World's Easiest BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Story:
Seriously, easy. And we love it! Shelly G. (in South Ogden) told me about this and I was astonished by how easy it was... and mad that I didn't know about it sooner.

Ingredients:
frozen chicken breasts
BBQ sauce
(oh, and hamburger buns, of course)

Directions:
Place however many frozen chicken breasts you want in your crock pot. (I figure roughly a half a breast per person... but, you know me, I throw in a few more for leftovers.) Pour a bunch of your favorite BBQ sauce over. Go ahead and pour on a lot. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, or longer on low. About an hour before serving, pull out the chicken, shred with two forks, and put back into all that yummy sauce. That's it! Just whip up a salad and dinner's ready.

[I will someday insert a picture here.]

Notes:

• The original recipe said you could just serve the BBQ chicken over rice. I'm sure that would be great... I just haven't tried it yet.
• I always put a thin layer of mayonnaise on the hamburger buns before I put on the chicken. It kind of works as a "barrier" from all that sauce so the buns don't get soggy too fast.
• As far as the BBQ sauce goes, you don't need anything fancy; the cheap Hunt's kind is fine. Of course I like the Sweet Baby Ray's sauce, but it's a little too sweet for Ben. (I have yet to come across something that is "too sweet" for me... I don't know what he's talking about.)

French Onion Beef Stew

Story:
I love my Mom's Beef Stew. Way good. It has that nostalgic feel to it, too. It was always one of my favorite family dinners growing up.

But just for variety's sake, I tried my friend's (Janae E.) recipe. My kids love it. (Or as Megan says, "I L-O-V-E love it!" - It was even her 7th birthday dinner request, so you know it's gotta be good.) It has a creamy, more flavorful taste... which also means that it's not quite as "low fat" as my Mom's. But, hey, if you have a good beef stew recipe, why not share it? You can never have enough crock pot recipes, as far as I'm concerned.

And, of course, we love it with Mom's Cornbread or with my Easy Breadsticks.

Ingredients:
2 cans French Onion soup (the regular-sized Campbell's kind)
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup (1 large and one small)
carrots, chopped
celery, chopped
potatoes, chopped
frozen peas
1 lb stew beef (I always cut it into smaller pieces)

Directions:
Put all the ingredients (except the peas) in a crock pot. Cook on high for 6-8 hours, or on low for 10-12. About 10 minutes before serving, stir in the peas. Easy as that!

Notes:

• Warning: It makes a ton, so be prepared to have lots of leftovers. (Hooray for leftovers!! That just means no cooking tomorrow!)
• How many veggies to use? A lot!
• Janae's recipe didn't call for the peas, but personally, I think it adds nice color, gives the kids a little 'legumes' (said all fancy-like) and makes it look a little more like stew than dogfood.

Picture coming soon. (It's in the crock pot as I type...)

Lisa's Chicken Parmesan

Story:
My friend Monica T gave me this recipe; she got it from another friend, Lisa P. They were in a dinner group together and apparently this was a popular dish. I tried it and we think it's pretty great too (and easy!).

Ingredients:
chicken breasts
egg whites
bread crumbs (Italian style)
mozzarella cheese
parmesan cheese
spaghetti sauce (just a can of Hunt's'll do)
pasta (angel hair, spaghetti, whatever you like...)

Directions:
Dip the chicken breasts in egg whites and then roll in the bread crumbs. Coat really well. Pan fry the coated chicken in a little oil; just to brown both sides.

Place browned chicken breasts in a baking dish. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Then spoon spaghetti sauce generously over each one. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over that. Spoon the remaining sauce around the chicken in the dish.

Bake 40-45 minutes at 350. Serve over pasta.

Note:
I had never bought bread crumbs before; they were in the baking section by the flour and cornmeal... just if you're wondering... just so you don't wander aimlessly around like a lost soul like I did...

Easy Breadsticks

Story:
In South Ogden, I had a friend named Jessica H. who invited our fam to dinner with them one Sunday evening. (By the way, Jessica makes some way-yummy food!) She served these breadsticks that night, and they have since become my good ol' standby bread for dinners. They have garlic salt and parmesan on top, so they taste great with those meals with which you would usually serve garlic bread.

My good friend and back-door neighbor here in Crestwood, Shawn D., just brought by some soup for my family for dinner tonight. She said she made a ton, and well, that's just the good friend she is to share with us. (I love my neighbors!) So, I thought I'd whip up a batch of these breadsticks to go with the yummy soup...

Ingredients:
3 1/2 C flour, divided
2 T sugar
1 t salt
1 T yeast
butter
garlic salt
parmesan

Directions:
Mix 2 C flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a bowl. Stir well. Add 1 1/2 C warm water and the additional 1 1/2 C flour. Knead into a ball. Let rise for one hour.

Roll into a rectangle and cut into strips. Melt a few tablespoons of butter in a bowl. Dip half of each strip into the melted butter and then twist the two halves together. Brush any remaining butter on top of the breadsticks. Sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes at 425. Hope ya love 'em!

Mom's Cornbread

Story:
I'm not sure that there's really a great story to this recipe, well, except that my mom is practically famous for it!! (Well, among her kids, at least.) It's a sweet and delicious cornbread... it looks like a cake and it tastes FABULOUS with her beef stew or with my chili.

Ingredients:
1 C flour
1 t salt
1 T baking powder
1/2 C sugar
3/4 C yellow corn meal
2 eggs, well beaten
1 C milk
1/4 C oil
2 t vanilla

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together.
Pour into a greased and floured 8x8 (or 9x9) pan.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Note:
Double the recipe for a 9x13 pan. Baking time seems to vary a little, but I've never gotten it down to perfection. Just bake until it's lightly browned on top... oh, and the good ol' bake-until-toothpick-comes-out-clean trick works as well.

Autumn Chili

Story:
I didn't know that I like chili as much as I do until I learned how to make it. I pulled a chili recipe out of... well, I don't know where. But I've since embellished it and made it my own, so I guess this is pretty much my own recipe. It's an autumn-time-rainy-day favorite at our house. (Posted just in time for Halloween!)

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 sweet onion
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
1 packet chili seasoning
2 T brown sugar
Shredded cheese

Directions:

• Brown meat with onions in skillet; drain.
• Add all other ingredients. Stir in.
• Simmer for 15 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top before serving.

Note: We LOVE it with my Mom's cornbread. So cozy-like.

Sarah's Rolo Cookies

Story:
I have a wonderful, wonderful friend in UT, named Sarah. Love her! We lived across the street and a few houses down from each other in South Ogden; but we've both since moved from that happy little neighborhood. We shared a lot of laughs, babysitting, clothes, tears, phone conversations, and, of course, recipes. I first started getting to know her at our friend Becky's house. Becky and Scott threw great "game nights" and everyone was asked to bring something to share. Sarah brought these Rolo cookies. I knew immediately that I'd love a girl who could make something so yummy! (And little did I know at the time how easy they were!) Hope you love them too!

Ingredients:
Rolos
chocolate cake mix
1/3 C oil
2 eggs
chocolate chips

Directions:
Mix together the cake mix, the oil, and the eggs. Wrap a dab of the batter around a Rolo. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.

Take out of the oven, put 2 or 3 chocolate chips on each cookie, then put back in the oven for just a few seconds. Pull out again and spread the chocolate with a knife. Refrigerate, if needed, to chill.

Voila!

Note: I can't tell you exactly how many Rolos you need for the cookies because, well, I never know exactly how many of them get eaten before they actually make it into the cookies... if you know what I mean. Just buy a bag, and that will be plenty to make a batch of cookies.

Baked Mushroom Chicken

Story:
At a "Home, Family, & Personal Enrichment" activity in South Ogden, a (wonderful!) woman named Shelly gave us some great cooking tips, as well as a few of her easy, delicious favorite recipes. This is one of those recipes and it is delicious! (Admittedly, Ben and I love it more than the kids, but they like it okay.)

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/4 C flour
3 T butter, divided
1 C fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 C chicken broth
1/8 t pepper
1/3 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 C green onions, sliced

Directions:
Flatten each chicken breast (I don't do this, but it would probably be better if I did.). Place flour in a resealable bag and add chicken. Seal and shake to coat.

Melt 2 T butter in a skillet and brown chicken on both sides. Transfer the chicken to a greased baking dish.

Saute mushrooms in the remaining butter. Add broth and pepper. Boil for 5 minutes.

Put the mushrooms over the chicken, then top with the cheeses and the green onions. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Ta da!


I like to serve with a green salad and either brown rice or breadsticks. (Shelly recommends rice pilaf and a fruit salad.)

Note: Ben has noticed that it seems to taste even better as leftovers the next day... y'know, when the "flavors mellow," as they say.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Story:
This recipe is a more recent find, but is one of our family's favorites (as well as one of my most frequently requested recipes). And you know where I found it? You know those inserts in the newspaper that have coupons? And you know how, just sometimes, there will be a recipe to go with the ingredient that those marketers are trying to sell? Well this is one of those recipes--and they sold me on their La Choy products. And it is yum-my!

I first "experienced" lettuce wraps years ago while I was on a church mission in South Korea. (That's where Ben and I met... just in case you didn't know that... we were both missionaries in Seoul.) Lettuce wraps are Dee-Lish! This one isn't a Korean style wrap, but eating it with my fingers and taking big ol' bites that I can't even close my mouth around... well, it takes me right back! The original recipe didn't call for the rice, but since we always ate them with rice in Korea, I just couldn't go without. Besides, I'm all about the whole grains thing, and when you're feeding a husband that eats like mine does, you have to bulk up the meal however possible!

Ingredients:
1/4 C water
1 T cornstarch
1/2 C La Choy Teriyaki Sauce
1 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1 can (8oz) whole water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
2 T vegetable oil
La Choy Rice Noodles
shredded carrots
lettuce leaves
cooked brown rice (click to see my brown rice recipe)

Directions:

• Whisk together the water and the cornstarch in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in teriyaki sauce.
• Add chicken and water chestnuts, stir to coat. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
• Cook and stir small batches of chicken in hot oil in a wok or a large skillet until no longer pink.
• To serve: Take a lettuce leaf in your hand, pile in some rice, then chicken, then rice noodles, then shredded carrots. Try to wrap it closed and take a big bite...

Notes:

• I used to shred the carrots. I must not have the right equipment, because that was always a pain (and I'm sure it didn't help that I usually only had baby carrots on hand, so I ended up shredding my fingernails half the time... just kidding... if you've eaten my lettuce wraps, I promise there were no fingernails in the carrots). Anyway, just buy the bag of matchstick carrots (already shredded!) in the produce section and save yourself the effort. They are great to throw on green salads anyway. And my toddler loves to eat them as a snack (although I think she thinks it's shredded cheese). Oh well...
• This is a dinner I like to take in to others. It is easy to double and it can be fixed ahead. You can put most of the ingredients in little baggies, and your friends can just either cook the meat (or heat it up), and warm up the rice, whenever they are ready to eat.

Pictures coming soon...

(Kate is making this for a lunch appointment tomorrow, so she said I had to get her the recipe ASAP! Hope you like 'em Kate!)

How I Do Brown Rice

Story:

I should probably call this "How Sarah E. Taught Me To Do Brown Rice". Thanks to my friend Sarah in South Ogden, brown rice has become one of my favorite side dishes.

Directions:

The trick she taught me is to add chicken bouillon to the water before adding the rice. In her words, "It keeps it from tasting like dirt."

So in one pot, boil the rice according to the package directions (but add some chicken bouillon to the water--just a couple of teaspoons). While that's boiling, in a separate pan or wok, melt about a tablespoon or two of butter. Then saute lots of chopped onion and chopped celery in butter. Add a little black pepper. Stir occasionally and just let it simmer there for a while. When the rice is done (it usually takes 45 minutes), stir in the celery and onions with the rice. Voila! Now you don't have just boring rice, but you it has a better flavor and a nice texture.

Thanks, Sarah! I miss you!

Taco-Stuffed Pasta Shells

Story:
No fancy story on this one. Just another find from "Very Best Baby." It's more of one of those: "it feeds the family" recipes than it is one of our very very favs. But it is good. Ben took some leftovers in to work for lunch recently, and one of his co-workers said it smelled so delicious that she wanted the recipe. Stacy, this one is dedicated to you!

Ingredients:
Jumbo dried pasta sells, prepared according to package directions, rinsed, and drained
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning mix*
1 cup water
1 can (16 oz) refried beans
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 jar (16 oz) salsa, divided
1/4 cup sliced green onions
sour cream (optional)**

Directions:
(The original directions tell how to put this into two 8x8 dishes, freezing one for later, etc. Forget that. I do the whole thing in one 9x13 and we eat off the leftovers.)

Cook beef in large skillet until brown; drain. Add seasoning mix and water; cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until thickened. Add beans and 3/4 cup cheese; mix well. Spread 1/2 cup salsa over bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Fill pasta shells with beef mixure; placing the filled shells into the baking dish, filled side up. Spoon remaining salsa over shells.

Preheat oven to 350. Cover baking dish with foil. bake for 40-45 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with green onions and remaining cheese. Serve with sour cream.

Notes:
*I buy the taco seasoning in bulk and I use a little less than a 1/4 cup for this recipe. It's just cheaper and that way I always know I have some on hand.
**They say the sour cream is optional... crazy people! It tastes much better with the sour cream.

Think: Great Harvest

Story:

I love the memory I have of my mom making homemade whole wheat bread. I can still picture our old house with the wood pull-out cutting board that was built into the counter. She'd pull that out to put the hot loaves on as they came out of the oven. I used to smother the thick, warm slices with honey. Yum.

I started experimenting with breadmaking a little in... 2005, I guess it was. My sister had one of my mom's old wheat grinders in her basement, as well as my mom's old Bosch. (The blender on the Bosch is long-gone, but it still has the plastic mixing bowl AND the metal bread-making bowl--complete with olive green trim and everything.) Anyway, when my sister received a new Kitchenaid for Mother's Day one year, I got my mom's old stuff. Yeah!!

When I started baking bread, I discovered how EASY it is--especially if you have some of the tools--like a wheat grinder and a Bosch! I went a few months without buying any bread at the store. It was great!

This particular recipe came from my dear friend and South Ogden neighbor, Becky D. It was her mom's whole wheat bread recipe; Becky talked it up pretty good, and I wasn't disappointed! We said that it tasted as good as something from Great Harvest Bread Company (thus the name). The directions are pretty specific; I try to follow them closely because this makes 4 loaves of really good bread.

Today is a rainy day in KY and rainy days remind me of coming home from school to warm bread. I hope my kids enjoy their after-school snack this afternoon...

Ingredients:
water
sugar
yeast
gluten flour
wheat flour, freshly ground
salt
oil

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, add:
5 1/2 C hot water (110 degrees the recipe says... as if I get out the thermometer...)
3/4 C sugar
2 heaping T yeast
1/2 C gluten flour
6 C wheat flour, freshly ground

Mix 5-10 minutes.
Let rise 10 minutes.
Start mixing again. Slowly add:
1 heaping T salt
2 T oil
6 C wheat flour - adding 1 C per minute)

Mix until the consistency of shapeable bread dough.
Shape into loaves.
Put in bread pans.
Let rise 15-20 minutes, covered with a moist towel
Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Cool for 15-20 minutes.
Bag while still warm.

Enjoy!

(Please Note: I went to pick up my toddler from a friend's house while the bread was rising, so these loaves rose a little too much. In other words: they aren't quite as pretty as they should be... but they still taste great! Trust me...)

Cafe Rio

Story:

Soon after we moved to KY, my friend Traci introduced me to one of our now-very-very-favorite dinners. She got it off a cooking blog, so you can find the original recipe at Kalyn's Kitchen. Since the first time I made it, I've wanted to share it with friends and fam (especially you, Sarah E! You'll love this one.) Ethan calls it his "favorite burrito" and Ben says it's one of his favorite things I make. My mom really likes the cilantro rice. (I better be careful!... don't want to talk it up too much!)

One thing I really like about it (being the mom), is that it makes a LOT, so we can serve it with company and still have leftovers. As part of the dinner, you cook up a lot of marinated shredded chicken in a crock put. It's way too much to use, so I freeze it in either 1 cup or 2 cup baggies to throw into other recipes later. I refer to it in other recipes as "Cafe Rio Chicken."

This recipe is a little more labor-intensive than my usuals. Keep in mind that it does make a lot (read: you won't have to cook for a couple of days) amd that most of it can be prepared ahead of time.

Three parts to prepare:

Cafe Rio Chicken
Ingredients:
5 lbs chicken breasts
1 (8 ounce) bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 cloves garlic—minced

Directions:
Cook all together in a crock pot for 4 hours.
Shred the meat and cook for an additional hour.

Café Rio Rice
Ingredients:
3 cups Uncle Ben's Converted Rice
3 c water
½ bunch cilantro
1 can green chiles
½ onion
4 t chicken bouillon
4 t minced garlic
¾ t salt
1 T butter

Directions:
Blend cilantro, green chiles and onion together in food processor.
Bring water to a boil and add all ingredients.
Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

Cafe Rio Dressing
Ingredients:
1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet - (note you need buttermilk and mayo to make the dressing)
2 tomatillos (tomato-like vegetable with a husk around them)
½ bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1 lime
A few drops of green tobasco sauce (or 1 jalapeño... I don't bother with the jalepeno, I use the sauce)

Directions:
Make the buttermilk ranch dressing as per recipe on the packet.
Use a food processor to blend the tomatillos, cilantro, garlic, lime and tobasco sauce.
Add to the dressing and refrigerate.

To Serve:
(Note the additional ingredients not listed above)
The meal itself is one of those imitations from a Cafe Rio or Bajio's type restaurant. I eat it like a big, fat salad; Ben eats it like a giant stuffed burrito. Restaurants (like Cafe Rio) serve this like a salad that starts with a tortilla, then cooked beans (I use black beans--just 'cause they're my fav!), seasoned rice, lettuce, seasoned chicken, shredded cheese, and a fabulous dressing.

Notes:
I use the chicken in my Tortilla Soup, Black Bean Soup, & Becky's Black Bean and Chicken Casserole.
I use the dressing on Monica's Fish Tacos.

Tuna Melts

Story:
I worked at Swensen's Ice Cream Parlor in San Diego the summer after my senior year of HS, before moving away to college. My friend Traci got me the job. It was a quiet little place, and has since closed. I met a cute boy there, and though that didn't work out, it was that summer that I fell in love with Tuna Melts. And since then I've learned (thanks to my friend Lee), to add more veggies into the tuna salad part. Sooo good.

These are always more filling than I think they are going to be. And I don't know why, but I always serve them with a side of sliced cucumbers.

Ingredients:
sourdough bread
monterey jack cheese*
tuna fish, drained
mayo
dill pickles, chopped (you can use pickle relish too, but I liked the chopped pickles better)
celery, diced
red or orange bell pepper, chopped
dehydrated chopped onions (green onions would probably be good; never tried)
garlic powder
black pepper

Directions: (kind of obvious...)
For the tuna salad:
Shred the tuna into a bowl. Add mayo until the tuna is lighly coated. (I tend to like things dryer than wetter... so add as much mayo as you want.) Add pickles, veggies, and seasonings to taste.

For the sandwich part:
Butter outsides of sourdough bread, put on cheese and tuna salad and cook on a griddle--just like a grilled cheese sandwich. Grill until lightly browned and cheese is melted.

*EDIT* Last week I made these again and I used Pepperjack Cheese in Ben's and my sandwiches. The best ever! Try it.

Black Bean Soup

Story:
I discovered this recipe through one of those eat-well-during-pregnancy kinds of magazine/resources. Very Best Baby. The recipe card says to visit verybestbaby.com/recipes for more!

I know that Black Bean Soup doesn't sound (or even look!) very appealing. It's one of those foods though (kind of liked a baked potato) that doesn't really sound good, but once you start eating it, you remember how much you love it! I like this black bean soup... and I like that I've found a few ways to spruce it up a bit too.

Ingredients:
2 cans (16 ounces each) black beans, undrained
1 cup chicken broth
nonstick cooking spray
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon bottle minced garlic
1 jar (16 ounces) salsa
4 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1/3 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (optional)
fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

Directions:

• Place 1 can of beans (with the liquid) and the broth in blender or food processor; cover. Blend until smooth. Coat large saucepan with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook for 4-5 minutes or until onion is tender.
• Add blended bean mixture, remaining beans and liquid, salsa, lime juice, cumin, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes. Serve topped with sour cream. Garnish with cilantro. (Makes 4 servings)

Variations:

• The original recipe card says to use Ortega Thick & Chunky Salsa... I use my favorite Garden Fresh brand from Costco OR the Wal-Mart brand of Black Bean & Corn salsa... another yummy one.
• I put a big dab of sour cream in the middle of each bowl. The kids like it because it mellows out the flavor a little if it seems too spicy. I know the plain yogurt would be healthier, but, whatever. And I haven't yet bothered to garnish with cilantro, though that would be pretty.
• My friend, Traci, taught me to add some shredded chicken. I especially like to add about a cup of the shredded "Cafe Rio Chicken" (another recipe from Traci--I use it in lots of different recipes).
• I've also added a can of corn before. Bulks it up a little and gives it a little more color and texture.

Enjoy!

Ben's "Triple C's"

Story:
"Triple C" is Ben's and my code for Chocolate Chip Cookies. We use it conveniently to avoid mentioning the "cookie" word in front of the kids. We'd use Korean, but since chocolate chip cookies aren't exactly an authentic Korean food, the Korean word sounds like: choe-ko-cheep coo-kee. The kids would pick up on that right away, as you can imagine.

About 6 months after Ben and I were married, we were living in a little rundown duplex in South Salt Lake. Our [only?] friends in the neighborhood, Jeremy & Jessica, made us these cookies and Ben thought they were the best EVER. I recently made a different kind of chocolate chip cookie, just for variety's sake, and Ben was in disbelief... wondering why I would waste time and resources on any cookie but the best.

I think the original recipe came off of a Crisco wrapper and it was called "Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies." Since Ben has mastered the art of creating these cookies, tweaking a few things in the process, I now call them "Ben's Triple C's." (The recipe below is already doubled from the original, since that's how we always make 'em... so plan on it making plenty.)
[Edit: We ceased using shortening in our kitchen, so we adjusted the recipe below to use butter instead.  01/07/2020]

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter
2 1/2 cups not-packed light brown sugar
4 T milk
2 T vanilla
2 eggs
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
2 t salt
1 1/2 t baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375
2. Mix butter, brown sugar, milk, vanilla, and eggs.
3. Add flour, salt, and baking soda and blend well. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake about 12 minutes. (Ovens vary so, specifically, bake until lightly golden brown.) Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Then move cookies to a cooling rack--or just eat them warm!

Yummy.

My Favorite Ingredients

I thought I'd keep my own little on-going list here of my favorite ingredients. You'll see what I mean.

My favorite...

• Sourdough Bread: big round loaf, Boudin is the brand, I think (Costco) - used for my Tuna Melts
• Salsa: Garden Fresh Gourmet, Jack's Special Salsa (Costco, refrigerator section) - delicious just with chips, but also really good in Becky's Black Bean and Chicken Casserole and in my Black Bean Soup
• Tortilla Chips: Garden Fresh Gourmet Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (Costco) and Kirkland brand Organic Tortilla Chips (Costco)
• Fish Sticks: Trident brand, "The Ultimate Fish Stick" (Costco, freezer section) - used in Monica's Fish Tacos

Dinner Time!

Hey y'all. Welcome to my newest project.

I don't claim to be a great cook. I do, however, like to feed my family good food. I don't create recipes, but I do like to collect the good ones that my friends have already tried and proven. And I do like to flip through cooking magazines now and then, ripping out recipes that I want to try. (Some people look at fashion or celebrity magazines? I look at food!) I then try out the recipes on my loved ones, and if they pass the family test, then I'll post them here. Hopefully, even with pictures!

So here I go... trying to gather all of my family faves in one place. No longer do I have to type up a recipe to e-mail it to you (or worse, have to read a recipe to you over the phone!), but they'll all be right here (eventually) for you to peruse at your leisure. I'm not putting in recipes in any particular order, but I am going to index them on the right column so you'll be able to pull up whatever kind of dish you're looking for. I'll include the first name of who I "stole" it from as well as some of our family's variations. I have been known to tweak up a recipe now and then...

Well, I hope you find some "good eats" on here... Enjoy!