Traditional Black Beans & Rice

1 Tbs olive oil
¾ c. onion, chopped fine
½ c. green pepper, chopped fine
1 c. tomatoes, diced
1 can (15 oz) Bush's Seasoned Recipe black beans, drain & reserve juice
½ tspn thyme
1 tspn garlic salt
3 Tbs cider vinegar
½ tspn hot pepper sauce
**Optional: lime wedge or slice mango

In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Cook onion & green pepper until tender. Stir in tomatoes, beans, thyme, and garlic salt & cook for 3 min.
Add vinegar, pepper sauce, and reserved juice, and continue to cook 5 min.
Serve over rice.
Garnish with lime wedge or sliced mango.

Marinated Chicken Alfredo

Marinated Chicken Alfredo

Marinate two boneless/skinless chicken breast in Ken's Steak House Asian Sesame with Ginger & Soy over night or for several hours. Cook chicken on grill or broil til done. Sauté in light olive oil with small amount of finely chopped onions & finely chopped pepper (as most kids don't like onions & pepper), in sauce pan. Add chicken and 1 jar Alfredo (I use the Walmart brand...it is excellent and much cheaper), stir everything together and simmer.

Boil 1 box of bow tie pasta or your choice. I add some frozen peas to the bow ties just before I drain. Mix your bow ties/peas/Alfredo mixture in baking dish. Top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and bake for 30 minutes on 350 degrees.

Submitted by Tammy Hines

Chicken Ranch Tacos

1 box (4.7 ox) taco shells - Old El Paso Stand 'n Stuff
3 c. cut up deli rotisserie chicken* (from 2-2½ lb chicken)
1 pkg (1 oz) taco seasoning mix
½ c. ranch dressing
1½ c. shredded lettuce
1 med. tomato, chopped (¼ c.)
1 c. shreddred Cheddar cheese (4 ox)
¼ c. sliced green onions
**Additional ranch dressing, if desired.

Heat oven to 325°F. Heat taco shells in oven as directed.
Meanwhile, in a medium microwavable bowl, place chicken. Sprinkle with taco seasoning mix; toss gently to coat. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 2-3 min or until hot. Stir in ½ cup dressing.
Spoon warm chicken mixture into heated taco shells. Top with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and green onions. Drizzle with additional dressing.

Serves 5 (2 tacos each).

*Any diced, cooked chicken will suffice.

Beer Grilled Chops

4 bone-in pork chops, about ¾-in think
¼ c. soy sauce
2 Tbp brown sugar
2 tspn grated ginger root
1 c. beer

Place chops in a self-sealing plastic bag; add remaining ingredients & seal bag.
Gently massage bag to evenly distribute marinade ingredients.
Refrigerate 4-24 hrs.
Prepare medium-hot coals in kettle-style grill.
Remove chops from marinade & discard marinade; place on grill directly over coals, cover grill & grill for 10 min, turning once.

Serves 4.

Serve with pasta salad & grilled vegetable kabobs.

See also: Grecian Goddess Grilled Chops

Snow Pudding

1 Pkg (10 oz) marshmallows
½ c. milk
1 c. (½ pint) whipping cream, whipped
½ c. pecan pieces
1 Tbs lemon juice
½ tspn vanilla extract

Combine marshmallows & milk in a saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until marshmallows are melted; cool.
Fold in remaining ingredients.
Pour into a greased, 8 in square pan.
Chill until firm.

To serve: cut into squares and top with fresh berries or fresh/canned peaches. Makes 9 servings. Refrigerate leftovers.

Easy Grilled Chicken Teriaki

This looks good:

Country Fried or Chicken Fried Steak

My mother brought by some goodies that she found on sale at the grocery. (My mother is a thrifty shopper. It's amazing some of the stuff she finds.) One of those items was cubed round steak. I only know of one way to fix cubed, round steak so I made Country Fried Steak with white gravy & steak fries.


The meat was kind of tough - that's sometimes what you get when you buy stuff on clearance... :(

I also found this interesting recipe by Paula Deen and this history lesson about Chicken Fried steak.

Homemade Baked Macaroni & Cheese

My sister got this from a friend of hers and said that it was so good that she will probably never eat box macaroni again! I changed the name of my blog, made her an author and STILL couldn't get her to upload this recipe! (I always have to do everything...)



While looking for mac-n-cheese photos, I cam across a lot of potentially good recipes: Southern Plate; multiple choices from HubPages (one made with truffle oil).