The colder weather is approaching and that means its time for some casserole dishes. This particular dish, taco casserole is one of my all time favorites. I have tried a few different taco casserole recipes, but I prefer this one with the pasta in it. Some of the ingredients in this dish include ground beef, onions, diced tomatoes, tomato soup and taco seasoning mix. Some toppings include black olives, cheese, and green onions. You could also add diced tomatoes, lettuce and sour cream if you choose. I find that added the crushed tortilla chips and the toppings within the last few minutes of baking works the best. This dish is best served immediately so the tortilla chips will still be crunchy. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef
8 ounces macaroni
½ cup onion (chopped)
1 (10.75 ounce) can condense tomato soup
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
2 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
2 ounces shredded Monterey Jack  cheese
1 cup tortilla chips (crushed)
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup green onions
¼ cup sliced black olives

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Step 2: In a large skillet, cook and stir ground beef and chopped onion over medium heat until browned. Mix in tomato soup, diced tomatoes, and taco seasoning mix. Stir in pasta.
Step 3: Spoon the beef mixture into a greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Place into the oven and bake for 30-35   minutes. Within the last 10 minutes of cooking remove from the oven and top with crushed tortilla chips, cheese, green onions and black olives. Return to the oven and finish cooking. Serve with sour cream.
(Makes 6 Servings)

The end of summer isn’t here yet and Its not too late to fire up the outdoor grill. Perhaps you have tried lime shrimp at a restaurant or made it before yourself, either way this is a fantastic recipe for it. This lime shrimp marinade uses classic Mexican flavors such a cumin, oregano and lime juice. For the marinade, its important not to allow the shrimp to marinade longer than the time stated in the recipe. The reason for this is because the acid from the lime juice will actually cook the shrimp if left in there for too long. This is a perfect dish to serve if you don’t have a lot of time, or just want to have a great cookout. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1lb jumbo shrimp (peeled and deveined)
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon lime zest
2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 garlic cloves (minced)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a large bowl mix together cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil, lime zest and lime juice. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes to marinate. Thread the shrimp onto skewers and reserve the marinade.
Step 2: Lightly grease and heat an outdoor grill to medium heat. Place skewered shrimp onto the grill and cook for 3-7 minutes or until shrimp turn pink turning once and brushing occasionally with the reserved marinade.
(Makes 4 Servings)

Blackberries are in season and chances are you have come across an abundance of them. Now that you have all these blackberries, the question is what to do with them? Blackberry pie is the perfect choice to make good use of your fresh blackberries. Of course, if you wanted to use frozen blackberries those would work as well. This recipe is so simple, inexpensive and has very few ingredients. You will have a fresh blackberry pie out of the oven in no time at all. You could make your own pie crust but I would recommend using the Pillsbury pre-made crust. In my opinion, it’s just as good as anything you can make, and it’s already made for you. This pie goes great served with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh blackberries
½ cup white sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 (9 inch) double pie crust
2 tablespoons milk
¼ cup white sugar

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Press the bottom part of the crust into a greased 9” pie dish. In a large bowl combine 3 ½ cups of blackberries with the sugar and flour. Spoon the mixture into the pie shell. Spread the remaining ½ cup of blackberries on top of the sweetened berries. Cover with the top of the crust and crimp the edges to seal. Brush the top of the crust with milk and sprinkle with white sugar. With a knife or fork make small slits in the top of the pie crust.
Step 2: Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes reduce the temperature of the oven to 375 degrees and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes.
(Makes 8 Servings)

Summer just wouldn’t seem complete without grilled pork chops. Here is one the best marinade recipes I have come across. The marinade uses ingredients such as lemon pepper, soy sauce, and garlic. I feel the lemon pepper really makes this marinade and gives it just the right amount of spice. It’s good to allow the pork chops to marinade for at least 2 hours but I would recommend about 12. Pretty much type of pork chops can be marinated with this recipe. Grilled pork chops go great along with a delicious cold salad. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
6 pork loin chops (trimmed of any excess fat)
½ cup water
½ cup light soy sauce
¼ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning
2 garlic cloves (minced)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a large bowl or seal-able bag combine water, soy sauce, vegetable oil, lemon pepper and garlic. Add the pork chops.  Cover, refrigerate and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours.
Step 2: Grease and heat an outdoor grill. Grill pork chops for 7 minutes on each side or until fully cooked. Do not over-cook. Cook until the pork chops have reached an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
(Makes 6 Servings)

I had some extra flat bread on hand and was looking to put it to good use. I came across a recipe for chicken pesto pizza and thought I would give it a try. I really like the thin crust and the crispiness of the baked flat bread, it’s perfect for pizza. Basically this pizza is topped with a pesto sauce, artichoke hearts, chicken and cheese. If you don’t want to use chicken, I would recommend trying shrimp. This recipe uses a pretty basic basil pesto consisting of ingredients such as basil, garlic, pine nuts and olive oil. There is nothing hard about this pizza recipe and if you are using pre-cooked chicken, it can be served within 30 minutes. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 flatbread pizza crust
2 cups chicken breast strips (cooked)
1 (6 ounce) jar artichoke hearts (drained)
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Basil Pesto Sauce-
1 cup fresh basil leaves (packed)
1 garlic cloves
1/8 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (divided)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: To make basil pesto- Combine basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/3 cup of oil and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cheese and set aside.
Step 2: preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spread pesto sauce over the pizza crust evenly. Arrange chicken pieces and artichoke hearts over the sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese.
Step 3: Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and flatbread is browned and crispy.
(Makes 6 servings)

I haven’t posted a lot of Greek cuisine onto this website and this Greek salad is perfect to start things off. Greek salad is a delicious summer salad consisting of ingredients such as romaine lettuce, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, and red onion. Like almost any salad, it’s all about the dressing. The dressing in this recipe is truly some of the best ever. It is important to allow the dressing to chill for at least 2 hours so the flavors can blend. There is a little prep work involved but in the end, it’s well worth the effort. If you want to add a little protein, sliced grilled chicken would go great in this salad. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
dressing-
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 teaspoon fresh garlic (minced)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
salad-
1 head romaine lettuce (torn, with outer leaves removed)
2 large Roma tomatoes (chopped)
1 cucumber (peeled, seeded, and chopped)
1 medium red onion (sliced)
1 green bell pepper (seeded, and chopped)
½ lb crumbled feta cheese
1 cup Kalamata olives

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: To make the dressing- in a blender add olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, oregano, basil, garlic, salt, black pepper, and sugar. Blend until smooth. Pour into a dressing bottle and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, green pepper, feta cheese, and olives. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
(Makes 6 servings)

Those who love a little spice are sure to enjoy this grilled jerk shrimp recipe. It’s perfect for summer and outdoor grilling. This is shrimp coated with a jerk spice mixture and then grilled. The seasoning is a combination of sweet and spicy. Grilling shrimp is one of my favorite cooking methods for it; I just love the flavor that is produced from the grill. This is a Caribbean dish that is very easy to prepare and takes little effort. Serving with fresh mango salsa is a must. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground thyme
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Spray grill grates with cooking spray and heat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat. In a small bowl combine sugar, paprika, salt, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, thyme, and allspice. In a large bowl combine shrimp and olive oil tossing well to coat. Sprinkle shrimp on both sides with the spice mixture and toss to coat. Thread shrimp onto skewers.
Step 2: Place skewers onto the grill and cook shrimp for 6 minutes or until fully cooked turning once.
(Makes 4 Servings)