Easy Beef Enchiladas

This is another enchilada recipe that my family likes. It's pretty much the one from the side of a can of enchilada sauce, with a few changes. We like more cheese, and I like to add a little sour cream and some onions.

Easy Beef Enchiladas
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1 can (19oz or 20oz) red enchilada sauce, divided
3/4 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese, divided
10 tortillas
chopped olives (optional)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 13X9 inch glass baking dish. In a large skillet add onion and ground beef. Cook over med-high heat and stir until beef is browned; drain. Stir in 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce and 1 cup of the cheese.
2. Spoon enchilada filling onto tortillas (about 1/4 cup each); roll up and place seam sides down in baking dish.
3. Combine remaining enchilada sauce and sour cream and pour over the top of the tortillas in dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and chopped olives if desired.
4. Bake 20 minutes or until hot.
Makes 10 enchiladas

Mini Corn Dog Muffins

I seem to be getting all my new recipes to try from pinterest these days. These were great! My kids loved them, and they were easy. What more can you ask for?! To make them even easier you could use a box of Jiffy cornbread mix (but that might make a few less). They make a fun meal for kids, and would be a good man snack too.

Mini Corn Dog Muffins
adapted from hopestudios.blogspot.com
Cornbread 
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cups corn meal
1/3 cup sugar (or 1/2 cup if you want it sweeter)
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten

5 beef hot dogs, cut into 1 inch pieces

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a mini muffin pan.
2. Combine ingredients just until dry ingredients are moistened. Don't over beat.
3. Spoon 1 TBSP of batter into each muffin cup. Then press a  hot dog piece into the batter.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden.

Makes about 30 mini muffins

Trix Crispy Treats

I saw something like this on pinterest and it looked so colorful and fun, I had to try it. It's a little fruity spin on Rice Krispie Treats. My kids have taken it in their lunches the last 2 days and received many oohs and aahs. It only takes 3 ingredients and a microwave!

Trix Crispy Treats
adapted from jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
1/4 cup butter
1 (10.5 oz) bag miniature marshmallows
12 cups Trix cereal
Cooking spray

1. Place butter and marshmallows in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes; then stir. If marshmallows are not completely melted, then microwave for 1 more minute.
2. Add Trix cereal and stir to coat, (you need a fairly large bowl bowl for this).
3. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray, and scoop cereal mixture into the pan. Press cereal mixture down to level it out. The easiest way to do this is to spray a spatula with cooking spray and press down on the top of the mixture. If you don't spray it with cooking spray it ends up looking stringy and the pieces stick to the spatula.
4. Let sit 15 minutes to cool and firm. Cut into squares. Store in airtight container. Best if eaten the same day.

I used a 14.8 ounce box of Great Value brand (Walmart) Fruit Puffs cereal. I measured it out, and there are about 13 cups in the box, so you can just take one cup out of the box, and dump the rest in.

Side Idea - Garlic Smashed Potatoes

This is a great way to use the garlic butter sauce you get from some pizza chains. I saw my MIL do this years ago, and now I always save my sauce to put in mashed potatoes. If you cook about 3 lbs. of potatoes and use 1 container of sauce you will get a slight garlic flavor. If you want a strong garlic flavor then use 2. Or you could just stir it in to taste. I like to change up my mashed potatoes sometimes and try different things like adding cream cheese, or sour cream, so I don't always follow a recipe, but this is how I made the potatoes in my picture.

Garlic Smashed Potatoes
3lbs. cooked red potatoes (skins on)
1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup half and half
1 garlic butter cup (more if desired)
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Smash cooked red potatoes with potato masher. Add butter pieces, half and half, and garlic butter cup. Mash with potato masher until combined.
2. Sprinkle on cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Mix to combine.

These taste great paired with my mini meatloaves!

Creamy Ham and Broccoli Bake

This is another dish that I made this week with my leftover Easter ham. It's a version of this Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake. We loved it! My kids even ate the broccoli because I told them that it was in cheesy sauce. I'll definitely be making this again. It was especially great because I used brown sugar glazed ham leftovers. :)

Creamy Ham and Broccoli Bake
2 (15 oz) jars Alfredo sauce (Bertoli is the best)
1 jar of milk (15oz)
1 jar of water, plus 1 cup water (23oz)
2 cups chopped ham
3 cups of fresh broccoli florets, steamed until just tender
2 tsps salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 lb. uncooked Rotini pasta
Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray large baking dish or 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl mix both jars of alfredo. Add jar of milk, jar of water plus additional 1 cup water. (Shake the fluids in jar to get all of sauce left behind.) Stir well.
3. Add ham, broccoli, salt, and pepper; stir. Last, add the pasta. Stir well. Pour mixture into baking dish. Spread out and level the top so pasta sticking up won't be burned while cooking. (I press it down with a slotted pancake turner to bring the liquid to the top.)
4. Leave uncovered, place in oven. Cook for 1 hour or until pasta is soft and it is bubbling hot.
5. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes.(Sauce will be really runny if you don't do this.) Top with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Meal Idea - Leftover Ham and Pineapple Pizza

This is an easy way to use some of your leftover Easter ham. Today I bought an uncooked cheese pizza from Walmart, and a 20oz can of pineapple tidbits. I topped the pizza with the pineapple and about 1 1/2 cups of leftover ham pieces. I don't usually buy the Walmart pizzas, but we really liked it. You could also try it with a Papa Murphy's cheese pizza or any other uncooked pizza.

Homemade Chick-fil-A Sauce

I have a mild obsession with Chick-fil-A sauce. I love Chick-fil-A! When I go, I usually just get their Chick-fil-A sandwich, but a few months ago, a friend introduced me to fries with Chick-fil-A sauce. YUM! Since then, I have been hording the sauce. I've even asked friends to pick some up for me if I knew they were going there. Well, I ran out last week and decided to look for a recipe. It's the easiest recipe in the world and tastes just like it!

Homemade Chick-fil-A Sauce
food.com
1/2 cup Ken's Steakhouse Honey Mustard Dressing (must use this brand)
1 tsp BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)

Mix well and enjoy!!