Pasta Taco Salad

again... another beauty from See Jane Cook
meatless, perfect for summer (yay for not having to turn on the oven), and so tasty!




Pasta Taco Salad

1 pound pasta (bowtie, wagonwheel or spiral)
salt
1 (10-ounce) package frozen corn
1½ cups salsa (I reccomend making this and using it, I make up a batch every Saturday and never buy jarred salsa anymore after finding it)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 roma tomatoes, diced
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 large avocado, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup olive oil

1. Cook pasta according to package directions with 1 Tablespoon of salt. Drain pasta and stir the corn in frozen to cool pasta and defrost corn. Toss the pasta with salsa then the beans, tomatoes, cilantro, and cheese.

2. Toss the avacado with the lime juice, remove avacado and add to pasta. With remaining lime juice, add spices, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt, then slowly whisk in the oil. (I also added some taco seasoning in this dressing). Add dressing to pasta. Serve immediately. Stays well for up to 1 day in fridge, longer if you keep the avacado separate.



source found here

Sugar Cookies

2 cups butter (not margarine)
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons (1 Tbsp.) baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

-makes about 8 dozen 3” cookies

in a large bowl cream butter and sugar at least 5 min. until mixture is a pail yellow. add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each. add vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. add to butter mixture, 1 cup at a time. when all is thoroughly mixed and dough cleans the side of the bowl, wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill. roll dough to ¼ inch depth and cut into desired shapes. bake at 350 for 9-11 min. Let cool 5 min. on baking sheets then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

Mexican Crockpot Chicken

4 chicken breasts (thawed)

1 16 oz. jar salsa

1 can black beans (rinsed)

1 can corn

1 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)

Layer first four ingredients in the crock pot.  Cook on high for 3 1/2 hours.  At this time, shred the chicken.  Place the cream cheese over top and cook for 1/2 hour more.  Stir and serve spooned into tortillas.

Swiss Chicken

Another easy one!

Swiss Chicken

4 chicken breasts
6-8 slices of Swiss cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken)
1 cup milk (or sour cream for a thicker sauce)
1 box chicken stuffing
1/4 cup butter, melted

Pound the chicken to even out the thickness. Place chicken in a 9x13 dish. Top chicken with cheese slices. Mix can of soup and milk together. Pour over chicken. Top with stuffing. Drizzle stuffing with melted butter. Cover with foil and cook at 350* for 45 minutes. Remove foil, then return to oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes.


Recipe found here and here.

No Bake Cookies

I always have a hard time with different recipes for this, but this one is perfect! I usually can't get them to set very well, but these set up perfectly!! Just make sure to follow the directions carefully!


1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup milk
3 Tablespoons cocoa
3 cups quick cooking oats
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa to a boil for one minute. To make sure cookies set up properly wait until mixture comes to a complete FULL boil and then start the timer for one minute. Remove from heat.

Add peanut butter, vanilla, and oats. Stir well and drop spoonfuls onto waxed paper or parchment paper. Let them set up and cool.

Makes 18 cookies.

Cheesy Mexican Chicken

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients:

-6 sm. Boneless skinless chicken breast havles

-1 can cream of chicken soup

-1 & 1/2 C. cheddar cheese

-1/2 C. milk

-1 pkg. taco seasoning mix

-2 C. Fritos corn chips

-4 & 1/2 C. cooked rice

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 375°F. Place chicken in 13x9-inch baking dish.

-Mix soup, 1 cup of the cheese, milk, and seasoning mix until well blended; spoon over chicken. Top with chips; cover.

-Bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake, uncovered, an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

-Serve over rice.

A few things I did differently:

-Used chicken tenderloins because that is what I had on hand.

-Added a 1/2 C. salsa to the mixture before pouring it over chicken.

-Served it over Mexican rice instead of white rice. 

-Topped it with a little lettuce, tomato, and sour cream; delish!

Original recipe can be found here.

Hawaiian Haystacks

Another recipe I'm sure all of you girls have, just didn't want to forget one of my most favorite dinner recipes EVER!

2 (10 3/4 oz) cans cream of chicken soup
1 c. chicken broth
2 c. cubed cooked chicken
4 c. cooked long grain rice
1 (9 1/2 oz.) can chow mein noodles (the dry crispy ones- La Choy brand makes them- in the asian section)
3 medium tomatoes, cubed
1/2 c. green bell pepper, cubed (i also use red, yellow, and orange bell peppers sometimes too)
1 c. sliced celery ( we never use this, but we dont like celery)
1/2 c. green onion, sliced thinly
1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks, drained
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
1/2 c slivered almonds (we also dont really use this)
1/2 c. shredded coconut


Combine soup and chicken broth in medium saucepan to make gravy. Stir to blend. Add chicken. Simmer about 8 to 10 minutes until heated through. Layer rice then gravy, cheese, and chow mein noodles. Add tomatoes, celery, green pepper, and green onions. Top this with pineapple chunks. Sprinkle almonds, coconut, and peppers.

Obviously you can top it in whatever order you would like it though!
Enjoy!

Mexican Rice

1 cup long grain rice
2 TBS olive oil
1 small can tomato juice
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cumin

Heat oil in skillet and saute rice until a light tan color. Add cumin, garlic, tomato juice and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Find recipe over at The Sisters Cafe

Taco Soup

This is super easy and quick to throw together last minute.

1 lb. ground beef or turkey (I always use turkey bc it's just healthier than red meat, and it tastes really good)
2 pkgs. taco seasoning (or 1/4 cup)
1 can pinto beans
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can corn


Put raw meat and taco seasoning in skillet and brown. (Sometimes I add a little amount of water since the meat is really lean). Open cans and DO NOT DRAIN. Pour cans into large pot. Once the meat is browned and ready, add it to the pot. Heat all ingredients to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes. We like to eat it with tortilla chips and/or shredded mexican cheese on top.
Sorry there is no picture. I'll have to take one next time I make this.

Super easy Pot Roast

I'm sure most of you girls know this recipe like the back of your hand, but just in case you don't, I decided to post it. It's the easiest thing out there and it's so yummy! And just like your mom makes it for Sunday dinner!


1 rump roast (2-3lbs-depending on the size of your crockpot-mine is small- like 3qt size, and how many people you are feeding, you can buy a bigger roast. I usually buy a 2.5lb one and that is enough for the 3 of us, plus PLENTY for left overs.)
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
3-4 big handfuls of baby carrots
4-5 potatoes, cut into quarters


Then, you basically just dump it all in, and cook on low all day (6-8 hours) until the meat is done! Turn it off when it is done cooking, to let the sauce/gravy thicken up before serving.