Celebrations!

Friday - Maxwell's Birthday (take-out of his choice), maple bars
Saturday - Our Anniversary! (something easy for the kids, out for John and me)
Sunday - chicken taquitos, salsa, chips, guacamole, sour cream, fruit
Monday - fettuccine with tomato cream sauce, corn on the cob, fruit
Tuesday - homemade pizza, broccoli, fruit
Wednesday - corn chip casserole (make before scouts), yellow squash, fruit
Thursday - rice, beans, and cheese skillet, fruit

CORN CHIP CASSEROLE 
This can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator to heat the next day. Serves about 8 people.

1 lb. of lean ground beef. Fry this with small onion, diced, and 2 cloves of garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Add 15 oz. can of tomato sauce, and a cup of corn.
Heat through in the frying pan. Set aside.

Mix together 1 cup of cottage cheese, 1 cup of sour cream, 1~ 4 oz. can of diced green chiles, and a cup of sliced black olives. Set this aside.

Crush about 8 oz. of corn tortillas in the bottom of a 9x13" pan. Spread evenly. Top with the meat sauce, then the cheese mixture. Grate 1/2 lb. of Monterey Jack cheese evenly over the top. Sprinkle a few olives over this for color...

Bake about 30 minutes until hot and bubbling. Or if it's cold from the refrigerator, bake for about 45 minutes, or until it's hot.

Crazy Tacos

This recipe originally called for hamburger, but tonight I tried it without the meat and substituted pinto beans. I'll give the directions for either option.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef OR 2 cans pinto beans and a TBSP canola oil
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
3 6 oz. cans water
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 cup rice, cooked
corn chips

Toppings:
avocado
grated cheese
tomatoes
lettuce
black olives
green onions
sour cream
taco sauce or salsa

Directions:
Brown ground beef in large skillet,
OR heat oil in pan and add drained, rinsed pinto beans.
To meat OR beans, add:
tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and cumin.
Simmer for 30 minutes, then stir in 1 cup cooked rice.
Serve with tortilla chips and toppings.

From my roommate, Alisa.

Husbands Delight

When I asked John what he wanted to eat for Father's Day,

he said "something no one else will like."

I had a feeling what he really wanted was fish, but I

don't like fish (unless it's battered, fried, drizzled with lemon juice,

and smothered in tartar sauce), so I pulled out this old recipe

that I found on Recipezaar years ago.

John and I liked it, but most of the kids hated it.
That's what John asked for, right?

Ingredients:
10 oz egg noodles
1 lb ground beef
onion powder
1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP white sugar
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
Meanwhile, brown hamburger with some onion powder (or you can use diced onions - fresh or dried). Add can of tomatoes, salt, and sugar. Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. In a medium sized bowl, combine cream cheese and sour cream.

Put a little over half of the cooked noodles in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Cover the noodles with the meat mixture, and then the cream cheese and sour cream mixture. Top with the remaining noodles, and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until it is hot and bubbly. (I usually cover with tinfoil for part of the time to keep the cheese from getting too brown.)