Fiesta Salsa

This item is on our 4th of July menu tomorrow! It is a huge hit in our family. My Mother-in-law loves to add diced avocado and imitation crab to this dish. Me, I like it just the way it is. I love how refreshing it is!

Fiesta Salsa

3 (14.5 oz.) cans petite diced tomatoes, drained well

1/2 red bell pepper chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

1/3-1/2 C. Chopped cilantro 

1/3 C. Shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 purple onion chopped

1-2 cans pinto beans, drained (I use 2)

1 C. Catalina dressing

Combine all ingredients into a medium sized bowl. Serve with corn chips. (I like the big scoops ones.)

Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Freezer Meals Day 4- Southwest Stuffed Zucchini

I love yesterday's Burritos so much that I decided to try the filling in a zucchini boat. The family reviews we not very favorable.  My kids just aren't huge zucchini fans, unless it's fried.  My husband, didn't like mixing southwest with Italian.  I didn't like it with the ground turkey very much.  I'm still trying to acquire the taste of the ground turkey... but I really like the concept and I think I would really like it with ground beef. 

I had a few friends be the taste testers for it, to see what they thought of it.  So, if you tasted this one, feel free to leave your honest feedback in a comment.  If it's a total thumbs down recipe, I'll put a warning sign up at the top for ya how's that? I would eat it again though. 

Southwest Stuffed Zucchini

1 Jar White Corn and Black Bean Salsa

1 lb Ground Beef (or Turkey)

Shredded Cheese (optional) I used cheddar, but any kind will work

4-5 Large Zucchini

Slice off ends of Zucchini and then slice in half.  Remove the pulp, leaving 1/4 space from the edge and bottom. In a pot of boiling water, add zucchini and boil 3-4 minutes Remove and add filling

Filling:  Brown meat and then add salsa.  Add to the boiled zucchini.  Top with desired amount of cheese. Place them side by side on a cookie sheet or on a plate (whatever will fit in your freezer) and freeze them for about 3 hours, or until frozen.  Combine them into a freezer bag. Label and return them to the freezer.

To thaw: You can microwave on high for a few minutes, or you can bake them at 350 for about 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.

Lime Turkey Tacos

In an effort to eat a little healthier, I've decided to give ground turkey a try.  Years ago, a friend of mine was experimenting with some ground turkey and had some lime flavored olive oil that she used to sauté the meat in.  It was actually pretty good.  I'm also a fan of turkey bacon. Other than that, besides the usual thanksgiving dinner, I'm just not a fan of the stuff.  The texture of say, turkey meatballs, is just too grainy for me.  I'm sure it's an acquired taste... but I'm just such a beef girl, it's hard to switch!

I have been trying to clean out my freezer to load up on some delicious freezer meals for next month. So I pulled out my bag of  Refried Beans
 that I made and froze last month, some ground turkey that I had on hand, and some tortillas that needed to by used, and Voila! A delicious new meal was born!  I have to say... It was so yummy!  Of course healthy is still a foreign concept for me... so if you are REALLY trying to be healthy, you can bypass the deep fried tortilla part! You can use the meat flavoring to turn it into a Taco Salad, or even use it on chips or regular taco shells.  (I know chips and taco shells are super healthy either)

Who knew that cleaning out the freezer would make such a yummy last minute meal.  What will I come up with next!



Lime Turkey Tacos

1 lb ground turkey

1 med onion diced (1-2 tbsp dehydrated onions)

1 tbsp olive oil

4-5 tbsp lime juice

¼ tsp salt

1 cup Pace salsa

Refried Beans

Small flour tortillas (optional)

Oil for frying (optional)

Brown meat together with olive oil and onions.  Then add lime juice, salt and salsa until heated through.  Create a taco by frying the tortilla in a skillet (with about a half inch of oil) Remove tortilla when golden brown.  Drain on a paper towel and immediatly add beans and meat, along with other desired toppings.  Fold in half and serve.

7 layer Bean Dip

This recipe is always a great party dip.  My mom has made this for as long as I can remember. I usually like mine as a 6 layer dip.  Not a fan of Guacamole.  The nice thing about this dip, is that you can customize it to your liking, without messing it up.  My husband prefers no green onions.  Others like it with tons of cheese.  So don't feel like you are messing it up if you want to add a little more this or that. 

7 layer Bean Dip

1 can Refried Beans 

1 cup Guacamole

1 (16 oz) Sour Cream

1 pkg Taco Seasoning

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1-2 cups Shredded Cheese

1/2 cup Black Olives sliced

1 cup Tomatoes (diced)

In a shallow baking dish, spread the beans evenly. Top with Guacamole.  Mix sour cream and taco seasoning in a small bowl. Add on top of the guacamole.  Top with cheese, olives, tomatoes and green onions.  Serve with Tortilla Chips.

Chile Lime Chicken Burritos

These burritos have got to be my favorite, of the 4 we make at our classes.  There is so much depth to them, and so many different flavors to enjoy. The chicken for this recipe comes from my

Chile Lime Chicken Tostadas In Slow Cooker recipe. I also created a yummy cilantro lime rice to go with it. 

Give these a try, you won't be disappointed!  These make an awesome freezer meal to put away for another day.

Chile Lime Chicken Burritos

To make the burritos,  put 1/2 cup of rice on the tortilla (recipe Below), about 1/4 to 1/3 cup chicken and  2-3 tbsp of black beans. Roll into a burrito. Heat and serve with salsa and/or sour cream.

This recipe makes about 12 burritos

Cilantro Lime Rice

3 Cups Uncooked white rice

6 Cups Water

2 tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic (minced)

2 tbsp lime juice

2 1/2 tbsp chicken bullion

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 tbsp lime juice

Pour first 6 ingredients into a rice cooker. (you can also cook it over the stove.  Simmer for about 20 min or until cooked through and there is no more water.) Cook on white rice setting.  When rice is cooked add chopped fresh cilantro and another 2 tbsp of lime juice.  Stir well.

black beans

(10 inch) Tortillas

1/2 recipe of Chile Lime Chicken Tostadas In Slow Cooker

 If freezing... wrap each burrito individually in foil and freeze up to 3 months. Then when ready to eat... microwave on high for 4 minutes or until heated through. You may also fry it, or bake it until heated through.

Tip: Double or triple the batch to store a bunch of burritos for a rainy day!

Sara's Chili

It's day one of the biggest loser contest that my husband and friends will be doing.  I wanted to post a nice protein packed dish for ya today. 

 My dear vegan friend Sara, shared this recipe with me a few years ago.  I created my own version of it that I posted a while back. Worlds Best Chili .  Her recipe is much healthier.  We figured out that this dish has about 375 calories per serving.(1 1/2 cups) It's a filling dish and is a great way to get loads of protein without eating all of the calories that red meat has to offer.  This dish would even be healthier if you soaked your own beans and didn't used the canned ones.  This is a quick and easy version for ya though. 

Sara's Chili

2 Cans Pinto Beans

2 Cans Diced Tomatoes

1 Can Black Beans

1 Can Dark Red Kidney Beans

1 Can Light Red Kidney Beans

1 Can Red Beans

1 Can Chili Beans

Crushed Red Pepper to taste (I did about 1/4 tsp)

Onion Powder to taste (I used 1 tsp)

Pour all ingredients into a crock pot. Do not drain. Cook 8-10 hours on low or 4-6 hours on high.

Serve with your favorite toppings

Make a double batch and freeze it for a rainy day!!



Crock Pot Creamy Southwestern Chicken Nachos

Here is another great one for our last day of Crock pot week!  This is another one that I found at Real Mom Kitchen.  It's super easy and really yummy.  Next time I think I would add some diced tomatoes to the pot as well.

Crock Pot Creamy Southwestern Chicken Nachos

1 small bag frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 large frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 16-oz jar medium salsa  (Medium salsa is a must, mild isn’t flavorful enough)
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
tortilla chips
other toppings such as chopped cilantro, diced avocado, diced green onion, sliced olives, etc.

Pour bag of frozen corn in bottom of crock pot. (Can corn can be used in place of the frozen.  Just drain it and put the chicken in first followed by the corn)

Place frozen chicken breasts on top of corn and cover with rinsed and drained black beans and jar of medium salsa.

Cook on high for 1 hour, and then on low for 4 hours.

Shred chicken with forks and mix in cream cheese until melted and creamy.

Serve with tortilla chips and add toppings to individual servings.

Refried Beans

I love making my own refried beans.  I think its ridiculous to pay 1-2 dollars per can when you can make a whole crock pot for about the same price! These beans, freeze really well, you can also can them.  I like to make a huge batch and make up a ton of burritos and freeze them.  They make a great lunch for my hubby to take to work.

I also like to make mine nice and creamy and smooth.  If you like them chunkier, ditch the blender and go for a potato masher or something similar.  I love to stir in a cube of butter at the end, to make them really creamy.  Actually I add a cube per blender full, but if you are wanting to watch calories... you can easily take that out.  You can also add cream or even cream cheese if you like, instead of butter.

If you want to freeze just the beans, simply pour them into desired sized portions, into a Ziploc bag and freeze for up to three months.  I also like to freeze them with some cheese, in little Tupperware portions for a quick chips and dip snack. 

This recipe is for a huge crock pot full of beans.  If you want less, just cut the recipe in half. 

Refried Beans



6 cups beans dried

1-2 tsp crushed red pepper

¼ cup salt

6 cups water

2 tbsp ground cumin

1 large onion chopped

4 cloves garlic

2 cubes butter (or more if you want)

Soak beans overnight. Drain water and add all ingredients above except butter into a large crock pot.  Cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for about 6 hours.  Making sure to replenish water if they are drying up.  You will want to cook them until tender and the liquid is creamy.  Let cool and blend beans (using desired amount of liquid in the crock pot) in a blender with a cube of butter for each round of beans that go into it. Add more liquid if necessary. They will thicken as they cool.  Store in freezer containers or as burritos.

Tip: You don't have to soak the beans overnight. You can just put them straight into the crock pot if you are more pressed for time.  The advantage to soaking them, is that the beans are able to release their gaseous properties in the bowl instead of in your belly!

Mango Chicken

When I first came across this recipe, I thought, wow!  I've made it probably 10 times in the last little bit, and I still think WOW! We like to use Mango Peach Salsa because it's sweeter.  You can also make it from scratch using this Mango Salsa that I posted earlier to go with grilled salmon. If you like cillantro, be sure to chop some up and add on top. It adds a great flavor to the dish!

Serve this chicken over Coconut Rice. It's a must.  No really I'm not kidding!!! :)

Mango Chicken



4-5 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups mango salsa (we like Mango Peach)
Cumin to taste
Lemon Pepper to taste

Put chicken breasts in crock pot. Add spices. Cover and cook chicken until tender. Shred chicken on a plate and return to crock pot. Save juices in separate bowl.
Add corn, beans and salsa. More salsa can be added to taste. If mixture seems dry, add some of reserved juices.

Serve over coconut jasmine rice. Garnish with cilantro.

Recipe taken from The Sisters Cafe

Delicious Baked Beans

I have to admit, making homemade baked beans has always intimidated me. There are a few things that I have always avoided making, because of intimidation. And because they are just so much easier to pull from the box or the can. Because of this blog, I've jumped to higher heights. Thanks everyone for the motivation!!!  Brownies, cakes, tortillas, tamales and baked beans are on my list.  Tortillas are the only things I haven't checked off the list so far.   The funny thing is, these hurdles are so much easier than what I thought they would be, but for some reason, they just seemed so out of my league.  Do you have some like that?  Seriously, what a rush, to tackle a recipe that you have been avoiding because you were too intimidated.

So yesterday I was browsing around, wanting to give it a try. I was looking for a from scratch recipe (almost all recipes I had seen added canned baked beans... It doesn't make sense to me! Why not just eat it straight from the can then.) I found a few recipes to get an idea of what I needed in it, and then decided to just create my own recipe.  I figured, hey, face the fear and try something new. 

I am not going to lie... I am so proud of myself.  To me, tweaking someone else's recipe to be my own, is easy.  Even creating my own recipes on every day meals, is pretty easy for me now. (It hasn't always been.  Actually following others' food blogs and seeing what they do, has really helped me to be more confident in the kitchen.  I am realizing that a recipe, is just a guide, not a "must do") For this though, it was a huge accomplishment for me.  I've never seen anyone make baked beans from scratch, and only know of two people in my entire life that have. It was a huge shot in the dark, but it turned out fabulously!!!

Ok I'm off the bragging train now :) I made these more of a southwest style. But play around and change things to your tastes.  My husband who doesn't like bell peppers, LOVED these beans.  There is no greater feeling than to create something and then to have your family chow down on it because they like it so much!!  I wanted the beans to be done, that day, so I opted out on soaking them etc.  So not 100% from scratch, I used canned beans, but not canned baked beans :)

Delicious Baked Beans

1lb bacon crumbled

1 medium onion minced

1 green bell pepper minced

1-2 cloves garlic

2 cans northern beans

1 can red beans

1 can black beans

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup molasses

3/4 cup ketchup

1 ½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 ½ tsp dry mustard



First: chop your onion and bell pepper. (I liked mine chopped pretty small)

Chop bacon into pieces.  You can do this after it is cooked, but I like it better this way.

Toss the bacon in a skillet and fry until done. (I liked mine crispy)  When done, take bacon out of the pan and set aside. What ever you do... save the bacon grease.  Tons of flavor it this stuff!!!

Fry the onions, garlic and bell peppers in the bacon grease until tender.  (It's ok to even fry it all with the bacon too)

Combine all ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.  

Flatbread Tacos

Here is a delicious, quick, and easy meal! It's also one that your kiddos will love.  This recipe is made with refrigerator biscuits. Such as Pillsbury. You don't need any extra oil or anything.  The oil in the biscuit is plenty to crisp that little puppy right up. This turned out so much better than I had expected. This recipe comes from Laura over at Real Mom Kitchen. I changed it up just a bit to make things even easier. 

I love to find and post recipes that are simple and use minimal ingredients.  For busy moms like me, you don't want to have to run to the store every time you find a new recipe you like, to buy all new ingredients. So you can expect to find simple easy meals on this blog.  Every once in a while I'll throw in a challenge, but for the most part, we are keeping it simple. Also, I have run into many people who would like info on the basics.  So I will try to be detailed in my recipes, to provide information for the seasoned cook as well as those just getting started in the cooking world. 

I want everyone to gain the confidence in the kitchen that I have been able to gain, just in the past few months. I have tried so many new things lately, it has been very edifying.  I have always loved to cook, but never had any major confidence. If you ever have any questions, please post them. I would love to hear them and will answer them asap. My goal for this blog is to help everyone find joy and confidence in cooking and baking.

Flatbread Tacos

Ranch dip

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2 teaspoons ranch salad dressing mix
Mix sour cream and ranch powder in a bowl and set aside. 

Filling
1 pound ground beef
1 can (15 ounces) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) petite diced tomatoes undrained
1/8 cup taco seasoning (this is 1/2 of an envelope)
Brown beef. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer on low until warmed through

Flatbread
One can of refrigerator biscuits

Roll out dough on a flat surface.  (rolling on wax paper will help it keep from sticking.) I like to get mine pretty thin. It will puff up while cooking.  Place on a skillet or griddle and cook at medium low heat until both sides are golden brown.  (a couple minutes on each side)
Top with sour cream mixture, then ground beef mixture then top with additional toppings.

Optional toppings: sliced ripe olives, shredded lettuce, diced green onion and shredded cheese

You can fold it up or just eat it like a tostada. I like to just cut it up and eat it in pieces.

Worlds Best Chili

It has been really cold here lately. I have enjoyed making some delicious soups to warm up my little ones. I  decided to experiment one day on making my own chili and came up with this one. I love it!!!  It so simple and so full of flavor. One thing that adds some great flavor is to add the can of Chili beans.  This isn't a can of Chili.  There are actually ones called chili beans in the bean section of your grocery store.  They have some chili flavor added to them and make it really tasty. You can also add any kind of beans you want to this one. This is just the combo that I usually use. Also you will want to use Pace salsa.  I've tried it with other kinds and it's just not nearly as good.  Pace really does the trick for this dish! Also if you like really thick chili, drain all of the beans and tomatoes except the chili beans.  If you like it soupy, just open the can and dump it right in.  I like to drain the kidney, pinto and red beans and leave everything else.

I also love to top it with freshly chopped onions, cheese and sour cream. My mom really likes her chili with a little bit if pickle relish. Sweet or dill. You can also add chopped avocado and/or olives. This recipe makes plenty to feed my family of 6 and freeze the leftovers for another meal. It makes a great freezer meal.

Worlds Best Chili

1 Can kidney Beans

2 Cans Pinto Beans

1 Can Red Beans

1 Can Chili Beans

2 Cans petite diced tomatoes

1 lb hamburger (cooked)

1 16 oz jar of Pace salsa.

Salt and pepper to taste.  ( I really like a lot of pepper in mine)

Brown hamburger. Add all ingredients into a large crock pot. Simmer on low for 8 hours. Serve with chopped onions, cheese, sour cream, relish, avocados or olives.