Taco Stew

The boys and I adapted this from a recipe in the Friend magazine. All the boys loved it - even little M.

1 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
3 tablespoons light ranch dressing
1 cup beef broth
1 cup water
1 (15-oz) can red kidney beans, including juice
1 (15-oz) can black beans, including juice
1 (15-oz) can corn, drained
1 (15-oz) can green beans, drained
1 cup chopped tomatoes or 1 (15-oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
tortilla chips
grated cheese
lettuce

1. Cook ground beef.
2. Put the meat into a large pot. Stir in the taco seasoning and ranch dressing. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Bring the soup to a boil. Put the lid on the pot and cook on low for half an hour.
4. Serve with tortilla chips, cheese and lettuce.
   

Peach Cobbler

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups peeled and sliced fresh peaches
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup milk

• For filling: Combine brown sugar and cornstarch in a large saucepan. Stir in water. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add vanilla. Stir in peaches, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon butter. Heat through and keep warm while preparing topping.
• For topping: Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the 1/4 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl combine egg and milk. Add all at once to flour mixture; stirring just to moisten.
  
• Turn hot filling into a greased 2-quart casserole. Immediately spoon on topping in 6 mounds.
• Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.
• Makes 6 servings. Best served warm with ice-cream on top.
  

Homemade Mac 'n Cheese

Easy and cheesey. My mom used to make us homemade mac 'n cheese on the stovetop when we were growing up. I'm not a big fan of the store boxed macaroni's, so I like to make this for my boys.

macaroni noodles (one 12 or 16-oz box or however many noodles you want)
skim milk
cheese (choose your favorite - I use a cheddar/Monterrey jack blend)
pepper (or other seasonings of your choice)

Cook the noodles until they are done. Add 2-3 cups cheese depending on how cheesey you like it. Add about 1/4 cup milk. Add seasoning to taste. I love lemon pepper on it. Sometime we mix in ranch dressing for a different taste.

Monster Truck Cookies

These are Emerson's idea. We made them the Sunday after we got back from Cancun. They freeze really well.

1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 package semi-sweet milk chocolate chips
1 king-size Hershey's bar cut into small chunks

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Sift together baking soda, salt, flour and cocoa. Mix together creamed and dry ingredients and then add chocolate chips and chocolate chunks. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

Whopper Ball Bars

Heidi from tastysensations.blogspot.com sent me this recipe when she heard I was using malted milk powder and whopper balls in recipes. We made it right away!

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chocolate malted milk powder
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 3/4 cups dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup Whopper balls, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped (this is by far my favorite ingredient)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the oven preheats, place your walnuts in the oven, and set the timer for 15 minutes, or until you start smelling walnuts. Remove and let cool. Meanwhile, butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13 inch baking pan. If you like, line the pan with a parchment sleeve (I do mine in well-greased tin foil, with the parchment underneath) to make the removal and cutting of the bars easier.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and malted milk powder.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and dark brown sugar on medium speed. Scrape down the bowl, and beat in the eggs and vanilla until well-blended. Add the dry ingredients in two additions on low speed and beat until just combined. Mix in the malted milk balls, chocolate chips and walnuts. Give the batter a final folding by hand with a spatula to make sure there are no dry pockets and the batter is evenly mixed. It will be very thick. Turn the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it evenly.

Bake in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the bars are deeply golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack in the pan for 20 minutes before removing the bars to a cutting board and cutting them into 24 squares. Once they cool completely, they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

Breadmaker Bran Bread

This is our family's favorite bread from a breadmaker. It makes a 2 pound loaf.

1-1/2 cups water (about 80 degrees)
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons butter
1-1/4 cups bran flakes cereal
3-3/4 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons dry milk
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Add ingredients in order listed (or according to breadmaker instructions) and cook according to breadmaker instructions.

Fiesta Pasta Salad

This is one of my favorite pasta salads. I discovered this at my mother-in-law's house. She made this one night when E and F were just babies. Everyone in the family was secretly stealing bites of it even though it was supposed to be for a function at Madie's school the next day. When she brought home the leftovers Ricky and I had some and loved it. We have enjoyed making it at least once a summer ever since. It makes a HUGE amount, so make sure you have someone to share it with.

Dressing:

1 package Fiesta Ranch salad dressing mix (I can never find this kind so I just use the regular ranch dressing mix and add some taco seasoning)

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups mayonnaise

Salad:

16-oz package spiral pasta, cooked

1/2 small red onion, diced

16-oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and cut up (these are expensive, but so worth it)

1 red pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 can sliced olives

cooked chicken, cut-up

grated cheese and crushed tortilla chips

Combine dressing ingredients. Set aside. Combine salad ingredients in LARGE bowl. Stir dressing into salad. Right before serving, add cheese and chips. Serves 20-25.