Avocado & Corn Salsa

This is a great dish you can make for an appetizer. My sister found it on For the Love of Cooking blog and has made it a few times for us. I made it for Father's Day. Very easy and so tasty! Yum!

Ingredients:

• 2 ears of sweet corn (I used a can of sweet corn, drained)
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 2 ripe avocados, diced
• 1 red jalapeno, seeded and finely diced (I used a green jalapeno)
• Juice of 1-2 lime
• 2-3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Directions:

Shuck the corn and slice the (uncooked) kernels off the cob. Dice tomato, red onions, avocado, and jalapeno. Gently combine all ingredients in a bowl along with lime juice and cilantro. Season well with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste. Enjoy.

*Recipe courtesy of fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com

Avocado-Cheese Sandwiches

This kids' dish is a great change of pace from good ol' PB & J. I got the recipe for the avocado-cheese spread from my baby cookbook. Jack gobbled it right up. ;) I served this with homemade sweet potato fries.

Ingredients:
avocado, 1/2 large (about 1/3 cup)
light cream cheese, 1/3 cup
whole wheat bread

Directions:
1. Mask ripe avocado with a fork until smooth.
2. Add cream cheese and mash together.
3. Spread onto a slice of bread and if need be cut into small pieces.

This makes quite a lot. I saved the leftovers by placing spread in a plastic bowl. I covered it with press and seal wrap right on the spread and then covered with lid. I am hoping it will keep for tomorrow.


Recipe courtesy of Cooking for Baby

Turkey Taco Skillet

If you are a fan of Mexican food...this is a very tasty dish that is a must try! Not only is it delicious, but it is healthy. An added bonus...it's a skillet recipe, so you don't have to turn on the oven! Makes for a great weeknight meal!!!! It also made a lot! So we have plenty for dinner tomorrow! Thanks to my friend, Lori, for sending me the recipe! I love when someone shares a new recipe for me to try!!! Thanks Lori!!!!

Ingredients:

· 1 lb ground turkey

· 1 pkg taco seasoning mix

· 2 cups water

· 1 jar (16 oz) thick & chunky salsa

· 1 can Mexican-style corn (I used regular corn)

· 2 cups instant brown rice

· 1 cup shredded Mexican or taco cheese blend

· 2 cups shredded lettuce

· 1 large tomato, chopped

· 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Serve with: baked tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Cook turkey in a large nonstick skillet over high heat, stirring to break up meat, 5 minutes or until browned. Stir in seasoning mix, water, salsa and corn; bring to a boil. Stir in rice. Cover and remove from heat; let stand 12 to 15 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and let stand 1 to 2 minutes to melt cheese.

2. On plates, top rice mixture with lettuce, tomato and sour cream. Serve with tortilla chips.

Recipe courtesy of Lori Held who found on Woman's Day website

BBQ Chicken Roll-Ups

Today I got my Kraft Food & Family magazine in the mail. I came across this recipe and improvised since I didn't have all the ingredients. I surprisingly had enough to make this and WOW it was good!!! This is an easy,weeknight dish that'll be great for summer when you don't want to turn on the oven!!

Ingredients:
cold, leftover pieces of rotisserie chicken
2 cups of coleslaw blend (cabbage slaw mix)
2 tbsp of light Ranch dressing ( I love Hidden Valley!!)
1/2 of an avocado, chopped
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
chopped romaine
whole wheat tortillas
BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray)

Directions:
1. Toss coleslaw with dressing and set aside.
2. In another bowl, toss chicken with BBQ sauce .
3. Spoon avocado on center of tortilla, followed by coleslaw mixture, chicken, and top with romaine, tomato, and cucumber.
4. Roll up and serve with veggie chips :)

Baked Rigatoni

This Italian dish I had a school a few weeks ago. Parents made lunch for us the week of teacher appreciation. I enjoyed this so much, I asked for the recipe. It was a nice Sunday night dinner. I actually made the full batch and froze half of it. Love when I can do this!!!


Ingredients:
1 lb Mezzi Rigatoni
1 lb Italian mild sausage meat **packaged without casing**
1 lb pasta sauce (I used Ragu Traditional)
1/2 lb fresh Ricotta cheese (in the deli)
2 c Italian Style Four-Cheese Shredded
1 TBSP salt
1/2 tsp olive oil

Directions:
1. Boil past and add salt and olive oil while boiling (cook until fork tender).
2. Take a pinch of sausage meat and roll it in your palm until you make a small round shape.
3. Repeat until entire package is used.
4. Place on a skillet and cook on medium high. Stir and rotate until browned.
5. Drain pasta and put into a baking dish or pan. (I did 2 small dishes)
6. Place sausage with grease on top of pasta; toss lightly.
7. Add Ricotta in a random manner.
8. Add pasta over entire dish.
9. Lift pasta gently to allow sauce to seep through.
10. Spread Italian cheese over dish. (If freezing, skip this part until you are ready to bake and put in oven).
11. Bake entire dish until cheese is nicely melted.
12. Bake at 295 degrees for 20-40 minutes. I had made my dish in advance and had it from the fridge. It took about 40 minutes to warm. If freeze, thaw dish over night.

Recipe courtesy of Jana Vena

Cheesy Spinach & Bacon Dip

My SIL Shannon first introduced me to this dip. We both love the spinach dip from J. Alexander's. This is pretty good too!

Ingredients:
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
1 lb Velveeta cheese; cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 oz cream cheese; cubed
1 (10 oz) can RO*TEL diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
8 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled (I did not use them in the above picture)

Directions:
1. Microwave ingredients for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after 3 minutes.
2. Serve with tortilla chips and cut up fresh vegetables.

Tip: Keep warm in a crock pot. I use a liner in my crock pot for easy clean up!!!

Recipe courtesy of Kraft Foods

Veggie Hummus Dip

This is a super quick and easy appetizer dish that is very flavorful! Thanks to my friend Melissa who shared it with me!

Ingredients:
Onion and chive cream cheese
Original flavor hummus
red onion
cucumber
tomato
Feta cheese crumbles
Pita chips

Directions:
Spread the cream cheese on a dish. Spread the hummus on top of the cream cheese. Top with chopped red onion, cucumber, tomato, and feta cheese. Serve with pita chips.

Recipe courtesy of Mellisa Millbrandt