Beef Taco Bake

This is a true Shayla recipe! Super fast, super easy, basic ingredients, and SOOOO Tasty! My husband loved this one so much he was complimenting me throughout the entire meal! I really enjoyed it and it will DEFINITELY make an appearance in our house again! Thanks so much to Real Mom Kitchen for another fantastic recipe! By the way, we really like things SPICY in our house. If you aren't really the spicy type, use mild salsa and leave out the cayenne pepper. Also, you can't fail using flour or corn tortillas. I don't usually like corn tortillas but used them because we had them on hand and REALLY enjoyed them!

BEEF TACO BAKE
From Real Mom Kitchen

1 pound ground beef
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup (regular or 25% Less Sodium)
1 cup salsa OR picante sauce
1/2 cup milk
6 flour tortillas (8-inch) OR 8 corn tortilla (6-inch), cut into 1-inch pieces (I use my pizza cutter to do this)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Cook the beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often. Pour off any fat.

Stir the soup, salsa, milk, tortillas, cayenne pepper and half the cheese in the skillet. Spoon the beef mixture into a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Cover the baking dish.

Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes or until the beef mixture is hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. (I put it back in the oven for 5 min to get the cheese nice and melty).

 *NOTE: I used a 2.5 quart stoneware cooking dish and cooked it for the 30 minutes with the lid on and it was PERFECT. When I added the extra cheese I left the lid off to let it get a little bit brown while I cooked it for 5 more minutes.  

Classic Repeat : IHOP French Toast

This is a classic! A great way to change up your french toast eating habits which, around here, frequent dinner more than breakfast. We love it! This time I made it with imitation strawberry flavoring in place of the vanilla. Next time I think I will use both for french toast so good it doesn't even need sugary syrup! Thanks again to THE SISTERS' CAFE for the great picture!

http://shaylaskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/02/ihop-french-toast.html

Meat-Lover's Supreme Lasagna

Healthy? HA HA HA HA! No. Delicious? OHHHHHH YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This turned out FANTASTICALLY. We are huge fans of supreme pizza at our house and this was a great variation. It requires more ingredients than I would usually post about, but it is WELL worth it. Sprinkle it with a bit of red pepper to finish it off and OHHH MAN! Honestly, if you don't like supreme pizza you could adapt this to pretty much any kind of pizza. I am tempted to try pineapple and canadian bacon. Yum!

MEAT-LOVER’S SUPREME LASAGNA
Shayla Original

10 lasagna noodles, cooked
1 large can/jar favorite marinara sauce
20 slices pepperoni
1 lb. ground beef, browned
6 slices precooked bacon, cut into small pieces
½ green pepper, sliced
½ red onion, sliced
1 can medium olives, sliced
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Parmesan Cheese, grated

Cook lasagna noodles according to directions on box; drain. In the meantime, brown ground beef and drain. Put a little bit of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 dish so noodles won’t stick. Layer half of: noodles, ground beef, bacon, pepperoni, green peppers, onions, olives, sauce, cheddar cheese, and parmesan cheese; repeat once more with all layers. Cook uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.

*NOTE: Just sprinkle the cheeses on to your personal preference, there isn't an exact measurement.

Balsamic Roasted Red Potatoes

We got a 10 lb. bag of potatoes from Wal-Mart for $0.58 so I was online looking for ways to use them up. This recipe from Allrecipes.com got great reviews and smelled SOOOO good cooking up in my kitchen. The only thing I would do differently next time is to either thinly slice the wedges or poke holes in the potatoes before cutting them up. The flavoring on the outside was fantastic but it didn't get into the middle of the potatoes and so we just dipped our wedges in some more balsamic vinegar. They were definitely yummy!

BALSAMIC ROASTED RED POTATOES
From Allrecipes.com

• 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
• 2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered (I used russet potatoes)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion (I used red onion and it was fabulous!)
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, onion and garlic; toss to combine. Add the thyme, rosemary and nutmeg; toss well. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until potatoes are hot.
2. Transfer to a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are golden and almost tender. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper; toss well. Bake 5-8 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

This is a great and simple lunch! I got the original recipe from Mindika Moments and slightly adapted it. Check out her blog! It is awesome!

The only changes I made were to use canned chicken instead of chopped boiled eggs and onion powder because I used the last of my onion in a different recipe. It was great! I loved that there was not very much mayonnaise so it stayed light. Try this one out! Ymmy!

CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICHES
Adapted from Mindika Moments

1 can premium chicken chunks, mixed into shreds
1/2 C. celery; diced (about 1 or 2 stocks)
1/4 C. red onion; minced (or green onion)* (or onion powder if you still want the flavor and not the raw onion)
1-2 T. fresh parsley; minced
1/4 C. mayo
1 1/2 t. lemon juice
1/2 t. paprika
salt & pepper

1. In a small bowl combine the mayo, lemon juice, and paprika. Mix well.
2. Add the canned chicken, celery, onion and parsley. Fold to combine.
3. Salt & pepper to taste.
4. Serve on your favorite bread. (serves 4)


*If you're not a fan of raw onion, try adding diced radishes. They add a wonderful crunch and a bit of spice without the overpowering aftertaste of onion

Pulled Chicken Suiza Sammies

This recipe has been a lot of places on the blogosphere, but from what I can tell it is originally from Raechel Ray and adapted by a blog called Taste and Tell. These were very uniquely flavored. The tomatilla salsa that we used was VERY spicy to begin with, and it didn't get a whole lot better in the end, so make sure that you don't use salsa that is too spicy. I really want to try these ones again with less spicy salsa because they really were good, but the spice was a bit overpowering.

PULLED CHICKEN SUIZA SAMMIES

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 cups store-bought tomatillo salsa or salsa verde
1/2 cup sour cream
1 rotisserie-style chicken, skin discarded and meat shredded
4 sandwich rolls, split
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

Preheat the broiler. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and honey, then stir in the salsa and heat through. Mix in the sour cream. Stir in the chicken to coat.


Pile the chicken mixture on the roll bottoms. Top with the cheese and broil to melt. Set the roll tops in place and serve with the chips.

Roasted Green Cabbage Wedges

YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM!!!!!!!!! I LOVE cabbage and this is my new favorite way to eat it! I never even thought about roasting my vegetables but it is seriously the best way to cook them. My husband was RAVING about this and that is always a bonus. And talk about cheap? It will cost you for the cabbage as long as you already have oil, salt, and pepper on hand. YUMMY!!! The picture is courtesy of a fabulous new cooking site I found called Meet Me in the Kitchen. You can find the site and recipe here. Thanks to Mary Ann Murray for this wonderful new recipe!

Roasted Green Cabbage Wedges from January 2010 Martha Stewart Living

Serves 8

1 small head green cabbage (about 2 1/2 pounds), cut into 8 wedges, core intact
1/2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Arrange cabbage on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush both sides of wedges with oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast, flipping half-way through, until edges are brown and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes.

Squeeze lemons over cabbage.

Chicken Croissants

This is a CLASSIC family recipe! My mom used to make it all the time for special occasions around our house growing up. The greatest thing about it is that it requires so few ingredients but is also very versatile! You can add pretty much whatever you want to the chicken mixture and it will still be awesome! The recipe I have listed below is not my mom's recipe, but it is one that Jake and I really enjoy. Try it! It is very tasty!

CHICKEN ROLL-UPS (aka CHICKEN CROISSANTS)

Mix together:
1 lb. cooked chicken breast (chopped)
2 c broccoli, finely chopped (optional)
8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature

1 cube butter, melted
1 c bread crumbs
1 pkg. Of big crescent rolls

Open crescent rolls and place a spoonful of chicken mixture into the center of the roll. Fold all corners together to form an oval shape enclosing the filling. Dip the folded crescent roll into the melted butter first, and then the bread crumbs, coating the entire crescent. Place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with seasoned salt if you want. Preheat oven to 350º and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Red Sauce Chicken Enchiladas

In all fairness to me, I HAVE mixed up the Mexican recipes with a few dessert recipes, and I DID warn you that I was on a Mexican kick! Mexican food is not only REALLY tasty, but it is a lot cheaper to make than a lot of American foods that aren't hot dogs, grilled cheese, or what not.

Anyways! This is another great recipe that we really enjoyed. I mixed things up a little bit from the original recipe from Favorite Family Recipes, but if you want to view the original please check out this great site found here. The biggest thing you have to note BEFORE making this recipe is that the red sauce is SWEETER than a lot of the enchilada sauces I have experienced before. The tomato paste gives it a sweet tang and the enchilada seasoning gives it a nice kick. I felt like I was eating a lot healthier with this recipe, especially since I used Whole Wheat Flour tortillas instead of White Flour. I would definitely recommend Whole Wheat flour tortillas. The taste is a little bit stronger and they are a bit more expensive, but they are a whole lot more filling and satisfying. My all-you-can-eat style hubby only managed to eat 2!

As a classic Shayla recipe, it doesn't have very many ingredients, and NONE that are unusual. Try these out! We will be keeping them around!

RED SAUCE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

From Favorite Family Recipes

Red Sauce:
12 oz can of tomato paste
4 c water
2 packages of enchilada seasoning (any brand will work)

Filling:
2 C chopped cooked chicken (about 3 chicken breasts)
1 1/2 c grated cheddar cheese
1 can medium black olives (you get your moneys worth by buying medium; more fit into the same sized can.)
16 oz bag frozen corn

10 medium whole wheat flour tortillas

Make sure to have your chicken ready; cooked and chopped, put in a bowl. Lightly fry the tortillas one at a time in a large skillet with vegetable oil until it is a little crisp and lightly browned on both sides. Set aside.

Make your red sauce by combining two packages of seasoning, tomato paste and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let it lightly boil for 15 min, stirring frequently. I like to cover the pan with a lid so the sauce doesn't get everywhere.

In the bowl with the chopped chicken, mix in 1/2 c cheese, 1 c red sauce, 1 c frozen corn and most of the black olives (save some for the topping). Put 1/2 cup of the chicken mix in each tortilla and roll it up like a burrito. Place in an 11X17 greased pan. Repeat with all the remaining tortillas, if they don't fit into the pan, just get another smaller pan to place the remaining enchiladas. Pour the remaining sauce on top and spread. Put remaining cheese and olives on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 mins, cheese should be melted and sauce bubbly. Serve with shredded lettuce and the remaining corn.

Eclair Cake

My wonderful Grandma Traci gave me this recipe that she got from the ladies she is working with to put together BYU Women's Conference. I didn't actually make it, but I passed the recipe on to my mom to make for a family dinner. It was great! It was a wonderful combination of flavors and wasn't too rich. I loved the texture and I must say, this was a MILLION times better than a normal eclair! The picture is from this site here.

ÉCLAIR CAKE

1 box graham crackers
2 boxes French vanilla instant pudding
3 ½ cups milk
8-9 oz. Cool whip

Spray 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray. Layer bottom of pan with one row of graham crackers, covering all areas of the pan. Mix pudding with milk and allow to set. Blend with cool whip. Spread half on graham crackers. Layer another row of graham crackers. Spread second half of pudding on 2nd layer of graham crackers. Layer another row (last) of crackers on top and refrigerate for 2 hours.

FROSTING:

3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa
6 Tbsp butter – softened
2/3 cup milk
4 sp light corn syrup
4 tsp vanilla

Blend sugar and cocoa, add butter and milk – mix well with mixer. Add corn syrup and vanilla and mix until creamy. Spread frosting on top of crackers, cover and refrigerate overnight.