Southwestern Egg Rolls
2 tablespoons vegetable
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half
2 tablespoons minced green onion
2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
1/3 cup frozen corn kernels
¼ cup black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons diced jalapeno peppers
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground cayenne Pepper
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 package (15-20) egg roll wrappers
quart oil for frying

Rub 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over chicken breast. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook chicken approximately 5 minutes per side, until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from heat and set aside.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in green onion and red pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until tender.

Dice chicken and mix into the pan with onion and red pepper. Mix in corn, black beans, jalapeno peppers, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until well blended and tender. Remove from heat and stir in Monterey Jack cheese so that it melts.

Place 1 heaping tablespoon of filling in a line down the center of each egg roll wrapper. Fold in the sides, and roll egg rolls; secure with a toothpick (like a pin.)

In a large heavy skillet, heat enough vegetable oil to cover egg rolls over medium-high heat. Working in batches, carefully place egg rolls in hot oil, and cook until golden brown. Remove to paper towels. Discard toothpicks, cut each egg roll in half on the diagonal. Serve with Cafe Rio Dressing.

Southwest Salsa Recipe
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
5-6 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 bunch green onion, thinly sliced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 avacados, diced

In seperate bowl combine:
1 packet Good Seasons Italian Dressing
1/4 c. vinegar
3 Tbsp. water
1/2 c. oil

Mix together and fold into mixture. ENJOY!!!!

Italian Butter
¼ tsp oregano
¼ tsp rosemary
¼ tsp basil
¼ tsp Kosher salt
1 clove garlic (pressed)
Oil
Balsamic vinegar to taste

Mix spices and garlic together. Pour oil over spices. Stir until combine. Add balsamic. Use as a dip for bread.

Garlic Red Mashed Potatoes
5 lbs Red Potatoes
1 cube butter
1 Block Cream Cheese
16 oz sour Cream

Garlic to taste.

Boil Potatoes, mash or mix drained potatoes with other ingredients. Beat or mash until combined. Place in a 9x13 baking dish. Bake covered @ 350 for 30 min. Remove foil and bake for a remaining 10 min.

Curry Chicken Salad
2pkg (6 0z each) Louis rich grilled chicken breast strips- I do a mixture of strips with canned chicken
¼ cup Mayo
¼ cup green onions slices
2 Tbsp. raisins- I sometimes substitute grapes
2 Tbsp. slivered almonds, toasted – I do candied almonds
1 tsp curry powder

Mix all ingredients until well blended; cover. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Serve with crackers, croissants, mini pita halves or Boston or red lettuce cups. I like more of the mayo mixture than it calls for.Makes 4 servings.

Cilantro Lime Rice
1 cup uncooked rice
1 tsp butter
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tsp lime zest
1 can chicken broth
1 ¼ cup water
2 tbsp lime Juice
2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp chopped cilantro

Mix Rice, butter, garlic, lime zest, chicken broth, and water in medium saucepan and cook until done. In separate bowl, combine lime juice, sugar, and chopped cilantro. Pour over hot rice, and fluff with a fork.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
(from Grandma Cable’s friend Sherry in Galva, Il.)
5 ¾ cups water
1 b0x of Uncle Ben’s Original Wild Rice
1 pkg Dry Lipton’s Chicken Noodle Soup mix

Bring above ingredients to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add diced carrots, onion and celery and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add 2 cans cream of chicken soup and chicken (recipe calls for 3 cups. I use about ½ of that amount) and simmer for 8 minutes.

Chicken and Wild Rice Salad
1 box Uncle Ben’s wild rice, prepared as directed and cooled to room temperature
1 to 2 avocados, diced
Juice of 1 lemon ¼ c. toasted pecans, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
6 chinese snow peas, chopped
5 green onions (white part only), chopped
3 cooked chicken breasts, cubed

Dressing:
2 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ tsp. Pepper
1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp sugar

Pour lemon juice over rice. Combine all of the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Combine dressing ingredients and shake well. Pour dressing over salad. Refrigerate salad until chilled. (I like this salad warm)

Ceasar Green Beans
2 -3 cups green beans , fresh or frozen
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp vinager
1 tbsp dry onion
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

Mix together in medium bowl and place in baking dish and top with bread crumb mixture (recipe below)

Bread Crumb topping:
6 tbsp bread crumbs
3 tbsp parmesean
2-3 tbsp butter

Mix and pour on top of beans. Bake @ 350 for 15 minutes

Caribbean Chicken Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing

Salad:
2 to 4 chicken breasts

Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and a squeeze of lime juice. Grill outdoors or use grill pan. Cool and dice. (I used previously cooked chicken breasts purchased at Costco)

Mixed greens – 2 bags
Ppineapple tidbits – 8 oz. can, well drained
Mandarin oranges – 11 oz. can, well drained
2 small tomatoes (tennis ball size) – seeded and diced
2 small avocados or 1 large – diced or sliced
½ to 1 bag tortilla chips – crushed

Toss all ingredients and sprinkle chips on top. (optional)

Dressing:
¼ tsp. ground ginger
¼ cup Dijon mustard
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup honey
¼ cup lime juice or 4 fresh limes squeezed
2 Tbsp. sesame oil (I didn’t have sesame oil so used regular vegetable oil)

Stir ginger and mustard together and whisk in remaining ingredients. Serve chilled.

California Pizza Kitchen BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad

For the fried tortilla strips
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
12 corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips (about 6 cups)

To make fried tortilla strips:
In a deep, heavy frying pan, heat several inches of oil to 375 degrees. Working in batches if necessary to prevent overcrowding, carefully add the tortilla strips to the hot oil, submerging them with a metal skimmer or slotted spoon. Fry the tortilla strips until evenly golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully lift them out with the skimmer and transfer them to paper towels to drain and cool. Set aside, uncovered.

For the Garden Ranch Dressing:
Make hidden valley ranch as directed on pkg
Whisk together until smooth. Cover and refrigerate.

For the Grilled Garlic BBQ Chicken:
1 1/3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/3 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons salt
20 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup good-quality bottled sweet-and-spicy barbecue sauce

To make the grilled chicken:
Preheat the grill or broiler. In a mixing bowl, stir together the olive oil, garlic, soy sauce and salt. Add the chicken and cover with marinade for 15 minutes. Grill chicken for 5 to 6 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator. Cut the chicken into 3/4-inch cubes and toss with the barbecue sauce to coat well. Cover and refrigerate.

For the salad:
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, cut into 1/8-inch-wide strips
1/2 head romaine lettuce, cut into 1/8-inch-wide strips
12 large fresh basil leaves, cut into 1/8-inch-wide strips
1 pound jicama, cut into 1/4 x 1/4 x 3/4-inch strips
2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup canned sweet white corn kernels, drained
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/2 cup good-quality bottled sweet-and-spicy barbecue sauce
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

To assemble the salad:
In a large mixing bowl, toss together the lettuces, basil, jicama, cheese, beans, corn, cilantro, 1 to 1 1/2 cups of dressing (just until lightly coated; there will be extra) and half the tortilla strips. Transfer the salad to chilled serving plates. Surround each salad with diced tomatoes and the remaining tortilla strips. Top each salad with chunks of chicken and drizzle the chicken with barbecue sauce and garnish with the green onions.

Red Hot Cinnamon Popcorn
6 Quarts of popped popcorn
1 Twelve oz package redhots candy (or red cinnamon candy)
Sugar
One cup of butter
½ cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda

Spread popcorn in lightly buttered roasting pan. Bake at 250 while preparing syrup:

Syrup: Pour cinnamon candy into a two cup measuring cup and fill to top with sugar. Place in sauce pan with butter, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil. Stir and boil for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in baking soda.

Pour syrup over popcorn and stir popcorn. Continue to bake at 250 for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and break into pieces.

Peanut Butter popcorn
½ cup kernel popcorn
1 ½ cups whole almonds
1 cup sugar
½ cup honey
½ cup corn syrup
½ cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

Pop popcorn

Combine: popped corn and almonds. Keep in a 250 oven. In a sauce pan combine sugar, honey, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over popcorn mixture. Stir well.

Jell-O Pop Corn
Pop l5 C Popcorn and place in large paper grocery bag.

Combine in saucepan:
¼ C light Karo
l lg. Rasp Jell-O ( use different flavors for the different value colors)
l Cube Butter

Bring to a boil and dissolve sugar.

Remove from heat and add:
1 t. baking soda and still until well mixed.

Pour over popcorn in grocery bag. Roll top down and shake. Put into microwave for l minute on high. Remove, shake, turn upside down; return to microwave for 30 sec. Remove, shake return for l minute.

Pour onto wax paper to cool.

Cinnamon Caramel Corn with Pecans & White Chocolate
12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)*
1 C roughly chopped pecans
1 C brown sugar
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 C Karo syrup (or honey makes a good substitution)
1 stick real butter (1/2 C)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
3 squares almond bark

*You can use air popped or microwave popcorn. If using microwave, anything works, but I prefer a "natural" flavor that's low in butter and salt.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside. And by large bowl, I mean like, twice as big as you think you really need. If you don't believe me, then maybe you will believe the scorching hot caramel goo that's splattered all over your hands while you're stirring in your not-so-big bowl. Just a thought.

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a big, microwave-safe bowl. Like a 2-quart bowl or Pyrex measuring bowl. Again, use a bowl larger than you think you need to avoid scorching hot caramel goo accidents. It's really important to incorporate the cinnamon into the brown sugar at this point. For some reason, if you don't it does crazy things. I don't know why. Try it and then email Alton Brown and ask him if you really want to know.

Chop butter into chunks and place on top of sugar mixture. Pour corn syrup (or honey) over the top of everything.

Microwave on high for 30 seconds (just to soften the butter a bit) and then stir to combine.

Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and stir and then microwave for 2 minutes more. Remove from the microwave and add in vanilla and baking soda. Stir right away, and stir lots. Take too long and the caramel will harden on you. Keep stirring until everything is well coated.

Spread popcorn mixture onto a foil-lined jelly roll pan.

Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

After 30 minutes, take a piece out and let it cool. "Sample." If it's not crunchy enough, bake for another 5 minutes. "Sample" again. This will not be the end of "sampling."

When it's done, give it a final stir and let it cool off for a bit while you melt your almond bark (just nuke it in the microwave according to the package directions) If you want, you can spread out your caramel corn on a clean piece of parchment, waxed paper, or foil. I always do this because sometimes it sticks to the hot foil if I leave it on the original pan. I'm kind of a clean control freak and I like to have it on a nice, fresh surface.

Now, just use a fork and drizzle the melted almond bark over the popcorn mixture.

Sweet and Savory Flank Steak (Carne’ Asada suburban style)
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C olive oil
1/2 C soy sauce
1 C pineapple juice
1 T freshly grated ginger
4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced
up to 2 lbs flank steak

Combine first 6 ingredients for the marinade. Whisk together until combined. Remove 1/4 cup and set aside.

Score flank steak with a knife diagonally on both sides. This just means to run a sharp knife through it in the pattern below. You don't want to actually cut through the steak, just lightly score- like 1/8 inch- into it. This will help tenderize the meat.

Place steak in large ziploc bag and pour marinade (excluding the 1/4 C you set aside) over it. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Take out of fridge 30 minutes before grilling. Place steak on grill and cook for 5-10 minutes per side, depending on the size. Use the 1/4 C marinade you set aside to brush over steak in the last few minutes of grilling. (That's a little trick I use for pretty much any meat that has a marinade just to splash it with an extra punch of flavor at the end) Flank steak should still be pink in the middle when done.

Remove from grill and let stand for 5 minutes before cutting so the juices can redistribute. Always cut flank steak against the grain, in thin slices to serve.

Southwest Hamburgers
2 lbs hamburger
1 cup grated pepper ajck cheese
¼ cup green onion
½ cup crushed tortilla chips
½ cup salsa
¼ tsp garlic salt
¼ tsp chilli powder or cumin

Mix all together. Make eight hamburger patties, and grill

Pasta Carbonara
1 lbs bacon cooked till crisp
1 pkg spaghetti
2 eggs
1 -2 cups Grated parmesan cheese
½ cup butter
1 cup + cream
Garlic
½ c Chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Place butter in sauce pan. When butter is melted add cream, garlic, chicken stock, and bring to a rolling boil. Boil until reduced by half. Salt and pepper to taste.

Beat egg in small bowl and set aside. Boil spaghetti, drain, and immediately return to hot pan. Pour egg over cooked noodles toss, and cover. Let sit until egg is cooked.

Toss noodles with cream sauce, crumble bacon on top of noodles and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Island Meatballs
1-2 lbs meatballs (costco’s are really yummy, or you can mak your own)
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 cups water
1/3 cup apple cider vinager
1/3 c Ketchup
1/3 corn starch
1 1/3 brown sugar

Bring to boil. Pour over meatballs place in crock pot or simmer on stove top until heated thoroughly.

Crock Pot French Dip
3 LBS rump roast
½ cup soy sauce
1 beef bouillon cube
1 tsp thyme
4 peppercorns
1 tsp garlic powder

French Rolls
Swiss, provolone, or mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced.

Add ingredients together into crock pot; add water enough to almost cover the roast. Cook on low for 10-12 hours.

Before serving, shred roast using a fork. Serve on French rolls and top with cheese. Use Ajus for dipping.