Taco Soup

A friend gave me this recipe. She calls it “My Mexican Love Affair” and that pretty much describes it! It was so good I licked the bowl! I hope you like it.

2 cans chicken broth

1 can stewed tomatoes, Mexican style, chopped

1 can refried beans

1 small can golden corn

2 Tbsp taco seasoning

1 Tbsp Cholula sauce

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped very fine

~

(Optional)

Graded cheese

Chopped onion

Sliced olives

Crushed tortilla chips

Sour cream

 

In a big pot, simmer everything but the corn and chicken for about 15-20 minutes. Add the corn and chicken, continue simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve with garnish; cheese, onion, olives, chips and sour cream - enjoy!

Zucchini Fries

This side is very good and goes well with just about any main dish. It’s another recipe that I just toss together. So here it is, I hope you like it…

2 medium zucchini squash

about ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese

1-3 cloves garlic (we like garlic, so we use 3 or 4)

EVOO

salt

pepper

onion powder (optional)

Pre-heat oven 350 degrees. Cut the ends off the squash and cut in half. Slice it into long slender pieces.

 

Place into the desired size pyrex dish. Lightly drizzle with EVOO. Mince garlic and sprinkle over the top of laid out squash. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and onion powder. Last, sprinkle the cheese (we like a lot of cheese).

Place in center of pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve and Enjoy!

Haystacks

My aunt is famous for this one. It is very simple and can be used for multiple meals or a family get-together. It is always a big hit at our house.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef (or turkey)

1 can black beans, undrained

1 can small red beans, undrained

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup of salsa

 

 

First, in large skillet cook beef and drain fat. Add beans, tomatoes, onion, garlic and salsa to the beef, put on low-med heat and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 

Serve over chips and cheese and top with fresh cut lettuce greens, onion, tomato, sour cream, more cheese (or whatever you like) and enjoy.

I also puree some of the chili until smooth and spread over a tortilla and sprinkle with cheese for a very tasty quesadilla that my kids (and myself) love! Also my husband loves to use it as a "bean" dip.

Non Yeast Pizza Crust

Here is a yummy, non yeast pizza crust. I found the recipe online but I made a few changes. I hope you like it. My kids sure do!

2 cups all purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2/3 cup water
1 Tablespoon cooking oil

 

 

Add everything into a large mixing bowl. If you have a stand up mixer, use the dough hook attachment. If not, combined with a wooden spoon. Mixture will be flaky.

On clean, flour dusted surface, knead dough 8 to 10 times. Roll into a ball.

Like I said the dough will be flaky. With flour dusted rolling pin, roll out the dough.

Spray the pizza pan with cooking spray. Once rolled out I use a pizza cutter to cut a circle once on the pizza pan.

Then I fold up the sides so the pizza sauce stays in place.

Add your choice of sauce (I use Prego Italian Sauce or BBQ sauce), top with cheese and other favorite toppings. Place in preheated 400 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes.

And yum!

I always make 2 batches of dough. We make one for the kids and one for us.

I hope you like it! Enjoy!

Taco Meatloaf

Ok so this is one of those meals you just toss together and it turned out super yummy! Thanks to a friend Trisha K for the idea, this is our new family favorite. 

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef (or turkey)

1 can black beans, drained

2 eggs

1/2 yellow pepper, chopped

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

about 3/4 cup of salsa

about 3/4 cup of old fashioned oats

about 1/4 cup taco seasoning

about 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

 

Put everything in a large bowl. Now its time to get your hands dirty! (don't forget to take off your wedding ring and other jewelery) Dig in and mix everything together.

Spoon mixture into a loaf pan or a muffin pan and place in to the preheated oven at 375 degrees. For the loaf pan cook for about 50-60 minutes and for the muffin pan cook for about 35 minutes.

And yummy!

 

Crockpot Cashew Chicken

I found this recipe on FaceBook. It was so good! And the kids loved it! I did make a few changes to fit my family better.

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thigh tenders or chicken breast tenders

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp canola oil

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp ketchup

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/2 cup cashews

 

Directions:

Combine flour and pepper in large Ziploc bag. Add chicken. Shake to coat with flour mixture. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat, brown chicken about 2 minutes on each side. Place chicken in slow cooker. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, garlic, and ginger in small bowl; pour over chicken. Cook on LOW for about 3 hours. Add cashews and stir. Serve over rice or noodles. Makes 4-6 servings. If you like sauce and want to have some to pour over the chicken and the rice, double the sauce ingredients. I always double the sauce.

Enjoy!

Welcome!



Welcome to my kitchen and bakery!
For starters I would like to say that although I may not be an expert cook or baker, I love to do it! Cooking, baking, cake decorating, I love it all!
On here I will be posting some of my favorite recipes I have tried, made and loved. And most are kid friendly. You will also notice the pictures I take are normal and are not photo shopped. I want my food to look real, not like it came out of a magazine. Thank you!

As a child, I was a VERY picky eater. I would never try anything new and what I did like had to be cook "right". I guess I didn't like my food touching either. Of course, I have changed over the years and although there are some foods I still don't like, but I have tried them.
My husband, Chad, grew up with a mother that was always in the kitchen cooking. He was always helping and at a very young age started cooking by himself. Like most boys he had a big appetite and there was rarely something he didn't try.

My oldest son, Michael, is very picky. He takes after his momma. He only eats simple foods that don't have a lot of textures. He will never turn down, crackers, fish sticks, my quesadilla, cheese pizza, PB&J and apple sauce. Other then that he either has to be in the mood or he may not even eat it.

Emily, my one and only daughter is a vacuum cleaner. What Michael doesn't eat she will. Her first word was cracker (no joke). She will eat, asparagus, shrimp, rice, any kind of pasta, olives, raw onion, any kind of meat, any sandwiches, pretty much anything we put in front of her.

Now Samuel is my baby (14 months old). He's taking after his sister. He loves food and will at least taste (and most of the time likes) what we put in front of him. He loves, avocados, pasta, chicken, any fruit, cottage cheese, beans, rice and potato's.

Now that you know a little bit about my family, you have a little better idea of my cooking habits. I need to please everyone and offer new things to my kids. I do my best to keep things "healthy" but I'm not a whole grain pasta, gluten-free kind of mom. I offer my kids veggies, fruit, protein, dairy, and wheat/grains. I use low sodium produces and try not to drown things in butter. We "eat out" maybe twice a month, so I'd say I'm doing pretty good giving my family home cooked meals everyday.