Southwestern spaghetti combines Italian and Mexican cuisine to make an amazing and memorable pasta dish. This is a type of baked spaghetti so the dish is finished cooking in the oven.  Ground beef is cooked in the pan and seasoned with garlic, chili powder, cumin and various additional seasonings. It is then placed on top of the cooked spaghetti noodles, topped with cheese, and placed into the oven. This is a fairly easy dish that doesn’t take very long to prepare. If you are looking for a great dinner recipe give this one a try. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
8 ounces spaghetti noodles (cooked according to package directions)
½ cup milk
1 egg
1lb ground beef
1 medium onion (chopped)
1 medium green bell pepper (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl (or in the pot you boiled the spaghetti in) combine the drained cooked noodles with milk and egg. Mix well. Butter a 9×13 inch casserole dish and pour the noodle mixture into the bottom.
Step 2: In a large skillet brown ground beef, onion, green bell pepper, and garlic. Drain. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce and cook for 2 more minutes.
Step 3: Spread the meat sauce over the spaghetti noodles. Top with cheese. Place into the oven and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
(Makes 6 Servings)

Chicken chimichangas require a little work but they are definitely worth it. I actually prefer these over the beef chimichangas.  Tortillas are filled with a mixture, rolled, and then fried in oil. The filling mixture consists of ingredients such as chicken, rice, refried beans, and black olives. After the chimichangas are fried they are topped with a avocado mixture. This mixture is very similar to guacamole. I feel both the sour cream and guacamole mixture are very important to the overall flavor of this dish. If you are looking for an excellent recipe for chimichangas give this one a try. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
½ cup red enchilada sauce
1 ½ onion (diced, divided)
6 (12 inch) flour tortillas
4 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 pound Monterey jack cheese (shredded)
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives
4 cups refried beans
¼ cup vegetable oil
Avocado topping-
3 avocados (peeled and pitted)
½ cup cilantro (finely chopped)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 green onions (diced)
¼ cup jalapeno chile peppers
1 tomato (diced)
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a medium saucepan combine chicken broth, rice, enchilada sauce, and diced onion. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or until the rice is tender. Stir in shredded cooked chicken and mix well.
Step 2: Heat refried beans in a saucepan over low heat until they stir easily. Heat tortillas in a large skillet or in the microwave so that they fold easily.
Step 3: Spoon equal amounts of refried beans onto each tortillas followed by equal amounts of the chicken/rice mixture, Monterey jack cheese, and black olives. Roll up the tortillas¸while tucking in the sides. Secure the wrapped tortillas with a toothpick.

Step 4: Heat oil in a large skillet and fry the filled tortillas, turning once, until browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels.
Step 5: To make guacamole- in a medium bowl mash together avocados and lemon juice. Stir in cilantro, green onions, jalapeño peppers, and tomatoes. Top chimichangas with cheddar cheese, guacamole and sour cream.
(Makes 6 Servings)

Stuffed green peppers are a dish that is sure to please the entire family. This dish consists of green bell peppers stuffed with a ground beef and tomato mixture. Some of the other ingredients for the filling include rice, and onion. You could add additional ingredients into the filling based on your taste if you choose. The peppers are stuffed with this mixture and then topped with cheese and condensed tomato soup.  This recipe is perfect for garden fresh peppers in the summer but can be prepared all year round. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
6 green bell peppers
salt ( to taste)
1lb ground beef
1/3 cup onion (chopped)
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes (chopped)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ cup uncooked rice
½ cup water
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cut the tops off the green peppers. Remove the seeds and place the peppers into the boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and sprinkle salt inside each pepper. Set aside.
Step 2: In a large skillet over medium heat high add ground beef and onions. Cook for 5 minutes or until the beef is browned. Drain off any excess fat and season the beef with salt and pepper. Stir in chopped tomatoes, rice, ½ cup of water, and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the rice is tender. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.
Step 3: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour the soup over the peppers.
Step 4: Cover and place into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes. During the last few minutes of cooking, uncover and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Finishing baking until the cheese has melted.
(Makes 6 Servings)

This cherry cobbler recipe is an excellent way to use up fresh cherries. Unlike most recipes, this one uses fresh sour cherries instead of the canned. It does require a little work to pit the cherries but nothing major and the end result is fantastic. This recipe is fairly easy with few ingredients. The cherries are tossed with sugar to make them sweat. This is a perfect baking dish for summer. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
½ cup butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
2 cups pitted sour cherries
¾ cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place butter into a 9×13” baking dish. Place into the oven to melt while it is preheating. Remove from the oven as soon as the butter is melted. In a medium bowl stir together 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, and baking powder. Mix in the milk until well blended.  Pour batter over the melted butter in the baking dish. Do not stir.
Step 2: Place cherries into a bowl and toss with the remaining ¾ cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of flour. Distribute cherry mixture evenly over the batter. Do not stir.
Step 3: Place into the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes until golden brown or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

If you follow this blog you know how much I enjoy eating cheeseburgers. I thought why not put the delicious ingredients of a hamburger onto a pizza? This pizza has all of the toppings of a cheeseburger. The toppings include cheese, ground beef, bacon, pickles, lettuce and tomato. Some recipes used ketchup and mustard for the sauce, but that didn’t sounds good to me so I went with pizza sauce instead. Using a pre-baked crust will help to save time and make this a very easy recipe to prepare. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef
1 pre-baked 12 inch pizza crust
½ cup pizza sauce
6 bacon strips (cooked until crispy, and crumbled)
20 dill round pickle slices
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded lettuce
2 roma tomatoes (chopped)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. In a medium skillet cook ground beef over medium heat until no longer drink. Drain the grease and set aside.
Step 2: Place the pre-baked crust onto a pizza pan. Spread a thin layer of pizza sauce over the crust. Top with cooked ground beef, bacon, pickles and cheese. Place into the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
Step 3: Remove from the oven, slice and top with lettuce and tomato.

Being a lover of Mexican cuisine it came as a shock to me that I had never heard of wet burritos. After looking over the ingredient list I knew this was something I had to make. If you are not familiar with wet burritos they are flour tortillas filled with a ground beef mixture and topped with a chile sauce and cheese. The burrito filling consists of hamburger, green chilies, and refried beans. What really impressed me about this dish was the chile sauce. This sauce uses condensed tomato soup, enchilada sauce and canned chili. The combination was excellent. If you are looking for a slightly different take on the burrito, give this one a try.

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef
½ cup onion (chopped)
1 garlic clove (minced)
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (4.5 ounce) can diced green chili peppers
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
1 (15 ounce) can chili without beans
1 (10.75 ounce) can condense tomato soup
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
6 (12 inch) flour tortillas (warmed)
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup tomatoes (chopped)
½ cup green onions (chopped)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a large skillet over medium-high heat cook ground beef while chopping up with a spatula or spoon. Cook while chopping until browned. Add onion and cook until translucent. Drain the grease and season with garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir in green chilies and refried beans. Mix until well blended. Turn off heat and keep warm.
Step 2: In a medium saucepan combine chile without beans, tomato soup, and enchilada sauce. Cook until heated through and bubbling. Keep warm.
Step 3: Place a warmed tortilla onto a platter, and spoon about a ½ cup of the ground beef mixture onto the center of the tortilla. Roll up the tortilla over the filling. Spoon a generous amount of the chile/enchilada sauce over the top of the burrito and sprinkle cheese over the top of the sauce. Microwave for 30 seconds or until the cheese has melted. Top with lettuce, tomato, and green onions.
(Makes 6 Servings)

Those that enjoy coffee will love the delicious flavor of mocha cake. This is a very moist and rich cake that gets a lot of its flavor from cocoa powder and instant coffee. If you want to up the coffee flavor you can add more than 1 tablespoon of instant coffee powder. You could try 2 or 3 tablespoons. After the cake is baked, it is then topped with a mocha frosting. The mocha frosting adds even more coffee flavor to this amazing cake. If you are looking for a very moist and delicious cake, give this one a try. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
1 cup hot water
Mocha Frosting-
1 cup shortening
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
4 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
4 tablespoons milk
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
1 cup hot water

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease 2 (9 inch) round cake pans. In a large bowl add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, oil, eggs, buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Dissolve instant coffee in hot water and add it to the mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth. The batter will be thin. Pour into prepared cake pans.

Step 2: Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the baking pans and finish cooling on wire racks.
Step 3: While the cake is cooling, to make mocha frosting- in a large bowl combine shortening and vanilla extract. Beat in half of the confectioners’ sugar. Blend in 2 tablespoons of milk. Repeat with the other half of the confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk. Mix in half of the cocoa powder. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of instant coffee into 1 cup of hot water. Pour 2 tablespoons of the coffee mixture into the frosting. Mix in the remaining cocoa powder. Add coffee mixture a tablespoon at a time until the frosting has achieved your desired consistency.
Step 4: Fill and frost the cake with mocha frosting.

Jerk chicken wings are perfect for summer grilling and make a great appetizer for parties. This is not a wing sauce but rather a marinade. If you have had jerk chicken before you would know it has a very unique flavor.  Some of the interesting flavors in the marinade are ground cloves, nutmeg and allspice. The chicken wings can be marinated anywhere from 4 hours to overnight. If you want the best flavor I would recommend overnight. This is a very easy recipe, simple marinade the wings and then cook them on the grill. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
3lbs chicken wings
6 green onions (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
1 jalapeño pepper (seeded and minced)
¾ cup soy sauce
½ cup distilled white vinegar
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh thyme (chopped)
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a food processor combine green onions, onion, jalapeño pepper, soy sauce, vinegar, vegetable oil, brown sugar, thyme, ground cloves,  ground nutmeg and ground allspice. Blend until smooth.
Step 2: Place chicken wings into a bowl and pour the marinade over the wings. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours to overnight.
Step 3: Lightly grease grill grate. Place chicken wings onto the grill and cook turning as needed until chicken wings are fully cooked (the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees).
(Makes 4 Servings)

I always enjoy using the slow cooker or frying pan but steak tacos don’t get much better than when the steak is cooked on the grill. The steak gets its flavor from a delicious marinade. Some of the key ingredients in the marinade include orange juice, lime juice, and cider vinegar. The steak can be marinated anywhere from a few hours to overnight. If you do not have a grill these can be cooked in the broiler instead. I like to add condiments to these tacos such as guacamole, lettuce, tomato, and Monterey jack cheese. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 1/2lbs sirloin steak
Marinade-
1/2 cup orange juice
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
4 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Tacos-
10 (8 inch) flour tortillas
shredded Monterey jack cheese
lettuce
tomato
Guacamole

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a medium bowl combine orange juice, oil, lime juice, cider vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Add steak and toss in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
Step 2: Heat an outdoor grill to high heat. Remove steak (reserving the marinade) and place onto the grill. Grill steak for 3-4 minutes per side and brush with the reserved marinade occasionally while grilling. Remove from the grill and slice into thin strips.
Step 3: Place a bit of guacamole onto the bottom of each flour tortilla. Top with steak strips, cheese, lettuce and tomato.
(Makes 5 Servings)

The French dip is a very popular hot sandwich. Chances are you have made them at home or had them at your favorite restaurant. With this recipe you can make your own French dips completely from scratch. This recipe does not use deli roast beef but the slow cooker method. The slow cooker does all of the cooking for you, so this recipe does not require much work. The Au Jus comes right out of the slow cooker from the cooking process and it is the highlight of this recipe for sure. I like to add a variety of vegetables into the slow cooker with the roast to add more flavors. Some of the vegetables I added were celery, carrots and onion. This recipe is perfect for dinner or a party. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 (4 pound) boneless beef roast
½ cup soy sauce
1 beef bouillon cube
1 bay leaf
3 whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (crushed)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
20 slices French bread
provolone cheese (optional)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: remove any visible fat from the roast and discard the fat. Place the roast into a slow cooker. In a medium bowl combine soy sauce, beef bouillon cube, bay leaf, black peppers corns, rosemary, thyme, and garlic powder. Pour the mixture over the roast. Add enough water to almost over the roast. Add any vegetables if you desire. Cover and cook in the slow cooker for 10 to 1 hours on low heat until the roast is very tender.
Step 2: Remove the roast from the broth (reserving the broth). Shred the roast with two forks. Place shredded beef onto sandwiches.
Step 3: Place the reserved broth into cups or small bowls for dipping.
(Makes 10 Servings)