Sweet & Spicey Meatloaf

Sweet & Spicey Meatloaf

What you need:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 can Mexican Rotel

8oz tomato sauce

2Tb vinegar

4Tb Brown Sugar

1 C bread crumbs

1 tsp salt

2 eggs beaten

2Tb Mustard

3/4 c Water

2 Diced Jalapenos (if you want to warm it up more)

Here's what to do:

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix Crumbs, meat, rotel, salt and (optional jalapenos) in a bowl.

Shape into a loaf and place it in a baking pan.

Next mix tomato sauce, water, vinegar, mustard,and brown sugar.

Pour the sauce mixture over the loaf.

Bake at 350 for 90 minutes.

"Creamed" Corn

One recipe that my friend has us stuck on is Cream Cheese Corn.  Earl comes up with some of the best recipes!  What you need:

1 bag of frozen corn (16 oz)
1 pkg (8oz) Cream Cheese
Salt & Pepper
Sugar - I would avoid this!  Something we tried and I didn't like.

So place the frozen corn in a pan over medium to medium high heat (depending on how much of a hurry you're in :))

Add a brick of softened cream cheese and stir.

Here's where I added the sugar on hubby's request but ignore this step!  I thought it made too sweet.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and you're done!  Holy Yum!

Spaghetti Toss

Spaghetti Toss

What you need:

10 oz package vermicelli or thin spaghetti

10 oz package frozen sugar snap peas

2 Tablespoons butter

3 cups rotisserie cooked chicken (shredded or cut into strips)

11 oz can mandarin oranges (drained)

2/3 cup stir fry sauce

What to do:

- Cook spaghetti in saucepan according to package directions.

- Stir in peas and cook for an additional minute.

- Drain and stir in butter until butter is melted.

- Place into large bowl and add the rest of ingredients.

- Toss to coat evenly.

Tuna Veggie Salad

Tuna Veggie Salad

What you need

-8 oz package of pasta shells

-2 small yellow squash, diced

-2 small zucchini, diced

-15 oz can pinto beans, drained & rinsed

-11oz can mexican corn, drained

-12 oz tuna, drained

-1 cup creamy italian dressing

What you do:

-Cook pasta and drain, then rinse in cold water

-place squash & zucchini in a saucepan with around 3/4 cup water. Cook on med. heat for about 12 minutes or until they are barely tender. Drain

-Combine all of the ingredients, except the creamy italian dressing,in a large bowl and place in teh refridgerator for about an hour.

-Remove from the refridgerator and add the dressing. Mix Well.

Steak Pasta

Steak & Pasta

What you need:

2 cups uncooked penne 

1/4 pound fresh green beans, trimmed 

1 (3/4-pound) boneless sirloin steak, trimmed 

1 tablespoon garlic-pepper blend 

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red onion 

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red bell pepper 

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard 

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil 

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon black pepper 

What to do:

Sprinkle steak with the garlic-pepper blend. Grill steak until desired degree of doneness. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices.

Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a large pot (6 qt). Add pasta; cook 5 minutes. Add beans, and cook 3 minutes or until pasta is done. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain well.

Combine onion and next 8 ingredients (onion through black pepper) in a large bowl. Add pasta mixture and beef slices; toss well to coat.

Breakfast Casserole

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I'm all about traditions, but I also like to make my own such as a photo of hubby & me a month on a scrapbook page or breakfast, mmmmm breakfast! For a couple of months while we were dating we had the same dish every Sunday morning.  Yup, it's that good.  Now we don't have it as much as we used to, but this is still one of our favorites. Sunday Morning Breakfast!!

Ingredients: Sausage (you can buy the types that have seasonings in them... they are good as well) Hash browns or tator tots (our favorite are the tator tots) We selected Mushrooms but you don't have too Cheese. We use Mexican blend or Fiesta Blend or whatever but Cheddar is good too. Salt & Pepper & seasonings... we chose Sage 1/4 cup chopped onion or onion flakes if you realize you don't have onion... 2-4 tbsp butter And we're off! Fry up the Sausage with the onion. Sausage is browned add the salt & pepper & sage, now add the butter.

Melt the butter in. This is to help fry up the hash browns or tator tots. We prefer tator tots, you just have to chop them up. They cook up better though than the hash browns in our opinion.  Since we chose tator tots, we have to chop them up while they cook.  This part takes a little bit.

Now put the lid on to help cook up the tator tots. Also you should check seasoning here as well (it's always fun to sneak tid bits all the way) Add about a quarter package of the cheese and mix in. You can add as much or as little as you prefer... we like cheese :)  Stir the cheese in so it gets all melty and cheesey!

Once you have the cheese stirred in, now top the dish with the rest of the cheese in the bag. We like it cheesy. Don't miss any of it!! every last drop!! Put the lid back on to help melt the cheese on top of the dish. Dish it up... how ever much you'd like.

And now you are ready to EAT!!!! That's the BEST part!

**It always helps if you know that you are going to make this, to defrost the tator tots & the sausage in the fridge the night before... so much of a time saver. One of these days, Prince Charming & I will remember this (since we do it every weekend) but until then... Thank God for Defrost buttons on the Microwave!!

Hope you enjoy this as much as we dooooooooo :)
Happy Eating!

Shredded Mexican Chicken

Shredded Mexican Chicken

This is a recipe (Slightly altered) that I heard about on another blog from Mandy...tried it last night and we all loved it!! Basically it is shredded chicken that we used on tostadas, but you can use it for tacos or enchiladas. It is SUPER EASY!

What you need:

Crock pot

1 Package chicken breasts

1 package FIESTA ranch mix 

1/2 package taco seasoning

2 cans chicken broth

What to do:

- Combine the 2 cans of chicken broth and the 2 packages of seasonings

- Place the chicken breasts into the crock pot

-cook on low for about 6 hours

-shred the chicken as it cooks

I actually cooked this during the day and put it in the fridge and heated it back up for dinner. Was quick & easy and most of all extremely yummy! Thanks Mandy!