Yogurt Parfait

So you've probably had yogurt parfaits before but this is so yummy and easy I had to post...

1 cup of green grapes*, sliced in half if large (on sale now at Publix)
1/4 cup Activia vanilla, light, fat-free yogurt ($1.00 off coupon for the large tub)
2 tbsp Special K, low-fat granola (bogo now at Publix)

Place grapes in a small bowl and top with yogurt and granola. You'll love it!

*Substitute grapes for berries if you like, but try the grapes first!

Watergate Salad (green fluffy fruit salad)

1 large can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1 small box of pistachio pudding mix
1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Pour pineapple with juice into a large bowl and then add remaining ingredients. Blend well and chill before serving.

Tumbleweeds

1 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup peanuts
2 cups chow mein noodles

Microwave butterscotch and peanut butter 3-5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and blend well. Drop by teaspoonful onto wax paper and cool.

Haystacks

1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (12 oz) bag milk chocolate chips
2 (12 oz) bags white chocolate chips
3 (9 oz) cans potato sticks (found near Pringles on chip isle)

Melt chocolates then pour over potato sticks. Drop by tablespoonful onto wax paper covered cookie sheets and let cool. Makes about 7 dozen.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained
1 (15 oz) cans corn, drained
2 tbsp finely chopped jalapeno pepper (optional)
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice from 1 lime
1/2 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Mix all ingredients and chill. Serve with tortilla chips.

Southwestern Chicken Salad

Dressing
2 cups (prepared) Ranch dressing
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp paprika
juice of 1 lime
Salad
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
2 heads of Romaine, rinsed and chopped
1/2 English or seedless cucumber, sliced
1 small red onion, diced
1 small bell pepper, diced
1 cup corn, drained
1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Mix all dressing ingredients together and then chill until ready to use.
Drizzle chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill over high heat until done then set aside to cool. Once chicken is cool to touch, cut into bite-sized pieces.
Toss next 7 ingredients in a large salad bowl then add diced chicken. Top salad with shredded cheese and cilantro and serve with dressing.

Sausage Balls

I can remember these being on pretty much every Sunday morning breakfast buffet at the Baptist church where I grew up. And there's a reason why...they're really good and so easy to make.

1 lb of bulk sausage
1 lb of cheddar cheese
2 1/5 cups Bisquick

Mix all ingredients together then drop by tablespoonful onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Taco Soup

This week has been "VBS week" at our church and I was given the opportunity to "cater" breakfast and lunch for all the great volunteers. Our theme for VBS this year is "Saddle Ridge Ranch" so I planned a Tex-Mex menu for the week and today we served Taco Soup. The (so easy) recipe was requested several times so here it is for you to try as well. Enjoy!

1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can mild Rotel tomatoes, undrained
1 can Ranch style beans, undrained
1 can black beans, undrained
1 can corn, undrained
1 can tomato sauce
1 can water
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg dry Ranch salad dressing mix

Brown beef and onion then drain. Add remaining ingredients (without draining) and simmer. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped cilantro and tortilla chips.

Strawberry Creme Cake

1 (18.25 oz) box white cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
2 tbsp oil
3 egg whites
1 (6 0z) box strawberry Jello
2 cups boiling water
1 (16 oz) bag frozen chopped strawberries, thawed
1/2 cup sugar
1 (12 oz) tub Cool Whip, thawed

Make cake using water, oil and eggs according to package directions and bake at 350 degrees in a 9x13 baking dish.
Empty Jello into a medium bowl and whisk in boiling water stirring until all gelatin has dissolved.
Once cake is done remove from oven and using a wood or metal skewer poke holes all over. Pour liquid Jello over cake and let cool.
Pour thawed strawberries into a large bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Mix well then fold in whipped cream. Once cake has completely cooled, top with strawberry mixture. Chill for 3 hours or overnight before serving. Keep refrigerated.

Lasagne

If you researched my genealogy all the way back to the first person who set foot in America you would not find a single Italian. So, needless to say, I don't have a secret family recipe passed down from a "Great-Great-Grandma Maria" but I do have a pretty easy and really good recipe that my non-Italian family enjoys.

8 oz (9) lasagne noodles
1 lb mild Italian sausage
15 oz Ricotta cheese
4 cups Mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 (24 oz) jars of pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook noodles according to package directions then drain and set aside.
Brown sausage in large skillet over medium heat then drain. Place sausage back in skillet, reduce heat and add pasta sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes.
In medium bowl combine Ricotta cheese, 1 cup of Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and eggs; mix well.
Spread 1 cup of the meat and sauce mixture in a 9x13 baking dish. Place 3 noodles over sauce. Spread half the cheese mixture, 1 cup of Mozzarella cheese and then 1/3 of the meat and sauce on top of the noodles.
Repeat layering once more.
Top with remaining 3 noodles and meat and sauce.
Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes.
Remove from oven, uncover and sprinkle remaining Mozzarella cheese on top and bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Let sit 10 minutes before serving with salad and garlic bread.

BBQ Pork Quesadillas

Not sure if you've ever experienced the "blue screen" but it's bad. Real bad. It's basically when your computer lets you know it is time to purchase a new model and that's just what our computer did for us. It gave us the ol' blue screen. So, having not blogged any recipes in more than two weeks, I figured you deserved a really good and super easy recipe today. Here you go...

BBQ Pork Quesadillas
1 (3-4 lb) Pork Boston Butt*
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp garlic salt
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp pepper
1 cup barbecue sauce
8 oz Monterrey Jack cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
10 flour tortillas

Mix cumin, garlic salt, chili powder, paprika and pepper together then rub over all sides of pork roast. Place in crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until pork easily shreds. Once pork is done remove fat and shred meat. Pour barbecue sauce over shredded meat and set aside.

In medium skillet heat oil over medium heat and saute onions until tender then set aside. Using an ice cream scoop, spoon barbecue pork into center of a flour tortilla and spread out. Top with a tablespoon of caramelized onions and shredded cheese. Fold tortilla over and place on hot griddle or skillet for a minute or two on each side or until cheese is melted and tortilla lightly toasted. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Serve with cilantro-lime sour cream and fresh pineapple.

Omit tortillas, onions and cheese and serve pork on garlic Texas toast then drizzle with additional barbecue sauce for open face BBQ sandwiches.

*If pressed for time, you can substitute one tub of Lloyd's shredded barbecue for the pork roast.

Cilantro-Lime Sour Cream
8 0z sour cream
juice from 1 lime
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl combine sour cream, lime juice, cilantro and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with quesadillas.