White Boy Tacos

We have these on nights where I have run out of ideas or don't feel adventurous (or on nights where I'd rather just have a bowl of cereal, but my husband would like real food). It's very rare that I want tacos for dinner (rare as in NEVER), but I make them because he likes them so much and they're easy :)

We call them white boy tacos because you use those taco shells in a box instead of frying corn tortillas up yourselves. I'd never had taco shells from a box before I'd met my husband.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1/4 to 1/3 cup salsa
1/2 teaspoon Comino (Cumin)
1/2 teaspoon minced Garlic
Taco Shells in a box (you could even use flour tortillas if you want even easier!)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese


Brown ground beef over medium heat. Add salsa, comino, and garlic.
Toast taco shells in oven for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees.
Stuff shells with ground beef mixture and top with cheese. Bake about 5 minutes until cheese is melted. Top with whatever other taco toppings you desire.

Sausage Roll

Yum! This is a great appetizer or fun meal to make. I have no idea where my mom got the recipe, but it's simple and delicious!

Sausage Roll

1 loaf of bread dough- I use bread machine box mix, Krusteaz brand, Italian Herb or Sourdough

1 lb of ground pork sausage

2 cups shredded mozzarella or italian cheeses

Marinara sauce (for dipping)

1.Prepare bread dough, if using a bread machine mix, I follow the traditional bread instructions instead of putting it in a bread machine.

2.When dough is close to done rising, go ahead and brown the ground pork sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat until cooked, drain grease.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out prepared bread dough into a large oval

4. Sprinkle 1 c. of the shredded cheese onto the rolled out bread dough

5. Spread out the browned ground pork on top of the cheese, and sprinkle the remaining cup of cheese on top of the pork. Layer: cheese, pork, cheese.

6. Begin to roll the dough (like cinnamon rolls or a jelly roll), tucking/folding in the ends so the filling is all enclosed

7. Bake @ 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Let cool 5-10 minutes before cutting/slicing (I recommend cutting with a bread knife if you have one). Serve with marinara sauce to dip. If making a meal out of it, serve with salad.

Strawberry Baked French Toast

This is a recipe I've made a few times for my MOPS brunch. The recipe is from Sherri, one of the ladies who was in my MOPS group. This recipe is really easy and I love that you can prep it the night before. It's also great with fresh or frozen mixed berries or blueberries too....oh I bet PEACHES would be yummy too...

1 loaf of French Bread, cut into 1 inch slices
3 Eggs
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 1/4 Cups of Milk

Struesel Topping:
1/2 Cup Flour
6 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1/2 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1/4 Melted Butter

1-2 cups of Fresh or Frozen Berries of your choice (defrost berries if frozen)


-Spray 9"x13" pan with cooking spray
-Place bread in pan.
-Combine Eggs, Sugar, Vanilla and Milk in a bowl and pour over bread. Make sure all the bread slices get coated with the milk mixture.
-Cover and refrigerate at least an hour, up to one or two nights prior to baking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

-Place berries on top of bread.
-Combine Flour, Brown Sugar, and Cinnamon in a bowl and stir in butter to make the crumb/struesel topping. (I've prepped this the night before and refridgerated it...it's nice and crumbly in the morning).
-Sprinkle topping on bread.
-Bake uncovered for approximately 45 minutes.

Cookie Cake

This cookie cake is so easy and good. My good friend, Mandi, passed this recipe to me and it's worth trying if you're in the mood for something sweet. Unlike cake mix cookies I've tried in the past, it does not taste powdery or weird like the cake mix cookies usually taste.

Cookie Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

1 (12 oz.) bag chocolate chips

1 egg

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup water

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Mix everything together in a bowl until blended.

3) Press mix into a 9x13 baking pan and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until edges are golden.

4) Let cool about 10 minutes and cut into bars or just cut what you want to eat :)