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.

1 ½ cups unsweetened applesauce

1 egg

1 c sugar

2 tsp butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 c flou

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp cloves

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 c raisins (optional)

Preheat to 350 degrees.

Just throw all the ingredients together and mix well. My husband doesn’t like the raisins so usually (when I’m feeling nice) I leave them out. Mix until it’s smooth. You might want to use a mixer but I just do it by hand – I’m too lazy to do extra dishes.

Pour into a greased bread pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Easy!

Credits: A friend gave me the recipe 10 years ago. I don’t know who she stole it from.

2 cans (10 oz each) diced tomatoes & green chilis
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

Optional:
shredded cheese of your choice
sour cream

In sauce pan, combine tomatoes, corn and beans. Heat until it’s hot. Garnish services with cheese and/or sour cream if desired. Wasn’t that easy?!

There is some new product that I’ve seen in the stores and picked up a couple of times that goes well with this, but I can’t remember the name of it! It’s these salad topper things that come in bags, and they have one that is like seasoned tortilla chips, and that’s great with this. Next time I’m in the store, I’ll look for the product name so I can add it to this recipe.

CREDITS: Some recipe book or allrecipes maybe. I don’t remember which.

2 tbsp olive oil
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
½ an onion, diced
½ c shredded cheese
4 eggs, separated, beaten
Salt & Pepper to taste
Optional: Diced tomato

At some point in the process, probably not right this minute, pre-heat to 400 degrees.

Fry oil, potatoes and onion about 15 minutes on medium heat until browned. Season with salt and pepper. The original recipe called for the whole onion, so you might try that, but my husband doesn’t like so much onion in his food, so I’ve halved it and it tastes just as good.

Throw the tomato in before baking or if you prefer, put the fresh tomato on top when the frittata is done.

If you haven’t already, separate the eggs and whip the egg whites. Place cooked potatoes and onions in a small casserole dish (I prefer a round one) and cover with eggs.

Place in pre-heated oven and cook for 25 minutes. Take out and top with cheese, then let it cook another 5 minutes.

CREDITS: I’m pretty sure this came out of a recipe book, but I couldn’t tell you which one.

These take some time, but they are worth it. Feel free to take short cuts (like using a bread machine for part of it) if you like, but don’t blame me if they don’t turn out as good. Personally, I like the long method, even though you have to plan about 17 hours ahead of time that you’ll want caramel rolls!

This recipe makes 1 dozen rolls.

You will need:

Rolls:
1 c milk
1 (.25 oz) pkg dry active yeast (or 2¼ tsps if you use a jar of yeast like I do)
¼ c warm water
¼ c white sugar
¼ c of vegetable oil
½ tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3½ c all purpose flour

Sugar coating:
¼ c butter, softened (you might need a little less but I like to over-estimate)
½ c white sugar (again, might need a little less than this)
1½ tbsp cinnamon (you can never have too much cinnamon!)

Caramel:
1 c brown sugar
½ c butter or margarine, softened
2 tbsp light corn syrup

Other Items Needed:
A couple of casserole dishes. Cookie sheets won’t work for this.

Step 1: Warm milk in saucepan until it bubbles. Remove from heat and let cool until it’s lukewarm.

Step 2: In small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Step 3: In a large bowl, combine yeast mixture, milk, sugar, oil, baking powder, salt, egg, and half of the flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour slowly, beating well after each addition.

Step 4: Knead on a lightly floured surface, until smooth and elastic. Or about 8 minutes. (I love to knead bread!) Lightly oil and over with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm place for about an hour.

Step 5: After dough has risen, punch down on a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a large rectangle and spread with the ¼ cup of softened butter. (You might not need all the butter, as I explained earlier.) Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the butter. Roll dough so it’s like a log. Then cut the roll into 1 inch wide pieces.

Step 6: Heat brown sugar and ½ cup of butter until melted. Remove from heat and stir in corn syrup. You can skip the corn syrup if you don’t like it. I’ve done it with and without and I’m not sure which I like better. Now divide the caramel mixture between two 9 x 13 casserole dishes, or whatever size will work for you.

Step 7: Place the 1-inch rolls on top of the caramel sauce in the baking dishes. You’ll want to place them on their side so you can see the swirls. Don’t crowd them because they will rise and expand later.

Step 8: Cover the casserole dishes with aluminum foil and refrigerate at least 12 hours but no more than 48.

Step 9: Twelve to forty-eight hours later, remove from refrigerator, remove the aluminum foil and let stand for about 30 minutes so they have time to rise.

Step 10: While waiting for them to finish rising, preheat the over to about 350 degrees.

Step 11: Bake (uncovered) about 30 minutes. They should become golden brown.

Step 12: After removing from oven, turn the casserole dish upside down (very carefully – don’t burn yourself like I do all the time) on a heat-proof plate or cutting board. Leave for about 2 minutes while letting the caramel drizzle over the rolls. Then you are ready to eat!

CREDITS: This is a family recipe, so someone in my family ripped it off from someone else.

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*)

Here is one of my favorite recipes which probably has way too many calories (not that I want to know):

1½ cup milk
¾ cup peanut butter
1 cup whipped topping
1 pkg (3.4 oz) of vanilla or chocolate pudding (I prefer vanilla)

Mix it all together, put it in pudding dishes and chill until it’s ready to eat.  Sometimes I’m so impatient I put it in the freezer!

I don’t think it should be legal for something to taste this good! It’s dangerous! My husband hates it, so that means more for me (and my waistline)! Obviously his hating it is a mixed blessing.

You know all those kids who are allergic to peanuts? Obviously it’s a punishment by god! Life without PB pudding would be hell!!

CREDITS:  I found this recipe in the 2002 Taste of Home cookbook.  But I altered it a bit. They used graham crackers to make “puddingwiches” but I think it’s far better without the graham crackers. If you want that recipe, let me know. But it won’t be awesome.

For this banana cake recipe, you’ll want:

¼ c milk
½ tsp vinegar
2 eggs
2-3 ripe bananas
2/3 c butter or margarine (I prefer butter), softened
1½ c sugar
1½ c flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp vanilla
Whipped topping (optional)

Preheat to 350 degrees.

Mix milk and vinegar and set aside

Separate the eggs and whip the whites. They’ve been naughty.

Mash the bananas and add the egg whites to them. Then add the melted butter and sugar to the banana mixture. Mix in the flour, baking soda, milk and egg yolks. After thoroughly mixed, add the vanilla. I’m generous with the vanilla, but I also use imitation (I know, I should be ashamed). Go with your gut.

Bake for 40-50 minutes in an oven-safe cake pan or casserole dish. They say cake is done when you stick in a knife and it comes out clean, but with this, that doesn’t really matter. It shouldn’t be watery in the middle, but the knife doesn’t have to come out clean.  Go with your gut.

When it’s done, top with whipped topping if you desire. It’s very yummy! If it doesn’t turn out yummy, you must have screwed it up somehow.