CHEESY TATER TOT CASSEROLE

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2 lbs. hamburger (or less)
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup (I used Cream of Chicken Soup)
1 bag of tater tots (about 4 cups)
1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (more if you like it cheesy)

1 onion finely chopped

2 cups frozen corn

Mix raw beef, 1 can mushroom soup, and onion; pat mixture into the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan. Sprinkle frozen corn over meat mixture. Mix second can of soup with grated cheese and sour cream; spread on top. Layer tater tots across to completely cover top. Sprinkle some more grated cheese on top (optional).

Bake at 350°F for 1 hour to 90 minutes, or until meat is cooked and tater tots are beginning to crisp.

Mexican Haystacks

Recipe and photo from jensyummyfun.com
This is one of our new favorites! It is so yummy! --
A great compromise to soup on a cold day. You could also serve this on a bed of lettuce.

Mexican Haystacks
8 oz cream cheese
2 C milk
2 C water
1 C sour cream
2 tsp cumin
1 med sweet onion diced
1 Tlb chicken bouillon 
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch Dip
4 frozen chicken breasts
2 Can diced green chilies
1 bag frozen corn
2 cans black beans
2 cans Rotel

Combine all ingredients but chicken, beans, corn and Rotel. Heat until smooth and blend until creamy. Immersion blender works best. Then add remaining ingredients and let cook all day, stirring occasionally.  Once chicken is cooked it can either be removed from crock pot to be diced up or the longer is simmers, the closer you'll get to it shredding on it's own :)
Serve over a bed of tortilla chips and rice with warm breadsticks. Garnish with cheese and fresh cilantro. YUM!!!

**Recipe makes quite a bit, but is great as leftovers all week!

Baked Ziti (Penne)

1 lb. Italian Sausage

16 oz. Ziti (I use penne pasta)

1 cup sour cream

**½ lb. provolone cheese (grated)

½ lb. mozzarella cheese (grated)

½ lb. parmesan cheese (grated)

2 jars spaghetti sauce

Brown Italian sausage, drain and mix with the spaghetti sauce. Cook pasta according to directions on box. Layer in a 9X13 pan the following: one half of the pasta, one half of the sauce, one half of the cheese, all of the sour cream, the other half of the pasta, cheese and sauce. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until heated through.

**Note—I just buy the already shredded Italian cheese blend. I use two bags of cheese which is actually l lb. total rather than 1 ½ lbs. of cheese, but if you like it cheesier use 3 bags of Italian blend.

It is difficult to spread the sour cream between the two cheese layers. What I do is put little dobs of sour cream and then smooth them with the back of a spoon that I periodically run under hot water.

It is also a good idea to put a cookie sheet under the pan when baking—prevents messes on the bottom of your oven if you should have a boil over.

(This is Steph's recipe...she gets the credit!)

Poppie Seed Cake

1 yellow cake mix (white cake mix w/sour cream

if you can find it. If not, put about ¼ cup sour cream)

1 lg. pkg. vanilla instant pudding

4 eggs

½ c. oil

1 cup water

3 TBSP poppy seeds

Pour into a greased and lightly flour bundt pan.

(Optional: put pecan or almonds in bottom of pan)

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. While baking--

Bring to boil:

½ cup butter

½ cup sugar

¼ cup water

Drizzle over cake as soon as it comes out. Cool 45 minutes in

pan.

Peanut Butter Fingers

3/4 c. butter
3/4 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar (packed)
2 eggs
3/4 c. peanut butter
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. flour

Mix all of the above ingredients together in a mixer.
When combined, gradually add 1 1/2 c. rolled oats.

Spread mixture onto a cookie sheet.
Bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes
When you remove cookies from the oven, spread an additional 3/4 c. peanut butter on top of the cookies.

Let the cookies cool completely then top with chocolate frosting. (You can use store bought frosting...but let's get real, homemade frosting is so much better!)

Caramelitas

32 caramel squares, unwrapped
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 8x8" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.
*A stint in the fridge will help them cool off if you're pinched for time. They shouldn't be served cold, but all of that molten caramel takes a long time to cool down. They should be stored and served at room temperature.
**To make a 9x13" version, simply double the amounts.

Southwest Bean Salad

SOUTHWEST BEAN SALAD

(A vegetarian one just for you Dawn!) 

1 can Black Beans
1 can White Beans
1 can Garbanzo Beans (Chick Peas)
1 can Whole Kernel Corn

Dressing:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 Tbs. taco seasoning
1 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. dried cilantro (or 4 sprigs of fresh cilantro)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder

1. Open up cans and rinse the beans in a colander.

2. Mix dressing in a bowl and add the beans. Mix. It is not spicy, so you can add more taco seasoning or chili powder to give it some kick, but I would wait until after you mix it together. I bet if you added tomatoes or red peppers, it would still be really good, but not keep as well.

3. Viola! You can also add left over taco meat to the mix (as shown in the picture) but I wanted to show you how EASY this is. I made this for playgroup, then Logan and I chowed on this for 3 more days. I probably shouldn't have doubled the recipe, but I LOVE it! This is a great left-over-taco-meat lunch.

I put them in the Tostitos scoops for playgroup, but you can eat it as is or use as a dip for chips. BUT, if you have the ever-so-delicious cafe rio cilantro ranch dressing to put over this, it would be DIVINE!