Taco Soup for the Crock Pot

OK, so I posted the recipe for super quick and easy taco soup. Now here is one that is also pretty easy and still pretty quick to throw together. However, you do have to remember to take out hamburger to thaw so that you can brown it for the soup. Ahhh, soup weather! I don't even have to explain to you what soup weather is, because everyone knows. Doesn't matter what part of the country you live in. I can be on the telephone with family or friends who are a thousand miles away and say, "I'm looking out my window right now, and it's perfect soup weather", and I within a millisecond I'll hear "Mmmmmmm" from the person I'm talking to. I have one more taco soup recipe that I will post shortly. For now, here's another keeper!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained
1 onion, chopped (you can fry the onion with the hamburger if you want)
1 to 3 cups tomato juice (depends on how soupy you want your soup)
15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 10 3/4 oz. cans cream of potato soup (this may sound weird, trust me, it's GOOD)
10 1/2 oz. can beef broth
2 15 oz. cans kidney beans, drained
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix

Garnish: corn chips, Monterey jack cheese, shredded and sour cream

Combine all ingredients in a 5 quart slow cooker on low for about 6 hours. Makes 6-8 servings.

Busy Day Taco Soup

My family loves this! It is pretty tasty, but what makes it terrific is that you don't have to thaw anything out ahead of time. Quick, easy and filling! FYI, I always triple this recipe for my own family of 6.

Ingredients:
1 can tomato soup
1 can bean with bacon soup
1 can chili no beans
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 soup can of water


Mix well in soup pot and heat through on medium heat. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and Fritos. Add in whatever suits your fancy. Diced green chiles, dried minced onion, sliced black olives, etc...

Chili Hotdog Casserole

After several requests by my Facebook friends, I've decided to add this recipe to my blog. I may have already posted this recipe, but I don't feel like scrolling backwards to find out. So here it is folks! In all its glory! Chili HotDog Casserole!! The men in my husband's family hold this dish in the same regard as some do with caviar! By the way, I believe their version of champagne would be Rootbeer! I like this recipe because it's easy and I don't have to thaw out anything ahead of time to make it. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 large and 1 reg. sized cans of chili. Dennison's and Nalley's both work well.
1 small onion, chopped
1 pkg. hotdogs, sliced
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1 lg. bag tortilla chips, crushed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread 1/2 of the crushed tortilla chips on the bottom of a 9 x 13 in. pan/dish. In a large bowl mix chili, onion and hotdogs. Spread evenly over crushed chips in pan. Spread cheese on top of chili mixture. Top with remaining chips and bake for 35 minutes. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Lemon Blossoms

This one is a Paula Deen recipe. Nuff Said!!
Ingredients

* 18 1/2-ounce package yellow cake mix
* 3 1/2-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix
* 4 large eggs
* 3/4 cup vegetable oil
*

Glaze:

* 4 cups powdered sugar
* 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
* 1 lemon, zested
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 3 tablespoons water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray miniature muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs and oil and blend well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour a small amount of batter, filling each muffin tin half way. Bake for 12 minutes. Turn out onto a lint free dish towel

To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water. Mix with a spoon until smooth.

Using a fork and your fingers, dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they're still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible, or spoon the glaze over the warm cupcakes, turning them to completely coat. Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly, about 1 hour, before storing in containers with tight-fitting lids.

Potato Salad

Potato Salad recipes are like opinions. Everybody's got one! My late mother-in-law used to say, "I've never tasted a potato salad I didn't like!" Either she wasn't as picky as me, or she was extremely lucky! I have tried many potato salads, but have liked only a very few. There have been times when I was in a hurry and needed a potato salad to go with dinner and resorted to buying a tub at the grocery store. Sometimes I can gag it down. Most times, I can't get past the first bite without reaching for my Dr. Pepper (America's Champagne) as a chaser! There are a few rules when it comes to a good potato salad. The potatoes should be tender but not mushy. The salad should be creamy not soupy and definitely not dry. I don't believe in overdoing it with additions either. You can add whatever you prefer to yours. Mine is pretty basic, but tasty as well. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients & Directions

Wash, peel and cube in to bite size pieces 8 to 10 sm. to med. sized potatoes. In a large pot, barely cover potatoes with water and add 2 tsp. of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. When the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Drain into a colander and rinse with cold water. Drain off excess water and put into a lg. salad bowl. While the potatoes are boiling, in another med. to lg. size pot, boil 6 - 8 eggs. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Without emptying the hot water out of the pot, fill it with cold water and let sit until the eggs are cool enough to handle.
Shell and chop the eggs, add to salad bowl.
Add 10 or so sweet pickles that have been chopped. Sweet relish is NOT the same!
Add 1/4 cup chopped onion.
In a separate bowl mix, about 1 cup of mayonnaise, 2 tbs. mustard, 2-4 tbs. pickle juice and 1/2 tsp. salt. Mix well and pour over the salad and stir to coat. If it looks a little dry, add more mayonnaise 1 tbs. at a time until you reach a desired consistency. Sprinkle the top of the salad with paprika, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pasta Pizza Salad

This is another one that I'll have to post a picture for later. This salad is a meal all by itself and is perfect for hot summer days. It's makes up a big salad bowl full, so invite your neighbors and enjoy a cool, delicious, filling dinner together!

Ingredients & Directions:

16 oz. rotini pasta boiled until tender, drained and rinsed will with cool water.
1 lb. cubed cheddar cheese
1 lb. cubed mozzarella cheese
1 cup diced celery
1 can black olives, drained
1 jar green olives, drained
1 package sliced pepperoni
1 cup parmesan cheese

Mix ingredients together in a large salad bowl and toss. Serve with your favorite salad dressings. Italian, Caesar, Italian, Creamy Parmesan...whatever suits your fancy. The nice thing about this recipe is that you decide on what you want to add. I don't care for tomatoes, so I don't add them. However, I have been known to throw in fresh sliced mushrooms or diced artichoke hearts! Yumm!

Macaroni & Cheese Salad

I'll have to post a picture of this one at another time. This is a recipe of my late Mother-in-law's. Her name was Gloria and she was not just my Mom-in-law. She was one of my dearest friends and I still miss her terribly. She had many talents, including cooking. I am so very thankful I had the opportunity to get to know her before she passed. I have many of her recipes, and this is by far one of my favorites. Even my sister-in-law, who doesn't care for macaroni salads loves this salad! Enjoy

Ingredients & Directions:

16oz. shell macaroni boiled till tender then rinsed cold (I like to use medium sized shells)
1 cup diced celery
1 lb. cubed cheddar cheese

dressing:

4 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 teaspoons mustard
2 cups sour cream
2 cups mayonnaise
1 lg. bottle sweet pickle relish
1 tsp. salt (optional)

In a large salad bowl, mix well and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. When you first mix it together, the salad will be rather soupy. This is normal. The pasta absorbs much of the liquid. If you try to cut back on the amount of dressing, the salad will be extremely dry by the next day.