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 :)

Chicken Fiesta

• 2 cups of grilled diced chicken
• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 16oz jar of pace picante sauce
• 1 small can of sliced black olives
• 1 or 2 cans of cream style corn (your choice/I used 2)
• 2 green onions, diced
• 1 bag of Doritos or Tortilla Chips

Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray, layer the crushed Doritos (chips) on the bottom, then in layers; chicken, corn, salsa, olives, green onions, and cheese. Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbly. Very easy and delish! Serve with sour cream and guacamole :)

Classic Tuna Noodle Casserole

• 2 cans of tuna, drained
• 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 small jar of chopped pimentos
• 1 package of frozen peas & carrots
• 1 package of medium egg noodles
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar or sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 a ream of Ritz crackers, crushed
• 1 pinch of thyme
• salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder, minced dried onion ( I used about 1 tsp each & 1 tbsp of the onion)
• 1/2 cup of additional shredded cheese

Heat the oven to 350. Boil your noodles according to the directions. About 3 minutes prior to the noodles being done, drop in the frozen peas & carrots.
In a large bowl, combine the soups and milk, then add the pimentos,spices, and tuna. Mix well. Drain the noodles and veggies, then add to the soup mixture. Mix well. Add the 1 1/2 cups of cheese. Mix. Pour the mixture into a greased Pyrex dish. Top with the remaining cheese and crushed crackers. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Let it set for about 5-8 minutes. Like any casserole it needs to cool down a bit to "set". Enjoy!

Ribs..nuff said :)

I used a bunch of spices for the rub. Lemon pepper, garlic & onion powder, dried minced onion, Tony's, Lawry's seasoning salt, and Worcestershire black pepper. We used Pork baby back ribs. Rub those babies good with the spices then let it sit in the fridge for about an hour. My hubby uses Mesquite wood with his Kingsford coals. Let those babies cook for about 30 minutes then you can put your favorite BBQ sauce on them and let them cook for an additional 20-30 minutes. You can wrap them in foil once you add the BBQ and just let them cook on the grill. All I know is, my hubby did a fantastic job. They were delish!!!

Kroger had their sweet corn on sale so I bought 5 ears. A little secret of getting the butter all up on the ears...after boiling them for about 30 minutes (fresh corn), add them to a large zip lock bag and drop your butter in the bag, seal and shake. Every ear get the butter. You can add your salt & pepper to the bag as well. I usually let fresh corn sit in the hot water for an additional 20 minutes and add 2 tbsp of sugar to the water. :)

Beans, well, all I added to that was BBQ sauce, honey, and Dijon mustard. If I had more time, I would have added sauteed bell pepper and onions and put bacon on top :) Bacon makes everything better, right?

Crazy Chicken Enchilada's

• 3 medium boneless chicken breast
• 1 taco seasoning packet (taco bell)
• 1 can of mild rotel
• 10 flour tortilla's
• 1 can of Rico's nacho cheese sauce
• 1 family size can of cream of chicken soup
• 16 oz of sour cream
• 2 cups of shredded cheese

**You can make this low fat but I would not advise using fat free**

First, season your chicken breast. I used a little lemon pepper, Tony's, and salt & pepper. Bake in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes. Let it set at room temp for about 10 minutes, to cool. Once the chicken has cooled, shred the chicken and place it into a large bowl. It should be very juicy and yummy! :) To the chicken, add your taco seasoning packet. I normally use McCormick, but it's too strong so taco bell is the next best thing. Then add your can of rotel. Mix until combined.
Spray a 13x9 with olive oil, then take about 4 tbsp of the Rico's nacho cheese sauce and spread it on the bottom of the baking dish so the enchilada's will have something to "stick" too. Now, for each tortilla, I spread about 1 tbsp of the Rico's nacho cheese on each tortilla, then add about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture, then sprinkle about 2 tbsp of the shredded cheese, wrap and place in your baking dish. You might not be able to fit them all in the dish so have a small dish set aside.
Mix your family size cream of chicken with the sour cream. If you have any nacho cheese left over, just spread it over the tortilla's. Then spread your sour cream mixture over the tortilla's. Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese on top. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes until golden and bubbly. Be careful, it will be hot. Enjoy!!!