Spanish Rice

Now... I've heard this called a few different things.. Mexican Rice, Spanish Rice... Depending on your politically correctness depends on what you call it. lol Me.... I call it YUMMY DINNER!

Mexican Rice (Spanish Rice)

1 lb meat - this could be ground turkey or ground beef... heck, you could even use chicken if you really wanted.

1 cup rice

1 can mexican stewed tomatoes

1 can mild rotel

enough liquid to make 2 1/2 cups - this means drain the tomatoes into a glass measuring cup instead of draining them into the sink. Add enough water to equal 2 1/2 cups (you can add some salsa too)

2 beef bouillon cubes

garlic - as much or little as you want

onion - as much or little as you want

salt and pepper

Brown your meat in a big skillet that has a lid (and I add my garlic and onions to it when it's almost cooked through), drain the grease, then add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil (uncovered), stirring occasionally. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. BAM!

***Leftover fun stuff***

This is yummy with some scrambled eggs as a breakfast burrito the next morning... or just a straight up burrito the next day. You could make a burrito with it for dinner if you really wanted to get crazy. Throw some cheese and sour cream on it... and YUM YUM!!!

Toscana Soup - MY WAY!

This is a version of Toscana Soup like you find at Olive Garden, except I've made some changes to it because I like it slightly different. Creamier, a different sausage and some heavier flavors.... cause that's how I roll!

Toscana Soup

1 lb sausage - Now, I like to use breakfast sausage. Others like to crumble italian sausage or slice it... do what you like.

3 large russet potatoes, sliced in half and then cut into 1/4 inch slices. - I like to peel most of mine.

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cans of chicken broth

1 quart water - for the equivalent-challenged, that's 4 cups.. lol

1 cup heavy cream

Cook sausage - crumbled, add onion and garlic when it's nearly cooked through. I like to cook the onions till they're almost transparent.

Meanwhile, combine chicken broth, water and potatoes and cook on medium heat until potatoes are cooked through... usually about 20 minutes or so, check doneness with a fork. Now ... depending on how you like the crispness of your kale in the soup .... if you like it softer, like me, add the kale now. Once the sausage has been drained of grease and cooled, add the sausage mixture to the soup. Add pepper to taste and simmer for 10 minutes. For you crunchy kale lovers, add the kale now. Add cream and heat through. Now... before you serve this, taste it, cause sometimes it's missing a little something. Salt it, pepper it, add more garlic... you'll know what it needs! YUM YUM!

Apple Dumplings

This is another one of Pioneer Woman's recipes ... you know I adore that woman and her blog! She's getting so famous... I'm slightly jealous. lol Moving on! I've had a few requests for this EASY and YUMMY dessert, so here it is!

Apple Dumplings

2 GRANNY SMITH apples - if you don't use GS apples, it won't turn out right! Do it!

2 cans crescent rolls - not the jumbo kind.. the regular little ones that come 8 to a can

2 sticks of butter - yes.. you read that right. lol

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1 tsp vanilla

cinnamon

1 can of Mountain Dew - DO IT!

Peel and core apples. Cut apples into 8 slices each. (One of those corer/slicer things work well for this) Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9x13 buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and BARELY stir. Add vanilla, stir, then pour over apples. Pour Mountain Dew (if you use a regular size can, you won't need the whole thing. I've found you need a LITTLE bit more than the small can for it to have enough sauce) around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. (And yes, that's the longest 40 minutes of your life).... Serve with ice cream and spoon some of the sauce from the pan on the top.

Bowtie Chicken

Another one I got off of CM. Haven't made this one yet either, but will be this week! :)


2-3 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I like to use a rotisserie)
2 cans cream of celery soup
1 16 oz container of sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
a dash or two of tabasco/texas pete
1 lb of bowtie pasta, cooked and drained

You could add any veggies you like ie broccoli.

Bake for 30-45 mins at 375, add more cheese to top for last 10 minutes if desired.

Baked Potato Casserole

I got this off of CM ... Haven't tried it yet, but definitely will now! :)

Shredded hasbrowns (1 bag in dairy section)
Cheese (any kind, I use cheddar)
Sour cream (small container)
Bacon (cut up into like bits)
1 can cream mushroom soup
little bit of butter
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all together and bake on 350 for at least 30 mins, I like my casseroles a bit crunchy so I go like 45 mns.

Tater Tot Casserole

There are TONS of versions of tater tot casserole out there in cyber world. This one came from allrecipes.com.

2 lbs ground beef
1 small onion, chopped (you know I'm an onion lover. lol)
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup (I added 1/2 a can of half and half to thin out the mixture)
1 (14.5 ounce) can french style green beans (I will use 2 cans next time)
1 (32 ounce) bag tater tots, thawed
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Saute onion in a large skillet until soft (I sauteed them in butter, of course. lol) add beef and cook until browned. Drain and set aside.
Spread soup and beans into bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Slowly add meat mixture, then top with tater tots and season with salt to taste. (OK... I did some things differently here. First, I put the soup and half and half in the Pyrex first. Then I added the green beans and stirred them in there and spread it out. Then I added the meat [which I seasoned with seasoning salt, love that stuff] and put shredded cheddar cheese on top of that. -made a big difference.- THEN I put the tater tots on top and did not put additional salt on top.)
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until casserole is cooked through. (I think I did 35 minutes)

Chicken Delight

I was looking for chicken recipes on allrecipes.com and came across this one. It's super easy and we thought it was good. I'll put my notes of things I'd change in red.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup sour cream (I will only use maybe 1/2 or 3/4 cups at the most next time. 1 cup is a lot and kinda puts a thick layer as it bakes on top of the chicken.)
2 tbsp worchestershire sauce (is that even how it's spelled? I can't remember. lol Anyways, I'll probably only use 1 tbsp, maybe 1 1/2 tbsp next time. And that's coming from a worchestershire lover. lol)
1 tsp paprika
1 teaspon garlic powder (I used a couple teaspoons of minced garlic. All I had was garlic salt and I didn't want to overload it with salt. Next time I'll probably add more garlic)
1/2 tsp white pepper (I was out of white pepper, so I just used regular black pepper. I think I put too much. lol go easy on it.)
1 cup crushed buttery round crackers
(I also added some onion powder and some seasoning salt. I'll probably leave out the onion powder next time, leave out the paprika and use seasoning salt instead.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry. Place them in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. In a bowl, mix sour cream, worchestershire sauce, paprika (or seasoning salt), garlic [powder], and pepper. Spread mixture over chicken, then sprinkle all with cracker crumbs.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for one hour.