Fajitas

By Stephanie Reece

My family absolutly loves these and although it takes a little time (not energy), its totally worth it.

1-2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (or beef works to)
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1/2 small onion (yellow or white)
1 tomato seeds and juices squeezed
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
Fajita seasoning packet

Toppings:
Sour cream
Salsa
Guacamole
Cheese

-Cut chicken into thin strips and cook through. I recently tried grilling them on the BBQ and it worked great! Set aside when cooked through.
Chop all veggies into thin strips. Cut tomatoes into wedges making sure that most of the juice has been squeezed from them. Add olive oil to large, deep skillet and heat until hot. When oil is hot add all the veggies and cook until tender. This takes around 20 min. or so. Remove veggies and set aside. Put chicken back in skillet and add fajita seasoning packet with approx 1/4 c water then put veggies back into skillet with chicken and simmer for approx 5-10 min or until seasoning is well blended. Serve on tortillas with sour cream, cheese and salsa. (Check here for homemade salsa recipe) Dinner is on!

**I am cheap, so unless I am serving this for company, I only buy green bell peppers. The other colors are too expensive!

Baked beans

by Stephanie Reece
This is a great way to dress up those store bought beans in minutes!

1-2 cans your fav baked beans (I go for Bushes original)
3-4 slices bacon
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 sm. onion, diced

-Cut bacon in small pieces and fry. Set on paper towles to drain. Drain most of the grease from the bacon reserving just enough to saute the onion and garlic in. **NOTE, add the onions and let them cook until they are almost done. The garlic sautes up super fast and if you add it too early it will burn! Stir garlic, onion and bacon bits into beans and transfer to oven proof dish. Bake covered at 350* while the rest of your BBQ is on the grill! YUM-O!! The smell alone with drive you crazy!

Apple dip

Stephanie Reece
I actually can not take credit for this recipe! I stole it from a friend who stole it from a friend and so on! Feel free to call it your own too!

1/2 C toffee chips
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C sugar
1Tsp Vanilla
8 oz cream cheese, softened

-Mix all together and slice apples for dipping! My girlfriend hit it on the nose when she said you will want to lick the bowl clean! So, happy licking!

Meatloaf

By Stephanie Reece
Are you like me? Always switching up your meatloaf recipe?? I use a few of the same ingredients all the time like the eggs, mustard and Worcestershire sauce, but change up a few things almost every time I make this! Here is a base, but feel free to add/subtract what you do/don't like. The stuff I always use will be in bold print and the other is just a suggestion!

1-2 lbs hamburger meat (I use Turkey a lot too!)
1 egg
Tbsp or so of mustard
Tbsp or so of ketchup
Approx 1 cup of bread crumbs (I run out of this a lot, so I substitute stuffing mix often!)
A few shakes of Worcester sauce
Onion to your liking

-Mold and place in baking dish and bake at 350* for 45-60 min depending on size.

As you can see I really only use about 4 things regularly! I know some people use crushed ritz or saltine crackers as a sub for bread crumbs, but I have been using the bread crumbs from the stuffing box more and more...it gives it a nice flavor. Just be sure to crush the stuffing mix like you would anything else. I have also used Panko (Japanese style bread crumbs) before and that works well too! I am a fan of ketchup, but my dad enjoys BBQ sauce in his loaf! Have fun experimenting!