Doritos Salad

I LOVE this salad. It is so super yummy. I make it just about whenever I can - which is anytime we are supposed to take a salad somewhere because we can't eat it all ourselves before it gets soggy {see update below}. My sister-in-law is the one who introduced me to this salad and I'm super glad because I love it!

Dorito Salad

Sally Thornley

1 head romaine lettuce, shredded

2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

3 green onions, chopped

1 small can olives, sliced

1 regular sized bag nacho cheese Doritos, broken up

1 bottle Catalina dressing

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Do not add dressing until right before serving. Salad doesn’t keep well so eat within 6 hours of making.

Update: I was recently craving this salad so I decided to try and make a single serving version. Just make up a salad the way you like it - I had lettuce, carrots and tomatoes - and then add some Doritos chips and Catalina dressing. To dress it up a little more, add the beans. It really does work and this way I don't have to worry about a whole bowl of salad going soggy before I can eat it all.

Bowtie Chicken Caesar Salad

As promised, here is the recipe to use that delicious Marinated Chicken in. I think this is probably my favorite salad and a perfect summer option {yes, I'm aware that it is no longer summer, but salads can taste good in the fall too!}. 

Bowtie Chicken Caesar Salad
Favorite Family Recipes

1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
Caesar salad dressing (about 1/4 c., but really it's to taste - I often put in a little more because of the lettuce amount)
Bowtie pasta (cooked to al dente, drained and cooled)
Marinated chicken, cooled and cubed (see link)
Cherry tomatoes (I have used regular tomatoes, diced, and they taste great)
Mushrooms, sliced (I usually just put in a small can if I don't have fresh ones. I actually love the salad without them too)
Olives, sliced (honestly, I've never used these - I don't really think the salad needs them)
Sunflower seeds (optional - never used these either)
Croutons
Parmesan cheese (freshly shredded, of course!)

Directions:
Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Top with additional parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

{Note: I think this salad would also be delicious with other additions: sliced bell peppers, chopped cucumbers, sliced grapes, mandarine oranges}

Marinated Chicken

Since discovering this marinated chicken recipe, I just can't get enough of it! The flavors are a perfect combination and the chicken is left so juicy and delicious - it's really impossible to get enough of it! One of these days, I'd really love to taste it grilled, but since we just got our grill and we've only used it once, we haven't tried it grilled yet. It is certainly our favorite marinated chicken recipe and if you'll come back tomorrow, I'll tell you the recipe for my favorite salad recipe to use this chicken with!

Marinated Chicken

Favorite Family Recipes

4 chicken breasts

1 pkg Good Seasons Italian dressing

1/2 c. olive oil

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a Ziploc bag. Marinate overnight. Grill or bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 min.

Buckeye Bars

These are some delish bars that I made up to put on neighbor's Christmas goodie plates a couple years ago. Terrible that it's taken me this long to share the recipe with you! I found the recipe in a Kraft recipe book. One of the best things about this recipe is you can make it ahead of time and freeze it to keep for when you need it. 

I do apologize about my photo. I know it pretty much stinks. I promise they tasted good!

Buckeye Bars

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

¾ cup crunchy peanut butter

22 vanilla wafers, crushed (about ¾ cup)

2 cups powdered sugar

½ of 8oz tub of whipped topping (do not thaw)

3 squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate {I prefer milk chocolate}

Directions:

Line an 8-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Beat butter and peanut butter with mixer until blended. Add wafer crumbs; mix well. Gradually add sugar, mixing well after each addition. Press onto bottom of prepared pan.

Microwave frozen whipped topping and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on high for 1 minute; stir. Microwave for 15-30 seconds more or until chocolate is melted; stir until blended. Pour over peanut butter layer; spread to cover peanut butter layer.

Refrigerate for 2 hours. Use foil handles to lift dessert from pan before cutting.

Can be made ahead and stored in the freezer in an airtight container for up to one month. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.

Homemade Twix Bars

I am not a chocolate lover. Anyone who knows me knows this is true. But lately, I just can't seem to get enough Twix candy bars. Awful. Horrible. Weird. I know. So I decided to try my hand at these homemade Twix bars. Naturally they are different from what you'll buy in the store - I'd dare say they are better! Super yummy and really pretty easy to make.

Homemade Twix Bars

Crust:

1 ¼ c. flour

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter; room temp

Caramel:
½ c. butter
½ c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. corn syrup
½ c. sweetened condensed milk


Crumble crust ingredients together {if your butter is still slightly cold instead of at room temperature, you'll find it easier to get everything crumbled together}. Be sure it's mixed very well. You don't want any large pockets of  butter making things difficult. Pack into 9x9 inch pan that has been sprayed, lined with foil and sprayed again {I didn't spray my foil and didn't have any problems}. Bake on 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Note: I used an 8x8 inch pan and everything was a little bit thick. If you don't think you'll like thick crust or caramel, just reserve some of the crust or filling from the pan or try to cut down the ingredients.

Put the butter for the caramel filling in a heavy saucepan and melt. Combine remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly as it burns easily {I'm no culinary expert but my caramel was cooked too long. I would suggest timing the boiling as soon as you see little bubbles form - this way, it should still be slightly soft but cooked enough to remain firm. I timed it from when it was really boiling and my caramel was too hard}. Remove from heat. Stir with spoon slowly until it shows signs of thickening {about two minutes or so}. Pour over crust and let cool a little.

Top layer:

Melt approximately 1-2 c. chocolate chips with 1 tsp shortening over low heat or in the microwave {because my pan was 8x8 I used 1 cup of chocolate and thought it was plenty}. Pour over caramel layer and spread carefully. Chill. Cut into bars.

Shepherd's Pie

I don't suppose it's any secret that I love an easy, delicious recipe. Though I also enjoy those recipes that take a long time to make because they usually prove to be absolutely delicious, I especially appreciate a recipe that doesn't take much time to make {because, let's face it, I don't have a ton of time to cook, particularly these days}.
This is a pretty traditional recipe - I'd venture to guess that most people have had it before - and very easy to put together, especially if you already have leftover mashed potatoes.


Shepherd’s Pie
4-6 boiled potatoes, mashed
½-1 pound ground beef
1 can green beans
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I have also made it without the soup, just mixing the beef and beans together and I quite like it)
½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions:
Brown ground beef and drain well. Mix beef, beans and soup together in a medium sized bowl. Place in the bottom of an 8x8 casserole dish. Spread mashed potatoes on top and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until warm through and cheese is bubbly.

Ranch Chicken Crock Pot

I honestly don't remember where this recipe came from. I wish I did - or that I would have taken better notes, as I should have. But, alas! there is no note as to the origins of this recipe. If you are the composer of this delicious goodness, please know that I would love to give you credit for it if only I could remember who you are!
My lack of bad record keeping aside, this recipe is a favorite. My husband and I love it and we recently made it when we had company over and our company loved it too! They all asked for the recipe and since I've been meaning to get back into the habit of sharing recipes here, I decided this would be where I would start again. This is an easy-peasy recipe. You pretty much can't go wrong with it. I hope you enjoy!

Ranch Chicken Crock Pot

4-6 chicken breasts

½ cup water

1 packet dry ranch dressing mix

1 (8oz) container cream cheese, softened (1/3 reduced fat works just as well as regular)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

Optional:

Mozzarella Cheese

Breadcrumbs

Directions:

Pour water into crock pot. Add chicken; sprinkle with ranch dressing mix. Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or until chicken is cooked through. When chicken is completely cooked, take it out and shred it. Do not discard juices from crock pot.

Mix cream cheese and cream of chicken soup together so they are well mixed. Add cream cheese mixture to juices in the crock pot and heat through. Add shredded chicken.

Serving suggestions:

1) Mix completed chicken mixture with some cooked pasta and place in a casserole dish. Cover with mozzarella cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until warm through and cheese is bubbly.

This photo is with the pasta. I don't have any photos of the chicken mixture served over rice {as per suggestion number 2}. But I'm sure you can figure it out!

2) Leaving chicken mixture in crock pot, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and allow to melt. Serve over rice. {This one is my favorite, though the first one is also good.}

Menu Plan Monday ~ 03/15/10

Check out Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie to find other great menu ideas!

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This week ended up being a little better - we actually enjoyed a few meals at home! That was really nice. I was kinda lazy last week - mostly I blame it on pregnancy. :D Some days by the time it gets around to fixing dinner I'm too tired and don't want to cook so I don't. *sigh* Somehow I have to combat that late afternoon tiredness so I don't get into a bad habit ...
Anyway, here is the planned menu coarse this week. We'll see how this goes . . . it's going to be a busy week!


Monday: Italian Pasta with tomato and basil

Tuesday: Mexican Chicken Skillet

Wednesday: Spaghetti

Thursday: Carnitas Soft Tacos

Friday: Leftover Smorgasbord

Saturday: Muffins and Eggs

Sunday: BLT Salad

Other goodies I plan to make this week:
Lemon Bread
Cupcakes {for baby shower on Saturday}
Some other kind of bread . . .
Freezer-to-Skillet Cheeseburger Pasta

Menu Plan Monday ~ 03/08/10

Check out Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie to find other great menu ideas!

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Last week was an adventure, I tell you! I did well at making the meals on my menu {for the most part} but hubby is working like crazy this month so every meal I took in to him at his job and ate with him there at work. It's nice that I can take him dinner & eat with him when he has to work late but . . . it's a job getting everything fixed, packed up, taken out to the car {all while being careful with hot foods and trying not to spill on the seat}, taken to his work, set up at work, eat, and then clean everything up at work, then take the leftovers home and clean up the mess still at home. It was a lot of work! Since he will be busy again like that this week, I tried to think up meals that I can make and take without a lot of packing effort and hopefully not have to worry about spilling over while I'm driving. I guess we'll see what happens!

Monday: Mulligan

Tuesday: Swiss Potato Pacake

Wednesday: Ham and Cheese Calzones

Thursday: Leftover Smorgasbord

Friday: Smothered Chicken and Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Saturday: Chicken Corn Chowder

Sunday: Carnitas Soft Tacos

Other goodies I plan to make this week:
Granola

Menu Plan Monday ~ 03/01/10

Check out Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie to find other great menu ideas!

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I feel a little like I'm just copying and pasting from past menus ... I promise we really do use our menus. Some weeks are easier than others and sometimes everything just doesn't work out ... and we end up not having everything on the menu. I planned my monthly menu today and discovered that of the 20 meal ideas I planned last month, we only used 10! *sigh* Oh, well. I guess that just means fewer meals to plan and buy for this month.

Monday: Bean and Spinach Burritos with Avocado Relish

Tuesday: Now that’s a baked potato

Wednesday: Cheesy Stuffed Shells

Thursday: Leftover Smorgasbord

Friday: Stroganoff

Saturday: Carnitas Soft Tacos

Sunday: Bow-tie Chicken Caesar Salad

Other goodies I plan to make this week:
Granola
Bread