Italian Zucchini Soup

In a large pot...
-brown one pound of ground beef
-when that is finished add one large can of whole tomatoes
-use your kitchen shears to break up the tomatoes
-use your empty tomato can, fill with water (or broth for extra flavor) and add to the soup
-slice 4-5 zucchini's into thin rounds and add to the pot
-bring to a boil and let the soup simmer for about 15-20 minutes
-salt to taste
-serve with french bread and lots of freshly grated mozzerella cheese on top of the soup....sooo good!

Enchilada Chips

Ever wonder what to do with the left over chicken from a roasted chicken? Here's a yummy solution. Of course you could just make chicken specifically for this dish too. This one was a regular when I was in college. A must for a study night or a busy day and the family is hungry and you're exhausted!

-Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray
-Spread tortilla chips on the bottom
-top with shredded chicken
-drizzle a small can of enchilada sauce all over
-smother with cheese
-Throw it in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350 to heat/melt

It's grub time!

Costa Rican Coleslaw

Here's a recipe from my M.I.L. (Mother In Law), she made it today for Easter and it was soo good! I like a little crunch with my meal and I'm NOT a fan of mayo which is what traditional coleslaw uses. It tastes very fresh and light. I thought I'd pass it on for you to try...THANKS M.I.L!!

Ingredients:
head of cabbage
2 TBL olive oil
chopped cilantro
3 green onions, cut
salt & pepper
lemon juice
avocado

To thinly sliced cabbage, add green onions and cilantro.
Add salt & pepper to taste.
Mix well.
Drizzle lemon juice over mixture
Optional...add avocado to coleslaw.

This is so healthy and inexpensive.

Breakfast Spam Potatoes

Okay, so I know spam has a bad wrap with some people. Canned meat? Yes! Canned meat can taste good. I'm not a fan of spam by itself but in these breakfast potatoes, it's really good.

1 can of spam can go a long way so I normally only use half the can or even a third and save the rest for later. But I would say to use about 10 small or 8 large potatoes per 1 can of spam. So, you may want to half the recipe if you're only serving a few people. Another option, especially for those of you in college, is to make the full amount and then save the rest for a quick burrito on the way to class. Be careful though, you might want to hide it in the back of your fridge before you're roommates eat it all!

Here's a side note, this is only a guideline! Be your own chef! Add more or less potatoes or spam, it's all good :-)

-Peel and dice 8 potatoes
-Dice 1 can of spam
-Heat up a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and put about 3 Tbs of vegetable oil ( you need enough to just coat the bottom of the pan and the potatoes otherwise the potatoes will begin to stick and become mushy)
-Add your potatoes, spam, and salt and pepper to taste
-Stir once to coat everything with the veg. oil and then cover and lower the heat.
-Let it cook for about 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender
-remove the lid and flip the mixture over, it should be nice and brown
-now just cook the other side till it's crisp and golden brown and you're done!

This is really good in a burrito. To spice it up even more add your favorite hot sauce, beans, and maybe some scrambled eggs. Enjoy!

Lentil Soup (good and good for ya!)

In a large pot combine:
4 cups water
1 cup lentils
1/2 cup baby or diced carrots
1 peeled and diced potato
1 diced zucchini
1 medium can of crushed tomatoes
1 tsp onion powder (sub for the real thing if you like or if you have time- about 1/2 cup freshly diced)
1 tsp garlic powder (sub for the real thing if you like or if you have time- about 2 cloves crushed)
Salt to taste
Bring to a boil and simmer over medium-low heat for 45min-1hr
Great with crackers, french bread, sandwiches or quesadillas.

P.S. This is a good recipe for the crock pot too!

One Pot Fettucine Alfredo

In my opinion this is way better than the canned Alfredo sauce and easy to make.
-cook your noodles like you normally would
-if you like broccoli in your Alfredo then add some broccoli flowerets in with your boiling noodles just two minutes before you are going to take the noodles out.
-put noodles/broccoli in a strainer and leave it there for a minute.
-in the same pot add one pint of whipping cream, let it heat up a bit. (careful! it only takes a minute to warm up and you don't want it to overflow on you)
-when it's nice and warm add 1 bag of grated Parmesan cheese, whisk until smooth
-put your noodles and broccoli back in the pot and toss together with the sauce.
notes:
a) Some people put butter in their sauce but I found that you really don't need it, plus it cuts down on the calories a bit.
b) To make your fettucine stretch more and be more colorful and tasty try adding mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, and/or chicken.
c) Try different pasta with the sauce for something different like bowtie, wheat, orzo or angelhair.

Taco Salad

My husband absolutely loves when I make this. Whenever we have game night or fight night, he wants me to make it. This is fine by me because it's easy and can feed lots of people for cheap!
All I do is...

-cook some ground beef
-warm up some canned beans
-prep the toppings (lettuce, cheese, tomato, guacamole, sour cream, hot sauce)
-Layer it over some spicy nacho Doritos and munch!
It's kinda fun for the guests too because they get to make it how they like it.

Quick Tip: Put the sour cream in a sandwich bag and snip a tiny hole in one of the corners. People have fun making little swirlies of sour cream over their food instead of a giant glob in one spot. Plus, no extra bowl to clean up, just throw the baggie away when the sour cream is gone. I love baggies,I always try to put my left overs in baggies so I won't have so many dishes when it comes time to clean out the fridge. Doesn't work for everything but it definitely helps.