Taco Salad

This is a delicious salad, a little different from your average taco salad. Recipe from my mom-in-law. Warm weather is coming. Time to start thinking of some salads to go along with the burgers and steaks.

• 1 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing


• 1 cup Italian dressing


• 1 lb ground beef


• 1 small chopped onion


• 2 cups kidney beans


• 1 tsp salt


• 1/2 tsp pepper


• 1 head lettuce


• 2 tomatoes, chopped


• 375g pkg taco chips, crushed


• 2 cups grated cheese

Mix Italian dressing and Miracle Whip. Brown ground beef and onion. Add beans, salt and pepper. Toss the remaining ingredients then add warm ground beef mixture. (Temperature of ground beef can be cooled slightly to warmed slightly if it's been refrigerated). Add dressing; toss and serve immediately.

Apple Brown Betty (Apple Crisp)

Needing to use up a bag of apples that had been hanging out in my fridge, I decided to try this dessert. Apple crisp is one of my husband's favorite desserts and this recipe didn't disappoint. The first pan disappeared so fast, I had to make another for our guests the following day. Served warm out of the oven with ice cream - that pan was scraped clean too!

• 4-6 cups apples, peeled and sliced
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• cinnamon (optional)*

Topping:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)*

Place apples and sugar in 10 inch casserole, 2-3 inches deep or in a cake pan. Mix topping ingredients until crumbly. Spread over apples. Pat down lightly. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Serves 8.

*In my opinion, cinnamon is definitely not an optional part of this dessert. Adds wonderful flavor and it's just not the same without it!

Cheddar BBQ Chicken Breasts

The thing I like about this recipe is that it pairs up everyday ingredients to make something really delicious. It's easy too!

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 8 cooked bacon strips
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1 cup bbq sauce

Cover chicken breasts with bbq sauce and bake until done (about 30 minutes at 350). When chicken is done, pour on more sauce. Add bacon strips to cover chicken and cover with shredded cheese. Return to oven until cheese melts. Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

Fruit Salad

Super easy fruit salad. Tasty too!

• 1 can peach slices, undrained*
• 1 can pineapple chunks, undrained
• 1 box dry vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1 lb strawberries, stemmed and quartered
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 bunch grapes
• 1-2 tbsp sugar (optional)**

In a large bowl, combine peach slices, pineapple chunks and dry vanilla pudding mix. This includes the juices from the cans. Mix well until pudding is dissolved. Stir in strawberries, banana, blueberries, grapes and sugar (if desired). Chill.

* I used a can of fruit cocktail instead, which worked well.

** I left the sugar out and found it to be sweet enough without it.

Cheese Blintzes with Mixed Berry Sauce

I read a book the other day where the main character was a cook and described making a meal like this one. I googled and googled until I found this recipe that sounded very similar to the one in the book. I made it for my mom and sister for breakfast and it was a big hit!

Crepes:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Cheese Filling:

1 cup dry curd or farmers cheese

1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese

8 ounces softened cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter, or as needed, to fry filled crepes

Mixed Berry Sauce:

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen sliced strawberries

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

3/4 to 1 cup sugar or to taste

1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or to taste

Directions for crepes:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Gradually add in the flour and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.

Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot

Stack crepes to fill now, or refrigerate or freeze them and assemble later.

To make the cheese filling: In a large bowl, combine cheeses and sugar, and beat with a wooden spoon until thoroughly blended. Add eggs, vanilla, and salt and stir until smooth.

To make the mixed berry sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup raspberries, 1 cup strawberries, 3/4 cup blueberries, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and bring to a simmer over medium heat until sugar has dissolved, about 10 minutes. Adjust sugar, if necessary, and cook until dissolved. Puree the berry mixture and return to the saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add additional lemon juice, if necessary. Add remaining 1/2 cup raspberries, 1/2 cup strawberries and 1/4 cup blueberries, and simmer until sauce is hot. Sauce can be served hot or cold.

To assemble the blintzes: Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons filling on lower third of each crepe. Fold bottom of crepe over filling, then fold each of the remaining sides over to make a little package. Repeat with remaining crepes. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Arrange 6 blintzes at a time seam-side down in skillet and sauté until faintly brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Turn blintzes and brown on second side, another 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining blintzes, adding another tablespoon of butter for each batch.

Serve 3 blintzes per plate with sauce ladled across the center.

* The batter for the crepes is supposed to keep in the fridge for up to a week. I made the batter and the cheese filling the night before so I didn't have that much work in the morning. I found the cheese filling to be a bit too runny so I think I would cut back on the eggs next time.

One Skillet Salsa Chicken

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 pouch taco seasoning mix
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 3/4 cup salsa
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup frozen niblet whole kernel corn
• chopped onion greens
• 1/2 cup water

Place flour and taco seasoning mix in a large plastic bag; shake to combine. Shake chicken in mixture until coated. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken on both sides. Combine salsa, 1/2 cup water, sugar and salt; pour over chicken. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add corn to skillet, cover and cook 5 minutes. Serve over hot cooked rice, sprinkle with onion greens.

Tropical Chicken Pizza

A recipe from my friend Heather. This pizza is a little different than the norm, but oh so tasty.

• Your favorite pizza crust (to fit a cookie sheet)
• 2 chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup Kraft mandarin orange with sesame dressing
• 1 jar classico alfredo sauce
• 200 g finely chopped ham
• 1 can pineapple tidbits, drained
• 1 to 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese (I used marble this time around as it's what I had on hand)

Fry chicken breasts in salad dressing until fully cooked. Sliced into small pieces. Spread pizza crust with 1/2 to 3/4 jar of alfredo sauce. Top with sliced chicken, ham, pineapple and grated cheese. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.