Taco Salad

Ingredients:
1 bag tortilla chips
1/2 lb hamburger, browned*
1 Taco seasoning packet
2 Tbs water
2 cups corn (I use freezer corn)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed.
 2 hearts of romaine or green lettuce rinsed and chopped
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1 avocado, sliced

Toppings
Ranch dressing
Grated cheese
Sour cream
Salsa

Instructions:
In a microwave safe bowl, mix browned hamburger, taco seasoning and water. Microwave until warm. In a separate microwave bowl, heat black beans until warm (about two minutes). Do the same for the corn.

Prepare lettuce, tomatoes and avacado, and place each in a sperate bowl.

Place a layer of chips on your plate. I like to crunch them up for the kids, but I leave them on the side for myself and use them to scoop the salad with. Then add lettuce, beans, corn, tomatoes, avocados and any toppings you desire.

*I brown hamburger in giant batches whenever it's on sale and keep it in the freezer until I'm ready to use it. It makes meal preparation very simple and saves me money.

MkHuffin (a make at home cousin to that other famous breakfast sandwich)

Ingredients
English muffin
Frozen pre-cooked sausage patty
Fake cheese*
One egg, beaten

Directions
Toast an English muffin. Cook egg in a skillet over med-high and push to the side of pan so it keeps warm, but is off the direct heat. In that space you just made, warm a sausage patty. (I buy them in bags in the freezer aisle.  Put the scrambled egg and sausage patty on the muffin bottom, add cheese and then the muffin top. The English muffins and the sausage patties keep well in the freezer so you can have these on hand for whenever. I like to eat them with fresh grapes. Yum.

* (American cheese, maybe?  Those plastic wrapped slices of nastiness. What a shame we put or name on that shiny stuff. They melt so nice though. This is the ONLY thing I like them on).

Monte Cristos

It's breakfast and dinner all in one. My family hasn't decided weather to call it binner or deakfast, but once this goodness hits the table, their mouths are too full to talk anyway.

Ingredients
2/3 cup milk
2 eggs
1 loaf french bread sliced into 10-12 pieces.
5 slices swiss cheese
5 slices ham
powdered sugar
strawberry jam

Instructions
Warm skillet on medium-high. Place a foil lined cookie sheet in the oven and heat oven to 200⁰. Whisk milk and eggs in a wide, shallow dish. Assemble sandwiches (cheese and ham between two slices of bread). Dip contact side in egg wash (try not to get the sides in the egg dip, as they will not be cooked). Fry on skillet until the exterior is golden brown and the cheese is melted. Place each sandwich in the oven to keep warm until they are all done. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve a puddle of strawberry jam and sides of potato wedges and broccoli. Don't forget to turn off the oven!

Hobo Dinner

Politically insensitive name aside, these foil packet meals are sooo yummy. My favorite thing about this is the clean-up. If you eat out of the foil packet, it's next to nothing. The prep time is minimal too. I use a food processor to slice my vegetables, but a mandolin or a sharp knife will do just as well.

Ingredients

2 packets of dry onion soup mix
2 onions (I prefer yellow)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 carrots
8 potatoes
8 butter pats (roughly a Tbs. each)
4 oblong aluminum foil sheets

Instructions
Move oven racks to middle high and middle low positions. Heat oven to 350⁰. Peel onions, carrots and potatoes and slice into 1/4 inch pieces and them into their own separate bowls. On the foil, layer one quarter of the each ingredient in the following order: potatoes on bottom, then carrots, onions, chicken, dry soup mix (about half a packet sprinkled over all). Finish with two pats of butter on top. Gather long ends of foil together and fold down into a tight seam. Do the same with the short edges. You should end up with a flat, tight packet of food. Place packets on cookie sheets and bake in oven for 1 hr. Check temperature. Chicken should register at least 165⁰. Watch for steam as you unwrap packets. It's very hot and you don't want to get burned.

Steamed Broccoli

This is so basic, but you've gotta know it. Broccoli is one of the fastest, tastiest and easiest vegetables to prepare.  Just wash it, trim it, place it in a microwave safe dish with a 1/2 inch of water (about a thumbnail deep), cover it and microwave it for 4 minutes ( full power in 1.65 kw microwave. You may have to adjust your time if your settings are different than this). Broccoli should be fork tender, bright green and not soggy. Drain off the liquid, add a pat of butter and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Done!

Newlywed Chicken Noodle Soup

Ever read the story Stone Soup? That's kind of how this family staple evolved. When my husband and I were newlyweds we shared everything, including head colds. My medical knowledge was almost as limited as my cooking repertoire, but I figured I couldn't go wrong with chicken noodle soup. So I ripped open an envelope of Lipton's and set it boiling. The funny thing about dry chicken noodle soup is that it contains NO chicken. So I added some. But it was still lacking. So I put in some carrots. And then celery. It needed more water. Then the noodles were sparse. So I added some egg noodles. This hodgepodge soup was the result. You can leave the soup envelope out completely and have an excellent soup. Except I can't because if I do, my husband always asks, "Where are the little noodles? I love the little noodles."

Newlywed Chicken Noodle Soup

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch peices

3 celery ribs, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces

2 Tbs chicken bullion

3 cups dry egg noodles

11 cups water

One envelope Lipton's chicken noodle soup (optional)*

2tsp fresh Thyme (optional)

On the stove in a large pot, boil water and chicken breasts until the breasts are cooked through and no longer pink. While chicken is cooking prepare carrots and celery. When chicken is cooked, remove it from the water and set aside to cool. Scoop any foam from the top of the water (gross, I know) and throw in veggies, bullion, Lipton envelope and Thyme. Boil 10-15 minutes until veggies are tender. Shred chicken and return to pot. Add noodles and boil another 8 minutes or so until the noodles are soft. Serve with saltines and a salad.

Crock Pot Variation

Precook chicken and keep in the freezer until you're ready to use it. In a crock pot, combine all ingredients except egg noodles (and Lipton envelope, if using). Cook on low 6-8 hours. Add egg noodles 30 minutes before serving time.

*If you skip the Lipton's envelope, reduce the water by one cup.

Fish n' Rice Night

This is my "Oh crap, I forgot about dinner" meal. It pulls together quick, I always have the ingredients on hand and nobody ever spits it out or gags (except on the squash, but that has more to do with it's vegetable status than my efficacy at baking it). The squash takes an hour so start it first. Start your rice 30 minutes before dinner and while it's cooking, mix and bake the biscuits. Put fish in the oven last of all.

Broiled Tilapia (could not be easier)
4-5 frozen tilapia fillets
3 tbs melted butter
Dill or lemon Pepper seasoning.

grease a broiling pan, or if you don't have one, line a cookie sheet with foil and grease that.
Place fillets one pan, brush with butter, sprinkle with seasoning. Place oven rack in highest position and broil on high 6-7 minutes (watch this carefully. If your fillets are frozen like mine usually are they may take longer, but they are easy to burn if you forget about them). Fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork.

Butter Rice

1 cup rice
2 cups water
2 tsp chicken bullion
1 tbs butter

Place all ingredients in rice cooker. Switch to cook and walk away!

Baked Squash

1 squash
1 cup water

Heat oven to 350. Halve squash, discard seeds, and cut the squash into 4 inch pieces (this does not need to be exact). Place skin side down in a 9X13 baking dish. Pour water in the bottom and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour.

Cheddar Biscuits
 Biscuit Mix :

2 1/2 cups Baking Mix (like Bisquick)
4 Tbs cold butter, cut into pea sized cubes
1 cup cheddar
1 cup milk

Butter Mix:
2 Tbs butter, melted
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp dried parsley

Combine all ingredients in the biscuit mix and spoon onto a greased cookie sheet (makes 9 or ten biscuits). Bake at 400 for 17 minutes. Make butter mixture by combining all ingredients and brush over biscuits as soon as they come out of the oven. Best served while warm.

Tartar Sauce
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup relish

Combine. Because this is a mayo base, you should keep this in the refrigerator until right before you eat it.