Jen's Easy Veggie Soup

Easy Vegetable Soup
1 - 1.5 lbs ground hamburger
2 cans tomato sauce
1 can crushed (or diced) tomatoes
1 bag frozen mixed veggies (carrots, corn, green beans)
Chili powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
Garlic, to taste


Fry hamburger meat and drain. Add tomato sauce and tomatoes. Add chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper -- I usually sprinkle the whole top of the mixture with chili powder, then stir, and add the other seasonings. Heat through.

Variations

• Why use hamburger meat? Use ground turkey or sausage. Go meatless. It your super easy soup, eat it how you like it.
• Use fresh or canned veggies, or add veggies to the frozen. Without draining, add a can of corn or green beans. Fresh or canned potatoes are yummy, too. And I absolutely love to add 1/2 a head of cabbage to my soup.
  
• Use Rotel tomatoes instead of regular diced tomatoes for some real kick.
• Instead of tomato sauce, try tomato juice. Chicken or veggie broth is also good.
  
• Serve with cornbread! Jiffy cornbread is always my quick and easy go-to when I make veggie soup!
  

This makes a lot of soup. If you don't plan on eating leftovers the next day, this freezes really well. If you added potatoes, the texture may become grainy after freezing and reheating, however.

Love it? Hate it? Got your own variation? Post your thoughts.

Easy Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp Scampi

1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/2 to 1 stick butter or margarine
Garlic Salt, to taste
Worcestershire sauce, to taste
Cajun or All-Purpose seasoning, to taste

Easy, fast, and cheap! That's my kind of dinner!

I put 1 lb of shrimp, but honestly I'm not sure. You want enough to serve 4.

To save time, I bought individually frozen shrimp. Mine was great: thaw by running under cold water for 5 minutes and you're ready to go. If buy by frozen shrimp, thaw according to directions on package.

Once shrimp is ready, melt butter/margarine in medium to large pan. I melt a whole stick because we like the seasoned butter over baked potatoes. Feel free to use more or less butter.

Add shrimp to pan. Add Worcestershire and seasonings. Cook on medium-low until shrimp is heated through. My shrimp only needed to cook about 3 minutes.

Serve with salad and bake potatoes for a complete seafood meal.

8 minutes and $8 for a seafood dinner? Love it!

Fiesta Rice

Fiesta Rice

Fiesta Rice is really easy. Pair with a black beans and you've got the perfect side dishes for your Mexican meal.

Brown rice works best for texture (and is healthier anyway). Because there are only two people in my home, I like to use 1 tub of Minute Ready to Serve Rice . It says it's only 1 serving but I find for this recipe it's perfect for 2.

The two recipes below use ingredients that are probably sitting in our fridge or pantry when preparing for a Mexican dish!

Recipe 1
1 tub Minute Ready to Serve Brown Rice, fixed according to directions
1 jar chunky salsa

Pour rice into bowl. Mix a few of tablespoons of salsa into the rice and reheat. You'll be surprised by how good it is.

Recipe 2
1 tub Minute Ready to Serve Brown Rice, fixed according to directions
2-3 tablespoons of tomato sauce
1/4 (or so) teaspoon of Taco Seasoning
a pinch of garlic salt

Pour rice into bowl. Add all ingredients, mix well, and reheat.

This recipe tastes a lot like Applebee's fiesta rice that comes with Fiesta Lime Chicken. To make it more authentic, shop up some red and green bell pepper, add a little oil to a pan, and heat until veggies are slightly soft. Then add a spoonful or two of sweet kernel corn.


Got your own Fiesta Rice recipe or other Mexican sidedish? Share with me.

My Mamma's Enchiladas

Easy Enchiladas

1 lb hamburger meat
Taco seasoning
1 small can enchilada sauce
4 - 8 oz of shredded cheese (half a bag)
1 package burrito size tortillas, corn or flour

Mexican made easy is my new middle name! I like my Mexican recipes because I can mix them up and use all of my left overs each week. Made Taquitos and now have half a bag of cheese, most of a package of taco seasoning and 4 tortillas? Well, Mexican Pie, Mexican Dish, or Enchiladas are your quick and easy answer.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make filling: Cook your hamburger meat and taco seasoning according to directions.Mix 1/4 to 1/2 of enchilada sauce with taco meat. Stir in half of shredded cheese.

Put tortillas between two damp paper towels and heat in microwave for 1 minute, or until warm and pliable.

Spoon filling into middle of tortilla. Fold sides toward middle. Place seam side down in a baking dish or cookie sheet lightly covered with non-stick cooking spray. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Top tortillas with remaining enchilada sauce. Bake for 15 minutes. Last 5 minutes of baking, top with remaining cheese.

Variations

• This can be vegetarian, chicken, or hamburger. Use Spinach and use a sour cream sauce. Use left over canned chicken. Add black or refried beans for a beef and bean enchilada.
  
• For spice, add a well drained can of Rotel tomatoes to your filling.
• Make a white enchilada sauce from cream of chicken soup and sour cream to use instead of store bought red sauce.
  

Got your own Mexican recipe? Share it!

BTW: This recipe was HUGE hit with my hubby. He ate two for dinner and polished off the rest the next day at lunch. He said he liked it better than restaurant enchiladas!!! Cheaper and better than dinner at a restaurant? Can't be that.

Easy (baked) Taquitos

Taquitos

1 ( 10 - 12 oz) Can Chicken
1/3 cup of Salsa
shredded cheese
Taco seasoning, optional
1 package 6-8 inch tortillas, corn or flour
1 microwave safe pie plate
Cookie Sheet
SaranWrap

So you made Mexican Pie, it was great (you'd know that if you tried it), but you're now stuck with an open packet of tortillas. Taquitos/Flautas are an easy and quick way to use up the rest of your salsa, tortillas, and cheese.

First, mix can of chicken with salsa. Make sure to shred the chicken as you mix it. Put this in the fridge to sit for 10-15 minutes.

The last five minutes of your wait, preheat your oven to 375 degree. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Put tortillas between two damp paper towels and microwave for one minute, or until tortillas are warm and pliable.

When chicken/salsa combo is ready, take out of fridge and drain well. Then add a good handful of cheese and 1/4 tsp (or more) of Taco Seasoning. To be honest, I used more like a tablespoon of taco seasoning, but I like stuff spicy. Mix well.

Put a good spoonful or two of filling mixture on the edge of tortilla. Roll tortilla into a tube and place seam side down on sprayed cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

When all tortillas are rolled, spray tops lightly with cooking spray. Bake 15 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with enchilada sauce, sour cream, or salsa.

Will make 6-8 taquitos, depending on size of tortilla and how generous you are with filling.

Variations
--The fun part.

• Hate canned chicken? Use shredded pork or fry up some hamburger meat instead. Cooking is all about you. Make it vegetarian with bell pepper, onion, and beans, if you want!
  
• Serve with black beans, pinto beans, ranch-style beans, or fat-free beans and Fiesta Rice (see recipes)
  
• For a spicy pie, use a can of Rotel tomatoes in addition to salsa. The easiest way to spread Rotel tomotes is to mix them in with the meat.
  
• Use prepared cresent rolls or bisquick mix instead of tortillas.
  
• Try nacho cheese inside the pie instead of shredded cheese. (Think Cheesy Beef and Bean burrito!)
• Make low fat by using low-fat cheese and smaller tortillas (or carb-smart tortillas).
  

This is probably going to become the NEW favorite for quick Mexican food in my house! It's not as fast as Tortilla pie, but it's so yummy.

Got your own Mexican? Talk to me!