I'm a little late, my dad had surgery yesterday and then I had a meeting, and I had a rough night, so... sorry!!

TACO LASAGNE

11 ounces lasagna noodles (I used wheat)
2 pound lean ground beef
14.5 ounces tomato sauce
1 can rotel tomatoes with jalapenos
1/2 cup water
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add tomato sauce, water and taco seasoning. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
In a 9x13 inch glass baking dish, layer noodles then meat mixture and cheese; repeat 2 more times. There will be 3 layers. Sprinkle tortilla chips over the top
Bake 45 minutes

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Santa Fe Chicken

3 large chicken breast

1 lg can of salsa

2 cans corn, drained

1 can of beans, drained and rinsed

1 8oz brick of cream cheese

put chicken in bottom of crock pot. Cover with salsa, corn, black beans. Cook on high for 4 hours, low 6-8. Put cream cheese brick in to melt for at least 20 minutes.

Chicken will fall apart as you stir it.

Serve it on tortillas, with shredded cheese, and or sour cream, or with chips

Recipe called for 2 cans of beans but Phyllis doesn't like beans that much...

Recipe from my friend Sherri Darah!

STUFFED TURKEY MEATLOAF

1 can mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
fresh baby spinach
Spaghetti sauce,
dividedshredded cheddar cheese,
2 pound ground turkey
egg, lightly beaten
½ cup Italian style bread crumbs
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together turkey, egg, bread crumbs, mushrooms, seasoning and salt.

Spoon half of meat mixture onto a greased baking pan. Flatten and smooth out.

Top with a layer of spinach leaves and shredded cheese.Top with remaining meat, flatten again and then go around the edges an seal, pulling in the loaf away from the sides of the pan.Spread spaghetti sauce on top and sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Bake for about an hour or until meat registers at 170 degrees.

Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. ENJOY!

I got it from here... http://fullbellies.blogspot.com/

2 "quick dinners"

I have to say that I am the queen of making dinner work with what I have in the fridge/cupboard with minimal extra's bought at the grocery store. Maybe not the queen, but I make it work.

I saw a recipe for some shredded mexican chicken on the web, have no idea the exact recipe but I improvised... and it was yummy...

I put 6 large chicken breasts, some fresh salsa, and a can of diced tomatoes, one taco packet in the crock put and cooked it all day.

Came home to all the taco fixin's... that night's dinner, chicken soft tacos... and they were GOOD!!

Had about 3 cups of leftover shredded chicken... mmm chicken enchiladas...

3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 pkg lowfat cream cheese
2 small zucchini
1 med purple onion (use any kind you like, I had a purple one)
2 cloves garlic
~1 tsp ground cumin
Tortillas of your choice
1 can enchilada sauce
~1 - 1 1/2 cups monterrey jack shredded cheese (use any kind you like)

saute zucchini & onions, add garlic until onions and zucchini are tender. Add chicken, cream cheese, cumin, warm through until cream cheese is melted and well combined.

Put filling in tortillas, place in pan, "flat side up". cover with sauce, top with cheese. Cook ~30 minutes at 350.

I'm sure this could be made the night before and heated through the next day.

Slow Cooker Lasagna

This recipe was adapted from the awesome family recipe.

SLOW COOKER LASAGNA
2 pounds ground turkey
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 small zucchini
2 (28oz.) jar spaghetti sauce
16 whole-wheat lasagna noodles
1 (24 oz) low-fat cottage cheese
2 t. dried Italian seasoning
2/3 cups water
2 (4oz.) cans of mushrooms
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese


Cook turkey and Italian seasoning in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until beef crumbles; drain. Combine spaghetti sauce, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, seasoned meat and water in pan, cook about ½ hour (I did this the day before). Layer thinly in bottom of lightly greased 5-quart electric slow cooker: uncooked lasagna noodles, sauce mixture, cottage cheese & mozzarella cheese. Repeat for each layer (approx 4 total layers). Cover & cook on high setting for 1 hour; reduce heat & cook on low setting for 5 hours. Can do ahead and store in fridge!! Yields 8 Servings (I have the very large rival crock pot, it was pretty full)

My daughter said this was SOO yummy!! I thought so too!!

Baked Chicken

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (3 1/2) pound broiler-fryer chicken, cut up
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

DIRECTIONS
Combine the first six ingredients. Dip chicken in milk, then roll in the cornmeal mixture. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Drizzle with butter. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until juices run clear.

This is one of my favorite casseroles, and it can be made the day before, though it takes an hour to cook if it's cold, if you have someone to put it in the oven an hour before dinner time, it's perfect. OR have all the stuff measured out (and burger cooked ahead), and dump in when you get home. It's really yummy!

Cheeseburger Casserole

2 cups cooked macaroni noodles
8-oz cheddar cheese shredded
1 lb. hamburger (brown)
1 Can of French onion chips
1 Can of cream of mushroom soup
1 Can of tomato soup


Combine cooked macaroni, hamburger, mushroom and tomato soup.
Layer 1/2 batter, 1/2 cheese, 1/2 French onion chips.
Pour rest of batter.
Top with rest of cheese.

Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes (if cold then 60 minutes)
When fully cooked add the rest of the French onion chips, bake for 5 additional minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving

Cornflake Chicken

7 cups of Cornflakes cereal, crushed to 1 3/4 cups

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 cup all purpose flour

½ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

3 pounds of chicken

3 Tablespoons margarine or butter, melted

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Place crushed corn flakes in shallow dish or pan. Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, beat egg and milk slightly. Add flour, salt, pepper. Mix until smooth. Dip chicken in batter. Coat with crushed cereal. Place in single layer, skin side up in a foil-lined shallow baking pan. Drizzle with melted margarine.

Bake about 1 hour if chicken parts (breasts, legs, thighs, wings), if boneless skinless breasts, bake 30-35 minutes.

In a million years if you told me I would eat cornflakes on chicken, I would have told you that you were nuts (I don’t even eat cereal with milk for breakfast). Aunt Shell and her family invited Phyllis and I over for dinner, that’s what we were having, Cornflake chicken, Poppa Don was making it. It was awesome! Phyllis to this day loves it, I love it, and I cannot make it without thinking of him, and all the love he had for us.

S'ghetti Mush

This is a different variation of spaghetti. My g-friend's mom got sick of plian ole spaghetti because that's was her brother's staple food...so she came up with this...

1 Jar of spaghetti sauce
1 pound of ground beef (I use turkey)
1 pkg of egg noodles
1 cup of cheddar cheese

Cook Egg noodles as directed. Drain.

Brown meat, add spaghetti sauce, cook through. Add cheddar cheese. Add noodles. Mix.

Serve.

Yum!

Sloppy joes...

I just had to laugh, I was on All Recipes.com and i get a lot of recipes from there really good, and some... well...

But I am making Sloppy Joes, and so I decided to go on the web page and look up recipes... I laughed... I love to cook... but... measure out a ton of ingredients or dump in a can.

Dump in the can.

1 lb meat (ground beef or turkey)
1 can sloppy joe mix.

Dinner is done.

AMEN

This is a great meal if you are having a group of people over. Put it together and just pop it in the oven.


Spaghetti Casserole

1 – 1 ½ pounds ground beef (I use ground turkey OR you can replace with zucchini or spinach or mushrooms)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
¾ box macaroni, shell, or mostacolli noodles
1 can Durkee onion rings
8 oz mozzarella cheese


Preheat oven 375*

Brown ground beef, drain fat. Add spaghetti sauce.

Cook noodles.

After noodles are cooked, add to meat/sauce mixture.

Put half mixture into casserole dish

Spread half can of durkee onion on top of mixture

Sprinkle half of the cheese on top of mixture

Repeat layers.

Bake until cheese melts and onions get brown (15-20 minutes)

I know some of you have seen this recipe before... but I wanted to put it on here... it's so yummy and easy!!

I got the recipe from Rachel Ray 30 minute meals... I have updated the recipe with my adaptations...

Shephard's Pie

1 lb potatoes, such as russet, peeled and cubed
3 T sour cream
3 T butterSalt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive
1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock or broth
2 teaspoons Worcestershire
~1 cup frozen mixed veggies (usually I pull them out when I am cooking so they thaw a little)

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Add the butter & sour cream mixture into potatoes and mash until potatoes are almost smooth.While potatoes boil, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat.

Add oil to hot pan with turkey or beef. Season meat with salt and pepper. Brown and crumble meat for 3 or 4 minutes. Drain if necessary. Add chopped onion to the meat. Add mixed veggies with meat 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

In a second small skillet over medium heat cook butter and flour together 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire sauce. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables. Preheat broiler to high.

Fill a small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon potatoes over meat evenly. Broil 6 to 8 inches from the heat until potatoes are evenly browned.

Italian Wedding Soup

INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound extra-lean ground beef (I use ground turkey)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
5 3/4 cups chicken broth
2 cups thinly sliced escarole (or 10 oz pkg of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed out)
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1/3 cup finely chopped carrot
DIRECTIONS
In medium bowl, combine meat, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, basil and onion powder; shape into 3/4 inch balls.
In large saucepan, heat broth to boiling; stir in escarole, orzo pasta, chopped carrot and meatballs. Return to boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook at slow boil for 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.

Taco Chili

1 can black-eyed peas
1 can black beans
1 can chili with kidney beans
1 can garbanzo or pinto beans
1 can stewed tomatos (used Mexican style if you like)
1 can corn
1 pkg taco seasoning
2 tsp red pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2/3 cup TVP (Soy meat crumbles)

Combine all ingredients, bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer on low for 1 – 1 ½ hours.

This can also be put in the crockpot!!

Serve with Salsa, corn chips, and sour cream

I got this recipe from Angie Sturgeon, a good friend of mine who is a vegetarian. It's super yummy. I also make the leftovers and add rice and cheese to it.