Mexican Style Chicken & Rice

You will be singing my praises after you make this dinner. Right there, in your kitchen, you will do a little dance because this is so good, and so easy! Just 5 main ingredients! (Thanks Jessica for giving me another rockin' recipe!)

2 Chicken breasts (you can use left over baked chicken or rotisserie, shredded...or you could use canned)

8 oz. cream cheese

1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies, drained

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans
Optional: Rice, tortilla chips, tortillas

- Cook chicken using your preferred method. Shred it into bite sized pieces.
- In a large pan or pot, cook everything together until cream cheese is melted.
- Serve over rice. You can eat it with chips or in a tortilla, burrito style.

Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients:
2-3 large chicken breasts - cooked & chopped
12 oz package of spaghetti - cooked
1/3 cup of cheez whiz sauce in a jar (or 3 oz of velveeta/mexican velveeta cheese block)
1 can of cream of chicken OR cream of mushroom soup
1/2 onion finely chopped
1/2 green pepper finely chopped
8 oz package (2 cup package) of shredded cheese (I like mexican blend)

Optional: add chopped broccoli, chopped mushrooms, or chopped red bell pepper

Instructions:

Cook chicken by boiling water. Keep leftover broth.

Cook spaghetti by boiling water. Don't overcook it because it will get mushy in the oven. Drop 1-2 min off the package directions and you should be fine.

In a large mixing bowl mix cheez whiz, cream of chicken soup, diced onion, diced green peppers, cooked diced chicken, & 1/2 pack of shredded cheese. Add 1/2 cup of reserved chicken broth (or water) and stir. Add any other optional ingredients. Add cooked spaghetti and stir. Pour everything into large baking dish (9x12) and top with remaining package of cheese.

Bake for 350 for 20-30 minutes until everything is heated and cheese is melted.

** ** The cheez whiz in a jar is kind of pricey, but it is cheaper than the velveeta block stuff. Get the smallest jar you can find. You don't need a ton of it. If you can't find it, get the larger 16 oz (4 cup) package of shredded cheese in it's place. Just use 2 cups of shredded cheese to mix, and 1 cup of shredded cheese on top. You should have about 1 cup leftover. You can add up to 1/2 cup more chicken broth if it seems to thick.

Golden Potato Chowder

This recipe is from the clean eating magazine. You can make this healthiest by using skim milk & light cream cheese. So good!

Ingredients:
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch slices
8 oz white mushrooms, cut into quarters
3 cups of chicken broth
1 lb. spaghetti squash, skin & seeds removed, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
3 redskin/new potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1 inch cubes
6 oz ham cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1/4 cup milk
2 oz cream cheese

Instructions:
Heat oil in a large pot on medium for 1 minute. Add onion, carrots, and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes.

Stir in broth, squash, potatoes. Bring soup to a boil on high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in ham and heat through.

Meanwhile, in a small pot on low heat, add milk and cream cheese. Cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute or until mixture is smooth.

Ladle 1 cup soup mixture into milk mixture and mix. Pour milk mixture back into pot and stir to combine. Serve immediately. Use a fork to break up any spaghetti squash that is still in chunks. It should resemble shredded cheese when you are finished.

** I have the deli counter cut a slab of honey ham at thickness "11" One slab is usually enough, unless it is near the ends of the ham. I add 2 tsp of Italian seasonings while it is cooking.

Sausage & Herb Stuffing

image courtesy of foodnetwork.com

I have revamped this recipe to make it easier. Plus, I just wasn't getting the results I wanted with thick chunks of bread. Our stuffing would fall apart, and while everything was tasty, I wasn't a big fan of eating individual bites of celery, sausage, and bread.

The original recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa. The recipe can be found here. There is a quick video. Watch it, as it clarifies a couple of steps in the directions.

2 boxes of stove top stuffing - favorite flavor
1 bag of dried cranberries, 6 oz
1 pkg. Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage links
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 large onion, finely diced
parsley to taste
1 large granny smith apple, diced (unpeeled)
1 stick of butter

1. Cook sausage. Remove casings, and brown sausage in large skillet. Drain & set aside.
2. Dice celery, onion, & apple. Saute in large skillet with olive oil until vegetables are soft about 10 minutes. Add parsley, salt & pepper to taste.
3. In large pot, boil 3 cups of water. Add 1 stick of butter. Once butter is melted & water is boiling, add 2 packages of stove top. Stir, remove from heat, and cover with a lid for 5 minutes. (This is the package directions)
4. Combine everything, including cranberries, in the large pot & stir. Add cranberries to your liking. (I used about 3/4 the package.)

Put everything in a large, sprayed 9 x 12 pan. Spread out in pan. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

I cooked this in my largest rectangle pan, and it filled it to the top.

Paula Deen's Raspberry Streusel Muffins

Click here for recipe

I had a bunch of berries bought fresh and had frozen. Which may have been my problem in this recipe. Paula calls for fresh, and what I had was frozen, previously fresh. I did let the berries defrost (well most of the way) before I put them in. Since I had some raspberries and lots of blueberries that is the combo I used. We loved the blueberry part, and not so much on the raspberry. The raspberries did not retain their shape, and kind of made a mushy mess, albeit tasty, in the bottom of the muffin.

We loved the streusel! I would make these again, and just use blueberries.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Image courtesy of allrecipes.com

2-3 large chicken breasts (about 5 cups)
small container of sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 sleeve ritz crackers
4 tbsp - 1/2 cup melted butter (depending on how much you like, I used 4 tbsp)
1 tspn poppy seeds

1. Cook & chop chicken into bite sized pieces.
2. Stir in cream of chicken soup & sour cream together. Add 1 tspn poppy seeds and stir.
3. Add in cooked, chopped chicken and stir to mix together.
4. Put crackers in a ziploc bag and smash away.
5. Pour melted butter into bag and shake to coat all the cracker pieces.
6. Pour cracker/butter mixture on top of chicken mixture. If desired top with more poppy seeds.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Thanks Shannon for the great recipe!

Golden Potato Chowder

This is so good, I wish I would have taken a picture! This is a white creamy soup, with bite sized chunks of vegetables.

Ingredients

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into bite sized slices
8 oz white mushrooms, cut into quarters
3 cups chicken broth
1 lb. spaghetti squash, skin and seeds removed. Cut flesh into small bite sized pieces.
1 1b. redskin potatoes, cut into cubes
2 tsp dried sage (or parsley & basil)
6-8 oz. ham, cut into cubes.**
1/4 skim milk
2 oz. light cream cheese

(The recipe calls for the healthiest options, but I used what I had on hand, which was not low fat milk & cream cheese. Use what you have.)

** Ham - I had a slab, cut at a 11, of Prima Della Honey Ham.

Instructions:
1. Heat oil in a large stockpot on medium heat for 1 minute. Add onion, carrots, and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Stir in broth, squash, potatoes, and sage. Bring soup to a boil on high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in ham and heat through.

3. (During last few minutes of cooking soup) In a small pot on low heat, add milk and cream cheese. Cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute or until mixture is smooth. Ladle 1 cup soup mixture into milk mixture and whisk. Pour milk mixture back into stockpot and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

Note: Spaghetti Squash - When spaghetti squash is cooked, its fibers naturally separate and look like short strands of golden spaghetti, or shredded cheese.

The Verdict: This was really good! Adam ate a whole bowl. Of course he thought the squash was shredded cheese, so that helped! Good flavor & filling.

Sausage Lasagna

Image & Recipe courtesy of Johnsonville.com

12 lasagna noodles, cooked

1 pkg. (16 oz.) Italian Ground Sausage

1 medium onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. garlic, chopped

1 container of chunky pasta sauce

1 container (15. oz.) Ricotta cheese

1 egg

2 cups shredded Italian cheeses

3 cups fresh spinach, chopped and packed

Prepare noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside.

Sauté Italian sausage, onion and garlic in a skillet until sausage is browned; drain.

Add pasta sauce to the sausage mixture and set aside.

In a medium bowl, blend ricotta cheese, egg and 1/2 cup of Italian cheese and set aside.

Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray and spread 1 cup of the sauce mixture on the bottom.

Top with 3 lasagna noodles.

Spread ¼ cup of the ricotta cheese mixture on the noodles and layer on 1 cup of the sauce mixture.

Sprinkle 1 cup of the spinach and ½ cup mozzarella cheese.

Repeat this whole process 3 more times starting with the noodles; top with remaining shredded cheese to finish.

Bake uncovered in a 350°F oven for 45 minutes until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

My substitutions:
I use a 9 x 9 inch pan because I don't think there is enough sausage for the larger size. I would get two packages of meat in you need more servings. I use about 8 noodles and half a container of pasta sauce for the smaller size. A 9 x 9 pan yields 6 generous sized portions.

Find the original recipe here.

Kitchen Time Savers

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches -
Did you know you can freeze peanut butter & jelly sandwiches? I make a big stack on the weekend & freeze them. You can pop them into a lunch box, and they are ready to eat by lunchtime! You can set them out on the counter an hour before lunch and they will be ready. You can do the same thing with meat & cheese sandwiches, but I don't add any vegetables or condiments until after it is defrosted. It makes making school lunches so fast!

Onions -

I hate chopping onion. I dread anything that makes me cry. Instead of chopping them every week, I buy them in bulk, and finely chop them with my food processor. That way I tear up less often, and it makes cooking faster on busy nights. I've tried several different techniques for freezing, and this works the best.

These two containers hold 4 medium sized finely chopped onions.

1 cube = 1 oz.

2 cubes = 1/4 cup

4 cubes = 1/2 cup

7-8 cubes = 1 onion

(these measurements are the same for broth recipes below)

Once frozen, keep them in a ziploc bag in the freezer.

Anytime you need to onion in your cooked recipe, just toss them in! Easy!

Chicken/Vegetable broth:

This is not so much a time saver as a money saver.

Chicken Broth: Reserve your broth from cooking chicken by placing a colander over a glass bowl. Line the colander with a folded napkin. Slowly pour the broth into the colander. (Go slow, or it will pour out the sides of the colander, instead of just the center.) The napkin will strain the broth for you. After it collects & cools in the bowl you can pour it into ice trays and freeze.

Vegetable Broth: Use any of your vegetable peelings and boil with water on the stove top. I made a small 4 cup portion (equivalent to two cans of store bought broth.) I used a lot of I use celery, carrots, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, & parsley flakes vegetable peelings, and just covered them with water. You can use the scraps & peels because they have a lot of nutrients, and they won't be in the final broth. I boiled it for 15 - 20 minutes and then strained in a colander lined with a napkin. You can keep your peelings in a bag in the freezer until you have enough to make a broth.

Click here for some other suggestions.

Semi-homemade Tartar Sauce

Tartar Sauce

1 cup miracle whip (or your favorite mayo)

1/4 cup sweet relish

1 tsp dill

1 tsp lemon juice

I usually don't measure the ingredients all out, instead I just plop them in a bowl until it looks about right. I add more if it needs. Just to give you a starting point I've added some measurements.

This is best if you can make it earlier in the day as the flavors will mix together better. (Store in fridge in a covered container.) I almost always forget and end up mixing it up while I'm preparing dinner.

One time I added some very finely diced onion to the mix for added flavor. It was tasty, but I only do that if I already have onion ready because usually this is an easier dinner night for me.

This tastes so much better than the store bought stuff that I never buy it anymore. Plus, it's really easy!

Honey Wheat Bread

I've been wanting to make a loaf of homemade bread for a long time, just because I had never tackled that before. I found this recipe and it's super easy for starters like me. I liked that it wasn't complicated and consisted of things I normally have on hand.

You can find the original recipe here. This recipe bakes up two loafs.

I modified the recipe to be one loaf, in case it tasted like a fart, but it didn't. It was awesome. Here's my modifications.

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (about 2/3 a packet)

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 tbsp. honey

2 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour.

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl (use your kitchen aid bowl if you have one) dissolve yeast in warm water. Add honey, and stir well. Mix in whole wheat flour, salt, and vegetable oil. Work all-purpose flour in gradually. I stirred by hand until I couldn't get any more flour to mix in, then switched to my mixer with a bread hook. (The dough was a little smelly to me at this stage.)

2. Set to mix, with bread hook, at speed 2. Let it mix for about 10-15 minutes. Do not exceed speed 2. If you don't have a mixer with a bread hook, keep mixing & kneading with your hands for 10-15 minutes.

3. Start checking the dough for the "yeast window' at about 10 minutes. Grab a walnut sized chunk off your dough. Roll dough in a ball and then stretch the dough out like you are stretching a piece of bubble gum. Your dough should not pull apart or make holes easily, and should stretch leaving an almost transparent window. If it tears in the middle, leave it to mix/knead a few more minutes. Mine took 15 minutes to be ready.

4. When dough is smooth & elastic, place it in a well oiled bowl. Turn it several times in the bowl to coat the surface of the dough. Cover it with a warm damp cloth. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. (Some suggestions I read said, heat your oven to 170 degrees, then turn off. Place bowl & towel in oven to rise. Another person suggested running your dryer to heat it up, remove the clothes, and then put your bread in the dryer to rise. Just don't turn the dryer back on!)

5. Stick two fingers, up to your second knuckle in your dough. When you remove your fingers if the holes stay in the dough, it's ready for it's beat down. (My bread got a little bigger, but hadn't really doubled. It seemed ready by this standard, so I moved forward.)

6. Punch down the dough. Shape into loaf, and place into a well greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Allow to rise until dough is 1 to 1 1/2 inches above the pan. (It took my bread 1 1/2 hours to rise in a warm oven, and it never got as tall as the top of the pan. After all that time, I was ready to bake this up.)

7. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

8. I put butter on the top right out of the oven, while it was still in the pan. Ideally, if you can wait that long, you should cool your bread in the pan, on a rack, for at least 20 minutes so it can continue to finish cooking.

Cooking with Quinoa

My mom got me a Clean Eating magazine. I've enjoyed trying out different recipes & trying new ingredients. I've recently tried Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). It's a small grain that is similar in size to couscous, although the flavor is different. It's extremely healthy and you can substitute in almost any recipe you'd use rice or couscous in.

I was inspired by this recipe to create our lunch today. I used some leftovers (chicken, corn, diced tomatoes) from last night's dinner and topped it over cooked quinoa. I also added some cilantro & feta cheese we had in the fridge. Lunch was ready in 15 minutes! Fast, easy, & healthy!

I was surprised to find quinoa at Walmart. I have also seen it at Kroger in their organics food section at the front of the store.

Ghiradelli Souffles - Repost

This is a repost from last year, but so good! I've updated the recipe since the chocolate from last year is no longer made. I suggest using both Ghirardelli chocolate chips, but I used what I had. Here's a tutorial. This would be great on Valentine's Day!

Image courtesy of Ghirardelli.com

What you need:

Ghiradelli Souffles

1/2 bag of Ghirardelli Semi Sweet Chocolate

1/2 bag of Ghiarardelli Milk Chocolate Chips

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar **

6 egg whites

4 egg yolks

2 Tbsp flour

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

ten 6 oz. ramekins (or eight 7 oz - pictured above)

Optional: Powdered sugar, Lightly sweetened whipped cream, Ice cream, raspberries or strawberries

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 375 with a rack in the lower 3rd. (These can be made ahead of time & refrigerated for up to two days.) Once cooked, serve immediately.

Butter & sugar your ramekins. Pour about a tspn. of sugar and dump the extra into the next buttered ramekin. Repeat until all are done. These came from Walmart.

Separate egg whites from egg yolks in two separate containers. Add vanilla in the yolks container. (No need to stir vanilla in.)
You have to work quickly when working with chocolate. Get everything ready like above.
In a large heavy saucepan, whisk butter and flour over medium heat until the butter melts and sizzles for about 1 minute. (You want a smoother texture, if butter & flour clump together, discard and start again)

Whisk in the milk. Turn off the heat, keep pan on burner, add chocolate chips & stir until melted. Stir in yolks & vanilla. Set aside off of heat.

- Beat egg whites with cream of tartar on high speed until they hold a soft shape. Add sugar gradually, beating until stiff and glossy. Scoop out 1/4 of the egg whites mixture and fold into the pan of melted chocolate.

Then fold the chocolate from the pan into the bowl of remaining egg whites.

Divide batter among the ramekins, filling each about 3/4 full or 1/2 cup worth of batter. Cook immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to two days before cooking.

Bake souffles on a cookie sheet until they rise and crack and a toothpick comes out with thick gooey crumbs, about 15-20 minutes. Previously refrigerated souffles may need to cook 3-5 minutes more. Sieve powdered sugar over souffles and serve immediately. Top with desired toppings.

To see original post click here.

Potato Soup

I got this recipe from my mom, and it's so good. Since I am making this for dinner tonight, I don't have a picture of it finished. Here's the ingredients you'll need. Have you seen potato soup before? Well it looks like that.

Ingredients:

7-8 medium/large potatoes

milk (2 percent, whole, whatever you've got)

1 can cream of celery soup

1 small bag of real bacon pieces

- Boil water in a large pot.

- Peel & chop potatoes into bite sized pieces.

- Cook potatoes in boiling water until soft (about 20-30 minutes)

- Drain water, return potatoes to pot.

- Pour milk to cover just the top of the potatoes.

- Add cream of celery soup & stir until mixed.

- Add bacon bits now to entire batch, or add to each serving while in the bowls.

-Let soup heat up on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes.

I usually make this with a cornbread mix. I just let it re-heat until the cornbread is done.

Santa Rosa Valley Salad

My good friend Brandy W. gave me this recipe a few years back. This is a cold salad. I brought it to baby shower and it was gobbled up so fast! Jared & I love this, but I will warn you, you're kids will turn up their noses and tell you it is disgusting. You might want to prepare some PB&J for them and enjoy their portions.

The recipe says it serves 13, but I'd say more like 10 if you are serving snack sized portions, and serves 5-6 if you are serving dinner sized servings. We had ours with almond crackers. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 box Uncle Ben's Seasoned Long Grain & Wild rice (not instant)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 red pepper diced

3 oz. snow peas ends removed

4 green onions chopped

3 chicken breasts cooked & diced

1 cup pecans toasted and chopped

2 avocados diced

red leaf lettuce for garnish -optional

Dressing:

2 cloves garlic minced

1 tbs dijon style mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Cook the rice according to the package, but reduce water by 1/3 cup to prevent overcooking and the rice getting too mushy. Salad looks best with a firmer grain. Cool rice. Combine remaining ingredients except for the pecans and avocados. Prepare dressing by combining all ingredients in a blender and blending until emulsified. Pour over rice mixture and mix well. Refrigerate 2 to 4 hours or overnight. Just before serving add pecans and avocado. Serve on bed of red leaf lettuce.

What I did different:

- I'm not a fan of snow peas, so we didn't have them.

- I had already chopped my red & green pepper earlier in the week and they got all mixed together, so my recipe had both.

- I only used 2 large chicken breasts because that's what I had defrosted. It was plenty for us, but you might like more chicken.

- I also completely missed the part about adding 1/3 cup less water, so I didn't do it and it was fine. Probably not as firm, but still tasty.

What's for Dinner

Black Beans & Rice with Cornbread

I know rice and beans sounds boring, but if you do it right it can be really good, super cheap & healthy. It's an easy meal if you plan ahead.

1 Bag of dried black beans

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 bag of Ludenberg Jubilee Gourmet Rice *(or your favorite)

1 box Krusteaz Honey Cornbread (or your favorite)

*I tried this rice on a whim last time, and it's my new favorite rice. It's pricey as far as rice goes, but it's so good that it's worth it. Plus when you think pricey rice paired with $1 for a whole bag of beans you still have a cheap dinner at about $1.25 per serving. Half a bag of rice serves 4 adult size portions. I got everything at Walmart.

Prep:

Night before:

- Sort beans and remove any non-bean items. Rinse dried beans in a colander. Put beans in a large bowl and fill completely with water, and then add some more. Your beans are going to suck all that water up during the night.

- Chop your onion, garlic, and bell pepper and put them in a container in the fridge. (You can just throw them all in the same container because they are going to get mixed together anyway)

Morning:

-Drain beans in a colander & rinse.

-Place beans in crock pot, completely cover with water. Add chopped onion, garlic, & bell pepper. Add salt & pepper to taste (you can add a lot it cooks out.) Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4-6 hours.

An hour before dinner

- Cook rice per package directions. This bag has you boil water & rice, cover the pan & then simmer for 50 minutes. Just leave it alone, it does all the work!

- Make cornbread per package directions.

I've been thinking next time I might throw a whole bag of rice with a whole bag of beans in the crock pot. Has anyone tried that before? I can't see why it wouldn't work.

Sometimes we throw diced ham or sliced sausage into the beans while they are cooking. It's really good, just not as cheap.

Apricot Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Thanks Jessica for the recipe!

Apricot Glazed Pork Tenderloin

2 Pork Tenderloins, 1 lb. each

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 c. apricot preserves
3 Tbsp. chicken broth (or veggie broth)
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves minced or 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. fresh Thyme or 1/4 tsp. dried thyme

Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Place pork on a shallow roasting pan (line with foil for easy clean up.)
Combine the oil, salt and pepper. Rub on the pork.
Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Spoon apricot sauce over the pork. Bake for 15 minutes longer, until no longer pink in the middle.

Here's all the ingredients you need:

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

This post is for Jared's friends at work that were asking for it. I wish I had taken a picture, but once these were out of the oven we were more concerned with eating them than having a photo shoot. They are so good!

I got this recipe from my friend Colleen who makes all kinds of delicious things! Everyone needs a Colleen in their life to share their delicious recipes with you!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

3 1/2 c. flour

3 c. sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1 c. oil

3/4 c. water

2 cups of pumpkin (or one 15 oz. can)

4 eggs

1 cup chocolate chips (I use the whole bag - 2 cups)

1 cup walnuts (optional)

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry & mix together until combined.

Pour into greased containers. Fill pan 1/2 to 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees.

Cooking Times:

1 large loaf - 1 hour or more

3 medium loaves - 45 minutes or more

5 mini loaves - 35 minutes or more

muffins - 25 minutes or more

(It always takes longer than I think it should to cook through the middle, this is about when I start checking the loaves.)

Icing:

Powdered Sugar & milk & dash of lemon juice. Mix to a runny consistency & pour over top of cooked pumpkin bread. (I start with 4 parts sugar to 1 part milk, and then add more milk as needed. I'm not sure what the lemon juice does, sometimes I have it, sometimes I don't. It doesn't affect the taste.)

Texas Caviar

Texas Caviar

I got this recipe from a mom at the school I used to teach. It's a good dip to serve with fritos or tostito chips.

Chill 2 hours covered.

15 oz. can black beans

15 oz can pinto beans

15 oz can black-eyed peas

1 can white shoepeg corn

1-2 jalapeno peppers, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 med. red onion, diced

fresh cilantro to taste

Marinade opt 1: (Good, but very sweet)

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar*

1 tspn salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1 tbsp water

(* this is very sweet, I'd recommend starting with less sugar and adding to your likeness)

Put all ingredients together, mix well until sugar dissolves, and then pour over bean mixture.

Marinade opt 2: (zesty)

Use Zesty Italian dressing instead.

Directions:

- Drain & rinse beans & corn in colander

- Pour beans & diced vegetables in a bowl with a lid.

- Mix & pour marinade over the top.

- Cover and let mixture marinade in fridge for at least 2 hours.

- Serve with fritos or tostitos.

Jared's Favorite Banana Pudding

Jared got this recipe from a co-worker when he used to work at the credit union. I have tried & failed more times than I can count on getting this pudding to set up. I followed her recipe, but I think there must be too much of something in my failed attempts that was preventing it from working. The good news even the mistakes tasted delicious, just extremely runny. I finally mastered it, with some modifications.

The Ingredients:

16 oz of Heavy Whipping Cream

3.4 oz box of INSTANT banana/banana cream pudding (the small box)

14 oz can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 cup of cold water

1 box of Nilla Wafers

5-7 bananas

Directions:

Using a whisk mix all ingredients except banana & wafers in a bowl. Whisk, by hand, for 2 minutes. Refrigerate for 3-5 minutes to set up.

In a small oblong pan, or square pan (8x8 or 9x9) place wafers, flat side down, in the dish. Layer sliced bananas on top of the wafers. Top with half of the pudding mixture. Repeat with wafers & bananas. Top with remaining pudding. Remaining cookies can be crumbled on the top.