Easy Burritos

Refried beans
cheddar cheese
flour tortillas
sour cream
tomatoes-diced
avocado
salsa

Place some refried beans on a flour tortilla. Place cheddar cheese on top. Microwave until warm. Roll up, top with desired toppings: sour cream, salsa, avocado, tomatos. Enjoy!

So easy, so fast!! And even I like them!

Virginia Chicken Stuff

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can evaporated milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup water or chicken broth
1 medium onion
1 stick margarine or butter
1 box Stovetop (chicken flavor) or Pepperidge Farm Stuffing

Boil chicken until it is thoroughly cooked. Remove from water and save broth. Cut up chicken into bite-sized pieces and spread on bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish.

Mix evaporated milk and soups. Pour this mix over the top of the chicken. Saute onion in butter. Add Stovetop (or stuffing) and water (or saved broth). Spread stuffing over top of casserole.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.


The family that had us for dinner when we were in Virginia made this for us and we love it!! I usually use canned chicken as a shortcut-it works fine but the taste is a little better with real chicken. It's really easy and sooo tasty!! Try it, you'll like it!

Love you guys!

Lisa's Salad

½ head Romaine Lettuce
½ head Red Leaf Lettuce
½ Cup Frozen Peas
3/4 lb Bacon, cooked & crumbled
½ lb Baby Swiss cheese, cut in rectangles
½ cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese
1/3 to 1/2 box Bowtie Pasta, cooked and drained
Bottle of Cardini's Ceasar Dressing

Toss Together. Add dressing right before serving.

I've made this before and took it to dinner at Lynette's once. Everyone who had some liked it and asked for the recipe. It's super yummy and really easy. Not sure why it's called "Lisa's Salad" but that's what my ward member titled it in our recipe book.

(Kraft Parmesan cheese in the green canister probably won't work as well with this recipe. I suspect that another brand Ceasar Dressing would be good too if you can't find Cardini's. Bacos might be an ok substitute if you don't want to bother with cooking the bacon. Not really sure what the difference between Baby Swiss and Swiss cheese, I think I used Swiss and it was just fine.)

Artichoke Dips (2 choices):

Beth Anne's Artichoke Dip:

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup mayo
1 can of artichoke hearts drained
1 clove of garlic

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Serve with French bread.

Beth Anne makes this with the Kraft Parmesan cheese all the time. When I made it, I used the a package of grated I found at the grocery store in the cheese section. Both work well. Personally, I think this one's the best before it cools too much, still good but best fresh and warm.

Kathie's Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip:

½ cup frozen, chopped Spinach (thawed and drained)
1 cup Artichoke hearts, canned, drained & chopped
8 oz cream cheese, softened
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
½ cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (or Mozzarella)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and stir and heat over medium until all is combined and cheese melted. Serve hot with crackers, breadsticks, etc. Feel free to add more cheese or favoring to taste, the recipe is an approximation.

I've not made this one yet (I just received the recipe today), but I've tasted it and it's fabulous! Tasted just like restaurant ones in my opinion and was just as good the next day reheated.

A Few Of Lynette's Stolen Recipes

Avocado Salsa
7 avocados, cubed

5 tomatoes, cubed

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 can black-eyed peas, rinsed

1 sm. onion, diced

1/2 bag frozen petit corn, rinsed in warm water

Kraft Italian Dressing

Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Serve with chips or on top of grilled chicken. (I usually half this recipe, which I stole from my sister-in-law, Laura)



Poached Salmon
4 whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1lb salmon (cut into 4 pieces)

Place 2 inches of water, peppercorns and bay leaf in large skillet. Boil, reduce heat, and add salmon. Cook uncovered for 4-8 mins until salmon flakes easily with a fork. serve with dill sauce.

Dill Sauce
1/4 C fat free mayonnaise
1/4 C reduced fat plain yogurt
2-3 T minced fresh dill
1-1/2 t minced fresh basil
1 green onion, chopped

Combine ingredients in a blender, cover and puree.
(I got this from a Quick Cooking magazine)

Mother's mac and cheese

White sauce
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 1/2 C milk
1 C cheddar cheese (approximately)

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and mix it until it hardens and clumps. Mix milk in with butter and flour. Add salt and pepper to taste (1/4 t to start). Mix in cheese (you can add as much as you want).

Add white sauce (which is now yellow) to macaroni and mix together. You may need to re-warm the noodles before adding the white sauce.

I've made this a few times and each time I do it seems a little gritty. If you guys can figure out how to fix that I'd be very appreciative. Happy eating!

Request #2

I want Lynette's Texas Salsa receipe and Kelley's soup recipes! Lynette, don't you have a yummy sloppy joe recipe too....Kelley, I know you have several other great recipes you've made for family gatherings.

This is a great idea Ann...except you'll all know exactly what I do and don't eat....well cook/bake anyway. I have some other recipes I'm happy to add (Jeansoyke Cinnamon Bread, Spinich & Artichoke dip, Mom's cake mix alteration, that salad recipe I made a couple years ago for a family dinner, to name a few), let me know if there's something else you think I might have that you want and I'll get it posted.

FYI, I know it doesn't fit here but I just found out that Lisle is in Money's to 50 places to live list! Naperville was #2 last year and didn't make the list this year. Woo Hoo!!! Guess it's a good thing they interviewd us. Here's the actual link:

money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/top100/

Pesto Pita Wedges & Crunchy Onion Dip

½ cup finely chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon fat-free Parmesan topping
¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
4 fat-free white or whole-wheat pita breads (8" diameter)

1. Preheat the oven to 400B F.
2. In a small bowl, combine the basil, Parmesan, and pepper. Coat the tops of the pitas with no-stick spray. Spread the basil mixture evenly over the tops of the pitas. Coat with the spray.
3. Cut each pita into 8 wedges. Transfer to a baking sheet and baked for 5-8 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

Crunchy Onion Dip
2 cups fat-free sour cream
½ cup finely chopped onions
½ cup finely chopped scallions
a cup finely chopped sweet red peppers
¼ cup finely chopped fresh chives
¼ cup finely chopped carrots
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce [optional]
¼ teaspoon finely chopped jalapeño peppers (wear plastic gloves when handling) [optional]

1. In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream, onions, scallions, red peppers, chives, carrots, vinegar, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, garlic salt, hot-pepper sauce, and jalapeño peppers. Stir well.

These are from a low fat cookbook I have. Cutting everything for the dip takes a little time but it's worth it in the end, course if you have a chopper of some kind it shouldn't be too time consuming. The dip would probably be good with veggies too. The pesto wedges have enough flavoring that they are good alone (and they are much easier in my opinion).

Lemon Custard Cake

1 prepared angel food cake (10 inches)
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant lemon pudding mix
1½ cups cold milk
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 can (21 ounces) cherry or strawberry pie filling

Tear the angel food cake into bite-size pieces. Place in a 13-in x 9-in x 2-in pan. In a mixing bowl, combine the pudding mix, milk and sour cream. Beat until thickened, about 2 minutes. Spread over cake. Spoon pie filling on top. Chill until serving time. Yield: 12-16 servings.

This one's from Taste of Living (I think that's the magazine's name). I've made it several times, even for a family gathering or two. It's super easy and quick.

Creamy Reception Punch

2 quarts vanilla ice cream
4 cups orange juice
½ cup lemon juice
2 28-ounce bottles lemon-lime
carbonated beverage, chilled

Spoon ice cream by tablespoons into a large punch bowl. Add orange juice and lemon juice, stirring to muddle ice cream. Slowly pour in chilled lemon-lime carbonated beverage; stir gently to mix. Makes 35 (4-ounce) servings.

Pastel Punch: Prepare Creamy Reception Punch as above, except substitute 1 quart orange sherbet for 1 of the quarts of vanilla ice cream. Add one 10-ounce jar undrained maraschino cherries.

Easy Sherbet: Prepare Creamy Reception Punch as above, except substitute 2 quarts of fruit-flavored sherbet for ice cream and add an additional 28-ounce bottle of carbonated beverage. Omit fruit juices.

These are actually out of my Betty Crocker cookbook. I did the pastel punch once or twice years ago and it was so yummy and frequently requested.

Another Fruit Smoothie

1/2 c orange juice
6-8 oz vanilla or plain yogurt
1 banana
peaches
mixed berries

Mix in blender and enjoy! Makes about 2-3 servings. Great with a bagel for a quick breakfast (or easy dinner).

I use frozen peaches and mixed berries for this just estimating the amount each time so they never turn out exactly the same. Also, using the frozen you don't have to wash and cut anything and can have this year round!

Smoothies

1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
6-8 ice cubes
3 T. sugar
2 handfuls of strawberries (or any other fruit)

Combine ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth.

We make smoothies all the time during the summer. This recipe is actually John Christensen's Orange Julius recipe, but I had the bright idea to add fruit. We usually add strawberries, but we've also tried bananas and tropical fruits (like the bags of frozen fruits). It's so yummy! Enjoy!!

Salmon-Pasta Skillet

1 & 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 & 1/2 cups corkscrew macaroni
1 10-ounce package frozen mixed vegetables
2 3-ounce packages cream cheese with chives, cut into cubes
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 t. prepared mustard
1/2 t. dried basil, crushed
dash pepper
1 15 and 1/2 can salmon, drained, flaked and skin and bones removed.

In a large skillet bring chicken broth to boiling. Add pasta and vegetables. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or till pasta is just tender. Stir in cream cheese till combined. Stir in milk, Parmesan, mustard, basil, and dash pepper. Gently stir in salmon. Cook till heated through. Serves 4.

This is one of our favorites. It's fast and easy and delicious (our 3 requirements)! We usually use a salmon fillet (like the frozen Costco kind) and just cook it up first, then flake it in at the end.

From: Better Homes and Garden cookbook

Request

I'm requesting Mom's recipe for Mac & Cheese. Deb, Mom told me that you watched as she made it and created a recipe (since Mom makes her mac & cheese from the top of her head)...wanna share it with us?