Baked Penne with Roasted Red Peppers and Bacon

A new dish to try~ 

From Recipe Girl. Click here for the recipe!

Cream Cheese Queso Dip

Cooking Up in the Kitchen this weekend is 

Cream Cheese Queso Dip. 

This will make a great late night snack while watching the Olympics! 

Cream Cheese Queso Dip

photo source

Ingredients:

1 lb. cooked ground beef

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

16 oz. pkg. Velveeta Cheese, cut into cubes

2 cans Mexican Lime and Cilantro Rotel

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. 

Mix together until melted. Serve with tortilla chips. 

Olive Oil and Pepper Steaks

I am not good at all on a bbq pit, and I got tired of waiting for my husband to get home from work to start the grill, so I just cook all my steaks in a skillet now! 

I just drizzle some olive oil over the steaks, and sprinkle some steak seasoning, garlic salt, and pepper on top and flip a few times until cooked!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 medium)
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup walnuts (optional, for me…don’t like nuts)
1/8 tsp. salt
1 small bag Ghirardellhi milk chocolate chips (really as much or as little as you like)
Cooking spray

Directions:
Grease the bottom and sides of a 8x4x2 loaf pan; set aside. Preheat oven to 350°.
In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Stir together with a whisk; set aside.
In another bowl mash the bananas (I use a potato masher). Add in the oil, beaten egg, and sugar.
Add the banana mixture to dry ingredients. Stir until moistened (the batter will still be lumpy).
Fold in chocolate chips.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes until a wooden skewer comes out clean (I use a long wooden skewer, cause toothpicks aren’t long enough).
Cool in pan on wire rack for about 10-15 minutes, or wrap in foil and store overnight.
And to make this even more chocolatey…I drizzle it with chocolate syrup and serve it warm. I know, don’t judge!

Southwest Chicken Salad

Creamy Avocado Dressing:1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 ripe peeled avocado, seeded and coarsely mashed

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Chill in fridge.

For Salad:

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

half of red onion, chopped

3 cups frozen corn

Salt & pepper

1 tsp. cumin, or more to taste

2 tbs. pickled nacho jalapenos, chopped

1-2 handfuls cilantro, chopped

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 head romaine lettuce, chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced

tortilla strips

1 rotisserie chicken, pulled off bone and chopped

Saute the onions and garlic in about a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook them for 2 minutes. Now add in the corn and beans. Saute for about 4 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin. Sprinkle in the cilantro. Don’t forget the jalapenos…all salsas need a kick.

Divide chopped lettuce among plates. Top each plate of lettuce with some chicken. Spoon black bean/corn salsa over chicken. Sprinkle with chopped red bell pepper. Drizzle each serving with Creamy Avocado dressing and top with tortilla strips. Serve!

Buttery Brisket

Buttery Brisket:

Ingredients:

brisket
one stick butter
garlic salt and pepper
meat tenderizer
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 c. lemon juice


Directions:

- tenderize brisket by rubbing garlic salt & pepper, meat tenderizer  into meat thoroughly.

- melt one stick of butter and add Worcestershire sauce to butter

- put meat in Crock pot and pour sauce on top.
- squeeze lemon juice over meat
- cook on high for 2 hours, and then on low 4-6 hours.

- Place fatty side of meat facing up in pan.

Chicken Delicious

Chicken Delicious

 These are the ingredients you'll need

  In a crock pot put in 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, one can cream of mushroom soup, one can cream of asparagus soup, 1/2 c. apple juice.

 Sprinkle some garlic salt and pepper, and lemon juice on top.

Put the crock pot on high for the first 2 hours, and low for the rest of the day.

I warmed up rice in a bag and served it under the chicken and sprinkled some chopped green onions and Parmesan cheese on top.