South of the Border Soup

1 can of no bean chili
1 can of bean with bacon soup
1 can of tomato soup
1 can of cheddar cheese soup
1 can of water (more or less depending on how thick or thin you want it)
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Pour all ingredients into a big pot. Heat on stove to a boil. Serve with tortilla chips.

**A go to meal when hungry, but don't have a lot of time. Cheap, easy, and very filling.

Peanut Butter Bars with Icing

For peanut butter bars:
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups oatmeal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. I add peanut butter and oatmeal last for easier mixing. Spoon into rectangular pan and place in the oven for 15 minutes.

For peanut butter icing:
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup milk
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Beat peanut butter and vanilla. Beat in a little of your 1/3 cup of milk and 1 cup of powdered sugar until smooth. Slowly beat in the rest of the milk and powdered sugar. Spread over peanut butter bars once cooled.

**A favorite dessert of mine. Be ready to share though. It makes a lot.

Ribs

Ribs
Emeril's Rib Rub
Brown Sugar
BBQ Sauce

Prepare ribs however needed- whether it is removing membrane, cutting into individual pieces, or buying already prepared this way.  Make Rub- mix Emeril's Rib Rub with a little brown sugar. Rub ribs with this mixture. Rub BBQ sauce on ribs. Place ribs in oiled tin foil. Refridgerate more than 2 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven 275 degrees. Place ribs into the oven for 2 1/2 hours.
When done- grill on low and baste with BBQ sauce. (approx. 10 minutes on each side).

**Takes a lot of time, but very delicious!
(Recipe from husband)

Jerk Pork Kabobs

12 oz Pork Tenderloin
2 cups fresh Pineapple
1 Red Pepper
1 Large Onion
1/2 cup Jerk Sauce

Cut pork, pepper, and onion in bite size pieces. Skewer pork, pineapple, pepper, onion. Rub with Jerk Sauce. Place on grill to cook.

**Goes really well over rice.

Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri

12 oz. Flank Skirt or Sirloin Steak
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
3 tbsp red-wine vinegar
2 bsp water
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Make Chimichurri Sauce:
Mix the vinegar, water, garlic, salt, pepper flakes, and black pepper.  Whisk in the oil.  When everything's blended, whisk in the parsley.

Preheat grill or grill pan. Season steak with salt and pepper and place on grill. Cook as you like it.

Slice steak into strips. Drizzle the steak with the chimichurri sauce.

**Goes well with tortilla shells and beans! 
(Recipe from Men's Health Magazine)

Chicken Kabobs

Chicken
Pineapple
Bell Peppers
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Thyme

Thaw chicken and cut into smaller pieces. Toss in a little olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and thyme.  Skewer for the grill. Cut veggies of choice (we do Bell Peppers) and lightly toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder. Skewer for the grill. Cut pineapple if needed. Skewere for the grill.  We skewer everything seperately so you can pick how much you want of each item off of each skewer. 

**Very simple and easy kabobs. Goes great with rice.
(Recipe from a friend)

Bruschetta Chicken

1 lb of chicken
8 ounces of fresh mozzarella cheese
4-6 fresh basil leaves
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups pre-diced fresh tomatoes
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Cook chicken.  Mix all other ingredients together in a bowl.  Spoon mixture over cooked chicken. 
(If left overs of the mixture use the next day with a baguette- slice a baguette, place in the oven to warm, broil the tops, then spoon the mixture on top of baguette.) 

**One of my favorite dinners!  Always feels like a light, flavorful meal. 

Peanut Butter Fudge

1/2 cup Butter
2 1/4 cups Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Milk
3/4 cup Peanut Butter
1 tsp Vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups Confectioners Sugar

Melt Butter in saucepan. Stir in brown sugar and milk over medium heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Stir frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over confectioners sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat until smooth. Pour into an 8x8 dish. Chill until firm and cut into squares.

**Anything Peanut Butter is delicious, right?! This is great for sharing- one little piece goes a long way. 

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 block of Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Sour Cream or non-fat Plain Yogurt
1 can of chicken (shredded)  or 2 cups of cooked chicken (shredded)
about 1/4 cup Franks Red Hot (Hot Sauce) or add to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Shred chicken and mix in as well.  Mix in hot sauce to taste. Place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes. 
Serve warm with Tortilla Chips. 

**Crowd pleaser.  :) 

Enchilada Casserole

1 lb of chicken or ground beef. 
1 Old El Paso Burrito Dinner Kit
1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can of corn (drained)
2 cups of shredded cheese
2 cans of Enchilada Sauce

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Brown your meat or cook and shred your chicken. Which ever you prefer. Follow the directions on the Burrito Dinner Kit- this will create your meat mix. (I half this recipe and save the ingredients for another day because it makes way too much for just Matt and me) Layer tortilla shell. 1/2 of your Meat mix. Tortilla shell. Black beans. 1 cup of cheese. 1 can of enchilada sauce. Tortilla shell. Corn. Tortilla shell. The rest of your meat mix. Tortilla shell. 1 can of enchilada sauce. 1 cup of cheese. Put in the oven to cook for 35-45 minutes.  Should be bubbling.

**One of our family favorites! Heats up really well if you have leftovers. Could also freeze for a later date. Yummy to our tummy.
(Recipe from Mother in Law)

Maple Syrup

1 cup of water
2 cups of sugar
Maple extract/flavoring

Heat through on the stovetop in a pot. (Maple extract is used according to color- just make it look like the color of syrup- probably around 1/2 tsp or less)

**My dad has always made syrup this way and now we all hate store bought syrup. Just isn't the same.
(Recipe from dad)

Popeye Pancakes

Also known as German Pancakes.

6 eggs
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 cup of milk
shake of salt
(makes a full pan)
4 or 5 tablespoons of butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients together (minus butter). Melt the butter and pour into baking dish. Pour batter on top of the the butter in the baking dish.  Put in the oven to cook until edges are brown. 

**One of our family favorites that my dad used to always make for us as kids.
(Recipe from dad)

I Am Not a Cook

I am by no means a cook. 

Not even a little bit. 

I don't even really like to cook. 

Especially on days that I have to work.

I do like easy recipes that don't call for too many ingredients. 

I do like recipes that end with a delicious product and maybe even leave me with some room for dessert. 

I don't like dud recipes. 

I don't like recipes that leave me thinking- why did I even try?!?!

I do like recipes that leave me smiling.

I do like recipes that I get to put in the repeat pile. 

This blog is going to be dedicated to those types of recipes. 

My easy, not too many ingredients, leave me smiling, repeat pile of recipes.

Happy Eating!