Mexican Macaroni and Cheese

8 oz elbow macaroni
2 1/2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz Velveeta Mexican Mild cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook macaroni as directed on package, and drain it.

Melt 1 1/2 Tbsp of butter in a heavy saucepan. Stir in flour until it is moistened. Stir in the milk slowly, cooking and stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. At low or medium-low heat, this will take several minutes. (Higher temperatures may speed the process, but also lead to burning.)

Add the salt and cheese. Stir the mixture until the cheese is melted.

Add the macaroni and place the entire mixture in a 1-quart casserole dish.

Melt the remaining butter and add the bread crumbs to it, stirring thoroughly. Sprinkle the buttery bread crumbs over the macaroni casserole.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Note that this recipe is VERY much spicier than traditional macaroni and cheese. Use caution when serving it to children, as it will not taste like they are used to out of the Kraft box. It's zestier flavor is probably better for adults unless you have a child that particularly likes spicy food.

Cornbread Dressing (a.k.a. "Stuffing")

This recipe is my mother-in-law's. She brought it for our Christmas dinner, and it was amazing. I'm not even a stuffing lover, and I just couldn't get enough of this.

Ingredients:
Jiffy muffing mix, prepared as directed
4 eggs
2 cans of chicken broth
1 1/2 cups of onions
1 1/2 cups of celery
Garlic, salt, & black pepper to taste

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Saute the onions and celery until they are crisp-tender, adding the desired spices while cooking.
Mix eggs, chicken broth, celery and onion mixture, and prepared muffin mix in a large bowl.
Press the thoroughly mixed batter into a 9x11 baking pan.
Cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until done. (The stuffing is done when a fork or toothpick can be inserted without gathering a gooey residue and the top is a golden-brown color.)

Green Bean Casserole

1 can Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (10 3/4 oz)
3/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cans cut green beans, drained (14 1/2 oz each)
1 1/3 cups French's® French Fried Onions

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
Combine soup, milk and pepper in a 1 1/2-quart baking dish.
Stir in beans and 2/3 cup French Fried Onions.
Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until hot.
Stir the mixture, and top with remaining 2/3 cup onions.
Bake 5 minutes, until onions are golden

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Per serving. (Servings per recipe: 6)
Calories: 173
Fat: 11.0 g
Cholesterol: 7.2 mg
Sodium: 670.0 mg
Potassium: 132.8 mg
Carbohydrates: 14.5 g
   Dietary Fiber: 3.0 g
   Sugars: 2.2 g
Protein: 3.0 g

Note: Nutritional information is approximate and will vary based on brand of ingredients, amount used, and preparation technique. This information is for general reference only and should not be construed to constitute medical advice. Consult a nutritionist or other medical professional if you are preparing meals for a specific type of diet.

Quick Garlic Spinach

2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves chopped garlic (or equivalent from a jar)
1/2 lb fresh spinach

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add the garlic and stir until the garlic is slightly browned. (About 1 minute.)
Add the spinach and stir for two to three minutes. As you stir, be sure to move the spinach from the bottom to the top, so that all the spinach spends time on the bottom in the oil and garlic mixture.
Continue to cook and stir until all the garlic is wilted and slightly darker brown in color than when you put it in the pot. It should still be somewhat crisp-tender, not completely cooked.
Serve warm.

This recipe makes a side portion for two servings. Too cook additional servings, add more olive oil and more garlic to the same pan after removing the spinach mixture, and repeat the process.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Per serving. (Servings per recipe: 2)
Calories: 61
Fat: 1.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 g
Sodium: 180.5 mg
Potassium: 1291.8 mg
Carbohydrates: 10.2 g
     Dietary Fiber: 5.2 g
     Sugars: 0.0 g
     Protein: 6.9 g

Note: Nutritional information is approximate and will vary based on brand of ingredients, amount used, and preparation technique. This information is for general reference only and should not be construed to constitute medical advice. Consult a nutritionist or other medical professional if you are preparing meals for a specific type of diet.

Beef Enchilada Casserole

I made this for my family the other night, and everyone enjoyed it.

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cans of tomato sauce (8 oz each)
1 can of black beans (15 oz)
1 can of chopped green chiles (4.5 oz)
6 flour tortillas (8 oz)
2 cups shredded Mexican-style cheese
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp Oregano leaves

Instructions
Cook the beef and onion in a large skilled until the beef is browned all the way through and the onions are crisp-tender.
Drain and rinse the beans, and add them to the skillet.
Add the tomato sauce and green chiles to the beef mixture.
Mix all ingredients well, then stir in all the spices and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring.
Reduce heat to low, and simmer for five minutes.

Begin pre-heating your over to 350 degrees.

Spray a 13x9x2-inch baking dish with non-stick spray.
Spread 1/2 cup of beef mixture on the bottm of the baking dish.
Top the beef mixture with three tortillas. They may overlap if needed.
Spread half of the remaining beef mixture over the tortillas.
Spread 1 cup of cheese over the beef mixture.
Top with three more tortillas.
Spread the remaining beef mixture over the tortillas.
Spread the remaining cheese over the beef mixture.

Bake the casserole for fifteen minutes, until heated through and cheese on top if melted.
Remove the casserole from the oven, and let it site for 5 minutes before serving, so that it can set and be cut into pieces more effectively.

Notes
For a healthier version, replace the flour tortillas with whole wheat tortilles.
This makes eight servings.

Aztec Chicken

Everyone I've cooked this for has loved it. If you're cooking for people who are unadventurous, simply don't tell them what the ingredients are until they have tried it. Some people balk at the two ingredients of the sauce mixed together, but no one complains after they've tried it!

Of course, do not serve it to anyone without telling them what the ingredients are if you have the least suspicion that they might be allergic to peanuts or you just don't know, since it's loaded with peanuts.

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cups Pace picante sauce, medium
1/4 cup Pace picante sauce, hot
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
4 servings rice, prepared per package instructions

Instructions:
Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.
Mix both picante sauces and peanut butter in a small bowl. Stir well by hand.
Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray.
Cook the chicken in the skillet until white on the outside, and white almost all of the way through.
Add the peanut/picante mixture and cook until the sauce is blended.
Stir often to avoid the mixture sticking to the bottom of the skillet.
Continue to cook until sauce is well-blended and chicken is white in the center when the thickest pieces are cut.
Serve the mixture over a bed or rice.

Notes and Tips:
After the sauce is slightly warm, sample the sauce. If it tastes too strongly of peanut, add more Medium or Hot picante sauce to taste.
Usually I'm not partial to what brand of ingredients are used in a recipe. However, I've tried this recipe with several different picante sauces, and none of them quite turn out as well as Pace. You could substitute something else, but it will not taste the same.
If you like a less spicy version, use mild sauce in place of the medium and medium sauce in place of the hot.

Italian Chicken with Green Beans and Potatoes

To start off, here is one of the easiest recipes I've ever seen. It's also been a hit every time I've served it. It's great for serving when you have guests over and want something that tastes like it took you a lot of effort to cook. It's also convenient as a dish to take to a potluck or to a friend's house when you need a comfort dish for someone. This is one of my mom's recipes (thanks Mom!) with my own modifications to make some of the ingredients easier to prepare. Mom, for instance, uses fresh-peeled-and-cut potatoes, which is tasty...but canned is so much easier!

Italian Chicken with Green Beans and Potatoes
Ingredients:
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 stick butter (melted)
1 package Zesty Italian salad dressing mix (I prefer "Good Seasons")
2 cans french-cut green beans
2 cans diced new potatoes (also called "white potatoes)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place potatoes in one end of 13x9 baking dish.
Place chicken in the middle of the dish.
Place beans in the other end of the dish.
The beans and potatoes should be separated by the chicken. It is fine if the beans and/or potatoes overlap onto the chicken a bit.
Stir the dressing mix into the melted butter.
Pour the dressing mix/butter mixture over the beans, potatoes, and chicken, spreading evenly.
Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
Bake for 1 hour.
Uncover the dish and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked (white) all the way through in the center of the largest pieces.
Move the whole baking dish to the table to use as a serving platter. (This will keep the food warm. Just be sure to keep hands...especially little hands...away from the dish, since hot glass looks no different from cold glass.)