Mexican Lasagna

Just made this last night. It was quick & easy, and best of all...my little munchkins loved it. And it's no easy feat to get them to eat dinner anymore.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups salsa
1 can refried beans
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can chopped green chilies
1 envelope taco seasoning
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 flour tortillas
3 cups shredded cheese
2 cups broken tortilla chips
sour cream, sliced ripe olives, guacamole, and chopped tomatoes, optional

Directions:
Cook beef in large skillet & drain. Stir in salsa, beans, enchilada sauce, chilies, and taco seasoning. Heat through.

Spread 1 cup sauce in a greased 13x9x2 baking dish. Layer with two tortillas, a third of the meat mixture and 1 cup cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas & meat mixture.

Cover and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining cheese, & top with tortilla chips. Bake 10-15 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with sour cream, olives, guacamole, and tomatoes if desired.

I left out the onion, garlic & pepper, but it still turned out really good. And since my boys are olive lovers, I put a layer of olives under the last layer of cheese & tortillas. I only wish I had a picture of just how much Luke enjoyed this.

Rainbow Cake

What you will need:

1 White Cake Mix

1 Can Clear Diet Soda (12 oz.)

Gel Food Coloring

Mix cake & diet soda together. Seperate into 5-6 different bowls, depending on how many colors you want (I forgot about purple).

Drop spoonfuls of each color into cupcake tins or cake pan. DO NOT MIX! Just drop one on top of the other.

Give baby another cookie so she will stop crying & let you finish your project.

Bake @ 350' (cupcakes not baby)

Let COOL & admire how COOL they look!

FROSTING: I used a small container of fat free coolwhip & a small package of vanilla pudding. Add a little FF milk if it's too lumpy. This pretty much makes the entire cupcake FAT FREE!!

Now, let your cute assistant frost his own cupcake.

ENJOY!

Pork Chop Barbecue

This one is for Crystal (well, really it's for Nick).

Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
3 Tbsp. vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (I leave this out)
1 slice lemon (I use lemon juice)
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 to 2 tsp. liquid smoke
6 pork chops, cut 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
1 to 2 Tbsp. cooking oil

Directions:
For sauce, in a small saucepan, combine water, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Add lemon slice and onion wedges. Bring mixture to boil, reduce heat, and simmer (uncovered) for 20 minutes. Stir in ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and liquid smoke. Return to boil, remove from heat, and discard lemon slice.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet brown pork chops, half at a time, in hot oil over medium-high heat. Place pork chops in a 3-quart rectangular baking dish, & pour sauce over chops. Bake, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until meat juices run clear (160 degrees), turning chops once. Transfer to a serving dish. Pour sauce over all, & serve!

BRIAN'S FAVORITE PASTA

I am married to the pickiest eater in the world. Brian doesn't like chicken, fish, casseroles, hamburger dishes, blah, blah, blah. He makes up weird rules about his food touching, and he only likes bacon when he's camping. I'm telling you, it's exhausting. Dinner time can be such a chore. By nothing short of a miracle, I tried this pasta dish, and he liked it. I've tweaked it a bit, but it's super easy.

1 pkg. linguine noodles
2 T olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic - I use the kind that comes in a jar
2 tsp. Italian seasoning - I like the 'grinder' kind
2 T Balsamic Vinegar
2 T Italian Dressing (if you are using the marinated artichoke hearts, I would leave this out.)
1 C artichoke hearts - I use marinated artichoke hearts, but if you're trying to be healthy you can use the kind that comes packed in water. Sometimes I chop them. Sometimes I add them whole.
1 can sliced or whole black olives
1 chopped tomato
1/2 lb cooked shrimp (w/out tails)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook the linguine according to package directions. Drain.

While the pasta is cooking, combine olive oil, garlic, vinegar, Italian dressing, and seasoning in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the artichoke hearts, olives, tomato and shrimp and cook until heated thoroughly. (Don't overcook or the shrimp will shrink and get rubbery.)

Pour veggie/shrimp mixture over pasta and serve with Parmesan cheese or grated mozzarella.

I've added fresh mushrooms before. I've substituted a can of diced tomatoes instead of a fresh tomato. I've used fire roasted tomatoes. It has always turned out great. I think it would be good with chicken instead of the shrimp. I also would like to try it with broccoli and summer squash. You really can't mess it up!

Serve it with a green salad and french bread and you have dinner! It's super fast and super easy. The entire meal comes together in 15 or 20 minutes. Enjoy!

MOUNTAIN MAN HASH

Sorry, but I couldn't find a picture of my family's favorite breakfast recipe. I am always so surprised when I make this and one of our guests say they have never tried it!? I mean, this is the easiest breakfast out there...Okay, except cold cereal and milk.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb Sausage
• 1 Bag Hasbrowns (I prefer the cubes)
• 8 Eggs (Scrambled)
• 1 C Shredded Cheese
• Your favorite seasonsings

Fry sausage in a large skillet. I usually cook my sausage with a little diced onion. Just before the sausage is cooked completely, add hashbrowns. Season with salt, pepper, and your favorite seasonings. I put a few slices of butter on top of the hashbrowns for flavor and to keep everything from sticking. Cook at 350 degrees in your skillet until hashbrowns are soft then add eggs. Stir occassionally (you don't want eggs to stick, but you don't want to make this dish mushy). Sprinkle with cheese. Serve alone or on tortillas. Everyone in my family has their own favorite way to garnish their mountain man hash including salsa, sour cream, ketchup, or all of the above. Bon Apetit!

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

This is a fast, favorite of mine. It's simple ingredients make it a quick meal that you, your husband, and your kids can enjoy.

INGREDIENTS:

• Chicken Broth
• Diced Chicken (cooked)
• 1 Jar Salsa (any kind)
• 1 Can Corn
• 1 Can Cream of Chkn Soup
• Seasonings (your choice)
• Sour Cream
• Shredded Cheese
• Tortilla Chips

Fill pan with 4 or 5 cans of chicken broth. (You can also use water & chicken bouillon cubes.) Add cooked chicken and let boil for about 5 minutes. Turn down heat to medium and add salsa, corn, and cream of chicken soup. Leave on stove until thoroughly heated.

That's it! Serve in bowls topped with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips. If you're feeling really adventurous you can cut tortilla into strips, toss with olive oil, and bake until crunchy. Replace chips with these tasty and decorative strips.

FYI--I cook my chicken in 2 T of butter w/ diced onion. I also season the soup with Nature's Seasonings, Garlic Salt, Season Salt, Basil, and Pepper.

Caramel Apple Pork Chops

This is my absolute favorite way to have pork chops, & so it is what I'm making tonight. I love the sauce so much that I double or triple it (the sauce, not the apples) & serve it with rice. Yum!

Ingredients:
4 pork chops (3/4 in. thick)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
2 apples - peeled, cored and sliced
3 tablespoons pecans (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place chops in skillet & cook (turning occasionally) until done.

2. While chops are cooking, melt butter in another skillet or saucepan. Add the brown sugar, salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, & apples. Cover and cook until apples are just tender.

3. Uncover sauce & continue to cook until slightly thickened. Pour over pork chops, sprinkle with pecans, & serve.

I season the pork chops in the skillet, and I like to cook the sauce in the pan with the pork chops--even easier as a one pan dish & the chops get a really good flavor. I also and extra brown sugar to the sauce & sprinkle in extra cinnamon & nutmeg. I sometimes skip the apples, and I never use pecans because David hates nuts in his food. This works well in the crock pot, but I add extra water to it because the sauce cooks down quite a bit. And I promise that this doesn't taste like you've covered your meal in actual caramel. :)

**Just a note: If you cook the sauce without apples, add a little bit of water. If you only use butter & brown sugar, the sauce doesn't mix well, and you end up with oil on top of it.

What Not to Cook

Can you tell what I cooked up? I like to call this Binky Ala Mode, or Fried Binky Sunny Side Up.I suggest you never leave binkies on the stove and forget about them. Eventually all the water evaporates & you're left with this. I also suggest you don't leave your husband in charge of remembering to take them off the stove after 10 minutes. Otherwise you might walk down the stairs and into a smoke filled living room & kitchen smelling like burning plastic--while the boys are wrestling. How did they not notice?!

Now that we know what I do in my kitchen, I just want to welcome you to our newest blogging endeavor. We thought this might be a good way to share our favorite recipes, tips, & ideas--and maybe figure out what to cook for dinner tonight. Hopefully you can find something from us "Holm" gals worth dishing up. Bon Appetit!