Reeses' Peanut Butter Bars

Quick, easy, and delicious!! These little bars taste EXACTLY like Reeses Peanut Butter cups. Alexis LOVES Reeses and this recipe is her favorite. It's an easy recipe that the kids can make on their own, since neither a stove nor oven is required.

Reeses' Peanut Butter Bars

2 sticks margarine, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup Chunky Peanut Butter
12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 Tbsp Chunky Peanut Butter

1. Combine margarine, graham cracker crumbs, 1 cup peanut butter, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl.
2. Press mixture into a non-greased 9x13 pan.
3. Melt chocolate chips with 4 Tbsp Peanut Butter and spread over the top of the graham mixture.
4. Refrigerate at least one hour before attempting to cut into squares.

Sour Cream Enchilada Casserole

Oh my. This is, by far, one of our favorite meals. It's quick to prepare and you don't have to fuss with making sure each enchilada has the same amount of filling. It has been rated a "10" in our family.


Sour Cream Enchilada Casserole

1 pound ground beef
Garlic powder, salt and pepper - to taste
16 oz sour cream
10 oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup
4 oz can chopped green chilies
8 (10 inch) flour tortillas
2 bunches of green onions, chopped
2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Brown ground beef in skillet over medium-high heat; drain and season to taste with garlic powder, salt and pepper.
2. In a bowl, combine sour cream, green chilies and soup. Spread about 1 cup sauce in the bottom of a lightly greased 13x9 baking dish.
3. Place 4 tortillas over soup mixture (1 rip them into quarters first). Layer with meat mixture, onions, and 1/2 the cheese. Place remaining tortillas (ripped) on top and spoon remaining soup mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
4. Cover and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake for additional 10 minutes.

Taco Soup

This is a great recipe to throw in a crock pot if you need a quick meal for a potluck at work. There is very little preparation and is a quick meal, when you are running short on time. It will be similar to a chili, when finished. Since it is essentially a "dump and run" recipe, even kids can make it, with very little parental input.

Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
16 oz diced tomatoes
(3) 16 oz cans beans (kidney, pinto, and navy work well together)
16 oz can white corn (juice and all)
4 1/2 oz can green chilies
15 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 pkg ranch dressing mix

1. Cook beef and onions together. Drain.
2. In a large sauce pan, add all other ingredients to the beef mixture.
3. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Serve with shredded cheese, corn chips, or crackers.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

This recipe is another copy cat recipe -- this time from Chi Chi's. It is well liked by all members of the family and is very inexpensive to make.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cups water, divided
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup enchilada sauce
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 Quart chicken broth
1 tsp. chili powder
1 cup Masa Harina
1/2 tsp. ground cumin


1. In a large pot over medium heat, cook chicken breasts in oil until cooked. Remove and set aside.

2. Cook onion and garlic in remaining oil until onions are clear. Pour in chicken broth.

3. In a bowl, whisk together masa harina and 2 cups water until well blended. Pour into pot with remaining 1 cup water, enchilada sauce, Cheddar, salt, chili powder and cumin. Bring to a boil.

4. Shred cooked chicken pieces and add to the pot. Reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes, until thickened.

**note: If you can not find Masa Harina (mexican flour), you can use Maseca Flour.**

Cherry Cheesecake

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter or margarine (melted)
1/3 cup white sugar

Combine above ingredients and pack lightly in a 9x13 pan. This is the crust.

2 pkgs cream cheese (do not use light or fat free as it will get watery)
2 cups powdered sugar
16 oz cool whip (do not use fat free or light here either)

Beat cream cheese and sugar together until well mixed and fold in whip cream and spread on top of graham cracker crust.

You may use canned cherry filling for the top (you may also use raspberry or blueberry filling). Another good variation is using oreo crumbs for the crust instead of graham crackers.

Refrigerate.

Buffalo Wings

It's no secret that I love wings. In fact, we have wings from Jakes approximately twice a month. Since they can be kinda spendy, I did some trial and error (and more trial and error) and finally arrived at a copy cat recipe that is a dead ringer for the best wings in the state!

Buffalo Wings

8 Tbsp. Emerills Red Hot Sauce
1/2 stick margarine
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp garlic salt
dash of black pepper (I use more than a dash)

Mix all of the above together over heat until margarine (not butter!) is melted. Keep warm.

Fry wings in a fry-daddy at 340F for 15 minutes. I use 16-18 wings for my batch. Pull them out of the grease, drain them quickly on a paper towel, and coat them in a large tupperware container with the sauce. (Cover the container and shake vigorously).

Remove the wings and place into the oven on 250 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Save the extra sauce that didn't "stick" and keep that warm. Remove the wings from the oven and recoat with the warm sauce.

This recipe makes medium-hot wings similar to Jakes. If you want their Nuclear or Super-Nuclear wings, add some Tabasco Sauce and Jalapenos to the above mixture.

Tortilla Rollups

These rollups are the favorite of Tyler and John. They can be made as spicy as you like, by changing the spice level of the ingredients you add. This recipe makes quite a few, but can easily be doubled or tripled if you are feeding a crowd.



Tortilla Rollups

1 pkg Flour Tortillas (10)
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. Picante Sauce - Hot
4 oz. chopped black olives
4 oz. chopped jalapenos or green chilies
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
small onion, finely chopped

Cream all ingredients together. Spread about 1/2 cup mixture on each tortilla and roll up tightly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but overnight is best. Just prior to eating, you can slice into bite size pieces or cut each roll into three chunks if you prefer larger pieces to hold. Enjoy!