Baked Taquitos

18 corn tortillas
2 lb. carne asada beef, shredded
1/2 c. diced onion
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 c. shredded colby jack cheese
Non-stick spray

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a skillet, saute the onions and garlic. Add paprika and stir until onions are soft. Add beef and chili powder and continue sauteing until beef is cooked through. While beef is cooking, wrap tortillas in two wet paper towels and microwave 2 minutes to soften.
Spray bottom of a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. With each tortilla, fill with beef and fold over. Put on cookie sheet seam side down. Spray the tops of the taquitos with non-stick spray. Bake for 10 minutes. If tortillas are crisp, sprinkle cheese over them and bake an additional 2 minutes.


Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 12 minutes
Serves: 3

To make a vegetarian version of this, I substituted a cup of sliced mushrooms and a cup cauliflower for the beef.

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Parmesan Garlic Basil Hummus

This can be a tasty appetizer, or a great light dinner!
1 can garbanzo beans (or 2 c. prepared chick peas)
1/2 c. water (or juice from the can)
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 minced garlic clove (or 1 tsp. garlic powder)
1 tsp. minced dried onions
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. fresh basil

Mix ingredients together in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a saucepan and heat on medium until thick and bubbly.

My 2 favorite ways to eat this are:
1) Fried in pita bread & dipped in pizza sauce
2) Stuffed in tortillas (can be fried) with fresh spinach)

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Serves 5-6 people (as a meal)

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Potato Cheddar Soup

This is a soup that my family just loves! It also works great with leftover mashed potatoes.

5-6 medium potatoes, peeled, diced and boiled OR 4-5 servings worth prepared instant mashed potatoes
1 large can chicken broth (or 3 small cans vegetable broth for vegetarian version)
1/2 lb. grated cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 c. milk (or more if needed to make soup less thick)
1 c. diced, cooked bacon (optional)

In large soup pan, mash potatoes. Stir in broth, milk and garlic. Heat on medium heat, stirring constantly until bubbly. Add cheese (and bacon) and stir. Reduce heat. Simmer on low until soup is bubbly again and cheese is melted (not a large glob in the bottom of the pot).

prep time: 5-30 minutes
cook time: 10 minutes
serves: 4-5 people

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Steak Stroganoff

1-2 lb. lean round steak, tenderized & diced*
1 yellow onion, diced
2 pkg. sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 can cream of chicken soup+
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream

In a large pan, on medium heat, sautee steak, onion, and garlic in the olive oil until the onion is tender and steak is mostly done. Add mushrooms and cook until they are tender. Add soup and sour cream and stir well. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Serve over prepared egg noodles, or macaroni noodles.

*Substitute 3-4 large portobello mushrooms, diced & +1 can cream of mushroom soup to make this a vegetarian dish

prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 20 minutes
serves: 4-5 people

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3 Layer Lasagna

1 pkg. no boil lasagna noodles (I think American Beauty makes them)
1 jar pasta sauce (my favorite is Ragu roasted garlic)
2 small cans mushrooms
1 lb. Italian Sausage, browned (substitute with 1 large Italian squash, diced & sauteed for a vegetarian version)
1 lb. grated mozzarella cheese (I use pre-grated)
1 16 oz. container of ricotta cheese
1 diced onion
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 c. sauteed spinach (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, mix sauce, sausage, mushrooms, onion, garlic, Italian Seasoning & spinach. In a greased 9x13 pan, layer sauce, then cheeses, then a layer of noodles. This should give you three layers, with a layer of sauce and cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes, or until cheese is golden & bubbly.

prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 45 minutes
serves: 7 people

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Thai Soup

2 cans coconut milk
2 cans vegetable broth
1 carton fresh sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
2 large limes
1/2 c. cilantro
Red pepper flakes (to taste)

In a soup pan, mix together coconut milk, vegetable broth, ginger, cilantro and mushrooms. Slice limes and juice into the soup. After juicing the limes, put the rinds into the soup (they will need to be removed later). Bring to a boil and reduce to medium heat. Remove lime rinds and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add pepper flakes to taste.

*My hubby likes to also cook up some Japanese noodles and put those in his soup.

Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves 4-5 people

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Mediterranean Pasta

1 box orzo pasta
2 cans white cannelini beans
1 Tbsp. diced garlic
1 diced onion
1 diced green apple
1 c. dried cranberries (Craisins)
1/2 c. diced celery (optional)
1/2 c. diced Italian Squash (optional)
1 c. water
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Preheat Oven to 400. In 9x13 baking pan, coat the bottom with olive oil. Mix together all ingredients into the pan. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 min. Uncover & bake for 10-15 minutes or until pasta is cooked thoroughly.

* Note: My husband likes when I make this with diced chicken in it. If you decided to make it with chicken, make sure that you dice into small pieces, raise the temperature to 425 and add 15 minutes to the cooking time.

Prep time: 10 min.
Cooking time: 45 min- 1 hour
Feeds: 5-6 people

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