Taco Salad

You will need:
medium head lettuce
8oz-grated cheddar cheese
4-tomatoes diced
1-can kidney beans
1lb.-ground beef
1-pkg. taco seasoning
1-bag tortilla chips or Doritos

1-8oz bottle thousand island dressing

1.Brown ground beef, When I am browning the meat I add dehydrated onion to add flavor.

2.After draining grease from meat add taco seasoning reserving 1Tbs for dressing.

3. Cut up lettuce, tomato, and shred the cheese, and if you use canned kidney beans make sure you drain them before using.

4.Select a large salad bowl allowing room to toss salad. layer salad, starting with Lettuce and ending with cheese. Cover and refrigerate.

5. At serving time toss with dressing. This is so good, and is easily adjusted for how many you need to serve. Because of the lettuce it is not good the next day so I just adjust the recipe to the amount of people we are feeding.

DRESSING:
8oz-Thousand Island dressing
1/3 Cup sugar
1Tbs-taco seasoning
1Tbs-taco sauce

mix all ingredients pour over salad and toss to get dressing through out the salad. We keep chips separate. Put chips on your plate and top with salad mixture. You can also add salsa and sour cream on top if you like.

Crockpot Chili Beans

1 pound ground beef or round steak, cubed
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup diced green chilies (we use frozen...they are spicier)
1 (29 oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 cans pinto beans or 4 cups cooked homemade pinto beans (don't drain)
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. ground black pepper

1. In a pan, brown meat with diced onion.

2. Add remaining ingredients to crock pot, except pinto beans. Mix and then add meat mixture.

3. Cook on low 8-10 hours or high for 4 hours. During last hour add pinto beans.

The cayenne pepper really makes the chili spicy. If you want less heat, put in 3 tsp. of chili powder and omit the cayenne pepper. Also, if the chili starts drying out in the crock pot, add a little water.

We like to eat this on fryed bread (Navajo taco style), in tortillas, on top of bean burritos or in a bowl with cheese.

Honey Orange Chicken

We enjoyed this tasty dish last night for dinner. It's very quick. In fact, I managed to finish a Babybrags order and get prepared for mutual while cooking.

1. Combine 1 cup plain breadcrumbs (I store mine in the freezer for long keeping), orange zest from 1 orange (don't zest any of the white part - it's bitter) and 1 tsp. salt in a shallow dish.

2. Put 1/2 cup orange juice (I squeeze fresh from the orange I just zested and if I need more I add already made OJ) and 1/4 cup lemon juice (again I used fresh squeezed) in another shallow dish.

3. Take 1/2 bag (I had a 3.5 lb. frozen bag) of thawed chicken breasts and/or tenderloins. I prefer the tenderloins because they aren't as thick. Dip each piece of chicken in the juice, then into the crumb mixture, covering well. Pat on an even coating.

4. Place coated chicken into a greased 9x13 glass pan and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, combine 1/4 butter, 1/2 cup orange juice (again I prefer fresh squeezed - but already made will work too), all the leftover juice from coating the chicken, 1/2 cup honey, and 1 cube of chicken boullion. Heat on medium until honey and boullion are dissolved and then turn to warm.

6. After 20 minutes, pull the chicken out of the oven and pour the sauce on top. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake until chicken is cooked throughout. If using thawed tenderloins like I did - then 10 minutes will suffice. If unsure on the cooking time, read the directions on the back of the frozen bag of chicken and adjust accordingly.

We like to serve over sticky rice at our house. Having lived in Hawaii, Matt and I are quite fond of Calrose rice and like to cook it the old fashioned way on the stove. We follow the directions on the bag and add an extra 1/2 cup water for maximum stickiness.

I hope your family enjoys this tender sweet citrusy meal as much as mine does.