This layered salad with a Mexican twist makes six servings of about 1 cups each. A glass 8x8 pan is the perfect size. I have a vintage covered refrigerator dish that works great! Use any sturdy lettuce or lettuce mix as the base – iceberg, romaine,etc. A 12 ounce package seems to be the norm, but a 16 ounce package will also work with the proportions above. Feel free to up the amount of taco seasoning for more kick. 1 teaspoon is very mild, 2 teaspoons is medium and 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) makes the flavor pop! Wait till the last minute to add the tortilla chips so they stay crunchy. Wheels and Bytes like to have extra chips to moosh on their plates as a foundation to top with the salad. Avacado is optional, but if you choose to use it, add it at the last minute as well so it ... [Read More]
ground beef
Texas Spaghetti
I needed a dish to take to a family of three big guys and big eaters. Something that could be refrigerated for a few days or frozen until later. Something that could be warmed one serving at a time or all at once for a meal. Something familiar, truly comfort food as they were in the midst of a tough time. I was hesitant to do this sort of thing for a long time after we moved to a metropolitan area. Then I had surgery one year and the neighbors planned things so someone brought us something for the evening meal every day. It was wonderful for the whole family not to have to worry about groceries, planning or cooking for that week! Now I have no qualms about taking things to people who might need a bit of relief. I remembered Texas Spaghetti from Cub Scout days. It fit all the ... [Read More]
Crock Pot Lasagna
I mooshed several different Crockpot Lasagna recipes together to come up with another crockpot special to feed the work crew during the kitchen remodel! I would make this crock pot lasagna again – but flavor it up a little bit. Normally we don’t do spicy, but this was a little bland for us. Since I did not have a stove, I used ground beef that I browned before freezing and added dried onion flakes and minced garlic from a jar. I think this would be better with a small/medium onion chopped and sauted with about twice the garlic I used. It probably would also benefit from using a more flavorful jarred sauce so use your favorite instead of the plain I had. Or add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Remember to keep the meat and sauce layer thin enough to sort of see the noodles beneath ... [Read More]
Wicked Easy Meatloaf
A quick 5 minutes of wicked easy preparation gets this meatloaf in the oven. An hour later, a delicious meatloaf is on the table. Almost magic . . . and the flavor is so good! Monday evening is Bytes turn to cook. He’s developed his own repertoire of recipes that are quick, easy and tasty. He offered to share some of them with you because -- goodness knows -- we all can use a quick and easy dinner that is super yummy. Nothing fancy – just a meal that is quick to prepare and clean up and move on to the evening’s activity. Without further ado, here is the first in a (sort of random) series titled “Bytes Bites” Psssst -- It’s our little secret – but this tastes way better than the meatloaf I used to make! Wicked Easy Meatloaf Print Prep time 5 mins Cook ... [Read More]
Sausage Bites
I made Sausage Appetizer Bites for New Year's Eve because the guys love it! It's a filling, hearty appetizer with no fancy flavors or parts -- just good stuff together! I made it again recently and barely saved enough for a picture. You're lucky I have no compunction about grabbing food off their plates for a photo! Bytes tried to put teethmarks in all of his but I was faster. And then I couldn't get a knock your socks off photo . . . . You'll have to take my word with scant photographic proof that this is a taste worth fighting for. . . it is! Use the full crescent sheets if you can. Otherwise press the seams together on the perforated crescent dough. Grease or spray the baking sheet and work with the first package of crescent dough directly on the cookie sheet. Stretch it ... [Read More]
Baked Sausage Stuffed Peppers
Baked Sausage Stuffed Peppers are a favorite because the recipe does not have tomato sauce – just the flavors of meat, vegetables and cheese. This recipe is also versatile. It was 11 degrees out the day I made this. No way was I setting myself in that cold car so I used what I had on hand – sausage, Birds Eye Wild Rice (microwave in the bag mix with broccoli and carrots) and Colby Jack cheese. Using sausage eliminates the need for other seasoning, but you can also add your own seasonings to ground beef. For us that would be salt and pepper , maybe a bit of minced garlic. You can see that sausage is a flavor boost for our household! (Sad isn’t it?? I’m working on it!) I’ve not used the wild rice mixture before but the mixture did just fine and we had the benefit of the bits of ... [Read More]