Cheesy-Beefy Melt Burritos...Eat Your Heart Out Taco Bell

So Taco Bell discontinued our favorite 99cent burrito.  If you didn't know, the Cheesy Beefy Melt Burrito was a classic and a favorite of mine at this fast food place.  So my husband and I decided, who needs 'em?  No more fast food!

Here's how we did it:

8 flour tortillas
1 lb. ground beef
1 can of nacho cheese
1 package of taco bell taco seasoning
Sour cream
1 package of Lipton's Mexican Rice

Prepare all as indicated on the package...and TA-DA! You have your very own amazing Cheesy Beefy Melt Burritos.

Grandma Jo's Zucchini Bread

One of my favorite treats at Grandma's house has always been warm zucchini bread.  She'd go out to Dad's garden every summer and pick fresh zucchini's and always, always made zucchini bread.  Mind you, it wasn't every day, or every week for that matter.  It was always a special treat...and I have been cravin' that good stuff for weeks!  So today, I finally got around to it.  I made Grandma Jo's Zucchini Bread.

Now, you must remember, Grandma lives 1500 miles away.  Thank goodness for telephones, or else I may never enjoy the deliciousness for quite some time.  But, with today's wonders, I was able to call her and make my own recipe card.  So blame me for the poor directions.

Yes, that's butter melting on top.  Paula Dean would be proud.

And Grandma said use TWO pans...well, I only had one.  So I had to improvise.

It's bite sized...It's fresh...and it's smothered in butter!  Why yes ladies and gentlemen, I give you the ZUCCHINI BREAD MUFFIN!

Mike loved them...and I'm sure Eggs would too if I ever let him get his paws on them!

Jessica's Garden Special

Garden Special Recipe……. Good for soups and for spaghetti…….


1 qt celery
1-3 onions cut up (I use one)
6 green peppers
1 qt water
4 qts ripe tomatoes
3 T salt
2 T sugar


Blanch tomatoes in seperate pan of boiling water then put in cool water and peel, cut into 1/4. Set aside. 

Dice celery, including coarse stalks, onion and pepers. Cook with water for 20 minutes.
Add tomatoes,( pelled and cut into 1/4) and seasonings.
Bring to boil and pour into clean hot jars.
Process in hot water. 30 minutes for quart jars or 20 minutes for pints.

Mike's Chicken Tetrazzini

Mike decided to make me dinner tonight...and guess what he whipped up in our tiny kitchen...


Prep & Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound cooked and drained pasta
5 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup butter
2 cubes chicken bouillon
1/4 cup shredded cheese

Directions:
Put cooked pasta (he used tri-colored penne-it was awesome!) into 9x13-inch baking dish. 

Place chicken on top of pasta.
In medium saucepan heat together soup, water, butter, and bouillon. 

Bring to a boil and then pour over the pasta and chicken. 

Put shredded cheese on top and press down a bit - We thought it might pour out the sides!!!
Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.

Melody's Special Ice Cream

 

An update to my recipe.  I have always used this recipe and have had great reviews, but with the increasing question of eating raw eggs, I have made a couple of adjustments.  The results were TERRIFIC!

I always use whole milk and substitute 12 ounces of the milk with a can of evaporated milk.

Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl and set them aside.  Place the sugar, salt and half of the milk in a pan and heat it to just before boiling, stirring constantly.  To temper the eggs, dip 2 cups of the warm milk mixture into the eggs and mix it well.  Then add the eggs and all to the pan and warm it all to just before boiling.  Pour the contents of the pan into a gallon jar with a lid and added the remaining milk and vanilla.  Cover with lid and refrigerate at least overnight.

Pour cooked mixture into ice cream freezer and add whipping cream.  Freeze as usual.

I have to say, it was THE VERY BEST ICE CREAM EVER!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Roll-Out Sugar Cookies

Patty's Potato Casserole

Jones Family Favorite Cranberry Salad

Iva's Favorite Drop Sugar Cookies

Ivy's Totally Awesome Tuna Casserole

My Prep & Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
1 package of no yolk noodles
1 large can of chunked tuna in water
1 large bag of shredded cheese
1 package of frozen peas
1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
ranch dressing mustard, pepper and salt for flavoring

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. half the package of noodles according to package directions and drain
3. Place half the package of peas with 2 tablespoons of butter in microwave and cook for approximately 3 minutes or until completely thawed--then drain peas
4. Drain water from tuna and pour tuna into a large mixing bowl.  Add cream of mushroom soup, thawed peas, drained noodles, 1 or 2 hand fulls of shredded cheese (Yes, I said hand fulls, measuring isn't my style),  add about 4-5 teaspoons of ranch dressing and 4-5 teaspoons of mustard (or do like I do and just squirt some in the bowl until it looks good), a dash of salt and finally a dash of pepper.
5. Mix ingredients lightly and then pour or scrape a layer of the mixture into a greased pan or dish.-Use about half of the bowl.
7. Spread a layer of shredded cheese on top of the mixture and then add the rest of the contents of the bowl on top of the cheese.
8. Finally, top the entire monstrosity with as much cheese as you desire and bake for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until slightly brown on top.

Ivy's ch-Ch-CH-CHOCOLATE Cookies

My Cook & Prep Time: 20 mins

Ingredients
1 cup of butter, softened
2 cups of white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 cup of cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 2/3 cups of chocolate chips -or peanut butter chips, or white chocolate chips, or M&M's or whatever-amazing-combo-you-decide!

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl with whisk.
3. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla.
4. Next add flour, cocoa, baking powder & salt, stir until smooth
5. Fold in chocolate chips -Honestly I really don't measure, there is no such thing as too many chips!
6. Use spoon to place on greased cookie sheet (they'll be rrrreally sticky), approximately an inch apart.
7. Place sheet on oven rack and bake for 8-10 minutes.

 

Ivy's Focaccia: Fantastic Flatbread

My Prep & Bake Time : 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 package of active dry yeast -or- 0.25 ounces dry yeast
1/3 cup of hot water
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of all purpose flour
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions
1. In a small bowl dissolve sugar and yeast in hot water, letting it stand until creamy.
2. In a large bowl combine sugar and yeast with flour and add addition warm water while mixing until the flour is dissolved or when dough begins to pull together.
3. When the dough has pulled together, turn out onto a floured surface and knead for about a minute. -The dough will be very sticky!
4. Pour a small amount of olive oil back into the large bowl and place dough in the bowl and coat the dough with oil by turning.
5. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
6. Deflate dough and flatten again onto the floured surface.
7. Place the dough after flatted and stretched onto a greased/spray coated pan and coat with olive oil and herbs of your choice. -I really enjoy a few pinches of garlic powder, basil and salt
8. Place pan in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until slightly brown.

It's a favorite in our house!  We enjoy it with hummus, salads, spaghetti nights and I might even share my awesome pizza recipe using this particular bread.