Boritos, Taco salad, and lettuce wraps!

If you are creative, you can make 3 different meals from this easy recipe for taco meat.

Ingredients:
1 can of manwich sauce (sloppy joe sauce)
1/2 a jar of salsa (medium, hot or mild, which ever you prefer)
A package of beef or turkey or you can even use "Grillers" by Morningstar farms for a veggie, soy alternative
A can of black beans

Directions:
1. Cook the meat in a pan.  Once it has browned thoroughly add the can of manwich sauce and enough salsa so that the meat is not drowning, but that it is well coated in the sauce. 

2.  Add the black beans then allow the sauce to cook on a low heat for 5 more minutes.

3.  You can serve this on tortilla's and make borittos one night.  The next night you can serve this over taco chips for a nice taco salad.  For day three you can wrap this in lettuce leaves and make cute little lettuce wraps. 

Burritos!

Taco Salad!

Oh the PASTAbilities!

In high school one of my favorite things was Vanessa's mom's pasta salad!  But, we only had it 2 times a year.  An old friend of mine passed a long a pasta salad recipe that was really similar.  I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:
Rotini pasta (corkscrew pasta)
Italian salad dressing
A bell pepper (any color)
A small can of sliced, black olives
A cucumber
Salad Supreme by McCormic (In the spices aisle)
A small onion

Directions:
1. Boil and drain the pasta.
2.  Dice an onion and a pepper.
3. Add the onion, bell pepper, cucumber and the can of olives to the pasta.
4.  Add the Italian salad dressing so that the pasta is coated.  It should be just enough so that the pasta is oily, but not so much that it is soaking in the dressing. 

5.  Add the salad supreme to taste.

 

Summer Salad

It is cold out, and I miss summer.  I bought strawberries and granny smith apples this weekend.  I used them in this great summer salad.  Who says that it needs to be summer in order to eat a fabulous summer salad?

Ingredients:
Romaine lettuce leaves
Grilled Chicken
Granny Smith Apples
Lime Juice
Strawberries
Fruity Salad Dressing (Ken's Raspberry Walnut for example)
Croutons

Indian Food- In a Crockpot!

Okay, so those that know me, are aware that Indian food is one of my favorites.  But I never thought I could make it at home.  However, it is super easy!  It is also pretty quick. 

Here is what you need:
A crock pot*
Indian simmer sauce (find it at a natural grocery store, or at a regular grocery store in the exotic food isle)
Either a George Forman Grill or a frying pan
A pot 

Ingredients:
3 potatoes
4 regular sized carrots
3 good sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts
A mini sized can of peas

Total prep time: 45 minutes

Total cook time: 2 hours

Directions:
1.  First I placed the chicken breasts on the George Forman Grill so that they would cook.  The first rule of using a crock pot is: You get what you give.  So if you put some effort into it, you get better results.  I only cooked the breasts until they were done on the outside.  They were still raw on the inside.  The crock pot will finish the work for me. 
*If you do not have a George Forman Grill, just cook the chicken in a pan until the outside has turned white.  It is the same thing.  Do not worry.

2. Next, I cleaned and boiled the potatoes until they were almost done (about 20 minutes)- the crock pot will finish the work for me. 

3.  I cleaned the carrots and cut them into rounds. 

4.  Cut the cooled chicken into strips and put it in the crock pot along with the potatoes and carrots.

5.  I put the crock pot on high heat and cooked the potatoes, chicken and carrots for an hour and a half. 

6.  After an hour and a half I checked to make sure that the chicken was cooked through and through.  Then I added the entire jar of simmer sauce and the entire jar of peas.  I stirred the mixture after I added both ingredients.  I let the mixture simmer on high heat for thirty minutes.

7.  Enjoy!

*If you don't have a crock pot you can place the ingredients in a bake ware dish and put it in the oven for approximately 2 hours.  Just make sure that it is covered and check it frequently.

1-2-3 Banana Pie!

 This is the easiest pie that I know how to make.  I made it for my friend's birthday on New Years Eve.  You can buy a pre-made graham cracker crust to begin with.  The rest is very simple.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
A pre-made graham cracker crust
1 or 2 bananas
Instant vanilla Jello pudding (or regular vanilla Jello pudding- it just takes longer)

Directions:
1. Make the vanilla jello pudding first.  Then set it aside.
2. Cut the banana into thin slices. 
3.  Place the banana slices in the bottom of the graham cracker crust. If they overlap, that is okay.
4. Pour the vanilla pudding over the banana slices. 
5. Place the pie in the fridge for at least an hour to solidify a bit. 
6. If you would like to write a message on the pie, wait until right before you are about to serve.  Write it with a thick chocolate syrup.  The message will smear fairly quickly, so it will not last very long.  For best results, serve quickly after the message has been written.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip to Die For

Ingredients:
1 1/2 bags of spinach
1 red bell pepper
1 can of artichoke hearts
1-2 cups of Mayonaise
2-3 cups of Jack Cheese or Mozerella Cheese

Prep time: Approximately 30 minutes

Cooking time: Approximately 35 minutes

Serves: 15 people


1. Boil and dice a package and a half of spinach.
2.  Dice one half of a red bell pepper.
3.  Drain and chop the entire can of artichoke hearts.  (I use Victorias brand.)  
4.  Put the ingredients into a 1 quart casserole pan.  Mix in 1 cup mayonaise.  Mix in more if it looks dry.
5.  Add 1 cup Jack cheese (I used mozzarella) and mix in well until blended.
6. Place in the oven at 350 degrees.
7.  Bake for 20-35 minutes.  Check often.  As soon as the mixture is bubbling take it out.
8.  Let it cool before serving. Serve while warm.

The dip that I made for a post Christmas party

I adapted  this recipe from the Betty Crocker website. You can find the original recipe under "baked spinach artichoke dip recipe."
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/baked-spinach-artichoke-dip/3a196a34-b4dc-4688-8877-48f7b61f2183

Pan Seared Calamari- Spainish Style

     A few days before Christmas I felt adventurous.  I wanted to make Calamari.  However, I wanted to replicate the calamari that I had on a recent vacation to Barcelona, Spain.  I had the BEST calamari at this little tapas bar in this district of Barcelona called "Las Ramblas."  The tapas bar was called "Piscolabis" and they grilled their calamari in butter, lemon juice, garlie and parsley.  So I did the same thing, only in a pan.
     First, I defrosted the calamari.  I had purchased calamari which had been cleaned already so it was not such a chore to deal with.  Next, I placed it in a piping hot pan.  I added an ample amount of butter.  I added garlic and parsley and let the calamari cook until the liquid drained off and the calamari began to sizzle.  I made sure they cooked well, at least for 10 minutes before taking them out of the pan. 

                                                         The tapas bar in Barcelona. 

                                  Eating tapas and drinking sangria at "Tapa Tapa," also in Barcelona