Taco Soup

1 lb. ground beef
1 (15oz) can whole kernel corn
1 (150z) can black beans
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 (28oz) can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 chopped onion
1 packet taco seasoning

Brown meat. Drain. Add other ingredients. Simmer for 30-60 minutes.

Defrost. Reheat. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream. Serve with tortilla chips.

Gyoza and Fried Rice

Gyoza wraps
1 lb ground pork
3 green onions- chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/3 cup soy sauce
oil for cooking
1 egg or water for sealing
Mix all in bowl. Add a Teaspoon of the mixture to each gyoza round. Cover ends with beaten egg or water using your finger or brush. Seal with fingers or gyoza press from the store. Fry the Gyoza in a little bit of hot oil until the bottom is brownish, then add water so that the gyoza are in the water with about half of their height. Lower the heat, place lid on pan and wait until all the water has vaporized.

Cold cooked rice (day old works great)
Meat-cooked and chopped: Bacon (used), or chicken or beef pieces
Eggs-Scrambled
Vegetables-any I used carrots, peas, corn, Lima beans
Oil
Soy sauce- to taste
Salt and pepper
Garlic Powder-1/2 tsp
Heat oil in pan. Fry meat, eggs, and vegetables for a few minutes separately, set aside. Add rice to pan and break clumps and stir occasionally till rice is heated about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and add soy sauce around rim of pan. Fry until all ingredients are mixed throughout the rice. I find it helps to "fluff" the rice when frying by mixing upwards then in a normal stirring way.

Pineapple Pork Chops

Place a pork chop (bone or no bone in) on a piece of foil and top with:
Sliced green bell pepper
Sliced red onion
Pineapple- 1 ring or spoonful of diced or crushed
Slice of butter
Cover with teriyake sauce
Wrap foil to make packet
Bake at 375 or BBQ for 30 mins.

Shelly Smith's Buttermilk Banana Bread

Instructions:
pre-heat oven to 350

Mix together
3 C flour
11/2 C sugar
11/2 t baking soda
11/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

In a seperate bowl combine
3 eggs
3/4 c butter
11/2 c buttermilk
4 large mashed bananas

Mix dry and wet ingredients well.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes
yeilds 6-7 small loaves
Cover in plastic wrap and aluminum foil freeze.
To reheat thaw and serve or warm in microwave for a few minutes.

Kirkland Signature Breakfast Burritos

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 sweet onion
2-3 garlic cloves
1 packet taco seasoning
2 T butter
2 4-oz cans diced green chilies
12 eggs
3-6 T milk
25 cherry tomatoes cut into small pieces
salt and pepper
12 large flour tortillas
cheddar cheese

Instructions:
Cook ground beef, onions and garlic in a skillet over medium heat, stirring to crumble. When the beef is browned add in taco seasoning. Mix. Drain liquid from pan. Melt butter over medium heat in large skillet. Beat eggs and milk. Add chilies and egg mixture to the pan, then the meat mixture tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Cook stirring until the eggs are done.
Spoon the egg mixture into tortillas. Top with shredded cheese and roll into burritos. Wrap each burrito in plastic wrap and freeze in gallon ziplock bags.
To reheat unwrap from plastic and wrap in paper towel. Re-heat in microwave or wrap in tinfoil and reheat in oven.
Makes 8-12 servings

Judy's Yummy Homemade Pasta Sauce

1/2 lb ground beef or Italian sausage
2 15oz cans Italian style diced tomatoes
1 15oz can tomato sauce
3-4 cloves garlic minced or pressed
1 onion chopped
1 zucchini grated
2 carrots grated
2 stalks celery diced
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan with a lid, brown ground beef or sausage (I used sausage), onions, and garlic until meat is cooked through and onions are tender. Add the remaining ingredients to the cooked meat, stir, and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn heat to low and simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally. After an hour, remove from heat. Let cool. Freeze in gallon ziplock bags.
Thaw and re-heat slowly on the stove. Cook noodles according to directions. Serve with salad and garlic bread.

April's Homemade Pizza

April made this for the group back in Feb and it was one of my favorites. Hope I can make it as well as she did!!

Recipe taken from the book: Girlfriends on the go, a busy Mom's guide to make-ahead meals

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. warm water
2 Tbsp. olive oil
pizza sauce
toppings

(double ingredients if wanting two medium sized pizzas)

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a measuring cup; let stand until bubbly- about 10 minutes. Stir in olive oil and salt. Place flour in a mixing bowl and add yeast mixture. Mix all together until the dough forms a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until double- about 1- 1 1/2 hours. When ready, roll out on pizza pan. Bake and 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Watch crust and check often.

Freezing directions: After rolling out, flash freeze crust. Remove from pan and wrap in plastic. Then cover with foil and freeze. You can freeze sauce and toppings separately or put on pizza first and freeze that way.

April's pizza sauce:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cups (or one big can of crushed) pureed tomatoes
1 (6 0z) can tomato paste
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Heat oil in sauce pan. Add all ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Rolled Lasagna

This is from my friend Judy's daughter-in-law

Cooks the lasagna noodles, lays them out on paper towels
Put shredded cheese on them then roll them up and puts them in a tin foil pan
Browns hamburger, ground chicken or turkey and adds a bottle of pasta sauce
Pours sauce over the rolled up lasagna and add a little more cheese on top and it is ready for the freezer

To serve, thaw and then cook for 20-30 minutes (covered until the last 5-10 minutes) at about 350

Cheesy Chicken and Brown Rice

Cheesy Chicken with Brown Rice

cheesy chicken:
5 chicken breasts
garlic salt, to taste
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 green onions, chopped

brown rice:
2 cups brown rice
1 can onion soup
4 cups water
1 cube butter

1. Sprinkle chicken breasts with garlic salt and place in casserole dish. Mix together rest of ingredients and spoon over chicken.
2. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
3. Combine all ingredients for brown rice in a pan. Cover with lid and cook on low heat for about an hour until done.

Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki Chicken

3 pounds chicken
1/2 cup oil
1 cup hot water
1 cube beef bouillon, dissolved in hot water
1 tablespoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon dried onion
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 cup soy sauce

1. Mix together all ingredients, except chicken.
2. Add chicken and soak in the sauce overnight.
3. Put chicken in large baking pan and cover with sauce.
4. Bake at 350 for about an hour. Stir to keep moist.

Serve with rice.

Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Ingredients
3 whole Red Bell Peppers
2 Tablespoons Pine Nuts (optional)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
Flat Leaf Parsley, Finely Minced
Fresh Parmesan, Shaved Or Grated
1/2 pound (to 1 Pound) Pasta: Orecchiette, Penne, Fusilli, Etc.
Preparation Instructions
Roast red peppers, and then place in a Ziploc bag to allow to sweat. Peel the charred skins from the peppers, then removed seeds. Set aside.
Lightly toast pine nuts in a skillet. Set aside.
Puree peppers with pine nuts. Set aside.
Cook pasta according to package directions.

Great tutorial here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/03/pasta-with-roasted-red-pepper-sauce-groan/
In a skillet or pot over medium heat, drizzle in olive oil. Add diced onions and garlic and cook until soft. Pour in pepper puree and stir together. Add plenty of salt.
Pour in cream and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Add cooked pasta, and then stir together.
Place pasta into a bowl, top with chopped parsley and plenty of shaved Parmesan.
Give thanks for Italy.
Repeat as necessary.

Hawaiian Meatballs

Meatballs

Canned pineapple, drain juice

2 bell peppers (what ever color you like) chopped

1 onion, chopped

teriyaki sauce

Combine all ingredients in a crockpot on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours

Make rice separately and combine when complete.

Broccoli Ginger Beef

1 1/2 lbs sirloin steak
1 head broccoli
1 can sliced water chestnuts
2 bunches green onions
4 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 C beef broth
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp corn starch
4 Tbsp honey
3 tsp dried ginger
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Preheat a large pan with the 2 Tbsp vegetable oil over medium high heat. Slice the sirloin against the grain into 1/4 inch thick slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brown the beef in the oil and remove. Place slices on a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Slice the broccoli into bite size pieces and steam for 2-3 minutes in the microwave to take a little edge off, but still crunchy. Slice the green onions and drain the can of water chestnuts.

Add the beef broth, soy sauce, honey and dried ginger to the pan you browned the beef in. Mix the cornstarch with 1/2 cup of cold water and add to the pan. Stir and warm until bubbly. Taste the sauce and see how you like it. You can add more honey for sweetness or more soy sauce if you like it salty.

Add in the onions, water chestnuts, steamed broccoli and beef. Stir well and let the veggies get warm. Do not over cook or the onions and broccoli will get too soft.

Thaw in the fridge for 1-2 days.

Saute broccoli and carrots, add onions and water chestnuts once the carrots are soft enough. Add sauce (add cornstarch to thicken sauce) then add meat stir until warm. Serve over rice.

Taco Casserole

1 pound ground beef (optional rice…my addition)

1 small onion, chopped (peppers, tomatoes, and various shredded garden veggies in the summer time to make it a really healthy option)

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 envelope of taco seasoning

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1 cup sour cream (light sour cream works perfectly)

1 cup cottage cheese (have done it with all cottage cheese in a pinch)

2 cups crushed tortilla chips (this is how I use up our crushed stale reminents in the pantry)

2 cups (8 ounces) grated Monterey Jack cheese (or whatever you have on hand)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, brown the beef, then drain off extra fat; remove from heat. Add onion, garlic powder, taco seasoning mix, and tomato sauce to beef; mix and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese; set aside. Place half the crushed chips in the bottom of a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish that has been coated with a nonstick vegetable spray. Add enough meat mixture to cover the chips, then cover the meat with half of the sour cream mixture. Sprinkle with half the grated cheese. Repeat layers. Bake uncovered, for 30-35 minutes, until cheese melts and casserole is heated through.

Flautas and Jalapeno Jelly

Jalapeno Jelly:

¾ c chopped red bell peppers
¾ c chopped green bell peppers
1/3 c diced seeded jalapenos

2 ¾ c sugar
½ c red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
6 tablespoons certo liquid pectin

Combine the peppers, jalapenos, sugar vinegar, and lime juice in a large saucepan over
medium heat. Heat until warm and sugar is dissolved. Cool. Pour the mixture in a blender or
food processor and blend for 5 seconds. Return the blended mixture to the saucepan and
bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Decrease the heat to low and
simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the pectin, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring
to a boil. Remove from heat and cool. The jelly will set as it cools down. When cool
refrigerate.

Flautas:

2 chicken thighs
1 can chili verde enchilada sauce medium size
6 tablespoons olive oil separated 3 and 3
2 cups grated Colby jack or Monterey Jack cheese
8 flour tortillas.

Place olive oil in bottom of crock pot. Place chicken thighs on top. Chicken can be
frozen or thawed depending on cooking time available. Pour enchilada sauce over top.
Cover and cook on high for at least 5 hours. Stir meat so the bones and skin fall off
and remove from pot. Spoon about 4 tablespoons meat mixture onto flour tortilla and
sprinkle cheese on top. roll tightly.

Low fat cooking: Place all flautas on cooking stone or sheet. Paint with remainder olive
oil and bake for around 15 minutes at 400 degrees.
Fatty cooking: Take about 1 cup of shortening and heat in medium sauce pan and fry the
flautas until crispy.