Easy Taco Salad

• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 small bag of regular Frito's (10 oz)
• 1 taco seasoning packet
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 to 1 1/2 lbs of ground meat
• 1 head of iceberg lettuce, chopped
• 1 small bottle of french dressing or 3/4 large bottle
• 1/4 cup chopped purple onion (optional)

You can use low fat cheese, lean ground meat, and light dressing; however, I would not recommend fat free.
FYI, do not refrigerate. It get's all soggy. So, make sure you have lot's of company :)

Place your chopped lettuce in a LARGE mixing bowl, add the cheese, and Frito's. Set aside. In a medium skillet, brown your ground meat, drain. Add your taco packet and water to the ground meat and heat until it thickens. You may need to add a little bit more water. Add the HOT meat mixture to the lettuce and mix well. Add your dressing and onion. Mix until combined. If you like less dressing, use a smaller bottle. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Pie with a side of Pork Roast

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp of peanut butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 (8oz) package of cream cheese (at room temp)
• 1 (8oz) tub cool whip
• 1 Oreo cookie pie crust
• ice cream topping (magic shell)

I used honey roasted peter pan peanut butter, yummy, and Reese's magic shell.

In a large bowl combine all of the above ingredients except the toppings and crust. Blend with a hand mixer then gently fold in the cool whip. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and freeze for 2 hours. Once frozen, drizzle the top with the ice cream topping and re-freeze for 20 minutes.

Thaw slightly before serving. Easy! Enjoy!

On my pork roast...I just seasoned with my usual spices; lemon pepper, garlic/onion powder, Tony's, salt/pepper, a pinch of thyme and rosemary. In my roasting pan on the stove top, I browned all sides, then removed the roast and added the vegetables; potatoes, onions, celery, and carrots. Add the roast back to the pan and cook at 375 covered for 1 hour. Forget about it :) Remove the top and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Remove the roast from the pan to set for about 10 minutes. Remove the veggies, make your gravy with the pan drippings. Done.

Chicken and Sausage Sauce Piquante

• 1 lb of smoked sausage, sliced
• 3-4 lb of chicken tenders/breast, diced
• 2 cans of stewed tomatoes with bell peppers, onions, celery
• 1 can of rotel or 1 can of Campbell's tomato bisque
• 2 tbsp of oil
• 2 tbsp of flour
• 1 cup of milk
• Spices: lemon pepper, dried parsley, salt/pepper, garlic/onion powder, minced onion, Tony's

First, let me just say that you can use "regular" stewed tomatoes and "add" chopped onion/bell pepper/celery or you can buy the stewed tomatoes with the veggies already added. I just chose to "cheat" since we were hungry :) Also, you DO NOT have to use the tomato bisque, it is rather sweet. If you have FRESH  tomatoes on hand/freezer, etc, I would recommend using those versus the can.

Season your chicken with your spices. I used about 1/2 tsp of each and 1 tbsp of the minced onion and parsley.

In a large pan, saute the chicken and sausage in the oil for about 10 minutes or until brown and chicken is cooked. Remove the meat to a bowl. Add the 2 cans of stewed tomatoes to the pan and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until it's reduced some. I also use a potato smasher to smash the tomatoes some so you do not have "chunks" of tomatoes. Once the tomatoes have reduced, add the flour and cook until it's dissolved and thickens, then add your milk and if you want, add the can of tomatoe bisque or rotel at this point. Add your meats back to the pan and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes. Season with salt/pepper. You can add more milk if it's too thick or let it reduce if it's too thin. Serve over rice.

To me, this is basically making tomato gravy and adding meat to it :)