Breakfast Burritos

Ingredients...

...Thinly sliced ham, chopped

...1/4 onion, chopped

...1/4 green pepper, chopped

...1/4 c. salsa

...1/4 - 1/2 c. shredded cheese

...4 eggs

...Tortilla Shells

Directions...

In a skillet over medium heat, saute ham, onion and green pepper until tender. Add eggs and stir continuously until a scrambled egg form takes place. Be sure to cook until eggs are fully done. Stir in salsa and shredded cheese and cook until everything is heated through and the cheese has melted. Serve in warm tortillas shells.

Slow Cooked Vegetable Beef Soup

Ohmygosh! Why did it take me sooo long to make my own Vegetable Beef soup?!?!? If that doesn't give you any tips as to how good this soup is, then let me spell it out for you.

This. Soup. Is. Amazing.

End of story.

I started this soup in the morning, and then taste tested it before I went to work for the afternoon...I seriously didn't want to go to work after I tested it. I just wanted to sit at home all afternoon and eat this soup. I was practically giddy all afternoon at work, just thinking about this soup simmering away in the slow cooker at home, awaiting my arrival. The wait to eat this for supper was worth every. last. minute. YUUMMMMM!!! The seasonings and spices are right on, the consistency is perfect, and the combination of everything together is just heaven. Heaven in a bowl. Perhaps we should rename this...

I bet you can't guess where I got this recipe from either (wink, wink). Surely enough...Taste of Home's Slow Cooker Favorites cookbook. I've sang my praises about Taste of Home before, and I'll sing them again. I love Taste of Home. Probably just about as much as I love this soup! The recipes are so down home delicious and easy. I mean, you just can't beat chopping some stuff up and tossing it in the slow cooker for 8 hours while you go out and enjoy yourself, then coming home to a fully prepared dinner! It's like you have your own maid or chef or something slaving at the stove all day for you!

Ingredients...

...1 lb. steak, cut into cubes
...1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
...3 c. water
...2-3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
...1 onion, diced
...3 celery ribs, sliced
...3 carrots, sliced
...3 beef bouillon cubes
...1/2 tsp. dried basil
...1/2 tsp. dried oregano
...1/2 tsp. salt
...1/4 tsp. pepper
...1 pkg. frozen mixed vegetables

Directions...

Combine the first 12 ingredients in your slow cooker. Cook on high for 6 hours. Add frozen vegetables and cook an additional 2 hours on high.

To see more great crockpot recipes be sure to check out Crockpot Wednesday over at Dining with Debbie!

Taco Salad

For some reason, foods like taco salad just scream party food to me. I don't know why, but this recipe especially just seems very Super Bowl Party appropriate. Not only that, but it's also a great way to get a more "healthy" food into your loved ones systems than just plain chips and dips.

I love making taco salads this way, all mixed up in one bowl. All you have to do is just scoop and serve. Usually, I just lay out a buffet of taco salad makings, but then we end up with people who put almost all meat on their plates, leaving only lettuce and tomatoes for the rest. This way, when it's all mixed together, at least everyone has fair game for every ingredient!!

This recipe was originally printed in a hometown church cookbook, but the ingredients called for are a little different than what I list. I remember once, when I was 12, we had a church picnic one Sunday evening to celebrate the beginning of summer. As farmers, I believe we had been baling hay all afternoon, so when it came time to get ready for the potluck picnic, my mom got worked up because she didn't have anything to take! She took a quick glance at this recipe and then started pulling things from the cupboard and refrigerator to make it work, while still loosely following the recipe. This was the first time I had eaten a taco salad like this (growing up, we did them like previously mentioned, as a build your own) and I remember that I loved it!! So when I was making this recipe, I used the changes that we made in that particular rushed church potluck salad (yes. I still remember!) and still loved it!!

Ingredients...

...1 lb. ground beef
...1 pkg. taco seasoning
...8 oz. catalina dressing
...1 T. taco sauce
...1 head lettuce, broken up
...1 onion, chopped
...3-4 medium potatoes, chunked
...1 green pepper, chopped
...6 oz. shredded cheese
...Taco Chips (Doritos)

Directions...

Brown ground beef with onion and taco seasoning. Stir together all ingredients in a large bowl until everything is well covered and combined. Can be served cold, but is better when taco meat is still warm.

To see more delicious recipes, check out Tempt my Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace and Tasty Tuesday over at Beauty and Bedlam!

Seven Layer Salad

This is a delicious seven layer salad. Except in this version, there aren't seven layers. There are 6. ish. There should be more, but I forgot to chop up carrots. And I forgot to hard boil some eggs to slice up. Even though that makes eight layers. ish. Either way. This is a recipe that my mom made when we were growing up and we always really liked it. And then I grew up and moved away. And never ate it again. Until now. And yu-u-um! I just love it! It's so different from your regular old run of the mill salad. It's tastier.

Ingredients....

...1 head of lettuce, chopped
...1/2 green pepper, chopped
...1/2 bag frozen peas
...1 cup sour cream
...1 cup mayonnaise
...2 T. white sugar (not pictured)
...shredded cheese (the amount is up to you)
...4 slices bacon (or bacon bits. those will work just as well)

Directions...

In a glass bowl (or 9x13 inch pan...that's how my mom made it back in the day...) layer lettuce, green peppers and peas. You can do as many alternating layers as your bowl will fit. In a seperate, small bowl, stir mayonnaise, sour cream and sugar together until well combined. Smooth over the top of the salad. Top with shredded cheese and crumbled bacon.

End of Summer Harvest Soup

I was wandering around over at A Year of Slowcooking the other day, and I found that Stephanie had just made this recipe a few weeks back. I had some leftover produce in my refrigerator from various farmers market trips and family members garden overflow, so I figured there was no better way to use it up than by making this recipe. I did change up the recipe from what she had written to fit what I had on hand. So this recipe I am posting is my version. If you want to see the orginial recipe, you can find it here.

Ingredients...

...4 cups chicken broth

...1 cup pasta sauce

...1 cup water

...1 yellow onion, diced

...2 cucumbers, diced

...2(ish) Yellow Summer Squash, cut into rounds

...2 cups tomatoes, diced
...2 cups cooked beans

...1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning

...1/2 cup dry pasta

Directions...

Toss all ingredients but pasta into slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours. In the last 20 minutes of cooking time, stir in dry pasta and let cook until pasta is tender.

My Thoughts...

This was just okay to me. It came out more goulash-y than soup-y. Which disappointed me tremendously, because we all know how much I like goulash. Hubs liked it, but he (of course) complained right away that there was no meat. He at most of it. I put the rest in the freezer for a chilly winter day. Odds are, I won't make this again. But it was a great way to use up that extra garden produce that was otherwise going to rot, and it's packed to boot with nutrients!

BLT Pizza

My across the street neighbor is obsessed with his gardening. Let me repeat that...obsessed. He is out in his garden 24/7 taking care of things, and I always have to giggle when it's raining and he's standing outside with a hose watering it. Now that's some garden devotion. So when he showed up at my door with a grocery bag full of tomatoes, I was giddy! They were huuuuggee! And so red and juicy! I had to figure out recipes to use them up without having salad every night, so I finally decided to make up this BLT pizza that's been on my menu plan for weeks. And I'm not disappointed one bit! One of the great things about this pizza recipe is it's so easy to make ahead, unlike most pizzas! The crust can be tossed in the freezer until you're ready to use it and the toppings can all be chopped and refrigerated until it's time to eat. Now that's convenience...no more excuse for take out with simplicity like this!

Ingredients...

Dough

...3/4 cup water
...1 tablespoon olive oil
...1 teaspoon salt
...2 1/2 cups flour

Place ingredients in bread machine in order listed. Run machine on dough cycle. Roll dough out with rolling pin to desired size/thickness. Place on pizza pan and bake for 18 minutes at 350.


Toppings

...Tomato
...6 slices bacon, cooked until crispy
...Mayonnaise
...Lettuce
...Cheddar Cheese

Thinly spread mayonnaise onto baked pizza crust and lay bacon on top. Cover with cheese and bake an additional 10 minutes. Top with lettuce and tomato.

The Verdict...

SO good! I love homemade pizza and I love BLT's. This was the perfect marriage of the two. It doesn't get any better than this! And what a great summer recipe! Garden produce on a pizza, delish!

To see more great recipes, check out the Ultimate Recipe Swap over at Life as Mom. And for more recipes showcasing tomatoes, check out In Season Recipe Swap over at Tammy's Recipes!

Cucumber Salad

As you may have noticed from a few recent posts, I'm loving on our local farmers market! So, last week when I was at our grandma's house she asked what kinds of veggies there were a lot of at the market. I mentioned pickling cucumbers, and she instantly started rattling off this recipe. I made a mental note, and picked up the cucumbers on Saturday at the market. Sunday at a family reunion, one of grandma's sisters made this and hubs was raving about how much he loves it every time grams makes it. So I came home and made a big 'ol batch for him!

Ingredients...

...3 Pickling Cucumbers

...1 onion

...Salt

...Water

...1/2 cup sugar

...1/2 cup vinegar

Directions...

Thinly slice cucumbers and onion. Place in bowl and cover completely with salt water. Cover bowl and let soak for one hour. After soaking, drain salt water from cucumbers and onions and combine with 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup water. Refrigerate until serving. Cucumbers will shrink from sitting in this mixture.

The Verdict...

This is ever so tasty! So summer like and light! Hubs gobbled it right up, while it took me careful babying of the salad because I felt it was a lot of onions. But I did end up eating it all. I think next time I'll try less onions, and cut them into chunks instead of long slices. Otherwise, this is another success in my book!

To see more great recipes using up your cucumbers, check out In Season Recipe Swap over at Tammy's Recipes!

Also be sure to check out Ultimate Recipe Swap over at Life as Mom for a great selection of a variety of recipes to try!

Zucchini Bread

I was sooo excited when I brought home two zucchini from the farmers market last weekend. And then in my refrigerator they sat for a week. I really did not want to bake with them...I wanted to use them in a main dish of some sort. But I caved this morning and made some zucchini bread. I was not let down! I'm glad I made this, and am planning on using the rest of the zucchini for a few more batches for the freezer!

Ingredients...

...2 cups shredded zucchini
...3 eggs
...2 cups sugar
...3 cups flour
...1 cup plain yogurt
...1 tsp. vanilla
...1/2 cup raisins
...1 tsp. cinnamon
...1 tsp. baking soda
...1 tsp. salt
...1/4 tsp. baking powder
...1/2 cup sour cream

Directions...

Combine all ingredients well. Pour into two loaf pans and bake at 350 for an hour.

The Verdict...

Oh my! This is delicious! A great quick bread recipe that is a nice change of pace from banana bread! I can't wait to bake up more loaves and keep them in the freezer for during the winter! This would be soo tasty on a chilly winter morning with a cup of tea snuggled in pj's (can ya tell I love fall/winter and can't wait for it to get here?!?)