Deep Dish Mexican Pie aka Taco Pie

A family favorite!
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This recipe makes two pies which usually means leftovers. I assure you that this pie is even better reheated than it is fresh!
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Deep dish pie crusts (2 come in a pack), thawed
1 lb hamburger meat'
taco seasoning (I'm partial to Taco Bell brand)
1 can refried beans (I use fat free)
Rice (I use Litpon Sides Taco Rice); buy two if you want to serve some on the side
tortilla chips (I'm partial to Tostitos Multigrain. If you haven't tried them, you're missing it!)
shredded colby-jack cheese (I use 2% milk)
I also use a handful of chopped cilantro
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Preheat oven to 350.
Cook the rice; set aside.
Cook the hamburger meat and season the meat per instructions on the taco seasoning packet.
Mix the refried beans and the chopped cilantro (if you're using it) into the taco meat.
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Layer in the pie crusts as follows:
meat/bean mixture
tiny bit of cheese
rice
tiny bit of cheese
tortilla chips (crumbled or whole will work)
meat/bean mixture
crumbled tortilla chips
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Bake in the oven approximately 30 minutes or until edges of crust are browned. Sprinkle cheese on top and put back in oven just a few minutes until cheese is melted.
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Remove from oven and let sit at least five minutes before slicing.

Easy Yet Yummy Pasta Salad

1 box Betty Crocker Suddenly Pasta Salad (original)

handful of matchstick carrots

handful of chopped broccoli

handful of diced red onion

Ranch dressing

Prepare pasta salad according to box.

Mix in carrots, broccoli, onion and as much Ranch dressing as you like.

Every time I make this for someone they think I spent all morning working on it, mixing and adding ingredients. They're always shocked when I tell them my secret. Serve some to your friends and keep the secret to yourself!

Pork Chops Fit For My Father

I, like my father, am a pork chop lover. However, I have never mastered the art of cooking a perfect chop...until now. This is a pork chop I would proudly serve my father!

Buttermilk-Brined Pork Chops

2 cups fat-free buttermilk (I couldn't find fat-free so I just used reduced fat)
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary (I did not have fresh rosemary, so I used 1/2 tsp dried)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
4 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large Ziploc bag; shake well to dissolve salt and sugar.
Add pork; seal and refrigerate overnight or up to two days (mine sat for two days), turning bag occasionally.

Remove pork from bag; discard brine.
Pat pork dry with a paper towel.
Sprinkle pork with pepper.
*Heat a large nonstick grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add pork; cook 3 1/2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.
This is a delicious way to add buttermilk to your lucky New Year's dinner. As you can see, we enjoyed our buttermilk-brined pork chops with cabbage, blackeyed peas and mashed potatoes. It may have been the second day of the new year, but it was much enjoyed!

*This is what the recipe suggests, I just had my wonderful husband cook them on the grill!

Christmas Treats

One of Joe's customers sent him home with what she called "white trash." Joe requested I make a batch (or two) because it was just so yummy, however, I'll just call them Christmas Treats. LOL Plus, I put my own spin on the recipe, adding candy cane and sprinkles. Can you think of a better name for it? Please comment and let me know! I don't have perfect measurements for the recipe, just put in as much of the crunchy salties as you like and make sure you have enough melted almond bark to coat them.
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vanilla almond bark
Corn Chex
pretzels
peanuts
Cheerios
crushed candy cane
Christmas sprinkles
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Melt almond bark according to package and stir in desired amount of crunchies (Chex, pretzels, peanuts, Cheerios). Make sure you coat them well! Spoon onto wax paper and top with candy cane and sprinkles. I put sprinkles on all of mine but candy cane on only half.

Let them harden completely before removing them from the wax paper. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato-Pecan Perfection

Also known around here as Christmas dessert! If Joe were writing this he would say, "Make sure your mama's not around when you eat this because it's so good it'll make you want to smack your mama!" Oh, that never gets old. ;-)
Filling:
4 1/2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup milk
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
Crust:
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped pecans
To make:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, mix together mashed sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup melted butter, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs.
Spread sweet potato mixture into the prepared baking dish.
In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and flour.
Add 1/3 cup melted butter until mixture is crumbly, then stir in pecans.
Sprinkle pecan mixture over the sweet potatoes.
Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.
courtesy of: AllRecipes.com
It's delicious fresh out of the oven, but it's even better the next day after it's been refrigerated overnight. Have a glass of milk ready!

Ernie's Pulled Pork

3-5 lbs. pork butt
sliced onion
BBQ sauce (I like Stubbs)
garlic salt
pepper

Spray crock pot with nonstick spray. Put some of the onion in the bottom of your crock pot. Put in the pork butt, add a little water so it won't stick when it starts to cook and put the rest of the onions on top. Add garlic salt and pepper. Turn the crock pot on to high and cook about 5-6 hours. When done, the bone should just pull out. Drain if you want and start pulling the pork; I use a fork for this. After it is all pulled, add the BBQ sauce and let cook for about another 30 minutes to get the sauce all the way through. It is really good on toasted buns or Texas toast with coleslaw. Last night I served mine on toasted buns with mac and cheese and corn on the cob on the side. YUM! Hana Grace even asked for seconds!

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

I made these precious Cookie Monster cupcakes for my precious Cookie Monster's second birthday party.

I made Funfetti cupcakes, which is just yellow cake mix that has sprinkles in it that melt when baked to give a polka-dotted effect when you bite into it. I bought a container of buttercream icing and used LOTS of food blue coloring to get it the perfect shade of Cookie Monster blue.

I spread a thin, even layer over the top of each cupcake.

Then I dipped each one in a bowl full of blue sprinkles.

The eyes were white candy melts.

I bought a bunch of mini Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies and cut them in half to use for the mouth. I had to use a small paring knife to dig out a little of each cupcake in order to secure each cookie half.

I used black icing (chocolate icing with black food coloring) to make his infamous googly eyes.

I think they turned out swell and Hana even knew they were supposed to be Cookie Monster!