Southwest Corn Salad

This is SO delicious... I have made it twice, and has been a huge hit both times!

3 cans corn. drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed.
1 sm. can green chilies
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup ranch dressing
1 cup cubed cheddar - cut into pieces a little bigger than the corn
1 pkg bacon, crispy and crumbled
1 bunch green onion, diced (Green only)
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 bag Chili Cheese Fritos
salt and pepper to taste

mix together everything, except the Fritos. Chill in fridge until serving. Add the Fritos just before serving.

Albondigas Soup

Meatballs (I made them the day before and stored covered in the fridge on the cookie sheet)
1 lb, lean ground beef
2 links chorizo sausage, removed from casing (not the cooked kind)
2 eggs beaten
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, shredded
1 to 1-1/2 cups cooked rice
2/3 cup chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp ground cumin

Soup
6-8 cups chicken broth
1 minced onion
3-4 celery stalks, chopped
1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
4 carrots sliced
2 zucchini sliced
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
salt & pepper to taste.

Make the meatballs first. Combine everything together and form 1" meatballs. Make sure you roll them tight so they dont fall apart. Place them onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 about half hour or until cooked through.

In a soup pot, combine onion, carrot, celery and 1/2 cup broth. Cover and let them cook 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, and the meatballs and simmer covered until vegetables are cooked. Enjoy! this also freezes very well!

MMM Garlic Fries

4 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" fries
Oil for frying
Salt, pepper
Parsley (dried or fresh, chopped)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil

In small pot, heat olive oil, garlic and parsley together until garlic is soft. Dont heat it too fast, or the garlic will burn. once the garlic is soft and barely golden, remove to a bowl. set aside.

Heat oil in deep fryer or deep skillet. Fry the potatoes until golden and cooked through. remove to a paper towel to drain. Salt immediately. Transfer HOT fries to a large bowl, pour the garlic oil over the top, and toss. The fries will absorb the garlicy oil and mmmm, soooo yummy!! Sprinkle lightly again with salt, and pepper.. Serve HOT!

Creamy chicken and sauteed mushroom casserole

I made this up, and it turned out pretty delish!!

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts. seasoned, cooked and shredded or cubed.
1 pkg. egg noodles, cooked and drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pkg sliced mushrooms
garlic powder
poultry seasoning
parsley, dried about 1 TBLS
Salt and pepper to taste
1 TBLS Oil & 1 TBLS butter to saute mushrooms

CRUMB TOPPING:
1 cup Italian breadcrumbs.
1/2 cup crushed Saltine crackers
1/2 cup crushed potato chips
1 TBLS Mrs. Dash garlic and herb
mix well, set aside.

Season chicken with Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and poultry rub. Cook it however you want, and then either shred it, or cut it into 1/2" pieces.

Meanwhile, heat oil and butter in a skillet, and saute mushrooms with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. until golden and tender.

In large bowl, combine soup, milk, shredded cheese, Parmesan, and parsley. Add cooked noodles, chicken and mushrooms. Season to taste.

Pour into greased casserole dish, cover with foil and bake 40 min. remove cover, spread crumb topping on top, bake 20 min.

Italian Pork Cutlets

Ingredients:

Italian Style breadcrumbs, OR
1/2 sleeve crushed saltines, and 1 TBLS Mrs. Dash garlic and herb seasoning
4 boneless pork chops
Oil for frying
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup flour
Salt and pepper

Prepare your meat by pounding out the chops until they are thin. You want them to be pretty thin so they cook through.
Heat oil (about 1/2" deep) in skillet.
Dip each chop into flour, then into egg, then coat very well with Italian seasoned crumbs. I used the saltines, and the texture is perfect!

Enjoy!

Tilapia Fish Tacos

These are EXACTLY like the ones I had on the pier at Ocean Beach in San Diego a few months ago....

Tilapia Fish Tacos
3 Tilapia fillets
12 corn tortillas
shredded cabbage (about 2 cups)
Fresh Cilantro chopped (about 3/4 cup)
cooking Oil

Sauce:
3/4 C. sour cream
2 TBSP mayonnaise
1 Tsp chopped cilantro
garlic powder
salt
onion powder


First heat about 1 inch oil in shallow pan. Then dip each tortilla in the hot oil, frying for only a few seconds to soften. layer them between paper towels, set aside.
Shred cabbage and chop cilantro, set aside.

Prepare the sauce. Mix all ingredients in small bowl, season to taste.

Next. season your fish on both sides with your favorite seafood seasoning, or just use some Cajun spices, and garlic powder, salt and pepper. Next, grill fish or saute in pan with small amount of oil until cooked through.

To prepare taco: Stack 2 warm tortillas together. Cut each Tilapia fillet in half lengthwise. Put 1/2 fillet in each taco. Next give fish a squirt of lime. Sprinkle some of the cilantro on the fish, top with some shredded cabbage, and last drizzle the sauce on the top. ENJOY!

Crunchy Gooey Grilled cheese

I saw this recipe on Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals, and HAD TO TRY IT! OMG, its soooooooo good...

The trick is to use English Muffins!! I used sourdough muffins. Then, you slice them in half like normal, and then the inside faces the outside.. So all the nooks and cranny's are on the outside. I used 3 cheeses, Swiss, Munster and American. And then butter the muffins really well, and brown in skillet. I kept the lid on, to make sure the cheese melted. And boy did it!! And the English muffins provided a perfect crunch to assist all that gooey cheese! Enjoy!

Perfect Roast chicken

I know it sounds impossible, but up until last week, I had never roasted a whole chicken!!! So, I braved it! Can I just say, it turned out super scrumptious and juicy, and flavorful. The skin was perfectly seasoned and crisp!!

Ingredients:
1 chicken rinsed, dried.
1 packet of Slow Cooker Italian Chicken seasoning. (I know, sounds weird)
Butter
Potatoes, carrots, onion. Any other veggie you like. :)
water or chicken broth
salt and pepper

First, smear the butter all over the bird generously. Sprinkle the seasoning on and rub it in, with the butter all over the bird. It will look perfectly coated, and beatiful. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over it and the veggies too. I also put some butter under the skin on the breast, and extra butter to make it super moist and juicy!
Put the cut up veggies on bottom of roasting pan, and then sprinkly a little of the same seasoning on them. Add about 2/3 inch water or chicken broth to the bottom. Put a rack in the center for the chicken to sit on.
Bake 400 for about an hour and 45 min.. to 2 hours..until juices are clear. After about an hour, I put a few more pats of butter on the breast.. once the bird is nicely browned, turn it over to brown the underside..... let sit 10-15 minutes before cutting. You can use the pan juices to make fabulous gravy too by adding flour or cornstarch slurry and whisking until thick! Enjoy!

Red Chili Cheese Enchiladas

Red Chili Cheese Enchiladas
Recipe inspired by Suzanne Hammond

2 cans Hormel chili (or any brand you like)
2 regular size cans Red enchilada sauce
24-30 corn tortillas
Shredded cheese (I used Mexican blend about 5 cups) (save a cup or two for the top)
Cooking oil

Put both cans of chili and both cans of enchilada sauce in a sauce pan and heat through.

While this is warming you can start preparing the tortillas. Bring about 2” of oil up to temp in a small skillet and place each tortilla in the hot oil for about 3-5 seconds until it becomes tender. Do not leave longer than this, or the tortilla will become crisp. Do them one at a time, and layer them between paper towels to drain. Once all tortillas are done you can start preparing the enchiladas. Put some of the sauce on the bottom of the pan to avoid sticking. Next, one by one you will put a few TBLS of cheese into each tortilla and roll it. Place them side by side in the pan until the entire pan is full. You may need to add more or less depending on how big you make each one. Once the entire pan is full, then you can pour the rest of the chili sauce over the top, making sure it gets down in between the enchiladas and around the edges. Cover with remaining cheese. Bake covered at 400 for about 30-45 minutes. Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve with shredded lettuce, tomato and sour cream.

*** you can also add shredded chicken, beef and or onion to the mixture!

Enjoy!!

Creamy chicken and wild rice

MMM. nothing like some home cooking to sooth your soul. Take boneless chicken breast, cook them in a little olive oil in a skillet, nice and golden. Then add, a can of cream of mushroom soup. Salt and Pepper..simmer until nice and thick.. Meanwhile... cook some long grain wild rice medley.. with a chicken boullion cube, and bay leaf. Serve together. MMMM