Tex-Mex Salad

I got this from Daphne years ago.
10 medium sized fresh tomato
10 tortillas or a bag of tortilla chips (if you choose tortillas bake in oven @ 350 until crisp)
20 c. fresh spinach (rinsed and spun or patted dry and then chopped)
10 green onions
2 1/2 c. black beans, rinsed and drained
15 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. cilantro (I use parsley)
10 oz crumbled feta cheese
5 jalapeno pepper
5 red bell pepper

Chop veggies. . Bake tortillas 2-3 minutes in 350 oven (I use tortilla chips but the recipe is from "healthy" cooking group so it called for baked tortillas) .  In bowl mix beans w/ cheeses, and all the veggies. Crumble chips or put tortilla on plate. Top with salad and enjoy.

Potluck Salad

I needed a recipe for a potluck and Daph sent me this one. It's delicious!

Toss ahead of time, or whenever:

1 bag spinach greens

1 bag or head Romaine lettuce

1 bag European blend salad mix

1/2-1 cup craisins

2 apples, chopped with skin on  (I cube them)

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

2 cans Mandarin oranges (I use fresh Clementines)

 

Add just before serving and toss:

1 - 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese

1 cup almonds, slivered, caramelized or plain

Dressing

 

Carmelized Almonds:

Combine 2 T brown sugar and 3 T white sugar in a non-stick frying pan.  Add almonds and cook on a rather high heat stirring constantly until nuts are coated and caramelized.  Do not add liquid.  It will caramelize given time.  Adjust heat as necessary not to burn.  Cool, break apart (do not leave in pan for very long. . . .think big rock o' nuts).

 

Dressing:

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. dry mustard

3/4 cup salad oil

1 T onion flakes or powder

1 T poppy seeds (add just before serving)

 

Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Divine! From Betsy via another lady from church.

http://www.marthastewart.com/339353/chewy-chocolate-gingerbread-cookies

Pumpkin Muffins

My kids loved these pumpkin muffins recommended by my friend Betsy. Here is the link:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pumpkin-wheat-honey-muffins/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=whole%20wheat%20pumpkin%20muffins&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

Meatless Mexican Lasagna

I requested this from my friend Betsy. It works great for a freezer meal too:

2 c. frozen corn, thawed
2 cans (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic- undrained
1 can chopped green chilies
3 green onions, sliced
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
6 corn tortillas (6 inch or larger)
1 ½ cups colby jack cheese
sour cream for topping

Heat oven to 350.
Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl.
place three corn tortillas in a greased (with butter or spray) 13 x 9 pan. Place half of filling on top of tortillas and repeat the steps. Top with cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes. Garnish with sour cream.

Spinach Lasagna Freezer Meals (Makes 14)

Yield 14 (6-8 servings) lasagna dishes

3/4 c. vegetable oil

14 c. chopped onion

1 #10 cans tomato sauce

2 #10 cans crushed tomatoes

1/4 c. dried basil

1/4 c. dried oregano

2 Tbsp sugar

4 Tbsp salt

pepper

 

120 oz fresh spinach (3 Costco or Cash and Carry  bags)

15 lbs cottage cheese (Cash and Carry sells these in 5 lb tubs)

10 lbs mozzarella cheese (reserve 7 cups for topping at the end)

60 oz sour cream

14 boxes of oven ready lasagna noodles

 

In a large skillet over medium heat, warm oil. Add onions and sauté until tender. Add garlic, basil, oregano, sugar, salt, and pepper. Add all cans of tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce temperature to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

 

While the sauce is simmering, prepare spinach: In a large steamer steam the spinach until leaves are wilted (about 3 minutes). Squeeze as much water out of the spinach and then chop. Mix together the sour cream, cheeses, and spinach. Spread 1 ladle of the tomato sauce on the bottom of each 9x13 pan(about 1 cup). In layers, add 3 noodles (no boil noodles expand so don’t worry if they don't touch), 1 heaping, large serving spoon of cheese (it will not completely cover the noodles), 1 ladle of tomato sauce. Repeat until you have 3 layers of noodles ending with cheese/sauce on top (total of 9 noodles).  Top each lasagna with 1/2 cup mozzarella. Cover and freeze.

Cooking Directions: Bake, uncovered 45 minutes at 350. Let stand 10 minutes, cut into squares and serve.

My Old Pizza Crust Standby

When we were first married we went to dinner at Jen and Brian Gardner's house. They served pizza and we have been using this recipe ever since.

1 1/2 Tbsp Yeast
1 1/2 C Warm Water
1 1/2 Tsp Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp Salt
4 1/2 Tbsp Oil
3-4 C Flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in Sugar, salt oil and 2 1/2 C flour. Beat until smooth. Add remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Divide in half and place on 2 greased pizza pans or cookie sheets. Roll out and make pizza to your liking. If you want to make it early in the day you can "par bake it" by cooking it 400 degrees for about 8 minutes. If you par bake it you can "dress them up" later in the day. I do this when I am feeding a group and I want to get a lot of pizza out of the oven fast.