Taco Dip

What you need:
1 can (16 oz) refried beans
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese (softened)
1 C sour cream
2 T taco seasoning mix
2 garlic cloves, pressed
½ C black olives, chopped
2 T fresh cilantro
¼ C thinly sliced green onion
1 medium tomato, chopped


What to do:
Preheat oven to 350. Spread beans over bottom of 9” baking dish. Combine cream cheese, sour cream, taco seasoning, and pressed garlic. Mix well. Spread over the beans. Top with shredded cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes (until the cheese has melted). Top with tomato, onions, olives, and cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips.

Mandy's Creamy Chicken Tacos/Mexican Chicken Chili

I figured since this meal could be eaten as tacos with tortillas or in a bowl as chili, I'd name it both.  I got this recipe from my friend Mandy Boker (yes, I know she's married now, but all my sorority sisters will forever go by their maiden names in my head).  Anyway, she gave me this UBER easy and tres tasty crockpot meal and it was good!  Hubby loved it.  Beware--it makes a lot.

What you need:
4 chicken breasts
1 full can of salsa (I used almost 2)
1 can  corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 brick cream cheese

What you do:
Dump everything into the crockpot EXCEPT the cream cheese.  Cook on low for 8 hours, shredded chicken after about 6 or 7 hours.  After 8 hours, stir in cream cheese until melted.

Put desired amount into corn or flour tortillas, or place in a bowl and happily eat with a spoon.  Top with cilantro, tomato, and sour cream (or other desired toppings) and enjoy. 

Taco Soup

1 lb extra-lean ground beef ( I used ground turkey)

1 onion, chopped

3 cans (15.5 oz each) mild chili beans, undrained

1 can (14.5 oz) whole tomatoes undrained

1 can (14.25 oz ) corn, undrained

1 can (8oz) tomato sauce

1 pkg Taco Seasoning

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Brown meat and drain. Add onions and salt and pepper to taste and heat for a few minutes. Add all remaining ingredients except cheese; stir, breaking up tomatoes with spoon. Bring to boil; simmer on medium low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Top with cheese, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips.

A few modifications: I used ground turkey instead of beef. For the corn I used mexicorn and the beans I used some cans hot and some mild. What really made this yummy....I used mexican four cheese with a touch of philadelphia.

Kraft foods recipe

Cilantro-Peanut Chicken and Rice

Pete made this dish a couple nights ago, and we really liked it. It's definitely different, but had a good flavor, and a bit of a kick (so don't make it if you don't like spicy).

Ingredients:
1/2 C chicken broth
1/2 C Italian dressing
1/2 C chopped (fresh) cilantro
1/2 C peanuts
1 serrano pepper (remove stem)
1 onion (chopped)
4 chicken breasts
2 C cooked white rice
Sour Cream

In blender combine chicken broth, 1/4 Cup Italian dressing, cilantro, peanuts, and serrano. Blend well.

In skillet, heat over medium-high heat. Add remainder of dressing (1/4 Cup) and heat. Then add onions and cook for about 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook 5-7 minutes on each side. Add in blender mix, cover, and continue to cook for additional 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve over white rice and with sour cream. Enjoy.

**This recipe was found at kraftfoods.com**

Queso Blanco

To tie in with my taco recipe below, I will share this queso recipe that Peter has fallen in love with. For me, it's not perfect yet, but I'm trying to get it to be "that" recipe for me.

8 oz brick of Monterey Jack, thinly shredded
8 oz brick of cream cheese
1/2 C cream
2 pablano peppers, diced with seeds**
1 jalepeno pepper, diced without seeds**
1 can green chilis (not drained)
1-2 t cumin
2 T diced onion
Cilantro (optional)

Combine all in a saucepan and melt to blend together. Enjoy with chips!

**if you want this more spicy, use seeds of all peppers.
**if you want this less spicy, use no/less seeds of the peppers.

Tasty Tacos

We're huge Mexican Food lovers here. Peter is always trying out tacos at new places and always gets one chicken, one steak, and one chorizo. Well, I decided to try some chorizo at home and it was Gooooooooooood! This is what we did...VERY EASY!

Chorizo Taco
Place chorizo in pan and cook up. Once cooked, keep warm and add chopped onion (just to warm not cook completely).

Chicken Taco
Place 1 jar salsa in crockpot. Add in three frozen chicken breasts seasoned with taco seasoning (or fajitia seasoning). Cook on high for 4 hours. The salsa will just about gone. Shredded up the chicken and stir.

Serve on warm corn (or flour) tortillas with sour cream, cheese, and taco sauce.

Mmmm, mmmm, good!