American Tacos - Taco Salad

Meat Sauce: brown together
1 lb. hamburger
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 can water
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
Let simmer 20-30 minutes

Layering Ingredients:
tortilla chips
meat sauce
grated cheese
chopped lettuce
tomatoes
salsa
sliced olives
sour cream
ranch

This is one of my favorite dishes. In the meat sauce I also like to double the chili powder, vinegar and brown sugar for a stronger flavor with more kick.

Carne Encebollada - Puerto Rican Beef & Onions

2 pounds steak, thinly sliced
1/2 c. olive oil
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
dash dried oregano leaves
2 large onions sliced in rings
1/2 c. distilled white vinegar
1 tsp. salt

Dump all ingredients into Ziploc bag.
Refrigerate 4 hours.
Boil/simmer on low for 40 minutes (we cook it on med/high for a shorter amount of time), until all the liquid is gone and the beef is done to your liking (I like mine well done).

We make several of these at a time and freeze all but one bag for future use. We generally serve this with a potato or noodle and a vegetable. It is my favorite way to have steak.

Pork Chops

This can be done in the crock pot or in a pan... here is the crock pot version. This is what you need...


Pork Chops (I like the bone in kind, they seem to turn out very tender)
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
garlic salt
dried chopped onions


Dump everything in the crock pot. I usually add about half a can of water as well. I cook mine for about 6 hours on med-high. Serve with rice, salad and biscuits. This is super easy and really tasty!

Here they are creamy and tender packed up for my hubby's lunch.

Baked Chicken

This is simple and makes for some really juicy chicken. Here is what you will need.

Italian bread crumbs

Parmesan cheese

2 eggs

chicken breast 3 or 4

crack your 2 eggs into a bowl and whip them up with a fork. Put 2/3c of the breadcrumbs on a small plate with 1/4c Parmesan cheese, mix it together.

Dip your chicken into the egg wash and then coat it with the crumb mixture.

Here is the chicken all ready to bake. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes (check chicken by cutting into it to make sure it is done).

I served it with salad and mashed garlic potatoes.

Chicken Pockets

This is an oldie but a goodie. I know a lot of people do different things with this... like make gravy for a topping. I just don't think it is needed. I like the crisp buttery taste. Here is my twist on these. Here is what you'll need...sorry for the lighting quality!

1 pkg of puff pastry (works so much better than crescent roll dough)

1 package of chicken tenders

1 small container of onion and chive cream cheese

onion

melted butter and Parmesan cheese (not pictured)

makes 8 pockets

Chop up your chicken and grill it up in a pan. I put a few dashes of garlic salt with it and added some chopped onion. While is it cooking chop it up into smaller pieces with your spatula.

Mix all the cooked chicken together with all the cream cheese.

Lay out your pastry dough (make sure it is thawed) on a greased cookie sheet. I divided each dough piece into fours.
Place a glob of the chicken mixture in the center of each pastry square.

close them up into a shape of your choice... I liked the way the circular wantonish ones turned out better than the rectangular ones. I brushed some melted butter on top of each of these then sprinkled them with some Parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the dough is flaky and golden.

I serve these with a yummy fresh green salad and some potatoes. Enjoy!

Green Chile Burritos

The coveted green chile burrito... My mom makes these all the time. Of course hers turn out way better than mine. She is genius. Here is what you'll need...

3 or 4 chicken breasts

2 cans of green chile enchilada sauce (I prefer Hatch brand)

1 small can of diced green chiles (not pictured)

diced green onion (not pictured)

tortillas

Cheese

beans for a side dish

Dump your sauce and chicken in the crock pot and cook for at least 4 hours (on high) or 6-8 hours (on low) you want to be able to shred the chicken.

When the chicken is done pull it out and shred it.

Dip a tortilla in the sauce and place it on a cookie sheet.

Fill it up with some shredded chicken shredded cheese and drizzle with sauce. Roll up your burrito.

Keep repeating this till you have your desired amount of burritos (remember you can use any leftover chicken for quesadillas, salads, or more burritos later). Top them off with some shredded cheese, diced green onion, and more sauce. Put them in the oven at 300 degrees to melt all the cheese... like 5-10 minutes..... just keep checking on them.

I like to serve my burritos with some beans, tortilla chips, and a nice green salad. These are a favorite at our house. For those of you with kids... just make them some cheese quesadillas because these are pretty spicey.

Lasagna

This is dang good lasagna! I know that Darla doesn't like lasagna. I think it is because she has never had any good lasagna (Darla there are only 3 layers of noodles in this). What is my secret? Use sausage not hamburger! Here is what you'll need...

• Lasagna noodles
• 4 cans of tomato sauce
• 1 can of tomato paste (small can)
• garlic salt (you could also use real garlic)
• onion (I used dried kind this time)
• cottage cheese
• Italian sausage (I use Jimmy Dean)
• dried Parmesan cheese
• mozzarella cheese (I used two small shredded bags)
• 1 egg
  

Get your noodles boiling (don't over cook them) and your sausage browned.

Drain the grease from the sausage and add the tomato sauce, paste, onion and garlic salt (to your liking, I like a lot). Stir this up and put a lid on it to simmer for a while.

OK so I hate ricotta cheese... So I do this instead. 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, and one egg. Mix this up together really good.

Put a little of your sauce in the bottom of the pan so that the noodles wont stick to it.

Add a layer of noodles (3 across). Top noodles with sauce and cheese mixture. This is how I do mine then I spread it together (see the top noodle).

Top with some cheese. Then repeat all this one more time (you should use almost all sauce, all cheese mixture, and almost all cheese).

This is your top layer. I sprinkle on what left of the mozzarella (which wont be much) and some Parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes till bubbly and cooked warm through. You can make this the day before and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it.

I love to serve my lasagna with corn and salad.

"Funeral" Potato Ham Casserole

I needed something easy for tonight, and I needed to make sure it was for sure good and kids would eat it! Who doesn't like potato's covered in cheese? Here's what you need...

1 package of frozen hash browns

2 packages of cubed ham

1 tub of sour cream (I only used half of mine)

1 can of cream of potato soup

Cheddar cheese

french onions

garlic salt

Combine hash browns, sour cream, soup, cheese (I used one whole small package of shredded cheddar), ham and a few dashes of garlic salt in a mixing bowl. Make sure you mix this up really good... it is hard!

Put the mixture into a 9x13" pan. Top with a little bit more shredded cheese and some crispy french onions. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or till bubbly.

I served this with a salad and some rolls.

OK, so I know things haven't been too healthy around here lately... I'll post some healthier options soon. We just need our comfort food right now!

Creamy Italian Chicken

Here is another crock pot specialty. I know this is pretty common, but I tweaked it bit to my liking. I usually serve it over rice. We had it over noodles tonight and I decided I like it better that way. This is what you'll need...

4 boneless skinless chicken breast

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 can of cheese soup

1 packet of Italian salad dressing seasoning

1 package of cream cheese

noodles or rice of your choice.

(This will feed 4 adults comfortably)

Combine all these ingredients together in the crock pot. I add the soups first, plus a third of a can of water. Mix the soups and water together a bit. Add your chicken. Top chicken with 3/4 of the package of dressing. Top with cream cheese. I cut mine into cubes first.

Put the lid on and simmer on low for about 8 hours or so depending on your crock pot (or for a quick fix high for 4 hours). I usually stir mine up after it has cooked for an hour or so and stir a few times throughout the day.

Here is your finished product! Serve with a green salad and rolls.

(PS. why is my camera so funky? My pictures are always too dark. Any camera experts out there? I have a Nikon coolpix.)

Swiss Steak

This is great to have for dinner on a cold day. I use my crock pot to simmer everything to perfection. I know it sounds not too appetizing from the ingredients, but trust me this is good stuff. Something about the meat simmering all day in the tomato sauce with the bell pepper, prefect combination. Here's what you'll need...

round steak (or some other cheap cut of beef), I got a 6 pack stuff shrinks when it cooks up!

1 green bell pepper
4 cans of tomato sauce
garlic salt
6 medium potatoes
(this will feed 4 adults)

Get your meat out and tenderize it. I just gently slice it diagonal both ways on each side.

Pour all cans of tomato sauce into crock pot. Add the meat, sprinkle with garlic salt to your liking (I use about 4 or 5 shakes). Top off with sliced bell pepper. Put the lid on and cook for at least 6-8 hours (or on low all day). I let it cook up for a few hours then I stir it up a bit.

About an hour before you are ready to serve start your mashed potato's. I like to add milk and butter to mine till it is nice and fluffy.



I serve the meat and sauce over the potatoes.

Yum!

Chicken Tacos

These are so easy and my Husband loves them (he actually requested them for tonight). Here is what you will need.

Chicken breast (about 3 or 4)

chopped onion

garlic salt

chili powder

(don't forget your condiments... salsa, cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, avocado, sour cream etc)

Saute your onions in a warm pan... I use butter or olive oil for this (butter tonight, just a pad)

After the onions saute for a few minutes add your chopped chicken in the pan. Add about 5 shakes of garlic salt and two or three shakes of chili powder. Mix together and grill up the chicken. I usually use my wooden spoon to chop the chicken into smaller bite sized pieces as it cooks.

Here is your final product! This is how I like mine... on a nice warmed tortilla with some homemade salsa, diced tomato, avocado, shredded lettuce, and cheese.