Yellow Squash Casserole

Another one I found from Allrecipes.com. This one is from ROSECART. I have more yellow squash than I know what to do with so I've been trying to find recipes and this one is my favorite by far! My husband and picky little boy couldn't get enough of it either! I love the egg and buttery crackers in this.

4 c. sliced squash

1/2 c. chopped onion

35 buttery crackers, crushed

1 c. cheese, shredded

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 c. milk

1/4 c. butter, melted

1 tsp. salt

black pepper to taste

2 T. butter

Put squash and onion in large skillet with small amount of water. On medium heat cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well and place in a large bowl.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix cracker crumbs and cheese and add half of the mixture to the squash. Mix together eggs and milk and add to squash. Stir in 1/4 c. melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Spread in 9 x 13 inch pan, sprinkle with cracker mixture and dot with butter.

Bake for 25 minutes until lightly browned.

Sponge Bob Chicken

This recipe came from my sis-in-law who at the time had a love for Sponge Bob so I'm pretty sure that's where it got its name from. Super easy and super quick!

3-4 chicken breasts
1-2 zucchinis cut into rounds
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mush soup
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c milk

Put chicken in a square baking dish. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Place zucchini rounds over chicken and sprinkle with seasoning salt. Sprinkle cheese over zucchini. Mix soup, sour cream, and milk and then spread over the cheese. Garnish the top with a little more cheese. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 20-25 mins depending on the thickness of your chicken. We like to eat this over mashed potatoes that have been seasoned with garlic salt. So yummy!
I often put it together during nap time and refrigerate until 30 min before dinner.

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
Well I finally figured out how to get that taste. Let the sauce simmer as long as you can!
Ingredients
At a glance
Course
Main Dishes
Source
Copykat Recipe
Makes
8
1 pint of Heavy Cream 1 stick of butter 2 Tbsp. Cream Cheese 1/2 - 3/4 C. Parmesan cheese 1 tsp. Garlic powder
Methods/steps
In a saucepan combine butter, heavy cream, and cream cheese. Simmer this until all is melted, and mixed well. Add the Parmesan cheese and Garlic powder. Simmer this for 15 - 20 minutes on low. You may wish to season with a little salt and pepper. I have done this with half and half, but we prefer the heavy cream. But I wouldn't try it with plain milk.
Recipe from the website CopyKat Recipes

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

Now, nothing can quite be like the original, but this comes pretty close...

3 - lbs pork loin
1- 7oz can chilis in Adobo Sauce (you have to get the adobo sauce ones because you only want the sauce, not the chilis- sometimes you might only find the 12 oz cans)
1 1/2 cans coke (the real stuff- no knock offs or diet)
1 cup sugar
1 heaping teaspoon each ground mustard and ground cumin
1 tsp minced garlic

Put everything in a blender (except for the pork of course). Pick the chilis out of the can of adobo sauce because they will make it way too spicy. Make sure to get as much of the sauce as you can. Whip it up for a minute or two, them pour it over the pork in a crock pot. Cook on low for 7-9 hours. Pull it apart with a fork. We put it over chips with pinto beans, cheese, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream for some fabulous nachos. You can also make burritos or salads. Yummm!

Pork and Pineapple Kabaobs & Grilled Asparagus

The weather is getting warmer here and this was the perfect meal because it was almost completely cooked outside! Ive never done asparagus on the grill before but since I didn't want the stove on I tried it tonight and it was so yummy!

Pork and Pineapple Kabobs

2 lb boneless pork chops, cubed
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp dried onions
can of pineapple chunks
1 red bell pepper, cubed
1 onion sliced into chunks

Put first 5 ingredients in a bowl and marinate for 3 hours or so. Thread pork, peppers, onions, and pineapple onto skewers. Prepare grill and grill until pork is done basting with extra marinade. Serve over rice with soy sauce.

Grilled Asparagus

Wash asparagus and cut off bottom 2-3 inches. Place on grill that is on low and let cook for about 5 minutes. Melt 1 Tbsp of butter and baste asparagus with it for the remainder of cooking. Sprinkle with seasoning salt after removing from grill.

Fresh Fajitas

1 red pepper, sliced thin
1 yellow pepper, sliced thin
1 onion, sliced thin
1 lemon, cut in half
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 chicken breast, uncooked sliced thin
tortillas
cheese
sour cream
avocado if you want

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add chicken and on med-hi heat let it get just browned. Add garlic and veggies and let them cook on med heat stirring frequently. Squeeze half the lemon over and continue cooking. When the veggies are soft and wilting turn heat to high, stirring often, and let them get just blackened. Squeeze the other half of lemon over and let them cook for just 30 more seconds.

Place mix in tortillas with a little cheese, avocado, sour cream. So yummy and very healthy if you don't add to many of the fatty insides.

Wet Burritos

Ground beef or chicken seasoned with taco seasoning (chicken in our favorite)
8 tortillas
1-2 c cheese
1 c sour cream
Rice a roni Spanish mix prepared
1 can refried beans
1 can green enchilada sauce

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and then place a small layer of enchilada sauce on bottom of pan. Take a flour tortilla and place a layer of beans, meat, rice, sour cream, and cheese. Fold ends in and roll then set in pan. Repeat with all 8 tortillas. Dump the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of burritos and bake at 350 for 20 minutes covered and then remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes or until slightly browned.

Quick Company Chicken

This is one of our favorite recipes because its yummy and the prep is fast. Sorry for those who read this blog that have our Family Favorite cookbook because this is a repeat but so worth it! Make mashed potatoes to go with this because it makes its own gravy to go over them.

Chicken breast for as many people as you are serving
Swiss cheese slices
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c white cooking wine
bread crumbs
3 Tbsp butter melted

Arrange chicken in a square baking dish or 9 x13 pan if you have a lot of chicken. Cover with Swiss cheese slices. Mix soup and cooking wine and pour over cheese. Cover the top with a thin layer of bread crumbs and then melt butter and drizzle over bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or so until chicken is done.

Italian Skillet

So fast and so easy. I'm not a huge fan of boxed things like this but this is actually really good!

1/2 lb mild Italian Sausage
1 Pkg Garlic and Olive Oil Vermicelli Pasta Roni
1 med zucchini, cut into bite sized pieces
2 Roma tomatoes
mozzarella cheese

Place sausage in skillet; brown and crumble until cooked. Add 1 3/4 c water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and seasoning packet. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Take cover off and add zucchini and let simmer for 3 minutes or until cooked to your preference. Stir in tomatoes, remove from heat, and serve with cheese on top.

Mexican Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef
3/4 c. chopped onion
3/4 c. diced bell pepper
1 1/2 c. whole kernel corn
3 cans tomato sauce
2 tsp. taco seasoning
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
6-8 tortillas
1 can refried beans
Shredded cheese
Shredded lettuce
Diced tomatoes
Sour Cream

Cook beef and drain excess grease. Add onion, bell pepper, and corn. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, taco seasoning, chili powder, garlic salt, and cumin. Stir until blended and cook until heated through. Set aside. Place 2-3 tortillas on bottom of 9x13 inch pan. Spread a thin layer of beans on top. Add 1/3 of beef mixture and repeat with two more layers of tortillas, beans, and beef mixture. Top with shredded cheese and heat in oven at 350 degrees until cheese is melted. Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream.

What I love about this recipe is it's easy to change it to your family's taste. For example, we only put in 1 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. garlic salt (garlic's fine but we don't like it too salty), and about 1/3 c. onion. I also just use frozen corn and thaw it out because it's cheaper.

Chicken Quesadillas

There is 2 ways to make these depending on what you have in your pantry. We love them both ways. So fast and so Yummy!

2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
1 can black beans, slightly drained
2 Tbsp taco seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 can diced chilies
tortillas
cheddar cheese

Heat in saucepan. Heat a tortilla and add cheese and spread some of the mixture onto the cheese. Either fold in half or lay second tortilla on top and heat until cheese is melted. We cut them with a pizza cutter and then serve with sour cream

The second way is the exact same except you do a can of honey baked beans instead of black beans and reduce the taco seasoning to 2 tsp. I know it sounds weird but we love it!

Southwest Caviar

2 cans black beans- drained and rinsed
2 cans whole kernel corn- drained
1 can original Rotel (tomatoes & green chilis) drained and lightly chopped
1 bell pepper diced fine
1 bunch green onions sliced fine
1/3 cup caesar dresssing (not creamy)

-Mix all the above 1 or 2 days before serving. On day of serving dice 2 ripe avocados and add. Serve with chips or can be served over lettuce. As a main dish, serve over cold small pasta and lay strips of cooked cold chicken on top.

Chicken Enchiladas

8 medium size flour tortillas
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (use as much or as little as you want!)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
¾ cup milk
½ can chilies (Optional. I don’t put them in mine, but it does add a lot of flavor.)

Grease a 9x13 in. glass baking pan. In each flour tortilla, spoon some shredded cheese and chicken. You should save some cheese to sprinkle on top at the end. Roll each one up and lay side by side in the baking pan. In a blender (you can use a bowl if not adding the chilies), mix soups, milk, and chilies. Pour over the top of the rolled up tortillas. Top with cheese and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

(stuffed pasta shells) with alfredo sauce

coperture farcite della pasta (stuffed pasta shells) with alfredo sauce

(from Elise’s kitchen)

2 tbsp olive oil
½ box of lasagna noodles

Filling
16 oz container of ricotta cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella or other Italian cheese
½ cup coarse ground parmesan cheese (like what’s in the containers)
½ tsp parsley dried or 1 tsp fresh
1½ tsp basil dried or 1 tbsp fresh
1 egg

Sauce
1 qt heavy whipping cream or evaporated milk
2 cups parmesan cheese
1 tsp fresh garlic
½ cup real butter
In a separate saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add pasta and cook till al dente. (about 12 minutes.)
Drain, and place back into pan adding olive oil.

Combine in a large bowl, ricotta cheese, and egg. Mix until creamy and smooth. Add spices, and additional cheeses. Mix again.

Oil a 9x9 baking pan or casserole dish with cooking spray or olive oil. On a plate, p;lace on e lasana noodle flat and add 2 tbsp of cheese mix. Roll up into a “jelly roll style” and place into pan. Continue with noodles and cheese mix until the pan is full.

Place into unheated oven and bake at 350 for 15 min.

In a saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients. Mix ingredients together and stir until smooth and creamy. Using a wire whisk helps to keep the lumps out.

When the pasta has cooked for 15 min, remove from oven, add the sauce to the top and cover with foil. Return to oven, and Bake an additional 15-20 minutes. Let cool and serve with warm garlic bread or foccacia bread.

Beef Chimi's with Macayo's Baja Sauce

I made these for dinner and Brian said, "These are actually really good!" I chose to ignore the surprise in his voice and just take the compliment.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cans (16 ounces each) refried beans
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup taco sauce
16 flour tortillas (10 inches) - I used the fresh ones from costco because they are softer and work better
Vegetable oil (For Frying)

Directions:
In a large skillet, cook beef, onion, green pepper and garlic over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the beans, cheese and taco sauce. Cook and stir until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Spoon about 1/3 cup off-center on each tortilla. Fold up edge nearest filling; fold in both sides and roll up. Secure with a toothpick. In a large skillet, fry tortillas, folded side down, in oil for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn; cook 2-3 minutes longer. Drain on paper towels. Serve with sauce...

Baja Sauce:
2 -8oz cream cheese blocks, softened
4-oz half and half (approx- you may need more or less- just until it is creamy)
1-4 oz can diced jalepenos
dash of salt

Put it all in a blender until nice and creamy.

CAFE RIO RECIPES

CAFÉ RIO CHICKEN SALAD

I included the chicken and pork...you can use either one for the salad!

LIME RICE:
1 cup dry rice cooked in 2 cups Swanson’s 100% fat free Chicken Broth
1 minced garlic clove
1 tsp. finely grated lime zest
2 tbsp. lime juice
½ tsp. kosher salt
Combine all ingredients and cook in Rice cooker.
2 tbsp. minced cilantro (optional, add after cooking)
(yields 8 (1/4 cup) servings)

Cafe Rio CHICKEN:
4 chicken breasts
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 cans diced green chilies
1 can (small) green enchilada sauce
1 tsp. cumin
Kosher salt to taste
Combine in slow cooker and cook on low 10-12 hours (meat will shred itself from the moisture)
(yields 8 (1/2 cup) servings)

BLACK BEANS:
2 15.5 OZ. cans Great Value black beans
1 tomato chopped
½ onion, chopped
½ bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic minced
½ tsp. kosher salt
Combine and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes
(yields 8 (1/2 cup) servings)

LETTUCE:
16 cups, chopped (or shredded)

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad-
3-4 lbs pork roast (can substitute chicken) -
1 cup brown sugar-
3 cups salsa
*Mix ingredients in a crock pot and let cook for 10 hours on low.
Dressing:-
1 packet of buttermilk ranch dressing-
1 cup sour cream-
1 cup mayonnaise-
1/2 cup buttermilk-
Cilantro (1-2 bunches to taste)-
1/2 cup salsa verde (green salsa) (I added about 1 cup- even with the recipe cut in half)- Jalepeno pepper (I only use about 1/4 of the pepper. It justdepends on how hot you want it) -
2 medium cloves of garlic
*Put all ingredients in a blender and blend for a few minutes stirring occasionally. My note: I halfed this recipe because it looked like a ton and we still had a ton!

Trimmings for the Salad:- Tortillas- Black/Pinto beans- Guacamole- salsa- Rice (I use spanish rice, or a lime rice)- Cheese- Sour cream- Tortilla strips (i use crumbled chips)Assemble as you like!

To assemble- I heat a tortilla with cheese in a skillet on the stove. Then move to a bowl or plate. Add rice, pork, black beans, lettuce, tortilla strips, sour cream and guacamole, and to make it all the more authentic I add a little lime wedge. Tasty!

Caution: This recipe makes A TON, so make sure you're either really hungry or you invite all of your closest friends.

TO SERVE:
Layer 2 cups lettuce, ¼ cup rice, ½ cup Chicken, ½ cup beans, and 2 tbsp. Pico de Gallo. Top with 2-3 tbsp. of dressing and enjoy!

Flank steak pinwheels

pinwheels
4-6 flank steak slices sliced about ¼ inch thick.
2-3 mozzarella string cheeses cut in half
1 red bell pepper
4-6 leaves of spinach
Butcher’s twine
Italian dressing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Wash the flank steak and set aside. Cut the cheese in half making 3 inch sections. Wash pepper, drain of all seeds, and slice into thin strips lengthwise. Rinse the spinach and drain and excess water. Oil your baking sheet with Italian dressing, and start with one flack at a time using a plate, place one flank steak and add in slice of cheese, one spinach leaf, and several slices of pepper. Roll flank into a jelly roll style roll. Wrap with butcher’s twine and tie at both knots.Team this with a dinner roll, mashed potatoes, salad, or any other combo of your choice.Repeat with all flanks. Add to baking sheet. Spread 1 tsp Italian dressing per steak over the tops and bake for 35-40 min at 350 degrees.

This is my husband's recipie, but they are so good! any sides go great with this one too.

Creamy Chicken Italiano

1/4 Cup water
1 pkg dry Italian Seasoning (It will be by the dry packets of ranch)
1-8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
4 boneless chicken breasts, cubed

Put the chicken in Crockpot. Mix together dressing and water and pour it over the chicken. Cook on low for 2-3 hours. Mix soup and cream cheese together and pour over chicken. Cook another 1-2 hours or until its all nice and creamy. Serve it over rice, noodles, rolls, or any other high carb item. Yum!