Enchilada Beef - easy peasy MICROWAVE recipe!!

Dinner in a flash, literally! You microwave everything in this meal. It's done in minutes with no sink full of dirty dishes! Not a fancy dish by any means but quick and definitely a kid pleaser.



Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies, drained
3-4 T enchilada sauce (any)
2 cups shredded Monterrey jack cheese (I've used cheddar also)
about 1 cup coarsely crushed Frito's corn chips
Additional chips, optional

Directions:
Crumble beef in a microwave-safe dish. Cover and cook on high 4-6 minutes or until beef is no longer pink. Stirring once; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, green chilies and enchilada sauce. Spread half of beef mixture in a 2 qt microwave safe dish; sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Top with remaining beef mixture. Cover; microwave for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle w/ crushed chips and remaining cheese. Microwave 1 min longer or until cheese is melted. Serve with additional corn chips, if desired.

Simply French Toast...FAST!

This is always a hit at our place. It's great as a last minute meal anytime of the day. This recipe is about the most simplified french toast recipe invented.


Ingredients:
~ Thick sliced white bread (can use any bread, even whole wheat if you'd like)
~ Eggs (about 1 egg per 3 pieces of bread)
~ Cinnamon (as much or little as you like)
~ Milk (About a tablespoon per egg), optional

Directions:
In a shallow dish, beat eggs, add milk and sprinkle in cinnamon. Place one piece of bread in the dish and let sit for about 20 seconds and then flip and let the other side soak. Place on a hot griddle and grill, flipping when grilled side is golden brown. Serve with plenty of butter and syrup.

Tuna Melt...Grown-Up Style!

This is my sister's recipe that we've all come to appreciate. It's quick and simple and very good.



Ingredients:
~ 4 Slices of bread (whole wheat is great!)
~ Spreadable butter
~ Tuna (preferrably pure white Albacore tuna...Costo has it)
~ Mayo (as much as you like to make tuna creamy and moist)
~ Pepper Jack Cheese, sliced (I never have this so I just mix in shredded Colby Jack)
~ Salt & pepper or No Salt Seasoning from Costco

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine tuna and mayo. Season to taste. Generously butter one side of each peice of bread and place buttered side down on a hot griddle or in a hot frying pan. Top with sliced cheese, tuna, and another slice of bread, buttered side out. Grill until both sides are golden brown and cheese is ooey, gooey melted throughout. Serve and enjoy.

Recipe from: Sister, Tricia

Savory Pork Ribs...A MUST TRY!! EASY Crockpot Recipe

Most people think ribs are expensive when the truth is, they're cheaper than ANY meal you make with hamburger meat!! Boneless pork ribs are about $1.99/lb. Hamburger meat runs about the same for poor quality and much more for good quality, and then you have to add ingredients to it to make it a meal. So, ribs really are an inexpensive, hearty, filling and perfectly delicious meal. This is one of Shawn's FAVORITES, if not his absolute favorite!! You really have to try this. Super easy!!!! We make this a couple of Sundays a month and a few weekdays.


Ingredients:
Boneless Pork Ribs (I've used bone-in, whatever you can get), as much as your family will eat

BBQ Sauce: (double if making more than about 2 lbs of meat)
1 cup ketchup
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vinegar (any, I use white)
garlic
Mrs. Dash (quite a lot!)

Directions:
Mix all ingredients for sauce, seasoning with a little garlic and plenty, plenty of Mrs. Dash. Place ribs (not frozen) in a large crock pot and drizzle with 1/2 of the sauce. Put remaining sauce in the fridge. Cook on low for 8-10 hours OR high for 4-6 hours until meat is fall-apart tender. Before serving, heat oven on BROIL at about 400 degrees. With tongs or a slotted spoon scoop ribs out of the crock pot, leaving all drippings and sauce behind, and place in a 13x9 dish. Drizzle ribs well with remaining, pre-made BBQ sauce. Broil on center rack (or one just higher) in the oven until sauce boils on the top and caramelizes. Serve immediately. YUMMY!!!

Recipe from: MOM

Plain and Simply Egg Salad Sandwich

Ok, so sometimes I put recipes on here just as a quick and easy reminder of simple throw together meals...and this is definitely one of them. You'll laugh at the simplicity of this, but we love it and it's SO simple to make! Inexpensive too!


Ingredients:
~ Sliced bread (whole wheat is always great)
~ Boiled eggs (as many as you'd like, you need a couple per sandwich)
~ Mayo (as much as you like to make eggs creamy and moist)
~ Salt & Pepper or No Salt Seasoning from Costco
~ Lettuce (optional)

Directions:
I don't like my egg salad sandwich toasted, but I do like the eggs warm right out of the boiling pan and into my sandwich (maybe I'm weird, so you can eat it any way you like!) Shell eggs and rinse. Place in an egg cutter, if you're lucky enough to have one, otherwise just dice the eggs with a knife. Place in a small bowl and coat with mayo. Season to taste. Fill sandwiches, topping with lettuce.

Quick and Delicious Dinner Salad w/ Homemade Dressing

This salad goes with any dinner and I also eat it by itself for lunch. Quick and easy and definitely a crowd pleas er. I have another recipe that friends LOVE, (no, I still haven't posted it yet, I know!) it's quite a bit more work than this one but they're similar in taste.

Ingredients:
(Salad)
1/4 c. slivered almonds (I crush whole if that's all I have)
1 T sugar
1 head lettuce or spinach
1 c. chopped celery
hand full of craisins OR 1 (11 0z) can Mandarin oranges (for a more oriental salad)

(Dressing)
1 tsp salt
2 T vinegar
2 T sugar
3 green onions
1/4 c canola or veg oil
1 T parsley

Directions:
Caramelize almonds by heating them in a small skillet with the sugar until sugar caramelizes onto almonds. Place almonds on a baking sheet or aluminum foil, separate and let cool. (If you're short on time, skip this step and just sprinkle with almonds)

Salad: Tear lettuce or spinach and combine with celery and craisins or oranges.

Dressing: combine all ingredients, drizzle over salad and toss. Sprinkle with caramelized almonds.

Recipe from: a friend of a friend

New York Red Clam Chowder

I made this for my mom with bread bowls and we both LOVED it. I love clams but, New England chowder is just so unhealthy so when I found this recipe, I've been in heaven ever since. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.


Ingredients:
~ 2 tsp canola oil
~ 1 med onion, finely chopped
~ 2 large yellow boiling potatoes (about 1 lb), peeled and cut int o med-size pieces
~ 2 cups canned chopped tomatoes, with their juices
~ 1 cup dry white wine (I buy white "cooking" wine)
~ 2 cups cold water
~ 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
~ salt and pepper
~ 2 cups chopped clams, with their juices
~ 2 T chopped fresh parsley leaves (I use dried)

Directions:
Heat the oil in a heavy 4 qt saucepan over med-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring until it begins to often. Stir in the potatoes, tomatoes, wine, water and thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to med-low, partially cover saucepan and simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced with a sharp knife, about 20 minutes. Add the clams and cook 10 min. longer. Add parsley and serve. Bread bowls are particularly good with this recipe.

Home-Style Chicken and Veggie Soup

A wholesomely healthy chicken and vegetable soup that's easy to make with whatever veggies you have on hand. I got this recipe from my sister. We've made it numerous times over the past couple of years. It's one of my fav healthy soups. Don't forget to make bread bowls with this (recipe posted earlier)! (I'm eating it as I'm typing and it's YUM!)


Ingredients:
~1 tsp EVOO
~1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
~Salt
~1 medium-size onion, finely chopped
~2 carrots, trimmed and chopped
~1 zucchini, trimmed and diced
~1 large yellow boiling potato (about 1/2 lb)
~2 cups canned chopped tomatoes, with their juices
~4 cups chicken broth
~Pepper
~1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves (optional)

Directions:
Heat the oil in a heavy 4 qt sauce pan over med-high heat. Add chicken, season w/ salt to taste, and cook, stirring until all pieces have turned white and are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and place in a small bowl.

Add the onion, carrots, celery, fennel and zucchini to the pan and cook, stirring until the veggies begin to soften.

Stir in the chicken pieces, potato, tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Partially cover the saucepan, reduce the heat to med-low, and simmer until the potato is tender and the chicken cooked through, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the parsley, and serve.

Recipe from: my sister, Tricia

Granny's Chicken Noodle over potatoes

This is a home-made chicken noodle soup served over mashed potatoes. Sound odd? You gotta try it! Granny really has something going with this recipe. It's VERY simple and VERY delicious. I know this has been made by every grandchild from Shawn's parents fam and is enjoyed everytime. This is great with homemade rolls or bread for dipping.



Ingredients:
• Chicken or Turkey (cooked & shredded)
• Fill pan with amount you want with either chicken broth or water and chicken boulion
• Carrots
• Celery
• Onion
• Salt
• Pepper


Directions:
Simmer for 1 ½ hours.
------------------------
Noodles:
• 2 c. flour
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup milk

Add more flour if needed to make not sticky. Roll out to a little thinner than ¼ inch, cut into 1/4" x 1 1/2" inch strips. Drop in simmering soup. Cook for 10-15 min. Take out some broth, add flour to thicken and return broth to soup. Serve over mashed potatoes.

(The bread in the pic is my homemade bread bowl recipe that I let rise too long so they turned out a little flat...perfect for slicing, buttering and dipping!)

Recipe from: GRANNY (Shawn's mom's mom)