Mini Taco Bowls

What You Need

8 flour tortillas (6 inch)

1 lb. extra-lean ground beef

1 cup TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa

1/2 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Cheddar Cheese

2 cups chopped lettuce

1 tomato, chopped

1/4 cup KRAFT Ranch Dressing

Make It

HEAT oven to 350°F.

MICROWAVE tortillas on HIGH 30 sec. Line each of 8 muffin cups with 1 tortilla. Carefully fold back edges of tortillas, leaving opening in centers for filling.

BAKE 10 min. Meanwhile, brown meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in salsa; bring to boil. Simmer on medium-low heat 10 min.

SPOON meat mixture into tortilla bowls; top with remaining ingredients.

Red Beans & Rice

Red Beans & Rice is an easy and inexpensive meal that is surprisingly yummy and quick to make. (Thanks Beth for this recipe!)

The ingredients are simple and easy to find:

1 can of kidney beans, drained

1 large can of seasoned diced tomatoes

1/8 C. bacon crumbles

2 boil in the bag rice packets (1/2 box)

1 pkg kielbasa (I used turkey kielbasa)

While my rice was boiling, I placed my beans, tomatoes and bacon on medium heat.

Then I sliced and quartered the kielbasa, and added it to the mix.

I raised the cooking temperature a bit and allowed the kielbasa to heat thoroughly while everything bubbled together at a slow boil.

Finally, I added the rice. Honestly, this dish may not be pretty to look at, but it is yummy!

Alfredo Lasagna

Ingredients for Sauce (Tutorial)
1/2 C. Butter (aka: 1 stick)
2 Cloves Garlic (I use about 8)
2 C. Heavy Cream (16 ounces)
1/4 t. Pepper
1/2 C. Parmesan Cheese
3/4 C. Mozzarella Cheese (I use the fine shred variety for quicker melting!)

To Prepare:
Melt butter on medium heat. Add garlic, cream and pepper- simmer (5 min.). Stir often. Add Parmesan cheese and simmer 10 minutes. When sauce seems thick, slowly add Mozzarella cheese and stir until smooth.

Ingredients for the lasagna:
3-4 chicken breasts worth of shredded chicken
1 (16 oz) container of cottage cheese
1 (2c.) package of shredded mozzarella
9 cooked lasagna noodles
1 small package of fresh spinach leaves
1 batch of homemade Alfredo sauce (I actually use 1/2 a batch).

For the layering:
I spread a little bit of sauce on the bottom of the pan, then I layer lasagna noodles (cooked), then I mix 1/3 of the Alfredo sauce with 1/3 the container of cottage cheese, and I spread that over the noodles.

Next I spread a layer of shredded chicken across the Alfredo/cottage cheese mix. Then I place a thin layer of fresh spinach leaves on top of the chicken.

I finish out the layer but sprinkling 1/3 of the package of mozzarella cheese. Triple the layers and add Italian bread crumbs on top of the final layer.

Bake at 350* for 45 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered.

Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving! Enjoy!

Faux Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients: Ground beef, potatoes, mixed veggies, cream of chicken soup, milk and corn starch... how could you go wrong? Simple. Inexpensive. Yummy.

*Note: I'm pretty sure that I have never used corn starch before- so I had to make a mad dash last minute run to get some... don't worry if you need to purchase some too, mine was only $1.29!

I decided to start with the potatoes. I peeled and boiled 5 good sized potatoes. I did have a bit left over- but I'm OK with that... wink!

The recipe calls for STIFF mashed potatoes, which means NO milk or butter can be added. So I decided to whip out my Kitchen-Aid stand mixer and let it do the hard work of mashing for me! (I WILL NEVER HAND MASH AGAIN...EVER!)

Bonus features from using a mixer (just in time for Thanksgiving... you're welcome!)
1. Perfectly smooth mashed potatoes!
2. All of the swirling helped to cool the potatoes more quickly.
3. I could attend to making the rest of the recipe- I simply just walked away!
4. No muscle fatigue or cranky attitude flare up mid-mashing!

I added one pound of my previously cooked ground beef. It is important NOT to drain the beef, as this adds to the flavoring of the dish. I used Angus, which left me with less 'juices' than other varieties may have.

Once the ground beef has been thoroughly cooked, I added the contents of one can of cream of chicken soup. Mix well and heat thoroughly.

While my meat and soup were melding together on the stove top, I stirred one cup of milk and one tablespoon of cornstarch together.

It is important not to have any cornstarch lumps - so I made sure to smash the back of my spoon into the side of the measuring cup while stirring to break apart any lumps that I found.

TIP: Once you are satisfied that your contents are thoroughly mixed, pour immediately into the pot on the stove. The cornstarch will settle to the bottom of the container when you stop stirring.

Next add a package of frozen mixed veggies (I LOVE adding my FREE after doubled coupon veggies into meals!!!).

Keep stirring until all of your ingredients are heated thoroughly and are combined well.

I lightly sprayed the bottom of my casserole dish and poured my beef and veggie mixture inside.

Next, I loaded up a piping bag with an extra large decorating tip (I knew these would come in handy someday...) and I squeezed little dollops of mashed potatoes, coating the top. In truth, you could just spread a thin layer of potatoes on top with a spatula... but where is the fun in that? AND... I loved cutting perfect pieces between the potato dollops...

TIP: The warmer the mashed potatoes, the easier the squeezing and the better the presentation. I actually made a second Shepherd's Pie to freeze, and the time between piping the two batches allowed my potatoes to cool significantly. I also noticed that the first pie was far more attractively piped, so next time I will microwave my potatoes if necessary.

Bake at 400* for 15-20 minutes, or until thoroughly warmed!

And let me say, this is delicious!!!

Recipe Recap: serves 4
1 pound of undrained ground beef
4-5 medium/large potatoes
1 package of mixed vegetables
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon of cornstarch

This recipe *may* be the perfect answer to what to do with your leftover potatoes after Thanksgiving...

Chicken Chili

I have been serving this Chicken Chili to guests for years! Each time I make this recipe for a new audience I am asked for the recipe, but I have dodged and evaded actually sharing the recipe since my Chicken Chili is embarrassingly easy (and inexpensive) to make!!!

Simple, yet healthy ingredients allow my Chicken Chili to be quick to make, filling and delicious!

Ingredients:
2 cups shredded chicken.
2 cups of homemade chicken stock (or 2 cans)
3 cans of Great Northern beans (do not drain)
2 packages of mixed vegetables (or 3 cans- do not drain)
3 tablespoons of taco seasoning mix (or 3 packets)
6-8 cups of water (dependant on canned vegetable liquid)

Open and pour in the 3 cans of undrained Great Northern beans.

Add either fresh or frozen shredded chicken to the crock pot.

See how easy this is? Embarrassing!!! Add the vegetables.

Add the taco seasoning- you'll be amazed at how yummy this soup is!

Finally, pour your chicken stock and the 6-8 cups of water on top and give all of the ingredients a good stirring.

Keeping your crock pot on the low setting, cook your soup for 3-6 hours before serving.

Surprise, surprise... I LOVE to add shredded Cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream on top of my soup!

This soup wonderfully compliments a crusty bread and side salad! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how filling this easy Chicken Chili is!

NOTE: The shredded chicken and the chicken stock for this recipe are from the chicken that I used for my Chicken Stock post. Half of the shredded chicken was used to make this Chicken Chili recipe.

Quiche

Cheddar and Bacon Quiche
3oz bacon bits
6oz shredded cheddar cheese
1 uncooked pie crust
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1c. half and half, although we will use whole milk

Preheat oven to 400*

Mix all ingredients (sans crust) well and place into the pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350* and continue baking for 35 more minutes. Let your quiche cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Mashed Potato Soup

Each time that I make this soup, I break the process into two days. On the first day I prepare the potatoes. Normally I purchase 10 pounds of potatoes(the variety isn't really all that important, but I find the bigger the potatoes the less time it takes to peel them!), but this time I peeled 15 pounds because I was taking this soup to a party!

After I have rinsed and peeled my potatoes, I like to cut them into chunks so that they boil and cook faster. Large potatoes I slice into six sections and the smaller ones just into quarters.

Boiling potatoes is very easy, just fill the pot with water until your potatoes are completely covered with water. Keep in mind that the potato water likes to bubble over, so keep a close eye (I prefer to keep within ear shot) on your pot. I usually keep the lid offset enough to let a little bit of steam escape, and somehow this keeps my pot from boiling over.

While my potatoes were cooking, I peeled and shredded my 1 pound bag or carrots. It is FAR easier to shred long carrots than chubby/short baby carrots. And long carrots are less expensive too. ($.79/bag for long carrots vs. $1.39/bag for baby carrots.)

I was pleasantly surprised to receive nearly 4 cups of shredded carrot from just a single pound bag. I popped both of these containers into the freezer, even though one would be used the next day!

When my potatoes were done cooking (you can test their 'doneness' with a fork, if a fork easily pierces a potato they are done!) I drained all of the 'potato' water out of the stock pot. I reserved about 8 cups for use in the soup stock. (I let the potato water cool completely on my counter before I let it refrigerate overnight.)

Here are my two secret weapons for supremely yummy mashed potatoes... a block of cream cheese and a stick of butter!!! YUMM-O! I cut my cream cheese and butter into squares and then I mash them into my potatoes (hint: I mash my potatoes with the pot in the kitchen sink so that it can't accidentally slip off of the counter when I'm furiously mashing!)

I fill a 9x13 pan with mashed potatoes, and I will use the rest of the mashed potatoes as the base to my soup! (And yes, I like my mashed potatoes lumpy!)

After filling my 9x13, I still had 8 cups of mashed potatoes left over for the soup. I allowed both of these containers of potatoes to cool before I set them into the refrigerator overnight.

The following afternoon (day of serving) I put together the rest of my ingredients for the soup. On the far left is the 8 cups of potato water, I used 1 bag (even though 2 were pictured) of frozen corn, 2 jars of bacon crumbles(you could crumble your own), the small container of liquid is home made chicken stock, 8 cups of mashed potatoes, and 2-ish cups of shredded carrots.

I also shredded a block of cheddar cheese to use as a topping!

After your soup has had a chance to meld together (either on the stove top or in your crock pot) for about 2 hours, warm your mashed potatoes in the oven (30 min. at 350*).

Place a large scoop of mashed potatoes into the bottom of your bowl and add a ladle or two of your mashed potato soup on top. Add shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream and... enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

I was talking with my friend Jessica a few weeks ago and she shared a recipe for Chicken Pot Pie. Here are the ingredients that I used. (The blue lidded container is homemade chicken stock.)

I mixed everything in a large bowl, and then spread it between the two pie crusts.

I baked the pie for 15 minutes at 400* and then 45 more minutes at 350*.

I put the equivalent of 1 can of chicken broth into the mix, but I wish that I had only added just half of a can.

This Pot Pie was inexpensive and an absolute hit... I'll definitely make it again!

***UPDATE: This recipe is much better without the chicken stock, and was FANTASTIC with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving!