Phoena's Awesome!

4 flour tortillas, approx 6 inches around
1 pound of ground beef or ground buffalo meat
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can of baked beans
½ to 1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 c salsa
sour cream
freshly chopped tomatoes
shredded lettuce
various other vegetables you might like to throw in

The size of the flour tortillas should be approximately the same size as your round casserole dish, as that’s what you’ll be using. If you don’t have a round casserole dish, try a pie plate or a square casserole dish, whatever works.

Preheat to 350 degrees. Brown the meat the way you normally would, until it’s no longer pink. Then rinse it well, and the cook it some more with the taco seasoning and water. (I’m not sure how much water, but the back of the taco seasoning should tell you. No more than 1 cup.)

Line the bottom of your casserole dish with a tortilla, then put part of the meat, part of the beans and part of the cheese over the tortilla. Then cover with another tortilla. Repeat process over the 2nd and 3rd tortillas. Then cover with the last tortilla. (You can put the salsa on the layers, too, but I put it on at the end.)

Cook for 15 minutes and serve. Garnish with salsa, sour cream, tomatoes, cheese and whatever else you like. Enjoy!

Credits: I stole a recipe on the back of a Old El Paso box and then made it better.

This is a stupid and unhealthy recipe, but husbands love it (go figure). This recipe is something I made up but was inspired by KFCs potato bowls.

You figure out the quantity you want of each, depending on how many you are cooking for:

Chicken nuggets or Popcorn chicken, cooked and cut up into smaller pieces
Mashed potatoes, obviously cooked and mashed
Country gravy, prepared according to the instructions on the packet
Canned corn, heated up in the microwave (don’t heat it in the can. Trust me on this!)

Mix together. Eat and enjoy!

Hubby LOVES this. I think it’s okay, but it’s very starchy and filling and it’s a bit much. But make it for your man sometime. He’ll likely love it!

Credits: Inspired by KFC.

(Another big recipe, but we’re big on leftovers. You may want to halve it. YOU figure out how to do that!)

Even my husband, who claims he hates spinach, likes this. I guess all the fattening cheese and alfredo sauce hides the spinach taste!

8 oz frozen chopped Spinach, thawed
13 oz Alfredo Pasta Sauce
4 tbsp milk
9 dry lasagna noodles
3/4 c Ricotta cheese
1 egg
3 oz of canned mushrooms
1/2 c mozzarella cheese (shredded)

Preheat to 350.

For novice cooks, you’ll find the Ricotta cheese in the dairy case with cottage cheese. It’s in a similar tub. Add Ricotta cheese to thawed spinach. Beat an egg and add that to this mixture.

In a separate dish, mix the alfredo sauce with the milk.

Spread half the alfredo sauce on bottom of casserole dish. Place three uncooked noodles on top of the sauce. Spread half the spinach mixture on top of the noodles. Sprinkle with half the mushrooms. Place three more uncooked noodles on top. Spread the rest of the spinach mix, mushrooms on top. Three more noodles on top and then spread the last of the alfredo sauce on top of that. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

CREDITS: I think I got it from allrecipes.com.

This is for 6-8 people, so halve it or be prepared for leftovers the next day. (Hubby likes the leftovers!)

1/3 c chopped green onions
1/4 c Italian seasoned bread crumbs
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound hamburger
1 loaf of Italian bread or something similar
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/4 c mayonnaise
1/4 tsp pepper
8 oz of sliced mozzarella cheese
28 oz of spaghetti sauce
1 c water

(The original recipe warned against using fat free or light mayo. Personally, I don’t like mayo much at all, so I use half the recommended amount and used Miracle Whip.)

Cut the bread into 1 inch slices. Mix onions, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Add the (uncooked) hamburger and mix well. Shape into meatballs and cook at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes until they are no longer pink. (Pink = bad.)

Mix the softened cream cheese with the mayo and pepper. Place the bread slices into a casserole dish. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the bread. Sprinkle half the cheese over the cream cheese mixture and bread. When meatballs are done, mix them with the spaghetti sauce and water. Pour this mixture over the bread and sprinkle with more cheese.

Bake for 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

CREDITS: Apparently I got this from the “Quick Cooking March/April 1999 Magazine.”

I love this recipe, but it’s big (so either halve the recipe or be prepared for leftovers). Also, you’ll need to plan a day ahead for this recipe so it’s a little more detailed and time consuming than most of my recipes.

1 pound of hamburger, browned
1 can refried beans
2 ½ tsp chili powder
1 ½ tsp of dried oregano
1 pkg (8 oz) manicotti shells
2 ½ c water
1 jar (16oz) picante sauce
16 oz sour cream
4 oz of shredded cheese
¼ c green onions, chopped
Sliced black olives (optional, but I love them!)

The night before (or early the morning of) combine the (cooked) hamburger with the refried beans, chili powder, and oregano. Spoon them into the manicotti shells until the shells are full (slightly time consuming) and then place each filled shell into a baking dish.

Combine the water and picante sauce and then pour over the shells. Cover the baking dish with tinfoil and place in the fridge overnight or all day. They need to sit for several hours but not more than 36 hours.

Later, remove from the fridge and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cover with cheese, green onions, olives and sour cream and then let it cook another 5-10 minutes or so until the cheese melts.

Enjoy!

CREDITS: I have no idea where I got this recipe, but probably some magazine or recipe book.

1 can of Grands (or similar) biscuits (8 biscuits)
Refried beans
Salsa
Sliced black olives (optional, but I love them!)
Shredded cheese of your favorite variety
Sour cream

So here’s what you do. Put the biscuits on a greased baking sheet. Punch them down to flatten them out a bit. Cover each with refried beans, then salsa, then sprinkle the black olives and cheese on them. Cook at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or so. Top with sour cream if desired and eat! This is enough for two or three people.

You’ll have extra refried beans and salsa because you won’t even use half a can/jar of either. But maybe you’ll want to make more Mexi-Mini Pizzas later in the week!

CREDITS: I don’t know. I stole the idea from some recipe magazine.

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 minced garlic clove

2 tsp of canola oil (or your choice of vegetable oil)

1 can corn

1 tsp minced chives

1 tsp parsley flakes

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

4 eggs, beaten

3 four torillas (10 inch or whatever size fits your baking dish)

½ c salsa (drained)

8 oz sour cream

4 oz shredded cheddar cheese

4 ox shredded mozzarella cheese

1 rounded cooking dish that is at least 2 inches deep. Three inches would be better.

Preheat to 350.

Sauté the onion, green pepper and garlic clove (unless you have an aversion to garlic. Heh heh) in the oil for about 3 minutes. Then stir in the eggs until the eggs are fully cooked.

Stir in the corn, chives, parsley, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

For the size of the tortillas: They should be approximately the same size as your baking dish. Do the best you can.

Grease your baking dish. Place one tortilla on the bottom of the dish. Top with ½ of the corn mixture. Top with ½ the salsa (which should be drained or the whole thing gets soggy), ½ of the sour cream and 1/3 of the cheese. Place another tortilla on top. Then repeat the process. Put the final tortilla on top and put the last of the cheese mixture on top.

Cook for about 10 minutes and serve! The top shell is sometimes a little crunchy, but it’s still good.

NOTE: This is the “large” size recipe, for taking to a potluck or if you have a large family. It probably serves 6-8. If you don’t want that much, cut this in half or a quarter. Or make the large size recipe and have yummy leftovers!

1 pound of ground beef or turkey

Approx. 3/4 pound of tater tots (approx ¼ of a 4 pound bag)

2 cups of vegetables (you can use canned corn, peas and diced carrots, or you can get a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. I don’t recommend more than 2 full cans of vegetables. Just gauge the number of veggies so they are proportional to amount of meat and taters. Some people like more veggies, some like less.)

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

¼ onion, chopped (optional)

Your choice of shredded cheese (I like Colby Jack)

Defrost the tater tots. Usually I prefer to leave them out most of the day but if you forget to plan ahead, you can defrost them in the microwave.

Brown the beef and chopped onion (or if you don’t like beef, you can use some turkey substitute. I use beef). Rinse.

Preheat to 400 degrees.

Mix the meat in a large casserole dish with the cream of mushroom soup until the meat is coated. Then add the vegetables of your choice. Sometimes I used canned, sometimes frozen. It’s good either way. If you are using frozen veggies, thaw them out first. You can do this easily by rinsing them in warm water. (I don’t recommend this method for the tater tots. Perhaps I learned from experience!)

Mix in the tater tots. You can put them across the top, but I like to mix them all the way through.

Throw it all in the oven for about 30 minutes. Actually, I’m not even sure how long – when it smells good, it’s done. If you are hard of smelling, I’m sorry I can’t be more accurate. So take it out, throw some cheese on top and put it back in for a couple of minutes until the cheese is melted. If you want to save some calories, you can skip the cheese, but it’s not awesome without it!

I’m always surprised at people who have never heard this recipe before. It’s a big hit at the frequent church potlucks back in the middle of nowhere where I come from, so I’ve known this recipe my whole life. It might be the first thing I ever learned how to make!

Credits: All the women from back where I grew up, I guess.

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¼ c teriyaki sauce
¼ c ranch dressing
½ c shredded mozzarella cheese
1 green onion, chopped
1 ½ oz Betty Crocker Bac-o Bits

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the chicken breasts in skillet for 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and brush with terikyaki sauce. Place in a casserole dish. Cover each chicken breast with ranch dressing, sprinkle with cheese, onion and Bac-o Bits. (I prefer the Bac-o Bits. I do not like the Hormel “Real” Bacon Bits so I don’t recommend them.)

Cook for 30-35 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Then serve and enjoy! It’s one of my husband’s favorites!

CREDITS:  Unknown. I’ve used this recipe for 10 years and I’ve long since forgotten where it came from.

1 ¼ c all-purpose flour (I don’t have time for fancy flours!)
¾ c corn meal (I prefer yellow)
½ c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 c milk
¼ c vegetable oil
1 egg
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp oregano
1 can chili (whatever kind you like)
2 cans corn

Optional ingredients:
Shredded cheese
Ranch dressing
Chopped tomatoes

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all the ingredients down to corn. You can do them in any order you like because it doesn’t matter. Bake for 45 minutes. Make sure it’s cooked through so the center isn’t runny, but otherwise, it really doesn’t matter if the inserted knife comes out clean or not. It’s good if it’s moist (but not watery) inside.

You can top it with tomatoes, shredded cheese or ranch dressing. My husband especially loves it with ranch dressing. But he’d put ranch dressing on anything.

CREDITS: I don’t know where I got the original recipe, but for the corn bread part, I slightly alterned the recipe from the side of the Quaker Corn Meal box. (The original Chili Corn Bread recipe said to use a Jiffy mix for the corn bread. *scoff*)