Texas Caviar

Before getting married, my Maid of Honor threw me a really nice bridal shower. One of the best things she did was send out 2 recipe cards with each invitation and asked everyone to write down 2 of their favorite family recipes for me. Then she decorated a file box and gave it to me with all the recipes. I love pulling recipes from it to try that I know is a favorite of someone I know. This one I tried last summer and loved it. It is a wonderful alternative to chips and salsa.

1 can whole kernel corn
1 can black eyed peas
1 can black beans
(drain all throughly)

4 roma tomatoes
1 large green pepper
green onions

Chop and add to first three ingredients. Add in 1 bottle of Creamy Italian salad dressing. Mix everything together. Let set overnight for best flavor. Serve with tortilla chips.

Three Cheese Chicken Bake

This is one of my favorite recipes. But for some reason, it always tastes better when my mom makes it. This is how the recipe is written. However, we usually use about 9-11 noodles and double the sauce ingredients to make it thicker and creamier. It goes great with salad and rolls. Enjoy!

6-8 lasagna noodles
3 Tbs Butter
1/2 c. finely Chopped Onion
4 oz can Mushroom pieces (drained)
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 c. Milk

Cook the noodles in boiling water according to package instructions, drain. Melt butter in frying pan. Add onion and mushroom pieces; saute until onion is tender. Stir in cream of Chicken Soup and Milk.

1 1/2 c. Cottage Cheese (I don't like the chunks so I puree it first)
2 c. diced cooked chicken
2 c. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 c. Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Lay half the noodles in a greased 9x13 in baking dish. Top with half the sauce, 3/4 c. Cottage Cheese, 1 c. diced chicken, 1 cup shredded cheese, and 1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese. Repeat layers, except for last 2 cheeses. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until all is heated through and bubbly. Top with both cheese and bakes 2 more minutes.

Hot Dog Casserole

I'm not a big fan of hot dogs. But if I am going to eat them, I do enjoy this casserole. However, now that I have discovered Turkey Hot Dogs, I think I will like this casserole even more. It is quick and easy to assemble. There aren't any specific measurements for this, it goes by how large of a batch you want to make and how much of each ingredient you like.

Grease Casserole Dish.

Layer:
Potato Slices
Salt
Cut up Hot Dogs
Dried Onion
1/2 can peas

Repeat a second layer of each ingredient.
Mix 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup with one can of milk.
Pour over Casserole, cover with foil.
Bake at 325 for 1 hour

*May need to bake slightly longer depending on the thickness of the potatoes.

Crockpot Turkey Breasts

This is probably one of the absolute simplest recipes I have. And it is excellent for a make-ahead meal. Goes great with just about anything as well. I prefer to use boneless skinless turkey breasts, but have a hard time finding them. So I usually end up buying a whole, bone-in turkey breast. Either way works. Just obviously a little less work if you don't have to pick bones out when the meat is done.

1 full bone-in Turkey Breast (or 3-4 lbs boneless, skinless)
1 bottle Italian Dressing
1 cup water

Put all in crockpot. Cook on low 6-8 hours until meat shreds apart with a fork.

This makes great sandwiches. Store in some of the juice for extra flavor.

Marinade for Pork Tenderloin Kebobs

Now that grilling season is upon us (Well, in our house we grill all year round), I thought I should begin sharing more grilling recipes. This is a tasty marinade that goes great with pork. We had it last summer, used on pork tenderloin for Kebobs. When I make marinade for Kebobs, I usually keep a little separate from the raw meat that I can use to dip the meat and vegetables in while eating. Also, any excess marinade can be brushed onto the kebobs while they are on the grill to add a little flavor to the vegetables.

3/4 c. Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1/4 c. Honey
1/4 c. Pineapple Juice
1/4 c. Lime Juice (about 2 limes)
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1-1/2 tsp Minced Garlic
1/4 tsp Five Spice Powder
1/4 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Whisk together, pour over about 2 pounds of cubed pork tenderloin. Marinate at least 2 hours. Can make a day ahead and marinate overnight. Makes 8-10 kebobs.

I also like to put my meat and marinade in a Ziploc bag to make it easy to rotate the meat in the marinade.

Lemon Bars

I love lemon bars. I am picky about which brand of boxed lemon bar mix I will buy. And I always end up adding extra lemon juice. I also like lime bars, but have yet to find a packaged brand I like of those. Well, a few months ago a coworker brought in a pan of the most wonderful lemon bars I had ever tasted. I asked her about them and she made them from scratch. The best part: The recipe is incredibly simple.

1 c. Butter, softened
1/2 c. White Sugar
2 c. Flour


4 Tbs Flour
1-1/2 c. White Sugar
4 Eggs
2 Lemons, juiced


Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Blend together first 3 ingredients. Press into bottom of ungreased 9x13 pan

Bake 15-20 minutes, until firm and golden

Whisk together remaining sugar and flour. Whisk in eggs and lemon juice. Pour over baked crust.

Bake for 20 additional minutes. Bars will firm as they cool.

*Also try replacing the lemon juice with lime juice and a couple drops of green food coloring for lime bars.

*For a festive party tray, make a batch of lemon and one of lime, cut into bars, and arrange in a checker board fashion

Strogaloaf

A couple weeks ago we went to our favorite grocery store on a Saturday. They had lots of samples and one of those samples was a cheese tray. We tried several and my favorite was the Garden Jack. I decided to buy a brick of it and the lady doing the samples gave me a recipe that used that cheese. We decided to try it that afternoon and were immediately thankful we did. It is very tasty.

8 oz. Sour Cream
Half of a 1.5oz Packet Dry Beef Stroganoff Mix (found near gravy mixes)
2.5 oz Package Dried Beef
1 tube Crescent Roll Baking Dough
1 c. Shredded Garden Jack Cheese
1 Tbs Melted Butter
Waxed Paper
Parchment paper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Dice beef, mix in bowl with sour cream and stroganoff mix. Place crescent baking sheet on waxed paper and spread out until you have an even rectangle. (If using regular crescent roll dough, pinch seams together with moistened fingers).

Spread sour cream mixture wot within 1/2" of sides and ends. Sprinkle shredded Garden Jack cheese over top.

Start rolling on one end, lifting waxed paper to ease job. Place on cookie sheet covered with Parchment Paper, seam side down. Pinch sides shut. Brush with melted butter (sprinkle with Garlic Salt, optional). Bake 15-20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before slicing.



We have already made this recipe a few times. If you can find Dried Beef in a deli, I would highly recommend using that over the prepackaged version. It is good either way, but definitely better with the deli meat.

This is meant as an Hors d' Oeuvre, but last night we made it for our meal and I served it with Steamed Fresh Green Beans.