Salsa Bread

**Bread Machine Recipe**

1.5 lb recipe:

1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1 cup salsa
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBS sugar
2 TBS vegetable oil
2 2/3 cup all-purpose bread flour
1 1/2 tsp breach machine yeast or instant yeast

- put ingredients into bread machine pan in the order listed above.

- use the basic cycle of the bread machine for mixing and baking


Hints:  We made this tasty bread to have with chili this week.  Be mindful about the water content of the salsa you use for this recipe.  Thinner salsa may require additional flour.  Want a little extra kick?  How about adding some chopped green chilies or jalepeno's?  Enjoy!!

Breakfast Bites

Ingredients:

• wonton wrappers (24)
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup diced ham
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 2 green onions, with tops
• salt & pepper to taste
• salsa *

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a small mixing bowl mix eggs, ham, half-and-half, and shredded cheese.
3. Prepare mini-muffin pan with cooking spray. 
4. Put one wonton wrapper in each muffin well.
5. Fill wonton wrapper with egg mixture - about 2/3 full.
6. Top with sliced green onions and salt and pepper if desired.
7. Bake at 400 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.
8. Allow to cool before serving, top with salsa if desired.

Tired Mama Taco Salad

Ever have one of those weeks where there don't seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished that needs to be done?

That describes this week in our house.

Monday night we were supposed to have tacos.

Instead we opted for a taco salad of sorts that was a smashing success.

The key ingredient:

DORITOS

If Taco Bell can do taco shells made of Doritos, why not taco salad?

(In my opinion, this taco salad was better than the Doritos Tacos, but that's me...)

Ingredients:

1 family size bag of Doritos

shredded lettuce

1 1/2 lbs ground beef, browned & drained

(taco seasoning for ground beef, if desired)

white corn

salsa

fresh tomato salsa (onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and tomato)

chunky prepared salsa

shredded colby blend cheese

guacamole

*sour cream*

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef and drain. Season with taco seasoning if desired.

2. Steam corn until thoroughly heated.

3. Layer taco salad with ingredients as desired.

4. Enjoy!

Hint: Don't forget the sour cream - we did! Not everyone likes sour cream, not everyone likes guacamole - but that's what is great about this meal. Each person can pick and choose what ingredients they want to include. A good meal for fostering independence! No leftovers makes for an easy clean-up too!! Another tip is to skip the taco seasoning in the ground beef. There is enough seasoning on the Doritos and in the salsas to make it up - it wasn't missed at our house!

Mexi-Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

• 24 jumbo shelled, cooked as directed and cooled
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2 cups salsa
• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Optional Toppings:

• sliced black olives
• diced tomatoes
• diced onion
• fresh, chopped cilantro
• chopped green onions
• crushed tortilla chips

Begin by cooking the pasta shells as directed on the package. Drain and set aside to cool.

In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat until fully cooked. Drain.

In the same skillet with the cooked, drained ground beef - add the tomato sauce, black beans, corn, and salsa. This will be the filling for the shells.

Next, make sure that the baking dish for the stuffed shells is prepared with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Fill the cooked, drained shells with the beef and vegetable mixture. Cover shells with any remaining filling mixture.

Top shells with shredded cheese, and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees F.

After removing the stuffed shells from the oven, top with your choice of toppings. (We used diced tomatoes, diced onions, fresh chopped cilantro, and sliced black olives.)

Hint: I found the shells much easier to fill by using 2 large table spoons and putting the shell into the skillet with the filling mixture as I filled each shell. I used one spoon to hold the shell and the other to fill it - worked so much easier than the last time I cooked shells! This recipe made 2 dishes for our family: one we cooked and ate for dinner tonight, the second we put in the freezer for a later date. This was a great alternative to taco night at our house. Enjoy!

This recipe is linked up at Little House on the Prairie Living's Old Fashioned Recipe Exchange. Go see what other great recipes are linked up!

Grilled Fish Tacos with Fresh Salsa

Ingredients:

2 limes, juiced - divided

3 plum tomatoes, diced

1/2 medium onion, diced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup mayo

2 TBS milk

1 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups thinly sliced Romaine lettuce

1 avocado, peeled & diced

10 corn tortillas

1 - 1 1/4 lbs. tilapia fillets

*black pepper*

1st - Prepare white sauce for tacos by combining mayo, milk, garlic, and 2 TBS of lime juice with a whisk until smooth.

2nd - Prepare salsa by combining remainder of lime juice with diced onion, diced tomatoes, chopped cilantro and salt.

3rd - Place lettuce and avocado each in a separate dish for easy taco assembly.

4th - Warm corn tortillas on a grill or griddle and set aside in a warmer or plastic dish with a lid.

5th - Heat grill or griddle to cook fillets over medium heat. Season tilapia fillets with black pepper. Cook fillets 3-4 minutes on each side, until fillets flake easily with a fork.

6th - Assemble tacos in corn tortillas: layer lettuce, fish, salsa, avocado, and sauce into tortilla.

This recipe is linked up to Friday Food - Click on the Momtrends box for more of this weeks recipes!!

Ooey Gooey Chicken

A few years back, I came across this recipe in a scrapbooking forum - so I claim no ownership or credit for it - but I can testify that it is DELICIOUS!!

Ingredients:

1 1/2-2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 can, cream of mushroom soup
1 can, cream of chicken soup
1 cup water
1 cup salsa
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
**shredded mexican cheese for garnish**
**extra salsa for garnish**
tortilla chips <-- for dipping


*Combine chicken thighs, cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, water, 1 cup of salsa, rinsed and drained black beans, green chilies, chili powder, cumin, and red pepper flakes in crock-pot.

*Cook on low 6-8 hours, or high 4-5 hours.

*Garnish with shredded cheese, salsa (even sour cream or jalapeno slices if you like)

*Serve with tortilla chips