Frito Salad

My friend made this the other nite when we got together, and it was fabulous. In fact, I'm going to have it for dinner while my hubby is out of town, might make a good lunch or side dish also! Yum!

4 cans red or pinto beans (or a combo), drained & rinsed
1 grn. pepper, chopped
2-3 grn. onions, sliced
3 Roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
12"ish" oz. bottle Catalina or French dressing*
1 reg. size bag Fritos or Fritos Scoops

Combine all ingre. except for chips. You can make it the day before & refrigerate until ready to serve. At serving time, mix in chips. It will keep fresh for about 1 1/2 hours or you can just let everyone add their own chips. :)

*For our recipe group she halfed the recipe, used Brianna's brand Zesty French dressing and used some "frito" like chips from Sun Harvest.

Lime Rice

I made Kristi's Honey lime enchiladas the other night with this rice (and some beans) and it was a great combo, and if i had a little more time it would have been good with some fresh Pico de Gallo, very Cafe Rio style. This makes a lot of rice, so i did half the recipe, and with the enchiladas i did corn tortillas and it was really good.

Lime Rice

in a sauce pan, saute

2 Tbs butter
1 yellow onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced

In a large pot bring to boil:
6 2/3 cups water
8 tsp chicken bouillon
1/2 bunch of cilantro ( i didn't have any and so i didn't put this in)
2 tsp cumin
2 small cans diced green chili's
1 Tbs lime juice
1/2 tsp pepper

Add three cups of rice, and the butter/garlic/onion mixture. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 min. (stir occasionally so rice doesn't stick to bottom of pan)

Olive Garden soup, salad and breadsticks

(recipe taken from this blog http://eastridgerecipes.blogspot.com/)

**** So i had to post this one. My husband who is not a salad eater has fallen in love with Olive garden salad. I found this recipe for their dressing and the Zupa Toscana soup, and lets just say he said this is the best meal I have ever made for him. It was so good! I put the whole meal together in about 35 min too. the dressing was a little milkier in color than the one at olive garden, but the taste was really close to the real thing, and i think the soup is better than Olive Garden's.

Olive Garden Salad Dressing


1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons romano cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Mix all ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little to tart for your own personal tastes please add a little extra sugar.

For salad- use iceburg lettuce, olives, fresh tomato, croutons and parmesan cheese. They also put on red onion slices and whole jalapeno's but I left that off.


Zupa Toscana (just like Olive Garden's)


1 pound ground Italian sausage

1 large onion, chopped

2 large russet baking potatoes, sliced in half, and then in ¼-inch slices

2 cans chicken broth (or 2 chicken bouillon cubes + 2 cups water)

1 quart water

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ can or jar of bacon bits (I just chopped up cooked bacon)

2 c. kale or Swiss chard, chopped ( i just cut up a 8 0z block of swiss)

1 c. heavy whipping cream

Cook sausage thoroughly. Drain on paper towels. Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water and garlic in a pot and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done. Add sausage and bacon. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn to low heat. Add kale and cream. Heat through and serve.

p.s. I added crushed red pepper to spice it up. The first time I added too much, the second time probably not enough. You'll have to experiment with how spicy you like it!

Breadsticks-
you can be fancy and make your own, but i just used the large rhodes rolls and after they thawed a bit i rolled them in butter and garlic powder, then rolled them out into breadstick form, let them raise until double in size, cooked them for like 15-18 min on 350 degrees.

chicken salad sandwiches

These are more for a big party, not a family meal. we are making this for amanda's shower this weekend. I insist on making them for every girly event because I crave them all year long. It serves 25, or if you cut them in half it would serve more.


5-7 chicken breasts cooked and cut up
1 cup chopped celery
20 oz can pineapple tidbits
1/3 cup chopped green onion
1 cup cashews

Mix with

1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup miracle whip
1 pint whipping cream- whipped
1 Tbs. chicken bouillon
salt
pepper

25 croissants


Just mix it all in a big bowl and spoon onto croissants. It is best if you mix it right before the party starts so they are fresh, I usually cook the chicken ahead of time and get everything measured out then before we are ready to eat I hurry and mix it all together. I have also had it with red grapes in it too for a little variety. These are delicious and filling, perfect for showers and get togethers.

Sweet Potato Fries

Let me start this post with a sad tale: "Once there was a country girl from Idaho potato country who married a city boy from Utah who was allergic to potatoes. The End." Sad, right? But, I'm happy to announce that I was recently introduced to sweet potato fries! (Is this old news to all of you?) My husband can eat them and they are a hit with the kids, too. And so healthy! Here's what I do:

Sweet Potato Fries

2 sweet potatoes
a splash of olive oil
seasonings to taste (salt/season-all/cinnamon and paprika/whatever floats your boat)

My husband is allergic to a lot of vegetables, but if I peel the skins, he does much better. So I start by peeling the sweet potatoes, although that is totally unnecessary if you like peels on your fries. It's your choice. Then I chop them into fry shape and size, throw them on a cookie sheet and drizzle some olive oil over the top. Then I mix them around to get them all coated with oil before sprinkling seasonings on top. I usually just do salt, but I've also tried cinnamon and paprika, which were also good. Then bake them in a 425 degree oven for 30 minutes or so, turning every 10 minutes or so. And, VOILA! Baked sweet potato fries. We like to use fry sauce on these (mix ketchup and mayo together to taste), but ketchup is also good. These fries can also stand alone without sauce of any kind.

Fries are back on the menu at the Jones household! Yippee!