Cheese Bread

1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar/monterey jack cheese blend
2 green onions, chopped
garlic powder, to taste
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 lb loaf French bread

Mix 1st 5 ingredients together. Spread on halves of french bread. Sprinkle with paprika and broil.

Can also add 1-2.25 oz can of chopped olives (or sliced, if preferred) and sun-dried tomatoes to change it up.

This bread is really yummy and is great to serve with soups, salads, or grilled steak. The original recipe called for Miracle Whip instead of mayo -- either ingredient is good.

Southwestern BBQ Chicken Salad

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 head Romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 head Iceberg lettuce, chopped

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

4 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 Haas avocados, diced

shredded cheese, Mexican blend or cheddar

crispy tortilla strips

Stir shredded chicken in with the BBQ sauce until well coated. Of course you can use less or more sauce, it’s up to you! I like quite a bit since I love the smoky flavor of BBQ sauce in a salad. Toss together the lettuce, cilantro, corn, beans, and chopped veggies. Top with shredded chicken, cheese and crispy tortilla strips. Drizzle ranch or cilantro lime dressing over salad and enjoy!

*to make crispy tortilla strips simply slice about 10 corn tortillas in narrow strips and place on cookie sheet. Spray with vegetable oil cooking spray and sprinkle generously with salt. Place under the broiler and let bake until crispy and brown around the edges.

Bowtie Chicken Caesar Salad

2 bunches green leaf lettuce, chopped

1 bag Marie Calendars Fat Free Croutons
1 bag Almond Accents/ Roasted Garlic Caesar
2 Chicken Breasts, boiled with an onion and salt and pepper
2 cups bowtie pasta, cooked
4 - 6 oz. shredded parmesan cheese
Brianna’s Asiago Caesar Dressing

Toss all the above ingredients with Caesar dressing right before serving. Serves 20-25.

*I like Brianna's dressing because it is potent and you don't have to use a lot but you could substitute another quality Caesar dressing as well.

Quiche Lorraine

Ingredients:

1 unbaked pie crust

6 slices bacon

1 onion, sliced

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups milk (or half and half)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line pastry shell with foil. Bake in oven for 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until crust is set and dry. Remove from oven and turn down temperature to 325 degrees.

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Drain and reserve 2 tablespoons of drippings. Crumble the bacon and set aside. Cook onion in skillet with reserved drippings; cook until onion is tender and then drain.

In a large bowl, mix together milk, salt, and eggs. Stir in bacon and onion. In a separate bowl, toss cheese and flour together, then add to egg mixture. Be sure to mix well. Pour egg mixture into pie crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until knife inserted in center of quiche comes out clean. If necessary, cover edge of crust with foil while baking to prevent burning or over-browning. Let stand 20 minutes before serving.

Serves 8

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 Tablespoons water

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoon soda

2 1/2 packages Andes Mints

Preparation:

Melt the butter, brown sugar, and water over low heat. Add the chocolate chips and stir until melted. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes. Mix the flour, salt, and soda together. Beat the eggs and flour mixture into the cooled chocolate mixture.

Chill 45 minutes.

Roll into 1" diameter balls and place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Immediately upon removing from the oven, place an Andes Mint on top of each cookie. When melted, spread over top of cookie.

Makes 5-6 dozen cookies.

Nicole's Alabama Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• 4 whole Medium Yams or Sweet Potatoes
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Milk (Stef uses Evaporated Milk)
• 2 beaten Eggs (Stef uses 3 Eggs which makes it more like a souffle)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 cube Butter, melted (Stef decreased to 1/4 cup)
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 cup chopped Pecans
• 1 cup Coconut
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1 cube Butter, softened (Stef decreased to 1/4 cup)

Preparation:

Wash 4 medium sweet potatoes and bake them in a 375-degree oven until fork tender, about 30-35 minutes.  When they are finished cooking, slice them open and scoop out the flesh into a large bowl.

Add 1 cup of regular granulated sugar, 1/2 cup of milk, 2 beaten eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 cube of melted butter, and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.  Mash potatoes with a potato masher until thoroughly mixed.

In a separate bowl, add 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup chopped pecans, 1 cup coconut, 1/2 cup flour, and 1 cube of softened butter.  With a pastry cutter or fork, mix together until thoroughly combined.

Spread the sweet potato mixture into a 9" x 13" baking dish and sprinkle the crumb mixture all over the top.

Bake in a 375-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

3 lbs pork loin

Put roast in crock pot with about an inch of water, with the following ingredients mixed in the water. Spoon the seasoned water over the pork roast.

1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dry ground mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Cook on low 8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Dump out the seasoned water.  Shred roast and return to crockpot.

Combine the following and stir into pork:

1 can Dr. Pepper

2 cups packed brown sugar (Or less for not as sweet)

1 bottle red taco sauce

Cook on low until ready to eat. The longer you can simmer it, the better it is.