Creamy Cilantro-Lime Ranch Dressing

I could eat this dressing on everything!

• 1 C mayonnaise
• 1/2 C milk or buttermilk
• 1 lime, juiced (about 2 TBS lime juice)
• 1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro (I like a little bit more)
• 1/4 C green salsa (not enchilada sauce)
• hot sauce like Cholula or Tabasco, to taste

Combine mayo, milk, lime juice, and dry ranch seasoning in a blender. Add garlic, cilantro, and green salsa and blend to thoroughly mix all ingredients. Season with hot sauce if desired. If possible, refrigerate for several hours to allow the dressing to thicken and the flavors to meld.

Vegitarian Black Bean Taquitos

Oh my goodness I feel as if I have stumbled upon THE golden recipe me and my sister and mom have longed for for quite a while now! To say we love the Southwestern Egg rolls at Chile's (an appetizer) would be an understatement by far. (We have 1 rule there- order them as an app., then order them again as our entree!) Anyways, I was incredibly excited to order the "Our Best Bites" cookbook by Sara Wells and Kate Jones from Amazon. I follow their blog as I love trying new recipes and they seem to have my same food style. Check it out: http://www.ourbestbites.com/ and then go buy their cookbook!
Ok, so I do have to say, when we first tried these, only McKade would eat them out of my 3 oldest (Tyli won't eat tortillas/bread of any kind, and Dallin wouldn't even try them because they have spinach) but he LOVED them, and ended up eating almost 3 of them. Halli also loves them and can eat anywhere between 1 1/2-3. No seriously. I instantly fell in love with these, but the true test is always the hubs who happened to be at football practice still on this, our first night. He got home late and ended up eating all 6 remaining taquitos! Yay! I won't lie, I almost cried I was so happy he liked them! In fact, Cauley requested we make them again the following week and invite quests over to enjoy them too, which we did. We may or may not have had them again in the past 4 days since, I won't say, but here's another great part: YOU CAN MAKE THESE AHEAD OF TIME AND FREEZE THEM TO BAKE AND EAT IN THE FUTURE! (may I suggest you make a quadruple batch and freeze half?) Oh, and did I tell you that as long as you don't smother them with the amazing cilantro lime creamy ranch sauce, they're really pretty healthy for you! Oh yes, and EASY!

• 1 14 oz can black beans (1 jar), rinsed and drained
• 2 TBS salsa
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 TBS fresh lime juice
• 1 10 oz. box frozen spinach, thawed, drained, and roughly chopped
• 3/4 C frozen corn kernels (I like to do 1 C.)
• 1/2 C diced roasted red peppers (can be from a jar- $ store!)
• 1 C shredded cheese (cheddar, Monterey Jack, or pepper jack)
• 8-10 soft taco sized whole wheat tortillas (we use just flour)

Preheat oven to 425 (I do mine at 400) degrees. The rest goes fast, so do this first.
Place 3/4 C of the beans in a food processor along with garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, salsa, and lime juice. Process until mostly smooth. Transfer mixture into a medium bowl and add all remaining ingredients (except tortillas!), including the rest of the beans. Mix together.

Place a good dollop (about 1/4 C, but really, don't waste time measuring!) of the bean mixture on each tortilla toward one side. Roll up tortillas and spray with a nonstick cooking spray. Spray your pan too, just for added measure. Place taquitos on pan and bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Serve with Creamy cilantro lime ranch dressing, or, if you are weird like Cauley and don't do anything creamy, BBQ sauce tastes great.?.

**To freeze, simply do not bake, just pop the in the freezer for a couple of hours until frozen stiff and then place them in a freezer safe bag or container. Freeze up to 3 months. To bake, simply follow the directions above, adding 10 more minutes to bake time.

Apple Dumpling Triangles

I was first introduced to this delightful and scrumptious recipe at my last Relief Society leadership training we did. Cynthia, one of my secretaries, was in charge of the dessert and boy did she do it right! I'm not the biggest apple pie/turnover fanatic, but I seriously think I talked about these for weeks afterword! The true test came on my father-in-law's birthday when I made them for him. (He loves apple pie.) I am told they were delicious, and my kids begged for another week for me to make them again, so I'll stick with "these are not just a Jami loves recipe!" Oh, and can you say EASY?

• 2 of the 8 count crescent roll tubes
• 2 granny smith apple, peeled
• a hidden ingredient below: 1/2 C Mountain Dew

Start by unrolling the rolls and separating them so they are just triangles. Core and cut the apples into 8 slices (very easy to do with a round apple slicer!). Put each apple slice on the fat end of the triangle and roll it up. Spray baking dish (glass cake pan if you have one) with Pam and place the rolls in the dish.

Meanwhile, melt on medium heat in a saucepan:

• 1 C sugar
• 2 cubes butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla (add this once off the heat)

Cover the rolls with the sauce mixture, sprinkle them with cinnamon, then pour 1/2 C mountain Dew just along the edges of the pan right before they go into the oven.
Bake @ 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Pair this with vanilla ice cream. Yes, you'll somehow have to work off these calories, but it'll be worth it!

White Chili

Everyone has "their version" of chili that they make, and quite honestly, I prefer a vegetarian chili myself. However, this recipe came to me quite early on in our marriage from my twin sister, Jeni, from her in-laws, and I have preferred this version ever since! It's rich and "homey" enough to bring comfort and satisfaction on any cold day- or anytime you want chili! Oh, and by the way, it's pretty easy!

• 1 29 oz can green enchilada sauce
• 5 15 oz. cans small white beans (or great northwestern beans)
• 1 26 oz can cream of chicken soup
• 1 4 oz can green chilies, drained
• 1 lb. Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
• 4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced OR 1 pint sized jar canned chicken, crumbled
• water to desired thickness

Just combine all ingredients in a large pot. Cook on medium heat until warmed through. You can freeze any leftovers (if you have any) or eat the more lunch the following day like I do.

Golden Graham S'mores Bars

I found this recipe on becomingbetty.blogspot.com (a wonderful site I check often!)

We made this yummy treat after church and about ate the whole pan in 1 night! (and sadly, it was after we taught our young nursery going kids about our body being a temple and how Heavenly Father gave us good foods to eat all the time like fruits and veggies and other foods we eat sparingly- like Golden Graham S'mores Bars!) Good luck eating just one bar!

• 1 bag milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 C corn syrup
• 3 TBS butter
• 4 C marshmallows
• 8 C Golden Graham Cereal
• 1 C mini marshmallows

Put first 4 ingredients into a large saucepan. Melt on medium heat until mixture begins to boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and pour over the cereal. Stir until well combined. Stir in the mini marshmallow. Pour cereal mixture into Pam-sprayed pan and cover with foil until ready to eat. (Outta sight, outta mind?)

Egg Cups

I REALLY feel bad about not giving credit where due for this recipe, but my mom gave it to me and I don't know where she got it. I do know it is pretty healthy as 2 of these egg cups (regular size) and 1/2 a medium orange are less than 100 calories! These really are a great breakfast item!

 

• 1/4 C. chopped red pepper
• 1 3/4 TBS olive oil
• 1/4 C chopped onion
• 3 TBS grated potato
• 1 whole egg + 1 egg white
• 1/2 tsp low fat milk
• 3 TBS low fat cheddar cheese
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper

 

Saute peppers, onion, and potatoes in olive oil until the potatoes are soft. (about 5 minutes.) In a separate bowl, beat eggs with the milk. Add sauteed veggies, cheese, salt and pepper. Spray a muffin tin cups with Pam, then add egg mixture. Bake @ 350 degrees for 20 minutes. (For mini egg cups made from a mini muffin tin, bake for 10-15 minutes.)
These keep really well in the fridge for about a week, so you can make some up, pull out however many you are ready to eat, and then pop them in the microwave to heat the for breakfast!

Tortilla Strips

I think I've figured out why I love Mexican-style/Santa Fe salads so much from restaurants- It's all about the tortilla strips!

Take 4-8 corn tortillas and slice into 1/4- 1/2 inch strips. Add 1 TBSP oil and mix well with hands, making sure to coat evenly. Place on a cookie sheet and salt and pepper to your preference. Bake @ 400 degrees in oven for 12-14 minutes, turning halfway.