Brad's Black Beans

In our house, where Mexican food reigns supreme, a yummy bean recipe is

paramount.  Over the years, we've learned, adapted, changed, and experimented with beans until we now feel that this is our best yet!

The problem is, we make it, and eat it so quickly, there is never quite time to get a pretty picture!  Lol!

Pollo Fundido

I was introduced to Pollo Fundito by my awesome niece, Sonja.  After thinking it over, I realize that many of my memories with her include yummy food!  When she was little, my Mom would take Dairy Queen Dilly Bars to share with the whole family.  Many years later, Sonja introduced me to a local Thai restaurant, a Hawaiian fish place, and lately, some awesome new Mexican food!  I love Sonja in many ways, and one of the yummiest is to follow her foodie ways!

I realized that of all my favorite Mexican food restaurants around here, none serve Pollo Fundido - I have had to learn to make it out of a delicious self-preservation - or make lots of visits to Arizona to see Sonja & eat Pollo Fundido!

Italian Spaghetti Squash

Italian Spaghetti Squash

I created this recipe from several other favorites - it turned out to be an amazing combination of flavors in a light, Italian way.  All the ingredients of a spaghetti sauce is included, but as separate fresh ingredients, rather than a sauce.  This recipe will pleasantly surprise you!

Mediterranean Grain Bowl Salad

Some time ago, my sweet husband & I were visiting Cedar City, Utah, and stayed in the Comfort Inn & Suites there.  While there, we went into the cafe to grab a quick meal, & I chose the Mediterranean Grain Bowl.  It was fantastic & I wanted to make it at home.  To that end, here is my version.  I think it was a hit!

Southwest Chicken Salad

I found this recipe in a favorite cooking magazine while standing in line at the grocery store.  I bought the whole magazine for just this recipe.  Over the years, I’ve tweaked it & simplified it, but the taste is still heavenly!

This recipe is inspired from

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/southwestern-grilled-chicken-salad-tomato-black-bean-salsa.aspx.  

If you prefer grilling or using the long, hard, messy directions, please go to the original.  They make a beautiful, layered salad, where mine (below) is chopped, mixed, and quickly ready to feed a family.

Maggie's Marvelous Chili

Two versions, here!  The first, we used for a looooonnnnngggg time, as our children were growing and being picky eaters.  The second, we have evolved and use now that the kids are grown & mostly gone.  Both are good, but as is typical of all evolutions, we sort of like the new one better!  Either way, it makes a very tasty chili that everyone loves.

You can make this chili in the crock pot - just cook the meats first & dump the rest in.  Since everything is already cooked, all you need to so is heat it up, so don't leave it in the crock too long!

Maggie's Low-Sugar Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe is my low-sugar version of the yummy, sugary, off-the-box Famous Oatmeal Cookies from Quaker Oats.  I've used that recipe for years, but lately, I've decided to cut way back on the sugars I eat.  One day, I had my granddaughter over visiting, & you just have to make cookies with little kids - I think its a law or something!  lol!  Anyway, I made a few substitutions to the usual recipe, & cooked it a little differently - and WOW!  They were amazing!  Try it - be brave - you will be surprised how good they are!  And what's more, because they are low in sugar, & high in oatmeal, I don't feel guilty about eating a bunch!!  Win-win!!

Chicken Supreme

One of our family favorites for chicken is this yummy adaptation of Saving Dinner's Chicken Supreme.  While her recipe was really good, I needed it to be able to adapt for eating on the fly, taking a plate to the couch or computer to eat, or (especially) when making my freezer meals.

Monte Christos

Before I got married, I lived with my brother & his family for almost a year.  It was a wonderful time of learning and growing.   One of the things that has endured from that year is this recipe, which has become a family favorite!  Our kids have taken it with them and introduced it to friends across the world (who usually think its quite strange, until they taste it!), so it has become an international sensation!  I don't know where the name comes from, other than that's what Roylee called it, and it really confuses our Spanish speaking friends - but it tastes great anyway!!  It's so good, that in spite of making it several times lately, I keep failing to get a picture of it before it gets eaten!

Special Waffles

Once upon a time, I used to make pancakes from scratch.  But with a busy family underfoot, who didn't care about taste over speed, I eventually dropped the habit & went with whatever quick mix was available at my nearest grocery store.  Once the kids grew up & I cared about the taste over speed, I decided to go searching for a great recipe.  Unfortunately, among the plethora of recipes out there, I couldn't find anything that satisfied my grown-up taste.  Eventually, I remembered that when I need a simple, basic recipe, the best place to find one is in my Fanny Farmer or Betty Crocker cookbooks.  This recipe has become a favorite, & is used in many ways, whenever we need a pancake batter!

Avocado-Egg Salad

When I was little, my Aunt Norma Elliott was my regular baby-sitter,  Many of my earliest memories include her.  She was awesome - she taught me how to read, sing, sew, and be happy even when things didn't go my way.

On of our favorite outings was to take a picnic lunch to the park, where my Uncle Budge Elliott worked.  One favorite meal was an Egg Salad Sandwich.  While Aunt Norm was wonderful about making it just right, she wasn't super picky about getting all of the eggshell off!  To this day, a crunchy bite of egg shell will send shivers down my back & flood my mind with happy memories of picnics with Aunt Norm & Uncle Budge!

Fast forward to today, & I am on a weight-loss journey, searching for yummy meals that fill me up, and came across this one for an Egg Salad Sandwich.  I like it, but wanted to adapt a bit, so came up with my own recipe version.

Photo by Kirsten Morningstar

Skillet Pizza

As we search for low-carb foods that fill our stomachs as well as our hearts, we shun such things as tofu, braised collard greens, and other unpronouncable strange "vegetables" that seem to be the latest fad of whatever clean-eating guru you tend to follow.  I have a family of picky eaters; and have learned to cook foods that we will all eat & enjoy.  Sometimes, it takes a while to find the happy balance - and sometimes we have an awesome discovery!

Scaredy Cat Chicken

This version of Chicken Alfredo is actually a combination of several recipes - feel free to adjust it based on whatever you have on hand & need to use up from your refrigerator!

A week of cooking in just a couple hours

I'm busy - I really am.  OK, I'm overbooked, over-scheduled, and over-busy (all my fault!).  When this happens (regularly), one of the places that I steal a bit of time from is cooking dinner.  Why cook when I can stop by my favorite drive-through & pay someone else to cook for me?!  Well, that's easy, but it's really hard on the budget, not to mention the nutrition-less problems!  So, this week, I planned ahead, spent some Saturday time cooking the meats, and I hope that the food will last much better this week!

Here's my menu:
     Saturday - Madison County Chicken
     Sunday - Sweet and Sour Meatballs + Summer Veggie Slaw
     Monday - Olive Garden Copy Cat Zuppa Toscana
     Tuesday - Southwestern Grilled Chicken Salad with Tomato and Black Bean Salsa
     Wednesday - Crock Sloppy Joes + more of the Summer Veggie Slaw
     Thursday - Pesto Vegetable Soup
     Friday - Ham and Potatoes Au Gratin (I substitute ham for the chicken in this recipe)
     Saturday - Slow Cooker Beef Enchilada Stack

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

This is an old family favorite - I've had it so long, I can't remember where I got it, but I find it in my oldest scrap-cook-book, which means I've had it since we got married!

Crock Pot Bread

The simplicity of a bread maker, using a crock pot that is already on your kitchen shelf, and the peaceful satisfaction of having fresh bread, "right out of the oven" as often as you like!

I must admit, I found the idea on Pinterest, but have adapted it for me!

menu planning

I am an organizer.  But I am also crazy-busy most of the time.  So in order to help me plan meals, or at least have the ideas handy, I have created a food calendar.

I need something that I have handy all the time - like my phone - that has the recipes on it.  I created a Google Calendar, listing meal suggestions for most days.  No problem if I don't use that recipe on that day, but the recipes are all available on my phone whenever I look for them!  This is especially helpful when I'm at the grocery store & can't remember what I need!