Tater Tot Taco Casserole

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 packet taco seasoning
1 (16oz) bag of frozen Mexican-style corn
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 bag shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 (16oz) package frozen tater tots
1 (12oz) can enchilada sauce


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Cook the ground beef in a skillet until completely browned. Add onion, garlic, taco seasoning, corn, and black beans.  Cook and stir another 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, combine ground beef mixture with about 3/4 of cheese and the tater tots.  Stir until mixed together.

Pour about 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.  Add tater tot mixture, lightly pat down into a solid even layer.  Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the tater tot layer.

Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.  Sprinkle remaining cheese over the casserole and return to oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly (about 5 minutes).



When I made this I forgot to buy the corn & it still turned out really good!!

Crock Pot Beer Chicken

Ingredients:

2lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 bottle or can of your favorite beer

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp black pepper

I added potatoes and carrots also.  

Place all ingredients in the crock pot, and cook on high 4-5 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

This turned out pretty good, but I think it would have been better with a whole chicken instead of just the breasts.

Creamy Burrito Casserole

1 lb ground beef
1/2 medium onion chopped
1 package of taco seasoning
 6 large flour tortillas
1 can refried beans
2-3 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 ounces sour cream
Salsa if desired

Brown ground meat and onion, drain if necessary. Add taco seasoning and mix in refried beans. Mix sour cream and soup in separate bowl. Spread 1/2 of soup mixture in casserole dish. Tear up 3 tortillas and spread over soup mixture. Put 1/2 of meat mixture over tortillas. Add a layer of cheese and then add salsa if you are using it. Repeat layers. Then sprinkle cheese over top and bake uncovered 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Definitely make sure you have enough meat for the top layer otherwise your tortillas will get a lot of heat and be extra crunchy. This was super easy & very YUMMY!!!!

Country Roast Chicken & Vegatables

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
16 small red-skinned potatoes, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 small zuchinni, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 small yellow squash, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 lb. peeled baby carrots
1 whole head garlic, loose outer skin removed and top 1/4 sliced off
2 T. vegetable oil or melted butter
2 bay leaves
1/2 t. dried sage
1/2 t. dried thyme
3/4 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven 400 degrees. In large roasting pan, toss chicken, potatoes, zuchinni, squash, carrots, garlic, oil, bayleaves, sage, thyme, salt and pepper together. Roast, turning chicken and tossing vegetables every 15 minutes, for 1 hour 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Transfer chicken to platter and vegetables to bowl. Discard bay leaves. Squeeze out garlic pulp and toss with vegetables. Arrange vegetables around chicken.


This was really good, but it was a little dry. I think next time I will try & add a little chicken broth over it to help with that.

Oven-Fried Chicken with Honey Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 t. paprika
1 3-4 lb. chicken, cut up into 8 pieces
8 T. butter or margerine, melted

Honey-Butter Sauce:

4 T. butter
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. lemon juice


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, salt, pepper, and paprika in a shallow bowl. Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture. Pour the melted butter into a 9"x13" baking pan. Add pieces of floured chicken in a single layer, turning chicken to coat with butter. Bake skin-side down for 30 minutes. While chicken is cooking, make sauce by melting the butter in a small pan and beating in the honey and lemon juice. Turn chicken pieces, pour Honey Butter Sauce over, and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until tender. Spoon pan juices over chicken and serve.

Curry Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 t. red pepper flakes
1 (2lb.) pork tenderloin, cut into 1 1/2 inch strips
2 T. cooking oil
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1 (14 oz.) can coconut milk
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 cubes beef bouillon
3 t. curry powder, or more or less to taste
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 onion, diced
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a large casserole dish. Combine flour and red pepper flakes in a large resealable plastic bag; add pok, seal, and shake to coat.

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Brown tenderloin in hot oil, stirring frequently. Drain meat on paper towels, then arrange in the bottom of casserole dish.

In the same pan the pork was cooked in, mix together wine, coconut milk and peanut butter over low heat. Crumble bouillon cubes into the mixture and season with curry powder. Heat until warm, and then stir in the garlic, onion and mushrooms. Pour over meat in the casserole dish. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Cajun Paella

Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil
4 chicken leg quarters
2 (8oz.) packages dirty rice
5 cups water
2 pounds whole cooked crawfish, peeled
3/4 medium shrimp-peeled and deveined
1/2 lb. andouille sausage, sliced into rounds
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 large sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced


Heat oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Sear chicken on all sides until browned. Stir in dirty rice mix and water. Stir in crawfish, shrimp, andouille sausage, mushrooms, bell pepper, onion and garlic. Bring mixture to a boil, and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice is tender, and moisture is absorbed, 25-30 minutes.

Depending on the season and my budget, I will sometimes use the frozen crawfish tail meat instead. If I use fresh I usually leave a couple of them whole in it just because.