Mexican Lasagna

This picture doesn't look the greatest, I should have taken one after I cut a piece out, oh well. Also in this recipe I don't use the oregano but I do use chili powder. and when it is done let it sit out of the oven for about 10 minutes before you cut into it, otherwise it will be really soupy.

1 lb. lean ground beef cooked

2 cans refried beans

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. ground cumin

3/4 tsp. garlic powder

12 uncooked lasagna noodles

2 cups water

2 1/2 cups picante sauce or salsa

2 cups (16 oz.) sour cream

2 can (2.2 oz) sliced black olives, drained

2 cup (4 oz.) shredded Monterrey jack cheese

Combine beef, beans, oregano, cumin, and garlic powder. Place four of the uncooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a 13 X 9 inch baking pan. Spread half of the beef mixture over the noodle. Top with four more noodles and the remaining beef mixture. Cover with remaining noodles. Combine water and picante sauce. Pour over all. Cover tightly with foil; bake at 350 degrees for an hour or until noodles are tender. Combine sour cream, onions, and olives. Spoon over casserole; top with cheese. Bake uncovered, until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Serves 12. Enjoy!

Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

Okay here is another soup, I found this on another cooking blog and thought I would give it a try. Well Joe loved this one and I have had to make it twice in the past two weeks for him. I like the other potato broccoli soup I posted better, but that's just me. This soup made a bigger batch but took like twice the time to make. Anyway give it a try and let me know what you think. I also added some minced garlic to this recipe. The first time I only added two cloves and that wasn't enough, so this time I added about 5 and that was better, I just cooked it in with the onions. Also the second time I made it I only added two large potatoes because the first time it had two many for me(I took the picture the first time).


4 potatoes peeled, and cut into small cubes
5 carrots peeled and chopped
2 heads of broccoli chopped (I justed used a bag of frozen broccoli)

Boil potatoes and carrots for 10 min. Then add broccoli and boil 10 more minutes. Drain and set aside.

Then:
half or whole onion diced
1/4 cup butter

Melt butter then saute onion in butter until tender. Set aside.

Then:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cups whole milk
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups cheese shredded
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Melt butter in large pot. Add flour and whisk until mixed well. Add milk and broth. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes to thicken. Add veggies, onion, cheese, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low. Serve with rolls or in bread bowls. Enjoy!!

My Birthday Dinner

So, I know this is a little late coming, but I wanted to finally post what I made for my birthday dinner. I made shredded chicken burritos and a bean dip and guacamole that didn't quite turn out like guacamole, but it was still good.

Shredded Chicken Burritos:

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast

Salsa

Shredded Cheese

Tortillas

Cook the chicken. I just put it in a frying pan and added salt and cooked it up until it wasn't pink in the middle. After it is done cooking, shred the chicken. I use two forks and hold the chicken with one fork and pull pieces away with another fork. Pretty easy. Mix the shredded chicken with some salsa. Put some of it on a tortilla and top with cheese. Pop it in the microwave until the cheese melts and wrap it up.

Guacamole Dip Stuff

So, I usually make amazing guacamole, but this time, it wasn't the same. It was delicious, but not quite guacamole. I added too much sour cream, so I got creative (well, not too creative, but whatever).

Avocados

Sour Cream

Lime

Salsa

Jalepenos

Cut the avocados in half. Remove the pit (if you haven't ever done this before, it is fun. You take a knife and slam it into the pit and then just pull the knife out and the pit comes with). Peel the skin off and mash the avocado. Mix in some sour cream. I put a lot in this time and it was still good. Mix in some salsa and squeeze half a lime into it. Add salt to taste. Top with jalepenos.

Bean Dip

For my bean dip, I actually made the beans from scratch. Pretty easy. It is easier with the dehydrated bean flakes from the cannery though.

Pinto Beans

Pepper Jack Cheese

Soak the pinto beans over night. Remove the soak water and boil them in fresh water. Drain off some of the water and mash the beans. Add in a ton of pepper jack cheese. Done.

I did not get a picture of the bean dip because I did not drain off enough water and I had to boil some off. It took forever and I was too tired to take a picture when it was finally done, but it was good. You can also mix salsa with the beans.

Enjoy!

Beef Strogonoff

This is one of mine and Joe's favorite dinners. It is so easy and I don't have a real recipe. You would laugh if I wrote it down the way my mom told me how to make it over the phone. Luckily it is pretty hard to mess it up.

-1 pound of stir fry or stew beef (you can use more but I am not a huge meat eater so I usually use less)
-1 pint of sour cream
-1 onion (doesn't really matter what kind, I used a mayan sweet onion tonight and it was good)
-1 pint of sliced white mushrooms
- 1 packet of Liptons onion soup mix
-1 tablespoon of flour
-2 cups of water
-Worchestershire sauce
- package of egg noodles

-dice onions and cook with beef and a few dashes of worchestershire sauce until beef is browned, add mushrooms and flour, let mushrooms cook for a minute and then add the water and onion soup mix. Turn down the heat to med low, cover and let simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

-turn heat off and when it stops bubbling add in the sour cream and turn heat back on low to warm back up.

-About 5 minutes before sauce is down simmering boil water for egg noodles and cook.

I promise it is so Yummy. Perfect for a cold night like tonight.

My Church Christmas Party

So I was in charge of the ward Christmas party food, and although I didn't take any pictures, I have to share a super easy recipe with you. Goes like this.

6 chicken breasts
1 package of dry ranch dressing
1 package of dry Italian dressing
1 stick of butter

Put chicken breasts in crockpot, sprinkle both seasoning packets over all the chicken, cut the butter into slices and place over all the chicken. Cook in crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. Everyone loved it! Easy peasy lemon squeasy.

Broccoli Potato Soup

I got this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens a few months ago. I was very surprised when I made it and it came out good. This was my first attempt at making soup from scratch and it has quickly become on of our favorites.

-2 medium red potatoes, chopped (I just used regular potatoes because that's all I had)

-1 14 oz can chicken broth

-3 cups of small broccoli florets

-2 cups of milk

-3 tbsp all purpose flour

-2 cups smoked Gouda cheese, shredded (8 oz)

-In large sauce pan combine potatoes and broth. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 8 minutes. Mash slightly. Add broccoli and milk; bring just to simmering

-In medium bowl toss flour with cheese; gradually add to soup, stirring cheese until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

Now just a hint, usually I get the Gouda at Safeway because that is where I normally shop, but last night we decided to walk to Fry's and get it. Well the cheese is like a $1.50 less at Safeway then Fry's and it is a better quality. This recipe surprised me how easy it was especially since it is from Better Homes and Gardens. It would also be great served in a bread bowl. Yummy!!!

It's Shake and Bake and I helped!

Ok, so this may be a lame attempt at cooking, but I love Shake and Bake! For dinner on Thursday night, I made Shake and Bake pork chops. (Sorry Steph, I know you hate pork).

Ingredients:

Pork Chops - I prefer boneless pork chops as they are easier to eat

Shake and Bake seasoning - it comes in a few different flavors, so find the one that you like. I used Italian seasoning for this meal, but it is good with other flavors too.

Apple Sauce

Since it is just me, I only used 2 pork chops and a little bit of Shake and Bake. Wet the pork chops and put the Shake and Bake in a baggie. Shake the pork chops in the bag. Put them on a cookie sheet that is ungreased. You can also line your cookie sheet with foil and save on clean up. Put them in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve with apple sauce and enjoy! I also had green beans with my dinner on Thursday as you can see. Those are real simple. I just opened the can, drained it and put some on my plate. If you can't tell, I like simple. :) Tomorrow night, I'm making shredded chicken burritos and bean dip. I figured I needed to get my Thursday night's dinner on here before I went off and made something else.