Taco Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef 1 small onion, chopped 1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn,

drained 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained 6 cups corn tortilla chips 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 1/2 cup chopped green onion (I didn't include this)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a skillet over medium heat, cook beef and onion until beef is browned; drain. Place beef mixture in slow cooker with taco seasoning, tomato sauce, corn, and beans.
2.	Cover, and cook on Low 2 hours. To serve, put a handful of corn chips in each bowl, and top with soup, cheese, and green onions. note: I used cannenelli beans instead of regular kidney beans and also added black beans and northern beans. Served with corn bread. Lauren

Zucchini and Andouille Sausage

Zucchini and Andouille Sausage

½ c. brown rice, uncooked

Chicken broth

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. andouille sausage links (preferably precooked), sliced into disks

2 large zucchini, large diced

1 (14 oz.) can Italian style diced tomatoes

Parmesan cheese



1. Cook rice according to directions, substituting chicken broth for water.

2. In a large, deep skillet or dutch oven, coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil. Over medium-high heat, sauté onion ‘til soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute.

3. Add sausage and sauté, stirring occasionally until all the sausage pieces have nice crispy brown edges. Add zucchini and season with salt and pepper.

4. Stirring occasionally, sauté until zucchini is crisp-tender. Add diced tomatoes and rice and simmer for 4 minutes. Note: it will look very “soupy” at this point. Don’t fret. That fixes itself once it has a chance to rest.

5. Turn off heat, and allow mixture to rest for 5 minutes. Ladle in bowls and shower with parmesan cheese.


Lauren

Jamaican Pork Chops with Tropical Fruit Salsa

Jamaican Pork Chops with Tropical Fruit Salsa 
2/3 cup prepared Italian salad dressing
1/3 cup Frank's RedHot Original Cayanne Pepper Sauce
1/3 cup lime juice
2T Brown sugar
2t dried thyme leaves
1 t ground allspice
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t ground cinnamon
6 loin pork chops, cut 1 inch thick -about 2.5 pounds 


Place Salad dressing, redhot sauce, lime juice, sugar and seasonings in blender or food processor. Cover and process until smooth. Reserve 1/2 cup dressing mixture for Tropical Fruit Salsa. Place pork chops in large resealable plastic food storage bag. Pour remaining dressing mixture over chops. Seal bag and marinade in refrigerator 1 hour. 


Place chops on grid, reserving dressing mixture. Grill over medium coals 30 minutes or until pork is juicy and barely pink in center, turning and basting frequently with dressing mixture. do not baste during last 5 minutes of cooking. Serve chops with Tropical Fruit Salad. 


Tropical Fruit Salsa: 
1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple
1 ripe mango, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
2 T finely chopped red onion.
1T minced fresh cilantro leaves  
combine pineapple, mango, onion, cilantro and reserved 1/2 cup dressing mixture in small bowl. Refrigerate until chilled.


Lauren

Wild Rice and Chicken Soup

Wild Rice and Chicken Soup!

1 package Rice a Roni long grain and wild rice, original

1 1/4 c. water

1 chicken bouillon cube

1/2 c. carrots, chopped

1/2 c. celery, chopped

1/2 c. onion, chopped

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. flour

1 c. cream

3 c. chicken broth

3 chicken breasts (or 6 chicken tenders)

Olive oil for cooking chicken (2-3 T)

Empty contents of Rice a Roni (including flavor packet) into baking dish.

Add water and bake at 325 for 45 minutes to an hour (I just did this on the stove-top according to the directions).

In a large pan, heat oil and then add bite sized pieces of chicken and cook thoroughly.

In a separate large pan, melt butter and saute veggies. Add the flour to the pan. Then slowly add the chicken broth to blend smooth. Add the cream, then the bouillon cube, then the rice mixture and the chicken mixture.


Lauren