Zucchini Casserole

I got this recipe from a girl that I used to work with. It frequents our table when people keep giving us their overabundance of zucchini from their garden. But it's so good that I've bought zucchini from the grocery store to make it. Super easy and seriously delish!

Zucchini Casserole
2 lbs. zucchini (I've used yellow squash too)
1 chicken breast cooked and shredded
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded carrots
1 pkg seasoned stuffing mix
1/2 cup butter
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Slice zucchini and cook in boiling, slightly salted water for about three minutes. Drain and put in mixing bowl. Mix cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Add zucchini along with onion, carrots and chicken. In separate bowl mix stuffing mix and melted butter. Spread half of the stuffing mix in the bottom of the baking dish. Add zucchini mixture then top with remaining stuffing mix. Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake an additional 5 minutes. 8 servings= 14.5 WW SP

Enjoy with a side of rice pilaf and a veggie (we prefer asparagus).

Taco Soup

This is seriously one of the yummiest soups I've ever had. A friend of mine made some taco soup for a work potluck and I asked her what was in it, she gave me the basic ingredients and I looked for a similar recipe online. One of things that sets this taco soup apart is the dry ranch mix. I couldn't find a recipe online that had exactly what I wanted to so I just put what I wanted in the soup. So here it is:

Taco Soup
1 lb. ground beef (I use 1/2 lb. since I'm not a big ground beef fan)
1 onion chopped
1 (16 oz.) can kidney beans, with liquid
1 (16 oz.) can black beans, with liquid
1 (16 oz.) can pinto beans, with liquid
1 (16 oz.) can corn, with liquid
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes with chilies and liquid
1 (16 oz.) can crushed tomatoes, with liquid
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 pkg. dry ranch dressing mix

Saute ground beef and onion, drain. Put all other ingredients including beef and onions in the slow cooker, mix well. Cook on low 3-4 hours. Top with sour cream, chips (we prefer Fritos), and grated cheese.

 

 A couple things about this recipe, you can use chicken or leftover roast beef if you prefer instead of ground beef. Also, you can switch out the beans for whichever kind you like. We prefer black, kidney and pinto in our soup. And if you don't like spicy, use the mild Ro-tel, otherwise it has a bit of a kick. Scott told me this recipe was a home run which is saying something. I hope you like it! Serves 10. 1 cup= 5 WW SP

7 Layer Bean Dip

My folks were in town a month ago and we watched a lot of bowl games while they were here. One thing I love to munch on during a game is 7 layer bean dip. I didn't have a recipe on hand so I found one online with some of the ingredients I was wanting to put in my dip. I tweaked it a little and it turned out really good. But with all the ingredients it's actually 8 layer dip which makes it ever better!

Okay and I get that half of the dip was 7 layer dip and half was 8, I don't like olives.

7 Layer Bean Dip

1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

1 (16 ounce) can refried beans

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (16 ounce) container sour cream

1 (16 ounce) jar salsa

1 large tomato chopped

1 bunch green onions chopped

Sliced olives

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Guacamole (3 large ripe avocados smashed mixed with 3/4 tsp salt, dash of oregano, and the juice of a lemon)

In a medium bowl mix the taco seasoning and beans. Spread the mixture onto the platter or pan. I used a 9x13. Mix sour cream and cream cheese in a medium bowl. Spread over the refried beans. (I didn't use the whole 16 ounces. Maybe just 12 since I thought that was going to be a really thick layer of dairy and it turned out good.) Layer on the guacamole. Top the layers with salsa. Place a layer of tomato and green onions and top with cheese. Garnish with black olives.

I much prefer dip with Fritos Scoops but it's good with any tortilla chip really. Enjoy the party in your mouth!

Introduction

Well here it is! I finally got brave enough to start a recipe blog. I'm always telling people about recipes that I've tried and I wanted to bring all of those recipes to one place to preserve and share. I've only been cooking for 5 years... for as long as I've been married. That's right, I never cooked before I got married, but I did bake a lot. Cooking was a scary endeavor but I've grown to love it. I remember when I began that I wouldn't try a recipe if it had something scary involved, like a weird ingredient that I'd never heard of, or a weird way of cooking. For example, I never made funeral potatoes because you have to saute onions, yeah pretty silly. But now I love trying new things, new recipes, new flavors, new techniques. I generally stay with simple recipes that save me time. I work full time and as much as I love to cook, I love spending time with my husband a dog a whole lot more. I hope some of these recipes are helpful to you. Bon appetit!