Black Bean Soup

This is the Black Bean Soup recipe Brooke Anderson brought for Mexican night. It was super tasty and the squeeze of lemon gave it a nice kick. Plus, black beans are fat free and pack full of great nutrients. Healthy AND delicious- what a combo!

2 cans black beans
1 can chicken broth
1 medium onion (Brooke uses about a tbsp of dried onion)
1/8 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
Mix ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. To serve, garnish with sour cream and a squeeze of lime juice. Yum Yum!! They love to eat this with cheese quesadilla's.

Italian Chicken

Admittedly, this looks gross. However, what it lacks in presentation, it makes up for in taste! It's simplicity makes it one of my favorite meals, it's taste makes it one of my family's favorites. The creamy, flavorful sauce wouldn't work on a Weight Watcher's diet, but it meets my 'must taste great' criteria! Plus, it can be done in 15 minutes on the stove, or early in a crock pot.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts {unless they are Costco breasts, then only two. Seriously, what do they feed those chickens for them to have breasts as big as mine??? TMI?;)}
3/4 stick of butter
1 pkg Italian dressing mix
1 pkg cream cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 C evaporated milk {if I'm feeding a larger group, I just add a bit more of the can}

Place chicken, butter, and Italian dressing mix in crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. One hour before serving, heat cream cheese, milk, and soup on stove until well blended. Add to chicken and cook for the last hour. Serve over hot noodles or rice.

For the stove:
Chop the chicken breasts and cook in a large skillet with the butter and dressing mix until cooked through. Add the cream cheese, milk, and soup and stir until well blended. Let simmer about 15 minutes.

Lazy Lasagna Toss

I love lasagna, but then, who doesn't! My mom is kinda famous for hers, so I have a high expectation for anything that calls itself lasagna. While I wouldn't call this my first choice for lasagna, it's a pretty good option when you don't have the time to do it the right way. Hence, Lazy Lasagna Toss!

1 lb ground beef
1-2 green peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced {I was fresh out, but about a tbsp garlic powder was a good substitute}
1 (26 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 2/3 C water
1/4 C zesty Italian dressing
12 oven ready lasagna noodles, broken into quarters {to use regular lasagna noodles, just up the water to 2 cups and plan on needing to cook it a little longer.}
1 Can olives (optional)
1/2-1 C ricotta or cottage cheese (optional)

1 C mozzarella cheese

Brown meat in a large saucepan, drain. Stir in peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water and dressing; bring to a boil. Add noodles and olives; stir. Cover. Cook on medium-low heat 10 to 15 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Gently stir in cottage cheese. Sprinkle with mozzarella, cover. Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I needed something that could stay warm long enough to take in to meet my hubby for his dinner break, so I made this in the crock pot- the way to go! I browned the meat and put it in the crock pot along with the peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water, and dressing. I let that simmer for about 4 hours on high, then stirred in the lasagna noodles and olives {forgot to add the cottage cheese, but I would next time}. I let that sit for about a half hour for oven ready, hour for regular lasagna noodles. It was still nice and hot and easy to transport! Might do it like that again next time!

Jello Cake

This is one of my favorites to do when I need a dessert but don't want to invest a lot of time into it, yet can't be content with just a plain ol' cake. It is light and refreshing- plus there is no fruit or chocolate! Shocking, coming from me! Another family recipe handed down from my mom.

1 pkg white cake mix
1 6 oz pkg Jello {Lime is my personal favorite}
2 C boiling water
1 9 oz pkg Cool Whip

Prepare and bake cake mix as directed on package for a 9x13 pan. Cool in pan for 15 minutes; poke with a meat fork at 1/2" intervals. Dissolve jello into boiling water. Pour slowly and evenly over the cake. Refrigerate 4 hours. Top with cool whip. Store in the fridge. That's it.

For a fun Christmas treat bake the cake mix in 2 wax paper lined 9" pans. Use one 3 oz pkg of green jello and one 3 oz pkg of red jello, individually dissolved into one cup boiling water EACH. Pour the green over one cake and red over the other. Refrigerate 4 hours. Unmold one layer onto a cake plate and frost with 1 cup cool whip then top with the second layer and cover with remaining cool whip.

For a larger group, follow the 9x13 pan directions, but bake in a cookie sheet.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

I got this recipe years ago and have added to it over time to this masterpiece. My family votes that pretty much anything covered in cheese is a winner. Ta-dah! Still, it's pretty simple, especially if you use canned chicken(rinse well first, if you do). Mostly a can of this, a can of that and voila! Makes me laugh, though, because I SERIOUSLY doubt any good abuela made anything authentic that called for a can of Cream of Mushroom. Slap some chili's in it and call it Mexican! Call it good... Matt and I made this when we went to Hawaii once. We had a condo with a full kitchen, so to save money we packed a bunch of cans of stuff into our check in. Yeah, we're cheap. On our way home we had to convince the airport security guy that it really was just garlic salt in Matt's bag and not sand!

2 C boneless, skinless chicken breast(or 2 cans cooked chicken, rinsed well)
1/2 onion, diced
1 bag tortilla chips or Doritos {we prefer the Salsa Verde Doritos}
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
1 C sour cream
1 can corn, drained(optional)
1 C minute rice
3 C shredded cheese
2 C chicken broth
1 can olives, drained(optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cube and cook chicken with diced onions in a medium sauce pan on medium-high heat until cooked through. Mix remaining ingredients, except olives. Grease a 9x13" pan and line with a layer of chips, slightly smashed. Sprinkle the chicken mixture, the olives, 1/2 of the cheese and 1/2 the sauce over the chips. Add another layer of chips and top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

Done.

Apple Cobbler

My super awesome neighbor, Catrina Bowers, brought this tasty dessert. The topping is a moist, almost cake-y treat that envelops the apples... Soo good! I just wish we'd remembered to take pictures at the actual Exchange. I totally forgot, so most of the pictures you get are from the plate of leftovers I brought home for Matt! I hope it all still looks as good as it tasted...

7-8 Large tart cooking apples (9 C), peeled, cored, sliced about 1/4 inch
3/4 C sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 C flour
2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 C butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place sliced apples in ungreased 9x13" baking pan. Stir together 3/4 C sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle over apples.

Combine remaining cinnamon, flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Beat at medium speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over apples. Pour melted butter over topping. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until lightly browned and apples are tender. Serve warm with ice cream, if desired.

Egg Salad Sandwiches

This is what we'd eat for about a week after Easter, but I did NOT mind! I love hard boiled eggs and this is a great, easy way to use them.

6 hard boiled eggs
6 tbsp miracle whip
6 tsp sweet pickle relish

Peel the eggs, place them in a bowl and chop with a fork. Add remaining ingredients, stir together.

My husband doesn't even like miracle whip. At all. But he loves these sandwiches. They're great for lunch, though I usually will put the egg salad in a separate container for Matt to put on the bread when he's ready to eat, since he's not a fan of even slightly soggy bread.

Funny story- I only recently learned how to make a decent hard boiled egg. As in, the last year or two. For the first 4 or 5 years of our marriage our eggs were either under cooked or would stick to the shell like it was concrete. I could make 10 different kinds of cheesecake before I could boil an egg!! I still prefer to let Matt do it... my kryptonite. That and the grill.

Bird's Nests

I have heard these called several things before, but I grew up on bird's nests. See, ya have a little egg to go in the middle. Cute, right? However, this was not a recipe my mom included in her famous cookbook, so this is the variation I came up with. If you have a variation of this, please comment so we can see what else might be better! It whips together quick for a good, hot breakfast yet isn't as heavy as pancakes or waffles, and it's quicker than french toast. Plus you can make as much or as little as you want, which is why this recipe is not exact...

2 pieces of bread per person
1 egg for every 2 pieces of bread
About 2-3 tbsp milk per egg
Salt and pepper to taste

Using a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter, cut a hole in the middle of each piece of bread. Set aside. In a small bowl (I like to use a liquid measuring cup, makes it easier to pour), mix the egg, milk, and salt and pepper. Stir well with a fork. Heat your griddle to about 350 degrees and grease with butter. Put the crust part of the bread on the skillet and pour a small amount of the egg mix into the hole, just enough to cover the bottom. Repeat. Then go back and pour a little more into each hole. It's best to do a little egg at first so it creates a little seal. If you try to fill the hole, it will just seep out from under the bread and make a mess. Not that I've ever done that... Place the centers of the bread on the skillet to toast. When the egg is mostly set (2-3 minutes), flip the crust/egg part and the center pieces. It's ok if you end up with egg smeared all over the bread- that part is my favorite! Cook another 3-5 minutes. Serve hot with your favorite syrup and jam for the toasted center pieces.

Homemade Oreo Cookies

I am totally exploiting my darling son to emphasize how good these are! Actually, he was in the process of eating the last one when I decided this was a great go-to recipe and wanted a picture. Luckily, I have such an adorable model that can make even half-eaten food look good! I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Kristen. I think most everyone has some variation of this (and I hope to see some if yours is slightly different...), but it is a must in every lazy, I mean good recipe book.

1 pkg Devil's Food cake mix

2/3 C shortening

2 eggs

1 can or recipe of your favorite frosting

Cream eggs and shortening together. Add cake mix. Roll into balls and place at least 2" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-10 minutes or until they barely bounce back when touched lightly. Cool completely. Frost the bottom of one cookie and press into the bottom of a cookie of the same size.

It's also fun to do different color frosting for different holidays. We usually end up doubling this since one recipe doesn't make a ton. Or maybe it just seems like that because these cookies are so addicting that they don't last long... My hubby used to eat these like potato chips until he helped make them one time. After he saw what they were made of he thinks twice. Then eats them anyway!

Artichoke and Sun dried Tomato Pasta

Jenn Fulton brought this yummy pasta. The sun-dried tomato give it a nice restaurant-worthy air to it. The sun-dried tomato is also what broke all over her driveway that night!

1 box (16 oz) Penne Pasta
1 (8 oz) Can artichoke hears in water (drained and chopped)
1 jar julienne sliced sun dried tomatoes in oil
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 chicken breast, cooked and sliced

Cook pasta according to the instructions on package. While pasta is boiling, saute garlic in oil. remove tomatoes from the jar (reserve oil for later) and add to garlic. Add artichokes and chicken and continue to saute until everything is heated. Drain pasta and return to pan. Add sauteed mixture along with the oil from the tomatoes into the pasta. Stir and serve.

Mama's Sweet Meatloaf

This is from Jayme Welly. Ironically, I missed getting a picture of this and it was HER camera I used all night! Sorry! Well, it looked at yummy as it tasted. Jayme had a visiting teacher bring this to her after the birth of one of her kids then the VT moved. It took Jayme a year to track her down for the purpose of getting this recipe!

1 lb raw ground beef
3/4 C milk
1 egg
1 C shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 C oats
1/2 C onions, diced
1 tsp salt
2/3 C ketchup
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat egg and milk. Stir in cheese, oats, onion and salt. Add beef and mix well. Shape into 8 loaves; place on greased 9 x 13 pan. Combine ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard. Spoon over loaves. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Jayme makes these into patties which is GENIUS! Regular meatloaf takes about an hour and a half, so this cuts cooking time in at LEAST half. Plus, leftover meatloaf makes delicious sandwiches and these already come in the right size for that.

3 Layer Jello

I got really excited, so I couldn't help myself from making a few different things. This is the first. A tasty jello recipe I give props to my mom for. This sets up in about an hour, so it's a great quasi-last minute jello side. It makes a frothy layer on the top that's almost like eating cotton candy jello. The lighting is pretty yellow, giving this an orange-y hue, though it was very red... Sorry for the weird color!

1 (6 oz) pkg Jello gelatin
2 C boiling water
1 small can fruit( or about 1 C fresh or frozen)
8-10 ice cubes

Pour hot water into blender. Add jello and blend until dissolved (30 seconds). Add fruit and ice cubes, blend until mixture looks smooth and foamy. Immediately pour into serving bowl and chill at least 1 hour. The layers form as the jello cools. You can mix and match the flavor of Jello and the fruit. My favorites are red raspberry Jello with strawberries (the kind pictured) and purple jello with pears.

Cauliflower Soup

This is from Emily Ray. She is a life-long friend that Angie Randall brought with her, and I'm so glad she did! Yay for bringing friends! This picture doesn't do justice to the soup. It tastes kinda like a lighter potato soup and since the cauliflower is the same color as the soup, the kids don't realize all the healthy vegetables they are eating. This serves 6-8 and only takes about 30 minutes.

1 head cauliflower
Instant potato flakes{recipe doesn't say how much... Emily? Desired consistency, I assume}
Salt and pepper to taste
8 oz cream cheese
1 small jar Old English Cheese(or about 1 cup shredded cheese)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small jar sliced chipped beef(or sliced luncheon meat. {I bet bacon would be good...})

Cut up cauliflower and boil in 4 cups of water until soft. Mash. Add potato flakes until the thickness of a chowder. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Simmer 15-20 minutes.

Butterscotch Sticky Buns

This was from me. Again. ;) I've tried several sticky bun (aka monkey bread, aka pull-apart) recipes, and this is my favorite so far. I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Ashley Nebeker, who got it from a family friend. This kind of stuff is the reason I work out! We have it for breakfast, so we prep the night before and have warm, delicious(sugary) rolls in the morning. I recommend eggs and/or fruit with it, cause it is pretty heavy if that's all you have.

1 pkg frozen roll dough
1 pkg (3 oz) butterscotch pudding(recipe calls for cook and serve, but I use instant)
3/4 C melted margarine (I just realized I only put in 1/4 cup that night! It was still good, but I recommend all 3/4 Cups for maximum delight. Sorry, ladies!)
1 C brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Place frozen rolls into the bottom of a greased bundt pan. Sprinkle with dry pudding mix(I only use about 1/2 a pkg. For some reason, I feel healthier. More butter, less pudding mix. Healthier...) Melt butter in a small sauce pan with brown sugar(I just stick it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds). Stir until well blended. Pour over pudding covered rolls. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover with a clean towel. Let rise at room temperature overnight. Bake at 350 Degrees for 25 minutes. Let sit in pan for 5 minutes. Invert onto serving plate.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Don't they look just amazing?? They were! This is from Alexa Kessler. Her grandma got this recipe from a ward cookbook and their family loved it so much, they've adopted it as their own.

1 1/2 C brown sugar
1 C butter
2 tsp vanilla
5 1/2 C flour
2 tsp baking soda
6 tsp hot water
12 oz chocolate chips(2 cups)
1 1/2 C white sugar
1 C butter flavored Crisco
4 eggs
2 tsp salt

Mix soda and hot water and set aside. Mix sugars, shortening, butter and eggs. Add soda water, vanilla, salt, and flour. Fold in chips. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 8-9 minutes. Makes 8 dozen.

Tostada's

Brooke Anderson couldn't make it, but sent in the following: We make tostada's with the store bought tostada shells, the refried beans from the recipe below, some cooked hamburger meat with taco seasoning in it, and whatever else you want to add(cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, salsa, lime). It is way quick if you can plan ahead by starting your beans in the morning. Plus it makes your house smell delicious all day!! Here is the recipe.

Refried beans without the refry

1 onion, peeled and halved
3 cups dried pinto beans, rinsed
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
5 tsp salt
1 3/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground cumin, optional
9 cups water

1. Place onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a crock pot. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on HIGH for 8 hours, adding more water when needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high. 2. Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency. Note: I use my blender to mix it all up. I just put beans in, add some of the liquid, and mix. I prefer to do it all that way because it is easy.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

I don't know why this isn't letting me list the ingredients. I type it up so there is a column of ingredients and a paragraph of instructions, but it posts in one paragraph. Any suggestions? This is an EXCELLENT go-to cake when you want to throw something together quick, easy, and DE-licious! It bakes to a moist cake on top and a hot fudge topping on the bottom. Add ice cream and WOW! Another one from my darling mother, Leslie Nebeker. Hi, mom!

1 C flour
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C and 2 tbsp cocoa, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C milk
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 C nuts, chopped(optional)
1 C brown sugar
1 3/4 C hot water

Stir together flour, sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Blend in milk and oil, stir in nuts. Spread in ungreased 9x9 baking pan. Stir together brown sugar and 1/4 C cocoa, sprinkle over batter. Pour hot water over batter. Bake 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees or until cake bounces back when touched. Don't over cook it or there will be no fudgy topping. Serve warm with ice cream on the cake, hot fudge on the ice cream.

Go- To Side Dishes

It is taking everything in me not to start flooding this thing with my recipes! But, since our theme is "Go-To's", I figure I should represent more than just the main dish! This is SUPER simple when I'm wanting to throw fruit in the diet.

1 can fruit(15 oz)

1 cup yogurt

Drain the fruit then mix with the yogurt.

That's it. Our favorite is peaches with strawberry yogurt.

This next one is from my mom. She is AMAZING in the kitchen, but she'd never let you tell her so! This is one of the recipes I grew up on and there was NEVER enough at dinner!

Cooked Carrots

1-2 carrots per person (or 1 lb baby carrots)

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 C brown sugar

2 tbsp butter

Peel and slice carrots, boil just until soft in salted water(about 10-15 minutes). Drain water thoroughly. Add butter and brown sugar, replace lid and let sit until they melt. Stir once before serving.

April 7th

Our maiden voyage! Since many of you are looking for something that you can pull together pretty quick with ingredients that you are likely to have on hand, the first theme will be "Go-To's". Please share that one recipe(or two!) that you go to most often. That good old standby. Frozen pizza doesn't count! Here's one of mine:

Impossible Cheeseburger Pie
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped(or about a 3 tbsp dehydrated onion)
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 C bisquick
1 1/2 C milk
3 eggs
1/4 C barbecue Sauce
1 C Cheddar cheese, grated

Brown ground beef with the onion, drain grease. Stir in salt and pepper and spread in a greased 10" pie pan. Put bisquick, milk, and eggs in a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds(or beat with whisk until almost smooth). Pour over beef. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, spread barbecue sauce over the top then sprinkle with cheese. Return to oven for 5 minutes. Cool 5-8 minutes before serving. *** To make prep even faster, brown 5 pounds of beef at once then divide the meat into 5 ziploc bags and freeze. Then it's just a matter of defrosting one bag for a recipe like this! Plus, it's usually cheaper to get your meat in larger quantities.