter mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes. ( I wish I would have baked the ones in the picture a little longer or used a dark dish verses a clear one)

When you take them out of the oven, flip the biscuits onto a large plate and serve.

**I used my dinner roll recipe, found here, and put then in the dish during the last 15 minutes of rising. I also used the refrigerator biscuits. They were popular both ways.

Chili Cheese Tater Tot Casserole

**This recipe comes from Mommy Hates Cooking It is a quick, easy meal.**

Chili Cheese Tater Tot Casserole

2 cans of chili

Frozen tater tots (we used about 1/3 of a 28oz bag)

1 cup cheese, divided

In an 8x8 baking dish, empty out the 2 cans of chicken. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese over top. Place the tater tots over top of cheese and sprinkle more cheese on top of the tater tots.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes.

Super-Quick Chicken-Broccoli Stir Fry

This recipe was a selfish one. I made it because I thought it looked SO yummy! I didn't make it because I thought my family would like it or because it looked healthy or even because I thought it would look good on our blog. I just thought "YUM!" and that was that.

Turns out, I was totally right! My family LOVED this. And it was so easy!

The only ingredient I had to buy was the salad dressing - I had everything else in my pantry or fridge. After making this dinner I bought 3 more bottles of the salad dressing so I could make it anytime I had a craving.

Good stuff, my friends!




Super-Quick Chicken-Broccoli Stir Fry
Prep time: 10 mins Total time: 25 mins Serves: 4

1/2 lb angel hair pasta (capellini), uncooked
2 cups fresh broccoli florets, uncooked
1/2 - 1 cup fresh shredded carrot, uncooked
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins, cut into bite-sized pieces (or thin strips, if you prefer)
1/2 cup Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp each: ground ginger & garlic powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (if you like - we didn't & it was fine without)
1/3 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

• Cook pasta in large pot as directed on package. Add broccoli to boiling water for the last 3 mins.



• Meanwhile, spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray; heat on medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces; cook 6-8 mins, or until done, stirring occasionally.



• Stir dressing, soy sauce and seasonings into chicken; cook 1 min, stirring occasionally.



• Drain pasta/broccoli; place in large bowl.



• Add chicken/sauce mixture; mix lightly (tongs are the easiest way to mix this).



• Serve - you can serve it in the mixing bowl with the peanuts on the side (like we did) or evenly distribute the finished dish into single-serving bowls & sprinkle with peanuts & serve.

NOTE: Add in whatever vegetables you have on hand such as snow peas, sliced bell peppers, chopped red or green onions, etc. You can substitute them for the broccoli & carrots or just add them in.

Enjoy!!

Chicken and Rice

This is what it will look like when it is ready to go into the oven.

**This was one of my favorite dinners growing up. I think it is funny that I have been married for 22 years and can't even count on one hand how many times I have made this. I seem to keep forgetting about it. Well, now that I am making it, it is going into the compilation of recipes I am doing, so I will be sure to see it and make it more frequently. I hope your family will enjoy it. **

Chicken and Rice

8x8 recipe

2 chicken breasts cooked and diced up

1 box Chicken and Mushroom Rice A Roni

1 can Cream of Mushroom and Chicken (Yes, it is all mixed together already)

1 1/3 cup water

**Brown the rice mixture in a skillet over medium heat. I don't add the butter to do this. I just spray the pan with some Pam. When the mixture is light brown, pour into an 8x8 baking dish. Sprinkle half the seasoning packet over top of rice. Place the chicken over top of the rice mixture. Sprinkle with remaining seasoning packet. Open the can of soup, and place dollops of the soup evenly over top of the chicken. Slowly pour in the water so that it is evenly distributed through the baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.

9x13 recipe

4 chicken breasts cooked and diced up

2 boxes Chicken and Mushroom Rice A Roni

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

OR you can just do 2 cans of cream of chicken and mushroom soup

2 2/3 cup water

**Brown the rice mixture in a skillet over medium heat. I don't add the butter to do this. I just spray the pan with some Pam. When the mixture is light brown, pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle 1 seasoning packet over top of rice. Place the chicken over top of the rice mixture. Sprinkle with the 2nd seasoning packet. Open the cans of soup, and place dollops of the soup evenly over top of the chicken. Slowly pour in the water so that it is evenly distributed through the baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.

Mom's Pumpkin Dump and Berry Cobbler Dump

**My Mom always made this and still makes this quite frequently. This recipe follows the ingredients on the back of a Libby's 100% pumpkin 29oz can and then she adds the cake mix to the top.**

Pumpkin Dump

1 29oz can Libby's 100% pumpkin

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2-12oz cans evaporated milk

1 tsp salt

3-4 tsp pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon (my mom always uses pumpkin pie spice and never uses cloves like other recipes)

1 box yellow cake mix

1 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking dish. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar and spices. Mix well. Pour into the baking dish. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over top of the pumpkin mixture. Drizzle the melted butter evenly over top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Watch closely after about 45 minutes.

Berry or Cherry Cobbler

2 cans Comstock berry pie filling or cherry pie filling

1 box yellow cake mix

1 stick melted butter

Pour both cans of pie filling into a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle the box of cake mix evenly over top. Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cake mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown.

Mom's Fried Rice

**I have such a hard time typing up my moms recipes, because she is such a "dump cook." So, I kind of cook that way too. My measurements are not exact, but they are close.** My mom always made this with the Egg Rolls, or the Sweet n Sour chicken.**

Fried Rice

3 cups cooked rice

1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled. (Reserve bacon grease in skillet)

4-5 eggs

Lawry's Onion Salt

Peas (optional)

Green onion (optional)

Cook the bacon in a skillet. Set aside on paper towel to drain grease. Crumble bacon after it has cooled off. Set aside.

You may remove some of the bacon grease, but then, over medium-high heat, heat the grease and pan drippings back up. Add the rice to the pan drippings. At this point, if you like peas in your fried rice, add them too. Let it cook until heated through.

My mom then used to move all the rice to the outer edges of the skillet and cook the egg in the middle of the skillet and then incorporate it into the rice after they were fully cooked. I'm not very good at this, as my eggs always stick. So, I just scramble my eggs in a seperate smaller skillet and then add them to the rice mixture. Add the bacon also at this time and the optional green onion. Sprinkle Lawry's onion salt until the taste is how you would like it.

Mom's Egg Rolls

**Sorry I don't have a finished picture. These are pictures I took a while ago when we were leaving for a party, and I forgot to get a picture of the final product. This is another recipe my mom used to make growing up. I tried baking them one time, and it just didn't seem like the entire wrapper got cooked and the taste was not as good as being fried. If you have any ideas for baking them, please share your ideas and successes. These were something that we all enjoyed growing up, even with all the vegetables in them.**

Egg Rolls

1 pkg egg roll wrappers

4 chicken breasts cut up in small cubes

1 cup diced celery

1 onion diced

1 pkg mushrooms in carton, diced

Soy sauce

Salt n pepper

Olive or canola oil

Dice up each vegetable. In a skillet, saute each vegetable seperately in a small amount of oil. Add about 1/2-1 TB soy sauce, and salt and pepper. After cooking each vegetable for about 3 mintues, place it in a medium sized bowl. Then saute the diced up chicken in oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper until no longer pink. Place the chicken in the bowl with the vegetables also. Stir until all the ingredients are equally mixed in. Add more soy sauce and salt and pepper as desired for taste.

Place about 1/4 cup of mixture on an egg roll wrapper. Fold up sides, and dip your fingers in some milk to help seal up the seams.

Cook in a skillet with about 1/2 cup oil. Fry each side until light brown. Place on a paper towel to drain grease. Serve.

Oreo Truffles

**My high school aged daughter came home from school the other day wanting to make a treat that she and her friends were discussing during their lunch break. I was proud that she did it all by herself (except buying the ingredients of course). **

Oreo Truffles

1 8oz pkg Philadelphia cream cheese, softened

1 pkg oreo cookies, finely crushed

Milk chocolate chips, melted

White chocolate chips, melted

*Finely crush the Oreo cookies in a baggie with a mallot. In a medium sized bowl add the cookie crumbs and add the softened cream cheese. Mix together very well. Shape into 48 round balls. Dip each ball into the melted chocolate. (You could also refrigerate them or freeze them prior to dipping. She just didn't have time.) Place the dipped truffles on a sheet of wax paper. Place melted white chocolate in baggie. Puncture a small hole at the corner, and drizzle over the top of each truffle. Let sit until chocolate has hardened or place in refrigerator until hardened. Serve.

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes, Feta and Basil

**If you are trying to heat healthier, this was really a good flavorful dish. I am finding that I really like Feta cheese. I've never really used it much in the past, but I have a few recipes that call for it now. You can pair this with some chicken, shrimp or bbq steak of some kind**

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes, Feta and Basil

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3 cups prepared spaghetti squash

1 TB olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped zucchini

3/4 cup crumbled, reduced fat feta cheese

3 TB sliced black olives (I did not add this)

1 tsp basil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Cut your spaghetti squash in half long ways, and place each side face down on sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a sharp knife can be inserted with only a little resistance. Remove squash from oven and set aside to cool enough to be easily handled. Scoop out the seeds, then use a large spoon and scoop out all the stringy cooked squash. Place in a medium sized bowl.

In a skillet, heat oil and saute garlic until browned. Stir in tomatoes, zucchini and olives. Cook until the zucchini and tomatoes are warmed through. Toss squash with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese and basil. Serve warm.

For Lean and Green:

This recipe has 3 servings. Each serving is 1 complete green, 1 condiment and 1 healthy fat. You will still need to have 3/4 lean such as beef, chicken or shrimp.

***I ended up cutting my chicken in cubes and added it to the spaghetti squash. Yum. Lots of flavor.