Tater Tot Hot Dish

I grew up in the great state of Minnesota.  Apparently, Tater Tot "Hot Dish", as they call it (I call it casserole but "hot dish" is so much more fun to say) is a big deal in Minnesota.  It's, like, the state meal...or something like that.  I honestly do not remember ever eating it during my childhood.  Maybe I didn't like it, so I blocked it out of my memory...I don't know.  Anyway, Tater Tot Hot Dish has become a staple meal in my household.  It's not expensive to make, it's filling, and it's awfully tasty. 

Ingredients:

*2 lbs. ground beef

*2 large cans of Cream of Mushroom soup

*2 envelope packets of dry onion soup mix

*Frozen mixed veggies

*Frozen tater tots

Procedure:

1.  Preheat your oven to 375* F.

2.  Brown and drain the ground beef.

3.  In a large bowl combine the ground beef, soup, dry onion soup, and mixed veggies.  Mix well

4.  Pour this mixture into a 10x15 baking dish.

5.  Top with tater tots.

6.  Bake in your preheated oven for 1 hour.

*NOTES:  I use 2 dry onion soup packets for a large batch but, it can sometimes come out a little salty.  Just use 1 packet if you are watching your sodium intake.

Homemade Corn Tortillas

I actually got this recipe off my bag of Masa de Maiz (Corn Masa Flour). These are pretty darn tasty.

What you need:

*2 cups instant corn masa flour
*1/4 tsp. salt
*1 3/4 cups warm water
(This amount will make approximately 16 corn tortillas)

What you do:

1. Combine the masa, salt, and warm water in a bowl and mix with your hands. Add extra water by the Tbsp. to reach a soft dough (mashed potato consistency). Mix for about 4 minutes. Allow masa to sit for 10 minutes.

2. Cut 2 squares of wax paper for each tortilla being prepared. Form masa into 2 Tbsp. size balls. Place a sheet of wax paper on both sides of the masa ball and place in a tortilla press. Lightly press the tortilla to the desired thickness; set aside with the wax paper. Finish making the rest of the tortillas in the same manner.

3. Heat a large non-stick skillet, ungreased griddle or comal over high heat for about 3 minutes. Remove the wax paper from the tortilla and cook for 1 minute per side. Store in a tortilla warmer (if you have one) or a gallon size Ziploc bag.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

This is a really easy recipe for flour tortillas. It took me a few times to get the tortillas rolled into a shape reminiscent of circles, but it honestly doesn't matter what they look like...they will still taste fabulous!

What you need:

*4 cups all-purpose flour
*1 tsp. salt
*2 tsps. baking powder
*2 Tbsps. lard (Crisco...actual LARD)
*1 1/2 cups water

What you do:

1. Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the lard with your fingers until the flour resembles cornmeal. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together. Place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.

2. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla. Place into the hot skillet and cook until bubbly and golden (about 30 seconds); flip and continue cooking on the other side (about 20 seconds). Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer (if you have one) or a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough.

Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Rice

I made this rice dish for dinner tonight. Everyone LOVED it! When making this dish please keep in mind that I cook for a family of 9 people. So, if you're cooking for a family of 5 you're probably going to want to cut this recipe in half...unless you want LOTS of leftovers!

What you'll need:

*2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
*3 c. white rice, cooked
*1 lb. (16 oz.) Velveeta cheese, cubed
*1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

What you do:

1. Add 3 cups white rice to 6 cups of boiling water. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes, or until rice is tender.

2. Cut chicken breasts into cubes and cook in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat until the chicken is no longer pink.

3. Add the chicken, Velveeta and broccoli to the rice; cover. Remove from heat. Let stand for 10 min. Stir until Velveeta is completely melted and mixture is well blended.

4. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Nacho Cheese Chicken Chowder

I made this for dinner tonight. It didn't go over too well. I think it may have been due to the fact that it's still pretty warm where we live. This is an excellent chowder on a chilly day.

What you'll need:

*1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
*2 14-oz. cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
*2 11-oz. cans condensed nacho cheese soup
*1 10-oz. package frozen whole kernel corn
* Tortilla chips

What you do:

*In a 3 1/2 - 4-quart slow cooker combine chicken, undrained tomatoes, soup, and corn.

*Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours or on high-heat setting for 2-3 hours.

*Serve with tortilla chips.

Ramen Noodle "Stuff"

What you'll need:

1 lb. ground beef (or ground turkey)
5 packages of Oriental Ramen Noodles
1 can corn (or frozen)
1 can diced tomatoes

What you do:

*In a large skillet, brown and drain ground beef (or turkey).
*Stir in flavor packet from the Ramen Noodles, tomatoes, and corn (with juices).
*Break up Ramen Noodles and add them to the skillet.
*Add some water.
*Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
*Cover and simmer until noodles are tender.

Ice Cream Cake

I haven't made this in ages...which is the main reason there are no pictures to accompany this recipe. I got this recipe from an issue of Kraft's Food and Family. It is delicious...and it's pretty easy too.

What you'll need:

1 package (18.25 oz.) cake mix, any flavor
1/2 gallon ice cream (any flavor, softened)

What you do:

*Prepare cake according to package directions; bake in a 9x13 baking dish, and cool completely.
*Use ice cream that comes in a rectangular carton. Remove the carton and cut the ice cream in half, lengthwise (in other words, long side to long side).
*Place the two layers side by side on waxed paper.
*Place the cooled cake over the ice cream.
*Trim the cake and ice cream so that the edges match. (this is my kids favorite part...they get to eat the "scraps")
*Place a board or serving platter over the cake, hold onto the waxed paper and board, and flip the ice cream cake over. (you may need help with this step...I know I did)
*Remove the waxed paper and smooth out the seam between the ice cream slabs. (a butter knife works well)
*Cover with waxed paper and freeze until firm.
*Decorate as desired.

NOTE: When it comes to the decorating, I always use ice cream that has softened enough so I can spread it like frosting, then I freeze it again.

BBQ Beans and Weanies in the Crock Pot

This has got to be the the easiest meal to put together...EVER.

It's pretty sad that you hardly see any beans. My family LOVES nitrates!

What you need:

*4 cans kidney beans
*4 cups BBQ sauce
*Hot dogs, li'l smokies, or smoked sausage...cut up

Pour all ingredients in your crock pot and heat through. I cooked ours for 4 hours on high, which was probably more than enough time. Serve with some corn bread and a green salad to make this a really good, complete meal.

Peanut Butter Cereal Crisps

I have fallen in love with Jessica's blog! She has some of the most amazing recipes...and this one is no exception. I wanted to have something ready for the kids to snack on as soon as they got home from school today...something that I took the time to make. This treat is delicious! Control yourselves...you find yourself eating the majority of these before the kids even get home from school!


What you'll need:

*1 cup light corn syrup
*3/4 cup sugar
*1 cup peanut butter
*6 cups cereal (I used corn Chex)

What you do:

*Place a piece of waxed paper onto the counter or cookie sheet, set aside.
*Place the cereal into a large bowl, set aside.
*In a medium saucepan stir together the corn syrup, sugar, and peanut butter cooking over medium heat.
*Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.
*Immediately pour over the cereal and stir until well coated.
*Pour cereal onto waxed paper, spread out with a wooden spoon.
*Allow crisps to cool completely.
*Tear off chunks to serve.

***You may also pour the coated cereal into a well greased 9x13 glass baking pan, pressing down to compact. Cool completely and cut into bars.