South of the Border - Bean Dip

Bean Dip

1 can (16 oz) Refried Beans
1 can (15 oz) Black Beans
1 can (11 oz) Mexi Corn
1 Cup Salsa
2 Chipolte Peppers in Adobo Sauce (Note: these are very spicy)
1 Cup Shredded Cheese (Mexican, Cheddar or Colby Jack)
Chopped Green Onions

In a crock pot, stir together refried beans, black beans, mexi corn and salsa. Chop chipotle Peppers and add to crock pot. Cook in crock pot stirring occasionally until simmering, then turn on low. Top with cheese and green onion before serving.

South Of The Border ~ Enchiladas

I don't have too many mexican receipes, which is surprising since I LOVE mexican food. Here's one that I make all the time.

1 lb of browned ground or pulled beef / or chicken
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 jar enchilada sauce ( I use Pace brand)
5 med. sized tortillas
1 pkg / bag mexican flavored shredded cheese (Kraft brand is good)

• add package of seasoning to cooked meat. Follow package directions
• pour 1/4 of the sauce in a dish larger than your tortilla
• dip tortilla into sauce, covering both sides, let excess drip off
• lay flat, and a few spoonfulls of meat (divide meat into 5 equal parts) down one side of the tortilla, then roll it up
• repeat the above step until all tortillas are done (you may need to add additional sauce for dipping)
• spray a non-stick pan with Pam, then place tortillas seam side down in pan
• pour all (jar & dipping pan) remaining enchilada sauce onto the enchiladas
• cover with shredded cheese (to your liking)
• cover with foil
• bake @ 375, till cheese is melted and they are heated thru.

Well, I hope you like them!

South of the Border - Burrito Casserole

Burrito Casserole

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tsp chili powder
1 16-oz can dark red kidney beans (drained)
1/4 cup taco sauce
1/2 cup shredded Monterery Jack or Colby Jack cheese
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 small tomato (chopped)
1/2 cup sliced black olives (optional)
tortilla chips

Brown ground beef and onion in a skillet. Turn off heat and add tomato sauce, water and chili powder and set aside.

Mash half of the kidney beans in an microwave* safe casserole dish. Stir in taco sauce and remaining beans. Spread evenly in bottom of casserole dish. Spread meat mixture on top. Place in microwave on high for 6 to 8 minutes, until beans are cooked and all ingredients are heated through.

Sprinkle with cheese, lettuce, tomato, olives. Serve with tortilla chips.


* Please note, this can also be finished in the oven in you prefer.


I had a different recipe I wanted to post today, but I can't locate it. If I find it, I will post it as well.

Chewy No Fail Brownies... from a Cake Mix!

I made these tonight and posted the recipe on my blog... and remembered that it was DESSERT WEEK at the Smorgasbord. Even though they don't have FRUIT in them I thought perhaps Kgrams would yell at me for posting a recipe on my blog and not here... hee hee. So I'm posting it here too. Enjoy!

Tonights Special: Brownies

1 dry dark chocolate cake mix (18.25 size)
1 c chopped walnuts (omit if you want)
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 stick butter, melted
1 package of chocolate chips or a mixture of peanut butter chips, caramel chips, chopped up Snickers bars or other candy bars, etc. (Whatever you want!)

Preheat your oven to 350. Combine the dry cake mix and nuts in a large bowl. Add the melted butter and the evaporated milk. Spread 3/4 of the batter into a 9X13 inch pan (ungreased, or if you feel you must, just spray/grease the bottom only). Top the layer of batter with your mixture of chopped candy or chips. Drop the remaining batter by spoonfuls onto the top. Spread a bit but most of the chips will show through.

Bake approximately 30 minutes. Cool. Cut into bars.

(If we want to make it official for this weeks topic by using fruit - lets top this with WHIPPED CREAM AND FRESH RASPBERRIES AND SERVE....). THERE. I used fruit. :)

Dessert with Fruit: Dump Cake

I couldn't decide which dessert to post today, so I decided what the heck and I'm going to give you two of them.

INGREDIENTS:
1 Can of Pie Filling (Cherry is fantastic)
1 Large Can Crushed Pineapple
1 Box White or Yellow Cake Mix
1 Stick Margarine
1 Cup Crushed Pecans


DIRECTIONS:
SPREAD PIE FILLING IN BOTTOM OF 13”X9” PAN
SPREAD PINEAPPLE WITH JUICE ON TOP OF THE PIE FILLING

SPREAD DRY CAKE MIX ON TOP OF THE FRUIT
CUT MARGARINE INTO SMALL PIECES AND DROP EVENLY OVER CAKE MIX, MAKING SURE TO GET SOME IN EACH OF THE CORNERS.

SPRINKLE TOP WITH PECANS

BAKE IN 350 F OVEN FOR APPROXIMATELY 45 MINUTES

Banana Split Cake

INGREDIENTS:
2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 Stick of Butter or Margarine
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
2 Sticks of Butter or Margarine
2 Eggs
1 Large Can Crushed Pineapple (Drained)
2 Bananas (Sliced)
Cool Whip
Chopped Pecans (optional)
Cherries or Strawberries (optional)


DIRECTIONS:
MELT 1 STICK OF BUTTER AND POUR OVER GRAHAM CRACKER CRUMBS. MIX WELL AND PAT DOWN IN BOTTOM OF 9X13 PAN.

IN A LARGE BOWL, COMBINE SUGAR, 2 STICKS OF BUTTER AND EGGS - MIX FOR 5 MINUTES.

SPREAD ON TOP OF CRUST. TOP WITH DRAINED PINEAPPLE. THEN TOP WITH SLICED BANANAS.

SPREAD WITH 1 CONTAINER OF COOL WHIP. ADD NUTS AND CHERRIES OR STRAWBERRIES IF DESIRED.

Is It Really Better Than Sex.......Cake?????

I got this one from Paula Dean on food TV. I sooo love that channel!
Can you believe my title??? That's really the name of the cake!! No one ever believes me, but it truly is! I know, I know, you want to know if it is or not! Let me tell ya, even without chocolate, it's pretty close!!

1 yellow pudding in the mix cake mix (prepare as directed)
1 can crushed pineapple (drained ~ drink the juice, you don't need to reserve it)
2 TBLS sugar
1 box instant vanilla pudding (prepare as directed)
1 tub coolwhip
handful of coconut (optional)

1. bake the cake
2. while cake is baking, mix sugar & pineapple in a saucepan and heat to a simmer till sugar melts
3. when cake is done, use a fork and poke holes all over it. Pour and spread pineapple mixture on top.
4. place into fridge to cool completely
5. while cake is cooling, make pudding
6. after cake is COMPLETELY cooled, spread on pudding
7. spred on coolwhip topping
8. sprinkle on coconut (you can toast coconut if you want)

(store in fridge)

ENJOY!!!!!! There are never any left overs when I take this to a party. Plus, the name of the cake makes for great conversation !

Fruit Pizza

1 pkg sugar cookie dough

Rool out on cookie sheet or pizza round. Bake according to directions. Let cool.

8 oz cream softened cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix thoroughly and spread over baked cookie.

Top with fresh strawberries, kiwi, and blueberries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes: Canned blueberry topping is easier to work with and still tastes great. If using frozen blueberries, thaw, and then dry off with paper towels or air dry. Don't strain.

Steak Marinade

This is what I should be making right now instead of typing... hee hee.


STEAK MARINADE

1/3 c soy sauce
2 T vegetable oil
1 T brown sugar (I've used Sugar Twin with success)
3/4 t garlic, minced
1 t ginger
1 t seasoned salt


Mix and marinate your steaks. The longer the marinating time, the stronger the taste. We like ours strong so I refrigerate overnight if I remember to get it made that far in advance.

Bacon Wrapped Mushroom Kabobs

Wooden skewers
1 can whole mushrooms
1/2 lb bacon
8 oz barbeque sauce

Makes 8 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes

1. Soak bamboo skewers 30 minutes.
2. Cut bacon strips in half so they will be just long enough to wrap around the mushroom one time.
3. Wrap each mushroom with a bacon strip and thread on skewer.
4. Grill on medium heat until bacon is done, basting with barbecue sauce.
5. This usually takes around 10-15 minutes.
6. Serve immediately.

Somthin' for the grill (wings)

My DH's family begs for my garlic wings, so I thought that I would share them for this segment of...Smorgasbord Sunday. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

One pack of wings - remove tips
1 C of soy sauce
2 heaping tblsp of crushed or chopped garlic (I use the jarred stuff, so go ahead and cheat if you want)
1tblsp of sugar or splenda
1/2 a lime (juice)
2 pinches of hot red pepper flakes or powder (optional)
pepper to taste (no salt unless you use the low sodium soy sauce)

Since I want to make sure all the wings soak up the marinade, I use a 9x12 baking pan. Place wings in pan, add all ingredients and stir up to coat wings. Flatten out wings so that they are all soaking up the yummy marinade for about 15 minutes (turn once in a while).

Place on grill and cook as you usually would (with or without foil). Baste occasionally with the marinade till done...Enjoy!

TIP: I have cooked these in the oven also. You can use any part of the chicken you want. I have found that the thighs really soak up the merinade the best.

Something for the Grill - Campfire Chicken Packets

This is an easy no-fuss cooking and no-fuss clean up meal. All amounts are approximate and any of the vegetables can be left out or additional veggies can be added according to your taste. The spices can also be modified according your tastes.

6 to 8 Pieces of Chicken (can be any combination of pieces you choose)
2 to 3 Ears of Corn on the Cob
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1/2 Small Bag of Baby Carrots
1 to 1 ½ lbs of Small Red Potatoes
1 Medium Onion
Handful of Cherry Tomatoes

Seasoning/Spices:
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Emeril’s Original Essence

Reynolds Large Hot Bag (You can make your own bag with heavy duty foil doubled and then folded into a bag.)

Rinse and season chicken and place in bag.
Shuck and clean corn, break each ear into 3 pieces, add to bag.
Rinse and chop peppers into chunks and add to bag.
Rinse carrots and add to bag.
Clean and quarter potatoes and add to bag.
Chop onion into large chunks and add to bag.
Rinse tomatoes and add to bag.

Sprinkle all seasoning spices into the bag.

Close bag tightly and place on medium-high grill for 30 to 40 minutes.

To better handle the bag, place on a cookie sheet before filling with food and then simply slide off onto the grill and slide back on sheet when finished.

Note: This can also be cooked in the oven on 450F for 60 minutes.

What it is...

This is a blog that I have created for us to share our recipes. Each week I will post a different topic and on Sunday, we all post our recipe here to this site. If you would like to join, please let me know and I will add you as a member.

I know everyone is busy and therefore, if you can't post on Sunday, you are welcome to post on another day. Also, if you are looking to make something special in the near future or are having a party, let me know and I will do my best to make your need the topic of the week.

Any thoughts or suggestions on the blog and it's content are always welcome.

Happy reading and cooking... ENJOY!