Santa Fe Cheese Soup

This soup was a HIT at our family reunion/Christmas party this year and so it is much deserving to be shared! It's so easy and sooo yummy especially on a cold and chilly day!!

What you need:

1 1/2 lbs Ground Beef
1 Small onion

*Brown together and drain grease.

In a large pot, put meat, onion, then add the following: 

1 Can sweet corn - with juice
1 Large can diced tomato (I believe it is a 16 oz can)
1 Can Ranch Style Beans
1 Can Rotel (mild)
1 Can Golden Mushroom Soup
1 Block velveeta cheese (use the big block of velveeta- cut into cubes)

Mix everything together and simmer over low to medium heat for an hour. 

We ate ours with cornbread but chips, or any dipping bread would taste great too! 

Enjoy! 

Green Bean Bundles

Green Bean Bundles

All I can say is these are amazing.  They are easy to make, but they look fancy, so you can serve them with a nice meal and guests, or you can just have them with a casual meal, and the kids will eat their veggies!!

My friend, Julie Gibson, from Shreveport, gave this recipe to me when we were living in Louisiana for Ray's medical school.  She made this for us one night, and we devoured them.  They looked so difficult, but to my surprise, they were very easy, and DELICIOUS!!

Ingredients: 2 or more cans of uncut green beans (you could use as little or as many as you need to feed your family)(Joy, you might just use one can for ya'll)

1 lb. bacon

salt

pepper

garlic salt

brown sugar (optional)

butter

First, use the cans of green beans that are NOT cut.  Some cans say cut green beans, don't use these, but the other ones.  Dump them out in a colander and drain the water.

After you drain the green beans, lay out the bacon in strips, pick up a stack of green beans in your hand, like a little stack of fire wood. Then, place the stack towards one end of the bacon strip. Roll up starting with the end closest to the green beans.

Joshua was in the kitchen reading to me while I was cooking.

After rolling the bundle, (the bacon will stick to itself), place the bacon in a pan with edges.

Continue rolling until all green beans are used.  Then, sprinkle with Salt, Garlic Salt, Pepper, and drizzle with butter.  Sometimes I sprinkle a little brown sugar on them too, for a different taste, but honestly, my kids love them without it, so why add the extra calories and carbs?!  Both ways are great!

Bake in 350 preheated oven for 30-45 minutes.  They will be tender and the bacon will be cooked.

Yum, Yum!!

Homemade Chipotle Salsa

Okay Fam..here we go...

So I was looking through my new book (Pioneer Woman..thank you JJ!) for some fun recipes and I stumbled upon the "Chipotle Salsa" recipe. Jordan was so pumped about it because he has been wanting to make his own salsa for awhile. So this recipe is just the start of what I believe Jordan will come up with. With more time, he's going to experiment. However, this post is simply re-sharing the fabulous Pioneer Woman. It's a good base to start any salsa, plus it could not be any easier.

What you need: 
^2 cans 15oz diced tomatoes
1 can 10oz diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 medium onion, diced
*1 - 3 chipotle peppers packed in adobo
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 bunch cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice

^This makes a huge party size of salsa. It's lasted Jordan and me 2+ weeks!
*We used 1 big and 1 small pepper, it makes it nice and spicy so you pick on how hot you want it. It would be good even without the peppers.

How to fix it:

1. Grab your blender and dump all of the ingredients in.
2. Hit blend until fully combined
3. Dip a chip and taste the goodness of fresh made salsa! 

Jordan loading up the blender

Ready to go!

Yummy!

He loves it!

John Wayne Casserole

Being the mom of 5 kids, I love to find recipes that are easy, filling, and taste good too.  This one has been a big hit among all of them, and Ray too.  I found this on another blog of a Navy wife, and have used it many times.  I just haven't made it for our extended family yet.  And just so you know, some of my kids think they don't like tomatoes, but this recipe has slices of them in it, and they eat it!! They don't even notice!

Besides being filling, it makes them feel TOUGH, being named after John Wayne!!  Jesse had a couple of football guys over one weekend, and they all said they weren't hungry, until I told them the name…. then they dove in and ate it up!!

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef, cooked and drained

1 pkg. taco seasoning

4 oz. sour cream

4 oz. mayo

8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (divided in half)

(I usually throw in a little extra, cause I LOVE cheddar cheese, especially SHARP)

1 onion, chopped

2 cups Bisquick

1 cup water

2 or more tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 green bell pepper, chopped

Sweet/Hot jalapeno peppers, sliced (if your kids can take it)

I usually put these on one end for me and Ruth, but if you really want to kick it up a notch, use regular sliced jalapeno peppers!! I usually don't with kids!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325*. Brown ground beef with onions and bell pepper, then add taco seasoning and water according to the directions on taco packet.  Set aside.

2. In a seperate bowl, combine sour cream, mayo, and 4 ounces of cheddar cheese.  Set aside.

3. Stir Bisquick and water together to form soft dough.  Spray 9 X 13 dish with Pam.  Pat dough on the bottom and one-half-inch up the sides of dish.

4.  On top of biscuit mix, evenly distribute in order, the following ingredients:  ground beef with onions and bell pepper, tomato slices, jalapeno peppers, sour cream mixture, and end with the remaining shredded cheddar cheese. (this is where I add a little extra)

5.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until edges of dough are lightly browned.

It's a great "All in one" meal too!! 

Enjoy, 

JJ

Jamie's homemade double chocolate chip cookies

Double chocolate chip cookie recipe:

★about 3 cups flour
★about 2 cups oatmeal
★1 tsp salt
★1 tsp baking soda
★1 sticks butter 
★1 cup sugar
★1 cup brown sugar
★1 tsp vanilla
★2 eggs
★24 oz bag of semisweet chocolate chips (nestle brand is best)

★Beat sugars & butter together, then add eggs. After well combined add vanilla & dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips at the end. Makes about 50 regular size cookies. Bake on parchment paper or silpat for about 12-15 minutes in a 350 degree oven. The key is to freeze or refrigerate the cookie dough before baking. Helps the cookies keep there shape, nice & thick! This is my go to cookie recipe! When I catered, I got request for these cookies a lot! Enjoy:))

First time for everything

Ok family, here we go!! I can't wait to see how this goes, sharing recipes and ideas here.  I thought I would start out by posting about what we want to accomplish.  Since we live in 3 different towns and 2 different states, I thought this would be a great way to keep in touch and talk about one of our favorite things, food!!  Since we all enjoy cooking and we all enjoy eating, we can share all our good ideas here, for each of us to glean from.  I am excited to see how many recipes we can share.  Feel free to post pictures with your recipe ideas...that always makes it look more exciting to try! Sure do love and miss all of you. Merry Christmas.

J

Our Christmas Eve meal.  Sparkling grape juice and heavy hor dourves.