Taco Salad

This is a great summer meal! Easy to whip up, won't heat up the house, and so savory! The best thing about this salad is that you can mix it up with ingredients to whatever you enjoy!

What I used:
1 Cucumber, peeled and cut up into bite size pieces
2 roma tomatoes, cut up
1lb. ground beef
crushed Doritos
Creamy French dressing
Top with sour cream

Cook up your beef. While your beef is browning get your cucumber and tomatoes cut up. Put them in your salad bowl. Add beef and crushed doritos. Mix together with enough salad dressing to your taste. I didn't measure the amount.

From our table to yours, bon appetite!

Tiramisu Bowl

For Memorial Day we were planning a get together with some friends of ours. Of course I saw this as a PERFECT opportunity to make a tasty dessert to share! After flipping through one of my editions of the Kraft Food and Family magazine I found this great tasting recipe! It looks pretty and tastes wonderful!

What the recipe called for:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened

3 cups cold milk

2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

1 tub (8 oz.) Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

48 NILLA Wafers

1/2 cup brewed strong Coffee, cooled, divided (I actually used Chocolate milk instead to make it kid friendly and it worked great!)
1 cup fresh raspberries (Since raspberries are extremely pricey these days, I actually used a banana all cut up.)

BEAT cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Beat in milk and pudding mixes. Stir in 2 cups COOL WHIP.

LINE 2-1/2-qt. bowl with 24 wafers; drizzle with 1/4 cup coffee. Top with 1/2 each pudding mixture and chocolate. Repeat all layers.

TOP with remaining COOL WHIP and raspberries. Refrigerate 2 hours. Refrigerate leftovers.

From our table to yours, bon appetite!

Pesto Sausage Pizza

This recipe comes via my sister in-law who made this pizza for her family and she said it was the best homemade pizza they have ever had! I haven't personally tried this one, but I do know my sis in-law is a great cook so I totally trust her opinion on this matter! Give it a try!

What she used:

1 loaf frozen bread dough

1/2lb. bulk Italian sausage

2c. sliced fresh mushrooms

8oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4c. prepared pesto

1c. roasted garlic Parmesan spaghetti sauce

1 can sliced ripe olives, drained

1/2c. orange pepper, diced

1 1/2c. (6oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

In large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Form crust with dough on pizza pan. Build up edges slightly. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and pesto until blended. Spread over dough. Layer with spaghetti sauce, sausage, mushrooms, olives, peppers, and cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30.

From our table to yours, bon appetite!

Bacon Mushroom Chicken

This recipe comes from the magazine Cooking For Two, which is put out by Taste of Home. It certainly is delicious! My husband loved it!! Even though it is for two people, you can obviously adjust the ingredients for your family size. By the way, just a plug for this magazine, it is a GREAT wedding gift/bridal shower gift for those newlyweds you know! It is full of creative and delicious recipes and it is exactly what my mom did for me when my husband and I got married! Helped me to think "outside the box" so to speak. Just food for thought!

What the recipe called for:

• 2 bacon strips, halved
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)
• 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
• 1/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels; set aside. Flatten chicken to 1/2-in. thickness; sprinkle both sides with seasoned salt. Brown in bacon drippings. Transfer to a 1-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, combine the honey, mustard, mayonnaise, corn syrup and onion; spread 1/4 cup over chicken. Top with bacon and mushrooms. Sprinkle with cheese.
Cover and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Serve with remaining honey mixture. Yield: 2 servings.

From our table to yours, bon appetite!


Photo comes from tasteofhome.com

Pasta Salad

With the summer months right at our front door it is the perfect time to bring on the salads! Not just green salads, but all kinds of salads such as this Pasta Salad! I started out following a recipe, but ended up switching a few things around! So you can click here for the original recipe, or you can follow the one I did below!

What I used:
1 cup miracle whip dressing

1/4 cup Light Zesty Italian Dressing

2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked, drained

1/2 cup of colby and monterey jack cheese, grated very finely

1 cup mixed veggies, cooked and drained

1/2 cup chopped red peppers

Mix your dressings together then add all the other ingredients. Be sure to mix it all up well. Cover and refrigerate 30 min. to an hr. before serving.

From our table to yours, bon appetite!

photo comes from Kraftfoods.com

Penne Chicken Bake

Looking for a great meal to serve to company? This is a great tasting and beautiful looking pasta and chicken bake!

What I used:
1 1/2 cups penne pasta, uncooked
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
3/4 jar Ragu Roasted Garlic spaghetti sauce
1/2 red pepper, cut up
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
2 oz. cream cheese
1 cup colby and montery jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Cook pasta according to package directions. While your pasta is cooking, cook up your chicken in a non-stick skillet. Add your basil, pepper, spaghetti sauce and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Simmer on low heat for 3 min. or until the chicken is done. Stir in your cream cheese.
Drain your pasta. In a 2qt. casserole dish pour your pasta and your chicken mixture along with 1/2 cup of cheese. Mix well. Bake 20 min. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses and bake 3 min. longer.

From our table to yours, bon appetite!

Cookies and cream Squares

Ok folks, THIS is SO delicious! I made it yesterday and have yet to take a picture of it, but you'll have to take my word for it until I get a picture on here! It is delicious!

What I used:
Many Oreo cookies (crushed)
Mint chocolate chip ice cream, 1 1/2qts. (really you could use any flavor)
One tub of cool whip, 8ounces

Take a 9x13 dish and line it with foil so that the edges are overlapping the sides. Take the numerous amount of crushed cookies and put them into the bottom of the dish. It will be your bottom crust. Next, take your softened ice cream and spread it evenly across the top of the cookies. Next, take your cool whip and spread it across the top of the ice cream. Now, take just several more crushed cookies and sprinkle them across the top of the cool whip. Freeze for 3 hrs. before serving. When ready to serve, you can just take the foil and lift the entire dessert out of the pan, or you can leave it in the pan it makes for a much easier clean up! Now, doesn't that sound SO good?!

From our table to yours, bon appetite!