Taco Salad

This is a tasty treat. I haven't had it in forever and came across this recipe. Now as you can see from the photo I followed the recipe and added a bottle of Catilina dressing. Note to self: Half a bottle will do ya. I also think you could eat it plain without the dressing. I took a bite and it was lovely. Or just let each person "dress" their own. Here it is. Plain and simple and quick and easy.

1lb. ground meat

1 package taco seasoning

1 can black olives sliced

1 can ranch style beans drained and rinsed

2 c. shredded cheese

1 cup shredded carrots

1 head chopped lettuce

1 tomato chopped

1 small bunch green onions sliced

1 bag nacho cheese Doritos crushed

1 bottle catalina salad dressing



Brown hamburger and add taco seasoning, let cool. Add all ingredients together and dress with catalina when ready to eat. Garnish with avocado.

Chicken Spaghetti

Sorry for the lack of photo. I forgot to take one but think you will enjoy this recipe if you try it so I am posting without.

6 chicken breasts
1/2 cup picante sauce
1 small can green chilies
2 cans cream of chicken (cream of mushroom or sour cream)
1 small can sliced black olives (optional)
1/2 medium sauteed onion (optional)
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. ground pepper
2 cups grated cheese (whatever you like; I use Colby/jack)

Boil chicken then boil the spaghetti in the broth ( I don't do this. I cook my chicken in the crock pot and just boil the spaghetti with a few bouillon cubes in the water). Mix all other ingredients, including chicken. Drain spaghetti, saving 1 cup of broth. Add spaghetti to other mixture and mix well, using extra broth (if needed) to make a creamy consistency, (should not be too soupy). This recipe will make tow large casseroles; diving the mixture into two greased 9 X 13 pans. You can make these ahead of time and freeze or refrigerate. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until bubbly.
**This recipe is easily halved. I make only one dish all the time.

Indian Tacos

I used to love going to any kind of festival where food is served so I could happily pay my six bucks for an Indian Taco. Then one day I was talking to Mommie Dearest and said I really wanted an Indian Taco. She responded, "why don't you just make some." I told her I didn't know how and I got my hiney in my car and went on down to her house so she could enlighten me. It is super easy and super cheap. You can make a lot of Indian tacos for the price of one. And even better you can make it to your liking. Do you want a small Indian Taco with less meat and more sour cream or would you like a giant taco. The kind that will shame you into eating it in the closet? Either way whip one up at home and save some cash. Here's how.

1. purchase fry bread mix. Yes! They sell it at the grocery store. It's next to the flour, corn meal, etc. and it looks like this.



Just follow the directions on the package. It is really simple and is very tasty.
Then make your meat sauce. Here is what I do.

Take one pound of hamburger meat and brown in the skillet. Then add one can of pinto beans and one packet of taco seasoning along with the 3/4 cups of water suggested on the packet. Let it simmer down. Top you taco with this meat sauce, lettuce, onions, tomato, salsa, cheese, sour cream. Whatever you like really. And there you have it. One delicious Indian Taco.
This post is linked to The Grocery Cart Challenge. AND Tasty Tuesday

Brazilian Black Beans

This recipe was one my neighbor friend Sara gave me. I liked this dish because it was made from things I normally have on hand and it was quick and easy. The juice and chicken broth really give the beans a lot of flavor. This was like nothing I have made before so it was nice for a change. I did double the recipe so that the whole family could eat it and we would have some leftover.

2 servings
Saute in 1 T olive oil in a skillet:
¼ c onion sliced
¼ poblano pepper, seeds removed, diced (I used bell pepper)
1 T. garlic minced

Stir in:
1 c canned black beans, drained, rinsed
¼ c chicken broth (water is also ok)
¼ fresh orange juice

Cook until liquid is nearly evaporated, 8-10 min

Off heat, add:
½ c mandarin oranges, drained
½ c cherry tomatoes, halved
Juice of ½ lime
Salt and pepper to taste

serve over rice.

Taco Mac

Here is a quick ,easy and frugal lunch. When we have leftover taco meat or sloppy joe meat I make this up for lunch. Often there isn't enough meat leftover to make another meal or maybe not even another taco but we don't let any food go to waste. Especially my husband who takes his lunch to work everyday. I served this to my friend Julie and her kids once and they also thought it was tasty so give it a try. Other people outside my semi-weird family like it too!

Leftover meat (even just a little)
1 box macaroni and cheese prepared as directed
1 can diced tomatoes drained

Mix it all together and serve it up.

Divina's Easy Lasagna

My friend Divina made this lasagna for me. She brought it over in two smaller sized pans so I could have one and freeze one. It was so good. We loved that it had spinach in it and my children ate it up. Here is her recipe.

1. Brown 1lb hamburger (we use Italian sausage bc we like a little spice)
2. Remove meat from pan, Add a little olive oil if necessary, and saute 1 diced onion.
3. Add meat back in. Season with salt, pepper, garlic power, onion powder, and Italian seasoning.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 large container of ricotta cheese, 2 eggs, about 1/4 c Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper.
5. Thaw 1 bag of frozen spinach and squeeze out extra liquid.
6. You'll also need 1 jar chunky vegetable pasta sauce, 1 box no bake lasagna noodles, 1 pkg. mozzarella cheese.
7. Then begin layering. I start w a little sauce on the bottom of the pan, then the noodles, the ricotta, meat, spinach, cheese, more sauce, and repeat.

Bake covered at 350 for 30 minutes. Take foil off and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until bubbly and cheese is golden.

It's pretty easy, and I love that it can be frozen so I can always have one ready for those days I don't feel up to cooking. :)

Black Bean Pizza

Okay so you know by now that I use a lot of beans. They are a cheap alternative to meat and when you cook every single day a girl just has to mix things up. If you are watching your weight I think you could make this very healthy by using a low fat cheese and maybe a whole wheat crust but what do I know about it? This pizza was really good. I got the recipe from Lynns Kitchen Adventures. She has lots of recipes I have tried and thought were very good. I made just a few changes from her recipe.

pizza crust, unbaked

2 cups black beans

1 14 1/2 ounce can rotel, partially drained, I drain about 1/2 the liquid off

black olives, sliced

1 packet taco seasoning

2-3 cups Mexican cheese, cheddar, or a mix of cheddar and jack (basically whatever you like)

Mix taco seasoning and tomatoes. Spread on crust. Sprinkle with green chilies, black beans, olives, and then sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes or until done.

Porcupine Meatballs

I have neglected this blog for several months and decided I either needed to stop doing it or start posting some stuff! I wanted to keep it because it is handy for me to have all my recipes in one place and hopefully you all enjoy trying some of them. I realized that I am only posting meatball recipes under beef which is weird since I use beef a lot. I will get some more options under the beef category! These are my very favorite meatballs on the planet earth. They are so tasty. My friend Heather makes these for her family all the time and her mother-in-law brought them to me after Benjamon was born. They make a huge batch and freeze great. One batch makes three meals for my family. We eat the first ones and then I seperate into two freezer bags for later.

1 package Beef Rice-A-Roni
1 package Chicken Rice-A-Roni
2 lbs. ground beef
2 beaten eggs
2 1/2 cups of water

Combine rice mix from both packages with ground beef and eggs. Add beef seasoning packet to meat and rice. Shape into meatballs. Brown in a large skillet or electric skillet. Combine contents of chicken seasoning packet and water. Pour over meatballs. Cover and simmer 30 minutes OR if you are making these in your electric skillet you can put the lit on and cook on the lowest setting for a few hours.

Cheesy Chicken Tetrazzini

Wow. It has been over a week since I have put up any recipes. So sorry about that. This baby in my belly makes me tired so when I get a few minutes to myself I usually want to rest. Not that sitting at the computer is such hard work but you know what I mean. This dish was good. I found a recipe but didn't have everything it called for so I started making stuff up. Here is what I came up with

3 boneless skinless chicken breast cooked
1 (7 ounce) package spaghetti (just how ever much you want really)
1/4 cup of butter or margarine
1 medium onion chopped
2 1/2 TBS flour
1 cup milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup chicken broth (I just use what I have cooked the chicken in, close enough)
1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms drained
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
8 slices of American cheese
1 cup cheddar
Cook spaghetti. In a saucepan saute onion in butter until tender. add flour and stir well. Reduce heat and stir in next ingredients thru the American cheese. Cook slowly until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add to sauce and stir. Remove from heat. Drain spaghetti and combine with sauce mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well. Spray a 9 X 13 dish with nonstick cooking spray. Pour in casserole. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes.

Natalies Mexican Chicken Dish

My sister-in-law Natalie gave me this delightful little gem of a recipe. My brother said that he enjoyed this dish so I thought I must try it. The boy knows a thing or two about good food. The photo is of the leftovers the next day. My darling two year old had hidden my CIF card to the camera so I couldn't snap a photo of the original dish.

4 cups of cubed cooked chicken (she said she didn't use this much. I used three cooked breast)
1 can cream of chicken
1 can green chilis
1 16 ounce sour cream
pepper jack cheese shredded. ( I didn't have shredded but I did have some sliced which was fabulous!)
corn tortillas (I used flour)
paprika (1 tsp)
garlic salt (2 tsp)
chili powder

In a sauce pan mix cooked chicken, soup, green chilis, spices, and 8 ounces of sour cream. Mix well and heat until warm. Place torn up tortillas in a pan sprayed with cooking spay. I used a 8 1/2 X 11 pan. cover with chicken mix, then cheese, repeat layers. Top with sour cream and sprinkle with chili powder. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes.
This dish was wonderful. A little on the spicy side but not too much for my kids. It was a great variation of mexican chicken casserole. I love pepperjack cheese. Try this one. It's good.
Note: You can make this a quick dinner but cooking your chicken ahead of time. Just put your frozen chicken in the crock pot. Cover with water and cook on low all day. Your chicken will be ready to put in the mix and you have a quick and easy dinner.

Janice's (aka My Momma) Tortilla Soup

I was at my Mom's house and I saw some avacado's stashed away. I pulled them out and said what are these for? Thinking I might see some mexican food in my near future my mouth began to water. Those are for my Tortilla Soup she says. Gag, hiss, boo I say to myself as I roll my eyes. She is like it's good! I said well make it for lunch then and I will see for myself. As I stood watching, judging over her shoulder and she mixed her "soup" I must admit I did not think it would be good. Then she started adding all of these tasty little bits of goodness to the bowl. So in August in the 100 degree weather I sat and sweat as I ate three giant bowls of this amazing soup. Here is her version of the recipe below. I did not modify her comments in any way. Don't you love her?

2 cans chicken broth
1 diced cooked chicken breast (if you have)
1 can rotel (mild if you don't like it spicy)
place in saucepan and bring to simmer-cover

cut 6 - 8 flour tortillas into strips, coat with oil and brown slightly in oven on cookie sheet you have to watch them so they don''t burn

place soup in individual serving bowls
top with diced avacado
tortilla strips
grated cheese
diced green onion (if you have it)

If you use bullion cubes instead of canned broth it will be very salty and not quite as tasty- but last time I used 7 cups of water and 6 bullion cubes (no cans of broth)

Fake BBQ

Okay. Here is the deal. Our grandparents gave us a bunch of pork. We ate all of it even though I don't love pork it was free. Then they weren't eating their part so that gave us MORE pork. This is super easy and taste really good. Pork Roast are on sale often and not expensive. Jamon makes sandwiches out of the leftovers for lunch for the entire week. Gross, I know. Who eats the same thing for lunch everyday for a week but it saves us money and he doesn't seem to mind it.
Take your pork roast, stick it in your crock pot, pour enough BBQ sauce over the top to cover, cook on low all day. Take out and shred with two forks and add a little more sauce to make it BBQ-ish. Then end. How easy and it is so good. I serve it plain or on a bun. I got this idea for Lynn at Lynn's Kitchen Adventures.

Eggplant Parmesan

Sorry I haven't posted anything for so long. I don't know why I haven't. Seems like I haven't been making any new recipes or maybe I just think you don't care to know about some things. Anyway last night I made this dish and I thought it was great. I served it over noodles like you would eat it at a restaurant. My kids both loved this which was weird. It is pretty sweet though. My Mother-in-law gave me some eggplant from her garden. I am trying to make more "meatless" dinners so this was a good one for us. Super cheap and super easy.

Ingredients

1 large eggplant, sliced about 1/3 inch thick
1/2 cup oil
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup dry breadcrumbs or crushed saltine
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1/2 cup sugar
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste (I used a jar of sauce instead)
3 cups hot water (leave this out if you use a jar sauce)
1/2 lb mozzarella cheese or monterey jack cheese, shredded

Directions

1 Dip eggplant into beaten egg, then into a mixture of bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
2 Brown in oil on both sides and transfer onto plate with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
3 In remaining oil, brown onion, then add tomato paste, hot water, and seasonings.
4 Cook for 5 minutes.
5 Pour a third of the sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
6 Put a layer of eggplant over the sauce, and put on 1/3 the cheese, more parmesan if wanted, 1/3 more sauce, and then repeat, making sure you end with sauce.
7 Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 and a half hours.

Pizza Meatballs

Okay so this isn't the best photo I have ever taken. Sorry. Sometimes I forget to take pictures of my dinner. I serve these meatballs with spaghetti. Since my hubby doesn't really like spaghetti much I have to jazz it up so he won't complain. The kids and I like to eat spaghetti and obiously it is a frugal meal. I cut this recipe in half and it makes plenty for our dinner and then enough for Jamon to have meatball sandwhiches for lunch. See, everyone is happy now. I got this from an old Taste of Home magazine. I love cheese so the cheese in the middle makes these meatballs extra yummy. Here you go.

Ingredients:
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup dried minced onion
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds ground beef
1 block (8 ounces) mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup canola oil
2 jars (28 ounces each) pizza sauce (Just use regular size jars of sauce. This is a lot of sauce if you do 28 ounces)

Directions:
In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 48 meatballs. Cut mozzarella into 48 cubes, 1/2 in. each; push a cube into the center of meatball, covering the cheese completely with meat. Roll lightly in flour.
In a large skillet, brown meatballs in oil; drain. Add pizza sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until meatballs are no longer pink. Serve over pasta or rice, in buns or as an appetizer. Yield: 4 dozen.

Chicken Salad

I tried to think of a clever name but it is what it is. Now when you look at the recipe it will seem shameful that you would make a chicken salad in such a way. But it is so good so just try and let the guilt go as you sink your teeth into this baby.

4 to 5 chicken breast cut into bite-size pieces. (Ya'll know I just use the whole bird for this part)
1 stick of butter melted
2 cups mayo (thats mayo not miracle whip!)
1/2 tsp. curry powder (DO NOT LEAVE THIS OUT)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups red seedless grapes cut in half
1/2 toasted sliced almonds.
I use pecans instead of almonds. It's an Oklahoma thing.....

Cook the chicken (duh). Melt the butter in the microwave and let it cool on the counter. Chop cooked chicken into bite-size pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Toast almonds (aka pecans). In a bowl, combine butter and mayo with a wisk until creamy. Add curry and garlic; stir until well blended. Stir in chicken, grapes and toasted almonds. Refriderate until well chilled. The end.

Nikki's World Famous Tuna Casserole

Okay. Maybe it's not "world famous" but I really like it. This is super cheap to make and super good to eat. Now, you will notice in Nikki's recipe she says that we should crunch some chips up for the topping. I don't usually have chips in my house so I used bread crumbs which turned out nice. What's that? You want to know why I don't have chips? Is is because she is so healthy you ask yourself? No, it's because I am a hog and if there are chips in my house they last about ten minutes before me and Mini Me (aka Meredith) get our hands on them and eat them up. So anyhow if find yourself without chips try some bread crumbs or just leave off the topping. It's good like that too. But the chips version is the best in my humble opinion.

Cook 4-5 oz. wide egg noodles
Combine 1/2 cup mayo with 1/2 cup milk
Stir in one can of condensed cream of celery soup (you can also use cream of mushroom)
Add one cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 tsp garlic salt
Stir in cooked pasta and one can of tuna
Pour into a casserole dish
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes
Remove lid, add crunched potato chips as a topping and bake 5 more minutes uncovered.
Enjoy!

Mexican Chicken Casserole

This is one of many Mexican Chicken dishes that I make. My current favorite. It came from Carol Adams originally but has been modified by my Mother and aunt and then me. But we give credit where it is due, don't we girls? I use the leftover chicken after I cook a whole bird for this recipe. For more frugal cooking ideas check out The Grocery Cart Challenge.
2 cups cooked chicken (give or take)
2 cups cooked white rice
2 cans green chile's (I use one for the sake of the mini me's)
2 cans cream of chicken (or mushroom or celery) This is my addition. My Mom uses only one can but what does she know?
8 ounces grated Velveeta (yes you can grate it just try it and see)
8 ounces grated colby/jack (I use cheddar sometimes, Mommie Dearest uses the jack blend)
Mix it all up and bake at 350 for 30 minutes uncovered. Now how easy is that? And you know it's good.

Tuna Patty

Oh yes. The tuna patty. Who cares right? Well I haven't been posting much and I happened to remember to snap a photo of these so I thought I might as well post it. This is Paula Dean's recipe that I have been using forever. The first time JR asked me to make a tuna patty I had no idea how to do it. My Mom didn't make these because Mickey Bailey (that's my Father) hates tuna more than anything on the planet Earth. I on the other hand make the patty often. JR loves them and so do the kids. They are cheap, quick and easy. How could you go wrong? Sometimes I serve these on a bun (Paula calls it the Tuna Burger) but normally I serve them like this. Plain Jane style.

Ingredients

2 (6-ounce) cans solid white tuna, drained
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon chopped pimento, optional
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared horseradish (you must add this for the great taste that leaves you wondering what that is, even if you hate horseradish like I do!)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the tuna, bread crumbs, and egg, and stir lightly. Add the onion, celery, pimento (if using), lemon juice, horseradish, garlic, and pepper, and mix again. Form the mixture into 4 patties. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook the patties, covered, until golden brown. Carefully flip the patties and cook the other side for 5 minutes. Finish baking in the oven until golden brown.

Chicken Lasagna

I tried out this recipe I saw at Tammy's Recipes. You know when I make a recipe I like to show you a picture of what mine looks like. That way we can see how it really turns out when a regular gal such as myself makes it. I thought this was a tasty treat. I could tell JR didn't really LOVE IT! But he ate it just the same. His Momma didn't raise no fool after all! My kids ate a large helping which they never do so that was a treat. I also ate a large helping but nothing out of the ordinary there. HERE IS THE RECIPE. I hope you will try this. The Alfredo sauce was divine.

Meatballs (Yup, nothing fancy Meatballs)

So I can’t believe I haven’t posted a Pioneer Woman recipe yet. I know you can’t either right? It just occurred to me that I have a few newer cooks/bloggers following and you may not know the Pioneer Woman? Say it isn’t so? Surely you know about this lovely lady who resides right here in Oklahoma. Anyway I love her and have made several of her dishes and they are ALL amazing!! CLICK HERE for this meatball recipe. It was oh so good. I have several recipes for meatballs/meatloaf that I use to change it up. But JR (shall we call him that from now on? Let’s.) commented that these were really good. It made a big pan so tomorrow we will have leftover meatballs on an open-faced sub that I will cook in the oven with cheese on top. I know I’m a genius. What can I say…?