Shrimp Tacos

Shrimp, cooked breaded (or unbreaded if you prefer)

Corn tortillas

Shredded cabbage

Sauce (recipe below)

Pico de gallo (recipe below)

Lime slices

Prepare shrimp as directed on the package. I heated mine up in the toaster oven and they came out perfect. In the middle of a corn tortilla, spread some of the sauce and add the shrimp. Top with cabbage and pico de gallo. Squeeze a lime over the taco and enjoy!! This was a very easy and tasty dinner! It would be a great summertime meal too with a fruit salad on the side. Substitute fish for a yummy fish taco!

Sauce

4 tbsp mayo ( I used canola mayo)

3-4 tbsp sour cream

juice of 1/2 lime

Pico de Gallo

4 tomatoes

1 jalepeno

1/4 onion

cilantro (we like cilantro so I use a lot - about 1 cup)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

juice of 1/2 lime

garlic clove or 1/2 tsp granulated garlic

Pulse the ingredients together in a food processor or chop by hand if you like chunkier pico.

Melissa's Monkey Bread

20-24 frozen white dinner rolls
Cinnamon/sugar mix
Chopped pecans (optional)
2 TB butter or margarine
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 TB water
1 t. vanilla
1 box cook & serve butterscotch pudding

Grease bundt or one-piece angel food pan (don't use separated kind). Place frozen rolls in pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar and nuts (if desired). Melt butter; add brown sugar, water, vanilla and pudding. Stir until mixed well. Pour over rolls and cover (I use a tea towel) Let rise overnight. Bake for 25-30 minutes (until browned) at 325. Let cool in pan for 8-10 minutes and then turn onto plate and enjoy!! Keeps well ( I put in cake keeper) and warms well in microwave. :)

Thanks Melissa for sharing the recipe!!

Company Potatoes

2lbs frozen hash browns (homestyle/cubes)

2 cups sour cream

1/2 cups chopped onion

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Topping:

2 cups crushed corn flakes

1/4 cup melted butter (optional)

Thaw potatoes and combine with sour cream, butter, onion, cream of chicken soup, cheese and seasonings. Put in flat glass 9x12-inch baking dish

. Top with cornflake mixture and drizzle butter over the cornflakes. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

These taste very similar to potatoes au gratin or cheesy scalloped potatoes.

Mom's Breakfast Casserole

6-8 slices of bread cut into cubes
2 lbs seasoned sausage, browned
1 dozen eggs, beaten
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Spray baking dish with non-stick spray if desired.

Layer the ingredients in the following order:
1st layer - 6 or 8 slices of bread cut in cubes
2nd layer - 2 lbs of browned seasoned sausage spread over the bread
3rd layer - mix eggs, cream of chicken soup and milk and pour over the meat layer
4th layer - top with 1 bag of shredded cheese

Cover and refrigerator over night so the bread can absorb the liquids. Bake at 350 degrees 1 -1/2 hour.
Serves 8-10- people

**My brother, Allen, made this for our family and substituted hash browns for the bread and added bacon...was very tasty!

Lasagna Roll Ups

This is a very versatile recipe - any favorite veggies can be added/substituted. I added Italian sausage to the dish, but it can be made without meat as well. I didn't have time to make my own sauce when I made this the first time, so I used Ragu sauce (with a 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained, mixed in) and it worked perfectly! If you are into freezer cooking, this recipe could easily be doubled so you can bake one and freeze the other for a meal later in the month.

Ingredients:

10-12 lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat noodles for more nutrition)

2 tsp canola oil or olive oil

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

1 small onion, diced

1 small bell pepper, diced

1/2 lb Italian sausage, cooked

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

4 cups marinara sauce - recipe below (or store bought marinara/spaghetti sauce can be used)

1 (15 oz.) container part-skim ricotta cheese

1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 egg, beaten lightly

1 tsp salt

black pepper to taste

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2/3 - 1 cup of park-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook lasagna noodles al dente according to the package directions. Drain them and spread on foil or waxed paper to prevent sticking. (I lightly sprayed foil with cooking spray to make sure they didn't stick.)

Heat oil in a large saute pan; add chopped veggies and cook until tender (about 5 minutes). In a separate pan, cook the italian sausage and drain excess grease.

**If you like chunky veggies and meat in your lasagna, then this next step is not necessary, but I have some of my family members don't like chunks of meat/veggies so I mince them. It also works well to "hide" the veggies if you're trying to sneak in the vitamins. :) I added the drained meat and veggies to the food processor and pulsed to finely chop the ingredients. Add about 1 cup of marinara sauce to the mixture to smooth it out. If you like larger pieces of meat and vegetables, then simply stir together the veggies, meat and 1 cup of sauce.

In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, and salt and pepper to taste.

Spread 1 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9"x13" baking dish.

To assemble the rolls, spread about 2 tbsp of the ricotta cheese and spinach mixture onto a lasagna noodle. Top with about 2-3 tbsp of the meat/veggie mixture. Roll the noodle and place in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles. Spread the remaining sauce over the roll ups. Sprinkle the shredded cheeses over the top.

Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake about 15 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned.

Variations: Spinach and mushroom rollups, Eggplant and zucchini roll ups

Marinara Sauce

1 tbsp canola oil or olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 (28 oz.) cans whole tomatoes, drained and chopped

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp dried oregano

1 bay leaf

Salt/pepper to taste

In a pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Add minced garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Oatmeal Cookies

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tbsp butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 3 cups Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1 cup raisins
• 
  

  Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

  Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Roasted Grape Tomato Panini

*This recipe was on the Rachel Ray show this week. It looked so tasty that we just had to try it.

Grape tomatoes, Roasted and crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
Crushed red pepper
Fresh basil leaves
Mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni slices
Bread slices (I made this with bread from my bread maker...yumm!)

To roast the grape tomatoes in the oven: Set oven to 400 degrees; sprinkle a little olive oil or canola oil over the tomatoes and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tomato skins split open. Remove from pan and crush the tomatoes - I used a potato masher, but you could pulse it in a food processor. After the tomatoes are crushed, add 1 tbsp olive oil, and 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper to the tomatoes and mix well.


Heat panini maker. Spread some of the tomato mixture on 2 slices of bread; tear 2 or 3 fresh basil leaves into pieces and place over the tomato mix; sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese over one of the slices; top with pepperonis and a little more cheese. Cover with the second slice of bread. Place in panini maker and cook until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Alternatives: replace pepperoni with mini meatballs for a meatball sandwich taste.