Southwestern Flair

A.k.a. Shredded beef tacos

These are super yummy and super easy to make since it is a crockpot meal.

Here is what you need:

3 or 4 pound roast

1 package taco seasoning

1 small can diced green chilis

2 Cups water

1) Place all ingredients in a lightly greased or lined crockpot. Cook on low 9 hours.

2) Shred beef roast with forks and mix back in the crockpot to season it.

3) Serve on tortillas with cheese and other favorite taco toppings (lettuce, tomato, sour cream, etc). Can also serve with rice.

Super delicious and oh so EASY!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Sorry, I don't have a picture for this one...We ate it all before I even had a chance to think about taking a picture. It really was super yummy though. Here is what you need:

4 medium potatoes, chicken breasts-(I used 3 small ones), 1 ham steak, cut into strips or cubes OR 1/2 package of cubed ham, salt, pepper, parsley, other seasonings you may want

1) Peel and dice potatoes. Place in pot and boil them until tender. Preheat oven broiler to High. 2) While potatoes are boiling, cook chicken. Once chicken is cooked, cut it into strips or cubes. 3) Add ham to the chicken and heat all together. Season with salt, pepper, parsley, or whatever your taste buds are. 4) Once the potatoes are tender, drain and mash. (I mashed mine with a mushroom sauce, but you can use milk, butter, sour cream, half and half, heavy cream---whatever or however you normally mash them.) 5)Place potatoes in a medium casserole. Top with ham and chicken mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Place in oven 2 or 3 minutes or until cheese is melted. 6) Enjoy!

Serves 4.

Ok, I have tried edited this 20 different times and it still reverts to paragraph form instead of a list. I am so sorry it is hard to read.

Country Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Here is another GREAT crockpot meal. I made it today before church so we would have food when we got home. My 2 year-old son asked for and ate TWO servings! That is amazing for him. I highly recommend this dish if you want something different with ham or if you have leftover ham (though I didn't use leftovers). Here is what you need:

8 potatoes, thinly sliced or cubed (peeled optional)

1 onion, chopped (I used minced)

1 lb fully cooked ham (I bought one of the pre-packaged 1 lb cubed ham)

1 oz package country style gravy mix

10 3/4 oz can Cream of mushroom soup

2 Cups water

2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese (I probably used more...We LOVE cheese here)

#1) Combine potatoes, onion, and ham in a greased or lined crockpot.

#2) Combine gravy mix, water, and soup in a bowl. Whisk until combined and pour into the slower cooker. Mix together.

#3) Cook on low for 7-9 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

#4) Top with cheese during the last few minutes of cooking...long enough for the cheese to melt.

Serves approximately 10. (It only served 3 people, but we only eat 2 meals on Sunday and are always really hungry. But, I WILL double the recipe when I make it again.)

Banana Muffin

This is a really really basic and easy banana muffin recipe. We like it our house, but I think next time I may add some cinnamon chips to them.

Here is what you need:

1 Egg

1/3 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup Vegetable oil

2 or 3 medium bananas, mashed

2 Cups Flour

1/3 Cup brown sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

#1) Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line 12 muffin cups.

#2) Beat egg. Stir in milk and bananas. Mix well. Add oil and sugar. Mix well.

#3) Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until flour is moistened. It is OK if the batter is lumpy!!!

#4) Fill muffin cups about 3/4 cups full. Bake about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Argyle Baby Blanket

This is the most recent baby blanket that I have made. I finished it a couple weeks ago, but I had to wait to mail it and for my friend to receive it before posting pictures. This baby blanket has probably been the most creatively-challenging blanket that I have made. I had it all "visualized" but my visualization just was not becoming reality. Needless to say, the blanket did not turn out 100% perfect or 100% argyle, but I was happy with the end result and so was my friend, Liz. One side was blue diamonds on brown fabric and the other side was brown diamonds on blue fabric. I did all the top stitching with white thread, so I finished off the blanket with a white border to tie all the colors together.

Baked Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Tonight for dinner I made this yummy chicken enchilada casserole. I posted it A LONG time ago on my personal blog, but I thought I would share it again. This is my ALL TIME favorite recipe.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

1 small bag of taco/nacho Doritos
1 small chicken, cooked and shredded
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup (if you don't like mushroom, use 2 chicken soups)
1 Cup chicken broth
1 can green chilies
shredded cheese

#1) Spray a 9 x 13 pan. And preheat oven to 350.
#2) Crush chips and spread in the bottom of the pan.
#3) Spread shredded chicken over chips.
#4) Spread chilies over the chicken.
#5) Combine soups and broth in a bowl. Mix together. Pour over the chicken and chilies in the pan.
#6) Sprinkle cheese (desired amount) evenly over the soup mixture.
#7) Bake for approximately 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

TWEAKS...I did not have Doritos. I used regular tortilla chips. I also did not crush them; I just layered them in the bottom of the pan. I also used 2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded instead of a whole chicken. You can also use 2 cans of canned chicken breast. When combining the soups and broth, I added about a 1/4 cup taco seasoning (making up for not having Doritos). Add more or less depending on your families "spicy" taste.

Additional note--I also double the recipe and make 2 layers in the pan (like a lasagna). I have never had it this way, but I am POSITIVE that you can use cooked ground beef in place of the chicken and make a Beef Enchilada Casserole instead.

I served this with nice huge healthy salads and corn. Dale chose to use his casserole as a dip for additional tortilla chips. Either way, it was SOOO GOOD!

Johnny Carino's Bow Tie Festival

I have decided that this is probably my most recent FAVORITE recipe. Not only is it yummy, but it is another crock pot recipe :) It is pretty similar to the Italian Chicken one that I posted already, but I like this one A LOT better.

I got this recipe from a friend when a group of us was putting together a birthday dinner last week for our Church's Relief Society (ladies). She shared it on her blog so I decided to share it on my blog too :) I also stole the picture from her blog since I didn't have one.

Here is what you need:

• 4 chicken breasts (For my family, I would use 1 large or 2 or 3 small ones)
• 1 Jar 4 cheese Alfredo Sauce
• 1 Can cream of chicken
• 1 Can chicken broth
• 1 package Real bacon pieces (a small package)
• 1 package fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• 1/2 package dry Italian Dressing Mix (we used a whole one)
• 1 Cup Swiss cheese, cubed (I think shredded would work too)
• 2 Tbs butter, melted
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-7 hours. Shred chicken an hour before finished. Serve over cooked bow tie pasta.

We served ours with salads and french bread. It was DELICIOUS!