Taco Salad

My mom has been making this ever since I can remember and it quickly became a family favorite. I'm lucky if I can make it last 2 nights since Austin loves it so much. It's not your traditional taco salad recipe, but definitely worth giving it a try!

Ingredients:

1 lb. Hamburger

1 can Pork and Beans (I use Van Kamps)

1 can Kidney beans (optional)

1 can Tomato Soup (I use Campbell's)

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp. Yellow Mustard

Directions:

BROWN the hamburger. You can add onion if you want, I use onion powder to season since I have an onion allergy.

COMBINE beans, soup, brown sugar and mustard in a casserole dish and mix together. Add hamburger.

STIR well.

MICROWAVE for 6 minutes or until heated through. You can also bake in the oven at 350 F for 15 minutes.

CRUSH tortilla chips onto your dinner plate. ADD meat mixture. TOP with your favorites: tomato, lettuce, cheese, olives, sour cream, etc.

ENJOY!

Note: You can double the recipe for the meat mixture and let it sit in your crockpot on low throughout the day.

Special Delivery Chicken

I got this recipe from my sister. I've made it here and there and always enjoy it. The reason I decided to post it, is because this is one of the few things Makayla will down at dinner time. I like anything a whole lot more when I don't have to fight her to eat it :) Sorry I didn't think of taking a picture before we dug into it. Hope you enjoy it anyway.

Special Delivery Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 C. Sour Cream (16oz.)
• 1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 2 tsp Poppy Seeds
• 2 1/2 C. Cubed chicken (cooked)
• 1 3/4 C. Ritz Cracker, crumbs
• 1/2 C. Butter, melted

Directions:
In bowl, combine the sour cream, soup and poppy seeds. Stir in chicken. Pour into a greased 11x7 baking dish. Combine the cracker crumbs and butter; sprinkle over top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Note: I try to make this a little healthy by using low fat sour cream and whole wheat Ritz crackers.

Kung Pao Chicken

You could open a Chinese restaurant with this recipe.  Seriously.  It is that good. 

Got the recipe from the blog - For the Love of Cooking {http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2009/04/kung-pao-chicken.html}. It is my most favorite place to get new recipes from.  I am going to cut and paste the instructions from the blog below to save me time. Also, you need to use real ginger (the root) in the recipe.  Not the powder.  I have tried it with and without the red pepper flakes and I didn't like it with them in it. Much better without! Enjoy!

Kung Pao Chicken:

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast, diced into bite sized chunks
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1-2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (less if you don't want it really spicy)
• 3 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1-2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
• White rice, prepared per instructions

Prepare rice. Combine chicken and cornstarch in a bowl and toss until evenly coated. Combine the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in another bowl and set aside for later. Heat a large skillet or wok with sesame oil over medium high heat. Once the pan is smoking hot add the chicken and stir fry for 5-6 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper and green onions (leaving a few for garnishing) to the pan and stir fry for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the soy sauce, vinegar and sugar mixture to the pan along with the cooked chicken and peanuts. Coat the chicken and peanuts with sauce and heat thoroughly. Serve over rice and top with remaining green onions. Enjoy.